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In January 2018, my wife suggested that I create a podcast. It sounded like a good idea, but I didn’t know a single thing about podcasts (other than listening to them).
Here are the top 10 lessons I learned after producing, recording, editing, and publishing 85 podcast episodes for The Illustration Department Podcast.
To read the rest of this post, subscribe to The Illustration Department’s “Notes on Illustration” on Substack.
Read moreWhat should I put in my portfolio? How many pieces should I include? Do I show one style? Do I show several styles? Building, or curating, an illustration portfolio, can feel like a daunting task. It’s hard enough assessing the value and approach to one’s art—without worrying about the opinions of others.
However, there’s no getting around the fact that if you want to be an illustrator, you must have an illustration portfolio. So, let’s talk about that portfolio.
To read the rest of this post, subscribe to The Illustration Department’s “Notes on Illustration” on Substack.
Read moreIn my years as art director, I threw away 90% of the postcards I receive.
That statement may come across as odd. Professors, agents, editors, and other art directors & illustrators say it’s imperative to send postcards. You may have taken that advice. You may have spent good money on hundreds of cards. And now, a former art director of one of the largest collections of imprints says he threw almost all of them away.
To read the rest of this post, subscribe to The Illustration Department’s “Notes on Illustration” on Substack.
Read moreFinding “my style” is one of the most commonly discussed topics among illustrators. Entire semesters, conference seminars, online classes, podcasts, social media discourse, and articles are devoted to helping illustrators find their style.
And yet, of all the words in the lexicon of the art world, “style” is the one I hate the most.
To read the rest of this post, subscribe to The Illustration Department’s “Notes on Illustration” on Substack.
Read moreEvery illustrator is different. And yet—regardless of experience, education, or talent—there are common mistakes all illustrators make. Some of them are harmless. Some aren’t.
After spending more than twenty years hiring and teaching illustrators, here are the top 10 most common mistakes I’ve seen illustrators make.
To read the rest of this post, subscribe to The Illustration Department’s “Notes on Illustration” on Substack.
Read moreAre there five words in the children’s book world more capable of sparking a debate than “Do I need an agent”?
The answer is simple: Maybe. Maybe not.
Kidding aside, let’s go through the steps of submitting your work to agents, from researching agencies to signing on the dotted line—while having a bit of a heart-to-heart along the way. I also included answers from five well-known agents on questions I often hear from illustrators.
By the end, you may finally have the answer to, “Do I need an agent?”
To read the rest of this post, subscribe to The Illustration Department’s “Notes on Illustration” on Substack.
Read moreI’m a Baltimore Orioles fan. I’ll skip the blurry anecdotes and poetic waxing of what the O’s have meant to me. Suffice it to say my devotion runs deep. How deep? I still loved them after what happened in the spring of 1989 (look it up).
As a fan of baseball, I can’t help but notice the parallels and lessons that directly apply to something else I love: illustration. With outfield assists from fellow baseball fans Sarah Bunting, Tad Carpenter, John Hendrix, Kenard Pak, Elias Stein, Matt Tavares, and John Tomac, we discuss the lessons artists can learn from our national pastime. So pull up your socks and chew on some gum—we’re talking baseball and illustration!
To read the rest of this post, subscribe to The Illustration Department’s “Notes on Illustration” on Substack.
Read moreAt conferences, schools, and through social media, someone asks me:
How do you find illustrators? What are you looking for?Read more