Art by Mag Takac
Should you start a Youtube channel? Is your digital art too perfect? How can you build confidence in your work? Jake Parker, Lee White, and Will Terry address these questions and more in this live Q&A episode!
ASK A QUESTION
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SHOW LINKS
Children’s Book Pro course
Lee’s art book
Mixed Media Watercolor and Digital class
Jim Madsen
James Jean
Samantha Cotterill interview
KEY TAKEAWAYS
If you want to get specific work, create a specific portfolio.
Your success as an artist doesn’t rest on any one project. Make the work, send it into the world, and move on to the next thing. Some ideas succeed and some fail, but if you keep creating, you’re bound to learn a lot and enjoy a fulfilling career.
QUESTIONS
“I’m showing my portfolio at the Bologna Book Fair next year. What are your display recommendations?”
Keep it simple and professional. iPad portfolios are becoming increasingly common, and for good reason: they’re cheap (assuming you already own an iPad) and easy to flip through. They also allow you to send your PDF portfolio to anyone who wants a closer look. If you don’t have an iPad, a physical portfolio with plastic sleeves is a good option.
“I have an agent, but now what? Do you have tips for getting the projects you want to work on?”
Frank discussions with your agent are key to getting the work you want. Tell them the kinds of books you want to work on and markets you want to enter and ask how they can help you get there. Make a plan together (e.g., creating a targeted portfolio or pitching to specific people), then get to work!
“How do you stay confident in your ideas for personal projects? I’m fine working on a client brief, but I doubt my own work.”
Remember that your success as an artist doesn’t rest on any one project. Hopefully, you’ll have many years of personal projects throughout your life, making the current one just another brick in the wall. Not every project can be a home run, but each one can teach you invaluable lessons if you stick it out to the end.
Try this mental trick: Decide not to judge your work or your skill until you’ve finished one hundred things, whether they’re watercolor paintings, comic strips, or character designs. After you’ve completed a hundred, you can look over your work and determine your skill, but until then, every piece is just for practice. This takes the pressure away and allows you to fail without shame on your road to success.
“Do art directors prefer to see original concepts or your version of an established IP in your portfolio?”
When you’re just starting, ten to twenty percent of your portfolio should be your version of established IP; this allows art directors to get a sense of your approach to other people’s ideas. Once you’re established, a healthy chunk of your portfolio will include completed client work and your original concepts and personal projects.
“How can I add texture and avoid creating digital art that’s too clean?”
First off, check out Will Terry’s SVSLearn class about adding traditional textures to your digital work. Here are a few tips to try:
Create custom brushes with irregular textures
Hand-draw your shapes (ditch the ellipse tool!)
Set your eraser to 80% to retain ghost images
Halfway through your lay-in, destroy it with color and messy brushes; some of that texture will peek through succeeding layers
Use a textured brush over the top of your completed illustrations to add a more naturalistic look
“What is a must-have set of components in a portfolio for comics, entertainment, and advertisement?”
The market favors the specialist. The more you can narrow down the kind of work you want to do, the easier it will be for you to get hired. Rather than creating a portfolio with a mishmash of comic, entertainment, and advertisement work, choose one field and design a portfolio for that. If it’s comics, a solid portfolio could include five pages of two different stories and ten pages of another. If you choose entertainment, zero in on either environment, character, or prop design and create a portfolio around that niche. This displays your competence and dedication, making you a more desirable hire.
“Is it worth it to start a Youtube channel in 2023?”
Making videos is time consuming, but one view on Youtube is worth much more than one like on Instagram. Youtube is far less saturated with artists than Instagram and TikTok, so there's less competition. If you enjoy the process, have the time, and are willing to be consistent, Youtube can be incredibly rewarding. In the end, only you can determine if it's worth it, but now is a great time to try it out!
LINKS
Jake Parker: mrjakeparker.com. Instagram: @jakeparker, Youtube: JakeParker44
Will Terry: willterry.com. Instagram: @willterryart, Youtube: WillTerryArt
Lee White: leewhiteillustration.com. Instagram: @leewhiteillo
Daniel Tu: danieltu.co.
Lily Camille Howell: lilycamille.com
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