How do I pick a niche? What should I remove from my portfolio? How do I conquer perfectionism? Join the conversation with illustrators Jake Parker, Lee White, and Will Terry.

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SHOW LINKS

How to Fix Your Art
Article: What Is Corporate Memphis and Why Is It Everywhere?
The Original Art show from Society of Illustrators
Episode 144 (more thoughts on anime)

Want the Portfolio Perfection PDF? Email info@svslearn.com!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The best way to make your portfolio stand out is to include images that evoke emotion. Art directors are flooded with technically amazing work all day, but connection and storytelling are what grab and keep their attention.
Trying to find your best career path? Remember to account for the type of lifestyle you want to have, not just the kind of art you hope to make.
On-the-job learning is the best kind. Don’t wait to achieve mastery before creating your dream project!

QUESTIONS

Sara asks, "I'm starting my career as a freelancer and would love to do a lot of things, but I know I need to focus on one market. I'm wandering around, not really knowing where my style fits best. What should I do?"

It’s natural and good to want to try many kinds of illustration, and many people find it challenging to settle on just one. To help you narrow down, look for the intersection of your interests, abilities, and desired lifestyle. Children’s book illustration, with its long-term assignments and months between paychecks, is a very different lifestyle from editorial illustration’s faster timetable. You’re probably better suited to one over the other. This is a huge factor to consider when searching for your ideal market.

Note that just because you turn down some types of work today doesn’t mean you’re closing that door forever; you can always circle back in the future.

At the start of your career, there could be some benefit to trying many kinds of work just to see what fits best. More than mere dabbling, completing projects across multiple disciplines gives you a taste of the ups and downs of working in that industry.

Anonymous asks, “Does anime have a place in children’s book illustration?”

Generally, no. While you won’t find much anime-style work with bigger publishers, you might find success in self-publishing. We discussed this in episode 144, so check that out for more thoughts!

If you want to know if your art style is publishable, check out publishers’ season catalogs and The Original Art show from Society of Illustrators. These showcase the latest and greatest in children’s book illustration and can help you see if your style tracks.

Lukas asks, "How do we cultivate the courage to put ourselves out there despite our fears and perfectionism?"

Adopt an attitude of on-the-job learning. Once you have a basic set of skills, your growth will come more through making art rather than practicing art. Rather than putting off projects until you’ve perfected your perspective or mastered color theory, dive in! If you discover a weakness along the way, work on that in order to complete your project. This kind of learning helps you overcome perfectionism and develop creative momentum.

Sonia asks, “How do you decide what to keep in your portfolio and what to replace?”

First off, remove any work you don’t want to be hired to make again. Next, what’s your very best piece? Keep that. What are your second- and third-best pieces? Keep those, too. Retain up to ten of your very best pieces and replace the rest.

Remember that just because a piece is technically sound doesn’t make it interesting. To hold an art director’s attention, you have to change their emotional state, so master storytelling and evoking strong feelings. That’s the kind of work that lands jobs.

LINKS

Svslearn.com

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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If you want to be a part of the discussion and have your voice heard, join us at forum.svslearn.com.