I was a mere beginner... My first published work done as a student.
Many afternoons were spent drawing on the cool cement floor of our then unfinished basement family room. My brother and I would unfurl huge end rolls of newsprint which my father brought home from his work as an ad executive (the rolls were leftovers from the newspaper press checks he visited). Epic murals of tank battles, dinosaur filled landscapes, or snowmobile races emerged from the never ending rolls of paper. By the time I was about eight or nine, my brother discovered a basketball and I was left to pursue my art without him (though younger brothers sometimes joined in the fun).
Pencils and crayons led to watercolors and then acrylics as I gained more and more confidence in what I loved to do. My parents were ever supportive and never discouraged me in my artistic quest, for which I will be forever grateful. They later told me that they had no doubt I would make a career of art simply because they could see how passionate I was about it. Well, If you count back to the first time I sold a piece of art, I have spent about thirty years as a professional artist. If you go back to the first published work I created, I have been an illustrator for twenty-one.
I searched my files for some early examples of my work (like the floral watercolor I did at age 6 that my mother kept) but was only able to locate what I recall as my first published color illustration. I did the above piece for the campus fantasy magazine early in my third year of undergrad studies at Brigham Young University. I think I got paid about $100. Well, you gotta start somewhere.
7 comments:
A HUNDRED BUCKS! Hey, That's "Foldin' Money" to a college student!
Awesome image! I like your work.
100 bucks, huh? that's a fortune for a weekend in college! a greta piece tho...perfect fit for the genre.
I can't imagine how exciting it'll be the first time I have something published -- I have so many memories like the ones you mentioned. It's so exciting to watch my son pick up his crayons and colored pencils for the first time, knowing he won't remember, but I always will :-)
I suppose a hundred bucks felt pretty good back then. Now it only buys lunch and a tank of gas. Alicia- the first published work feels pretty good, but it's only the first milestone- hopefully you'll have a lot bigger and better ones.
At least you got $100. My first printed piece was for a nonprofit, and I didn't get anything but thanks. Nice job!
Linda, There are many reasons to take a commission, some of which even include money! I've done work for, exposure, a portfolio piece, because it looked fun, because I believed in the cause, or even to trade for some other item or service. Most of the time there is money paid as well. I always try to make sure I get some benefit from the relationship.
Try not to work for free, even if the return is small. If a client has no cash, they may have other goods or services they can trade with you (restaurant gift certificates, hotel stays, tax or accounting prep, printing services, advertising, etc). Even non profits usually have something of benefit to offer, even if it's just a conspicuous website credit on the poster.
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