Module 1 / Lesson 1: Find what you love
Find what you love
This is the very first step. It’s hard to create stuff you love if you don’t know what you love. This may sound obvious, but I have met many illustrators that hadn’t done the work of finding what inspires them or which artists/illustrators/directors/photographers/ designers/makers they admire…which meant that down the road, they didn’t know what or who to turn to when their work felt flat and uninspired. This isn’t about copying or mimicking someone’s work, it’s about knowing yourself and your inspirations so that you can create your own world and stay within it, in order to feel at home and in love with what you’re creating daily.
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Find your heroes
You are probably an illustrator today because you fell in love with someone’s else’s work when you were little (or a bit older, but that’s not my point). Illustration and graphic design are all around us and have been for a very long time. We all spend our lives seeing images, deciphering symbols, understanding messages… As an illustrator, you have the wonderful ability to see more as a very visual person. That’s a great power. Even since you were little, you have been inspired by some of those images, and today, you need to make sure you know who your visual heroes are. Do you know your favourite illustrators? Your favourite visual artists? Photographers? Makers? Directors? Graphic Designers? You don’t need to pick a hero in each of these categories, you just need to know your visual heroes, no matter what they do. Why? Because this group of people and their work put together are informing who YOU are. Together, they paint a picture of what you love and that’s an invaluable tool for you to have at the back of your mind when creating. Exploring and understanding their work will reveal what you love, in terms of story-telling, visual impact, atmosphere…etc. Once you’ve figured out who inspires you greatly, it’s time to turn inward and understand the mechanics of your own fantastic mind.
Know and treasure your mind
Doing a creative job as a freelancer can get lonely. But are we ever lonely if our own company is the best we can have? I truly believe you have to be best friends with your own mind because it is the most rewarding friendship you’ll ever have. Yes, your mind might get a bit messy sometimes, tricky even, all over the place at worst…it may even try to sabotage you on bad days! But your mind is wonderful because it’s allowing you to express yourself doing what you love. Your mind has crazy fun ideas, your mind works hard, your mind takes you on beautiful adventures, your mind helps you achieve your dreams. You’ve got to know your mind. What makes you tick? What horrifies you? As an illustrator, your mind is the most powerful tool you’ll ever own. And you know what’s best about your mind? It is YOURS. It is unique…and that’s something you need to use in your work. There is only one of you, and if you know and treasure your mind, you will always create work that is true to who you are. You won’t need to try or pretend to be authentic, you will be doing work that comes from the right place, the only place that matters, your own wonderful and intricate mind. That is something to treasure because your mind will guide you along the way. Listen to it, or as I said earlier, listen to your gut. I know it’s not the same part of your body (good thing I’m an illustrator and not a doctor) but the idea is the same. Let your mind guide you and always make sure to listen to that little voice that tells you when things are right or wrong. Get to know your mind, trust your instincts and you’ll never get lost.
Do your own thing
You’ve probably heard it a thousand times: comparison is the thief of joy. In our case, it’s also the thief of creativity. Comparing yourself and your journey to someone else’s is never going to bring you anything (except probably some tears). You have to do your own thing. As we talked about just above, your mind is unique and so will be your art, as long as it comes from your true self. Your journey and your work can’t be compared to someone else’s. Doesn’t it feel good to realise this? You have to focus on yourself, your path, your ideas. Your work might not be “popular” yet, but it doesn’t matter, because it will be, as long as you stick to your guns and persevere on your own journey. Again, as long as YOU love what you’re doing, you will find other people that will, trust me. Clients will come to you…because everyone loves authenticity. People are attracted to people that do their own thing and don’t give a damn about trends and popularity. You’re probably thinking out loud “but clients LOVE popular illustrators”. I know what you mean. Some of them do…but the best clients out there will look for authentic spirits. They will look for someone that has a story to tell and is telling it beautifully through their art. What’s important is that you are different from other illustrators, by doing your own thing but also by making sure you have a niche…
Set up your niche
So, what is a niche? In business terms, a niche is defined as a specific segment of the market where there is high demand but low supply. Basically, it’s THE spot you want to find. It’s a tight spot, but if you do your research and stay unique, you’ll find your niche easily. To find your niche, you’ll need to know what you love, what your mind is made of, and be doing your own thing…this shows you the importance of mixing everything that makes you, you. Anything you love can feed into your work. That’s what makes you unique. The things you choose to illustrate, the themes you’re interested in, the values you wish to communicate. This will be creating your niche. The more YOU you are, the more people will be attracted to your work and your story. Your work needs to reflect who you are deeply. People will connect emotionally to you. If you just jump on an illustration trend and attempt to make it your thing, you might get some popularity for a while, but it won’t last as it won’t be built on a true connection between your audience and yourself. The most important thing to remember is that it’ll be much easier and nicer for you to stay true to yourself in your work…rather than try to imitate someone else. If you stay yourself, your work will naturally evolve (as you do) and will always be authentic and wonderful. Just find yourself and the work will follow.
Where to find inspiration online and offline?
•Creative Boom
• It’s nice that
•InspoFinds
•Sight Unseen
•The Inspiration Grid
•Colossal
•Artwords
•Stack