Fernanda once told me how she made a handout for her students. It was a list entitled “10 College Rules to Help You Never Become a Successful Illustrator”, and she felt it helped get her students back on schedule. I later asked for a copy so I can post it…

10 College Rules to Help You Never Become a Successful Illustrator

1. Skip as many classes as you can get away with.

2. Don’t make an effort to submit assignments and catch up with your homework when you skip a class.

3. Always be late to class.

4. Recycle assignments from other classes so you don’t do as much work.

5. Don’t ever do more than you’re asked to for your assignments.

6. Don’t participate in class so you don’t learn how to articulate your thoughts while you’re still developing your skills.

7. Get sick so often and for so long that you can’t even draw for school.

8. Don’t take advantage of the opportunities given by both your school and professors while you’re still a student.

9. Spend as much time as possible hanging out, drinking, smoking, watching TV and sleeping while you’re still in school.

10. Don’t realize you’re graduating and entering the real world until you’re a senior.

From personal experience and the observation of others, I could add some more:

- Excuses in general. It seems like one excuse is equal to one point toward reaching the goal of not reaching the goal. One example is not having the tools or facilities. Just wait until the perfect setup and situation comes along, especially since perfect scenarios are rare. Another example is saying I have a life with other things going on in it, assuming other people don’t have things going on in theirs.

- Talking about something more than doing it. It’s almost as if intentions are actualized enough in the mind that the rest of the person doesn’t need to follow through with it. This is good, because it saves more time toward becoming unsuccessful.

Fernanda continues in her handout saying that “otherwise, in order to help the odds of becoming a successful freelance illustrator, you should be reliable, consistent, passionate, persistent, dedicated, driven, grateful, considerate, flexible, and talented.”

Can anyone else attest/relate to these, and have stories to share? And feel free to copy the list, as long as Fernanda Cohen is credited. Thanks!

-Manolo M.

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