On the 22nd of April 2021 the university held a talk with illustrators Frances Moffatt and Nick Holmes. Both have been involved with education, Moffatt is known for fashion/lifestyle/publishing illustrations and Holmes has done a variety of work such as advertisement/film/editorial/publishing.

Like with the previous talks getting work is about putting yourself out there and going direct to the clients, they are unlikely to just find you through a website or social media no matter how many followers you have. Also I found it interesting how they spoke about how it just takes a few projects to lead to more work and how it is important to have an income coming in so you can say no to low paying work and to not feel bad about it.

On the 17th of April 2021, INKFEST Chicago run by ISG Columbia held a talk with illustrator Jamie Green. Green is someone I have been following for a good number of years now and they have been able to use their presence online to create a career for themselves straight after graduating through hard work.

Green is someone who I have seen constantly grow and learn from everything they could find. They have always been open to new things which I think is important as a creative, it can get dull or too consistent if you do the same thing all the time, and you can’t learn from what you already know. It took them over ten years to get to where they are now from using the internet as a way of showing their work and it paid off in the end for them to do what they have done. We may be the same age and it can be hard sometimes not to compare myself to them in terms of what they have achieved, but I think there are so many paths in being able to make a career out of illustration I just need to continue on my own and take any advice I can get on board to get where I want to be, hopefully! Social media has been key to them getting noticed and I am just wanting to use it as something to post work and not worry about analytics things too much,

On the 18th of March 2021 our uni held a talk with graduates Hazel Mason and Rachel Tunstall who both have worked with editorial clients.

It was insightful hearing from both illustrators and how they have managed to start their careers in getting client commissions not that long after leaving uni. Also it has put in perspective in how they still have part time jobs even thought they have illustration work coming in, something I think is important to have as having a job gives you an income when you might not have client work yet or at a certain time. Also they are getting work through contacts/ emailing themselves rather than being with an agency, as they are learning how to communicate and balance their own work/ pricing.

Here are some articles/videos etc. that I have found recently and maybe don’t fit into one subject, but apply to general aspects of Illustration.

When I think of what kind of clients I would like I straight away think of publishing places, but what other clients do I think I might be able to work for? I will put some links to clients here that I would want to complete work for. 

Having done some research into clients I kind of have a better idea of who and what I want to be working on. With publishers for books and literature related work, illustrating covers and Illustrations within the books. Also I think it would be interesting to have work for art material clients in terms of illustrating for the packaging or promoting their products. I think I would like to do illustrations for museums, galleries, visitor gardens or historical sites, either promotional or informational illustrations for their websites or for on location use, maybe even work for their gift shops, such as books, postcards etc. Creating promotional illustrations for events like Spring Fling would be something else I would consider doing. Also having clients like YWCA Scotland is something I would want, being involved with clients that have positive goals and intentions is what I want to do as an illustrator, not work for brands/companies that don’t consider equality and human rights. I definitely would prefer working for clients that are aware of how they are making their own products, how they are contributing to society and not giving in to cheap labour or fast fashion as examples. Yet with bigger brands come bigger pay, so if I was offered work for a well known client I would have to assess if I can work with them or not.

I see freelance as exactly what I want from a career in illustration. To be in charge of when I work, being able to work from home, having freedom to an extent, definitely seems like the dream. Having parents that are self-employed has led me to understand that it isn’t all perfect and you really do have to be self driven to get the work done, sometimes you have to work every single day just to get money in, even if you can’t be bothered or are ill. You have organise your money, or get an accountant (at a cost!) to do part or all of it. You are your own boss basically, and to be able to plan my life without being told by someone else what time I have to work or when I can have holidays without little or no choice, is honestly what appeals to me as a freelancer. Obviously being self-employed as an illustrator means a regular income is not guaranteed, unless you are getting enough work to make a living, so there are many who have another job on the side to have a steady amount of money coming in.

Frannerd has a bunch of videos where they talk about pricing and how to make money as an illustrator. Also quite a few creatives are using Patreon as an income source, by offering content to people for a set amount of money each month, though it usually benefits those with a larger following, as more people will likely pay for extra content.