President's Message July '05

The current issue of Guild News is devoted to my favorite subject—illustration. My favorite because I have been drawing constantly since I was about six years old, and I have been drawing pictures for money for about forty years. I started drawing for money in high school, did the same in college, and have been doing the same ever since.

I use the term "drawing for money" because that is what artists do. Michelangelo did it. So did Da Vinci, Albrecht Durer, Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer, David, Sargeant, Whistler, Constable, and Stubbs. In fact, most artists made art for money. Making art is a fine profession: there is very little heavy lifting involved, you can work
sitting down, you can work out in the elements in relative comfort, and if you don't lick your brush and ingest too many heavy metals, you can live to a ripe old age.

In fact, about the only downside of illustration is that there are too many illustrators and not enough jobs to go around. Oh, and did I mention the tight deadlines, the lousy pay, the unreasonable clients, the copyright issues, the business issues, and the loss of sleep and weekends. Yes, just like every other business entrepreneur, you are faced with the unpleasant duties of doing business, but the upside is that you get to make art.

At one time you spent most of your time making art, and then the world changed. All those professional tradesmen that took your artwork and did separations, color corrected your image, and made it fit to print were replaced by the personal computer. Now you can draw, scan, make a disk, and bill the job from the comfort of your office chair. You have become an efficient picture-making machine, and for this you get paid less and less. Add scanning and making the art print-ready to your existing business activities and you spend even less time at the board.

Performing a valuable service in an allotted time period is what a good illustrator/artist does over and over again. You aren't manufacturing; it's service you are providing. The best illustrator isn't any good if he/she can't deliver on time. If however, you can't deliver well, you won't be called again. The client has the money so they call the shots, but the artist has the talent to produce the desired service, so we are not powerless unless we choose to be.

Just remember, business hates talented people, especially creatives, because they're too darn to hard to handle. Money isn't enough to control them, they have copyright protection, and they appear to be free spirits. What's not to hate? So business attempts to control artists with bad contracts, low pay, and treatment they could never use on their employees. They like to keep you overburdened, which gives you less time to analyze the worth of what you're doing and tilts the playing field in their favor. Your job is to not only do the job at hand, but also to think about the next job and the ones after that.

Most illustrators are so busy being efficient that they forget one very important aspect of their business—being an advocate for themselves. The artwork goes out the door, the client is happy, and with any luck you will get paid, so the job is complete. This is our failure point—the job isn't complete because the payment is almost an afterthought, and in many instances, the contract is verbal or nonexistent. In most cases, there will be no problem; the client will treat you fairly, use the art as agreed, and all will be right with the world. However, there is that occasional client who will take advantage and make your life a living hell.

Advocating for yourself is planning for your future. In forty years I have seen a lot of negative change in the illustration business. For those of you who think that business will stay the same, I can tell you from experience that it won't. Most of those who were plying the trade when I started are gone. It's those with a strong constitution or a good plan who survive. Plan B is, or should be, always in place because when all else fails, you better be able to adapt.

This business ain't for babies or wimps. If you want to just draw pictures and be happy, then you are not cut out to be an illustrator. Your best single weapon is your ability to be a good businessperson. Consider your cost of doing business, treat each job as a job, don't give away the ranch, learn to negotiate, and stand up for what you believe in. And don't act like a doormat. When you take on a job, finish it and make sure of what you're selling. Send a confirmation order when the job begins, and remember that each time you cave on a deal, you diminish your worth and the worth of every other illustrator. Alone and as a
group, we have to make our profession better.

Here's one thought to ponder when you consider the state of our business. When I bought my first house in the early 70's, it took two jobs and two weeks to earn enough for the down payment. I thought it would only take one week's work, but things were a little slow that particular week.

Click here to visit John's June President's Message.

Click here to visit John's March President's Message.

Click here to visit John's December President's Message.

Click here to visit John's November President's Message.

President's Message July, 2005

President's Message
July, 2005