Art by Kim Rosenlof
Can I succeed without Photoshop? How do I balance all my projects? And how can I digitize my work for prints? Catch answers to all this and more with Jake Parker, Lee White, and Will Terry.
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SHOW LINKS
Cal Newport
WeTransfer
The Richest Man in Babylon
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Pay yourself first with your time.
Use your mornings for creative work; stop trying to fight fatigue at the end of the day.
Charge more! This will prevent you from overloading with work while ensuring you’re well compensated.
Fan art is a great way to get your work shared online.
QUESTIONS
Anonymous asks, “How do I know if I should stick with my agent? What are signs it’s time to leave?”
Before making the leap, evaluate:
Have my agent and I created a marketing plan tailored to the kind of work I want to receive? (If your art is high quality but generic, it will be hard to find work; strategize with your agent to ensure you’re appealing to specific clients.)
Does my agent act like they have the upper hand? Do they think they’re more important than me in this relationship?
Is my agent holding onto my money from publishers longer than necessary?
If, after clear communication, your agent isn’t meeting your needs in these areas, it may be time to jump ship!
Sasha asks, “Lee, how do you digitize your watercolor artwork to make prints?”
Lee photographs his work outside in neutral sunlight (9 to 11 am is best). Using a telephoto lens, with his camera set to manual, he photographs his work in four sections. Then he stitches the images in Photoshop using the Photo Merge and Autoblend features. Lee always color corrects, especially increasing saturation, before printing.
Lisa asks, “What is the best way to make money from working in traditional media?”
Art fairs and galleries are great places to sell your work as a traditional artist. Keep an eye out for local shows and apply to as many as you can. If you’re working in illustration, you’ll still need a firm grasp of Photoshop so you can create digital files, make basic touchups, and prepare your work for print. It’s much easier to implement an art director’s changes to your illustrations when working digitally, so you may find that digital is the way to go after all. At the bare minimum, learning to make minor edits to traditional work in Photoshop will save you a lot of time and energy.
Anna asks, “What’s the best way to communicate with art directors? Sending attachments back and forth via email feels so messy.”
Every client has their preferred method of communication. Generally, you’ll need to adapt to what they’re most comfortable with. WeTransfer might simplify your process.
Sophie asks, “1.) How can I make time for my creative work after my 9-to-5? 2.) How do I prioritize a backlog of creative projects? 3.) How do I stick to my prices and turn down work that underpays?”
Wake up early in the morning and spend an hour on your creative project before getting ready for the day.
Just pick one job at a time and work on it until it’s done. Easy to say, hard to do.
Next time someone asks how much you charge, 10x it. Either they’ll agree and you’ll be satisfied, or you won’t end up with another underpaying gig.
Check out Sophie’s work at zoviism.com.
Christopher asks, “I’m in a portfolio class in my senior year of art school. I want my final project to appeal to clients; what could I do that would be commercially viable?”
Start with what you’re interested in. Create album covers for your favorite band, posters for movies you love, or covers for books with a cult following. Fan art spreads via other fans, so it’s a great way to get your work shared until it eventually lands with an art director.
Check out Christopher’s work on Instagram @christophercruz.
LINKS
Jake Parker: mrjakeparker.com. Instagram: @jakeparker, Youtube: JakeParker44
Will Terry: willterry.com. Instagram: @willterryart, Youtube: WillTerryArt
Lee White: leewhiteillustration.com. Instagram: @leewhiteillo
Daniel Tu: danieltu.co.
Lily Camille Howell: lilycamille.com
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