I read the introduction to a very important Illustration book not long ago that basically outlined the necessity for an illustrator to come up with an aesthetic.
The author of this book spent a lot more time writing and thinking this over than I could imagine. But really, all my mind would absorb from it was what my brain wanted to hear:
No one can come up with that aesthetic without the personal project.
I design websites by day, so when I get home, all that validating of code keeps me from making too much out of my artists' statement. I'm really "graphic novel/comic book" in style.
