More contacts

So far I've found that Scott Balmer has been the most helpful in terms of finding out how to make a living out of illustration. His work is extremely successful and he seemed willing to answer any questions I have (as well as any help/advice/questions I might have in the future). 

Confirmed Symposium people so far

I am going to research further into the people I haven't heard of before and connect with the ones that interest me on Linkedin or contact through email.

• Matt Nankivell - Oglivys
• Michael Crozier - Dusk 
• Anthropology 
• Ben Cox - CIA agent 
• Sam Summerskill 
• Ruby Boddington - Its Nice That 
• No Brow 
• Greg Burne - Big Active 
• Beth - Plum Pudding 
• Sophie Strieker - Hachette 
• Ziggy - Ciado Books 
• Zoe Aubgeau Williams - Flying Eye Books 
• Sam Morray - Textiles 
• Gerry Brakus - New Statesman 

https://www.bigactive.com/ 

https://www.itsnicethat.com/ - represents illustrators MASSIVELY with a whole section that looks at different illustrators and the work they've been creating for projects etc.

Experience on live brief

http://www.bicebebolivia.com/poster-call

I decided to participate in the BICebe Poster Call brief for women's empowerment. At first I kept putting the brief off with it being an animation with extremely questionable dimensions. When I finally got around to doing it I really enjoyed it and finished the final design over the course of 2 days, so putting it off for so long seemed unnecessary. 

The brief was slightly unclear and submerged amongst their other briefs on their website which made the rules slightly confusing. I posted my final outcome on Instagram but the team messaged me asking me to remove it due to chance of disqualification. 

The final announcements for the selected posters will be on the 22nd April where work will appear on their website and social media.

Adam Allsuch Boardman

https://aaab-illustration.com/

• Alumni (2016) and president of LAU for a year or so.
• Produced 'An Illustrated History of Film Making' with NoBrow

Tips/Advice:

• Invoice - treat it like a personal thing, change design yearly to help organise them, remember to number them and keep them in order. 
• Portfolio - try tell a story and personalise it for the client because they probably see hundreds of portfolios.
• Indeed might actually be useful 
• Works 9-5 in studio and leaves the evening to reply to emails etc. 
• Weekends off - if you overwork yourself it will begin to show in the quality of your work.

Personal SWOT Analysis

I thought it might be useful to make a comparison to the SWOT analysis from last year to see where I've changed and how I can further improve. Last year when I wrote the analysis I was too nervous to use the print room (as well as some other facilities) on my own. However, last year I changed that by conquering my fear and starting to make use of the time I have access.

Although, I am slightly more approachable and willing to talk with other classmates but I still don't socialise with as many people as I could. This would be useful for making future connections and collaboration.

THANKFULLY, I have now made a Linkedin account to find more professionals and other peers to talk and connect with to extend my practice. I'm also working on going on my phone less as I find it massively distracting and it prevents me from being motivated.

This year:

Last year:

Teaching

Throughout my years studying at LAU now has made me come to the realisation that teaching whilst working freelance is a huge consideration for me in the future. I have been thinking about teaching on a Foundation Diploma level meaning I could learn more about my practice as I work. 

I have spoken to my foundation tutor, Jonny. He told me about doing a PGSE in teaching to be able to work as a teacher. Apparently LAU regularly takes on placements and knowing how the course runs is a huge help. From advice Huddersfield uni has a full time PGSE course which lasts a year. Thankfully, Huddersfield is middle ground for me, being in between Leeds and Sowerby Bridge. 

https://courses.hud.ac.uk/full-time/postgraduate/school-direct-primary-secondary-pgce-with-qts

I would like to work freelance alongside working as a higher education teacher. To fit this in with my life I may initially start by working full time as a teacher and making a small amount of work alongside. However, I would like my freelance work to be my number one priority so hopefully I would start getting more commissioned work and work as a teacher for less days. Being aware that freelance isn't always a solid amount of income, I believe teaching would always be something useful to have there as a continuous job.

Reflecting on my work, my career being entirely freelance my be quite difficult to begin with. After I have created my Frankenstein book and small comic for the 603 module, this might change and my path may lead more towards book/comic illustrations with a hint of editorial. Only time will tell. My current practice doesn't seem to currently fit into many guidelines that most companies would want with it being mostly based on character design. The idea of working for a company doesn't seem to suit me and I would personally rather have more control of my production.

Connect the Dots/Dribble etc etc

https://the-dots.com/users/meghan-armitage-550335

I've now made a Connect the Dots account in hopes to be able to find other creatives more easily than LinkedIn. Although for now I'm not too sure on how to navigate the site too well and need to explore more.

https://dribbble.com/Meghan_Illustration

At the moment I'm just getting a feel of the different networking sites that I could possibly use in the future to find agencies/companies and connections with other individual creative practitioners to open up more opportunities.

What are you going to do next?

The Creative Industries 

P.A.Y.E. (Pay As You Earn)

What creative industries can you work in?

• Advertising and marketing 
• Architecture 
• Crafts 
• Design 
• Fashion 
• Film, TV, radio, photography
• Publishing 
• Museums and galleries 
• Community 

Advertising: 

• Copywriter and art director 
• Production assistant 
• Visualiser
• Creative director 
• Accounts manager
• But you are most likely going to begin as a runner and work your way up with more experience 

Design:

• Exhibition 
• Games 
• Graphic
• Industrial 
• Interior 
• Landscape 
• Product 
• Textiles 
• Theatre 

ETC ETC.

Main Graduate Employers

• Small companies/micro businesses (often fewer than 5 people)

Community Arts Worker 

• Promote artistic activities to local groups/individuals to improve quality of life.

Art Therapist

• Help people who struggle to communicate verbally.
• Group or one to one settings.
• Registered with HCPC.
• Need a postgraduate qualification in art therapy. 

Arts Administrator 

• Important role in development in new projects, making arrangements for tours and events, taking on marketing, planning responsibilities etc.

More Connections/Invitations on LinkedIn

Naomi kindly messaged me back saying I could ask her a few questions about life after uni and she's willing to answer them which should hopefully help guide me into my professional practice.

Contacting Gerry Brakus (New Statesman)

I recently recontacted (interviewed her for PP last year) Gerry Brakus about my response to the New Statesman article 'The year women said: Me Too'. I emailed in hopes to get some feedback on the work. However, she informed me that she will be coming to visit to give constructive criticism to everyone who responded to the briefs she sent out. 

Freelance Life

Regime:

• Biggest hurdles are psychological 
• Knowing yourself is key (be honest with yourself and identify a regime that works best with your period of peak productivity - do you work best in the morning? etc)

Life hacks:

• Things (app) helps to organise tasks for projects and makes to do lists.
• Bad habits are hard to break. SelfControl (app) blacklists certain websites that are a distraction to your productivity.
• Buffer (app) sends out social media posts for whenever you plan them to go out making it quicker than individually sharing each post and becoming distracted by your phone. 
• Allow structured procrastination 
• The occasional off day (not day off)

Beating the block:

• Nobody to bounce creative ideas off generally when working freelance.
• Finish the day with a set amount of ideas/drawings/concepts (these might be bad but having something on paper in your studio space is a good way to get the juices flowing the next day).
• Know who you can bounce ideas off. 

The Human Touch 

• Try a skill swap 
• Put on an event (reunion/workshop/exhibition)
• Real life networking (essential for winning pitches)
• Portfolio masterclasses 
• Follow up on initial meetings 
• Appreciate your followers

Defend your castle 

• Agree your fee first (take the budget seriously, be transparent)
• Have clear/consistent T&Cs (30 day payment terms? Late terms? How are you going to get paid? - sort it up front - state copyright) 
• Join an industry body 
• Be reliable (will get you repeat work and favourable treatment when getting paid)
• Be organised 
• Deliver your work on time 
• Be nice 
• CHASE CHASE CHASE (contact the right person in the finance department so you can separate the person you need to be stern with from the creative
• Be prepared to turn work down 

Why should you consider turning work down?

• Requests free work, work for 'exposure' (need to consider the fact that this is how you make a living)
• Asks for an impossible solution, product or asset 
• Requests for you to work below your normal rate (always ask for more than you expect to get and consider it a negotiation)
• Offers to pay in the form of project proceeds or other services 
• Keeps expanding the scope of work without extra pay 
• Wants you to work on areas outside your expertise (this opens the opportunity to sublet the brief - invite an expert and adviser the commissioner of that person's rates etc)
• Owes you money 
• Has unclear objectives

Networking/Making Friends

Why would you want to make friends in the creative industry?

• Useful for networking and broadening your contacts.
• Possible future collaborations.
• Good way to find agencies/organisations to work for.

LinkedIN 

• sharing impressions, friends, projects etc will make you more included in the 'circle'.    

"I read your post and I..." 

• Proactivity - write an article/post about something that interests you. 

Why is networking useful?

• Heightens the chance of meeting/talking to new people (especially creatives) for possible future collaborations or meet ups etc. 
• Helps you to get to know people further across the creative industry making it helpful for learning new skills. 
• Generally gets your name and face more known in the industry. People are more likely to speak highly of your name and possibly try connect with you in real life or on social media platforms such as LinkedIn.

Connect the Dots/Dribble 

• Need to look further into these sites and make an account as Connect the Dots is specifically for creatives which might make it more useful than LinkedIn. 

LinkedIn so far...

Don't know how to feel about it so far I'm trying to work out how to navigate around it. However, I have contacted a few people and this is how... 

I got a response from Russell Taysom although it was very short and sweet but he checked out my instagram. I intend to open up a conversation with him again to see if he may give me any advice on being freelance.
I have connected with 39 people so far, some being personal invites and others not (mainly because I need to have a closer look at what their interests are).