{"id":5907,"date":"2022-08-01T10:13:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-01T09:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/?p=5907"},"modified":"2022-09-20T10:20:42","modified_gmt":"2022-09-20T09:20:42","slug":"how-to-get-your-first-commission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/how-to-get-your-first-commission\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Your First Commission"},"content":{"rendered":"

Getting your first commission is a huge milestone in any creative career, and often a turning point for artists who want to make a living. There\u2019ll always be stories of the illustrator who was discovered while still studying, or the designer who landed a huge Nike project straight out of university, but for most people, the path is a little more winding. Feelings of disheartenment are hard to avoid, particularly in a time when other artists and illustrators are presenting highly edited versions of their own careers on social media. But the first step to getting your first piece of commissioned work is to just keep on making – regardless of whether anyone\u2019s paying you to do so or not.<\/span><\/p>\n

Be As Prolific As Possible<\/h4>\n

\u201cShare work, and share a lot of it,\u201d says illustrator Kyle Platts, whose first commissioned project was a set of spot illustrations for Vice magazine. Platts chalks his success up to his persistence. He handed out handmade zines at now-defunct illustration fair Pick Me Up – which is how he got the attention of a Vice editor – and also ran a blog which he updated regularly with comics and vignettes. This helped him get his second major commission, a book for publishing company Nobrow. For him, being able to show that you\u2019re constantly creating is key to being discovered.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Megaskull
Megaskull by Kyle Platts, published by Nobrow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere are so many people graduating constantly, and some are really good, but it doesn\u2019t seem like they\u2019re serious about working in that industry unless they\u2019re really prolific,\u201d he told us. \u201cFrom my own experience, and now knowing art directors, they can tell if someone is serious about working professionally and it\u2019s usually based on the output and how much they\u2019re doing. What that means for me is that even if no-one\u2019s hiring you, just do work anyway. Make your own briefs, or comics, and be as prolific as possible. People take it more seriously.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Share work, and share a lot of it<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Artist Aist\u0117 Stancikait\u0117 has similar advice and adds that young creatives shouldn\u2019t obsess about getting work immediately. \u201cThe more you make, the more you have to show on Instagram, and every other platform you\u2019re on,\u201d she told us. \u201cShow as many people as possible, and at some point, they\u2019ll start coming back. Don\u2019t expect things to happen straight away \u2013 just be persistent, keep making, and don\u2019t just reach out and wait for something to happen. Carrying on with what you\u2019re doing is the most important thing, and what I try to do if I don\u2019t have any work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Alternative
Alternative Stories poster designs by Aist\u0117 Stancikait\u0117<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stick To What You’re Good At<\/span><\/h4>\n

As with anything else, design and illustration are subject to trends, and it can be tempting to fall into these. However, both Platts and Stancikait\u0117 emphasise the importance of developing your own style, without worrying about what other people are doing. Experimenting with different ways of making is useful, but potential clients and art directors need to be able to understand what\u2019s at the core of your work. For those creatives wondering if they\u2019re going to have to compromise their approach to land that first big commission, that\u2019s certainly not the case either. Platts made no concessions in the early days of establishing himself, and although he says he was surprised clients were interested in his \u201cviolent gross-out\u201d style, he believes up-and-coming creatives shouldn\u2019t feel the need to minimise or commercialise their approach.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Original
Original artwork by Kyle Platts<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Good art directors will see potential<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cYou get people\u2019s attention by doing that kind of thing, if that\u2019s what you naturally do,\u201d he says. \u201cIf it\u2019s thought-provoking and has context to it, then don\u2019t tone it down. Good art directors can see the potential and the creativity in it. What\u2019s more important is developing a style that\u2019s consistent. It\u2019s dangerous to be wildly trying crazy different things and not having any consistency. If you\u2019re putting out loads of different styles on your Instagram, then art directors will have no clue what they\u2019re getting into. I tried a lot of different stuff out when I was younger and it\u2019s good to do that, but it has to develop slowly for people to be able to digest it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\"\"\n

Stancikait\u0117 also believes in staying true to your own approach, even during moments of doubt. \u201cI still have moments where I think \u2018I wish my work was like this or that\u2019 because then I\u2019d be getting more varied commissions, but then I\u2019d never be good at anything other than what I do. I\u2019d just disappear in this mass of people who do the same thing. It\u2019s good to stick to what you\u2019re good at and push that further, instead of thinking how your work should be and comparing yourself with other people. Trends come and go, and if you do what you really want to do, you carve your own path.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Original
Original artwork by by Aist\u0117 Stancikait\u0117<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Spend Time Building Contacts<\/h4>\n

Building up a strong foundation of work might be enough to get you noticed by someone, but in the absence of a stroke of luck, getting your first piece of paid work requires a bit of leg work too. For Stancikait\u0117, her first commission came when a fashion designer found her work on Behance, but to turn that into a career she also had to spend some time building contacts. After researching brands and magazines she knew she\u2019d like to work with, as well as local design and creative agencies, Stancikait\u0117 spent several weeks just sending out emails. Although she says she was pessimistic about this approach, it was surprisingly successful \u2013 if a bit of a slowburner. Within six months she\u2019d landed four or five commissions as a result, and Stancikait\u0117 says that even years down the line she still occasionally gets contacted by people from her initial round of emails.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Photo
Photo by Markus Spiske<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bounce Off Your Peers<\/h4>\n

For most emerging artists, the next big question is how much to charge. For Platts, having a group of friends to use as a soundboard is essential. Clients will often ask artists to quote, rather than stating their budget upfront, he says, which means it\u2019s helpful to ask someone who\u2019s done a similar job how much they charged. \u201cBounce off other people with more experience, and see what they got,\u201d suggests Platts, who still meets the people he graduated with on a regular basis, using them as a support network and a place to swap war stories. He recommends up-and-coming creatives do the same, saying that your fellow graduates can become a valuable resource as your careers progress.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A post shared by kyleplatts (@kyleplatts)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n