I did a lot of development work for Soonchild as it was one of the first projects I was involved in after a four year lay off and I needed a lot of practise to get back in the swing of drawing stuff... It just occurred to me that I should post some of that here!
And you want to be a storyteller foremost? The world needs such amazing drawings created today, because few take the time, or have the talent to do it for the rest of us to enjoy. I don’t think I’m the only person hungry for simple, unpretentious, GOOD drawings like these. I believe such drawings are so disarming.
ReplyDeleteWell I do like drawing, that's for sure ^-^!
DeleteHi Alexis, have long been a massive fan and find your work hugely inspiring. I graduated from Norwich School of Art about 12 years ago with degree in Illustration and despite attempts to form a career-along side a family of six,I have been largely unsuccessful. Its so reassuring to see that you found it hard at first, and prob still do at times. I'm slowly building a new port folio and getting back to projects started a long time ago. Got the Children's Artists and Writers Yearbook-pretty much the same as 2010 addition, still, its encouraging. Any suggestions from your own experience, on best way to approach publishers? Thanks, Jo
ReplyDeleteI am no expert but I have had stuff published so I guess in that sense I can help. I think one of the best things you can do is imagine you were a publisher yourself and think what you would want to see.
DeleteIt is really two different problems: Problem one is ‘how do I get someone to look at my work?' problem two is ‘having seen it, how do I get people to like it??'
So, taking problem one, imagine you are a publisher and think what would make you take the time to actually look at a story or a series of illustrations. Knowing the person in some capacity would help, for sure, as would a recommendation from someone that you trust. I think I would also be impressed if the person asking me to take the time to look at their work had taken the time to find out about me, about the sort of things that I respond to or have done in the past.
Then I think I would want the actual viewing of the work to be easy. Perhaps it is very clearly organised online with good stuff that is visible from the moment I click on a link to their page. If it is a dummy I would want it to be presented clearly also and be easy to interact with (ie not a million loose unnumbered pages like I usually hand in ^-^).
But all that is just fluff really. There is an art to getting your work looked at but you could be the world expert on it and it would count for nothing unless the story or the image means something to the person looking at it. What would i want as a publisher? I would want to forget I was a publisher altogether and just enjoy what I was looking at for it's own sake because it was awesome! That would make my job very, very easy! So, ultimately it is about finding the things that mean the most to you in the world and communicating them to others through your work. Everybody's life is full of fascinating stuff it is just very hard to share it sometimes.
If you are struggling to get publishers to trust that you could deliver a finished book that is entertaining and commercially viable try publishing online and see if you can drum up a fan-base that way. Remember you are making a product for other people to enjoy so cram it full of everything you think you would want in a story that you would buy.
That's not easy but that's how to get published...
Thanks. That's really useful stuff and much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteHello Alexis, I've discovered your blog last week, and I'm an admirer of yours! Love your illustrations, and all drawings are amazing as well. I find the information that you've shared in the comment very useful. Well, it makes me think that my next step is to change the point of view and imagine a publisher (and other people) looking at my work. This information may be obvious, but for me it will be a big step! Thanks very much for sharing, that was what I needed to read now :)
ReplyDeleteHi Yara,
DeleteGlad it was helpful. This poor blog has been getting very neglected since I began using Instagram and Tumblr. It deserves a bit more attention again I think...
Good luck with your work!
Thank you very much, Alexis!
DeleteInstagram and Tumblr are good things -I am your follower on Instagram ;) - but your blog is different ,and I really love this place!
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