Creating Your Niche in Visual Art
Photo courtesy of elements.envato.com
Visual aids are a key part of any project's success. Whether you are establishing a small business or writing a book, the visual appeal is one of the first things that draws people in.
That means there's always a market for quality graphic designers, illustrators, and other visual artists. And while it may be overwhelming to think about getting started with your design and illustration goals, it isn't impossible. When you're willing to get creative and put in the effort, you'll find yourself empowered to reap the rewards.
Careers in Visual Art Creation
Visual art is a broad category that covers everything from graphic designers and illustrators to fashion designers, photographers, and every kind of traditional art you can think of. If it relies on vision for the experience or to convey the message, it's visual art.
All kinds of companies hire and work with visual artists to create brands, logos, and websites, among other things. And this can be a great career for visual creators. Other creators long to go out on their own, creating original art that sparks something with their audience. But it takes hard work to get your artwork recognized. And the kind of career you want will dictate the avenues you need to pursue to start generating a buzz.
Generating a Buzz Through Word-of-Mouth
Designer and writer Tyler Rudick launched his business Valley House Design after discovering an aptitude and enjoyment for graphic design. After years of writing, Rudick pursued graphic design on a freelance basis, starting with existing contacts.
Rudick recognized his ideal projects and clientele in museums, non-profits, and start-ups. With contacts already in those niches, he was able to build a successful business without too much additional marketing work.
“I'm lucky enough to say I've always had enough work where [social media] was never something that I ended up utilizing to promote my own work,” he said.
Instead, he focused on word-of-mouth referrals and maintaining an elegant website that had an arty magazine-type feel, he said. He wanted his website to speak for itself, to attest to his skill as a designer.
A graphic designer's main job is to create work that speaks for itself, that delivers the message without the need for additional explanation.
Taking on a variety of different kinds of projects helps designers build that skill, Rudick said. Varied work leads to heightened design problem solving and, ultimately, more design opportunities.
“The stranger the project the better,” he said.
Graphic designers shouldn't be afraid to take on bigger projects, Rudick said, but they should have help ready just in case. Developing a network of fellow graphic designer friends and colleagues who can jump onto a project with you is a prime stress management technique, he said.
Although working full-time for an environmental group now, Rudick still takes on freelance projects that catch his fancy.
“I love being able to dig into a really cool project,” he said.
Empowering Creativity: What to Look for in a Graphic Designer
Need to hire a graphic designer for your small business project? Rudick said the most important thing you need in a graphic designer—other than good design, of course—is a person who listens well and can understand the scope and picture of the project.
A good graphic designer will be able to present your message to your audience through his or her work. He or she will understand the end goal or the ultimate use of the product and create graphics and illustrations that directly convey that to viewers.
Not sure if your project needs a graphic designer?
You might want to at least consult with a graphic designer if you are: launching a website; designing your own book cover; creating a logo and/or product labels for your business or brand; creating infographics or other visual components for a website, newsletter, book, article, or other publication; looking to have business cards, posters, or signs made. Graphic designers do a lot, and not every designer will do all things, so be sure to discuss your needs before making any hiring decision.
Graphic designers take your vision, message, and business and give you an extra layer of professionalism. It's their job. And while you can certainly give it a try on your own, without the specific expertise of graphic design it's likely your customers will know that you didn't invest in a professional. And, like it or not, much of consumer experience and choice boils down to the way something looks, and how that makes the client feel.
Empowering Your Career with Social Media
Artist and illustrator Danny Schlitz took a different approach to his career.
Schlitz always identified himself as an artist. All throughout childhood he was drawing and creating art. His mom encouraged him to cultivate his gift, which eventually led him to study at the Art Institute of Seattle, which opened his eyes to the different career options available for visual artists.
Schlitz did graphic design and visual art for various companies and took freelance work on the side until his own business, Schlitz Art, began to take off.
“I always wanted to be in a booth and sell my art,” Schlitz said. His dream of selling at comic conventions finally took off, oddly due to the 2020 pandemic. With some artists canceling over Covid-19 concerns, Schlitz was able to get a foot in the door. At his first con, he connected with artists involved with Artist Alliez, and his comic con dream launched in full force.
Although conventions have helped Schlitz's art reach a wider audience, his social medial presence and networking have been worth their weight in gold.
Toward the end of 2019, Schlitz was contacted by Quirk publishing. They were looking for an illustrator to work on an upcoming project, William Shakespeare's Avengers.
It's fairly common for project managers and leaders to create inspiration or mood boards with the kind of art and style they want for a project—many artists do it themselves for inspiration, Schlitz said. Schlitz's best guess is that someone at Quirk saw his art online and added it to a board, eventually deciding his style was exactly what they wanted for the book.
Although the turnaround time seemed impossible— four months to complete 100 illustrations—Schlitz said he felt like it was something he wanted to try, so he said yes.
“You never know what's actually going to happen,” he said. It's true of projects and timelines. As the pandemic threw a wrench in life during 2020, Schlitz ended up having more than enough time to complete the illustrations and the book was published in 2021.
Although sharing art online can be a vulnerable act, it's also a prime way to get noticed and extend a hand to other artists.
“I look to other artists for inspiration and hopefully people look at my art for inspiration,” Schlitz said. “A lot of creative communities are good at sharing and great with encouragement.”
Protecting Your Creative Property
Any visual artist who's been in the game for a while has first-hand experience with some kind of infringement or unexpected use of their work.
Although copyright law dictates that the work's creator holds the copyright, whether it's registered or not, there are still plenty of challenges to protecting art.
Early on in his freelance work, Rudick ran into situations where the work he did for clients was reused or reproduced in ways that he hadn't expected or intended when he accepted the job.
He learned that, at a minimum, he needed to have conversations with his clients so that everyone had a shared understanding on how the work would and could be used. In some cases, it was most appropriate to create a contract that explicitly and legally outlined the terms of use.
Graphic designers also need to be conscious of how they use other peoples' work, as well. Sometimes a designer will use another piece of work, such as a photo, as a building block for their own work. Rudick said it's non-negotiable to get permission before using anyone else's work.
“I never use anything without permission,” he said. “I take that pretty seriously, having been on both sides of it.”
Schlitz's experiences land mostly on the other side of the coin—the gray area of fan art. Copyright law protects an artist's work from being directly copied and also limits derivative art, but when it comes to fan art there's some wiggle room.
For the artists setting up booths at a convention's artists alley, fan art is what the visitors are looking for and the artists have to deliver if they want to make some sales, Schlitz said.
Although it's rare for fan art to create a big problem, Schlitz said, he tries to be reasonable in how many prints he sells, especially since it would be hard to win if a big company came suing for fan art.
Empowering Creativity: Copyright Law and Fan Art
Creating fan art can be a risky endeavor. Legally speaking, the owner of the work is the only one with the right to recreate or make derivative works. Generally speaking, its not a copyright infringement if you create fan art and you're not making any profit off of it, it's considered fair use. But if you create fan art for profit, you reach murkier waters.
So how do the artists in artists alley get away with selling their fan art prints?
Basically, whoever owns the copyright for the original characters has chosen not to pursue any legal action (anything from a cease and desist letter to a full lawsuit). This could be for any number of reasons—including that, even if winning a lawsuit is guaranteed, it's not worth the time, money, and most likely negative publicity to shut down all the artists making fan art. And in most cases, the artists making the fan art aren't robbing the copyright owner/company of millions of dollars.
What does this mean for you as an artist?
You should be very careful in creating and selling your fan art. Although you can certainly get recognized and make some money off of fan art, your original artwork should have a prominent place in your portfolio. After all, original art often touches viewers in a way that something derivative can't.
Setting Up a Creative Shop
The business side of things isn't Schlitz's favorite.
“I don't care to run the business side, I just want to make art,” he said.
But art without sales isn't a sustainable career, so Schlitz figured out the business side as he went along, eventually setting up an online shop through Big Cartel.
At first he tried working with a printer to create quality and affordable prints, but found that the process ended up leaving him with little to no profit from his work.
Finally, Schlitz opted to invest in his own large format printer, making prints on demand and keeping all the profit for himself.
Of all the things he wishes he'd known or learned sooner, knowing how to run a business is at the top of Schlitz's list, he said. Sometimes he still feels unequipped to run the business side of things, he said, but he's learned a lot since the early days. And receiving (and seeking) help, such as bookkeeping assistance and apps to help track projects, has helped not just keep the business running, but keep it growing.
Helpful People, Helpful Processes
Rudick also found that accepting help took time to learn, but is a lesson he wishes he learned sooner, he said. That and creating a realistic calendar and schedule for himself.
“As a freelancer, and a company staffer even, you don't want to miss the opportunity for a new challenge or payment, so you say yes to everything,” Rudick said. In his experience, this led to burnout and didn't allow him the freedom to do his best work.
A firm schedule and trusted friends and colleagues to help with the workload is a way to honor yourself as a designer and a human, he said.
