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Are you reaping what you’ve sowed? (+ launch of an online class)

When I had started teaching at a local college about the creative process of illustration, I found myself talking a lot about the entrepreneurial aspects of it as well. It didn’t matter if your skills were the best on the block – if you didn’t know how to make the best of it, well then you’re not going to get far.

But so many artists and illustrators get it wrong. They think that if their work is good, then it should speak for itself. They think that if they weren’t getting picked up by clients, publishers, buyers, etc., that it just means that they’re not good enough. And so they try, again and again – and somewhere along the way they get lucky – they get picked. Fueled by the acknowledgement, they work harder, only to have their confidence plummet again because they weren’t picked, unlike before. They start to find a part-time job. Money is tight. Their passion dwindles. They eventually settle for a full-time job that they loathe. “It’s only temporary”, they mutter. But is it?

I’ve contemplated on heading back to a full-time job when I first started out as a freelancer. The pressure was too much during those first couple of years – I had a mortgage and bills to pay, and there were essential things that I wanted to save up for. A fridge. A washing machine. There were days when it was great, and there were also times when the thought of not knowing where my next income might come from made it hard. But each time I stared at the classifieds, I felt my heart sink. Each time I put it away.

I never did get a full-time job after all, only one part-time gig to tide me over a few months, and I have never looked back for the past 4 years. It was only from my second year of freelancing did I start to reap the rewards that I’ve so carefully sown from the beginning. A lot of it was about relationships – ones that I never stopped cultivating, even before I left the corporate world. I made new contacts, which lead to even more work, which eventually snowballed to even bigger opportunities. I’ve carved a name for myself in a niche industry. I’ve come to a point where I have to turn down projects, lucrative as it may be so that I can pursue what I love: teaching.

And today marks the day where I launch my first solo online class for aspiring artists and illustrators who want to find their footing in this big bad digital world. So starting in September, for 6 weeks, I’ll be guiding artists and illustrators on how to hone in on their style and story, and how to turn their skills into a viable business while having fun along the way.

I’ll be teaching you the things that I’ve learnt along my journey, along with the results of my careful observations of artists and illustrators over the past 6 years. I’m going to touch on marketing (and no, it’s not a dirty word) and how the spirit of generosity will create not only goodwill, but massive opportunities for yourself.

I’ll teach you how to recognize opportunities and hunt them down (without making people cringe at you!), how to differentiate yourself from the sea of other talents out there, how to build your presence effectively, how to self-promote fearlessly and how to make money from your art.

Ultimately, I want to provide you with skills that are future-proof. Skills that can stretch far beyond what you believe you’re capable of, so that by the end of the course, you’ll have your very own road map and strategies to create great work, and the ability to find opportunities and income wherever you go and whatever you do.

If this is something that you’ve been looking for, then I invite you to come check out Work / Art / Play. It starts from 16th September 2013 and enrollment is now open for 3 weeks. I’m really excited about this class and I hope you are too!

SHARE WITH US:

What strategies did you put into motion that has helped you along your way to becoming a more successful creative business owner? What advice would you have to share with others so that they can avoid the heartache that you went through?

[Illustrations on the Work / Art / Play site is done by Susanne Low!]

Q + A: Should I quit my job to focus on art full-time?

Dear Amy,

I’m a full-time secretary at an accounting firm, but what I really want to do is to concentrate on my art full time. I hate my job – it’s stressful and I work 50 hours a week, which leaves little time for me to work on my personal project: illustrating a children’s book, which I hope to accomplish before the end of the year. I have a husband who can support me for a few months (I’m so ready to throw in the towel!) but I’m not sure if it’s the wise thing to do since work is hard to come by. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to sustain myself after I’ve completed the book as well – or if there’s going to be anyone snapping it up, which is really frustrating.

Should I continue with my full-time job and work on my project on the side, or should I quit to focus on my book full time?

~ Rachel

Dear Rachel,

I attended a talk recently, where a couple of illustrators and writers were talking about their experiences and process when writing a children’s book. At the end of the talk when it was Q+A time, I raised my hand and asked them this question: “How do you guys earn enough to do this for a living, since you only produce about 2 books a year?” The room turned to me and murmurs could be heard rippling through the crowd – they were curious after all; I just stood up and verbalized what half the room was thinking. Both of the illustrators said that they had part-time jobs in addition to working on the book. The whispers in the room got even louder, and I could see that the young illustrators in the room were a little taken back by their answer.

But I wasn’t. And their answers merely proved a point that I’ve been trying to drive home.

When you’re starting out as an illustrator, or if you’ve recently graduated as one – you’ll need to think of it as a business. And you, as an entrepreneur. The ability to draw is just one of your skill set, among many other skills that you’ll have to pick up along the way. It’s a tough journey, which is why I don’t recommend going at it full time when you’re just beginning – just like any other businesses.

For example, I stayed in my job as a magazine editor for a full year while running Pikaland – writing everyday and collaborating with artists on projects, going to the post office, coding up my blog and shopping cart (there wasn’t an elegant out-of-the-box solution back then!), and to top it off, a daily 2-hour commute. I slept about 5 hours everyday and crammed whatever free time I had into Pikaland, which meant no TV or unnecessary outings. I was also mindfully networking and finding opportunities for freelance writing commissions so that I could pad up my savings for a rainy day. Only when I felt that I had deserved it (and saved up quite a substantial amount to last me at least a year) – and that all my hard work was beginning to bear fruit – that I handed in my resignation letter. It wasn’t easy, but those small steps that I consciously took everyday helped pushed me towards my goal.

So my advice for you, Rachel, would be this: instead of jumping right away into the deep end, I recommend a slow but steady approach: get a less hectic part-time job, so that you can focus on honing your skills and work on your project. What if you can’t get another job? Then I’d recommend negotiating shorter hours with your boss or cutting back on your working days (hey, it’s no harm to ask!) without sacrificing your work performance so that you can find your audience. While this means working a little harder at the beginning, you’ll get less stressed about not being able to make money from your work while you continue to hone your skills. And let’s face it – it’s rare for artists to shoot to the front of the fame train on their first try. Persistence is key.

I’d also recommend setting a goal for yourself – just like what I did. Make a list of things that you hope to accomplish – whether it’s getting freelance clients, getting paying customers, having a book deal in hand, or opting for another less hectic part-time job – before you can give yourself the green light to dive full-time into your art.

Illustration – just like any business, is built on relationships, and the earlier you cultivate the necessary relationships that will help bring in work; whether it’s with your audience or your clients, the easier it will be when the time comes for you to take that leap and dedicate your time to creating.

SHARE YOUR STORY:

Have you ever quit your job to focus on your art full-time? What lessons did you learn from it? How did you manage the transition? I’d love to hear your story, plus any other advice you have for Rachel!

If you think this article is helpful, there’s more coming your way – just subscribe to our weekly newsletter to make sure you don’t miss out on any! And if you have friends who are contemplating doing what Rachel is doing, share this article with them before it’s too late!

Why do you do the things you do?

If I had to say one thing, it’s that it’s an interesting curve – this little spot that I carved out of the internet called Pikaland.

Six years ago I was a magazine editor running around, organizing, writing, commissioning, reviewing, interviewing, and reading – all in the name of architecture and design. When I was 12 me and my friends talked about how our careers would look like when we were all grown up. I wanted to be a magazine editor, and travel the world. I did the first, though not so much the second. Yet. So it was check and done, and I moved on.

I read voraciously. If you could imagine a hungry person shoving food into their mouths like their life depended on it, then words were my nourishment. I became enthralled with illustrations. I still kept the beautiful picture books from when I was young, silverfish be damned. When I walked into a bookstore and felt my whole skin tingle from the top of my head to my very toes. And the need to pee badly. That would have meant I was in the vicinity of books. Hundreds of them.

I was curious. I was hungry. I had this massive itch that could only be quelled through research into this wonderful new world of illustration that I had found. So I started a blog to share what I uncovered. This blog.

Back then, I started posting about illustrators who had online shops that I could peruse – the ones I’d discover on Etsy, or on other blogs and the ones that I came across in magazines and books. I was engrossed in how they turned their craft into something that was also functional. Prints, totes, books, stationery – they swept me off my feet. It was not only just about illustrations, but about the entrepreneurial spirit of artists. The blog became my little scrapbook – snippets of illustrators along with words I’d put together to verbalize what I absorbed.

It was also a way of educating myself. I wanted to understand the field – how things were done, how an image was made, a story was told. I found it magical that people could make a living at doing something that they loved. I sharpened my senses and learned on the fly, digging deep and challenged myself by asking questions that I was only happy to prod. The questions always started with a “why”, more than the “how”, which is why you’ll find that I hardly dive into the technicalities behind illustrations. It was never about trying to recreate the work of any artist, rather it was the need for me to get into their heads, to find out why they did what they did. For me it was always the story – its essence and the message that flows from the artist, to me, the viewer.

The first few years of starting this blog saw me writing almost everyday about the illustrators I’ve discovered. In turn I got some fans. I started to take on illustration commissions, and after a couple of years, I stopped. I wrote some more. By the fourth year, my writings had veered towards finding patterns from one illustrator to another. I knew how to read into the intent of an artist. My search into meaning continues and I subconsciously look for ways to be surprised, taken in, amused. And when I arrive at that magical point in time where I go “A-ha!” – it’s like uncovering a secret treasure, something private that’s only shared between me and them. I love the feeling.

And with the fifth and now sixth year, more changes crept in. Writing about new illustrators I’d found didn’t seem necessary any more (although I still did my research) since the invention of Pinterest and Tumblr, where new works from artists could be repinned, forwarded and linked with an ease that was never available before. My work as an adjunct teacher at a local college of design (where I teach about creativity and the illustration process since 2012) has also spurred my confidence that I could make a difference, no matter how small it may be. I’ve found the intersection of my passions, and a renewed sense of purpose along with it.

It was never about trying to recreate the work of any artist, rather it was the need for me to get into their heads, to find out why they did what they did.

So now, instead of breadth, I am going for depth. All those years of looking, watching, and researching has helped shaped my worldview of the current situation of illustration, where I’ve gathered great feedback from all of you (thank you readers!) and it’s also where I’ve subconsciously noticed a pattern and an evergreen process on how to manage one’s creative business through my own experiences as a freelancer while running Pikaland.

Steve Jobs’ quote from his commencement address in 2005 said it best – “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” So here I am. I’ve connected my dots, all of which has lead me to this very moment. I look forward to making a difference and laying down more dots in time and I hope you’ll join me.

SHARE WITH ME:

Why do you do what you do? Look back at your own history and try to connect the dots – what can you see? Write down your revelations in the comments below – I’d love to hear your story!