There’s No Right Or Wrong Way To Become A Fashion Illustrator

I always get asked ‘how did you get into illustration?’, ‘How did it became your job?’, 'what did you study', 'where did you study, 'what grade did you get'...

Everyone’s searching for a crystal clear blueprint that shows the exact route to becoming a full time freelance Illustrator.

But the truth is, there just isn’t one!

Like I said in a previous blog post, our jobs don’t exist… at least not yet! You have to create it, you have to carve out your own little corner of the illustration industry, gaining enough clients, work, contacts, etc to have it become your job.

So there isn’t a one size fits all approach!

I know illustrators who went full time at 18 straight out of college, I know people who have gotten into illustration at 60 years old, some people have had corporate jobs until 40 and then pivoted, some people were fashion designers and now want to focus on illustration.

And it goes the other way too!

Some people have been illustrators and have pivoted to fine art, some have been Illustrators and have gone back to a secure 9-5…

What I’m getting at is …it’s a free for all!

Every single persons journey to becoming a full time artist is going to be unique.

There is no structure in place that says you must study this, get this specific grade, apply for this specific job, work your way up, get a raise and then good job, you completed your career!

It just doesn’t work like that, you just slowly accumulate clients and consistent work over time,

So instead, embrace carving out your own unique path and utilise it to your advantage!

Everyone wants to hit the fast forward button and land their dream job and clients tomorrow, but there really is a beauty and a usefulness to embracing the journey that you take to get there!

Like I’ve said before, it took me 7 years after graduating to go full time, doesn’t mean those years were wasted, I don’t look back and wish I was a full time illustrator for those 7 years, because they helped shape me to be more prepared for where I wanted to be!

So before you get tunnel vision and feel impatient or frustrated that things aren’t happening as quick as you’d like them to, try and think what are you doing now that will actually come in handy down the line…

For example, I used to write stories when I was 8, crappy lil Final Fantasy knock offs and I was even arrogant enough to send one off to a publisher… didn’t hear back obvs but still.

Writings always been something I’ve enjoyed doing, and just because I’m an Illustrator doesn’t mean that experience is now redundant, as I’ve now shaped that into into writing these blog posts and my captions, which helps people see my work and potentially land more jobs.

I studied fashion photography at university, that’s not something that’s just useless and tucked away in a box now I’m an official pencil pusher. The photography knowledge has helped me take better content for instagram, edit photos better for commercial projects, understand how to film and edit videos, plus studying photography taught me so much about narrative, storytelling, composition… which has all gone into my illustration work.

Over the years I’ve served on many a checkout, I’ve worked in Tesco, Asda, even a fish and chip shop once I’d graduated, salt and vinegar anyone? This helped me hone my people skills which now helps me at events when I’m smiling whilst someone’s asking me if I can draw their second eye, it all comes in handy!

I worked in marketing from 2015 - 2021, don’t get me wrong, I was frustrated that I was doing that instead of drawing, but over those 6 years I learnt so much about social media, digital marketing, pitching, budgeting etc, that’s now all been put into my own social media platforms, it’s shaped how I’ve marketed these courses, it’s come in handy!

I did some social media consultancy over the years, which meant looking at other businesses social profiles and putting together a plan on how they can improve their engagement and followers. Learning the ability to look at profiles that aren’t your own and analyse them, I’ve now channeled that into the Career masterclasses instagram reviews and the 1:1 mentoring I do.

When I used to google and try to find YouTube videos on how to become a full time Illustrator, there wasn’t anyone that had worked at supermarkets then gone on to study photography, then took a marketing job and dabbled in art direction then finally became a fashion illustrator…

So I could look at that 2 ways…

One; I’ve messed up, my life decisions have been wrong, I should have studied Fashion Illustration then gone straight into freelancing and built up my career, but now i’m too far down the other path and I can’t do anything about it.

Or two, I’m coming at freelance fashion illustration with a different outlook than other people, a different set of skills and I can utilise that to my advantage.

So the same way our art styles are all made up of a variety of different artists and inspirations, our careers are the same! Your role can be shaped by a hodgepodge of past skill sets and experiences to something uniquely yours.

If we all followed the same formula it’ll be bloody boring.

So if you’re sitting there working in law but want to do fashion illustration, just know when you do become a fashion illustrator your project contracts are gonna be air tight, I’m sure you’ll word every invoice in a way that gets paid in time and you can teach other illustrators contract info!

If you’re currently in a corporate job but want to pivot to freelance illustration, experiencing the structure of a corporate job is going to help you so much with keeping on top of all the various tasks freelancers have to do, having had that experience in a work place, you now know what works for you and what doesn't.

If you work in retail and want to get into live event illustration, that fake smile and laugh is gonna get you soooo far, trust!

If you’re a stay at home parent and want to try freelancing, just know your multitasking skills are gonna be second to none, and you’re used to being stuck at home, which is 95% of freelancing!

These are all skillsets you wouldn’t have developed if we’d all b-lined for the fashion illustration role.

Our careers are all different, made up from different experiences, routes, random paths, diversions, and that’s what makes us all unique and different.

Not only from a skillset pov but also a branding one!

If you like baking as well as drawing, become the baking fashion illustrator, if you like running marathons, make your brand all about speed drawing and marathons, if you like games, draw your favourite characters as runway models…

There’s no box you have to fit in to have a career in illustration, it’s a role that you’re creating and it’s ever changing!

So just embrace the journey that you’re on, because everything you’re doing can be pivoted or utilised in helping you get to where you wanna be, you just need to look at it from a different perspective!

Everything can help make you a well rounded freelance creative, because there’s soooo much more to a creative career than just drawing a pretty picture.

So just think of all the other jobs you do as one of those karate kid montages where everything you’ve been doing during training comes together once you finally become a full time illustrator!

You got this!

And if you need guidance, feedback, advice and structure on how to carve out your own career path and help make it happen, then there’s always my Career Masterclass last 5 spaces left!

See you in there

xoxo