Skip to content

Cart

Your cart is empty

Article: Career Tips for Becoming an Illustrator

Career Tips for Becoming an Illustrator

Becoming an illustrator is certainly a challenge, especially for those of you who are just starting.
Let's look into these professional tips as guidance!
Created by Juan Er | https://www.behance.net/gallery/85327081/_
 

Becoming an illustrator is certainly a challenge, especially for those of you who are just starting. Most beginner illustrators will ask those who are already pros what the secret is to be a success in an illustrator career? This is a simple question. Someone can easily become an illustrator if they are diligent in interacting and looking for insights about career illustrators on the internet. Simply put, you can get it easily on the Google search engine, or you can also create a kind of poll on Twitter. From here, you will be able to get certain parameters that measure the extent of your current abilities career, as well as what potential can be developed so that you can become a professional illustrator.

Unfortunately, ordinary people certainly take this career of becoming an illustrator lightly because they do not go directly into it. Some might say how easy it is to work as an illustrator, where you just sit back and draw all day long. However, the reality is not as simple as imagined. This career requires a lot of effort and creativity. The energy and time used are also sometimes very large, so the struggles contained in them should not be taken lightly. Therefore, for those of you who want to become an illustrator, you can do it easily. Read on for more tips to be successful in this career below:

1. Prepare Yourself Carefully

Remember that something done hastily will not produce positive results. Therefore, if you want to become an illustrator career, then all you need to do is prepare yourself as best you can. Not only physically and skillfully prepared, but also mentally prepared. Why? It is because, during the work process, you have to be prepared to face various waves of rejection and also endless revisions. Of course, for those who are not strong, it will immediately destroy the mental and creativity of illustrators significantly. If you are lucky to get a client who is not fussy, of course, it is not a problem. But if your client is a critical person, then be prepared to receive a lot of criticism and rejection of the career results you have poured out. So, you can already imagine what needs to be prepared before becoming an illustrator, right? Don't make this easy.

Preparation is the best step in dealing with something, especially in whatever career you are in. There is no road without challenges; every path in life has its risks, including when you are in a career that you like. In addition to getting internal challenges, you will also get external challenges. But no matter how heavy it is, if you are fully prepared, it will not feel heavy, and you tend to enjoy it. Why? It is because you like becoming an illustrator and have a very high passion.

 

2. Bring Your Best Ability

There is indeed a saying that working hard is the solution to all problems. But working hard is not enough in this career; you have to give your best skills and creativity in becoming an illustrator. To be able to get the best ability, you must have good time management, for example, by learning about the illustrator, doing assignments from clients, making the best possible portfolio, and so on. If there is an opportunity to attend a course or seminar that discusses a related career, don't hesitate to take it, because indirectly, this will be able to give you new insights and add value to your own. You have to work extra hard and don't expect that you can achieve instant results in becoming an illustrator unless you are born to someone who is super rich or your parents are the best illustrator career in the world.

 

3. Don't Quit Your Main Job

Do you currently have the main job? Then, do you plan to quit your main career to becoming an illustrator on a Freelance basis? If so, then it's time for you to think twice before making a decision. Why? Because you have to think realistically that this will expose you to financial risk. Imagine this condition, when you have a main career, then make illustrator as a side job, then it will make yourself safe. But if you become an illustrator Freelance and make it your main income, then it can be disastrous. 

The reason is you will get great pressure to make a living from becoming an illustrator. If this is the case, then you will be less than optimal in mobilizing the career you have. So before deciding to quit your main job, make sure that you are ready for all the consequences, including the psychological burden. You may be inspired by the people out there who can make extraordinary income as a Freelance illustrator career, but did you know that he also built it in no time? There is a certain struggle, sweat, and effort that must be done before arriving at his current career of pleasure.

 

4. Ask The Experts for Help

When becoming an illustrator, you shouldn't be too proud of your current career. You also need to ask an expert for help if there are things you don't know. Some places that you can use to ask these illustrator experts are seminars, courses, YouTube, blogs, and others. If you are lucky enough to meet the expert face to face, then just ask them questions about the things you want to know in your career. 

But if you don't meet face to face, then getting knowledge through experts who have a YouTube channel or personal career blog is the best solution. You can send them an email or send them a Direct Message so that later they will get enlightenment on the problems you are currently facing in becoming an illustrator. Some people still often do this; even the famous illustrator also never stops learning and learning from other parties.

 

5. Understand Client's Needs

To be able to become an illustrator, then you should not be rigid when dealing with clients. You have to be able to compromise with them. Know and study well the instructions they provide so that it will be a reference for you to work in your career better. Don't hesitate to ask the client for certain details if you feel confused. In addition, you can also interact with your clients to discuss projects that you will do in the future. From here, you will be able to more easily learn new things, and surprisingly be able to develop a variety of unexpected ideas in your career.

You won't know how complicated a customer's request is until you work on them. From here, you will be able to see for yourself how difficult the struggle of becoming an illustrator is. People can judge that this career is just sitting around and drawing all day long. But are the thoughts in his brain relaxed? Of course, the answer is absolutely no. This is because the workload and creativity that must be devoted are real and requires significant efforts. However, for those who are used to this profession, this complexity will certainly be considered normal, even considered as a career hobby. This is what will help someone to become a better illustrator and complete every task given by their customers.

 

6. Turn Illustrator Into a Business

When becoming an illustrator, then you must have the mindset to make it a career in the business area. This is common and quite rational to do. By having this mindset, you will always prioritize professionalism in your work and provide the best for clients. Not only that, but you also have to do a market analysis and trend analysis if needed. This will help you to develop your career business according to what the current market wants. One thing is for sure, as an illustrator, you deserve to be properly paid for the hard work you are currently doing. Therefore, start with simple things, for example, determining what promotional methods you will use to distribute your services, what works you will sell, and what kind of career portfolio you will show off to clients, and so on.

You might think that this is a bit Money Oriented, but think again, isn't that something natural in your career? If indeed you are a professional person, you deserve to be paid the right amount and according to the effort and effort put in becoming an illustrator. If you get the right income, won't you use it later to develop yourself even better? And in the end, you will be able to have a benchmark that from this career you can get an income that helps your life better than before.

 

7. Make Your Portfolio as Good as Possible

Your portfolio must be able to present well and have quality content if you want to become an illustrator. This will certainly help you to provide more tempting offers to clients. In the end, the more benefits and advantages you can get. To make it easier for career companies or clients to see the portfolio you have, make sure that you categorize the portfolio and divide it into several parts so that you will see the quality and capabilities you have in creating something different. From here, you also have to show consistency in the quality of the work you do. As a result, it will make it easier for clients to consider approving your portfolio and want to build a long-term partnership career with you.

Created by Embacy Team | https://www.behance.net/gallery/122630565/DeFi-Alliance-Brand-Identity

 

8. Don't Be Shy About Promoting Yourself

Becoming an illustrator doesn't happen overnight either. You need a long time and persistent struggle. So, never want to promote yourself. What can you promote? Of course, there are many! Starting from what your drawing style is, the career media you use, what experiments you have done, the network you have, and so on. Of course, there are many client variables that you can find, and they have different characteristics or guidelines. Your job is to make your career according to the guidelines so that this will ensure that you don't make any mistakes.

When doing the promotion in your career, you also have to do it fairly and not excessively in becoming an illustrator. There are many media that you can use for promotion, for example, Social Media. Currently, the power of Social Media as a means of promotion is unquestionable. You can get any information and opportunities easily in it. As a result, they will be able to bring you the long-term career success you need. To be able to achieve the right and best results, then you need to apply the right steps, including in terms of the promotion itself. If you are confused in detailing the promotions that will be carried out, start by listing what advantages you can offer to clients. The more career clients who come and are interested in you, the greater your chances of learning more things.

Created by Arek Kajda | https://www.behance.net/gallery/101084519/Pitch-3D-Brand-Illustrations

 

9. Join a Creative Community

In becoming an illustrator, of course, you can't do everything alone. You need to join a community that supports each other and fights together in this profession. Know that all the inspiration, career, networking, and also new ideas will be found by joining the illustrator community. You will be able to see things from a different point of view. Here you will also be able to get suggestions and input from many parties. Some of you may think that the community will further increase the competition you have to face. But, it would be nice if you throw away that mindset. See the illustrator community as a medium to meet new people, share many things and build a good network for your career path.

Indeed, it is possible that within a community, you will find a drama that could happen. The reason is, you will meet many people with various characters and psychological conditions. If that's the case, then what you need to do is take things that are useful in the career community and not follow less useful things. Don't worry; there are lots of illustrator communities you can join out there. If you feel dissatisfied with a community, you still have the opportunity to look elsewhere that is productive and always shares something good for your development. In addition, you also should not be stingy in sharing information and sharing in the community. Be a truly influential person and often asks a lot of questions, and has true curiosity. This is what will help you get more career networks, and of course, the opportunity to become an illustrator.

Created by 陈 俊贤 | https://www.behance.net/gallery/118175469/-QUIT-SUGAR-BOY

 

10. Don't Waste Your Time

Never waste your time on unproductive things. In becoming an illustrator, you must devote your time and energy to deepening this career. If you just relax, then know that the competition out there is very tight. Many people go to great lengths to gain valuable clients and experience from a project. If that's the case, you can't just relax. So, what is emphasized here is not how career creative your work is, but how creative you are in finding work. Of course, you can understand the meaning of this expression. However, no matter how great the skills you currently have, it will all be in vain if you don't get the project. If you want to get a project from a client, then you have to look for it in the best possible way and try in such a way to convince the career client.

Created by Marius Kindler | https://www.behance.net/gallery/121438087/Sketches-Illustrations-2021-%28Part-5%29

 

11. Keep Learning And Increasing Your Value

However, becoming a professional illustrator doesn't come overnight. You have to keep learning and learning. Without learning, the road ahead will be even more difficult. Why? It is because, in the millennial era like today, trends are so easy to change. You must be able to adapt to changes quickly and precisely in your career. That's the only way you can get success in this profession. Even people who are already successful are still not lazy to learn, especially if you are an ordinary person.

Like it or not, you have to try to increase the career value you have. The value referred to here is how your illustrator mindset, creativity, and also the work you have will be able to make customers satisfied with a high percentage. This is what will make you successful in the future and achieve everything you want. The struggle you do in learning will surely be able to bring good for yourself. This is what needs to be instilled properly when becoming an illustrator.

Created by Anna Makeyeva | https://www.behance.net/gallery/123114933/Martins-Bakery-Book-illustrations

 

12. Don't Compare Yourself With Other People's Achievements

Becoming an illustrator is a significant career achievement that you need to achieve precisely. To become an illustrator, you have to understand how to do everything right. If you have been educated in this field for many years, of course, you will be familiar with it. This will be a plus if you have experience in working professionally in a related field. One thing is for sure in becoming an illustrator; you should never compare your current career achievements with other people's achievements. 

The reason is, it is less effective to do because it will only have a psychological impact on oneself. If you have this, you will find it increasingly difficult to develop yourself. You will make the achievements of others as a measure of your career success. From here, you must understand very well that it would be better if you focus more on developing the values ​​you have rather than seeing the values ​​of others. 

Believe that everyone has their own achievements. If you want to be successful in life, then you need to maximize your potential in becoming an illustrator. This is what will make you develop into a true professional.

Created by Charlie Davis | https://www.behance.net/gallery/84361943/Fever-Tree-Championship-Illustrations

 

Final Words

Becoming an illustrator has its ups and downs, so there's no need to argue here. You just have to do your best, best, and best. If you do the tips outlined above correctly and consistently in your career, then you will be able to feel the changes in your life. Success in becoming an illustrator will be yours in no time.

Leave a comment

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

All comments are moderated before being published.