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APR I L 20 20
whimsy T HE I LLUST R ATOR’S MANUAL
letter from the editor This magazine is a compilation of all the advice I wish I had received during my starting years as an illustrator. As an undergrad who focused mostly on design and ceramics, I was constantly struggling to find time to work on developing my art style and more illustrative work since I was
reader’s comments
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Alyssa, North Hollywood, CA
Winston, Des Moines, WA
Tori, thanks so much for putting this magazine together! I’m also an art student but my school focuses more on fine art than illustration. I’m looking forward to all of the tips and advice included in this issue!
Words cannot describe how grateful I am that a magazine like this exists. I wish I had known about it earlier! I’ve long been out of school but this magazine has helped me realize I could follow my dreams of being an artist even at the age I am now. Thank you!
so busy and there weren’t a lot of illustration-specific classes at my school. I hope this magazine gives you the support you need to become an illustrator regardless of your background, age, or skill level. And please remember the most important thing of all: to have fun!
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The Insider’s Guide To Becoming A Professional Illustrator
p. 6-11
Eight tips from seasoned illustrator Anna Goodson on how to get your freelance career going. Featured Artist: An interview with Sha’an d’Anthes p. 12-19
Five Thoughts On Finding Your Own Illustration Style
p. 22-24
Advice from artist Anya Kuvarzina on how to navigate your style as an illustrator while maintaining balance in your life.
Leigh Ellexson
p. 28-29
A look at Cincinnati-based illustrator and YouTuber Leigh Ellexson’s refreshingly loose and colorful work.
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1 getting started The Insider’s Guide To Becoming A Professional Illustrator
p. 6-11
Eight tips from seasoned illustrator Anna Goodson on how to get your freelance career going.
GETTING STARTED
The Insider’s Guide To Becoming A Professional Illustrator ANNA GOODSON
Planning to leave your job and become a full-time, professional illustrator but feeling a little scared? Believe me; I can empathise. I’ve spent more than 23 years working as the owner of global illustration agency, Anna Goodson Illustration & Motion. And so I know just how intimidating it can feel when you first launch your freelance career. In this article, I’m going to share some of the benefits of my experience, and offer some insider tips to help you do it successfully.
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1. Plan your escape If you had unlimited private funds, then you could ditch your day job and start freelancing immediately. But for most of us, that’s not the case. So if you’re going to keep paying the rent and put food on the table, you have to plan your transition to full-time illustrator pretty carefully. It’s hard to appreciate the value of a reliable income until it suddenly disappears. But that’s what will happen, so it’s important to have some savings to see you through to your first commissions. Also bear in mind that, even when you get that work, the amount of time it takes to get paid can be a shock. You’ll often have to wait months after delivering your work to get a payment, and disorganised company bureaucracy sometimes holds things up even beyond that. For these reasons, the best and safest way to transition from a day job to full-time freelance is... slowly. Stick with your day job for the time being, and start freelancing during evenings, weekends and holidays. Build up a regular base of clients, and get a feel for how long it will take to get paid in practice. Do this for a few months, and you’ll be in a much better position to plan your first year of going it alone.
ANNA GOODSON
That’s going to mean a lot of extra work in the short term, and you’ll have to make sacrifices to essentially do two jobs at once. That seven-season Netflix drama everyone’s talking about is going to have to wait. But on the plus side, if you’ve got the passion and commitment to see these months of doubleworking through, it’s a good sign that your move into freelance is ultimately going to be a successful one.
lot of money over time. If you’re an organised person, you may be able to set up your personalised system of spreadsheets to management. But for most people, some decent accounting software is usually a wise investment.
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2. Organise your finances Planning is not just about getting a steady flow of work; it’s also about getting your finances organised. By going freelance, you’re essentially setting up a business, so you need to make sure you’ve got a good handle on your money management before you leap. The first thing to do is to set up a dedicated business bank account that’s separate from your bank account. This will help you keep track of your expenses, which will make completing your accounts a lot easier. Once you’re up and running as a full-time freelancer, you’ll find that keeping track of invoices and late payments can also be a big challenge, potentially disrupting your cash flow and losing you a
3. Create a great portfolio To put it bluntly, no one is going to hire you if they don’t know who you are, or what your style looks like. So the very first thing you need as a freelance illustrator is a killer portfolio, featuring your very best work. Importantly, though, make sure this only includes the kind of work you want to do more of. For example, there’s no point in including amazing work in oils if you’re eager to move into using 3D software. At the start of your career, creating this portfolio can be a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem: you haven’t done enough work to fill a portfolio, and you can’t get more work because you don’t have a great portfolio. If that’s the case, then the answer starts creating your side projects. After all, potential clients are ultimately more interested in your illustration style than who you’ve been commissioned by.
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GETTING STARTED
4. Start promoting yourself Of course, simply creating a portfolio is not enough: you need to get people to look at it. And the key to that in 2019 is promoting yourself via social media. It’s good practice to work on your online presence a little every day. Right now, Instagram is going to be your main port of call, although do keep an eye on emerging social networks like Dayflash to see if you can find a niche there too. Be consistent and post illustration work only: if you want to post selfies, holiday snaps and shots of your dinner, it’s best to have a separate account for friends and family. The work you post on your dedicated illustration account, though, doesn’t have to be all finished, polished pieces. Often, initial sketches and work-inprogress can be a great way to get people engaged in your process online. Finally, an often overlooked way of getting people to check out your work is to enter competitions. I highly recommend you enter as many free ones as you can because being able to describe yourself as a winner is an excellent promotional tool and a great way to build confidence in your abilities, both in clients and yourself.
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a little bit about the individual or company, and why they might be interested in your work. In contrast, a paragraph that’s blindly copy-and-pasted to dozens of random people is going to be instantly ignored. Finally, start getting out of the house and meeting people directly. Go to exhibitions, shows, conferences and other events where creative people hang out. Start introducing yourself, making connections and building up a network. The more people you know in the business, the more likely you are to start finding work.
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5. Hustle! While having a website and social media presence is a must these days, that probably won’t get you work by itself. You’ll also need to grasp the nettle and contact potential clients directly. You need, in short, to hustle. So once you’ve settled on your illustration style and the type of markets you want to target, it’s time to start putting together a contact list of art directors, editors, designers, and anyone else who might be able to get you work or at least push you in the right direction. Emails are easy to send, but also easy for people to ignore, so also consider sending out printed mailers, which are much more likely to get a reaction. Either way, do your research and make sure your message is addressed to the right person. Be sure to personalise your message, to show that you know
6. Keep things fresh Whether or not you find these methods successful in winning you work, the most important thing is to keep people interested. So update your website with new artwork as often as you can, and use that to drive people to look at it again. Post regularly to social media, and mix things up as much as possible to keep followers interested. Follow up mailouts and emails with phone calls. Keep in regular touch with everyone you’ve exchanged business cards with, and keep those conversations going. Don’t harass people, but do show you’re keen and enthusiastic.
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7. Expect rejection There’s not an illustrator alive who hasn’t experienced rejection, and unfortunately, you’re unlikely to be any different. So you need to get used to being ignored and rebuffed: it simply goes with the territory. Creative people can be sensitive about criticism, real or inferred, but in this competitive business, it’s important not to let it get to you. Instead, expect rejection, get used to it, ask for feedback where appropriate, and keep persevering until you get the breaks you need.
8. Get an agent All the self-promotion techniques we’ve discussed in this article aren’t just useful for getting work directly. You can also potentially use them to get an agent to represent you, saving you all the hassle of self-promotion, chasing payments, dealing with legal issues, and more besides. At Anna Goodson Illustration & Motion, we’re established and know the industry inside-out. We’ve got the contacts, and we’ve got great relationships with them. We’ve built a reputation for being one of the best in
ANNA GOODSON
the business, so people come to us when they’re looking for illustrators or animators. What’s more, we are a free service to our clients and only work on commission, so you have nothing to pay upfront. Want to know more? I’m always approached by illustrators looking to be represented, and so my main tip here is to keep your email short and sweet. Agents don’t want to read a detailed life story: they just want to get what you’re about in around 10-20 seconds, and then click on a link to your portfolio to check out your work. They also want to know you’ve researched the agency and are confident your style will fit in with the illustrators they represent. Finally, know that any message that starts “Dear Sir/Madam” will instantly get deleted. The fact that my company is called “Anna Goodson Illustration & Motion” should be a pretty big clue to what my name is!
featured artist:
An interview with illustrator Sha’an d’Anthes, (also known as furrylittlepeach) conducted by Annie Portelli from The Design Files
Author’s Note Attending Adobe MAX this year was my first time visiting Vegas, and also attending a 12,000 visitor conference! It was whirlwind of new and exciting things to take in – you can read some snippets in my earlier post, here. One encounter that stood out was meeting fellow Aussie, Sha’an d’Anthes. Sha’an has a huge following under the guise of her Furry Little Peach blog and social media accounts. She was a joy to spend some time with, among the busy seminars and bright lights in Vegas! The 25-year-old illustrator, designer and exhibiting artist recently released her first book ‘Zoom’ teaching kids about the solar system. We recently caught up with her back on home soil for a tour of her cute Sydney studio. Annie Portelli
How did you find your way into illustration and art? I knew I wanted to be an artist from a super early age, but in high school I thought art was “too impractical” – I discovered design and fell in love. I decided to study Graphic Design. When I started uni, I was also doing freelance collaborations for commercial brands (murals, live art, album art), because of this uni wasn’t as much of a learning experience for me as much as the real world stuff I was working on was. I’m glad I have the piece of paper that says I can do what I do, but it was the internships I completed and settling into a digital design job, that was a real learning experience and turning point for me. A year ago I was getting enough freelance work to sustain myself and so I resigned from my design job and now I’m fortunate enough to focus on illustration full time. I’m loving drawing for a living!
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Your Blog Furry Little Peach is hugely popular, with the Instagram having amassed more than 143,000 followers. What motivated you to start it, and the unique name? I originally started my Tumblr blog in year 11, because I was trying to avoid preparing for the HSC. I wish the story was more interesting, but I was just trying to come up with a username to use, and I liked the word ‘peach’ so it’s really a fluke that it still fits my work and I now. There’s no real meaning, and it’s a fluke that it kind of works with the work that I create now.
Where do you find inspiration? This is always a really hard question to answer because we (artists) all have interests, art or otherwise, that don’t really translate to the work we make. I think true inspiration can only come randomly, at the weirdest times – like on
the bus! Or in the shower. It’s like this magic you can’t manifest – you just have to make sure the environment is right, and wait for it to come. The most authentic ideas come when you least expect it.
Your output spans artwork, painterly illustrations, pins and linen collaborations to name a sample. How would you describe your style, and do you have a prefered media? I would like to describe my work as vibrant, joyful and nostalgic – it’s a mix between the world I want to live in and my own experiences, things that I like and things I like to listen to. I focus a lot on the things that make me happy in my work and I think people can see and feel that joy which perhaps resonates with them too. Watercolour is definitely my favourite medium. It’s like a wild animal; you put it down and it does whatever it wants – you just
“I focus a lot on the things that make me happy in my work and I think people can see and feel that joy which perhaps resonates with them too.�
have to hope you can tame it on the page. When I was studying Visual Art & Design they taught us oil painting – watercolour was something I saw people using online and was inspired to try it from there!
Do you have a favourite project so far? My book, ‘Zoom’, is a big monument in my career so far. I also recently designed some bed sheets, which was really fun because it was for a big Kickstarter project. I was just so amazing to do something so large scale, and that would be so practically useful to people’s lives. This made me fall in love with homewares, so I’d love to collaborate with ceramicists or textile designers to bring my work into everyday lives more in the future.
Can you tell us more about ‘Zoom’ and how it came about? When I was five I told my Mum that I wanted to write and draw my own books! It’s now happened 19 years later! I really didn’t expect it to happen this early, because I left my full-time job thinking a book would be a long term life goal. But then, somehow, my publisher ended up emailing me and asking if I had ever thought about doing a children’s book. I pitched some ideas, they loved them, and we got started! The book follows a child character named ‘Scout’ and a rocket ‘Beattie’. I wanted to teach kids about the Solar System. I was a really visual learner at school, and I feel that I never really picked up maths or science because of this. I thought that an illustrated
book could be a really visual way to teach kids about the size and order of the planets, in particular through each planet being a different animal, and driver of the narrative.
What do you think is the most exciting thing about being a creative in Sydney today? Sydney has a really close-knit creative community; it never feels competitive and I’ve always felt like we celebrate each others’ achievements and lift each other up, which is really nice. A huge challenge of living and working here is cost of realestate – the rental prices here can be extortionate, and as a full-time freelancer where your income fluctuates, that can be really scary!
What did you take away from Adobe MAX? I attended as an influencer, so I guess my job is to be the ‘eyes on the ground’ and to share the experience with my creative audience. The thing I liked the most about Adobe MAX was the people that we got to meet – I went to really good talks by Bonnie Siegler, Aaron Draplin, and Tad Carpenter. And then you had an opportunity to form connections with people who weren’t necessarily speaking, but in a similar stage of their career as you, with the same insecurities and challenges to face. I was hanging out with filmmakers, photographers, other illustrators/watercolourists. I found it really cool to compare everything. Coming from this conference, I’ve seen the importance of mak-
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ing – for ‘just making sake’ and not being so concerned if you’re being paid for it or not. I am very project driven and I will often book too many projects at once. A big goal for me in the future is to just have a play and push my ideas further and actually create projects for myself, because that’s when you learn things and that’s when you’re most creative!
Christmas is just around the corner, so it’s been a busy time for many creative freelancers. Have you been doing any holidays themed work, and how will you be spending the break? I’ve actually just finished a Christmas Campaign with The Streets
of Barangaroo, of which I’m really proud. I created the hero artwork for their catalogues, window decals for all their stores and three sets of wrapping paper. All the artwork is centred around ‘Leisure’ as a theme. It was important for me to create something inclusive that everyone can get on board with at this time of year. I love the holiday season! My plans include getting my online store ready for next year, wrapping up this year’s projects, watching an obnoxious number of christmas movies, and eating lots and lots!
Keep up-to-date with Sha’an d’Anthes’ work on her blog Furry Little Peach. Annie Portelli was a guest of Adobe for the Adobe MAX conference.
Note: All images within this section were sourced from Internet searches and do not belong to me. The artwork and photographs originally belonged to or were created by Sha’an d’Anthes. This publication is a school project and is therefore not official or for profit.
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artistic voice Five Thoughts On Finding Your Own Illustration Style
p. 22-24
Advice from artist Anya Kuvarzina on how to navigate your style as an illustrator while maintaining balance in your life.
ARTISTIC VOICE
FIVE THOUGHTS ON
finding your own illustration style ANYA KUVARZINA
A style for an illustrator is like a voice for a singer. Ideally, you want your illustration style to be unique, commercial and recognisable. Nurturing one’s style is an illustrator’s life’s work. For some, finding their own style comes easily while others are forever searching for “the one”. I am definitely the second type. There are two approaches to finding style in the art colleges today. One is to instil in students what a “good” (meaning popular, commercial) illustration style is. Then all students’ work is judged according to how close they get to a particular “look”. The big benefit of this approach is that most students will find themselves commissioned immediately after graduation. The drawbacks: oversaturation of illustrators working within a particular style, and, consequently, that style going out of fashion.
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The second approach is to give the students a totally free reign — let them work without any restrictions or demands while they (hopefully) figure it out themselves. That was the attitude during my BA. When I was studying illustration at Central Saint Martins, a style was a “dirty” word – according to my tutor. I think he equeled a style to becoming a one-trick pony, repetitively manufacturing one similar image after another. The benefit of this approach is that the individual gets to explore different things in their own time and they get to figure it out for themselves. The drawbacks: lack of focus and a portfolio not suitable for commercial work. Reaching that golden balance of consistent yet lively work is the goal here. It took me years of studying, freelancing, getting a book published, and constantly creating artwork daily to start
seeing certain glimpses of a recognisable style. The truth is, I am very excited to try new ways of creating artwork and settling on just one thing is rather difficult for me. I struggled with this for many years until eventually I realized that working in a variety of ways is not a hindrance for an illustrator, and can even be a blessing. As with anything in illustration (and life), there is never a definitive how-to guide to developing a strong style. Here are my own 10 considerations I had to take into account when deciding on my personal style as an illustrator. 1. Know thyself. (And know your market). A style is a deeply personal thing. It is easy to get swayed by other people’s opinions, by a tutor at the art college or by the next big trend. The only person, however, who can decide what your style should be is YOU. It’s like having
ANYA KUVARZINA
an inner compass which is always pointing to your unique voice — you can explore different directions as long as you are always pointing towards your inner goal. And the opinions that should matter to you (if any) are the opinions of your client and target audience. So even if your friend, or your partner, or your mother is not keen on your work, it is absolutely irrelevant. Plus they are being mean. 2. Experiment responsibly. At an art college, experimentation is often presented as an answer to everything. And don’t get me wrong, experimenting is good, especially in the early stages of your illustration career. It is possible to learn a lot just by looking at other people’s work and by replicating their style. At some point, however, experimentation turns into procrastination, when artists keep trying new
things because they lack the confidence to tackle their own style. You certainly don’t need to try every material available on the planet to find what you like. The rule of thumb is that experimentation should feel like a play to be useful. It should never feel like a laborious meticulous task. 3. Easy does it. An art teacher once said to me: “A good design doesn’t need to take a long time”. This simple phrase stayed with me, because, being a high achiever, I always believed that spending ages on something will reap great results. As if to prove that what you created is any good, you need to suffer a great deal in the process. In fact, that is not always right. Simplicity works better in most cases. When you trust yourself, creating something great does not take long. It also doesn’t mean that you are cheating, or that you
should charge less money for it, just because creating something that comes easily to you. On the contrary, it means that you are confident and have a good eye and feel for your design, so the marks you make are (generally) inspired and right. 4. Be practical. Too often, when thriving for a specific illustration style, we dream about fame, beauty and artistic mastery associated with that particular look. We think like artists, not like business people. If you were to lay tiles in a bathroom, would you choose the most complicated longest way to do it or the easiest way? I think you would do the latter. So why would you choose the least practical way of creating artwork for commercial commission and make your life hell? The way you create your art needs to be practical and easy enough for you to be able
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ARTISTIC VOICE
to replicate the process over and over again if you want to have a sustainable illustration practice. 5. Take care of your emotional and mental health. This is a big one and very often overlooked parameter. Having a “high maintenance” style (very complicated, hard to make changes, “fussy” expensive materials etc) puts pressure on the illustrator, resulting in all sort of emotional and mental problems. From fear of not being able to deliver the same style that the client asked, to the thoughts of watercolours not behaving correctly on certain papers, choosing a difficult to maintain style will add stress to your life. So stick to your strengths. If you are a traditional
watercolourist, you don’t have to learn all the latest computer software. If you like to work digitally, that doesn’t mean that you need to try out every single traditional media available. Very often people don’t get anywhere in their illustration career mostly due to lack of knowledge about self promotion. But instead of putting efforts into getting their work out there, they start thinking that it’s their style that is to blame. So watercolour masters start contemplating learning vector graphics from scratch. While people who are great on computer consider re-training as classical painters. This is not always the answer to your problems, but do go to a few classes if it expands your
outlook as an artist. To sum up, choose a style based on what you have always been pretty good at and go with it for long enough. Don’t be afraid of being repetitive or doing the same thing over and over again. Use a process that you can reliably replicate over and over again. Do work in a way that is exciting to you and enjoy it. How are you getting on with your style?
Originally posted on Anya’s website: www.treesforanya.com
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3 works to note Leigh Ellexson
p. 28-29
A look at Cincinnati-based illustrator and YouTuber Leigh Ellexson’s refreshingly loose and colorful work.
WORKS TO NOTE
leigh ellexson
Leigh Ellexson’s work displays a mastery of color as well as an ease with traditional mediums that is becoming lost in an age of digital art making.
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LEIGH ELLEXSON
Her use of abstract markings and patterns belies a refined whimsy, calling back to the emotionally moving work of the Impressionists.
Note: All images within this section were sourced from leighellexson.com and belong to Leigh Ellexson. Used only for project purposes.
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