Contents · 2019-01-17 · suggestion included here is valuable and highly recommended. ... Tiny...
Transcript of Contents · 2019-01-17 · suggestion included here is valuable and highly recommended. ... Tiny...
Contents
Company Databases ..................................................................................... 4
Types of Illustration and Design Jobs Examples ......................................... 5
Website and Portfolio Builders .................................................................... 8
Social Networks .......................................................................................... 11
Places to Teach............................................................................................ 12
Places to Outsource Work .......................................................................... 13
Examples of Cold Emails ........................................................................... 14
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Hello!
The following pages contain a range of resources to support you in your
quest for building a strong creative career.
Some of these resources contain affiliate links, but every single link and
suggestion included here is valuable and highly recommended.
The following are listed in approximately the same order in which they
were mentioned in the guide.
I’ve tried my best to make sure resources are relevant and up to date.
Forgive me if one or two sites/organisations have closed since publishing
this book.
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Company Databases
Use the following to research types of companies and industries you could
be working with:
Companies House (UK)
Addataexpress
Bloomberg
Kompass
Hoovers
Orbis
Newsletter Service Providers
Aweber
Benchmark Email
Active Campaign - the one I use - large amount of flexibility and
customisation
Mailchimp
Tiny Letter (simpler system, from makers of Mail Chimp)
Get Response
Constant Contact
StreamSend
Vertical Response
MadMimi
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Types of Illustration and Design Jobs Examples
Book Covers: Steve Simpson
Posters: DKNG Posters
Postcards: Lorraine Loots
Invitations: Neiko Ng
Menus: Zizzi by Charlie Davis & Peter Donnoley
Jar Labels
Stickers: Jennie Ekstrom
Real-World Products
T-shirt and clothing Designs: Threadless
Stationary: Self-made Christmas Promos - Eg. Dave Mottram
Products on Oh Deer.
Tattly: Danielle Kroll; Julia Rothman.
Souvenirs
Maps - Theme park, editorial, shopping centre: Rod Hunt
Toys: Lunartik
Furniture and Interior Illustration: Dupenny
Digital Products
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Mobile Games & Apps: Wee Taps
Icon Sets: iStock / Iconfinder / Creative Market / Noun Project
Fonts: J. Hische’s New Fontface
Live Performance
Sketchnoting: Mike Rhode, Eva Lotta-Lam, Maggie Appleton
Caricature Artists: Jason Seiler
Live Murals, Street Art & Graffiti: Molly Crabapple, Graffiti Kings
Theatre, set, circus illustration: Caroline Thaw
Artwork for musical performance and outdoor events: David Shillinglaw
Teaching
Skillshare: Denis Zilber, Chris Leavens
Independent Schools: Art Camp, SVS
Udemy: Karen Anderson
Publishing: Traditional & Self-Publishing
Kickstarter: 3000 Moments, Tales from the Wilder Forest
Graphic Novels and comics: Nobrow
Sponsored Articles: Simon Prades on Medium
Books (think about self publishing and Kindle and ebooks): San Francisco
in Its Own Words by Wendy MacNaughton
Graphic Journalism: Matthew Cook
Infographics: Information is Beautiful
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Films & Animation
Concept Art: Nathan Fawkes, Sam Neilson, Bobby Chiu
Character Design: David Colman, Nico Marlet
Opening Credits & Title Design: Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson
Web Design
Illustrated Websites
Blogs & Newsletter Illustrations: P. Jarvis Sunday Dispatches
Blog and Website headers
Content marketing for social media, etc.
Branding & Packaging
Illustrated Logos: Mike of Creative Mints
Package & Label Illustrations: Steve Simpson Coffee Labels
Icon Sets: Ryan Putnam for Dropbox
Wall and Car decals
Wrapping Paper
Prints and artwork for commercial and retail spaces
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Website and Portfolio Builders
Ideas for website-builders, with Red Lemon Club subscriber’s reviews:
Squarespace
“I've been in web design since 1997 and until recently completely hand-coded my
web site. but my HTML didn't stay up with the times and now there is so much
know about responsive design etc etc. I am loving working with Squarespace, it's so
easy and intuitive to customise the templates and make it look just how you want.
the built in shopping cart system is also a plus and the rates are so reasonable!” Claudine Hellmuth
Weebly
“Frankly, this builder is spectacular. I believe a lot of creative people have the good
design sense to be able to put together an attractive portfolio, and also, a lack of funds to pay someone else to do it. This is the case for me.” Brianna Tosswill,
Visual Artist
Cargo Collective
“What can i say – the template has all the features i needed. I am happy and my
new site got supercool feedback. I can recommend the platform. ^____^” Robert
Malte Engelmann
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WebFlow
“I really, really like Webflow. I've been messing around with Edge Reflow and
Macaw since their early days, so I have a good basis for comparison, and I easily
prefer Webflow. The fact that it runs in the browser and everything is controlled
directly with CSS felt restrictive at first, but I quickly realized how much easier it
makes it to maintain control over your design compared to editing the canvas freely
and having the program try to generate the CSS later, like those other programs.” Cooper Crosby
Webs
“I killed my Weebly site once I had tried out a few options with webs... I wanted a
simple site - as you'll see” - www.anniebrundrit.co.uk
Wordpress.org
“The great thing about Wordpress is as a non web designer like me, there are
thousands of themes which are available inexpensively, however if you are suitably
savvy you can build for yourself. All the themes can be tailored to your exact needs by either using the theme’s own settings or by amending bits of code.” Emma
Russell, illustrator.
From illustrator Filipe Lonsa:
Cargo was one I quite liked. It had a lot of cool, customizable themes and
allowed me to mess with css and html, which was useful, but eventually I
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realised I was wasting too much time making it look and work like I
wanted so I decided to search for something more simple and easy to use.
I also tried (briefly) Behance ProSite, which was easier to use and had
some nice features like syncing with Behance profile which made
everything faster.
However, looking for something more practical (where I could focus more
on content) and affordable that had all the features (builder, hosting,
email, etc.) I eventually found Portfoliobox. I'm using it for a while now
and so far I'm quite happy.
More good options: CarbonMade; Viewbook; Studiopress.
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Social Networks
There are hundreds. Here is a selection of great ones for generating a
following for illustrators…
Twitter (great site for finding clients and other creative professionals)
Instagram (highly recommended for visual creatives)
Pinterest (if you’re a visual creative and not sharing on Pinterest, you’re
missing out)
LinkedIn (great for finding pros, and you can share your visual stuff via
Behance here)
Facebook (plenty of people here)
Google+ (not just used by Google employees - still one of the busiest
social networks)
Medium - good place to write articles and build an audience in a social
network environment
Tumblr (plenty of crap, anime and porn, but still useful for building
exposure)
Flickr (not dead, and a well re-designed interface for imagery sharing)
Vine (quick film clip-making)
YouTube - hugely valuable place to build a following. Think process
videos or anything else to build an engaged following
Twibfy - creatives-specific new network, worth a look
Snapchat - if you’re finding a way to make this work to promote your
work, I’d love to hear about it.
Ning (Build your own network!)
More here if interested.
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Places to Teach
There are a lot of people earning a very good income from teaching
online. Some places allow you to earn from the sale of courses, others are
also great for building exposure, a following, and credibility.
Skillshare
Udemy
YouTube
Skillfeed
CreativeLive
Academy of Mine
Stone River
Don’t forget there are many ways to create your own video courses and
information products for sale online (as well as through your own site).
That’s for another guide!
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Places to Outsource Work
Elance
Upwork
Outsource
Perssist
iFreelance
Fiverr
It’s worth also looking into Taskrabbit - to save time by having someone
else run your errands.
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Examples of Cold Emails
The following are ideas for email communication with prospects who do
not yet know you. [my notes in blue]:
Off topic
[Here is an idea for starting a conversation with someone on a topic
unrelated to pitching for illustration work]
Hi Kate, [hypothetical CEO of a technology startup that you are targeting
to possibly work with; personal address]
I picked up an article on web graphics that you wrote last December
through Twitter. It really got me thinking. Do you think that the next
stage in the evolution of web graphics will be artificially intelligent bots
creating the work for us?
[this is just an example. The point is that you are showing an interest in
their own work. What you want to do is engage them in a dialogue or
conversation and start building positive rapport. Your pitch will come
later if they don’t already show an interest in your art before hand. It
would be wise to include a ‘covert’ signature link to your work at the
bottom]
Best,
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Alex
—
Research question
Hi Philip, [art director working for creative agency, for example]
[Research questioning, positioning yourself as authority and they as
expert]
Love your work, particularly [insert recent project here]. I’m doing some
research for my illustration business [ / blog / website / online
community / personal project ], and wanted to build up a general picture
of the industry.
In your experience, do you find working through agents or direct with
illustrators preferable, and how?
[Though you are indirectly advertising your illustration business here, you
are positioning the interaction as researcher, and they the expert, rather
than the illustrator asking for work, which feels more like a pitch]
Thanks!
Alex
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[Note the short length of the email, but how it is tailored to the recipient -
this will lead to much better results than an obvious ‘copy and paste’ job.
I encourage you to ask questions that you genuinely want to know the
answers for. That way you gain valuable insight that you can use for
yourself, whilst promoting yourself by getting in front of people]
—
Research #2
Hi Martha, [Marketing manager at a software company, for example]
I saw that you worked with Kate Moross on a recent project for Nike. As
an illustrator, I’m always looking to improve the service I offer, through
getting insight from experts like yourself in the industry.
I wanted to know whether there was anything you have found challenging
in working with external freelancers?
[like the previous, this reads less like a pitch, and positions them as the
expert. This is great, because you are both bringing awareness of your
illustration to the recipient, whilst also potentially gaining valuable insight
from them to help improve your business. Think about other questions to
ask that can help streamline your work and make the client experience
better. It is a win/win]
Thank you for your time,
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Alex
—
Tailored, quick question
Hi Mark, [relaxed, not too informal or formal]
I’m an illustrator doing some research on potential people to work with,
and I found you on LinkedIn. I’m really liking the creative work you’ve
been doing, like your recent Mars project (and that we both share a love
for Major League Baseball!).
I want to see whether we’re a good fit for potential future collaborating.
Do you often use artwork and / or illustration in your projects?
[You are positioning yourself as the high value illustrator by approaching
at a collaborative level before pitching]
Thank you in advance,
Alex
[The way this is worded, as someone ’scouting around’ for people, puts
you in a high value position. The first short paragraph is also very tailored
to that individual and what they have personally worked on.]
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[Asking questions before pitching is key. This shows that you won’t jump
on any old project before getting some info. This puts you in a good light,
which will appeal to prospects.]
—
Tailored, quick question #2
Hi Jane,
I’m a vector illustrator specialising in maps and diagrams. I was looking
over your recent projects, including the ‘time traveling nurse’ piece and
thought my work might fit in well with your projects.
Have you ever considered using map illustrations?
Alex
[Note how I’m not pitching or showing my work yet (though I may
include a signature link beneath) - I’m asking a single, straight-forward,
short question.
It is vital that you engage the recipient, rather than allowing them to take
the easy option like they do with everyone else, and tell you that they will
‘keep you mind’.
It’s better to have a short conversation with them at least. You will be
more memorable that way, and it’s something you can run with over a
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long period, so that you eventually land a job (or referral) when you are
needed].
Common ground; benefits-focused, quick question
Hi Janeel,
I was forwarded to you by your colleague Dan Smith at Pepsi London. [A
common link is good for establishing some trust]
Looking at your online presence, I feel I could really bring some depth
and colour to your brand that would really increase engagement, and
emotional connection with your audience, and ultimately more sales.
Do you ever work with external illustrators?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Alex
[Note how I’m clarifying the benefits that come with using illustration
work. This is great, even if the recipient knows what they are. Reminding
them of why they would work with you can really get them thinking. This
is good. Again, another short question to get them to respond to you is
important.]
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Icon attribution from the ‘Noun Project’:
1-3 Simon Child (Dalí and faces)
4 - Tugrul Peker (cat)
5 - Cezary Lopacinski (mountains)
6 - Bastien Ho (brain)
7 - Garrett Kroll (portfolio)
8 - Tom Glass Jr. (pancakes)
9 - Guillaume Kurkdjian (wigwam)
10 - Kirill Ulitin (options)
11 - Chip Carroll (ruler)
12 - Jaime Carrion (thermometer)
13 - Bybzee (network)
14 - Nick Green (clock)
15 - Sergi Delgado (talkers)
16 - iconsmind.com (fuel canister)
17 - Pavel Pavlov (fire)
18 - Cedric Villain (feather pen)
19 - Alexander Wiefel (robot)
20 - Nathan Driskell (city)
21- froz (meeting people)
22 - tom walsh (earth)
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