In Retrospect, I should have probably noticed this sooner.

I went to a portfolio review the other weekend and came away with three things:
1) Showing a portfolio is not about the things you have in the portfolio. Yes, this may seem counterintuitive, I know, but someone meeting you and looking over your portfolio is more interested in seeing how you think about things and tackle a problem than about the work you've done. It's important that they see your skills, but it's more important they can see you know how to think about design.
2) Different designers have different opinions. Sometimes, one will point to something they like, and another will hate the exact thing the other one liked.
3) Combining my illustration with my design is actually a strength — like the Literacy ad campaign or the little rotoscoped printer, my illustration in design is a strength, and all the designers I talked to liked these things — moreover, they were amused, and to stimulate an emotional response! that's the most exciting thing for any artist or designer. I should have realised it earlier, but I haven't even been adding my illustration to my design until the last couple months. Maybe I thought they were different things? At any rate, it's a good thing to have realised, because I can play to these strengths.

So, yes. Pen and Ink. Love the super black ink. I know I do. I have a whole pint.