Advice from an Illustration Graduate: What I wish I'd known before graduating from Art School
This month my blog turns a year old! I started it back in July 2020 with the intention of sharing my processes and experiences as an illustrator, but also because I love to write! Not much has changed since my first post, and yet I feel as though I’ve grown massively as a person and as an artist since then. A year on I find myself having learnt A LOT of lessons, and I hope by sharing them with you today, whether you’re still a student, recent grad or freelance artist, they offer you some kind of guidance or support, wherever you are on your creative journey. So, shall we dive in?
Just a note…
You may be wondering what I’ve done to acquire all this new found knowledge and the truth is, not a lot. I’m not claiming to have learnt the ins and outs of the illustration industry within a year because let’s face it, that takes a lot of experience. But last year I would have welcomed any sort of advice from other creatives who had gone through similar experiences to me, so today I’m offering the advice I never had. Sometimes all it takes is for someone else to say, hey I’ve been there and I struggled too.
I also want to diffuse the idea that you have to be constantly productive to be successful - you don’t. Last year I decided to work on my picture book portfolio, for you it may be looking for a job or joining a collective that is priority. It’s taken a long time for me to settle into a routine where I can balance work and rest effectively, and its definitely still a working progress. I can be very driven and I love what I do, but I am also often very critical of myself. It’s taken a year for me to start unpacking these negative patterns and notice why I think this way, so please, take my advice with a pinch of salt. Everyone’s experience will be different.
Summer
Graduating during a pandemic meant that there was no ceremony and no degree show. It was a disappointment, but I got over it. I kept myself busy with a project called the Sketchbook Collective, and made a list of goals I wanted to achieve now I actually had time to focus on them. I collaborated with Post Snail Press, spoke to an editor from Hachette at their virtual open day, and opened my Etsy shop (a goal that I had on hold for YEARS!). Of course I took a well deserved rest too. I baked bread, watered my tomato plants, and cut my own hair. My friends and I got creative on zoom too, organising life drawing sessions, film nights and virtual gallery tours to pass the time. I also set myself a mini project of reworking three scenes from an old uni project that I never finished. This was my chance to play and create work that I wanted to make, and enjoy the freedom of pressure and grades.
Although I couldn’t see it at the time, I really took advantage of these first few months and a year on, I can see how I was laying foundations for new opportunities that are only just beginning to appear.
THREE THINGS I LEARNT
Don’t forget to celebrate If you’re a recent graduate, sleep is probably the only thing on your mind right now! But remember that this moment in your life is unlikely to happen again, so really take time to pause and reflect on everything you have achieved. Regardless of your result, chances are you’ll never have to work that hard again. So be proud of yourself - you did it.
A degree isn’t everything Okay I KNOW I just said be proud of your achievements, but the sooner you face reality the better. Think about how many graduates have left university just like you. What makes you different to them? Talent and confidence can only get you so far and the sad truth is, most clients don’t want to see your university work. Of course there are exceptions, but for most of us the stand-out portfolios showcase work that is personal and confident in style and message. Do you have something to share that’s unique to you or are you hoping that recycling the same old 2nd year project will get you by? This may be the best time to get a head start and make work that really shows what you have to offer.
Opportunities are waiting More about this later. Of course you can’t predict which projects will open the right doors for you, but if you’re collaborating with other creatives now, you may be surprised as to what they lead to later on. The artistic community you formed at university is unlikely to be available to you again, so to keep in touch with as many other creatives as you can. Or reach out to those who you admire - you never know what new connections lead to. And I promise you’ll be grateful you did it now.
Autumn
With the celebrations officially over, the daunting realisation of adult life soon kicked in. Autumn was really a blur to me. I went on country walks and continued with zoom drawing sessions, but creatively I was feeling uninspired. I continued another project from the past, which brought me a slight sense of satisfaction, but I still couldn’t shake off the vague sense of ‘what is this all for’. I decided to follow a drawing challenge to spark some sort of ‘play’, but that quickly became just another task to tick off my to-do list and it wasn’t really enjoyable. I’d also slipped off the momentum of university, and with that I became less and less motivated. Weeks turned into months and I began to realise I hadn’t made any attempts to consider what my next step would be.
I was also still frustrated about the the anti-climatic ending of university, and was mentally battling the constant raincloud that was Covid. I couldn’t shake this strange feeling I had. Was it loss? Anxiety? I don’t really remember, but I sure as heck pushed it down and tried my best to work through it. It took several months for me to realise this frustration was manifesting itself into physical pain too. I had a month long arm injury, and in November and December suffered from toothache that turned out to be tension in my jaw. I couldn’t wait for Christmas to arrive so I could forget all about it.
THREE THINGS I LEARNT
Effort makes you I WISH I had been stricter with myself in the beginning, because after the momentum of uni faded, I neglected work. Giving up is easy. It’s not easy to give 100% every day and not see any signs of progression. What matters is that you do it anyway. If you’re unsure about where to start, think about what you could do to get ahead. Whether you’ve submitted a portfolio or applied for a job, don’t just sit and wait for a reply that may never come. Get your hands on something you can control. Research other artists in the same industry as you and see how they did it. Join a collective, work on your craft. Effort makes you, so please start while you’re ahead.
The harsh reality Don’t pretend you’re okay if you’re not. But if you’re lay on your bed scrolling through IG then you really have no right to complain. Stop letting your excuses prevent you from taking action. Chances are there’ll be a few months of adjustment before steady work opportunities start to come in, so don’t feel disheartened if you feel a little lost in the beginning.
Don’t compare your path to someone else’s This was a HUGE lesson for me, and something I continue to work on. I used to fuel my anxiety by constantly comparing my path to another illustrator’s, one who had already had years of practise and momentum behind them. Once I had time to settle into a new routine I found that those same artists now inspired me to work hard, rather than making feel worse about myself. If you catch yourself comparing, change your perspective. Look at how they got to where they are. If they can do it, so can you. Begin with what you know and be PATIENT. Things most likely won’t change overnight.
Winter
As a Christmas enthusiast the adjustment to New Year is usually a challenge but LET ME TELL YOU, this Winter was tough. It was a period of several really low months that I just couldn’t get myself out of. Part of me didn’t even want to, because it required effort and I wasn’t in the mood for that. I was indifferent to the work I was making and everything felt like a chore. In hindsight, if I was kinder to myself and accepted that I felt uninspired, I probably wouldn’t have felt half as bad. I didn’t feel overworked, just less inclined to create - which was a feeling that until then I have never really experienced. The most important thing is that I never gave up. After every bad day I picked myself up and tried again. I continued to accept portrait commissions and submitted projects to competitions.
In these wintery months, I would have been SO grateful for any sort of advice, especially from graduates who were going through similar struggles as I was. Other than chatting to friends, I found that it just isn’t something that is widely spoken about in the illustration community, which is a shame.
THREE THINGS I LEARNT
Go outside Obvious but important. Working from home can be tedious, sometimes tiring, often lonely. Give yourself time to be outside, away from technology and if it helps, away from people. Nature can do wonders for your metal health and I guarantee you’ll feel more refreshed when you come back to your desk.
Action = Momentum The first step is always the hardest. I got frustrated that I wasn’t making any progress, yet I wasn’t taking action in order to solve the problem. It may not work the first, second or tenth time, but you have to try if you want to see any momentum.
Your emotions are trying to tell you something Our negative feelings often serve a positive purpose; they are a sign that change is needed. Don’t try to avoid or deny them. Notice them and appreciate the message they’re trying to tell you. Only then will you be able to change your state. Reassure yourself that you’ve gotten through this feeling before and notice the lesson it’s trying to teach you.
Spring
I don’t remember how I finally let go of these negative patterns, but I did. I continued working on my portfolio and my mental health, and one sunny April afternoon it all just slipped into place. I suddenly realised how I’d been blocking myself from taking action, and releasing this pressure made me feel as though a weight had been lifted. I guess all I needed was a little perspective. It’s still a working progress, but taking back that control brought a fresh burst of optimism. I got excited about stretching my creative comfort zone, experimented with new materials, and purposefully chose not to share new work with the outside world.
I slowly found my creative spark again and with inspiration came action, then momentum and soon, new opportunities began to appear. I honestly can’t explain how fast the changes came! I was commissioned to do a set of pet portraits (which are now available on my Etsy shop), sold my prints internationally for the first time, and received a message from a Sketchbook Collective member asking whether I was interested in running an online workshop! Of course none of this was planned, but because I was open to the work, it just seemed to find me.
THREE THINGS I LEARNT
Don’t hold so much value on social media We all know this, but do we believe it? It may take time to release the grip social media has on you as a creative, especially if it’s the only place you can interact with your audience. At the start of this year I’d feel deflated after making any new work because I was already subconsciously projecting other peoples opinions onto it. Opinions I hadn’t even received. Once I’d shifted my attention to finding fulfilment in the process, I could see the image objectively. Some people may love what you do and some will be indifferent to it. Don’t let external validation sway your own opinion of the work you make. I’ve even got into the habit of deleting IG at the weekend, to take some time to reconnect with myself and my creativity.
Set clear goals LISTS ARE YOUR FRIENDSSS! Write up your to dos, monthly goals, timetables, anything! Nothing is achievable until you put it down on paper, and as creatives we unfortunately need to hold ourselves accountable for the time we are on and off work. Once your goals are on paper you can break them down into simplified steps, set time limits, and suddenly things will seem a lot less strenuous. I now have monthly goals, weekly goals AND a timetable to keep me on track. It keeps me accountable, I just can’t believe it took me ten months to do it.
This is just the beginning Throughout Autumn and Winter I kept reminding myself how fast time was passing and I still hadn’t made progress. Now one year later, I can look back and see how much I’ve already achieved. And it’s only been a year. Things change faster than you think. I still have hard days, but I’m back to being my busy self, and the path in front of me is slowly, slowly starting to reveal itself. Wherever you are in your journey, know that opportunities are always available to you, you just have to be patient and keep going.
And that brings me full circle! Sharing these experiences from the past twelve months has felt like a cathartic process to me, and I hope it offers you some sort of guidance, support, or just a friendly voice to say that everything will work out just fine. If you find yourself at a low point, know that the harder times are just lessons in disguise. Take a moment to look around and ask yourself, what am I avoiding? What would move me forward? What would make me happy? Sometimes we need the challenges to shake us up and push us in the right direction. You need rain to appreciate the sunshine, right?
So what’s next? Right now I find myself seeking new opportunities to grow and learn about my craft. My work has improved massively since university, but I can already see how I could move on from here, and I can’t begin to imagine where I’ll be in a year from now! And this time I’ll remember to enjoy the journey.
Little treasures I’ve enjoyed this month…
* Annielies Draws vintage posters!!
*I’m finally reading The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell after it’s been sat on my shelves for several years. Mitchell somehow manages to twist everyday stories just enough for them to become distorted and fascinating, and I’m only several chapters in but I’m already loving it.
*I also picked up this book again after months of neglect. I find history fascinating, and I’m learning new things everyday.
If you’re still here I applaud you! That was one hefty post. I hope my experiences bring support to those of you who find yourself in a challenging season of your life. Don’t give up!!
Thank you for being here, as always
Catherine