A recent graduate of DOVAD, he has launched a successful freelance illustration practice over the past year. He will discuss his experimentation and the development of his personal illustration style while a student, and the types of clients, projects and response he attracts as a consequence.
Joshua has outlined his steps to become a successful illustrator.
How to create a marketable style
• Experiment with various styles and techniques.
• Get Feedback from other artists, teachers, and industry professionals.
• Base your style on what sells.
• Create a process and have a method to your style of illustration.
• Look at the competition and be original.
How to create a presence to find clients
• Grab opportunities to sell your art and be proactive.
• Display your art with confidence and talk about it with everyone.
• Create online presence through social media.
Finding clients
• Online searches for work related to your style and goals.
• Once you have found a company, find the link for submissions or creative director’s contact info.
• Be familiar with the publications expectations and know the work they produce.
• How to send emails to companies for unsolicited submissions.
• Creating a contract and discuss payment methods, expectations, timeline, and a kill fee.
Challenges in illustration
• Be patient: This process can take up to six months for publishers to decide.
• Be prepared for rejection in a competitive and saturated market.
• Being a freelance illustrator can be unpredictable and costly.
• Finally know your competition and be adaptable and enthusiastic.
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In conjunction with Joshua's visit, the next class illustration project is as follows:
The class will be divided into the following four student illustration studio groups.
Group One - Whitnie, Heidi, Duke, Shay & Morgan
Mediocre Panic Attack - Aleesha, Sammie, Megan, Chelsea & Addi
Fine Line - Brittany, Corinne, Alissa, Jason & Payton
Yellow Zombies - Maddi, Kimberly, Lindsey & Leon
Neon Bees - Sharae, Gabe, Amber & Laura
The project will initiate with an in-class studio group analysis of the formal characteristics and messaging strengths of your current illustration style.
Next, the student groups will be assigned the following editorial illustration assignments:
Students will create an illustration for a “mock” client based on a broad project description
given by said client. Student’s work will be critiqued based on enhancing the message, completing the timeline, and utilizing a creative illustrative style.
Project Theme: Illustrations that depict the downfall of our modern society
Yellow Zombies
Phone Zombies: When the zombie apocalypse comes, don't worry; just give them the latest
update to Pokémon Go and they'll be too distracted catching Drowzees to give you chase.
Mediocre Panic Attach
Just ask Google: Questioning whether or not it's a good thing that we've outsourced much of our knowledge to the Internet.
Group One
Top of the Food Chain: When it comes to killing, deep-frying, and eating, man really has
conquered it all.
Neon Bees
Owned: A troubling representation of how we have become so chained to our phones that we sometimes feel subservient to them.
Fine Lines
Under the Sea: Thanks to pollution and a complete disregard for the ocean's ecosystems, this will be a more realistic depiction of life under the sea than any Disney movie out there.
While the group is assigned the same theme, each individual student will illustrate their own solution to the editorial challenge.
The emphasis of this project will be on the synergistic relationship between your illustration concept and your style in conveying your editorial message. You will be graded on well you organize, research, conceptualize and illustrate a final visual message, capitalizing on your unique conceptional and stylistic approach.
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The project schedule is:
Tuesday, 9/27 - Joshua Peterson visiting Artist
- Student Style Analysis, Project #2 Launch
Thursday, 9/29 - Illustration Brief, Word & Visual Research Due
Post half a dozen concept thumbnails on blog with the above items.
- Group Presentation, Work in Class
Tuesday, 10/4 - Selected Concept Illustration Rough Due*
- Group Presentation, Individual Critique, Work in Class
Thursday, 10/8 - Illustration Comp Due*
- Class Presentation, Critique / Photoshop Workshop with Joshua
Tuesday, 10/11 - Finished Illustration Due*
- Group Presentation, Individual Critique, Work in Class
Thursday, 10/13 - Finished Illustration Presentation*
- Class Presentation, Critique with Joshua
All items must be posted on blog by the beginning of class on the day they are due.
* Print out a laser proof and post on crit wall.
