How Embarrassing... (Measure Twice, Cut Once)

I am embarrassed. I am almost shying away from even sharing this with you in the first place. But, if it is an opportunity for someone else to learn from so they don't have to make the same mistake... so be it!

Without further ado, I shall now tell you what has embarrassed me so (If you wouldn't find this embarrassing, please attempt some empathy! >.<).

The other day, I was stuck. I didn't know what to illustrate and I really wanted to draw something that was exciting to me and hopefully, to others! I love the movie, Spirited Away by Studio Ghibli and I thought,

"Hm, why don't I draw Chihiro and Haku... but, grown up! Wait. I'll put them in one of my favorite Ghibli scenes...".

So, out of my head and my hand came Chihiro and Haku as Sophie and Howl from Howl's Moving Castle. You know, the ending scene where they're on the "castle's" balcony. A fun crossover!

So, all excited with this idea, I sketched it out by hand, got it into the computer, and colored it. I ended up taking out the Haku / Howl character and showing the before and after of the lovely lady's transformation. But, I didn't fully crop out Haku /Howl, figuring it was understood it was a side-by-side comparison and a sort of "incomplete" piece. I ended up really liking the juxtaposition of the different versions of the drawing, so I left it as is, random man feet and all. Thinking I was done, I scheduled it out to all of my social channels and gave myself a mental pat on the back for doing something so fun and colorful.

When my husband got home he of course got to see it. But, when he looked at it, he seemed a little uncertain and said something like this: "Why are there random feet in there? Don't you think that could potentially be seen as... a little inappropriate?"

So, I take a look back at my illustration and I think about the drawing. And I see his point. And we both start laughing really hard, because really, he had a point. It was pretty funny. But, a lot of why I was laughing was because I was so embarrassed for not thinking of it first, usually being so careful with my work. After all, it looked like there was a Haku / Howl character hiding in Chihiro / Sophie's skirt. UGH.

Here's the Instagram example of how I fixed things:

My Embarrassing Illustration Mistake: @ArtofChelleElle

(Yes, there were other edits such as better outlining, but those feet really stood out...)

I KNOW it's not the biggest deal in the world, but my training and work experience in PR, crisis / reputation management, and the world of social media has made me extra cautious about the messages I send. Here's the thing: everything you post is up for interpretation. Whether or not you mean something a certain way is subject to the thoughts and opinions of the collective "internet", which is sometimes unforgiving. And that is something to consider.

Depending upon the style of writing you're doing, you're told one thing or another to assume about the audience reading your work. However, making assumptions can be dangerous and it's oftentimes best to make sure the message you are sending is straightforward (and of course, relevant) and that there is plenty of context.

For me, this situation was pretty embarrassing, especially since I hope to get my illustrations into children's books. I want to have as squeaky-clean a reputation as possible and a silly slip up could change a lot for me. Or, for anyone.

This experience has taught me even more the importance of having someone look over your things and vet them. Hey, we may hear something a million times, but forget it every so often... but, it is so important to have a community around you, both for emotional support as well as for professional help! Whether you're a writer getting published, a student sending in your thesis, or a scientist submitting your greatest analysis ever... have someone check behind you. Two pairs of eyes on something can mean a world of difference! What's that saying... 'Measure twice, cut once'? Thank you to my husband for being my second pair of eyes. :)

So, as someone with PR and reputation management experience, take my embarrassing moment and my advice as a learning experience for yourself. And don't post that potentially-incriminating picture like I'm doing for educational purposes. >.<

Hope this gave you a good laugh! :)