ILLUSTRATION FEATURE

> 5 things you need to become a successful illustrator

Apr 16, 2014 16:02 pm

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Do you have what it takes to make a career in illustration? Pro illustrator Anna
Wray outlines what you need.
Do you dream of leaving your current job and working full-time as an
illustrator? Well I've done it and so can you. Here, I'll outline five things
you need to making a successful career as an illustrator. The rest is up to
you...

>01.

Focus

> No one is going to realise your dream but you. Illustration: Anna Wray

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There are no half measures when it comes to becoming an illustrator.

Because you are most likely going to be self-employed, no one is going
to motivate you other than you.
That requires self confidence and self knowledge. You need to know
absolutely that you want to be an illustrator, if it's just half an idea or a
vague plan you won't be able to stick at it in the long term.
It's your self belief and determination that will get you through the
challenge of establishing yourself. Once you know what you want that's
half the battle.

>02.

Adaptability

> You need to be prepared to adapt your work to what sells

You will need to be able to adapt your way of thinking and illustrating to
fit a clients brief who will often want to have input during the process of
the illustration. There is a balancing act between keeping clients happy
without compromising the integrity of the illustration (I sometimes got
the balance wrong in the early days and was too embarassed to put the
work on my website!).
As well as adapting to clients it pays to adapt your work to access
different markets eg. The artist print market, apparel, stock
illustrations, magazines, stationary, murals etc.
Often in between commissions I make money selling stock illustrations,
which provides a regular monthly income, workshops and/or teaching
also combine with illustrating fantastically well. The broader the
application of your work the better as one area might dry up as another
starts to takes off.

>03.

A network of friends and fell

creatives
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> After staring at a screen all day, you'll go mad if you don't meet up with real humans
The part of the day when you are working as an illustrator can be pretty
solitary and to compound this quite often you do not meet your clients
in person and are more likely to communicate through phone, email or
Skype.
To counterbalance this it really helps to have a network of friends or
fellow freelancers close by so you can catch up after work for a coffee or
drink. If you don't know many creatives in your local area you can
always join or set up a creative freelancer group and have regular meetups.
If you really don't like being alone while you work you can look out for a
shared space - which brings me to number 4...

>04.

A good space

> A coffee shop can be a good place to do your freelance work

Most illustrators start of with a Mac in the corner of their bedroom or
living room and that's ideal way to start as you don't have the stress of
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overheads as you become established.

After a while though you will want a separate place to work to keep work
and life a little separate. If your lucky enough to have a garden studio or
spare room that's great, otherwise there are many initiatives where local
freelancers can rent a desk or space in a creative community which also
has the added benefit of providing you with some office banter and
social interaction.
There are many places to do freelance work. Websites like
www.officegenie.co.uk and www.officebloc.co.uk are great places to
look for workspaces. If all else fails I love to bring my sketchbook and
laptop to my local bookshop or coffee shop to work.

>05.

Persistence and a thick skin

There are always going to be times when things go quiet and you quietly
start to panic, at moments like this it is invaluable to be persistent.
Everyday work towards getting more work and analyse your portfolio
constantly. Do you need to create new work to suit a particular field that
you are not getting any luck in? If you are getting rejected ask for
feedback and act on it. It's your best education.
Constantly update your blog and post new work to others, create new
work and don't let your website go stale. Often it's not the best work that
is the most well known, it's the illustrators who work the hardest at
marketing. Get on the phone, blog, email new people, set up new
meetings, send stuff in the post, get an agent.
Just keep plugging away during the quiet times and things will slowly
start to snowball. When, finally, you start to make a reliable living as an
illustrator, nothing beats the creative freedom and liberation that comes
with being your own boss. Your time is your own, no longer are you a
small cog but the master if your own creative destiny. You will never
look back!
Words: Anna Wray
Anna Wray is an illustrator/author and a visiting lecturer on the
Ba(Hons) Illustration at Cambridge School of Art.

Tags: Illustration, Computer Arts, Career, Feature

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1 COMMENT
Great stuff, fully agree with it. Without focus you'll never get anywhere.
ASYLUMseventy7
April 21 , 201 4 at 04:29

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