December 3rd Thursday: Ask us Anything!

[Lee White]

All great questions. I'm writing them all down to present to jake and will. Keep em coming! : )

[Teju Abiola]

Brace yourself, I've got a lot of long questions!

• What do you recommend students do to prepare for graduation/post-graduation (aside from the obvious of building a strong portfolio)? When I graduate, I blessedly won’t have any debt, but I also won’t have any means/large savings. I want to freelance, so theoretically, I could work anywhere. I’ll probably have to move back home right after, and get a non-art job to make some concrete ‘starting out’ savings. Let’s pretend we’re playing a game of Sims: If you could ‘set up’ a recent grad looking to work on novels and children’s trade books, how would you do it?

• What should students looking to go into the publishing industry research/do to prepare during breaks (Internships, etc.)? Many of our counterparts go to internships in animation/toy/greeting card studios, but most illustrators who work for publishers are freelance. I want to get that ‘real-world’ experience, but I’m at a loss.

• How does one actually find freelance jobs? I’m a student and I’ll be out of school in about year and a half, and I want to start looking for work now, starting with small local jobs. Even if I get rejected, I can at least familiarize myself with the process/industry and see if my work is up to par. I’ve scoured the internet and can’t find anything. I have no idea who to call or email or where I should go? I don’t want to graduate and have no idea or experience as to what to do. I know I should be networking, but when I’m at school, I’m busy studying, and when I’m at home during breaks, I don’t know what to do. I suppose that I network with my peers at school, but most if not all of them aren’t in the field yet. My hometown doesn’t seem to have a large illustration/art community that I can find. What should I be doing online as well?

• What are some things you wish you could do differently in your career/art life? Everything helps form us into who we are, but I’m sure there are certain foibles you look back on with 20/20 vision and would change.

• How to balance personal projects in art school with intensive school work? I have the maximum amount classes that require more homework hours than there seems to be enough time in the week to accomplish. I would have to sacrifice the quality of my assignments to do additional work, which I am not willing to do. I feel like I’m constantly doing assigned coursework; I can't even find the time to 'goof off' in my sketchbook. Am I just too slow? I have 2.5 years to hack this and still haven't figured it out. Even when I’m hanging out with my friends we are 9/10 times also working. I did ask for this when I applied to the school, but being able to do my own ideas on my own time would be nice. Is this a problem that won’t be solved until I either get faster or graduate?

Thanks!

[Lee White]

@teju-abiola what school are you going to? Are they addressing these questions at all?

[Teju Abiola]

@lee-white I attend Ringling. I guess the answer to your question would be yes and no.

This semester, juniors had to attend Professionalism lectures about copyright, portfolio, contracts, and agents, and also complete corresponding workshops in our Illustration classes. This was really helpful, but there's always more to learn/discuss, and a few hours on each topic isn't really enough guidance. It used to actually be an entirely separate course they got rid of, but are now planning on reimplementing because this model hasn't been working as well as they had thought.

My school is very oriented towards VisDev or Editorial Illustration. Many professors, while well-meaning, are too removed from the industries. I've heard from alumni that some of the teacher advice is outdated/misguided in today's market. There's only a handful of professors, mostly recent hires, who even understand how important social media is. Ringling also has the misfortune of being in small Florida city far away from industry hubs. There isn't really any resource for info on publishing; we've never had publishing representatives visit campus, at least as long as I've been there. Lots of animation/game/concept studio recruiters and such (which, admittedly, is why I elected to attend there in the first place).

I get lots of anecdotes and advice that sort of tell me what I want to know, but they haven't been as detailed, applicable, or helpful as I'd like. Getting good non-general, up-to-date, relevant answers is tough. I will say, some advice is really sound, and they give great technical advice, but professional/industry stuff is hit or miss. I'd like to think I'm asking the right questions, but I could probably pester them all a bit more. Asking professionals, like you, Jake, and Will, who work in the industry and aren't within the 'Ringling Bubble' would help me round out my information and get more perspective.

[Lee White]

ok guys, Thanks so much for your questions. I have rephrased some of them and combined a few for the actual broadcast tomorrow. Should be fun!

[Andyg]

@lee-white gonna be looooong! awesome for us. Will it be on svs download as usual? ... I’m in the uk so depending on whether I am leading an outside carol service or nit will depend on if I’m with you!

[Lisa F]

Late breaking news - kidlit artist David Hohn will be joining Lee and Will today! He co-teaches the live Turbocharging Your Creativity class with Lee

[Spencer Hale]

My question are bit more fun, not really deep or thought provoking.

Favorite Breakfast Cereals?

Where did the crazy hat idea on 3rd Thursdays come from?

Pets?

Pirates or Ninjas?

Thanks for all you do guys!

[Doha]

@gdbee Great questions, unfortunately, I missed the last session! Got any good advice regarding agents?

[Lawless_H]

If I missed the information I apologize, but if we couldn’t catch it live when will the session be available in the classes? I can’t seem to locate it.