adamming.bsky.social
⚡️I make WITTY and ENERGETIC award winning illustrations with a comic sensibility Rep’d by Lydia Silver at Darley Anderson Illustration
Linktr.ee/adamming
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Join us at Art Gym! Get Early Enrollment open.substack.com/pub/artgym/p...
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I used to own Memebox.com
Before a meme was a thing!
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Yes, the idea that every observation is a huge problem to be solved is so annoying. If i say i fell in a mud puddle online, I want people to believe I am smart enough to stand up!
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If you found that valuable, here’s the first post again for your to share:
bsky.app/profile/adam...
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For 365 Notes like this through out the year or 52 weekly roundups, subscribe to www.tenminuteartist.com
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11/11
Your Illustrator's advance is determined by market projections,
meaning a book about unicorns or princesses,
is going to get a bigger advance than a book about a capybara
You make more money by drawing popular themes.
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10/11 Social Media is the most useful tool for marketing your art.
Learning to use it well and developing a healthy working relationship with it will lead to more work and more happiness.
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9/11 Flexible Hours
Illustration work does allow you to have flexible working hours. And this is one of it's main appeals.
The trade off is erratic work and payment cycles.
Learning to manage both is the key.
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8/11 You really don't need an agent to get work, but…
But agents do about 20% of the non art making work for about 20% of the fee. So having an agent just means you have more time to focus on the art.
20% of publishers only work with agented artist.
Choose your tradeoffs
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7/11 It’s a Numbers Game
Children's publishing tackles specific subject matter and values certain qualities more than others. These are the 5 things most valued.
1. Consistent Characters
2. Energetic Movement
3. Sweetness & Humor
4. Bright Color Palettes
5. Happy Animals
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6/11 Give to the community
Other illustrators are not 'the competition', they are your secret weapon.
Get valuable feedback and direction.
Get Recommendations for work.
Get Community.
Get inspiration.
Give more than you get.
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5/11 Spend Your Advance Wisely
3k-25k is not a lot of money...
Illustration advances might sound like a lot of money in themselves but you really need to consider that it's going to have to stretch over long periods of time typically a year or two.
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4/11 Grow your hiring network
Picturebook Illustrators get hired by Editors and Book Designers, not just Art Directors and Creative Directors.
And authors have a say too.
The more you have in your network the greater your chance of getting hired.
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3/11 Learn to Draw Letters
Good lettering skills increase your chance for getting hired as an illustrator by 20%. It's probably the biggest impact that gets ignored by a lot of illustrators.
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2/11 Illustration is a team sport.
The ability to understand business goals
Good communication
Empathy
Are essential for this job.
Learning as much as you can about the profession aa whole, will make you better at your job.
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1/11 Focus on Subject
Instead of trying to demonstrate artistic proficiency.
Demonstrate your interest in a subject matter & your ability tackle the subject matter in a unique and authentic way.
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I wrote two dispatches on drawing
• www.tenminuteartist.com/p/drawing-is...
• www.tenminuteartist.com/p/whats-draw...
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It’s out: open.substack.com/pub/tenminut...
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Thank you!