Things I Do Right And Wrong As A Full Time Fashion Illustrator

We tend to look at someone who's doing what we want to do and think that they must have done everything  perfectly to get there, but that's not the case!

The term 'done is better than perfect' can work just as well for your career as it can for your illustrations.


You don't need to be a perfectly running well oiled machine to make your dreams happen, you can be scrappy, clunky, Inefficient and still make it.

 
So I thought I'd share 5 things I do right and 5 things I don't do so well, in hopes of showing that dream careers can still happen even if you aren't some well optimised, smoothie drinking, schedule keeping god.

What I do right:

Always experiment

Some feedback I got from my college tutor was she was impressed by how much I experimented in my college work, every project I’d try a new technique or medium and I never stopped trialing and pushing things.

I didn’t think twice about it at the time, but now looking back I’ve realised that it is a good trait! A lot of people want to find their style and stick with it, but I’m always trying new mediums and materials, thinking of new things to incorporate, for no other reason than I’m curious to see what it’ll be like.

But I think that constant searching for something different is what’s kept me interested, I’ve been drawing fashion illustrations for nearly 15 years, you gotta keep it fresh for yourself.

Put my work out there anyway

When I was 9 me and a friend put together some drawings and notes for a videogame we wanted made and we posted it to a game studio, when I was 13 I submitted a few pages of a book I was writing to a publishers, did I hear back from any of these? No chance.

But I’ve always had this mindset of just put your work out there and let others decide yes or no. In my courses and mentoring the most common thing I see is people waiting until they reach a particular goal before they get their website, post on instagram or pitch to clients. But that Is only hindering you, put your work out there whilst you improve it, stop waiting until you think you’re ‘good enough’ and let the people hiring you make that decision.

Been consistently inconsistent

If you’ve followed me for any period of time, you know I’m not the most consistent of posters… I left instagram for 2 years, my blog goes quiet for months at a time, my YouTube gathers dust between videos.

Whilst this isn’t an ideal trait, I have accepted that it is what it is! I don’t fret so much about it is because I know that this isn’t a time sensitive trend, it’s my career. It’s not a quick sprint to get as many followers as I can, this is what I’m going to be continually working at for decades.

I know I’ll always get back to posting eventually, so a break here or a little hiatus there in the grand scheme of things isn’t going to make a massive difference, I’m playing the long game.

Always eager to learn

I’ve been a full time fashion illustrator now for 4 years, I run courses and mentor people on how to draw, get work etc, I’ve worked for some of the biggest brands around, I’ve got a fairly recognisable art style. I’m not saying that to float my own boat, but from the outside you might think ah they’ve made it, job done, now chill. But it’s not the case!

I spend hours a week watching YouTube videos, taking courses, reading articles, listening to podcasts, all about how to improve your drawing, how to get work, how to become an illustrator, even last night I started reading a book for illustrators who are just starting out.

I’m always curious to learn more and more about it all, and I think that’s the best way to be, a career doesn’t happen from just coasting but from continually growing and evolving, so stay hungry!

Started teaching

The quote ‘if you can’t do, teach.’ Tainted the idea of teaching for me for a while, but it was popping up in my career anyway, Apple asked me to do a talk/workshop, winsor and newton hired me for workshops and tutorial videos, so I eventually thought sod it! Why can’t you do both.

Teaching doesn’t have to be all or nothing, I like having it integrated into my week, and prove that I can do and teach. I’ve worked for Burberry on Tuesday and did a feedback session with students on a Wednesday, worked with Louis Vuitton in the morning and did a Course Q&A in the evening. Teaching is a part of my week and I’ve learnt as much about myself and my own work whilst doing it as I have hopefully taught others.

But the initial stigma of it did make me second guess whether to pursue it. So Imma change the saying ‘if you can do, teach how’ ‘if you can do, prove it and teach how’

What I do wrong:

All or nothing approach

I’m like this in any part of my life, I’m not a little and often kind of guy, instead of reading 10 pages before bed I’ll read a book in a day and then won’t read for a month, I’ll go to life drawing every day for a week then ghost it for 6 months, instead of doing daily sketches for my own prompt challenge, I’ll sit and do 2 weeks at a time. That’s fine, that’s life!

But where this is a hindrance is when it comes to things like instagram or YouTube or pitching, I tend to go through phases of hyper focus and posting every day for a week then nothing for months, I’m only either extremely on it or extremely off it, and I’m hoping to find more of a middle ground.

Not asking for help

My mindset was always if I can’t figure it out then I can’t do it, but I’m now realising that’s a very limited way of thinking and now I’ve began asking for more help from people. People that know more about areas than I do, asking for their advice.

I’ve started getting feedback from a friend that does editorial work, feedback from a friend thats a graphic designer, feedback from a friend thats a writer. You don’t have to be a one man army which is what it can seem like when you’re a freelance illustrator and running your own business.

Gotten lazy

I’ll admit it! I’ve gotten a little complacent. In the beginning of my career I had such a fire because it was sink or swim, if I didn’t get work in then rent wasn’t paid, but now I’ve diversified incomes and established my name a bit, there’s a certain amount that now comes my way.

It’s led me to put off doing stuff and being proactive because there’s not as much need for it anymore. Occasionally you’ll see a fire under my arse and im out doing stuff and being productive, but I’m no where near as prolific as I used to be, both in terms of creating work and getting the work out there.

Not thought of it as a job

I’m not contradicting the whole ‘if you do what you love you don’t work a day in your life’ thing, because it’s mostly true. However, because I do enjoy it I’m quick to not do it if I’m not in the mood.

Only sitting down to draw or write when divine inspiration strikes, whereas when it’s your job, there’s a certain amount of discipline that’s needed to just turn up and get shit done. And I’ve been terrible at that.

One that I’ve always regretted is in 2022 my career and instagram were gaining momentum, I gained 10k followers in a couple weeks, posts were popping off, then I dipped and left instagram for 2 years because I didn’t fancy posting.

Seen as it’s my job, I should have turned up and posted anyway, I still think to this day where that momentum could have gotten me!

No other job lets you bunk if you’re not in the mood. So I’m learning to get more disciplined and to turn up and do it instead of waiting for me to feel ready.

Overthink

I’m a horrendous over thinker, I have paragraphs and paragraphs of ideas I want to do on my notes app, but I’m always scared if I pick one then I won’t have time to do the other ideas, or maybe I’ll get half way through that idea and realise it was a waste of time.

So I procrastinate by trying to work out which one is the best to do, and spend more time trying to decide than it would have took me to just do all the ideas in the first place.

The issue is ideas come too quick and creating them takes so much longer, almost makes you understand the appeal of AI, ALMOST. Still wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole. So I’m learning to be more disciplined in my decision making, just pick an idea, work through it, then move on to the next. Create then refine, we’ll see how it goes!