Last week I bought How to be an illustrator by Darrel Rees. I also spoke to my boss about my plan to move to Hong Kong in the fall. It’s a loose plan, but it’s something that Dave and I have been wanting to do for over a year now. It’s scary but I’m not that young anymore, so there’s no time to waste. If I want to do something like move to the other side of the planet and try to make be a freelance illustrator, it is now or never!
I haven’t read the whole thing yet, but just from the first few chapters a few things have already dawn on me:
My own style
I kinda already knew this but I think I need a more distinct style. My illustrations could also do with a little more depth, more layers, more textures. I want to experiment a bit. Another thing is that if I want to do editorial style illustration eventually, I’m gonna have to be more clever. Humph.
Other things I want to work on
Since we’re on the topic, I think I need to work more on ideation and lateral thinking. I don’t think I’m good enough at taking different sources of inspiration and combining them. I’m actually best at the opposite: taking a big ol’ mess and straightening it out into orderly little piles.
The biggest dealbreaker might be my lack of self motivation, will-power and self discipline. I’m not sure how I’ll be able to wake up each morning at a decent time and just WORK. The ritual of commuting, even if it is a short walk or bike ride makes me feel purposeful. If I’m working from home, I might just spend the whole day watching TV and eating chips.
OR! The other thing I’m worried about is the loneliness of working by myself. I get so lonely! I like talking to people! I need other people! I don’t know what to do about this one.
Disadvantages
Besides being lonely, I am also disadvantaged because I don’t know any illustrators, I didn’t go to an illustration program, and I don’t have any friends in the illustration industry. I have no illustration network.
Advantages(?)
But I do have some design friends, so hopefully that will be something. Also I am an art director, so I know what it’s like to hire and commission illustration. I know what it’s like to work with illustrators and I know what I enjoy when I work with them. I also know how annoying it is dealing with difficult illustrators and how I like working again with the pleasant ones.I know what good sketches look like. I can tell the difference between the pros and sloppier artists.
Anyhoo, I guess I still have time to figure these things out. I just have to keep on drawing and make the time to work on my portfolio. Tomorrow we’re going to a cottage to spend the rest of the long weekend with our friend Janice, because it’s her birthday! Huzzah!
A few more serious comments here:
1- If you know that you need to be out of your house to feel productive, then you can still do that as a freelancer! Look into getting a desk at a co-working place. It will give you a reason to get dressed and leave the house in the morning and it may even yield more contract work from your neighbours. I learned the hard way that I need to force myself out of the house when I’m freelancing b/c I’m the opposite of you — I like working at home and will do it non-stop if I don’t think about it. But then I look up and I haven’t been outside in 3 days and didn’t talk to anyone the whole time b/c I am single :-/
2- When you start talking to ppl about illustration work, you should TOTALLY mention the fact that you were an art director and that’s part of why you’re a different illustrator than others — make it part of why ppl should want to work with you. It’s like how Sara Wilde is a wedding photographer but she was also a graphic designer so now everything she does as a photographer is a little better b/c of the design background. This advantage you have can either be something you explicitly call out when talking to ppl or it can be more subtle that just comes up in the way you approach your work (proactively doing things to keep the client in the loop or whatever you have realized as an art director is nice to get from the illustrator).
3- If you want to network, you should look at the other illustrators who worked for WORN and see if you want to reach out to any of them. I’m sure that Serah-Marie would arrange the intro if you or me asked her to?