Handling rejection

Undoubtedly you will receive rejection somewhere along the way on your career path. It's one of those things that is unavoidable in this sort of the business. Just like actors don't land every role in auditions, us illustrators are likely to be passed over for someone else. Today I opened my email to find this:

Hi Vivian~

Thank you for sending us a sampling of your art style and the link to your website. I spent some time browsing through your site. Though you are a very talented illustrator, your flat ‘illustrative’ style of the card sample and the things I saw on your website, is not a fit for our company.

We wish you the best of luck with your creativeness! It looks like you have a lot of fun.
Take care~

 
I have to admit, as far as rejections go – I think this is the nicest one I received!
The trick to any sort of rejection, is not to let these sort of things get you down. Your illustration style isn't going to be a perfect fit for every company/ job opening. Stay true to your style (and yourself) and see what other opportunities are out there!


And the search continues...

Setting Goals

Good morning followers and fellow bloggers! The sun is finally shining here on the West Coast, and I'm feeling a little more motivated/inspired to get things done. So what better way to find motivation than to blog about it? It's important to keep your mind focused, and there's nothing wrong with dreaming big! I've seen too many talented grads settling for minimum wage jobs right after graduation (i.e Starbucks - don't get me wrong, I love that liquid bit of heaven they call coffee/frappes)... but sometimes these sort of jobs suck you into a vortex that you never get out of. So shoot for the stars! There's no harm in trying, is there? So I'm setting some short-term, and long-term goals. At this point I think I can see myself doing contract work for a publishing company (children's books, greeting cards, etc.) I also want to see if I can find work in Australia or New Zealand for at least a year – that's on my long term list! Originally I had thought a year abroad in Italy, but not having a language barrier might be bonus ;)
Keep your dreams big, and your accomplishments bigger! Happy Wednesday!

It's a pretty good day

Packing and more packing

Today I am working on packaging my self promo mail-outs. In retrospect, it was a good idea for me to do all of my portfolio and grad show booth printing on the ikon printer on campus for free (and not to mention, very dutch of me :), since I am now investing a lot of money into these illustration samples. Of course I want to put my best foot forward, so to speak. I received my custom postcards in the mail yesterday. I'm fairly happy with how they turned out, though the gloss coating did manage to darken the print a fair bit. I went with moo.com for these ones since I could order a number of different illustrations for the front cover... but in the future I think I will stick to jukebox printing. Next step, formatting my resume to fit the mailout! A little tip: always print out a test just to get an idea of scale. You'll notice things that you didn't notice by just looking at your inDesign file on the screen ;)

Spec work: a necessary evil or a career killer?

Since school has ended, I have been busy filling my day planner with internet searches, compiling a publishing house mailing list, and creating custom mailouts. All of this work done in search for jobs that will pay the big bucks $$$. You'll notice that there are a lot of job postings out there that are essentially looking for free illustration work. Even though they might sell you on the fact that this work will buy you fame and acclaim (ah yes... hard not to fall for that one), but this kind of exposure might not be what you want. In fact, composing work for free lowers your art's worth in the future. So where do we draw the line? Do we simply say no on principle? And does this also apply to creating custom illustration samples that will appeal to the specific publishing houses? Well I'm not one to simplify things into black and white categories. It ultimately comes down to your own set of beliefs. I'm sure it can't hurt to customize your portfolio depending on the job. I just wish that all portfolio work wasn't creating simply on spec. Wouldn't it be nice if we got paid for everything we did? You don't see doctors performing operations for free, or engineers constructing bridges for free.... I'm just say'n :P

Maintaining a holding pattern

Transition always takes some getting used to, whether it's transitioning from one job to another, or moving from one city to another. So I feel as though I'm in a sort of holding pattern waiting for the next big adventure. Though perhaps "waiting: is a bit passive of a word. More like searching for my next challenge. Since school has ended it seems as though I've been busy organizing this transition. Now that the move is over, and all the final assignments and paperwork have been completed, it's time for me to finally venture out and see what the world has waiting for an eager young illustrator like myself. Currently I am looking for venues for fine art shows, as well as publishing companies looking to take on new illustration talent, or some contract work. Feel free to contact me with any leads you may have. As you know, networking is crucial in this industry (well, any industry really... unless of course you are a professional hermit... then I would assume networking would go against your curriculum vitae — notice how the job search has actually impacted my vocabulary?). So whatever transition you may find yourself in, don't lose the faith. Stay optimistic and positive, and maintain that confident holding pattern. I know there are many adventures out there to be had! Long live the pursuit!