I often get questions from new illustrators for tips on how to get started as a book illustrator, or how to find work as an artist in this or that field. Sometimes I even have folks ask for jobs.

So first the bad news: I’m more or less a one-man operation at the moment (though if work continues to pick up, that may change). Right now, I’m not hiring.

One caveat before the good news: I came to book illustration through the back door, by writing and illustrating technical books. Possibly I would never have made it as an illustrator or as a writer without this one-two punch in my moves employed in those early fights to find work. Once I met with success, I gradually branched out into first fiction, and then illustration as stand-alone work. While I do have a Master’s degree, it’s in music composition; I don’t have any formal training in writing or illustration – just a great love and appreciation of both, and some natural inclination toward these endeavors.

And that (perhaps) is the good news. If a person has some talent and persistence, and is willing to hone their skills, they can make a living at it.

Other things I’ve learned:

Having a web site is an important plus. Spend time making it look professional can help attract business to you. You don’t necessarily need a lot of traffic, just the right traffic of potential clients.

Having an up-to-date portfolio with the very best of your work is important. Fewer works that are all good is more important than a larger collection with some marginal work since editors tend to see the least effective piece in a portfolio as the artist’s “normal output.”

Spend time selling yourself. An illustrator, whether online or in person, should be someone special, someone who demands respect. These days it is hard to tell the important from the unimportant, so people tend to do it by how any given person presents himself. Present yourself as a talented artist, and many will assume you must be that. And so will you. And then you’ll discover that when you and others believe in you, you will be deserving of that confidence.

Be ready to jump when opportunity presents itself. Often leaving a potential client waiting for your reply for a few days means someone else gets the job. Be ready and be prepared to burn the midnight oil to tailor a portfolio for a target client or job. Have quality samples to show. Things are moving fast these days and delay or lack of preparation can spell failure to land a job.

Never let yourself get discouraged. For every job an artist gets, he’ll see bunches of offers turned down. Realize this is normal and that it isn’t a reflection on you. Other people how their own (sometimes poor) tastes and you won’t be able to cater to all the various likes and dislikes (bad as well as good). Stick to your style and do your best. Eventually you’ll land some work.

Discover what you like doing and what you do well, then find the markets where people are buying that sort of work.

Branch out. Don’t limit yourself to just one medium or market. If you can do CDs, that’s great — but also consider doing graphic design art, T-shirts, book covers, magazine illustrations, etc., etc.

Contact quality publishers when looking for work. There are a lot of scam artists who’ll try to get you to work for little or nothing. A good first step in looking for work is to consult the latest 2009 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market which will give you leads to publishers wanting work like you’re doing. It also is full of good tips about the right and wrong way to approach publishers, how to find the best market for your work, and markets you may not of thought of that could use illustrations like yours.

I hope this advice is of help. Certainly it would have been of great help to me back when I was starting out, green and ignorant.

–Duncan
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Cover artist for HarperCollins’ Digital Artwork for the 21st Century.
See my book cover illustrations and other artwork at: DuncanLong.com