Looking to do book illustrations.

[ben c]

that wouldn't surprise me, industries can
change pretty quickly, and it has been a
few years since i've had to contact people
from scratch.

as an interesting side note, it is now easier
than ever to do ch comics -- for most of my
career i ran into a huge bias against them,
but it has changed a lot over the past few
years...

[Elliotanimated]

The majority of children's publishers do not accept either unsolicited material or unsolited query letters!
This means that they don't accept letters asking if the would like to see material!
Crazy huh?!!

[ben c]

that is crazy, and always seems dumb to me.
on the other hand, i always hear that about
every industry, and while it might be true as
a general statement, there's always a way to
get around it. this might be helpful:

http://www.cbcbooks.org/pdfs/Illustrato ... embers.pdf

(EDIT: this list is from 2004, i know some
people have definitely moved/left positions,
but overall the info is still useful)

and like i said, do a little research and send
stuff to specific people (a little web legwork
can uncover almost any contact info etc --
for example, find out the ed's name, then
just call the main # and ask for them. scary,
but i've done it, sometimes it works and some-
times it doesn't). and persistence -- you can't
imagine how many comic eds and ads i met --
even ones who personally liked my art -- who
wouldn't hire me because i was "too cartoony".
but eventually i found one or two suckers. and
that was all it took.

anyway, i'm about to jump back into the fray
myself... so i guess we'll see how it goes!

[ben c]

i remember in 2002, when i first went to sdcc
to look for work (after trying unsuccessfully
to get work from marvel -- where i was actually
working!) i had been rejected by a ton of people,
and was trying to see someone from dc.

unfortunately, after waiting in line to see him for-
ever, i overheard that you needed to first wait in
another line to get a ticket for a lottery, then "win"
a chance to wait on the line i was in (all of which
i had missed). and then the line was shut down
anyway because he had to leave. but as everyone
else left, i waited while he was packing up his things,
then i (very politely!) offered him my sketchbook,
even if he didn't have time to talk. he protested that
there was this whole process etc, but he glanced
at my book and was interested enough to talk for
a second. month later, he got me my first jobs at dc.

the point isn't whether my art was good or not (it
was good enough), the point is that i showed the
same work to at least another 15 people that same
day with no luck. i'm the most passive person in
the world, but that day i was in a persistent mood,
and (nicely) bugging enough people and going around
enough restrictions finally paid off. it doesn't always
pay off -- as i have learned the hard way -- but don't
let the restrictions stop you. think of it this way: if you
bug enough people (and assuming your work is good),
all the other artists that were put off by sub guidelines
will not be competing with you!

or again, when i was first out of college i called tons of
pubs with no luck, then at one place, jr book designer
who i ended up talking to informed me they needed a
a new designer, so i ended up working there. you just
never know how things will work out.

also, if you want to have pro work to show, instead of
printing your own book, try submitting work to places
that are less competitive (or restrictive) like "highlights"
or the like.

[AzzaMcKazza]

Ben, your advice in this thread is equal parts insightful and inspiring.
As someone who has yet to make the (scary) leap into freelance let me thank you!

[gemini82]

I guess J Turner is soaking up the information.

[J_Turner]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I will be checking out the sites mentioned here. The reason I am asking this is: I work for an ad agency. We mainly take care of employment ads. I won't give out the name of the company. (Just by stating what my job is, you can begin to see the dilemma). Secondly, I always loved to draw. This is all I wanted to do, want to do. I feel that I must attempt a career as an Illustrator. So, now that I have a place to start. I can begin my journey.

[Lowman_X]

As someone who is also looking at trying to get into the illustration profession next year or earlier if my "skillz" (as the hip kids call it these days ) are up to scratch this is really helpful advice!

Is this US-centric or would you expect the same sort of response in Australia?

[Elliotanimated]

Hey Lowman.
Thanks for the comment on my blog.

You'll find the same routine in Australia but even harder.
Practically no publisher will accept unsolicited material so you'll have to get out there and meet folks somehow.
Taking the illustration course at NMIT will give you a good foot in the door but you probably don't much want to go back to study.

[J_Turner]

Sorry, for not responding like I should. I think that, this might not be centralized just in the U.S. market.

[Lowman_X]

Hey Elliot!

No prob! Keeping a fellow Victorian (can I call myself a fellow Victorian after only 4 weeks of living in the state?? ) and artist in the loop!

Ironically enough, I'm actually teaching at NMIT on a 3-4 day week (VCAL Multimedia Studies) and not taking on anymore days because I actually do have plans to go back to study design or illustration or something that will really help me target the skills area needed for professional illustration this year (29 and goin' back to school!). Hmmm... I wonder if I get a discount 'cause I'm a teacher there? LOL But seriously...

I kinda thought that might be the case with cracking the scene here in Oz. I've really found (in most areas) that it's not what you know it's who you know. With that in mind I'll keep stalking... uh... I mean... making contacts within the industry.

[Elliotanimated]

Oh really?

I've appeared there as a guest lecturer twice a year since 1996.

Do you know Stephen Pascoe, head of the illustration department?

[Lowman_X]

I've only just started working there this week so I'm still getting to know people but I'm based out at the Preston campus (is that where the illustration classes are held?). I'm spread between the Youth Unit in Preston and a specialist youth unit/training facility in Brunswick. I think they're also going to be throwing me work from Collingwood from time to time too ('coz, apparently, I'm quite good with working with marginalised youth and they want me everywhere LOL).

[Elliotanimated]

The course certainly is at the Preston campus...

[ben c]

as a sort of personal anecdote/update:

i was at the NYCC on sunday, browsing the
books in the disney publishing booth (sonny
liew's "alice" is beautiful). i noticed someone
showing a portfolio to one of the staff, whom
i had assumed was a marketing-type person.
i waited until the other artist was finished, then
asked the disney guy (who turned out to be an
editor) if he was looking at portfolios. he said
come back in 3 0 minutes, i did, and although
i didn't have a portfolio per se, i did have some
of my printed sketchbooks and a cd mini-
portfolio on me (i ALWAYS have something on
me, you never know!).
he liked my work enough, and gave me his card.
yesterday i emailed him more work, emphasizing
art that looked more like what they had on display
(obviously ben art looks like ben art, but at the
same time, it was obvious from their booth that
my "clone wars" work would appeal to them a lot
less than my "oz" and "40 knives" art). today he
wrote back asking for copies of some of my books.

now, this doesn't mean i'm going to get a job or
anything, the point is that there is always some
way or another to get the attention of editors and
art directors. you just need to be determined (and
of course, your portfolio has to be good) and always
be on the lookout for opportunities -- i had no plans
on doing anything at the con but visiting some
friends!