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Forum
-> Working Women
amother
OP
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Wed, Sep 11 2019, 9:48 pm
Hi,
Is anyone here an illustration artist? Can you tell me about your job? What do you do? What was your training? How long did it take? How many hours a day do you work? How long does it take you to complete a project? Do you work with traditional methods or on computer Software? Any tips for someone possibly interested in the field?
Thanks so much!
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amother
OP
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Thu, Sep 12 2019, 9:09 pm
Bump. Is it an uncommon job?
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any
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Thu, Sep 12 2019, 9:43 pm
I’m still studying to become one ...
do you know art_by_dena on Instagram maybe she can answer your questions
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amother
OP
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Fri, Sep 13 2019, 12:19 pm
Thanks for responding! I looked up her website. Her drawing is great! Do you know her personally?
Is she really cool with random people contacting her for advice?
Honestly right now, I'm mainly curious. Though illustrating is something I dream of doing, I'm not sure I could really wing school right now.
I'd love to hear from your perspective as a student though! ( If your comfortable)
What made you become interested in illustrating? Did you have prior drawing experience? What type of things do you learn? How long is your program? How many hours?
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crl
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Fri, Sep 13 2019, 1:51 pm
Look up Sefira Creative or Rivka Korf on Instagram
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amother
Firebrick
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Fri, Sep 13 2019, 2:59 pm
These days you don’t have to go to school for artsy things to do well and become popular. It’s more the business know-how and ability to market yourself than talent—you’ll see people who are not necessarily amazing artists or illustrators become quite successful because they’re just good at business. So if you’re planning to making a living out of this, know that lots of illustrators and designers don’t “make it”—not because of lack of talent but because their personality style doesn’t lead them to market themselves. Besides for that, there’s just not a huge amount of need for illustration that illustrators can get rich off of the market. (I’m sure some do but it’s not typical.)
What I’m saying is: pursue a hobby if you want, become really good at it, put money into the hobby, but I’d caution against getting your hopes up in terms of profitability. I’m a graphic designer and illustrator and there are far more people looking for logos than those willing to pay for illustrations.
On the other hand it’s a wonderful relaxing hobby and when I do get the opportunity to do illustration work I jump at it. It’s definitely not what makes money. If I suddenly become wealthy off of it I’ll let you know
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invisiblecircus
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Sun, Sep 15 2019, 6:33 am
I've got a friend who does this.
She did a one year art foundation course, then a 3 year degree in illustration.
She was lucky that for one of her university modules, she had to write and illustrate a book. I don't remember whether she entered the book in a competition or whether it was spotted during her final degree exhibition, but the book ended up being published and she was then comssioned by the publisher to write other books.
In addition to this, I know she spent a lot of time attending networking events for illustrators and from these, she got other work.
I also know another friend in the field and she also started out with the one year art foundation course followed by a 3 year degree but I don't know where she went from there. I know she has illustrated a number of books though.
I imagine that with a good portfolio it might be possible in theory to get into it without the formal training, but I know from my own field (different art form) that people who take a traditional route in are often taken more seriously, at least at the beginning, and I think this is partly because they have more contacts and potential references.
Whichever route you take, networking is key. You need to find out where events and exhibitions are being held and get your name and your work out there. Build contacts.
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amother
Peach
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Sun, Sep 15 2019, 10:31 am
amother [ OP ] wrote: | Thanks for responding! I looked up her website. Her drawing is great! Do you know her personally?
Is she really cool with random people contacting her for advice?
Honestly right now, I'm mainly curious. Though illustrating is something I dream of doing, I'm not sure I could really wing school right now.
I'd love to hear from your perspective as a student though! ( If your comfortable)
What made you become interested in illustrating? Did you have prior drawing experience? What type of things do you learn? How long is your program? How many hours? |
Hey I don’t know her personally but I think she wouldn’t mind answering ...also on her blog she has a lot of posts talking about the career and tips on how to do it
So I’m not studying on a school ,I go to a course with a very experience illustrator who is working on this field for 15 already so the classes are basically whatever I ask him to teach me. I know if a go to school they teach you everything in detail like anatomy ,perspective ,shadow etc...
I do children illustration so I’m not interested on learning anatomy on deep ,so I’m just learning what I think I’m gonna need, maybe if I had study younger I would but as a mother of 3 I don’t have that much time 🤣
(I can’t recommend him bc I don’t live in USA)
I choose doing it bc I love it and also I wanted to make money from my passion, the first class he made very clear that to make good money with it is Not that easy ....like people don’t choose this career to make money ( although some end up making a lot) so just do it if you really love it
I agree with the poster that said that a lot has to do with knowing how to market yourself ,I know some instagrams artist who don’t draw that good but they are successful bc they know how to sell .
I learn 3 hours a week and then at home I need to practice what I learn at the course .
that’s the hardest part ,with 3 kids and working I don’t have much time to draw ...so I know I will probably take longer to finish the course
Ahh there’s is also Leah Kron on Instagram and I already asked her question and she answered me
Good luck !
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amother
OP
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Sun, Sep 15 2019, 2:57 pm
Thank you so much everyone for your answers! You've given me good food for thought.
Could you tell me about the different niches within the broad category of illustration? (logos, children's books, (graphic design?) Has been mentioned... What else?)
What skills does an illustrator need? Right now I am learning realistic drawing. Would my first step be to get really good at that before expanding to animation/ developing characters/ storyboard, or are there unrelated skills that I can work on symulatneously? What other skills will I need to develope?
Is technical skills a must these days? ( Do people still want real illustration? Or are they looking more for digitalized drawing?)
could you suggest some good online courses or suggest some YouTube channels to follow?
I currently don't have instagram, is that a major tool for marketing that I will need to get into? Would having it make networking, or even learning easier?
Peach, you mention that you have trouble finding time to draw with three little kids. I am in a similar boat, so I get you... For myself I see this as a journey to self discovery, I spend time drawing because I enjoy it, it is calming, satisfying, and energizing. but I also want to have a goal in mind, because that makes me feel fulfilled. Like you say, It would be nice to make money off a passion one day, but I don't see that being in the immediate future, and it is a great benifit - not my sole reason for wanting to do this.
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