Commercial Art 101 - Getting Started!

The first three posts in this series were an overview of the Commercial Art profession.  What it is, what it entails - and things that you need to be aware of - but maybe haven’t thought about. All of these issues will need to be addressed should you decide on such a career, and some will be addressed in more detail in following posts.

                  This post however, is specifically aimed at the new comer - the person who wants to build a career in Commercial Art but is not quite sure how or where to begin. 

As a general disclaimer: There really is no set of directions to follow; no specific instructions that must be adhered to; no checklist of steps to work through. You can go about it anyway that seems right to you. I have been in this business more than a quarter century, and I’ll tell you what I’d do if I were you.

It’s important to understand that there are many categories of Commercial Art. Most of them can be done in many different styles. You can change or add to the categories you want to work in, and work in as many styles as you wish, but it’s useful when starting out to target one or two specific categories and develop one or two styles that suit those categories.

So what are some categories?

• Technical  Illustration
• Medical Illustration
• Botanical & Wildlife Illustration
• Architectural Illustration
• Product Illustration
• Editorial Illustration  
• Nautical Illustration
• Fashion Illustration
• Comic Illustration
• Cartoons
• Sports Illustration
• Caricature illustration
• Book Cover Illustration
• Children’s Book Illustration
• Text Book Illustration
• Maps
• Sci-Fi & Fantasy illustration
• Aeronautical & Space illustration
• Automotive illustration

There are doubtless other categories, but most illustration work will fall into one of the above. Some of the categories overlap and many of them have numerous subcategories.

Here are some brief descriptions of some of them.

Technical illustration has many sub-categories. Everything from the line art used in catalogs, diagrammatic flowcharts used in instructional applications, to full color cut-a-ways of complex mechanical devices. Categories like Automotive and Aeronautical illustration could actually be considered sub-categories of technical illustration – but there is so much work being done in these areas that they constitute their own categories. Some artists have built entire careers doing work exclusively in these fields.

Medical illustration can be anything from anatomical illustrations of the human body to cut-a-way sections of blood vessels and organs. Medical illustration at its highest level may require specific instruction, and perhaps a college degree. It is critical to understand the science involved in order to execute this extremely complex art.

Comic Illustration and Cartooning are not the same things.  Comic illustration is the artwork you see in comic books – such as Marvel Comics.  Work of this type requires a thorough understanding of human anatomy. Cartooning can be anything from the work you see in comic strips used in newspapers, to the single panel cartoons – such as political cartoons – seen in magazines and newspapers.

Sci-Fi and Fantasy Illustration is used a lot in the gaming industry.  It requires a thorough understand of human and animal anatomy – and a great imagination!

Product illustration usually requires very photo realistic work by the artist. Often the artist works from engineering drawings, photographs and sometimes prototypes of the actual product.

Editorial Illustration can be nearly anything. The imagery is often based on commonly recognized concepts or cliches' A lot of stock illustration has flooded the market over the years, and this field has suffered as a result.

Architectural Illustration can be anything from architectural renderings such as illustrations of houses and buildings and their environments - to architectural products.  These could include building panels, doors, windows, etc., and this work could be considered a sub-category of Product Illustration.

Maps can be anything from highly diagrammatic and stylized images of subway and bus routes to very realistic depictions of housing developments, boat marinas and college campus layouts. In some projects, this work is often close to Architectural Rendering.

Book Illustration is another large category. Books aimed at adults usually have only a cover illustration.  Children’s books are typically filled with illustrations of a more light and whimsical nature. Textbooks may use a lot of illustrations depending on the subject and the target age of the reader.

Fashion illustration tends to be more abstract and requires a strong sense of design.  An understanding of human anatomy is also valuable, although usually not to the degree required of a medical illustrator.

I’ve really only lightly touched on various categories here. There are certainly more. Within just the categories listed however you will see many styles of illustration employed.

So what are some styles?

• Realism
• Photo-Realism
• Painterly – loose and tight
• Line
• Graphic
• Abstract

While there are fewer General Styles than Categories, each artist inevitably tends to develop his or her own Personal Style over time. Because each artist is different, there is no end to the number of styles. A hundred artists working within the same style, on the same subject matter to illustrate, and - with the same reference material - will produce 100 different works!  No two images will look the same! That’s the good news. That’s what you bring to the table.

It would be wise for you – as a beginner - to focus on one or two categories of art that interest you, and develop several pieces of artwork in styles that you feel the most comfortable working in. When starting out, it’s better to be very good at one or two things, than it is to be mediocre at many.

Curt

Commercial Art 101 - MIN To Max!

Commercial Art 101 – MIN to Max

Do the MIN to get the Max

From my last post:

MIN stands for

1.     M – Manage

2.     I – Improve

3.     N – Network

I said that in order for my business to grow, I needed to be involved in these processes - continuously.  It doesn’t mean you have to spend every waking moment engaged in them, but whether you’re still trying to launch your career, or well into it, there should never come a time when you think, “Well - I’m done with that one!”

1. Manage

You ought to be managing your life anyway. Live intentionally. Don’t just let life happen to you. If you are going to pursue a career in Commercial Art you need to give ‘managing’ a little more thought than the average person.

Why?

Because you are going to have more to manage than the average person. You will not be responsible for a job. You will be responsible for a business. Many artists are very good at their craft, but get a rude awakening when they start the process of turning their passion into a business.

In addition to creating great art you will need to manage – primarily – time and money:

Manage your Time

This may be the most important thing you’ll need to manage. Nearly every project you’ll ever work on will come with a deadline. Too many missed deadlines - and you’ll be out of business.

Since no one client is likely to send you a continuous supply of work, you will typically be working for several clients simultaneously. That’s fine. In fact, that’s what you want.

A sample work flow:

·       Draft some layout concepts for Client A and send them off. While you’re waiting for a response, knock out those edits that Client B requested. Be thinking about a quote for Client C.

·       Client A calls back and likes the second concept. Send out your quote for Client C and start on a tight layout for Client A. After lunch Client B says the edits look fine and asks for ‘finals.’ Client C has approved your quote.

·       You wrap up Client A’s Layout and send it off along with Client B’s finals and start on layout concepts for Client C.

·       Client D calls with a new project…

Manage your Money

You’ll need to set time aside to manage your finances and bookkeeping, in addition to the time you actually work on projects. Remember - you won’t be getting a paycheck every Friday. You get paid when the check clears, typically sent around thirty days after the client has received your invoice.  We’re assuming you haven’t forgotten to send out your invoices once a job is complete! That’s part of your bookkeeping.  If you neglect that, there won’t be much coming in thirty days. And don’t forget to update your books once a check comes in. You don’t want to be frustrated with a client because they are late with a check - only to find out they sent it to you, but you forgot to record the payment! Yes, I’ve done that!

You also need to keep an eye on your cash flow in order to make sure you have the money you need to cover your bills when they come due.

2. Improve

This one seems obvious. You always want to be getting better, but there are some things that fall under the ‘Improvement’ heading that may not be so obvious.

You obviously want to continue to improve your current skills to the extent you can. Things like handling or controlling traditional media better, understanding the software better or learning about new digital tools and processes.

You should also consider expanding your skill set. In my own case: When I first started working on the computer most of my illustrations were Photoshop paintings. These had an appearance similar to the airbrushed paintings that I had been doing prior to using the computer. The computer led to a number of new skills. I started creating vector based art, which has a look all its own. From there I began to get into 3D art. Once I began doing 3D artwork, it wasn’t long before I was doing 3D animation. Now I do animation that incorporates 3D and vector based imagery. I’m currently expanding into motion graphics as well.

So while I initially offered airbrushed style illustrations to my clients, I now offer that along with vector based graphics and line art, 3D illustration and animation and - in the near future - motion graphics.

Expanding your skillset improves your chances of staying busy. You simply have more to offer your clients.

Additionally, you should consider continuously improving your communication and negotiation skills.

It’s critical that you understand what the client wants. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I ask more questions now than I did when I was starting out. You might think the reverse would be true. Experience didn’t make me clairvoyant. It simply made me smarter.  I’m now smart enough to know that I’m better off appearing dumb by asking a lot of questions rather than actually being dumb and not asking enough of them. I can end up doing the job incorrectly - or having to call the client back to ask them the questions I should have - when I had them on the line the first time.

As for negotiation skills, one of the greatest challenges of all artists is negotiating compensation. I’ll discuss that later.

3. Network

That’s the name of the game!

You can manage and improve every aspect of your life, but if you don’t network, your growth will be limited.

Networking means getting your name out there, making connections, getting your work seen and marketing yourself. Basically doing all that you can to make sure you and your work are getting exposed to as much of the world as possible - or at least that part of the world that’s relavent to your career.

It helps if you’re not introverted, but some artists are. You can always look for representation.  Art reps and agencies can be useful. I have a rep I’ve been working with for over twenty years. He’s more like a partner than a business connection. A rep can be difficult to obtain.  There are many more artists than there are reps, so they will only take on so many artists.

There are other ways to get your work in front of people, though. The Internet is a great networking resource and one you should take full advantage of. I will dedicate an entire post to the Internet, but for now just know that it’s something you should be investigating thoroughly - if you’re not already.

Get involved in social groups and societies and go to the functions they host. Networking is the primary reason they host events. Take advantage of it. If you have an opportunity to speak in front of any group - go for it! An art teacher once asked me if I would do a small presentation for her elementary students. I was just a college kid at the time, but I accepted. It was a blast, and I ended up getting my picture in the paper along with a small write up. On another occasion, I did a poster of the Voyager Satellite for the Discovery Place and OmniMax Theater in Charlotte, NC. They were having a huge public launch campaign and asked if I’d set up and demonstrate doing some artwork. I set up a small airbrush rig and demonstrated techniques I used when I did the poster. To top it off, they had a stack of the posters right there that I signed and gave away. I got a lot of publicity from that.

Look for opportunities to gain exposure. I didn’t make any money on either of the above activities, but got an enormous amount of exposure.

To wrap things up: Let me emphasize the point of the whole MIN to Max idea. It is true that the primary function of the commercial artist is to produce art - good art - delivered on time! But in order to be a successful commercial artist you will need to do more than create good art. The point of MIN to Max is to keep you aware of all the things that you need to be aware of.

Curt

Commercial Art 101 – Things To Consider

So - you’ve decided you’d like to become a commercial artist!

What you’ve actually decided is that your artwork is good enough to make money from. Fair enough, but there are some things you should consider.

To begin with, where did you get this whole affirmation of your talent?  This is worth asking yourself, because there’s an extensive list of significant others whose opinions mean almost nothing. As a matter of fact, the more significant they are, the less their opinion is likely to matter!

Some of the saddest - and most frequently - posted forum comments are statements like “All my friends say I’m really good!”

And sadder still, “My mother says…” Unless you know with certainty that your mother does not love you, you can safely dismiss any critique of hers regarding your artwork.

Other opinions of questionable value:

Your wife or husband, your kids, your relatives, your friends, your co-workers. Basically anyone who loves you, likes you or - at the very least - does not want to hurt your feelings.

Now here’s the thing. They may be right! You may actually be pretty good. Your work may be great! But because of the connection these people have with you, their opinions may be suspect.  There is an old saying: “Never ask the butcher if his meat is fresh.  Confirm his claims elsewhere!”

Ideally what you’d like are critiques from people who scarcely know you at all - and preferably with some artistic talent, or an eye for it. The Internet has made it a lot easier to obtain critiques these days, than in the past, and I’ll discuss Internet forums a little later.  Briefly, however: If you post your work on an Internet forum and receive a lot of positive feedback from people you don’t know, that’s good. If you receive a lot of negative feedback from people you don’t know, that’s not great, but it is useful. If you receive no feedback at all, that’s bad.

The truth is you don’t really need anyone’s approval to pursue a career in art. The only person who must absolutely believe in you - is you. You need to be a little careful in that regard though, lest you become an example of the second greatest tragedy in all the world (related to me by my father).  And what is this second greatest tragedy?

People who think they have talent…but do not.

Why is that a tragedy? Because they spend their lives pursuing something they will never achieve. They are playing a game they can only lose.

Let’s assume this is not your case. Let’s assume you actually have some talent (we’ll talk about talent later). How do we turn this into cash?

We Network.

Why?

Here’s another old saying (I like old sayings):  “It’s not what you know, but who you know.”  Well, it’s not even that. It’s “Who knows you!” Until you start networking the answer is Nobody. 

I actually have a saying of my own that I came up with some time ago. 

It goes like this. (drum roll please!)

Do the MIN to get the max

MIN does not stand for minimum. It’s an acronym, not an abbreviation. MIN stands for

M – Manage

I – Improve

N – Network

I’ll go through this in greater detail later, but my bottom line: I felt that if I wanted to grow my business, I would have to be doing these things continuously.  The operative word – continuously!

You may be thinking that you’d really rather get a job for now, and think about starting your own business a little later once you have some more experience under your belt. Join the club.  It’s not that it’s a bad idea; it’s just that jobs for commercial artists are not as plentiful as you might be hoping. 

Here’s a “Fun Fact” for you:

Every single commercial artist I know personally - and I know quite a few - is self-employed; and that means freelance!  Every single one! 

The reality is that most companies that use art don’t have enough work to justify employing an artist full time.

Of course there are companies like Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, and others that are in the business of creating artwork; and while a company like Disney may have many artists on its payroll, what it typically doesn’t have are a lot of openings. Everybody wants to work for Disney! Disney has a lot of money. They can hire anybody they want, and they want the very best!

Don’t get me wrong. If that’s ultimately what you want to do, then by all means apply to those companies. Just know that they pick from the best of the best, and if you’re not quite there yet, you may want to supplement your income in other ways while you’re waiting for your big break.

In my next post, I’ll provide more detail and depth on some of the points raised here.

Oh, and the greatest tragedy in the world?

The person who actually has talent - but does nothing with it.

Why is that a tragedy? Because then we all lose.

Curt

Commercial Art 101 - What is it?

Commercial Art?

What is it?

I am a commercial artist.

That's what I tell people when they ask me what I do. Usually they then ask something like; "So what exactly is it that you do?" I've actually been asked that,.. or; "So what does a commercial artist do?",... or "So you make commercials?"

No,.. I don't make commercials.

A commercial artist is just someone that gets paid to do artwork.

There are essentially two categories of artists: Fine Artists and Commercial Artists

Don't fine artists get paid?

Sure, but the difference is that fine artists, generally speaking, create artwork first and then try to sell it. (Yes, there are exceptions). Because the artwork gets created first it is generally inspired by something that interests the artist. He/She creates a piece of art, someone likes it and decides to buy it. If a lot of people start to like their work they can make a lot of money and become famous even. Most of the artists who you know from history were fine artists; Ruebens, Van Gogh, Leonardo Da Vinci, Monet, Gorky, Picasso, Jackson Pollock, etc, etc, etc,...

Commercial artists don't tend to be famous. Oh there are certainly some famous commercial artists but generally speaking they only become famous among other artists. You don't have to go very far outside the artistic community before they become anonymous again.

Why?

Well it's mostly to do with the nature of the work itself. In the case of the artists mentioned above for instance each created work that was unlike anything people had seen before. Ruebens did many paintings of plump nudes. Van Gogh had a very thick impasto style (and he also cut one of his ears off and sent it to the woman he loved). Da Vinci was actually famous for a number of things but his paintings were considered to be the height of artistic creativity at the time. Monet was the master of Impressionism. Gorky was an Abstract Impressionist. Picasso invented Cubism. Pollock threw paint at the canvas!

Commercial Artists?

Well, we just make pictures of stuff people want us to make pictures of.

Very basically speaking, the commercial artist gets paid to create a specific piece of art. The inspiration for the image usually comes from the person paying for it (the Client). The artist's inspiration to create it is usually money.

So far it may sound like becoming a commercial artist would be a rather boring pursuit.
Why wouldn't everyone want to be a fine artist?

Believe it or not, it's mostly to do with money. Many will disagree,.. but it really is mostly to do with money.

You see, while it is possible to become a famous artist and make a lot of money, becoming a famous artist is a lot like becoming a Rock Star. Sure, some people become Rock Stars but for the thousands and thousands that would like to become a Rock Star, only a few will. The rest will slowly fade into middle class obscurity, which isn't altogether a bad thing.

The story is similar for fine artists. But here's the deal! The average person isn't a very good artist. "I can't even draw a straight line!" That's my favorite (no one can draw a straight line), but the world has a great need for art. I'm not talking about the paintings you buy at the gift shop to hang above your couch (although technically speaking, that counts!).

 I'm talking about the breakfast cereal box cover illustration, the book cover, the cut-a-way picture of that water pump, the Famous Restaurants map of downtown New York, the blood cell image in a medical journal, the label on a soft drink can, etc, etc, etc,...

The need for artwork is huge,... and not everyone is good at it. Thus,........

The Commercial Artist!

The irony is that a lot of famous fine artists started out as commercial artists. Oh yeah!

Below is a piece of commercial art. It's a plan view of the amenity area in a housing development.

I did this for a client I'd worked with for years. They called me up one day and said they had a new project for me. They sent me the architects drawings of this area. I looked it over and called them back (or emailed them probably) with a quote. Apparently they approved it and I produced the artwork. They were happy with it. I sent them an invoice. They sent me a check. Ta Dah!

Okay, so here's the scoop. While there is no guaranty that you will become a successful commercial artist, there is absolutely, beyond all doubt, a greater certainty that you will have a much harder time becoming a successful fine artist. Period. There is also a much greater chance of you becoming a successful fine artist if you are already a successful commercial artist,.. and you won't be starving in the meantime. Just sayin'.

Curt