How to be an Illustrator


Book Description

At last! Here is true practical help for budding freelance illustrators. This book helps you avoid the pitfalls that can ruin a career, with advice on crucial first impressions, how to create a portfolio and approach clients, how to negotiate contracts, and how to handle, deliver, and bill the first job. It discusses how to set up a studio, maintain a steady flow of work, and manage time and money. In addition, it provides information on successful self-promotion, self-publishing, and the prosand cons of agents. Packed with useful tips gleaned from the author's own career and his work as an agent handling major artists in the US and UK, the book includes interviews with nine big-name illustrators. The reader benefits from their experience of starting out; what they learned during the metamorphosis from student to professional; what their expectations and experiences have been. In addition, art directors and commissioners describe the ways they like to be approachedand the ways they really dislike.




Becoming a Successful Illustrator


Book Description

Get ready to enter the working world of illustration with this freshly updated second edition of Brazell and Davies's Becoming a Successful Illustrator. This edition features even more 'Spotlight on...' sections, with advice from practicing illustrators as well as the people that commission them. You can enjoy added coverage in fields such as moving image, character illustration and social media. There are also new exercises to get you started planning and building your business, and over 200 inspirational examples of artwork, most of which are new to this edition. You can expect practical tips on how to seek work, how to market yourself and how to run your illustration business in an enterprising way, with advice that will prove useful long after your first commission. Building on the resources of the first edition, this continues to be the must-have guide to practicing professionally as an illustrator. Featured illustrators include: Millie Marotta Mark Ulriksen Natsko Seki Ellen Weinstein Stephen Collins ... and many more Featured topics include: Finding clients Agency representation Fields of work Financial and legal requirements Skills in art and design Self-promotion Showing work Managing your business




Night Fisher


Book Description

R. Kikuo Johnson has created an intimate and compelling graphic novel-length drama of young men on the cusp of adulthood. First-rate prep school, S.U.V., and a dream house in the heights: This was the island paradise handed to Loren Foster when he moved to Hawaii with his father six years ago. Now, with the end of high school just around the corner, his best friend, Shane, has grown distant. The rumors say it's hard drugs, and Loren suspects that Shane has left him behind for a new group of friends. What sets Johnson's drama apart is the naturalistic ease with which he explores the relationships of his characters. It is at once an unsentimental portrait of that most awkward period between adolescence and young adulthood and that rarest of things: a mature depiction of immature lives.




How to Be an Illustrator Second Edition


Book Description

This book offers practical help and guidance to aspiring illustrators. All areas of the job are covered – creating a portfolio; approaching potential clients; preparing for meetings and negotiating contracts; setting up a studio; maintaining a flow of work and managing one’s time and cash. Self-promotion, creating websites, self-publishing and the pros and cons of agents are all explored. International illustrators are interviewed, discussing how they got their break in the industry, their experiences with clients, their methods of promoting work and more. In addition, leading art directors describe their approach to commissioning illustration, how they spot new talent, their thoughts on promotional material and their advice to up-and-coming illustrators. Packed with useful tips gleaned from the author’s own career as an illustrator, and his work as an agent handling some of the best new talent, the book is an essential read for anyone looking to succeed in illustration.




Find Your Artistic Voice


Book Description

An artist's unique voice is their calling card. It's what makes each of their works vital and particular. But developing such singular artistry requires effort and persistence. Bestselling author, artist, and illustrator Lisa Congdon brings her expertise to this guide to the process of artistic self-discovery. Featuring advice from Congdon herself and interviews with a roster of established artists, illustrators, and creatives, this one-of-a-kind book will show readers how to identify and nurture their own visual identity, navigate the influence of artists they admire, push through fear and insecurity, and appreciate the value of their personal journey.




Starting Your Career as an Illustrator


Book Description

From the first steps of starting out up through succeeding as a professional, Fleishman's newest guide navigates how illustration ties concept and technique. From advice on education and finding the right state of mind, through opening shop and finding the right venue, Starting Your Career as an Illustrator is a bit of a technical how-to, something of a business book, certainly an inspirational work, definitely a professional overview, even a personal lifestyle guide. It accurately documents the eclectic adventures of illustrators now, as well as relating historical perspectives, motivations, and inspirations to balance that picture and present readers with a true global field experience—all in an accessible, reader-friendly style. Topics include how to: Create a portfolio Make initial contacts Develop a financial plan Set up an office Acquire supplies and equipment Price your own work Market on the Web Nurture a growing freelance business And much more Through direct and candid conversations with scores of professionals up and down the career ladder, this book offers rich perspectives of illustrators (and their cohorts) at and away from the drawing board. It looks at the strong threads tying professional and academic process, practice, and product, and offers extensive research, a global pool of resources, and a wide panorama of info that promotes problem solving by way of a spectrum of ideas. Over fifty illustrations are included throughout. Allworth Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, publishes a broad range of books on the visual and performing arts, with emphasis on the business of art. Our titles cover subjects such as graphic design, theater, branding, fine art, photography, interior design, writing, acting, film, how to start careers, business and legal forms, business practices, and more. While we don't aspire to publish a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are deeply committed to quality books that help creative professionals succeed and thrive. We often publish in areas overlooked by other publishers and welcome the author whose expertise can help our audience of readers.




The Fox and the Star


Book Description

From the award-winning designer of the iconic Penguin Hardcover Classics comes a beautifully illustrated fable about loss, friendship, and courage The Fox and the Star is the story of a friendship between a lonely Fox and the Star who guides him through the frightfully dark forest. Illuminated by Star’s rays, Fox forages for food, runs with the rabbits, and dances in the rain—until Star suddenly goes out and life changes, leaving Fox huddling for warmth in the unfamiliar dark. To find his missing Star, Fox must embark on a wondrous journey beyond the world he knows—a journey lit by courage, newfound friends, and just maybe, a star-filled new sky. Inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement and the art of William Blake, The Fox and the Star is a heartwarming, hopeful tale which comes alive through Bickford-Smith’s beloved illustrations, guiding readers both young and grown to “look up beyond your ears.”




Starting Your Career as a Contractor


Book Description

This incisive, practical guide provides a thorough breakdown of the ins and outs everyone needs to know when turning contracting skills into a business. From summoning the motivation to start your own business to the intricacies of being your own boss, Claudiu Fatu artfully turns his personal experiences and those of other successful contractors into advice on every aspect of building a business. The chapters focus on: Developing a business structure, including bank accounts, tax registration, insurance, and branding Handling legal and accounting hurdles Managing employees and dealing with clients Using marketing systems to find and book work Estimating and bidding on jobs Writing contracts Creating invoices and a billing system Controlling costs, keeping records, and understanding profit margin Planning retirement and other benefits for the self-employed By teaching contractors to anticipate problems that can arise when dealing with clients, and to build a business plan that can support a contractor’s talents in the best way possible, Starting Your Career as a Contractor is the ultimate manual to getting the job done right! Allworth Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, publishes a broad range of books on the visual and performing arts, with emphasis on the business of art. Our titles cover subjects such as graphic design, theater, branding, fine art, photography, interior design, writing, acting, film, how to start careers, business and legal forms, business practices, and more. While we don't aspire to publish a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are deeply committed to quality books that help creative professionals succeed and thrive. We often publish in areas overlooked by other publishers and welcome the author whose expertise can help our audience of readers.




A is for Astronaut


Book Description

Winner! 2019 Nebraska Book Award Retired astronaut Clayton Anderson takes readers on an A to Z flight through the alphabet from astronaut and blastoff to spacewalk and Zulu Time. Topics cover the history of NASA, science, and practical aspects of being an astronaut using fun poems for each letter paired with longer expository text in the sidebars. Perfect for science buffs, budding astronauts, and astronomy lovers of all ages.




50 Markets of Illustration


Book Description

This overview of the numerous markets that currently exist for illustrators reveals a vast and wide-ranging pool of potential freelance opportunities. This reference catalogs many lesser-known, supplementary markets beyond the traditional, more-populated avenues for illustration assignments. Features fifty specialized markets in which artists and illustrators can potentially prosper.