How to be an illustrator

To begin let's consider that you already make illustrations and have a great talent for it but do not work as a professional illustrator. Then what do you have to do to enter this market?

Defining a style

Discover your illustration style. Usually an illustration expresses the personality and characteristics of the illustrator. You can have a style that is your trademark, that everyone recognises as your work. You can also have a mix of styles but be aware that the same publication or art director will choose your work because of a specific style. You need to be good enough in a style.

Work under pressure

You will work with a deadline and same day no inspiration for doing nothing. As a professional you will have a schedule to follow and it is extremely important to be punctual with the dates and time to deliver in your work. Also you will need to understand the subject of your illustration.

"At its best, an illustration can add a whole new perspective to the reader's experience of an article. Illustration is often useful in encouraging a contemplative mood in the reader, or in making boring or difficult subjects seem approachable", says Mark Porter, creative director of The Guardian.

Preparing your portfolio
Folder
Choose your best illustrations; print them on high-quality paper and file them in a professional portfolio folder. You can find it in most good stationary stores. Remember, the presentation can influence how your work is seen.

Online
Put your works online, it is the fast and easy way to reach your contact. You can use blogs or photologs to update your stuff easily; again select only the best samples of your work.

CD/DVD
Make a copy of your portfolio on a CD or DVD so that you have one more way of showing your work. Don't forget to put your contacts in all media.

FIRST WORK
Make a list of editorial, publishing and advertising agencies and design companies and build contact names. Call them and make appointments to show your work. The personal contact is important at a time when everything is virtual.

Email list

Email and internet can bring you and your client closer facilitating long-distance work. You don't need to be in the same place as your client. But you need to be sure of all the details such as payment and how to deliver the illustration, keeping in mind that the file size will be heavy in kilobytes.

Fees
Fees vary from publication to publication, but there are some basic principles underpinning the fee structure. Fees are not calculated on the basis of how long it takes to create an artwork but are usually decided on the basis of its size in the publication. For example, full page, half page.
It is important to be clear about the fees before producing an illustration. An invoice of the work with the details is a good procedure.

Keep your work
It is important to keep all the work you have done. It will be part of your portfolio for future work. It will make a difference when you have a list of real magazine titles as clients.

Promote yourself

Don't lose the opportunity to promote your work through competitions, exhibitions and book portfolios. Provided below (see box) is a list of websites on which you can find some competitions and advice.

...I started working as an illustrator when I worked for ITP magazines as designer. Some pages needed illustrations; I made the layout and I provided the visual as well. It's basically doing the whole thing (from cover to cover).
Nino Jose G. Heredia
Professional illustrator, Gulf News

I was unemployed in Mexico; I had just moved to a city called Hermosillo, everything had been going bad for me and I was living in a small room the size of a shoebox. I had entered the school of fine arts and after two weeks of being in a news city I saw an ad in the paper 'Illustrator needed'; it read like: 'GUILLERMO WE NEED YOU, COME TO WORK'. I saw it, went for two interviews and hung on to that job like never before; it was my second chance at life and I have never let go of it since. This was 10 years ago.
Guillermo F. Munro
Professional illustrator, Gulf News
www.gmunro.com