Melinda Beck - 25 Tips for Illustrators

Lesson 1: Where you came from may be where you are going to.

• Take your environment and background and use it

Lesson 2: Be your own muse.

• What gets you excited?
• What influences you?
• What do you collect?

Lesson 3: How to steal without getting caught.

• Take bits and pieces from all over the places and make them one thing

Lesson 4: Sketch ‘til your head hurts.

• Thumbnail for hours! Work out the idea first THEN render!
• You are a thinker before you are a renderer.
• Figure out how to portray cliches in a non-cliche way

Lesson 5: Less is more.

• Find the essence, the best solution.
• What is the story about?

Lesson 6: Sometimes more is more.

• Pushing and exaggerating can embody the story more effectively.

Lesson 7: The sky is not blue and the grass is not green.

• Choose colors that explain the story.
• Dial back and find the essence via color communication.

Lesson 8: Put a little piece of yourself in other people’s stories.

• Be emotionally involved in your piece.
• Your emotions will ring true to your audience.

Lesson 9: Some of the best art supplies don’t come from the art store.

• Use your collections in your pieces.

Lesson 10: Be delusional.

• Follow your own personal delusions.
• Pretend that you ARE (a great Illustrator, a much-sought-after artist, etc.)

Lesson 11: What you do to get away from your work will get you work.

• Use you personal passions to fuel your art and do art for the things you like.

Lesson 12: Self-promotion

• Postcards, emails, mailers, anthologies, competitions, social media, etc.
• Set a yearly plan for your promotional material.

Lesson 13: Don’t let your website get in the way of your illustration.

• Let your art be the focal point of your website.
• Your art and your name should be the biggest/only thing on your sight.
• Minimize clicking and scrolling
• Font should accentuate the art
• Easy-to-update format
• Use smaller files that load faster
• Update every 3-6 months

Lesson 14: Fail spectacularly and you will succeed spectacularly.

• Failure is normal! Everyone fails. Remember that there is a balance, and that your favorite artists fail too.

Lesson 15: How to balance work and kids.

• Don’t expect yourself to do more than you can do.

Lesson 16: How to survive a kid-tastrophe and let a project done.

• If you can say that everything will get done in 48 hours, you break your work down into bite-size pieces.

Lesson 17: What a sleep-deprived child can teach you.

• Set boundaries in your contract. What will you and will you not do? 
• Include and estimate and itemize it.
• Make sure the client is fully aware of what will and will not happen.
• Set ground rules!
• Make sure you and the client both understand the finer details (file type/size, how many sketches they get for the amount you charge, rights for each party, etc.)

Lesson 18: Everything takes twice as long as you think it will.

• Set an hour limit for your week and break it down to billable hours and maintenance hours.

Lesson 19: Watch your time and the cost of that time.

• Figure out how much you’re actually making per hour, and make sure your price is set appropriately. 
• Balance jobs that don’t pay well with jobs that do pay well.
• Adjust your process if a project is wasting time and money.
• Reach out to others if you’re stuck.

Lesson 20: Great exposure!

• Find jobs that give you great exposure.
• Sometimes a crappy job is even worth it if it will win you great work.

Lesson 21: Taming the paperwork beast.

• ORGANIZATION!
• Be so organized that you can even do your taxes yourself.
• Find a system that works for you and stick to it!

Lesson 22: Your computer likes to do paperwork.

• Quickbooks (Quicken?)
• Utilize tools that will make your life easier

Lesson 23: Don’t know what to charge? Ask a friend!

• Ask people who know, people who also get paid. What are they getting charged so you know what you should be getting paid.

Lesson 24: Pricing

• Whatever they tell you, ask 10-20% more
• What is their budget? 
• If they say no, it’s up to you. If they say yes, you get the money you may not have gotten had you not asked.

Lesson 25: Have fun!

• Remember, this is the job you wanted to do. 
• If you’re not having fun, something is wrong!

Misc Tips:

• Be diverse
• Sell products online
• Find a market where your stuff works