This is 7! I can’t believe it! If you have followed me for a while, you know I don't believe in the “starving artist”. I believe being your own boss is the NOW and the future of the industry.

7 years being a full time artist and entrepreneur has taught me so much more than I could have imagined. I am sharing 7 lessons I learned in the past 7 years that helped me tremendously. Hope you will find they are useful for your own adventure! 👍🏼

1. Always believe in yourself

2. Always be learning

3. Focus on what you're good at, hire out your weakness

4. Be patient! It's a journey not a sprint.

5. Put yourself out there! 

6. Find your community, and show your love!

7. You are not Doug the Pug, not everyone will like you. Its okay, keep being you! 

This is YOUR year to do something amazing and follow your dreams! With the world opening back up, you're gonna want to keep track of it all! Snag a "This is My Year" Undated Planner and Sticker bundle to keep track of your goals and add some fun to your day to day planning! 🌟

The "This is My Year" Planner is essential for me planning out everything I need to run my business, and the stickers make it extra enjoyable. Grab yours today while supplies last. Click HERE. 

Reminder: Keep going, my friend! Believe in yourself! You can do whatever you set your mind to! 😘  

Find me at - 

Website // Shop // Instagram // Facebook

Do you want to learn how to draw fashion illustration? Do you want to have a thriving art business? Do you want to learn how to produce your own products? Do you want to learn about working with Chanel or getting your art into Target?

Rongrong’s Fashion Illustration 101 Course is the ONLY course you need at any level! It will cover not just art skills but business skills!

Get more information and sign up for Fashion Illustration 101 HERE!

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Today let’s hear from another alumni of Rongrong’s Fashion Illustration 101 course, Allison Fab!

Allison is a Confidence Coach for Entrepreneurs and a creator who took Rongrong’s course last year! She works with entrepreneurs helping them become more confident and comfortable being themselves, and also sells her art that focuses on the people she works with!

One thing that really drew Allison to Rongrong’s art was the representation presented in it. Representation is often times lacking in commercial art so it really caught her eye. Taking a page out of Rongrong’s book, Allison talks on how she would like to create more art that represents the people she likes to work with, specifically celebrating women in their 40s and 50s. Finding an untapped part of the market and something you are passionate about can be a huge key to your business!

Allison goes on to recount how she grew up loving art and drawing, but also is fascinated by business which really sold her on the fashion illustration course. It really gives you the best of both worlds.

A course for anyone?

While Allison feels that she was an intermediate in drawing, she was a beginner in drawing people. Rongrong makes the lessons so simple and approachable so that any art level could handle it. It is broken down to the point that nothing feels overwhelming. Even after developing her personal art style she still goes back to the videos as a fundamentals refresher.

Best part of the course?

There is a lesson at the end that walks the student through the process of taking a piece of art and turning it to a product. After sharing this with her son, Allison and him were able to take one of his own art pieces and turn it into a sweatshirt.

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Rongrong’s Advice for New Artists

Keep posting you art! Big companies like target, and happy planner often have specific people scouting the internet for new talent to work with. The more you are able to put your work out there and grow a following, the more chance you have at awesome opportunities! All the knowledge I have that helped me grow my business is in this course - no secrets!

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Notes from Allison if you’re hesitating:

• this is an easy investment

• she saw growth within her first month

• you just need to sell a few custom pieces to make your investment back!

Sign Up for the Fashion Illustration 101 course today and start making your dreams a reality!

The Fashion Illustration 101 Course is LIVE! If you have ever wanted to invest in your art - now is the perfect chance!

Sign Up HERE

In the video below, Rongrong chats with former Fashion Illustration 101 student, Sandra Lucia aka FearlessYaya. Sandra shares her artist journey and reminds us that sometimes our mindset is our biggest enemy.

A little bit about Sandra: Sandra Lucia used to be an art director at Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce site. It was a high pressure job that always had her working long hours. Last year she took Rongrong’s fashion illustration 101 course. Taking what she learned in the course she started to build HER OWN ART EMPIRE! Today, she is making more income as an independent artist than she did at her old job as an art director for Amazon!

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Sandra is a lifestyle illustrator that serves specifically first generation Latinas like herself. Sandra tells Rongrong:

“Your course completely changed the way I look at illustration.”

In this chat, Sandra talks about how she was holding herself back with the myth that there is no money in illustration. Before this course, she was drawing as a form of meditation and escapism from her busy life. The Fashion Illustration 101 course taught her that being an artist is not just drawing, it is so much more! It truly is a course for any level of illustration skill because Rongrong is a mentor that walks you through every level of the course.

The most beneficial section of this course, according to Sandra is the sketch to product video where Rongrong takes you through the entire process from initial idea to full fledged product! Other great sections include where Rongrong tells the students where she manufacturers her notepads and other products. That knowledge is worth the price of the course alone!

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Advice for artists from Rongrong and Sandra:

• You need to draw what is relatable! Infusing emotion into your art and illustrations gains fans & buyers more than just pretty ballgowns do.

• Drawing real people that represent you and the diversity around you is the best use of your talents!

• Investing in your passions is the best thing you can do.

• If you don’t take the 1st step, opportunity can disappear.

Start following artists online that have done what you want to do! Sometimes you need to see what someone else has done to help you push yourself towards your dreams! It is so important to have mentors and people in your life that are supportive! You can’t build an art business alone!

For any dream, you need to:

1. Make a decision to do it

2. Find a mentor that has accomplished what you desire

3. Take all the knowledge they can give and put it into action

Invest in this course to save 7 years of trial and error that Rongrong went through herself! Choose to invest in education as it is the only thing that no one can take away from you.

Reminder: Dreams are valid at any age! If you are older it just means you have more life experience to take inspiration from for your art! You may have a different target audience than a teenager but that is okay!

All in all, we as a society need to break the mindset around the starving artist. Take the course to get all the tips and motivation to make it rain!

Sign Up for the Fashion Illustration 101 course today and start making your dreams a reality!

If you have any question about the course or either of our businesses don’t be afraid to message us! Also sign up for both email subscriptions for all the freebies and inspiration you could need!

Find Sandra at:

• Website

• Instagram

• Facebook

• Etsy

• Pinterest

Find Rongrong at:

• Website / Shop

• Instagram

• Facebook

• Pinterest

• Youtube

• Etsy