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Very much so, a lot of the illustrators that I speak to are supporting families and have all the usual outgoings just like someone who is on a regular salary. It's definitely not an easy aspect to cope with with the lack of security as a freelancer but it is definitely something that gets easier the longer you do it. With all the different sectors of illustration available today theres even the potential to bring in a six figure income (especially working in advertising), I have also read some children's book illustrators are millionaires! Granted they are the cream of the crop, have an outstanding reputations and have been established for a while but the point is that the potential is there.
I think the key to it is to be realistic, work out your daily outgoings and the income needed to accommodate them, then work as hard as you can to double and even triple it. -
Thank you for your kind words, its much appreciated!
Speaking personally I believe there are three main factors that can influence a creative - this can be what they as an individual find visually stunning, the work of close peers/friends in the industry and finally global trends in the creative community in general.
I tend to lean towards the first of the three, I will allocate a period of time a week to do research on aesthetics that I find interesting to look at and try to challenge myself thinking of ways I can incorporate what I see into my own style. A constant running theme throughout my work is the use of ancient art from past civilisations from Egypt and South America. This is because not only do I find it fascinating to look at but to me its the most basic form of what I do as an Illustrator. These civilisations used a combination of shape, sculptures and patterns to symbolise and communicate a common personal belief, story or message, which is very similar to what illustrators and designers do today.
I also sometimes go through little phases that can also influence my work, for example a couple of weeks ago I had just finished watching Boardwalk Empire and became fascinated with everything to do with the aesthetics of 1920's America and the Edwardian age in England.
In terms of structuring an illustration it can really go down numerous paths depending on whether you are creating work personally for yourself or commercial work for a client. Even when its commercial work it can depend on what sector you are creating it for - advertising, publishing and editorial amongst many other design sectors all have their own system of the commissioning process. Generally everything will begin in a sketchbook of some sort, this will be very messy and only the main aspects that I want to stand out will be highlighted. Once that is done I set up shop in illustrator and begin creating the outlines whilst referring to the initial sketch. I often take a break once in a while to re-evaluate the image and also to see what else I can bring to the illustration on the computer. This often means getting back into the sketchbook and doing some more research. Once the outline is done, I'll move onto the colouring and this is usually the most important part of my creative process. Getting the right colours to send out the right message is a key element in making sure the whole image is balanced.
Hope that helps!
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JonnyWan’s Bio
Illustrator, Sheffield, Love it.
