Here is my second illustration in the RNIB's Insight Magazine.
I'm quite disappointed, I have to admit. I spend a month at a time working on my illustrations - from planning how I want it to look, to choosing the colour scheme - and then spend 20 minutes at a time, for an hour a day, in the knowledge that it will be completed by the end of the month to then e-mail off to the team.
My illustration has taken up only a quarter of the page, with an advertisement of a Brailler filling half. I didn't notice my illustration at first when I was scrolling through the PDF version for the first few times (must be something wrong with my eyes!) so I increased my computer's magnification. When I finally found my illustration, I suddenly felt deflated and like my whole month's effort was for nothing. I also felt like a hinderance to their advertisement.
The young columnist doesn't get any ads on her page, so I'm not sure why I do - though the last issue's ad wasn't as noticeable as this one. It's so difficult to illustrate as a severely visually impaired person, as I can't see my illustrations in their entirety, having only 10% vision in one eye. Whereas if you were to write an article, there are so many tools to help you; voicing each key you type and reciting back what you've written on screen. There are barely any tools to help with drawing, aside from lighting, but I struggle on because I find it satisfying and fulfilling to complete something that is an obstacle for me.
I'm quite disappointed, I have to admit. I spend a month at a time working on my illustrations - from planning how I want it to look, to choosing the colour scheme - and then spend 20 minutes at a time, for an hour a day, in the knowledge that it will be completed by the end of the month to then e-mail off to the team.
My illustration has taken up only a quarter of the page, with an advertisement of a Brailler filling half. I didn't notice my illustration at first when I was scrolling through the PDF version for the first few times (must be something wrong with my eyes!) so I increased my computer's magnification. When I finally found my illustration, I suddenly felt deflated and like my whole month's effort was for nothing. I also felt like a hinderance to their advertisement.
The young columnist doesn't get any ads on her page, so I'm not sure why I do - though the last issue's ad wasn't as noticeable as this one. It's so difficult to illustrate as a severely visually impaired person, as I can't see my illustrations in their entirety, having only 10% vision in one eye. Whereas if you were to write an article, there are so many tools to help you; voicing each key you type and reciting back what you've written on screen. There are barely any tools to help with drawing, aside from lighting, but I struggle on because I find it satisfying and fulfilling to complete something that is an obstacle for me.
I'm not the best person at Photoshop but I managed to come up with an alternative version without an ad to obstruct the page.
I'm heartbroken and know my mum will feel the same way when she sees the final result, as she knows how much time and effort I put into my drawings. I'm thinking of sending her this version and pretending it's the real thing, to avoid witnessing her disappointment too.
I hope that the Insight magazine team will take my feedback on board, and hopefully give me a bit more space in the next issue to present my illustrations properly.