Friday, April 09, 2010

Zero 2 Illo 12 Week Challenge: Week 1, Part 2

Time for me to answer the question: What do you want to illustrate? Or, to be more specific, what kind of illustration do I want to do?
Editorial
Art prints and other ephemera
Comics
Art shows

I really do think that sums it up. My official/unofficial motto for the longest time has been "I just want to make cool shit", and now I've just made the cool shit specific.
We, as zero2illo12wc participants, were also to ask ourselves some other questions, such as (these come directly from the site):
  • Is your idea commercially viable?
    You mean to do all of that stuff? Sure. I mean, the comics idea is mainly for the love of the art form and storytelling. It might be a pipe dream of sorts for me. I'm not sure I want to draw someone else's story. I really think I'd like to write and illustrate my own story, but I currently have nothing to say or tell. I just love comics. The truth is, there's no guarantee of success, and it's time-consuming. It's a labour of love to do it on the solo tip.
    So I could probably do all of that stuff, but I'll have to shift my energy as I need to. One part will pay more bills than the other. That's life.
  • What are the target markets (publications, manufacturers, brands and companies) currently commissioning this kind of illustration?
    • Editorial: My personal "big two" are The New Yorker and Rolling Stone. There's also Esquire, The Walrus, Exclaim! (even though they only have one spot for illustration now), Monocle, etc.
    • Art prints and other ephemera: No one's really commissioning this stuff, but immediate outlets would be the gigposters.com classifieds and Etsy.
    • Comics: Top Shelf, Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly, Oni Press. I'd say those would be my ideal publishers.
    • Art shows: I'd kill to be part of a Gallery 1988 group show or something at Nucleus. Eventually, a solo show would be dope. I'd love to travel internationally for this kind of thing, but I'd have to be of Kozik or Baseman status. It could happen.
  • Who are the big players (illustrators) in this market?
    • Editorial: Peter de Sève, Tomer Hanuka, Marcos Chin, Sterling Hundley, and many more...
    • Art Prints: Dan McCarthy, Dave Kinsey, Evan Hecox, man...check out OMGPosters.com and even more names will pop up.
    • Comics: Man...uh, Jaime Hernandez, Daniel Clowes, Seth, Chris Ware, etc. These dudes are the elite in my eyes (and off the top of my head).
    • Art shows: Frank Kozik, Coop, Scott C., Glenn Barr, Dave Cooper, and others. I really look up to these people.
  • Why are they successful in this area? Look at their website and other online profiles, search for interviews with them online…How do they promote themselves? If you can break down what makes them successful (other than that they are very talented), you can apply this model to your own business.
    Well, first of all, they're all really good. And they never stop, they're constantly busy. A number of them maintain blogs, keeping people updated on their exploits/work/products/lunch. They're staying busy, relevant, and visible.
It's currently 4:38, and I should be in bed. However, I'm really glad I sat down and wrote this out. Maybe I'll be able to come up with a good game plan out of this. Stay tuned.

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