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The Illustrators Journal

Here is the Spring 2020 edition of #theillustratorsjournal Great interviews: Angel Alvarez, Alexander Bostic, Jade Dressler, Dana Collins, Jack Foster, Kevin Atkinson, Donna Barstow and Chuck Pyle. Along with @HeatherFeathers Shout Out https://issuu.com/lonfellow/docs/tij_final_spring.final

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Monkey Pancakes

Who doesn’t want pancakes when you’re self-isolating

The Illustrators Journal Fall 2019

What are the challenges artists face today?

Tags

art, design, illustration, innovation, inspiration, technology

Illustration by Oleksandr Shatokin

BTCA (Before the Computer Age) getting noticed as an artist was difficult at best. Especially if you were an illustrator working on the West Coast. There just weren’t enough venues handing out freelance work. There were only a handful of reps and they only repped known artists. You could do comp work for movie studios and agencies. But getting a finished illustration in a magazine, newspaper or on a movie poster was rare for a young artist. A few broke thru but the majority worked anonymously handing off their brilliant ideas to older more seasoned illustrators to finish of the work. Some who I knew from art school quit and joined (as my father would say) “the real world”.

My experience as a young illustrator was painful and it finally lead me to taking night courses in art production work and marker comps so as to become an art director. While I honed those skills I worked in construction for my parent’s family business. My thinking was most art directors can’t draw and express there ideas as well as I could so maybe my skill level would set me apart from the norm. I was right and my career as an art director was solid starting out as an art director for 20th Century Fox feature films.

As my career in the entertainment business flourished I still held the thought that one day I’d be an illustrator so I keep creating artwork with the goal of one day leaving my directing positions and stepping into the artist arena.

In 2006 I left my position at Warner Bros and started illustrating kid lit books. I haven’t looked back.

The freelance world had changed drastically and the challenges of being an illustrator in the digital age was challenging and exciting. However, I could see how a young artist might find the whole process overwhelming. Aside from having to master social media, an artist today competes worldwide with artists who are very skilled and will work for less than their American counterparts. What to do?

Connect. Connect. Connect.  Call, eMail, DM, Text send videos do anything and everything to promote your work. Do not be shy, because it’s true that no one cares about what you’re doing unless they see it and see it a lot. 

There are inexpensive ways to reach art directors. publishers and creative directors in every field of art. Think Bomb Bomb, MailChimp etc Post your work everywhere (add copyrights!) and…be yourself. Do what you like to do not what you think will get you  work. This almost never works and can be frustrating if it does. I’ve experienced both and I can say this. I’d rather work in another field and keep my artistic integrity. The only way you will truly discover your “real artistic voice” is to do what please you. Finally and most importantly never, never, never, quit. Your success as an artist may be right round the corner.

 

Happy Birthday Johan Faber

Tags

art, illustration, pencils, sketching artwork

THE PENCIL KING!

What would we do without our pencils? We artists owe a lot of debt to the Godfather of pencil-making Johann Eberhard Faber. So brush up on your pencil history and start sketching out your tribute to Johann!

Johann Eberhard Faber was born on December 6, 1822 in the village of Stein, near the city of Nuremberg, in Bavaria. His father, George Leonard Faber, was a descendant of the famous Faber family, one of ancient lineage in Bavaria engaged in the profession of manufacturing lead pencils.

He did his primary schooling at a Volksschule and then enrolled to study law at the University of Heidelberg. But he left his studies mid-way to pursue a career in commerce in America.

He moved to the United States in 1848 and in 1849, opened a stationery store at No. 133 William Street, NYC. The store was later moved to Nos. 718-720 Broadway in 1877.

In 1852, he started to export red cedar logs to the Faber pencil factories in Stein, having realized that the red cedar available in America was ideal for lead pencils.

In 1861, he opened the first lead pencil factory along the East River, between 41st and 43rd Streets, New York City. The factory was established under the name of Eberhard Faber.

In 1872, a fire destroyed the factory in New York City, hence a new improved factory was built on a site on Kent and West streets in the Greenpoint district of Brooklyn.^[1] The new factory was designed for expansion and by the time Faber died his factory was the largest of its kind in United States and the Faber name was known all over the world.

Faber died on March 2, 1879 in New York City.^[2] Faber is interred at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

SUMMER 2018 ILLUSTRATORS JOURNAL

Tags

art, design, fun, humor, innovation, writing

You Gotta Love It

Tags

artist as brand, digital media, digital painting, illustration, innovation, social media, technology

 

If you want to be an illustrator then don’t expect riches. I’ve struggled with this aspect of being an artist my whole career and now I’m finally ok with that. The solution I adapted was to become a real estate agent for money and an artist for the love of it. During my career as a creative director in the entertainment business I bought, renovated and sold real estate. What I made in real estate eclipse my salary. When I left Warner Bros in 2006 I decided to illustrate children’s books. This is not a path to riches I assure you. Along the way I bought some run down homes, fixed them up. (mostly doing the work myself ) and sold them for profits. This allowed me to navigate my artistic endeavors the way I wanted to. It took quite a while to get to the point where I was satisfied with the direction  I was headed but I stuck with it. I am still in the process. I can honestly say I love creating imagery and learning new ways of approaching my work every day. The most that I hope for is recognition among my peers and helping others succeed.

 

On Being A Successful Illustrator

“There are many ways to be become successful. First off you have to decide what constitutes success to you then set the goal. You will have to be systematic and develop a tough hide to withstand suggestions and criticisms that’ll be hurled your way. The next step is exposing your art to anyone and everyone who could make a difference to you becoming a success. Then stay on them constantly until they tell you to stop. If your work is worthy and can help that person accomplish their job in a great way you’ll get the work. Be persistent and do not give up.”   – The Editor

Becoming a Successful Illustrator: New Edition Nov 1, 2017 2:07 pm13 The second edition of Becoming a Successful Illustrator is now available. With cover artwork by hot illustration duo, Cachetejack, this edition expands on the advice from practicing illustrators as well as the people that commission them, including M&C Saatchi and The New York Times. Additional coverage in fields such as moving image, character illustration and the all-important social media ensure the information is bang up to date, and there are new exercises to aid illustrators starting to plan and build their business. With over 200 inspirational examples of artwork, Becoming a Successful Illustrator is beautifully contemporary as well as informative. Readers can expect practical tips on how to seek commissions, how to market themselves and how to run their illustration business in an enterprising way, with advice that will prove useful long after their first commissions. Building on the resources of the first edition, this continues to be the must-have guide to practicing professionally as an illustrator.

 

The Illustrators Journal Summer 2017

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Looking Forward ONLY! — Gary Goldstein’s Blog

I wasn’t going to post this until tomorrow, but since I am home unexpectedly today, here it goes. Tomorrow, June 8th, 2017, marks 13 years that I came home from prison, and while I am aware that I have done some good things during this time, overall, I am not happy or satisfied at all. […]

via Looking Forward ONLY! — Gary Goldstein’s Blog