I might be at a crossroads (looking for feedback, advice and peer support)
-
@Elena-Marengoni Your work is definitely good enough, you're not nuts, and go for it! For the quality you're already there, just keep going until you have a selection of 12-15 pieces all in the SAME style, exhibiting visual storytelling (not just pretty picture) and showing a variety of characters and most importantly children. Looking at your work right now I think you're not showing enough storytelling. Try to make a few book spreads for your portfolio. You can pick a favorite fairy tale to illustrate for example
When you've finished your portfolio send it EVERYWHERE! You got this!vanessastoilova.com
instagram.com/vanessa.stoilova/Check out my Youtube channel for tips on how to start your career in illustration! www.youtube.com/c/ArtBusinesswithNess
-
@Elena-Marengoni I think you're at an excellent starting point to begin this journey. You got some really great advice above from people who are further down the road than me but I would agree that persistence and determination are key. I really like what Xin Li said about 'money not defining your profession' - a lot of it is a question of mindset. Good luck
www.rachel-horne.com
@rachel_horne_art -
I am not the original poster, but THANK YOU for the podcast recommendations, I really love them! I’ve been looking around for good ones and it felt like wading through a sea of options!
There’s definitely a lot of good info in all three and I’m excited to spend some time unpacking it and implementing it.
-
@carolinebautista thank you for sharing this and yes, that's a great recommendation! So far, I have mostly resorted to SVS courses to level up my skills and deal with the technical sides of illustration, but I think it's time to try out those as well! I can definitely relate to the strange feeling of having to juggle between multiple jobs (and multiple 'selves' in a way), I wish you all the best on your creative journey!!
-
@xin-li woah! Thank you so much for sharing these thoughts. I couldn't agree more! You are right, these things you are mentioning are super important...and I'd say I have started doing them all and I am trying to invest more in being part of a community (SVS, but also at a more local level, where I'm based). I love what you said about learning to call yourself 'an illustrator': I felt invincible for a second just by thinking about it haha
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elena.marengoni/
-
@K-Flagg thank you!
Yes looking for a rep (and, more in general, showing my work to agents or editors) would be important at this point... I started listing out interesting contacts, I will definitely continue and start to reach out in the coming months! -
@NessIllustration thank you! Great recommendations and reminders! Work that showcases storytelling abilities is definitely a priority for me at the moment, because it's something I want to practice and strengthen a bit more. I have recently picked a book I really like and started making thumbnails in order to put together 3 different spreads. Thank you again for sharing this, I am feeling super energized right now!
-
@Rachel-Horne thank you so much! I am definitely not going to give up! This is THE one thing I have always wanted to do since I was a little kid. At some point, I thought I would forget about it, get a 'proper' job and so on, but it's more than obvious that my nature can't be changed and I will always try to come back to art, no matter what :):)
-
@Elena-Marengoni I am glad you find my thoughts helpful. One thing I forgot to mention which might be super relevant for you: I find the work experience /mind set of interaction design is very useful when transiting to do illustration. For example, a holistic approach to problem solving, be empathic to end-users, listen the voices of all stakeholders, skills of rapid prototyping, skills of communicating with clients/other stakeholders, many things we do all the time with interaction design /service design projects are very applicable to the busniess of illustration. The tangible things we make with interaction design is very different from Illustration, but the way of thinking has so much in common.
So you are not starting from scratch, you can bring so much from your past expereicne. It took me a year or so to connect those dots. But once I understood this, it really helped.
-
@xin-li that's true! I've experienced this in the past months when I was working on a couple of private commissions. Even though they were acquaintances of mine and the relationship was super friendly and everything, it was very easy for me to do things like putting together a proposal, aligning on the expected result, discussing options... it's what I've been doing for the past few years working with clients (on extremely complex business problems sometimes)...it felt so good to go through more or less the same process in a context in which I am in love with the project as well
-
I love your work and my advice would be to yes send out your work to editors/agents, if you get any feedback at all that is so valuable. Keep a list of who you send stuff to and then in 6 months you could go through the list again with a fresh set of images or a postcard if not email. Sometimes it just takes one image to grab someones attention, who thinks you could fit their project.
Keep up the great work
-
Elena, I am late to this discussion, but just wanted to encourage you as well. In addition to what the others said, I see where your work fits into the Italian illustration continuum and also know the particular challenges of finding paying work in Italy. But you also have an advantage over a lot of Italian illustrators: Your excellent English is going to be a big help in entering into a much bigger, international market. But you probably already know that, since you are here!
I know that some European illustrators have been told that their work fits into a particular culture, so it at least helps to be aware of the differences. Then you can modify your style, or not, as you wish. At least it would help you decide who to pitch to.
I am not as far along in my journey as some of the others, but along with the others I would like to encourage you to find other illustrator friends in real life. Have you ever attended courses specifically for book illustration here in Italy, for example? I do think it helps! Along those lines, now that the regions are back open, we are not far apart and could meet now and then!
