Thursday, February 19, 2009
What I do at work all day
I realized I haven't really said anything about my new (now 6 month old) job on the blog. So here's a rundown: I'm the art director for Farm Journal Magazine. We have a circulation of around 450,000, which seems like a lot to me. This is my first job in magazine, though, so I don't really know the circ numbers for anything else.
I take the stories given to me by the managing editor, then I look for photos, or adjust the photos provided, layout the page, and send it back to Katie, the managing editor. We publish around 13 magazines a year, and I probably layout around 30 pages for each issue.
I LOVE layout design. I find logo design so very very hard, but I could sit an tinker with layout for days on end and be happy. So the job suits me pretty well. The long hours this winter almost killed me, but I've been told numerous times that the summer is much much more laid back. I think I'll believe that when I see it.
The scariest part of the job is that I'm the last one to see a story before it goes out the door, and I never feel like I'm enough of a perfectionist to be doing that. It's a real struggle to be that anal retentive for me. But I try!
This is something I'm particularly proud of--I actually drew and watercolored this illustration. We didn't have any visuals for the story about a researcher making a discovery in the sour milk from his fridge, so I drew it! And you know I'm not really a very good illustrator, but I just went for it, and I love the way it turned out.
You can even see my name on the credit! My married name. Still not used to it.
Read or Post a Comment
Okay, Beth- *that* is AWESOME. I really like the illustration! And, a credit... how very cool! Doing something you love- priceless!
Tisra
PUBLISHED! Congratulations, and chut up Mrs. Snyder! you are a good illustrator!
I!! love!! exclamation!! marks!!
Congrats, that's great!
congrats on the job and the illustration. it must be nice to enjoy what you do.
what was the discovery in the sour milk? I have to know!
"So Beth, what do you do?" "I'm a magazine illustrator." Cha! How cool is that?? Congratulations!
That is so cool! I love seeing it in your sketchbook and in the magazine. They should give you a raise!
This is A-W-E-S-O-M-E! I'm so proud of you! I've always loved the way you depict farm land. From a fellow farm gal, I can say it feels so organic and real. All that being said, don't ever question your abilities. You have so much talent, so go out there and show the world what you've got!
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