Lacey King
Art major Lacey King sent an email pitch asking to illustrate an author's new book and won the job. Now she's a published illustrator before even finishing her first year at Augustana.
She illustrated "Solitary — Without the Confinement: A Rider's Life-Changing Experience During the 2013 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge" by Steve Briscoe, which was released in late January. This book is an autobiography of the successes and challenges of the author Steve Briscoe as he tackled the Hoka Hey.
This unexpected opportunity came to King through a newsletter circulated through the graphic design department at Augustana.
"I sent some drawings to Steve and a letter explaining my experience and whatnot. It was kind of like a résumé. I was not only the first to send him an email, I also just happened to have a style of art he liked — so I got hired after we had a meeting at Cool Beanz," King explained.
King was faced with two challenges during this project. The first was the time constraint, since she had one month to finish her illustrations. She completed all of the illustrations digitally using a drawing tablet, which she considers more difficult than drawing on paper. She described that adding all of the details can be a significant undertaking.
Two of Lacey King's illustrations for "Solitary — Without the Confinement: A Rider's Life-Changing Experience During the 2013 Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge."
"It's less forgiving and it can become such massive project because of all of the tiny details still need to be added for the integrity of the piece," she said. "I have to say I've improved greatly from these illustrations just by studying on my own and practicing so much."
Her second challenge was "trying to get the illustrations to match the images I had in my head as I read through the chapters," she said. "Steve and I had some back and forth with ideas and critiques, but in the end everything fell into place and he loved it.
"I enjoy meeting these amazing authors and helping them acquire the images they want in their wonderful stories," King said. "I can say that it's a wonderful way to spend time and attempt new things based on the author's ideas. I hope that my art will not only help them sell their books, but that their books will help me become a better artist."
King doesn't yet know what she wants to do after she graduates, but she hopes to be able to continue illustrating books while she's still in college.
Wikipedia: "The Hoka Hey is an endurance challenge. Entry is limited to riders of American-made v-twin style motorcycles. It is named after a rallying call of the Sioux Indians and is designed to test the participants' physical, mental and emotional boundaries.
"The inaugural 2010 challenge took participants along a mandatory route on back roads across the United States and Canada. The route scrossed numerous mountain ranges, 33 Indian reservations, 25 national forests, eight deserts and six national parks. Challenge routes travel secondary roads with directions revealed at a series of specific checkpoints. The event guidelines prohibit speeding and require contenders to sleep outside throughout the entire course."