If you want to be an Illustrator, Designer, or any kind of artist really it takes a lot of self-motivation. It isn’t like when someone majors in Accounting and then becomes and Accountant. Although, in school you both learn what you need to… one can tell you the present value of your assets and the other draws adorable corgis. However, the Illustrator graduates into a scary world. They need to find publishers, art directors, editors, really anyone who can possibly get them one freelance opportunity so they can start to make a living while the Accountant just finished their internship PwC and was promised a fulltime job afterwards.
Does this sound like I’m bitter that I didn’t become an Accountant? It probably does and it is a true fact that I have a business minor and considered double majoring in accounting… but not I’m not bitter. I get to draw peoples’ portraits, dogs, whathaveyou and I am much happier because of that.
Today I spent my day researching and even went out to my local Barnes & Noble to find some places to contact. One of the most depressing things I found is that most magazines only include photos. I finally stumbled upon some sort of cooking magazine which had one illustration of a cake but… no authors, publishers… nothing. It was the most random magazine on the planet and if I can find anymore information about it I would be surprised. My search didn’t turn out empty handed though, I found two pages worth of editors, publishers, and all that jazz. This is my first step into attempting to be an Illustrator… and it is not very easy. I think if you find yourself a successful Illustrator you should give them $5 or maybe a pat on the back, whatever suits you. It is an incredible amount of self promotion (not to mention AS IF I HAVEN’T ALREADY finding the places to apply to), improving your portfolio, and being an all-around pleasant person.
The way I am looking at my life as it is right now is that my art and me as a person are one. If I can bring up that I am an Illustrator/Designer in a new conversation I have achieved my goal. I try to pop in my business card too, which most people seem to enjoy. It’s kind of strange but I enjoy it. I love getting to know new people and love when they take a glance at my work.
To continue my tangent, when you are an Artist (commercial especially) you are a walking bilboard of yourself. You need to represent yourself in the highest quality possible so you can show your potential clients what you can do for them. It’s quite a challenge but figuring it out is pretty interesting. Even if you’re not an artist you should always represent yourself well, you never know who is looking.
Did you learn anything from this post? Maybe, maybe not.
-Jessica
Categories
Submit a Comment