Art by Analise Black
Should I quit my job to illustrate? How do you organize admin work? Can I take the stress out of taxes? Jake Parker, Lee White, and Will Terry cover the nitty-gritty of illustration business in this episode.
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SHOW LINKS
Deep Work by Cal Newport
QuickBooks
Nathan Fowkes interview
Brad Colbow: Why Your AI Art Isn’t Selling (and Never Will)
The Art of James Koenig
KEY TAKEAWAYS
There is power in focus. Designate time for chores and office work, and don’t worry about those tasks outside of their assigned time.
Don’t put off doing the dirty work; batch your tasks and complete them early for greater peace of mind and creative bandwidth.
Drawing for fun and illustrating professionally are two different games. Don’t turn your hobby into a full-time career unless you’re prepared to face burnout, poor art direction, deadlines, and the admin that accompanies running a business.
Don’t quit your job (yet). Create a safety net of savings, eliminate debt, lower expenses, and consider maintaining at least part-time hours at your job to provide steady income during the dry seasons in your illustration career.
QUESTIONS
Roddy asks, “Any tips on the mechanics of running a freelance art career (e.g., bookkeeping, invoicing, taxes, keeping records and receipts, useful resources, etc.)?”
First, accept that these tasks are part of your job description. When you embrace that fact, you can design systems to minimize stress and maximize productivity. Choose to work on taxes and invoices earlier than necessary so you don’t have to stress about running out of time.
Here are some of our favorite back-office hacks:
Practice Cleanup Friday: All week, stash invoices, receipts, and office tasks in the Friday file. When Friday rolls around, you can complete all that busy work in one tidy time block.
Keep all your tax documents, information, and receipts in a labeled folder on your computer, making it easy to locate during tax season.
Invoicing: We like QuickBooks, PayPal, or a customized Google Sheets template.
For each new project, create a document containing all the essential information: basic terms, dates, and details. As communication flies between you and the client, you can update the doc rather than sifting through long email chains. It’s also a great place to take notes during meetings!
Mike asks, “My job pays well, but I want to draw for a living. I don’t think I’m professional enough to quit my job yet, but on the other hand, if I quit, I’ll have much more time to improve my art and turn pro. What should I do?”
As soon as you go pro, drawing will no longer be the fun escape it is now. While you might still enjoy it, it will become an obligation and require you to match your clients’ vision before your own. The euphoria of getting paid to stay home and draw will eventually fade, and you’ll settle into a routine of deadlines, bosses, and occasional boring or bad projects.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t pursue illustration; just make sure you have your eyes wide open. If you’re still determined, transition wisely. Eliminate your debt, lower your costs, and put several months’ worth of expenses in savings. At that point, you could take an extended leave from your day job, lining up enough clients to illustrate full-time during your break and giving you a taste of that life. You could also expand your client load until you can transition to part-time at your job and use the rest of your time to illustrate.
Due to the fluctuating nature of art gigs, maintaining a steady income through a day job, if only part-time, is a necessary safety net, at least for starters. Don’t give it up too soon!
Robert asks, "Do you think AI and AI-assisted art will usher in a new art style or era?"
Since AI learns from so many art styles across the internet, it’s hard to imagine it will develop a single style. While it’s known for realism today, it will likely become more diverse over time.
We don’t yet have a surefire way to protect our work from AI infringement, but tangible goods are AI-proof and allow your work to connect with people. What physical products could you create and get into the hands of others?
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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