the PROJECT blog

The starving artist is a stereotype that all of us are trying to work away from.  Most creators I know have worked incredibly hard to make their jobs into full-living wages.  Some are still in the process of doing so.  Personally, I am somewhere in the middle.  

When you haven’t made good money yet, it feels like a sin to spend $200 at the art store (and at the same time it feels sooooo right).  

BUT YOU HAVE TO MAKE GREAT ART.  Right?  Every good artist knows that skimping out on quality materials almost always shows itself in the final product.  If I’m going to run a long race, I need to start with a good pair of shoes.  This mentality sent me on a mad man’s hunt for good paint and even brushes that would help me create even better illustrations, while still giving me the freedom to go out on taco Tuesday.

I grew up going to Michael's for any art supplies, but once I got to art college, their quality didn’t cut it any longer.  

Most large chains carry the expensive brands (which if you can, SPLURGE BABY), but they also carry their own brand that is always cheaper.  Quality wise, those store brands are usually let-downs.  Except for Blick, formerly known as Utrect, and their line of gouache and some of their brushes.

I have a mixture of their store brand paints, and some more expensive gouaches.  The Blick brand has held up it’s end of the deal with higher quality paints I can use without my card declining on me.  I’ve used yellow paint that cost me 25 cents, and I’ve used a yellow paint that cost $27 for a tiny tube.  I believe in both methods of creating.  Some of the best tools can be broken pencils, or frayed brushes for more texture, or even paint from your old craft boxes.  

**Awkward ‘handshake or hug’ body twitch**

**goes in for the hug because it feels right**

I’m Sophia, and I am an illustrator.  I’ve been a hostess, retail slave, model, nanny, and barista in the past, but I think “illustrator” suits me best.  It by far the best thing to be, in my book.  

I never thought I’d say this, but the best thing about being a freelance artist is making connections with people.  The second best thing is creating something visual to enhance a space or a business.  People who aren’t creative look at what we do and think it’s borderline magic.  

It’s not magic, it’s messy.  It’s hard work.  It’s mistakes.  It’s STRESSFUL.  

I love it.

I love it because after hours and hours of thinking, and sketching, and re-drawing, and painting, and re-painting, and stay up all night, and crying over a short deadline, and hating it still, and re-working half of it, and staying up late again, you may have just made something you’re proud of.  

This blog will be about that entire journey, and how do it better each day along the way.

I’m Sophia, and I’m a mess.  

I’m an illustrator.

As an artist... you paint what you want.  As an illustrator, you can paint what you want, but you also have to paint what other people like.  You paint what other people want to see, interpreted in your own unique way.  Pure self-expression is crucial to being a good illustrator, but what makes a GREAT illustrator is combining your visual artistic expression with topics or feelings that the public wants to see at the time.  These are trends.  These things can make you popular for a moment, or if used correctly, keep you relevant for much longer than that.

Here are some things you’ve probably noticed recently:

-Plants:  They are organic, expressive, and somehow never bore its audience.  Draw a small, potted succulent and you’ve got a winner.

-Animals:  Cute animals are always, always, always “in”.  Recently, though, informative illustrations for animals (like animal kingdoms and such) have gotten increasingly popular.

-Trump:  Even illustrators who never do caricatures have whipped up a version of our president in their own style.  

-Memes:  New version of relatable comics that the entire internet enjoys.  Drawing a meme-type illustration can reach people that weren’t even interested in art in the first place.

-Nostalgia:  Specifically, fan art of books, movies, and TV shows from the 90’s and early 2000’s, created for people who are now in their 20’s and 30’s.  

NO REALLY.  HOW?

This is a real question that deserves a real answer.  I almost became an art teacher instead of a full-on artist in the beginning of my college career because I considered it a “real job”.  I saw those other illustrators who paid rent with their art as magical wizards who lived in other dimensions far away from the one I live in currently.  Then, throughout college, I saw MANY people make good money from what they do.  I also saw people who tried, and were not as good at turning illustrations into cash.  

I haven’t made millions quite yet, but I have had a constant flow of work that has slowly but surely kept me out of a 9-5 job.  

The Short List:

Get Specific:

Try a bunch of things.  Things you like, things you hate.  Find what you LOVE to do (this took me all my life and 5 years of college and I’m sure it will continue to evolve).  This can’t just be “watercoloring stuff in general”.  Animal anatomy illustrations?  Decorative stationary patterns?  Typography?  Children’s books?  Cute stickers of fruit with faces on them?  Oil pantings of tuscan hillsides?  Find out what you do best.

Get Good:

Practice everyday until your hand starts cramping and your eyes melt into your skull and you forget you haven’t eaten anything besides hot cheetos in ten hours.  I went to the Academy of Art in San Francisco for 5 years.  I learned from the best and the worst.  I made getting good my #1 goal.

Create Your Brand:

Figure out who would like your art enough to spend money on it.  Market yourself to those people.  Show them what you do.  This usually means putting it on the internet.

MAKE THEM PAY:

Yes, that was supposed to sound daunting and abrasive.  Think a print would be popular?  Make it.  Like a painting you just made?  Tell Instagram it’s for sale.  See a logo that needs work?  Call them and tell them you can redesign a better one.

I’m Sophia.  Fay is my middle name, and I like it, so that’s why I put it on everything.  I am a freelance artist in Southern California because I love the ocean and I can’t be away from it for too long otherwise I’ll get hives and have stress-cry sessions more than I normally do.  I am 22.  I am my own boss.  And I am one hell of a mess.

Don’t let this picture fool you.  I put on makeup and did my hair that day, but most days I don’t.  Sometimes I know exactly how to run my business, most days I don’t.  And once in a while, after countless hours of trial and error, I get something right.