FREE WORKSHEET

Find Your Creative North Star: The Brand Clarity Exercise for Illustrators Ready to Get Hired

The 3-word exercise that gives late-bloomer creatives instant brand clarity, so you know exactly which clients to pursue, which projects to say yes to, and which portfolio pieces to keep to get you booked.

In the worksheet:

Discover the 3 words that make every creative decision easier, portfolio edits, project choices, client pitches — all filtered through your North Star
Finally describe your work in a way that makes art directors stop scrolling, not "colorful and detailed" but words that actually mean something
Find the emotional core of your creative brand in under 10 minutes, the same exercise Valerie used with branding clients for 26 years

Walk away knowing exactly which portfolio pieces to keep and which ones to cut, with zero second-guessing
Get the clarity that took Valerie from invisible to fully booked, in a simple, guided 10-minute exercise

What they are saying

Your worksheet was the first I've actually finished in years.

— Natalia Díaz Jiménez

Artist

This gave me motivation and peace. I was feeling aimless.

— Malu Mirones

Illustrator

As a former Creative Director — this is spot on.

— Lisa

Art director and illustrator

Hey there! I'm Valerie...

and I help late-bloomer creatives over 40 build their brand foundation and client outreach system so they can book illustration work and leave their day job without wasting another year on courses that don't teach them how to get hired or manage a business.

I'm a fully booked children's book illustrator, 3 years in. But before that? I spent 26 years as a graphic designer and art director, helping clients build brands from scratch.

But it hasn't always been this way…

At 44, I decided I wasn't going to spend the rest of my career wishing I'd become an illustrator. So I took the courses, learned Procreate, and started posting on Instagram. After a full year? I had beautiful work, but zero clients. I was basically invisible.

Everything changed when I turned my 25 years of branding expertise on myself. I found my 3 North Star words (warm, mischievous, accessible), cut my portfolio from 62 pieces to 15, and built a real outreach system.

Within months, illustration inquiries started coming. Then a magazine gig. Then a book deal. Then another. Now I'm planning to go fully freelance, coming off my biggest month ever at $11K+ in revenue.

The best part? I did this at 44, not 24, from a small coastal town in Eastern Canada, with no viral moment and no audience handed to me.

I created this worksheet because I know it works. I made every single branding client do this exercise. And now it's yours.

See you inside!

Valerie