By: Paula Becker,
on 9/3/2009
Over at Illustration For Kids, we girls have been answering the question this week: “How Long Have You Been Working As An Illustrator?” I posted my reply here. So if you go over there to read it, please also check out what Holli, Jannie, Jenn, and Anette had to say. Hopefully Claire and Susan will [...]
By: paula,
on 9/3/2009
I'm coming up on 20 years of freelancing as an illustrator. So much has changed in that time in respect to the industry (e.g., computers; Internet) and myself (e.g., going digital; the Internet; my style-changes).
I had been a prolific cartoonist when I was a kid and that followed me into high school (I did the school newspaper's cartoon). When I got to college/university, however, there was no program in my school for any specializations (such as illustration or cartooning) so I delved into the fine arts, particularly printmaking, drawing and ceramics. In all these disciplines, my work still had a narrative quality as well as a comic-bend. Upon graduation, I chose to extend my studies and get a teaching certification so I could make a living. Art and illustration then took a back seat while I worked in the elementary school system for seven years, though I integrated the arts very heavily into my curriculum. But I really wanted to make the arts my full-time career, so several efforts were made to do so. At one point, I seriously contemplated getting a graduated degree in ceramics/pottery because I loved working in clay. I also realized it was important to me for my art to have a utilitarian purpose, so I needed to be doing something other than making esoteric painting, sculptures, installations, etc. (I don't know why I had that perspective of the arts in my head, but that was my thinking at the time). I eventually decided that ceramics wasn't the avenue for me, so I turned towards commercial art (the term used at that time) and began building a portfolio. And I starting taking it with me where ever I would go. One person I showed it to gave me a lead to a well-established music management agency that was looking to branch out and manage authors and artists. They took an interest in me, and through them, I landed my first job: the CD/cassette covers for a children's' series:
Over time, marketing brought more jobs and, after a while, there I was: working as an illustrator.
My style has gone through many changes over the past almost-twenty years, but my first love is really the simple style of line art and wash, which is what I've been honing in these days.
By: Jannie aka Chickengirl,
on 9/3/2009
I have been professionally illustrating for almost 4 years now. My major was in illustration at school, but after graduation, I worked as a graphic designer and an art director at various children's publishers for many years. I still had my dreams of being an illustrator, which motivated me to build my illustration portfolio on the side and eventually landing an agent. After a while, I started getting illustration jobs while I still had my day job. It was getting to be too much, I had to choose one or the other. I chose illustration, and quit my day job in December of 2005 and haven't looked back since. It is amazing how that one important (yet very scary!) decision I made four years ago would lead me to where I am today. I've done so many wonderful projects since then. Being an illustrator is definitely my dream job! :-)
By: HOLLi CONGER,
on 9/2/2009
By: Anette Heiberg,
on 8/31/2009
I've been drawing a lot my whole life, so I just kept doing what I loved and turned it into my job. After finishing school I worked as an in house graphic designer / web designer for about 6 months. When I had to quit that job because I moved to another part of the country, I decided to start out as a freelancer. I started my business in 2001, so I've been working as a freelancer for 8 years. In the beginning I worked mostly on design projects, but I found myself gradually turning into an illustrator. I still work on design projects every now and then, but my main focus is my illustrations.
Paula!!! What a small world! Way back when Jeff Parker and Nathan Carlson and the rest of the Jungle Jam crew were dreaming up creating those books and musicals, we were all buddies working at a Children's Entertainment company together! I'm so happy you pursued your artwork because i think you're absolutely fantastic!!
Awesome, Paula, thanks for sharing. Looks like you went from a rather tense Burk Breathed look to a loose and confident rather Sergio Aragonés look in your style. It's all Paula Becker though! Pure awesomeness. :)
Its so interesting to hear your story, Paula. I didn't know you taught in elementary school! Its amazing how explored so many arenas in art before coming into illustration/commercial art, although it sounds like you've been doing it since the beginning!
So cool to see your first gig too!
Shawn: What?!! Wow! You were a part of (or sitting near) the JJ people? I didn't know you were doing that so long ago! Very cool! Now, I didn't Jeff and Nathan as I was working with the folks from Word, Inc. on the project. Thanks for the kudos. I appreciate it.
MRB: Awwww, you're so sweet! Yeah, my style has run the gamut. I prefer Serge to Burk though so good to hear a comparison!
Jannie: I'm not sure how I feel about thinking back on all that, but it was a good question for us to answer!