5 things I've learnt so far as a freelancing noob

In an effort to make the Bookish Owl a more entertaining and informative blog, I thought about all the things I've learnt in the last few months and decided to compile them into a list that might help other freelancing newbies out there. Keep in mind I'm still very much a freelancing noob, I still have a lot to learn, but here's 5 things I've learnt so far.

1. Folio presentation
It doesn't matter how good your work is, if it's presented woefully you probably won't impress anyone. How you present your work could be sort of a measure of how much you care about your work and how serious you are. Neatly presented pages of work printed on nice paper, inside an easy to open, sturdy and professional-looking portfolio is the way to go.

My portfolio is a monster from a store called Zetta Florence. It's a box/binder, about 8x11" in size, with mylar sleeves. Looking back now, the price I paid for it was probably a bit overkill, but it still looks good. You don't have to spend a fortune on yours but do be sure to invest in a good quality portfolio that will protect your work as well as making it look great.

Finally, the order of your work and the flow of your portfolio is definately something to consider. Don't jumble it up too much. For instance, I have all my digitally rendered pieces placed first (they also make up the majority of the work in my folio), mostly because this is the kind of work I prefer to do professionally. My digital work is followed by my greyscale ink work, and then paintings on paper.

I could probably write a whole blog post about this, but we need to move on!


2. Consistency
The thing that people commented on most about my portfolio was that it was extremely consistent and showed a lot of discipline. This sort of came as a suprise since I am still tweaking my 'style' with almost every piece I do, in order to try and get it right.

Consistency in your work is critical, especially if you are looking to illustrate children's picture books. You need to show that you can take one character, and draw him or her in many different ways while still maintaining the look of that character. Publishers want to see that you will be able to carry a character over a 20 or 30 something page book.

Maintaining your 'voice' in your work is important because it helps you form a 'brand' for yourself - it's your identity, what your work will be remembered for! It will make your work more easily recognisable as well.


3. Variety!
Wait.... what?? Mel, you just said my portfolio needs to be consistent! What are you smokin'?

Well sir, this means a couple of different things. And of course, it will all depend on who you are showing your folio to. For some markets, some of these might not be too relevent.

One art director suggested to me that it'd be a good idea to show examples of different styles. For children's books this is a good idea - you will probably get asked to do things in different styles, depending on the market that the project is intended for. It also is a way of demonstrating your drawing skill.

Variety in the subject matter of your work will impress your potential clients and employers. Show them that you can draw lots of different things, different moods.


4. Typography is just awesome
My class held an exhibition in Prahan about a month ago. One night, we had an 'industry night' where art directors, illustrators, agents and other professionals in the creative industry viewed our work and portfolios. In general, they were particularly impressed by the students who intergrated typography into their illustrations successfully. It seems to be a bit of an underrated area in illustration, and seen as more of a design thing. But making typography INTO illustration is simply, really, really awesome.

It may not work for everybody, and may not be very relevent for some markets. But I believe that having one or two pieces of work featuring great typography will really strengthen your portfolio and impress your potential employers and clients.


5. Art directors and agents aren't all that scary
They're just people like you and me, you know? Well, some of them might be a bit intimidating. They're probably working under tight deadlines or something. But most that I have met have been pretty friendly and very happy to give me feedback about my work.

What about criticism? Yeah, it can be tough - but don't immediatly think that any criticism is made due to your work being bad. There's a number of reasons why employers/clients/agents might criticise your work:

1. It might not be what they are looking for, or the kind of style/genre that they deal with.
2. It might no be appropriate for the particular market they want to sell to.
3. It simply may not be their particular cup of tea. Like everyone else, art directors and agents have tastes of their own.
4. Your work is good, but needs to improve more to be of a professional standard. You might not be ready for professional work just yet.
   

See, not all that bad. Always think of it like this: the person who is giving you critique/advice sees potential in your work, and is trying to help you improve.

If someone is not interested in your work, or doesn't think you are good enough for professional work, they will most likely tell you. But don't get disheartened. Just work hard, study hard, and LOOK at the work that these publishers and agencies are putting out there.


Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this and I hope it becomes useful for someone out there. These are all my opinions, by the way - if you have anything to add, or if you disagree about something I have said, feel free to leave a comment and have your say!



Also just thought I'd sneak this in, it's NEW LOGO TIME! My work has evolved a bit so I wanted a new image for my site and business cards to reflect my new and improved work.