Questions to Phillip Harris

• How did you get your agent? Since having an agent, has anything changed?

I got my agent through sending out emails asking various agencies if they would be interested in representing me. I included some examples of my work in the emails and also some links to my website and blog. To be completely honest I have had 2 agents and both of them have got me little to no work. Not sure if I have just got stuck with ones that aren't very motivated but I have heard a few illustrator's mention that they have had similar problems in the past.

• Have you got much work since you left uni? How did you find it?

I have had a few jobs but not enough to use illustration to support myself. Most of my work has come from emailing people or companies to ask if they would be interested in any of my work. Some of the commissions have come randomly through people stumbling across my website or chatting to people when I'm out and about.

• Is there anything I could do now to help me in the future?

In my personal experience I have found that keeping a good online presents is pretty essential to getting people interested in your work. Emailing people you would like to work for with examples of work, can be a good way to get commissions. Without hassling people too much, it's always good to updated people with new work. Sending out a kind of mini portfolio round to places can also be beneficial because it's not as disposal as an email can be, if you send a collection of portfolio type post cards they can hang around the office or studio and remind them of your work or get circulated between there colleagues which can also be beneficial.
So I terms of things to do now to help in the future, I guess the best advice I can give is try and build up a web of contacts though self promotion.

Reflection

I know that Phillip Harris is currently with Inky illustrations which is a illustration agency that I have looked into within this unit. That agency seemed the best for me out of the ones i looked into.

He does have a second job and that is a tattoo apprentice working, i believe, 5 days a week. There is alot of money in tattoos and art surrounding that area of art. This is a path that i wouldn't mind heading down if illustration does not pay off.

From both the first and the second questions, I get the same idea that finding a agency that works for you is all about trail and error till you find one. As Phillip says he has had to agencies and got little work from possibly a unmotivated agency. He goes on to say in his second answer about commissions that he has found work of his own back by emailing people and companies asking for work and getting interest around the artworks. Again, Similar to Jack, he says that he has got work from having talked to people and making contacts. He also mentions the website and that getting him work. I need to get my blog up and running properly which will help me to get my name out there and also work.

The third answer carries this on, he says it is important to self promote yourself through the web and blogs. I want to use my blog to collect contacts and get my work and name out there. I would also like to do the sending on post cards to some companies just to get my work known. I will do this before the end of the summer to get my name out there. The main theme and idea i get is self promotion is vital and should always be kept on top of to be successful.

Questions to Jack Teagle

Have you got an agent? if so, has anything changed? if not, why?

Yeah, I've got an agent, I used to have a very relaxed relationship with the YCN, I was on their books, but I only got about 2 jobs in a year. Handsome Frank approached me, and I signed up with them about a year ago. I didn't get much through from them, only pitches and no paid work. The YCN then started to change direction, and wanted people to go onto their books full time, since I was with them longer, I decided to leave Handsome Frank and go with them. I've had a few jobs with them, and it's been worth sticking with them, but they do take quite a hefty cut of 30% of the jobs for tracking them down for me.

Do you make more money from your commissions or the stuff you sell on your shop (comics, prints)

I make a lot more from commissions, they're bigger jobs, and you're only putting money into materials like paints, instead of production costs and prints. The online shop is worth doing though, sometimes you'll have slow weeks, and shop sales can help to keep you going.

Is there anything I could do now to help me in the future?

Getting in touch with people in the industry is a good start. Get to know other students at other universities and across the world, use the internet to share your work and ideas. This is where I started, and as a result, I've been able to meet other artists I spoke to online, take part in exhibitions, and in some cases it got me jobs. The best thing you can do is to work your hardest and have fun with it.

Reflection

As you can see from the first answer, Jack Teagle is with he illustration agency YCN. He says that the commission % is rather high at 30%. It is not an agency i have looked into but i definitely will in the future.

I don't think Jack Teagle has a another job other than illustration. When he started out he did get job seekers allowance but now can support himself thought his illustrations and is doing quite well.

From the answer to the first question, It seem that the relationship and your approach to your agency is vital to getting work regularly. Also it seems like there is a great deal of trial and error at the start when finding a agency that works for you. It seems many people move from one agency to another before settling at one.

I would like to try and act on what Jack has said in his last answer about getting hold of people. I want to start getting in contact with other people with the industry. I want to get my blog properly up and running and use that as a way to meet people. I will try definitely over the summer to contact some people as I'm quite busy and the blog is bait thin on the ground.

Illustration Agencies

Inky illustration agency

Inky illustration is an agency that is based in London and has links with –

· BBC

· Disney

· Hallmark

· MTV

· Nickelodeon

· The Guardian

· Daily Mail

and many more.

This agency would help me, as I want to work for Disney within my career at some point. There also seems to be a great possibility of editorials with this agency.

The style within the agency is mainly hand rendered and digital artwork, but the digital piece has the sense of hand rendered work. There is a great detail of portraits and also figurative works. I could see my work being within this agency as I produce the majority of my work is hand rendered and I try and get a realistic feel which is seem in most of the works within the agency.

Contact

Address

Office 2834

PO BOX 6945

London

W1A 6US

United Kingdom

Phone number

0844 8129 796

Website

http://www.inkyillustration.com/

Central Illustration Agency

The work within the agency is mainly digital and not a great variation. This illustration agency seems very well established as it has a large number of artists including 12foot6, which I a large animation company. They list their artists as Typography, Motion and Interactive, and I feel this shows that, at this moment in time, this agency may not be for me. The agency is based in London.

Contact

Address

29 Heddon Street

1st. Floor

London W1B 4BL

Phone number

+44(0)207 734 7187

Website

http://www.centralillustration.com/

Illustration

The illustration agency has a very large range of different style and artists and there seems to have a place for any illustrator. But I think that the work maybe of a lesser quality compare to work I have seen on other agencies. Due to the large variety of work and style this could be an agency that is more likely to take artist on.

A real upside to this agency is that it is not based in one place alone, as there are offices within the UK, New York, Paris, Hamburg and Shanghai. This gives the opportunity to work abroad and get international contracts. Personally I want to travel and work in different countries within my career as an illustrator. This is one of the only international agencies I have come across.

Contact

Address

Illustration Ltd
2

Brooks Court


Cringle Street


London SW8 5BX

Phone number

+44 (0)20 7720 5202

Website

http://www.illustrationweb.com/

Heart

This illustration agency seems to have mainly hand rendered elements combined with the use of digital elements. I don’t think, at this time, my work would really fit within the agency. The work looks to be more graphic than illustration. The agency is based in to countries, in London and also New York. Again I like the idea of travelling within my career.

Contact

Address

Heart Top Floor


100 De Beauvoir Road


London


N1 4EN

Phone number

020 7254 5558

Website

http://www.heartagency.com/