Discussion - Fees and Pricing in Commissions/Prints

Price and fees are one of the things that I’m currently struggle with to get a grasp of, as I have not really sold prints, nor taking in commissions to produce work for customers/clients. In this session we discuss the topic of pricing commissions, which I do want to hear about as it will definitely give me an insight to help my understandings and knowledge for pricing artworks and to look into different areas of commissions such as book covers, magazine covers, posters, in-book illustrations, etc.

I find that a lot of the pricing for commissions varies a lot and that there are many factors that contributes it, such as deadline, working for national or international papers, companies and authors. Being commissioned by a large company with a high reputation would of course pay you more, whilst you would be paid less from a small business that is in the minority. A few hundred pounds for a commission seems alright to me, though there are those that can hit the £1000s bracket where a lot of artists wished to be paid for, and some of these I find are ridiculous amounts where it could equate to a year’s worth of salary. Like I said, this comes down from how big or famous the company or person that is commissioning you.

An in depth analysis to all the different types of commission work and their pricing had me thinking how much should I sell my work to customers. There will be a time where I would be out there selling my illustrations for exposure and gathering an audience/followers, and naming my prices can be difficult. Making your prints expensive can make people pass, while making them cheap will draw attention, but at the same time you won’t be making enough unless it was to be sold at a mass quantity in a short period of time to the consumers. I would want to name my prices for my prints at a fair amount, not too expensive, yet not too cheap, but as of now I’m not an established artist, just someone within the minority, I will just put the prices at a fair range, depending on the quality of the image.

The session has taught me to see what income illustrators/artists make for a living and it made me realise that there’s not really a fixed figure for a yearly salary, considering that artists work on many different projects over the years with different pays and contracts, so there could be a year where you would earn more than the usual, and there could be a year where you earned less, which is not far from the truth for all illustrators whose yearly salary are different over the years of profession. 

Talks and Discussion on FMP with 3rd Years

In this session it was mostly focused on the introduction to the FMP in the 3^rd Year and we all get to have an insight to what the current 3^rd Years have been doing for their projects. As groups we rotate to each 3^rd year who volunteered to discuss and present what they are currently doing, each offering their own perspectives, ideas and approach to their interests and potential outcomes.

There was a diversity of different approaches to their project, where many pursued their own personal interests while others go down the route relating towards the commercial/graphical aspect, and it was interesting to hear their own take and what they had done so far to advance their FMP.

It was a good session to hear what the 3^rd years are currently doing in order for us to be aware of the situation when the time comes for me and fellow classmates to be in their shoes next year. While it is early to say what we want to do for 3^rd year, I do know what I wanted to do and to pursue, so between now and then will be the time of preparation to gather and to look into what I want to do in the 3^rd year. I will be following and to continue my pursuit of my personal interests in digital illustration for my FMP.

Life of an Artist - Fumio Obata

Sometimes I ever wondered about the past and journeys of those who taught me in my education, and their steps to become who they are now as a person and illustrator. Fumio Obata, a tutor and author, who is currently teaching me, explained his origins and the paths that had led him to where he is now, a pictorial storyteller and mentor.

It was interesting to hear the stories of his early life as a graduate and his beginnings to pursue a career in storytelling. He told us his first visual influence was Japanese manga and anime, which is of no surprise considering he is Japanese and was brought up and lived in Tokyo in his early life, manga and anime are a part of Japanese culture, and is now currently booming in terms of popularity around world for its entertainment and pop culture.

Came to England in 1991, Fumio was originally going to London, but decided to go to Glasgow for his studies instead (1997-1999), personally saying that he finds the area more interesting. He told us he needed to change his style after his application to get into RCA (Royal College of Art) was rejected, and felt challenged, which he then proceed to find his own stylistic identity and exploring different mediums in his practices. His interests within illustration was composition and movement, and the themes he said he would often use was to combine Japanese and European aesthetics in sequential.

He told us that over the years he had to adapt to the changes in terms of processes when digital medium/tools was beginning to become a requirement to produce the works of illustrations.

His first publication was in 2010 through personal contact. Contacts are important as it can lead you to a host of various networks of illustrators and artists from around the world, which I agree is true, having a network of national or international friends and contacts can help spread you identity as an artist, as well as exposure. The more, the better chance.

His recent publication was in 2014, a graphic novel titled ‘Just So Happens”, which I actually seen in shops such as Waterstones. I had a quick read at the time of discovering it and it was strange to see and read a book that was produced by a tutor who is currently teaching me in my studies. It actually made me smile. He has been teaching for a few years now, as well as working on other projects, though we all don’t know how long he would continue to teach.

Just So Happens. 2014. Fumio Obata. 

In the end he told us of his future plans, and that was to return to Japan as an author. It is understandable that after being here in the UK for so long, creating stories and teaching outside of his home country, that he will return to Japan one day in his later years after making a name of himself in the publishing and creative industry. Discovering his journey from the very beginning to the present had offered some insight of the potential paths that I may undertake in a similar fashion: adapting, artist exposure and making connections with others. While his time of exposure back then is now vastly different compared to my generation, I think many young people who are seeking something similar in the art/creative industry like me should be happy that we are living in a time where we all have the technology and the accessibility to resources and tools that will benefit us. Fumio said that if he was in my generation lifetime, things would be very, very different compared to what he had experienced. He was once in our shoes, graduating and pursuing what he wanted, and he achieved that. Someday we will do the same, being in his shoes as an illustrator or author in our later years. 

Stephen Cooper - Concept Artist

Concept Art is one of the few interests I have, and in this session Concept Artist Steven Cooper was a guest lecture to talk about some of his client works (Doctor Who, Paddington, Silent Hill: Origins) personal works, life as a concept artist, as well as responding to general questions regarding about the subject.

This session was very, very useful and interesting as I get to have a small insight into how a concept artist work, dealing with exposure and client work, including to know Stephen’s personal opinions, influences and advice.

After his presentation that consists a body of client works as well as some personal projects, I personally sat down with him and discussed about my interest in concept art and to share my experiences of learning in the past in my previous university, where I had studied Game Art Design in De Montfort University.

I discussed my experiences where I find it difficult, as a whole, to study Concept Art, where you need the skills of both 3D Game Production and Visual Design. I asked this whether it is necessary that, despite being a 2D illustrator, you need the skills as a 3D modeller to get into concept art, considering I myself is not keen in 3D modelling and it is too technical for me. Stephen explained that it is not that necessary, however it would give you an advantage over some who doesn’t know much of 3D modelling, and told me that gaining those skills is a plus to your employability within the industry of concept art. He told me that you can still get into Concept art without knowing 3D modelling, though basic knowledge is required just in case you would ever need to use one, which he explained earlier in his presentation, that he needs to self-teach on using 3D modelling software he needs to use, such as Maya and ZBrush to produce some client work. His opinion makes it all clear to me and that it is not a necessary requirement to get into concept art, though this makes me more wary that some, if not most companies are on the lookout for those who has both 3D and 2D skills, which can put those in an advantage over those who don’t have both, like me.

After the discussion I made it relate to one of questions that I want to ask, and that is:

Would you consider Concept Art the hardest subject within the field of Illustration?

Stephen agrees that concept art is, in some way, hard in comparison to other subjects in art and design, primarily because you would need to stay at top in being creative and motivated all the time, regardless whether the project you are doing is enjoyable or not. He said the design element is what keeps things challenging and you would need to think and produce new designs, which can be difficult especially if there is a strict time constraint on the project’s idea phase. You would need to know how to draw anything and don’t expect to draw your favourite things all the time, since the brief from the client could be of anything. If you can’t then maybe concept art is not the right choice, and would prefer to go to a more general digital illustration pathway, if creating illustrations is your thing.

Taking into account of what he said in response, which leads to my second question:

Did you work on multiple projects simultaneously?

No. Stephen said he didn’t and would personally prefer to work and focus on one project at a time, as he said his director assumes he has undivided attention and knowing he can handle the work, otherwise, working on another project without the director knowing would stir some problems, also taking into account Stephen would need to keep things confidential of both projects between the two companies. Plus it would personally conflicts Stephen’s working hours, as there is more work to do.

Did you have to self-teach to learn new software outside of work?

Yes. He said that a lot of companies does not provide any tutorial or training if a particular software skill is required. He reflects back to my first question, where he tells me that knowing some of the software is a plus to your employability, which I think he is correct. This had me reflecting back when I first acquired Photoshop a few years ago, knowing that I would need to self-teach myself, considering there’s no classes that teach you the ways of digital painting, unless you go to a specific art school/college. He said it is handy knowing a few extra things, but if it is something that you would definitely be using, you would need to teach yourself.

As an artist is it better to be well rounded in everything, rather than sticking to the things you like to do? Such as drawing specific characters, environments, etc.

Yes. Cooper said it is better to be well rounded than sticking to what you can do, as it will narrow down your opportunities. He personally say that sticking to one thing is somewhat generally not a good idea, but you do get artists who are recognised or well known for drawing the one subject or theme that they like to do, whether its character portraits or sci-fi robots, which is not a bad idea if it is successful, but overall he personally says that it is better to know your way round rather than boxing in on yourself. Sure it will make you recognisable in a way to be known as an artist who draws this or that, but drawing your favourite things all the time could somewhat hinder your job opportunities and skill.

It was nice to have discussions and debates on several topics with Stephen and was given small tutorials in Photoshop including some advice in painting surface materials. This session has been very good and was well engaged in discussing relevant topics relating to my own interests with Stephen Cooper and I may contact him via email for future references/purposes. 

Work Placement and Career Advice pt.3 - Interviews

This final session of Career Advice regarding on the preparations for a job interview is useful. I had written down notes just in case if I ever need to recap on a few things that I need to remind myself, such as preparing my own questions and to know some knowledge about the company I wanted to get into.

While I know some knowledge of preparation, there were a few things I did not know about, such as cases of set ups from the interviewers to test you to see if you are capable to respond in a specific manner, though from what I heard, some of the cases are somewhat bizarre and unfair to the applicants and only to be told afterwards they did not get the job just because they did not respond in a specific manner, such as the case, which I see as unfair, where the interviewer was ‘interrupted’ and he needs to talk to a colleague outside the room for 15 minutes, while the person who is getting interviewed patiently waited, until the interviewer comes back to resume.

The part where he talked outside for 15 mins was a set up in a way to get that person who is being interviewed to tell the interviewer that she’s here for the interview, not to have time wasted, as a response, though clearly that did not happened, hence the job offer was rejected.

As I heard the story about this case, it seems unfair, because you wouldn’t expect to get up and kindly confront the interviewer to stop talking and resume the interview, my initial response would be to sit quietly and patiently wait for the interviewer to return, how would anyone know this was actually a set-up, and to go out to tell the interviewer that you are here for the interview seems rude, as the talk between those two could be important or confidential and not want you to know about.

This is something new I had learnt from this session on interviews and now I am more aware that the company or the interviewers that I would apply in the future might play some tricks or set-up to throw you off guard. Some can be surprising, while some may seem unfair and feel one-sided. 

Work Placement and Career Advice pt.2 - CVs

In this seminar, CVs was the main focus. For someone like me who has not written a proper CV before, this was extremely useful as there are some helpful tips to understand what information I would need to provide within a CV. I may have written one years ago back in secondary school when we were tasked to do 1 week of work experience but how the school handled the situation was annoying and they ended up placing me in college to do clean up duty which I did not asked for.

Some people were shocked to hear I don’t have a CV nor had done a part time job, I understand they were taken by some surprise to hear that for someone at my age, but also felt that they think I am behind in life and kept telling me to get a job, but during my time in education I did not see any time to find one, which others think it is an excuse, but to be honest I rather wait until I finish my education.

As for the seminar, I had written down notes of the things I need to know that are important, such as the order of details and information that are to be put on the CV, including skills, qualifications and interests, as well as the very little details that makes the CV presentable, such as the use of any graphic colour and choosing appropriate font style. I also get to know other approaches such as on-line CV and a creative CV, which I had not heard of before. Other information regarding cover letters and e-mails are also very useful to know how to write in a professional manner. Though I do know in general how to write professionally, but this has helped me to understand a lot better and clearer.

So far I had not written a CV to this date, though I will eventually as a practice. This seminar was useful and I thought I would need to go down to the career advisers myself at some point to help me out regarding on CVs, but thankfully the seminar had focused on this matter and I’m glad I had attended the session. Later on I may still need to go to the career advisers for further information but for the mean time I know what I would need to do for the CV with the notes I had written.

Work Placement and Career Advice pt.1 - Online Exposure

This seminar in particular has been very useful in terms of knowing information regarding on careers and how to find the right work experience within the field of illustration for professional practices. During this session I had written down notes and key things that will help me for artist’s exposure and approaching work under a professional manner.

Throughout my education I had not took one job for work experience, whether that’s a regular part time job or voluntary work, mainly because I was focused on education, especially college and during my time in my first university before I came to Gloucestershire I had faced several complications which would of conflict with finding work if I ever had. I did do one work experience during secondary school, however, I don’t think it counts because after several rejections and trying to find work experience that links to my interests in illustration or graphic design, the school sent me to a local college to clean the studios instead, which to be honest is not exactly ‘work’ experience to me.

I always wondered what other ways I can approach things now for work, and this seminar was really helpful to know the different ways and possibilities to go out there and pursue a career relating to what I like to do, a career relating to Illustration. It is something I had been waiting for to be honest, finding work within the professional field of Illustration.

One of the things that was talked about was exposing yourself as an artist and begin networking other people with similar interests. This was only talked for a brief moment, but this in particular has been on my mind for quite a while, because I do want to display and share my work with other fellow illustrators, whether they are traditional or digital artists, Hobbyist or Professional, around the world. It was always something I wanted to do for quite a while. Several years ago I had been sharing my illustrations, which I considered as a hobby back then, on a website known as “DeviantArt”. I had posted some of the drawings I did as a hobby, but after a while I deactivated my account and left and at the same time, I felt I wasn’t ready for the whole ‘exposure’ thing. But now I feel I am ready, and recently I had set up a new account on the website, posting original works and the occasional fan art of popular characters on a regular basis.

I will be setting up accounts in other sharing websites such as “Tumblr”, but for the mean time I will settle in with “DeviantArt” first, then soon expand over to other social media and setting up a professional profile. 

Other things that were mentioned such as competitions is something I would consider looking into and to try out, though it depends on what the competition is. If it would help me expose myself as an artist on a greater level in any way, then no doubt about it I would try that completion(s) out. So far there’s nothing at the moment, as I would need to look further to find the right competitions I can compete in.

Overall I feel a little more confident about finding work that relates to my interests within the field of illustration, it was something I needed help with in particular. Finding a regular job for part time work to get work experience is not exactly my thing, I know, I need experience in work regardless, but I wanted to get a job that I do enjoy, which is Illustration and that is my target. Finding a part time job will be my backup, starting with voluntary work first, which I will be looking for, to get some basic experience.

The information we were all given during this seminar was really helpful in terms of finding and knowing how to approach companies professionally and setting up a Portfolio at a professional standard. Building a CV is another thing that was mentioned, which I will talk about separately.