Independent illustrators are facing a stiff challenge in the new economy. By in large, good custom illustrators are operating independently of an organization, manager, or certification structure that would dictate how much they should charge, what is a professional illustration, and how long this type of work should take. And this is the way it should be. Custom illustration offers a unique style, vision and idea that cannot come from an overly structured source. I was recently inspired by this post by Ben O’Brien and decided to articulate what I see as some of the key problems facing the professional illustration trade.

1. They are doing work that they would do whether they got paid or not. Many business tycoons (who often just look like regular people) realize this and take advantage of young naive illustrators. They think, “I know a really talented artist who’ll work really cheap.” Or they’ll say things like, “We can’t pay you much for your art, but it’s a great opportunity.” How is doing free professional work for a profitable company a great opportunity again? These requests don’t usually come from evil intent; more from lack of education. See, many illustrators have been honing their craft since their gleeful youth and in high school and college they may have gotten into the habit of knocking out images and comics for school newspapers or making cool art for their friends, and didn’t think too much about compensation. At a certain point though, you have to make the decision that YOU ARE A PROFESSIONAL and professionals earn money. Ultimately it’s up to you to figure out how to get paid for your work. There are tons of successful, even wealthy, illustrators out there. Read their blogs and books, meet them. Accept the challenge of doing what you love AND getting paid for it.

2. They will give it their all even if their all takes a lot more time. This is a balance that must be struck between client and illustrator. The client must be willing to accept the realistic amount of man hours it will take to complete a requested design. Yet illustrators must strive to become quicker at their craft, navigating the journey of the creative process as a trained professional, and be determined to resolve the print-ready art with the confidence of a champion. When you are established you’ll have both a style and a track record which will allow you to say, “This is what I do and this is how long it takes.” Be leery of clients that want you to, “Just do something real quick.” Never sacrifice the priority of doing things great.

3. Budget constraints. Too many times illustration is an afterthought; something that would be nice to have when the real work is all put together. This leaves little time and money available for a project that you would need to put a lot of time and energy into to do it right. This is where it gets sticky and the issues of ‘exposure’ and ‘spec work’ come into play. By the way, I am mostly a supporter of NO!SPEC and am against the idea of crowd-sourcing design and other creative work. However, the choice is yours. There are times when you may want to jump on a project for cheap— maybe a young start-up that’s strapped for cash, but you see their potential. Go ahead and get in on the ground floor if you can afford the time. Or maybe you want to offer your talents to benevolent groups whose funds go to causes you support. Just keep it all in perspective and feel good about your project choices. Ultimately you need to be good at discerning opportunities. If a project seems unfair or maybe even insulting, turn it down. Use tact and inform the client of their error. Maybe they’ve never bought illustration before. Help them see the value of custom art and encourage them to budget it into their project plan at the beginning next time.

4. You need to be valued. Illustration is a highly introspective work. You make it your job to gather ideas, messages and grand visions… boil it all together in your mind and soul and bring forth something that pays the highest honor to your client and bears your own signature as well; at least that’s what good illustrators do. And it’s easy to feel insecure or even train yourself to have a degree of self-loathing so that it’s easier to detach yourself from your work. When people don’t value, respect, or like your work you think (with your inner Eeyore) “I don’t blame them. What’s to like about it anyway?” Forget that! You work hard and need to be compensated. Be on the look out for people who genuinely value what you do. There are a handful of professionals (bosses and colleagues) who have given me huge boosts in my career because they valued what I did and showed it both with praise and cash. Because you do very custom work; utterly different even from peers in your own field, some people will love and extol your work and others will hate it vehemently. Don’t compromise your unique vision and style. Find those who love, value & want what you create.

Remember Illustrators!
You are beautiful… your vision is your own… and you make wonderful things.