Chapter Ten Breaking the Rules All artistic disciplines are related. The process of making a work in the discipline of dance, music, literature, theater, or the visual arts is organic. It is an ever-changing state of movement and evolution. During the process, ideas not directly related to the current work will surface and can encourage a different line of thought or reason --a by-product of the initial idea, which can become the genesis of a new idea or direction for the artist to pursue. Artists with the foresight to recognize the value in the by-product generated by the initial idea will always have an edge in developing new work. These by-products are generated by accident, but the process of developing new work can also be engineered by the illustrator. This is the process we will explore in this chapter. Illustration today necessitates that the artist not only be prolific but versatile. As an illustrator you may be called upon to create a mural or a textile pattern, design a book cover, webpage or site, storyboard a movie, or create an animation. Developing a strong, unique style will highlight and set your work apart from others. The upside is that this will guarantee you attention and exposure. The downside is that the style will eventually become dated and you will have become over-exposed or too well known as a practitioner of that one style. As illustrators we are entertainers; we entertain the eye of the viewer and keep them engaged in the work. So, we need to come up with new tricks or styles that reinvent our vision and ideas to establish a new body of work. The ability to reinvent a style is an advantage that will prove invaluable during the course of your career. Knowledge is power. Opposite: Tobie Giddio embraces the idea that pushing the envelope is far more interesting than floating in one's comfort zone; one glance at her work is confirmation of that. Her ability to balance a graphic abstraction with an organic and Zen-like sensibility, as in this screenprint, Beings, creates work that is timeless and intriguing, with a beauty that leaves the viewer spellbound.