Art by Analise Black
Do I need to learn digital art? How can I get excited about my work again? Am I ready to be a full-time artist? Lee White, Will Terry, and Jake Parker discuss all these questions in this episode.

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SHOW LINKS

Self-Publishing Pro
Episode 200: The Intentional Art Career
Howard Lyon
Dan dos Santos
Jake Morrison

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Is your work good enough? The answer lies in the number of people willing to pay for it.

• Every medium you learn will inform other parts of your creative practice and make you a more well-rounded illustrator.

• If you’re not excited about the work, no one else will be either.

• Master copies teach you to think like a pro. Do more of them!

• The process of an illustration: get an idea, gather references, create thumbnails (iterate quickly), pick one, and take it to a finish. 

QUESTIONS

Bill asks, “If I plan to focus on traditional art, should I still learn digital?”

That depends, but it’s a good idea. If you work solely in traditional media, you’ll need a way to scan or photograph your work and turn it into print-ready files, which will likely involve digital editing. Keep in mind that certain media (like oil paints) don’t photograph easily, so working that out will add extra time to your process.

Each medium you learn informs the rest of your work, and having both traditional and digital tools in your toolbelt can make you a more well-rounded illustrator. Starting with physical media will give you the most solid foundation as you learn to create without an undo button. 

Ryan asks, “I'd love to be a character designer but I’ve lost my drive to improve my portfolio. I casually brainstorm character design ideas without diving deeper into why they exist or how they function in a story. What writing or thinking tasks can I do to develop my characters and their stories?”

First of all, do you even want to be a character designer? You sound rather bored!  If you’re not interested in your work, you better believe your viewers won’t be either. Focus on reigniting your interest in your characters. Start by finding a story that speaks to you and design characters for it. (Remember that with thousands of stories already out there, you don’t always need to write your own.)

You can also practice by creating stories in your head for the people you see in daily life. Analyze their posture, expressions, and clothes and come up with interesting explanations for who they are.

Master studies are another great way to develop your design skills. Copying the art of an illustrator you admire allows you to peek into their brain and problem-solve as they did, which you can apply to your own work later.

At the end of the day, though, don’t get so caught up in world-building, imagination, and practices that you don’t create anything. The only way to become a character designer is to design characters, so start small, but start. As you create designs for your portfolio, think about your ideal clients and their problems. How can you solve those problems with your work? As you tailor your portfolio to their needs, you make yourself infinitely more hireable to the market in which you seek to work.

Jonathan asks, “I have a bachelor’s in fine arts and animation, but I’ve been working an office job since graduation. My wife also works and we have two kids. I want to get back into art and have the urge to quit my day job but I know I should stick to a more nuanced approach. What are my options? I’m currently working on small comics and trying to market them on social media.”

Becoming a full-time artist is a worthy and achievable goal, but you must  be smart about making the leap. Don’t quit your day job until your income from your art matches or outpaces whatever you make there. You’ll know your art is good enough for the industry when people are willing to pay for it.

Reaching this level of professionalism is a matter of skill building, presentation, and marketing. If the illustration skills are there, your next step is to update your Instagram to show more complete work leading people towards an offering, like a book or comic. 

Offering high-quality samples of your art is a great way to gain support for your next big project. Offer a free PDF of a complete mini-comic in exchange for email addresses; this helps people get excited about your work and allows you to stay in touch with your supporters. When you launch a Kickstarter or new project, those are the people who will be ready to back you. Do that repeatedly and you’re well on your way to earning enough from your art to support yourself.

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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