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