My adventure with CollegeHumor.com

 Over a month ago I applied for an in-house assistant illustrator position in New York City that opened up at CollegeHumor.com. I'm very familiar with their work and I was really excited to get a chance at a position like that. I spent hours carefully writing up a cover letter and selecting pieces for my portfolio and then I submitted. Weeks went by and I had pretty much forgotten about the job entirely when I received an email from someone at the company congratulating me on being selected to do an art test as the next step in the application. I was caught way off guard but I was extremely excited about it! However it was going to be a little tricky because I was already in the middle of some freelance work, on top of being away from home for a week, and when I got back home the art test was due the next day.

I had a lot of work ahead of me but I really wanted the position so I dove in head first and started generating ideas for the 3 pieces they wanted to see. I decided I would get all of my ideas fleshed out in their entirety and then complete all of the finals when I got home where I could really focus in my studio. I pulled an all-nighter and finished the pieces within a couple hours of the due date and I was feeling pretty satisfied. I waited for almost 3 weeks after that to hear any response.

Yesterday was the day I heard back from them. I was disappointed to see I didn't get the job and they explained that while they valued my work and complimented me on it, they decided to go with someone else. I was confused and disappointed at first because the message sounded like they really liked what I showed them. I was pretty bummed on not getting the position and I replied with a thank you message, and I got the idea to offer my skills as a freelancer. I got a very pleasing reply back excited telling me I would be added to their list of freelancers.

This was a pretty crazy experience and it drove me crazy to have to wait so long to hear something back from them. While disappointed in not getting the position I was really happy to hear I'll be on their list of freelancers. I'm marking this one down as a win. May not have been the win I was looking for, but still a win. As a freelancer I've been let down a lot, and it's going to keep happening throughout my entire career. But if you keep pushing through the failures and always keep your eyes peeled for opportunities you'll eventually be rewarded with success.

Below are the 3 pieces I did for the CollegeHumor art test and the description for each one...you can find the initial portfolio at this link but I'll probably be taking it down at some point in the future. Enjoy!

 1. Draw two characters at a bar enjoying a drink together. They can be any two characters, familiar or original, in any bar you want.

 2. Re-envision one of your favorite websites as a breakfast cereal (i.e. CollegeHumor Crunch) Use a mixture of Photoshop and drawing to render your project. Don’t forget to include a mascot!

3. Create a fun, infographic map of your room / apartment / house. Use labels and a key! (P.S. this is not even slightly accurate to my actual room)