Getting into the real deal career stuff now, I thought I’d write a little post on my reflections on a fantastic talk presented by The Association of Illustrators (AOI) we had last Friday.
AOI visitor Lou Bones imparted lots of wisdom on us in the 2 hours we were spoken to, but one of the topics that stood out to me the most was about creating artwork that directs your interests (and your clients)- put simply, ‘create what you love to do and the work will follow’~
Now that doesn’t mean that freelancing is gonna be easy (that’s far from the truth!), but building a portfolio based upon work that you’d like to take on is key to getting jobs that promote self growth as an artist without straying too far from personal preference.
There’s loads of areas you can aim towards- to name a few, we have editorial, fashion/costume design, commercial advertising, fine art (art for its own sake), and concept design. There are areas that could use illustrative talent almost everywhere you look; the possibilities (and opportunities) are truly endless.
For example, I’ll personally be working on pattern design, character-led imagery, editorial style imagery and possibly printmaking (as well as a variety of other areas) that best describe my artistic style and interest. I also really want to get into typography some more, as this is a really prevalent application in the industry today and could come in useful for a variety of jobs.
Through doing this, I can display the kind of work on my website that will look attractive to clients looking for that type of artwork- in theory! ^^”
Obviously, it’s really beneficial to have a wide range of styles/applications of work to showcase as this opens up many more potential job opportunities compared to sticking to familiar ground. Not all jobs will be to my taste, but I hope by pointing my artistic style in the right direction will yield good results ♥
References
Association of Illustrators (2017). The AOI – Stand Stronger Together [online]. Available at: https://theaoi.com [Accessed 6 Feb 2019].
chalon joy collingwood 