Thread by @LaurynIpsum

Re: degrees: as an AD, I have literally never once checked if someone had a degree (let alone checked where they went to school) before hiring or recommending them.

What I will check: your portfolio.

https://twitter.com/nickfil/status/1401559026433937409

Did I learn a lot going to art school? Yes, absolutely. Did I actively enjoy going to school? Yes! And I’ve taken lots of additional courses since graduating.

I do thing that in person art courses are really valuable—you will learn a lot. But you can ABSOLUTELY teach yourself.

There are so many resources online today (I’ll list some at the end of the thread), and I will fucking fight anyone that says someone can’t be TRULY great without a formal 4 year education.

One of the artists I most admire (hi @jasonshawnalex!!) is COMPLETELY self taught.

I consider a formal 4 year private art school education a luxury as opposed to a necessity. Go ahead and have fun if you have the access!! Don’t panic if you don’t. No, it’s not worth saddling yourself with an insurmountable amount of student debt.

And as @manzirae said, classes aren’t going to be “better” somehow because they are at a private school.

Here’s another secret: the extension classes at those schools are just as good, and are often taught by the exact same teachers who you’d get if you were enrolled.

So, first off: don’t focus on the degree.

Okay let’s say you have some money to afford classes but not a full program: check out the extension programs. They‘ll have the important foundation classes (and then-some) at a FRACTION of the cost of full enrollment.

The quality of night classes/extension programs is absolutely on par with full enrollment.

You can also enroll, take the classes you need, and then leave. You degree does NOT matter to me as an AD literally ever ever ever.

Resources: get yourself a library card. While I can only speak for the @LAPublicLibrary, this will give you FULL ACCESS to Lynda.com

That’s where you go to learn software. It has classes that will teach you almost everything you need to know about Adobe programs.

For figure drawing/anatomy: all the Andrew Loomis books are online in PDF form. Download these!!! Some of the standard figure drawing homework is copying pages like these out of books.

(These are from “Figure Drawing for all its worth”)

archive.org/details/andrew…

Go through the books, and start with the really basic things that look like stick figures. Just literally copy these pages.

Another standard piece of homework is doing “master copies”

Pick for example a Michelangelo drawing, and copy it.

You learn a lot by doing these.

You know where else you can go for these classes? Your local city college! Here are some of the courses from @SMC_edu and @PCCLancer for example.

For more drawing books, take advantage of your local library. If they don’t have a book you need, you can have them order it. You can also get a scribd.com account and download full PDFs a lot of other great drawing books (once again, go through and copy the pages)

Here are some of the names to look for in addition to Loomis:

Gottfried Bammes
Burne Hogarth
Eliot Goldfinger
Charles Bargue

Every figure drawing and anatomy class I’ve ever taken has assigned pages from their books to copy

Check out @NMA_Arts on YouTube. They have lots of times figure drawing.

If possible, attend figure drawing workshops in your area (it’s helpful to do this live, but obviously not always possible during the pandemic)

youtube.com/c/NewMastersAc…

Another excellent resource is @skillshare. There are loads of classes you can take on there for both digital and traditional art (plus graphic design, typography, photography, and more)

Go out and draw from life. Your local natural history museum and zoo are INCREDIBLE resources. Spend lots of time there and draw the animals!! Need reference? Take photos!!

(I recommend getting one of foldable those tripod camping chairs, and a book light for dark museum rooms)

Need drawing reference?
Check out @AdorkaStock for figure reference!
For other open source reference, check out these sites (always check the copyright for commercial work!!!)

google.com/amp/s/www.sema…

Draw from reference. Literally almost everyone draws from reference. A lot of younger artists have this idea that they are supposed to be able to draw everything from imagination, or that using reference is somehow cheating.

No. That’s absurd.

Think about the work illustrators do. Think about some of the random ass things people are hired to draw. Do you think anyone knows what the hell an aye-aye, an ambulance from the 1930’s, a corpse flower, or the Chrysler building look like off the top of their heads? No.

Even if you’ve got a few things memorized, you’re not supposed to be an encyclopedia of literally everything everywhere. That makes absolutely no sense. It’s not possible.

Another resource: I’ve heard a lot of artists say they learned the most by working as an assistant for another artist. I haven’t done this personally, but I ABSOLUTELY trust those who say they have.

POLITELY ask someone if they need to hire an assistant.

Mentors: this is another thing. You can POLITELY ask artists or designers you look up to, and sometimes they will respond.

I wouldn’t be even half the designer I am if it weren’t for @StefanGBucher’s mentorship.

That said, don’t be offended if someone doesn’t have the time.

And don’t be offended if someone doesn’t respond. And for the love of god, do not EXPECT mentorship or someone else’s time. Artists and designers are busy. Sometimes people have time, sometimes they don’t.

If you do get mentorship from someone, one day, when you can, try to give back and do the same for another person. It’s the artist/designer circle of life.

Another thing aside from mentorship, talk to other artists!!! You know what we regularly do? Bounce stuff off each other!!

ALSO, get a copy the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines

The @gaguild book will help you with things like pricing and contracts for both illustration and graphic design.

graphicartistsguild.org/the-graphic-ar…

Put together a CLEAN easy to navigate portfolio. Personally I use square space. There are free options.

Your portfolio should be easy to find, easy to navigate, and have your email or a contact form.

(Put the work on there that you want to get hired to do!)

You can cold email ADs as well. Even if you aren’t right for what they are working on at the moment, your style might be what they want for something down the road. REMEMBER, ALWAYS BE POLITE.

Check out @DrawnAndDrafted, there’s some excellent advice on there as well.

Recently a friend needed a list of artists recommendations for a project. I went though the artists I know that had styles matching the project, and I sent him a list with their social media handles and their portfolio links.

Personally, I try to keep a list of people and make notes of their styles. For this I double checked their portfolios to make sure they would work for the project.

Make it so that an AD can quickly double check your portfolio. If I’m going through a long list, time matters.

What I didn’t tell him was where any of the artists went to school, or if any of them even had degrees.

If he came back and asked me, I would have told him, “umm… I don’t know?” because I have literally never ONCE checked.

Literally ever.

What matters: is your work good, are you pleasant to work with, do you get work done on time?

Aim for at least 2 of the 3.

You can get away with being a bit of a curmudgeon if your work is great and always done on time. (With a limit, no one wants to work with a total asshole)

If you’re an absolute DELIGHT to work with and your work is great but you tend not to meet your deadlines, as long as it isn’t egregiously late, I’ll still keep you in mind if the project doesn’t have a super tight turnaround.

If you’re an absolute joy to work with and always meet your deadlines, but your skill level isn’t top of the top, yup, I’m still keeping you in mind! You’re actually allowed to not be the single most accomplished/skilled illustrator in the world.

If you’ve got all 3, that’s fucking amazing, but for most people 2 of the 3 works!

The absolute LAST thing on my mind though is your degree or lack there of.

Oh also, while there is *sometimes* an element of innate talent comes to art, in reality it’s about 5% natural talent, and 95% practice.

It’s a LEARNED skill.

ANOTHER THING: re your rate, make sure that whatever rate you give AT A BARE MINIMUM comes out to a living wage. No, you shouldn’t “pay your dues” by doing free work, or work that comes out to below minimum wage. You need to eat and pay rent.

It’s in the best interest of artists of ALL levels that artists starting out demand a living wage. Your rate should also differ SIGNIFICANTLY depending on the type of copyright given, and if the client gets the native files and/or original artwork.

You to own the original artwork even if the contract is one that transfers all rights of reproduction. The copyright is separate and distinct from the material work in which it is embodied.

Read over your contract carefully (you should always have a contract). If there’s something you don’t understand, consult a peer. Also once again, reference the @gaguild book. It has an entire section on contracts.

Here is their contract glossary:

graphicartistsguild.org/contract-gloss…

Protect your health AT ALL COSTS. No job is worth sacrificing your health. Ever.

Try to get an ergonomic work setup. Make sure to stand and walk around a couple minutes every hour. (I recommend a Fitbit or Apple Watch, it’ll give you reminders)

Your physical and mental health always matter. You are a human, not a machine.

You aren’t “working magic”

In the immortal words of @derekwaterss’s character on Mythic Quest: “it’s not magic. It’s a team of skilled artists putting in long hours on complex designs.”

If you haven’t already, go listen to @neilhimself’s 2012 “make good art” commencement speech. There’s some absolutely invaluable advice in there.

Do it now.
Yes, right now.