How To Make It As An Independent Illustrator

I recently had an article published on Lifehacker (many thanks to Chris Jager for publishing) on a subject near and dear to my heart. It stemmed from rethinking how to succeed as an independent creative, and focuses on diversifying the areas where you might consider applying your talents.

From the Article:

“At first, drawing comics was exciting: I loved seeing my ideas realized on the page and in print. I registered at local conventions, and getting just a handful of sales felt incredible – it meant that somebody was interested in reading my work!

Each year, I would try to learn all I could from observation, trial and error, and networking, so that I could improve sales, grow my fan-base, and eventually turn a decent profit. But after five or six years of attending conventions, working social media and networking with other artists, book sales have not grown beyond the handful-per-con level. Costs pile up, and each year it’s harder to justify the losses.

Creating a book takes many hours to layout, pencil, ink, color and letter, and marketing your product is an expensive investment in hard costs: A 9-foot table will cost you between $220 and $350 for a weekend at one of the major Australian conventions. Unit print costs can average $3 for a 24 page comic, or $15 for a 80-200 page graphic novel. Order a couple hundred copies, and you’re already racking up costs at nearly $2000 just for the opportunity to sell.”

You can read the full article here:

Identity Swap: How To Make It As An Independent Illustrator