I’ve been doing commercial illustration all of my adult life. Being around printing and publishing, there is always a need for drawings and paintings. Books are basically just pictures and words.
I used to work for a big publishing company as a full time illustrator. They had scores of publications and someone always needed a picture of a kid flying a kite or a map, or something. I’ve always freelanced, too. Someone asked me recently what advice I’d give to a young artist. I answered, “learn to draw,” and I couldn’t have been more earnest. People that can’t draw will hire you to draw things for them. |
I’ve always liked to draw and paint landscapes. These have always worked well with outdoor magazines. I also enjoy illustrating animals.
Usually with an illustration for an editorial, there will be some metaphor used in the text that can be taken as a guide to further explain the point of the article. |
One of my favorite things to do is political cartoons. My style is pretty traditional. It kind of fits with the philosophy behind The Birmingham Free Press. Most of the work for a political cartoon is coming up with the gag. It has to be current, it has to be funny, and it has to make a political statement. After I come up with the gag, the rest is a cakewalk.
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The challenge with working on technical magazines and academic journals is to take jargon, which can sometimes read as dry, and make it as interesting and as clear as possible. Working in fields that an illustrator might not be familiar with, it is important to make preliminary sketches and make sure the author, usually an expert in the field, approves it ahead of time.
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One of the reasons I’ve been able to keep going is I’ve always been pretty versatile. Seems like I’ve done everything at this point, at least for print. The internet stuff changes so quickly, and now there is so much being produced for gaming and animation. Everything is digital and it feels a little like cheating. Photoshop is kind of a necessity in illustration, but I always try to keep it to a minimum.
I also hate to use correction fluid. Almost all of my comic strips and line drawings are 100% black ink, no white-out. |
One of the toughest industries out there is children’s books. The quality is so high, and the competition is brutal. I’ve done a number of children’s books, but I was always hired as an illustrator. Comic books are competitive too. They can be fun, but they are a tremendous amount of work. It can be hundreds of drawings. |
People have asked me to work in a multitude of styles, and they are always pleased with the results. It also helps to be able to come up with ideas. I usually give a client a number of quick sketches based on what they need and we go from there.
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My modus operandi is that I am contacted by a client with an idea (often rather unusual) and I will respond with a quote or questions. Once the idea is fleshed out I provide 3 or 4 rough sketches for feedback. If it’s particularly complicated, there might be several refinements to the original draft. The finished work is either delivered digitally or available at the gallery for pickup.
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