How do I deal with profesional frustration?
I have just received information that the book project for which I signed a contract in 2022 will be scheduled for publication at the end of 2025...
Prolonged projects are a popular source of frustration.
Prolonged projects are a popular source of frustration.
When accepting an order, I assess the time and resources needed to complete a given task, adjust the quote to these factors, and then... well.
Then unexpected things happen, often beyond my control. It happens that the client prolongs the decision-making process, requires further corrections, changes his mind or the project simply ceases to be a priority for him.
This happens often in the book world - a project has many components and the production process pushes the reward far beyond the horizon. You are waiting for the moment when you will pick up a book smelling of printing ink and touch the page with your illustration, but it does not come - sometimes even for more than a year (or two...)!
Murals come to my rescue.
Working for a "more commercial" client, in a larger team, most often on one or at most several walls at a time, is much more dynamic. Additionally, the ability to manually achieve the final effect in person is extremely satisfying. It gives you a sense of agency, strength, competence - it gives you self-confidence that is taken away by working alone within four walls, often in front of the screen of a soulless tablet. Without self-confidence, it is very difficult to create.
Satisfaction comes immediately when you compare the effect: before and after. Check this out!
Then unexpected things happen, often beyond my control. It happens that the client prolongs the decision-making process, requires further corrections, changes his mind or the project simply ceases to be a priority for him.
This happens often in the book world - a project has many components and the production process pushes the reward far beyond the horizon. You are waiting for the moment when you will pick up a book smelling of printing ink and touch the page with your illustration, but it does not come - sometimes even for more than a year (or two...)!
Murals come to my rescue.
Working for a "more commercial" client, in a larger team, most often on one or at most several walls at a time, is much more dynamic. Additionally, the ability to manually achieve the final effect in person is extremely satisfying. It gives you a sense of agency, strength, competence - it gives you self-confidence that is taken away by working alone within four walls, often in front of the screen of a soulless tablet. Without self-confidence, it is very difficult to create.
Satisfaction comes immediately when you compare the effect: before and after. Check this out!
