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Baker too echoed this sentiment when considering what he looks for in an artist as an art director. \u201cThe first thing I look at is the overall aesthetic of an artist\u2019s work. I can\u2019t help it, and it\u2019s usually what draws me in,\u201d he said. \u201cHaving a set style makes it easier for an art director to go to an artist and their specific style, because you know exactly what to expect and that\u2019s safe when you\u2019re facing tight deadlines.\u201d But, as Baker added, it\u2019s still important to grow and develop your practice too, and good art directors will be aware of this, especially over longer projects. \u201cThis can be a bad practice over time, because if you only call on illustrators to do exactly what they\u2019re comfortable doing your work and theirs won\u2019t evolve,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s not to say, though, that flexibility and adaptability are bad things. While a signature style will help an art director visualise how the final project will come together with you on board, as Baker explained, a variety of different commercial, editorial and personally-initiated work will help show what you are capable of. \u201cI think it\u2019s helpful to include conceptual and editorial work in your portfolio, to show range,\u201d he said. \u201cMaking really sick 3D renders or beautiful paintings is great, but when I work with an artist who doesn\u2019t have experience with editorial it usually requires more time and active art direction.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But don\u2019t panic if you haven\u2019t got much editorial experience under your belt; as Baker points out, there are other ways of demonstrating these skills. \u201cIf an artist doesn\u2019t have past examples of editorial work, what I look for is an ability to distill complex ideas, or to communicate through image-making,\u201d he said. And thorough art directors will be aware of the importance of finding new talent, too. \u201cI recognise the value of pushing myself as an art director to look for artists who are outside of the big-publication-illustration world and giving them an opportunity to shine,\u201d said Baker. \u201cSo I try to do that whenever possible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n It shouldn\u2019t be hard to get in touch<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n It might sound obvious, but one of the best things you can do is to make it as easy for your prospective art director as possible, and this involves taking a couple of different factors into account. Your social media following isn\u2019t everything, but having a curated profile, or a website with a good selection of your work, will make it that bit quicker for an art director to see what you\u2019re about. As Baker summarised (with the help of his coworkers Renald <\/span>Louissaint <\/span>and Dora Godfrey) \u2013 \u201cBe really clear about the type of work you\u2019re interested in doing, and show some of that work on your site or Instagram.\u201d And secondly: be contactable. Something as simple as including your email address in your Instagram bio can mean the difference between someone being able to get in touch with potential work, or not. \u201cMake it clear how to contact you, or whether or not you\u2019re accepting commissions,\u201d said Baker. \u201cIt shouldn\u2019t be hard to get in touch!”<\/span><\/p>\n Something we hear again and again from our community is the importance of being proactive. It\u2019s a truism, but so often career \u2018success\u2019 tends to come down to a combination of luck, talent and being in the right place at the right time, so getting your work in front of prospective clients can mean you\u2019re halfway there. \u201cSend cold emails!\u201d as Baker put it. \u201cIf your work is well-suited for the art director\/publication you\u2019re emailing, chances are they could do with another talented image-maker on their roster.\u201d And don\u2019t be put off if an initial email doesn\u2019t lead to work immediately; as Baker adds, even if they don\u2019t need you right away, \u201cthey\u2019ll at least keep you in mind when something comes up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Send cold emails!<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n When we looked at <\/span>how to handle creative compromise<\/span><\/a>, something both <\/span>Jor Ros<\/span><\/a> and<\/span> Merijn Hos<\/span><\/a> highlighted about working with clients was the importance of making your terms clear at the outset, and not being afraid to push back and have your own opinion. As Hos put it, \u201cI think it\u2019s super good to have all that stuff (budgets or rounds of revisions and deliverables) clear up-front before you start a project.\u201d This rang true of Baker\u2019s advice for working with art directors too \u2013 don\u2019t be afraid to discuss the conditions of the project with an art director, and make sure you\u2019re really clear about what you\u2019re undertaking. \u201cThe more transparency the better,\u201d said Baker (with input from the team\u2019s art director Tessa Modi). \u201cIf you can only do one or two rounds of edits, set your boundaries from the beginning. Ask. Questions.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In terms of working with clients, Baker had some insights to share from his own freelance work too, chief among them the role the artist has in managing the design process. \u201cOnly show work to your client that you\u2019d be satisfied with if they chose it,\u201d he said. \u201cI think as I work for more varied clients in my own practice I\u2019m realizing that\u2019s one of the things that\u2019s always in my control\u2014what I show. I think I used to err on the side of oversharing, and it made for a messy process.\u201d It\u2019s good to bear in mind just how much of the process is under your control, and Baker applies this approach when it comes to getting feedback too. \u201cIf your client wants to see a change, it\u2019s up to you how exactly to interpret that visually, that\u2019s still in your control,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they\u2019re truly splitting hairs in their feedback (ie. \u201cchange that hair highlight colour to pink\u201d) you either have to trust their vision or, more likely, push back with reason and intention.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Some of the best projects happen through improvisation, working in response to what you\u2019ve got, and taking a lighter approach. To really understand Baker\u2019s process we asked him to select his favourite projects so far as an art director, and he chose two.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The first was <\/span>this one<\/span><\/a> about High Times magazine, for Medium\u2019s tech and future publication<\/span> OneZero<\/span><\/a>. In Baker\u2019s words: \u201cIt was really fun because it was my first time art directing a photoshoot and it was with one of my favorite photographers, <\/span>Chris Maggio<\/span><\/a>. There was a fair amount of planning between myself, the editor and another art director about how we wanted to approach it, or how we could tie in illustration with the photography, who we wanted to use for that, what kind of photos we needed. Ultimately, I went into the High Times office with Chris and it quickly became clear that we had to improvise a bit due to some constraints. We used the smoking paraphernalia they had in the office to make some trippy still-lives and embraced the cold, sterile feel of the office for some shots. Because of the nature of the subject matter, we didn\u2019t have to take ourselves too seriously, and I think that led to a more interesting set of images.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And the second was a collaboration with Seth Thompson for a <\/span>GEN<\/span><\/a> piece on the <\/span>Transhumanism Primary<\/span><\/a>. As he explained: \u201cThe concept from the beginning was to riff on the idea of political posters, and to try and reimagine them specifically for the Transhumanist party, a group of radical futurists. I thought it could be interesting to design the posters myself, and have an artist render them in realistic but unfamiliar, futuristic settings. I\u2019d worked with Seth before and thought he\u2019d be perfect for this. Over a couple days, we talked back and forth and mocked up ideas as we went. We eventually settled on the posters being \u2018printed\u2019 on glass, something that felt like an appropriately cliche vision of the future, and Seth devised a series of objects that complemented each poster\u2019s slogan. The process was much more collaborative for me than usual and we were really satisfied with how it came out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nBUT IT\u2019S GOOD TO BE ADAPTABLE TOO<\/h4>\n
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MAKE IT EASY<\/h4>\n
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DON\u2019T BE AFRAID TO REACH OUT<\/h4>\n
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SET BOUNDARIES AT THE BEGINNING<\/h4>\n
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REMEMBER WHAT\u2019S IN YOUR CONTROL<\/h4>\n
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AND FINALLY…<\/h4>\n
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