Comments on ADVICE. Sterling Hundley Illustration and Painting: AS GOES THE ECONOMY, SO GOES THE CAREER

Hi;

Really great post - and discussion. I ...

2009-02-13T10:09:00.000-05:00

Hi;

Really great post - and discussion. I was sent here by a visitor/commentor on my blog who thought this was relevent to the topic I've been showcasing this week... and it is.

I write about illustration from the mid-20th century. This week we've been looking at Austin Briggs' career. He similarly saw his business dry up during the Depression, and scrambled around doing anything and everything, as you describe. Ultimately though, he looked inward and decided that his work wasn't selling because he had never really learned to draw (this after years of illustration assignments for major publications). He also finally realized that he had been looking at the work of other more successful illustrators and trying to imitate them - that he had never found 'his own voice' - or his own point of view, as he put it.

Fast forward to 1960... Kodak introduces the first really modern film: it can capture fleeting motion, changing the look of photography and making it a more desirable choice for magazine art directors. Meanwhile television has become the mass-medium of choice with the typical consumer, effectively killing the ad revenue stream that magazines had enjoyed until that time.

For illustrators - even the top people in the field - this double whammy left them suddenly unemployed in huge numbers. They had to scramble for new markets, and many sought refuge in the emerging field of paperback cover art. (Paperbacks had until then been considered 'trashy' - not for wide, respectable consumption - that changed when paperbacks went mainstream in the 60's and the business exploded with new releases)

Do you see an emerging pattern? Illustration has gone through many such cycles and will continue to do so. People will always feel compelled to draw pictures and seek out opportunities to get paid to make a living at it. But technological and economic shockwaves are going to hit again and again. All you can do is hone your skills and be prepared to adapt.

Above, a commentor said that perhaps the next wave of jobs for illustrators will be in concept art. Right on the money. I recently attended a discussion about the emerging 'creative economy' with my two teenage sons. The guest speakers were the president of an animation firm that makes saturday morning cartoons and the president of a video game company that makes games for the X-Box. Between them they employ nearly 200 people, many of them artists. Both said they will always hire someone who can draw over someone who is merely adept with software. Software can be learned as you go along - drawing skills are needed from the first minute of a project.

This must of course be tied to creative thinking - but with that we return to what Briggs said almost 60 years ago, "I used to think that when some other artist did an illustration in a particular way, that proved it was the way to do it. It was only when I began to look at the idea from my own point of view that I started to get any place."

Anyway, great post and love your work (I've only just discovered it today!) and best wishes to you and your commentors! :^)

Kyle-Thank you for the feedback. I still love my j...

2008-12-15T23:02:00.000-05:00

Kyle-Thank you for the feedback. I still love my job. I get to create for a living. I think that it is best to remember that things will bounce back. Hope that you are well.

John Lee- Thank you. It's interesting, Dreamworks came down to Ringling recently, and only wanted to meet with illustrators. Companies are much more interested in how we think, and manifest those ideas as drawings than they are in how we operate software. That can be learned- thinking and drawing take much longer to develop.

Kenny- That's good to hear. I'm glad that you are working on your own book. That just strengthens your value. We need to catch up soon. I would like to see what you are working on.

Illustration Monkey- Thank you for your kind words. The truth is that most people will never understand what you do. We are in a small niche (although there are many of us trying to make a go of this thing). I find that I illustrate for myself first, then my piers, then my clients. This isn't to say that I don't try to meet my client's needs, but if I am unhappy with what I produces, and I'm embarrassed to share it with my fellow artists, then it is a failure, no matter how much the client loves it. I'm working on a 350.00 full page job tomorrow for a local client. They are not paying me enough to consider the project for money, so I must be in it for the finished piece. Thank you for your post, I hope to hear from you often.

emcguire- You may have hit the nail on the head. Illustrators are often seen as process artists. Few ever define what is different about their work than others. Still, the ambitious are rewarded. I think that it is necessary to learn to write, to tell stories, and bring them to life (the triple threat). I am finding more collectors for my work, as they appreciate things that are made by hand. I believe that the static image will always have an audience, and that audience will appreciate and admire the human touch.

Francis- You are right, the WPA made for a lot of great public work during the depression, but remember that this was a government initiative. I wonder where this initiative began? Who put it into place? Uncle Sam is busy with too many big industries to worry about sole proprietors right now. Still, there is always strength in numbers...

All true stuff.
I've been working EVERYWHERE th...

2008-12-14T01:27:00.000-05:00

All true stuff.
I've been working EVERYWHERE the past six months: editorial, advertising, book, apparel, animation, logos... it's the only way to keep the income nice and steady. I hope things turn around with this economy; it's a bit exhausting wearing a million hats, but it still beats a 9-to-5, in my opinion. Great post, Sterling - very encouraging / reassuring for us all. We will survive!

While not all illustrators, a lot of the alumni fr...

2008-12-13T00:37:00.000-05:00

While not all illustrators, a lot of the alumni from my school (Kansas City Art Institute) are struggling to find where they fit in. Most feel like graduate school is the only option (which doesn't make it much of an option) while I think the only real long-term solution is to work yourself out of it. You have to be creating all the time and have the prescience to jump on the opportunities that present themselves accordingly.

I'm glad you posted about this; On illoz.com, I recently asked almost the exact question that this post answers, that is, "If you were starting again in this economy, what would you do differently?" The posting got no real replies, besides "more is better" and eventually got deleted. Guarding trade secrets? Maybe I'm just too green? Maybe no one actually had the answers?

I agree that it's a good time to learn some different processes and software. After all, we're all told that illustration is branching and growing into all sorts of different fields, right? The downside to that is that there is a lot of specialized training that goes into say, web or game design, besides the ability to draw and present an idea (although this is always at the core.)

I guess I'm just trying to say that Sterling's strategy appears, to me, to be the correct and ultimately only truely sustainable one. Create, create, create.

Ever since leaving a great group of friends for NY...

2008-12-08T13:41:00.000-05:00

Ever since leaving a great group of friends for NYC and eventually Chicago, I feel I left that all-too-important camaraderie that I need so desperately to feel like I'm not crazy. This is a tough business getting even tougher. I'm so grateful to you that you wrote about this as I feel like I'm in a sea of non-artists who mean well, but....don't really understand and can garner no helpful advice! It feels like they don't respect what I do, like illustration is just doodling without thought. I'm still fighting that and trying to build a bigger list of clients. I'm glad I stumbled onto your blog and am feeling more on track!
Thanks again!

I admire your work and you have my respect!

Sterling

Ive just started working on a comi...

2008-12-07T23:59:00.000-05:00

Sterling

Ive just started working on a comic, and as Ive been struggling through the process Ive been second guessing myself a little bit. Asking myself should I be putting this effort into expanding my illustration portfolio instead. This post combined with, a lot of effort and time poured into promoting illustration with very little response, has me thinking its not such a bad idea anymore

I really appreciate this blog.

-Kenny

Francis makes a good point, every time I get disco...

2008-12-05T01:08:00.000-05:00

Francis makes a good point, every time I get discouraged I remember that NC Wyeth worked during 2 world wars and the great depression.

At the same time, seeing news coming out about all of the major publishers really suffering (harcourt is ceasing purchases of new manuscripts, random house dividing its branches, etc) I think it's clear that our industry has to be dependent on more than just editorial illustration/print media to survive. Magazines and newspapers are not the medium of choice for our tech-oriented generation, and (whether good or bad) I think we'll see illustration art becoming used more and more not as the final product, but as a step in the process. As concept art? Style boards for motion graphics? Mood boards? Beautiful work is being done in all of these fields, is this our future?

It's either that, or we find an innovative market and audience for the beautiful, still image.

-Erin

Hey Sterling,

Now to play Devil's Advocate....

2008-12-04T02:23:00.000-05:00

Hey Sterling,

Now to play Devil's Advocate...During the Depression artist's flourished, as well as the entertainment industry, since most people's lives were crummy, they would pay the little pocket change they had to check out a movie or grab the new magazine with the hottest illustrations to take them away from their tough 9-5's. I'm not really into the profession enough yet to gauge how much work is being given out, but do you think that this may again be the case? If not (which seem to be the case, after reading this post) why do you think that is? I sure as heck hope their won't be any sort of depression, but time are much harder then say a couple of years ago.

Orlando- I'm sorry that you can relate, but I'm gl...

2008-12-01T22:02:00.000-05:00

Orlando- I'm sorry that you can relate, but I'm glad to be able to offer some words of encouragement. It seems that these days, more than ever, we are able to pursue our own interests in the art world. With online publishing, self publishing, blogs, conventions, and general accessibility to infinite knowledge via the internet, we have more control in scripting our own fates. We'll just have to see if the rest of the world complies.

Lune- Thank you for sharing the Piccasso quote. I feel that no matter what someone's level of facility is, we are all challenged equally every time we make a piece of artwork. As our facility increases, so do our standards, and our knowledge of what we are doing. I can't imagine that the challenges faced by Michelangelo were any less than those faced by a student trying to solve an interesting assignment. I find that inspiration ebbs and flows, and you must let it move you when the wave comes. Thank you, as always, for your post. You are very insightful with your comments.

It's a shame artists have to suffer for the recess...

2008-11-29T20:44:00.000-05:00

It's a shame artists have to suffer for the recession, I think THIS is the time people really need art. But anyhow ...

My company's major clients are in U.S., so the business has been gone down hill since 9/11 (never bounced back for us). Since then, I've been trying to find a new job, but it never happened.

So I was encouraged and inspired with your work, and started painting again for the last half of this year. Like you said, hard time is always the good time to devote for your own improvement. Picasso said "there are no child prodigies in painting" - I take this as "you'll always improve as long as you work hard" as he was no born genius. Maybe an optumistic interpretation, but I think it's worthwhile trying.

Hello,
In reading your post it has been very c...

2008-11-29T02:04:00.000-05:00

Hello,
In reading your post it has been very calming to me especially being out of school and not finding to much work for art in my area. You have very inspirational words that definitely get me back to staying up all night doing my personal work. So my point is that I appreciate the wisdom that is posted on this blog. Hope all is well with you sir.
orlando sanchez jr.