So already 2 weeks have passed in the "Make Art That Sells" E-course. I have been very busy since the first day and haven't had much down time at all, but I do feel extremely motivated and excited about everything I have been working on so far. I haven't regretted the course investment for a single moment!
On top of the assignments we have each week, it's been filled to the brim with advice and information about getting work, the different industries, trends, being a full-time freelancer, working with agents, and interviews with illustrators who do this kind of stuff for a living. Which makes me extra excited and motivated because I most definitely want that to be my living. I can't even describe how refreshing and comforting it is to hear about other designers and illustrators who make a living doing exactly what I kind of do/want to keep doing. I think that in my head there has been this unrealistic image of what it's like to be successful, or even that maybe it wasn't possible to be successful staying in this career path. Now I'm seeing that it all actually can be real, and that ups and downs and unsteady income are all part of it (two major things that discourage me the most). So to summarize my thoughts so far, each day that I wake up and work on things for this E-course, I'm like "adlfka;dlfkjad;lkhad;glkajdf;lkadfj;k CAN I DO THIS FOREVER PLEASE?!".
There have been many times where I procrastinated my "real" work to do these illustration assignments. The first week was for the "Paper Industry", and our assignment was to create a holiday card with a gingerbread theme. I was particularly happy because paper is what I do, but also felt pretty excited to focus on actual illustrations, rather than just lettering. I'm pretty much intimidated by all illustration and don't have a lot of confidence in it because my formal background is in design, not drawing stuff in my handdrawn style. But I am surprising myself. I can see my style in everything I draw now, so I try to embrace it as I challenge myself with these new assignments.
So the week started with a "mini" where we start sketches and drawings to warm up. Then later in the week we get the main assignment with all the specs and details. It builds upon whatever we worked on in the mini. 
It took a lot of work to draw the details and then color everything in Illustrator, but I'm quite pleased with how they turned out! They involve much more detail than I thought I'd be capable of! I turned in the wonky three-story house, but worked on two during the week simultaneously.
The second week's theme was for Baby and Children's Industry, mainly clothing. That industry is definitely out of my comfort zone and I didn't even know much about it. After just turning in my assignment an hour ago, I think there is still a lot I have to learn about, but I enjoyed it a lot. There's an emphasis on drawing sweet, charming things, and that's fun for me. I decided to incorporate birds into the theme, because I've always wanted to draw them but have been intimidated. I'm actually intimidated to draw anything with a face. It's probably mostly all in my head though and I think I just need to give myself a chance, like with these birds. Because they were ridiculously fun to draw, especially with eye patches and pirate hats. I was totally entertained looking at them all week, and figured at the least I got a kick out of it.
I also learned how to do "repeats" for this assignment (seen in the three boxes along the bottom). Those are shown as ideas for coordinates for how the design can be used on different fabrics or clothing items. I actually want all of these for myself, perhaps as bedsheets or even a shower curtain.