11 Jan 2023, 02:54

@Coreyartus I think a lot of the "best practices", which I teach myself, are not the only way to succeed but rather make it easier to find success. Since illustration is hard as it is, we don't have to turn on hard mode on top of that!

I'm not sure if the pros who aren't following the "rules" became successful in spite of it, or have only begun doing what they want after they became successful because they can now get away with it... I don't have the answer to that, but it's interesting to ponder!

I also think that this field has become increasingly competitive. Just in the last few years, agencies went from receiving a few dozen submissions every month to a few thousands now. The selection criteria has shot up very quickly. Someone who was accepted in an agency even just 3-5 years ago could easily be passed over now. So pros who have started their careers before that do have an advantage and got away with more! That includes me - I was easily signed by 2 agents at the beginning of my career, but now I'm honestly not sure I could score one anymore.