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This is how I got my first major illustration job.
The Story
It was the fall after my graduation from college. I had just spent my entire summer building my website, creating new pieces, and sending out postcards. I was anxious to start showing my work to some publishers, so I started planning my first major trip to New York City.
At the last second, about a week before I was due to leave, I had an idea for an addition to my portfolio - a book of sketches that told the story of Little Red Riding Hood.
I had little time left to work with, but I spent the next several days putting the story together. I had grand visions of creating an entire book dummy, but ultimately I decided on something smaller. I ended up with an 8-page booklet, filled with the best quality sketches that I could muster. I was pretty pleased with the result. I made several copies and figured it would make a cute sample for the publishers to keep in their files.
Fast-forward a few days later, and I am sitting at my last appointment in the office of an art director of a major children’s book publisher. She flips through my work casually and gives me some encouraging advice. I can tell she likes my work and is very polite, but also lets me know that it is “not what we are looking for at this time.”
When she reaches the end of my portfolio, she spots the booklet, tucked away in one of the leather pockets. She takes it out and carefully flips through the pages. After a minute or so, she gets up from her chair. “Excuse me,” she says and exits the office, leaving me with only my nervous self.
It turned out she had gone to fetch one of her colleagues at another imprint, but couldn’t find her. I was very pleased that she wanted to share my work, and utterly disappointed that I didn’t get to meet another art director. The best I could do was leave a few samples, say my thank-you’s and goodbyes, and prepare for the long drive home.
The next day, I got a call…
From that moment on, I’ve been able to make a living as a working illustrator. Not that it is not still difficult, but it is work I love doing. It was a big moment for me.
This experience taught me several important lessons, which I hope you have also gained by reading this story:
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Create work that is relevant to field you want to work in.
One of the comments that this art director gave me was that she gets TONS of samples from many different artists, but very FEW of them actually show her that they can handle a picture book. So, I can see now that when I walked in with a familiar children’s story, presented in book format, and accompanied by good artwork, why I caught her attention that day.
It’s not enough to simply create great images - you have to show exactly how you would approach the kinds of jobs you want to get. You make the art director’s job so much easier, and in my case, she actually went out of her way to FIND a job for me.
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It pays to go the extra mile.
The booklet idea was a last-minute decision. I still had plenty of things to do to prepare for the trip, and not a lot of time to do it in. But I stuck with it because I knew it would make my portfolio better. In the end, my instincts paid off.
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Sometimes, it’s all about good timing and little bit of luck.
I happened to get an appointment with an art director who happened to know somebody else who happened to be working on a certain job that needed an illustrator at the current time. I’ll always be grateful that the stars were aligned that day. But it was just as important that I was sufficiently prepared when the moment came. Sometimes, I wonder what would have happened if I never made that booklet, didn’t print enough samples, or didn’t have an extra portfolio to leave for the other art director. Work hard, be prepared, and you’ll be ready when the magic moment comes for you too.
What important lessons have you learned in your own adventures as an illustrator/designer/student/freelancer? Leave a comment on this post at DaniDraws.com.
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November 5th, 2007 at 6:52 am
Thx for sharing !
About being able to present/produce a persistent body of work like a picture book instead of stand alone images:
I’ve always wondered how you can keep your style cosistent.
My preferences and style tends to change alot at times as I learn new techniques.
Do I just need to develope a style that I can keep even standing on my head and fall back to it whenever I need to keep things steady or are there other ways of doing it ?
How do you aim for and check for consistency ?
Would make a really usefull post ( for me atleast
).
November 5th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
Style is something that I worry about a lot as well. As someone who is slowing teaching himself how to illustrate I’m fully aware of how much the odds of doing this professionally are stacked against me. I am starting to see a personal style emerge slowly. I am also seeing that as I progress, the list of illustrator’s who’s work I gravitate towards is solidifying into a noticeably similar style as well. The only problem is that I’m very far from reaching the level that I strive for.
Stories like yours are very valuable to me and I like to hear them, thanks Dani.
Ian
November 9th, 2007 at 3:38 am
Thank you Dani. As always you are very helpful to us. I’ve not sold anything yet but, that’s coming. Unfortunately, I can’t travel to New York right now but, I plan to attend the San Diego Comic book Convention next summer. It’s a gargantuan international gathering of pros from every creative field in pop culture. Oh yeah, the fan-boys and fan-girls are gonna be there too. We’re the real reason this convention is so huge. I guess 2006 was my last year going there as just a fan. Next year I’ll have my business cards and portfolio ready. My website will have flash character animation, concept art, 2D illustration using Flash, Illustrator and, Photoshop. Also, I plan on pitching some cartoons to Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon as well. I’ve got some time to prepare so I’ll develop my art, work ethic and I’ll learn how to handle clients. Again, thank you for sharing your experiences with us.
~Eric
PS.
I remember sketching a girl sitting on a chair in exchange for a comic book from an Underground comic book publisher many years ago at that same convention. I was broke at the time. So, I pitched a deal with the attendant behind the table and he allowed me to draw his assistant who was with him. They both liked my art and I was given the comic book of my choice. I think it was pretty cool.
November 15th, 2007 at 10:47 am
HI again Dani,
Any chance you’ll post scans of that dummy book?
March 2nd, 2008 at 3:26 am
Hi Dani,
When you said you sent postcards. Is that mean you sent postcards to company? I am confused. What did you put on the postcards? Because you mentioned in your other blog as well. Thank you
March 2nd, 2008 at 8:30 am
Alfred,
The postcards were just a general promo I sent out to publishers. Pretty simple - a piece of artwork on the front, contact info on the back.
March 2nd, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Thnk for the reply and sharing the tips
Gladly appreciate it