Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Must have for aspiring illustrators!

I thought I would recommend a book. I've recommended it on my Norwegian blog earlier, but since this book is originally written in English it appeals more to the english/american market. I find this book to be a very good aid for a young and aspiring illustrator. Regardless of which niche you work in. Everyone should know how to deal with clients, how to put together a portfolio, what a contract should include, how to bill a client and how to run a creative business on a daily basis. "How to be an illustrator" is a book that can teach you just that.

You don't really learn this stuff at school or the university. I mean you get a modicum of information and then you are sent out into the world of professional illustration. I am not very business savvy, I am not good at maths or book keeping and I am a bit of a klutz. To say the least, sometimes the thought of freelancing terrifies me, but books like this one really helps me avoid having that near fatal anxiety attack that lurks in the dark corners of my mind.



The book is full of interviews with professional illustrators and artdirectors from the UK and America. You get to know what illustrators think of the business and how they approach the business of illustration. The art directors talk about what they look for in an illustrator and how they discover new talent.

The book showcases a lot of illustrations made by the interviewed artists so the book is not boring to flip through. The text is easy to read and the book is simple to navigate through and you don't need to read it from beginning to end, you can just jump to the bits that interest you the most.

I would recommend this book to any aspiring artist as it is a great book and is written by Darrel Rees, Head of Heart Artist Agency, one of the largest UK artist agents.

Hope someone will find this useful

Until next time
Anita Night

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