A *must* read for free-lancers!!!

THE BUSINESS OF ART

Like PucciniÕs characters Rodolfo, Marcello and Schaunard, the romantic vision of committed artists starving in a garret is just that, a romantic vision fit for the lyric stage. One does not become an illustrator to suffer for art. Poverty does not ennoble the soul. There are very few cases of great talent being ruined by great success. Illustration is commercial art, so letÕs get on with the business of it! Although the practice of business can be enjoyable and exciting, thatÕs not the reason we became illustrators. The business aspect of illustrating is secondary to the joy we take in plying our craft. But a knowledge of where to find clients, how to approach them and how (and how much) to charge, are important things to know. Fortunately, there are few fields which show greater kindness to beginners than advertising and publishing. Although most art directors donÕt have an abundance of time to spend looking at portfolios, they realize that an important part of their job is locating and using new talent. If your illustrations show a fresh look that will help set their projects apart from the others, theyÕll take you under their wing and work with you to bring out your best. ItÕs called enlightened self-interest. ÒSo,Ó you ask, Òhow do I find these art directors?Ó TheyÕre in the Ôphone book. Just call the advertising agency or publishing house and ask how you can get a list of the art directors. You, probably wonÕt get all of the names but, if your portfolio is good, one art director will recommend you to another. DonÕt be so dazzled that you forget their names because youÕll want to follow up and stay in touch with them. Whenever you have a few new pieces, call them and ask to show the new work. YouÕve heard it before, but persistence pays off. Although a persistent artist with a mediocre portfolio will get more work than a great illustrator who stays at home; a persistent artist armed with a great portfolio is certain to succeed. The quality of portfolio and the presentation should be thought of as being separate from the quality of the illustrations being presented. At this point, our concern is only with the marketing and packaging of your illustrations. Here are a few commonly asked questions: Q. How many samples should I have in my portfolio? Most illustrators show too many pieces. Beginners make the common mistake of laying out a smorgasbord of every piece theyÕve done since the cradle. Be selective. Show only your very best work. If you work in a highly detailed style which requires the viewer to spend a great deal of time drinking in all of the intricate work, show just a few. Half a dozen well selected pieces will give the average art director a good idea of your range. If your work is more conceptual, where each piece is aimed at sharply conveying one idea, a dozen pieces would do. A dozen pieces will show that those ideas were not a fluke and the art director can expect you to come up with lots of bright ideas. Showing a dozen pieces also holds true for childrenÕs book art, caricature and cartooning and poster art. If you are to make a mistake, err on the side of fewer pieces. Always leave them hungry to see more. Q. Should I show original art? In most cases...NO! Your original pieces are irreplaceable and you risk having them damaged when youÕre asked to drop off your portfolio (busy art directors donÕt have time to personally interview each and every illustrator, thus youÕll be asked to drop the portfolio off at the front desk and pick it up at the end of the day). More than one reputation has been ruined when an illustrator dropped off a portfolio of originals and had it come back with something damaged or missing. The ensuing argument between the illustrator and the art director is enough to give the illustrator a reputation as a prima donna. Show reproductions. If a slide or transparency is damaged or missing, you can take it in stride Another advantage of showing reproductions is, it allows you to show several portfolios in the same day. The greater number of people who see your work, the greater chance you have of having your work used. Q. Should I show color prints (ÒCÓ prints) Until recently, I would have advised against showing C prints. The focus was soft and the colors were never true. TodayÕs colorprint films and printing papers are a vast improvement over those of just a few years ago. Of course, IÕm referring to C prints which are photographed by a commercial photographer and processed in a professional lab. If youÕre planning to save money by photographing your artwork with your trusty 35mm camera and have the prints made at the local 1 Hour Processor, forget it! Have it done professionally or not at all. Q. How about 35mm slides? Shooting slides is something youÕll be able to do yourself. There are a number of books on the market devoted to showing you the proper way to copy your artwork onto 35mm slides. If for no other reason, 35mm slides are an excellent way to document your illustration. Many beginners appear at the art directorÕs door with a slide projector, looking for the nearest electrical outlet. What follows is the grist of situation comedy...the room is too bright, thereÕs no place to put the projector, etc., etc., and everything goes from bad to worse. Bringing a slide viewer is almost as bad. If you must bring slides, have them in professional mounts. Most art directors will have a lightbox and a loupe. You should bring your own loupe. Rather than handing the art director one of those cheap plastic loupes, be impressive. Invest in a high quality loupe from Edmund Scientific. It will make you look like a pro. In an age of artists doing business by fax, 35mm slides are indispensable. Having high quality duplicates made is inexpensive and allows you to tailor your presentation to the clientÕs specific needs. Armed with well designed and printed shipping labels, a high quality shipping envelope and attractively mounted slides, youÕre ready to present your work anywhere in the world...all from the comfort of your own studio. Although 35mm slides are perfect for breaking into new markets, thereÕs a better way to show your portfolio. Q. OK, what is this Better Way? Large transparencies: they have all of the advantages of 35mm slides and all of the advantages of showing originals. The most common sizes are 4Óx5Ó and 8Óx10Ó. The colors and detail look almost as good as the original. The large size obviates the need for viewing through a loupe (unless the art director wants to see a close-up of a detail). The large transparency, mounted in a black mat, takes on a jewel-like quality when viewed on a light box. IÕve seldom seen a piece which wasnÕt enhanced when displayed as a large transparency. This is the most impressive way to show your work. Another way to have your work seen by art buyers is through a Rep (an ArtistÕs Representative). The best Reps know everybody. They know them on a personal basis. They go to lunch with them. The best Reps have a reputation for scrupulous honesty, both to the client and to the illustrator. A good Rep will never recommend that the art director use an illustrator who might be ill-suited to the project. A good Rep can get your work in the right doors. A good Rep is a gem. Good Reps (and not-so-good Reps) take a 25% commission from the sale of each and every piece. If that 25% commission sounds a bit steep, bear in mind that the Rep usually gets top price for your illustration. The Rep knows just how much your illustration is worth (which is usually a lot more than you thought it was worth). Being associated with a good Rep frees you to do what you do best...illustrate! Some Reps service a broad market; advertising, collateral, publishing, etc. Others are highly specialized. In choosing a Rep look to one who fits your needs. Are you a generalist or a specialist? If youÕre a childrenÕs book illustrator, there are Reps who specialize in that area. When searching for a Rep, examine the type and quality of the illustrators who are currently in the Òstable.Ó Do they work in the same general area, same general style. Is their work above or below your quality. How large is the Òstable?Ó You might get lost in the crowd of too many other illustrators. A Rep with very few illustrators in the ÒstableÓ might make you wonder whether they are competent. Picking a Rep is serious business. Pick the right one, and youÕll prosper. The wrong one is worse than doing it yourself...much worse. Before you commit to a Rep, call a few of the illustrators in the Òstable.Ó Ask other illustrators for their advice. Ask art directors which Rep theyÕd recommend (having an art director involved in helping you is one of the best methods. ItÕs ego gratifying for the AD and the advice youÕll get is from a person who actually buys illustration). SELF PROMOTION: One way to have your work seen by a broad audience is to enter it in shows. Not long ago, there werenÕt many shows for illustrators to enter. The premier show was the annual show of The Society of Illustrators in New York. It still is the most prestigious show. Today, the mounting of shows and printing awards books has become an industry unto itself. New shows are cropping up at an astonishing rate. Entering them can be expensive. Their use to the illustrator is doubtful. Having your work exhibited at The Society of Illustrators annual exhibit is an honor. Exhibiting at some of the other shows is a waste of money. AMERICAN SHOWCASE (and its clones): A number of years ago, the first directory of art services was published. It was distributed to qualified art buyers and displayed well printed examples of the work of illustrators and photographers. The art buyers liked it. The artists loved it. The copycats copied it. Just like the copycat shows, the copycat books have grown into a small industry. Publishing your work in a directory is expensive and it can turn into a big waste of money. Before putting your work in a directory remember this, advertising always sells! It can sell for you and it can sell against you. Be very careful of which pieces you show. Because these ads will be seen by top-flight art directors and designers, have your ad designed by the best designer you can get. Look at the quality of the work in the different directories (youÕre known by the company you keep). The high cost of appearing in a directory is offset when you factor in how long an art buyer keeps and uses a directory. By far, the biggest bang for the buck is in American Showcase. It has a large format and has the widest distribution of the major directories. However, donÕt pin all of your hopes on one ad in a directory. You have to follow up with other forms of client contact. DIRECT MAIL: The Post Office can be a valuable marketing tool, but how can you avoid sending out thousands of mailers only to have them stuffed into the wastebaskets of people who have no interest in buying illustration. A small mailing list can be made from the lists of names youÕve garnered in your Ôphone calls to advertising agencies and publishers (you did make a list of those names, didnÕt you?). The list should include past, present and potential clients. Your personal computer will be a big help in maintaining your in-house mailing list. It can also print the list out onto labels. Your in-house mailing list should contain the name and address of anyone who has ever showed an interest in your work. Because people tend to move from company to company, try to update the list periodically. Get a rubber stamp that says, ÒReturn Requested.Ó If the mailer is returned it indicates that your client has moved. The trade papers can be very helpful in keeping track of the troop movements. TheyÕre the best way to learn about the new faces at the agencies and publishing houses. Trade papers are a good investment. Another good investment is to lease a mailing list. There are companies who constantly update and collate names on mailing lists. The cost varies as to how targeted the list is. You can look in the Yellow Pages under ÒMailing ListsÓ or contact your local Small Business Administration office. When you have the names of several list brokers, ask for their list catalogues. Some mailing list brokers are designed specifically for those in the graphic arts. Creative Access in Chicago is such a firm. Various brokers have different arrangements for leasing list. Remember, you are leasing the list. It is unethical to transcribe a leased mailing list to your permanent list. Unethical and sleazy! However, once that client has contacted you, he becomes part of your in-house mailing list. The most focused list for an illustrator is LABELS TO GO, a service of American Showcase. Labels To Go lists 20,000 art buyers which you select by their type of business; Ad Agencies, Design Studios, Magazines, Record Companies, etc. You can further zero-in by the region of the country, state, city and even by zip code. The list arrives on pressure sensitive labels. The cost is reasonable, about one third the cost of a postage stamp. Labels To Go is far and away the best list available for the illustrator. They guarantee that their lists are up-to-date and even refund the cost of postage for any mailer that are returned. For a nominal fee, all of the directories offer reprints of your ad. These are fine to send to potential clients. A good choice to use as inexpensive follow-up mailers are postcards. Several firms produce small quantity runs of photographic postcards. These are high quality C prints which are cheap and more than adequate. Full color printing can be expensive but, one of the cheapest and best sources for high quality printing of postcards and mailing pieces is McGrew Color Graphics. They do a good job at an astonishing price. Using these inexpensive printing suppliers and an up-to-date mailing list, an illustrator can send out a few inexpensive but well designed mailers and develop a loyal following in very little time. Remember, if you have a Rep, they should bear a percentage of your mailing and production costs. If your Rep gets a 25% commission on your work, they should pay 25% of the printing and mailing costs. HOW MUCH IS IT WORTH and WHO OWNS IT? How do you know what to charge for an illustration? Are your prices too low or too high? Until a few years ago, the only prices the illustrator, graphic designer or cartoonist knew about were those circulating through the grapevine or those dictated by the client. It was pretty grim. Some clients misrepresented the intended use of an illustration in order to lower its price. Many times those same clients would withhold payment for months and cause the illustrator to take them to court. Almost all clients assumed that the illustration remained as their property and many a fine piece of the illustratorÕs art met an ignominious end. In short; the illustrator was a victim! That changed forever with the founding of the GRAPHIC ARTISTS GUILD. For more than a decade, the Graphic Artists Guild (GAG) has labored ceaselessly on our behalf. Because of GAG, the illustrator sells the reproduction rights (to be negotiated) but keeps the original illustration. When Congress wanted to enact a crippling tax bill which would have forced the artists to inventory every pencil and allocate which percentage of their materials went into each and every job, GAG stopped them in their tracks! When artists and their clients are locked into a seemingly insoluble dispute, GAG will assign arbitrators to help arrive at a reasonable and businesslike conclusion. The best known service of GAG is their GRAPHIC ARTISTS GUILD HANDBOOK/Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. Contained in the handbook is virtually everything youÕll need to know about trade customs, ethical guidelines, who owns what and (hereÕs the big one) how much should I charge? These figures are based on the average going rate. Want to know how much to charge for a book jacket illustration? The pricing guide has it broken down by Òwrap-around coverÓ and Òfront cover only.Ó It is further subdivided, -- HardcoverÑmass market -- major publisher with major distribution, to Hardcover regular tradeÑmajor publisher with major distribution, and Hardcover small publisher with independent Distribution, to Hardcover trade, young adult, major publisher with major distribution. And thatÕs just one small category! Virtually anything that you illustrate for publishing, advertising, film, retail, etc., will be listed and the prices will be enumerated. You should consider becoming a member of The Graphic Artists Guild. Because of GAG we illustrators and graphic artists are no longer isolated and pitted against each other. Welcome to the club. PROÕS TIP: Always look as professional as you can. That means, like a professional business person. Traditionally, illustrators have been thought of as being overpaid and not very intelligent. Many art directors and designers think that illustrators have all of their brains in their wrist. Hence, illustrators are sometimes called Òwrists.Ó Art buyers appreciate finding an illustrator who has business savvy. When an art director calls, requesting you to ship your portfolio by the quickest possible means, find out which carrier they prefer to deal with. Do they have an account number with that carrier? (generally, theyÕll pick up the charges at least for one way, possibly for both). Ask for their account number. Can anyone else sign for it? Get a phone number where that person can be reached. Asking question makes you appear sharp. Not asking questions is just plain stupid!

Excerpted from THE ILLUSTRATORS BIBLE by Rob Howard, published by Watson-Guptill, New York