Freelance Illustration
Preparation
Portfolio Diversity - people, kids, animals, vehicles, buildings, trees (art directors won’t believe it 'til they see it)
Resumé - they’re looking for repeat clients (shows you’re reliable)
Learn Photoshop - levels, cropping, resizing, layers, text
Exploration
Harvest similar artists' client lists (especially recent RISD grads)
Target the types of publications which use a style similar to yours
Look for payment prices on publisher’s websites - under $100 is too low
Read each publisher's submission guidelines:
- some have strange directions (file format, size, etc)
- some won't look at digital portfolios
- some require assignment pieces
Summer goal: Send 100 email cover letters to different publishers
Optional goal: Seek out an agent
Reliability
They want 3 things from you - a predictable style, a finish that matches the sketch, and the ability to meet deadlines
Communicate clearly:
- ask for deadlines up front
- send a sketch (or sketches)
- say you’ll wait for their feedback on the sketch before starting the final
In-House Design
Preparation
Theme: STAND OUT!
Spelling Perfection - your/you’re & there/their/they’re are crucial
Personality - infuse your personality into your cover letter, but not your resumé
Connections are key (RISD, friends from previous jobs)
Interview
Be Friendly - they want to hire someone they want to be around, so smile!
Stay Positive - don’t criticize yourself or others
Conquer their Questions
Your weakness: perfectionist, but you adapt to meet deadlines
Your strengths: creative, fast learner, hard worker, problem solver, people person, punctual, flexible to change
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