Today I had a lecture on looking towards my career as a freelance illustrator and thinking about what steps I can take to develop myself and my work in that direction. I was really glad to have a talk on this and the ones to come as I'm really aware of how little time I have until I graduate and where I want to be when I do but I need some help and advice to get there.
The lecture began by talking over what a freelance illustrator actually does, 'creating artwork that can generate income itself or through publication'. I have been wondering exactly where freelance illustration can used and it was helpful to me to have those areas outlined to make sure I don't miss an avenue or opportunity when thinking about my pursuits. All kinds of companies and organisations use illustration and the illustrators style will influence the type of client that uses their work:
- Publishers: books, web, newspapers, magazines etc.
- Advertisers
- Merchandisers: cards, paper, product, packaging etc.
There is also a need to be able to work quickly and flexibly which is something I personally need to improve on so I am aiming to set myself short tasks and briefs throughout my time leading up to graduation. This is summed up by NUA alumni 2002, Adam Howling: "whereas you might have 2 weeks for a project at uni some jobs have to be turned around in a day or even a couple of hours."
'Waitrose ice cream', Adam Howling
The lecture also discussed planning and scheduling which I already mentioned is a weakness as mine as I struggle to manage my time effectively and so was extremely useful. The key advice was to work with urgency and simulate tight deadlines to be able to become more flexible and to adapt my ways of working to fit to those short timescales. What I found struck a note with me was the concept of making work all the day as even though it may not have an initial purpose or context this work can come in useful to be developed or called upon in times to tight deadline or appropriate subjects in future. The comment 'Each piece of work doesn't need to be a masterpiece' is something I really need to absorb as my need for perfection is actually becoming more of a hindrance than a help as I think I would become a lot more confident and develop and learn quicker if I could put that aside. I think that giving myself small, fast-paced personal briefs will help with that as there won't be time for perfection when working quickly.
The need for websites, blogging and selling work was a common topic so I am glad I am pushing myself to make a website as part of my D&AD brief and I have added regular blogging on my personal blog to my weekly time plan alongside uni work. The emphasis of the whole lecture was to constantly build, develop and promote ourselves and this reminded me of a quote from Christina Empedocles I came across as part of my research that I plan to conduct myself by it's philosophy:
“The people who are in it for the long haul have found a way to take every opportunity seriously, and to build on those opportunities, while not waiting around to be ‘discovered’. I think it’s about adopting a certain attitude, something along the lines of ‘I’m going to give it everything I can’ while having the faith in yourself that it will eventually lead somewhere.”
'Untitled (deer)', Christina Empedocle
Something that I hadn't really considered is internships and placements but after the lecture I intend to look into them as they seem a good opportunity to gain some experience and knowledge in the industry and to possibly open doors for the future. I did do some work experience at a publishers a few years ago but it unfortunately got cut short as I had to focus on my A-level exams the week after but I really enjoyed the time I did spend there and it could be useful to repeat the experience in full. Residencies are another route I was unaware of but I think it could be a great option for after university if I find something in or near London as I am planning on being based there.
The next key steps for me at the moment are to set up my website and to work on my creative CV. I also need to sign myself up to some regular bloggers and podcasts that can help broaden my research and generally keep me in the loop about the recent trends and happenings in the artistic industry. I might set myself a slot aside each week to just go through all the magazines and journals in the library and keep a file of anything inspiring I see.
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