Starting Your Career As a Freelance Illustrator or Graphic Designer

Designed for those embarking on freelance careers in graphic design or illustration, this text discusses how to get started, how to sell your work, how to promote yourself, and what to do once you are working. It details how to create a portfolio, make initial contacts, and market your work. “A great deal of information obtained only by the live and learn method is packed into the book’s chapters.” —The Artist’s Magazine Technology has sent shockwaves of change through the world of commercial art. Digital illustration and design, online portfolio sites, and the proliferation of stock art have radically changed the way that illustrators and graphic designers work. What has not changed, however, is the wealth of illustrators and graphic designers hoping to turn their talent into freelance success. Starting Your Career as a Freelance Illustrator or Graphic Designer shows readers how to find jobs and analyze what markets are right for them. Entire chapters are devoted to explaining the nuances of selling one's work to magazines, newspapers, ad agencies, book publishers, greeting card companies, small businesses, Web sites, and more. Freelance illustrators and graphic designers will find the author's Ten Commandments of Freelancing as well professional viewpoints from dozens of industry veterans. This book's comprehensive coverage is complemented by art samples, charts, and business forms makes it the most useful tool on the market for honing the business skills of freelance illustrators and graphic designers. For those embarking on freelance careers in illustration or graphic design, the answers have arrived. A twenty-five year veteran in the field, Michael Fleishman, has detailed every business aspect of commercial art in Starting Your Career as a Freelance Illustrator or Graphic Designer.