Letter to Myself
4 Things I’ve Learnt as an Illustrator.
Dear Past Me,
How are you doing my dear? This is me from the future. Can you believe I have been an illustrator for 5 years already? Time flies. I’m writing to share with you 4 things I have learnt these years. Some of the them might not be logical to you now. But trust me, you will thank me later.
Ask, ask and ask more questions
You hate asking questions because you don’t want others to think that you are stupid. You prefer guessing the answer yourself instead. And guess what? Yup, you wasted massive amount of time to fix the problem which you could prevent if you have asked in the beginning. Asking doesn’t show stupidity. Asking shows professionalism. The act of asking shows that you take things seriously. No clients will judge you for asking too many details about a project (if anyone does, that’s not the project you would like to take).Don’t be scared to ask. The more you ask, the more you get. Ask all the basic questions that you think are stupid, because they are not.
You can do something they cannot
Some organisations approached me and wanted me to illustrate for free. Whenever I asked them, “Do you have any budget in mind?” , these were the answers I have gotten these years - This is for charity. This is for community. We are non-profit organisation. We have no budget but your name will be mentioned. We can help improving your media exposure. We can provide you free souvenirs and coupons. The fact is, they are taking advantages of you. Every organisation, even NGOs, have funding and most of their staffs are paid. So, why are you not paid for what you provide? Your creativity and skills are valuable. Why did they reach out to you? Because you can do something they cannot. Taking these free jobs over the years have not gained me anything but self-doubt and low self-worth (some of them didn’t even give me what they promised). Illustrating has never felt so miserable and torturing. When you undervalue yourself, others undervalue you. You don’t want to be the illustrator who always work for free. Saying so, if you choose to work for free simply because you want to and that feels right, just go for it.
Set your boundaries
When I first started, I almost never say no to clients. Can you change A to B? Yes! Can you change B to C? Yes! Oh sorry can you change it back to A? Yes! Can you draw this using that illustrator’ style? Yes! Can you make it look more realistic? Yes! Can you make her eyes smaller? Yes! Can you draw him in a more cartoonish style? Yes!
Yes, clients pay you but NO, they are not your bosses. You should learn to set your boundaries and learn to say NO. You don’t need to follow whatever your clients told you. They should respect your artistic choices if they choose to work with you.
You don’t need a certificate to be an illustrator
“What do you do for a living?” They asked. “Erm…I am a part-time tutor. I am an aspiring illustrator. I illustrate.” I answered. I didn’t have the gut to tell others I am a full time illustrator. I didn’t attend art school, I didn’t have any clients, I didn’t earn from illustrating. So, I am not qualified as an illustrator. I didn’t treat myself as a professional and that’s why people treat me as a hobbyist. You don’t need approval from anyone to be an artist. You don’t need “aspiring”, “beginner” and “part-time” in your dictionary.
You make art, you are an artist. You illustrate, you are an illustrator. You make picture books, you are a picture book maker. You dance, you are a dancer. You write, you are a writer. You are enough and you are exactly where you suppose to be.
Thank you for being yourself all these years and please don’t forget to play to nurture your inner child. I will always be with you. X
Love,
Future Me
As someone who also has no formal art training, this hits hard. It takes guts to be a self-proclaimed artist/illustrator when you feel inadequate.
I should probably write to my past self, too. 🙂 And I like your signature, too. Here's me, grabbing great ideas haha 😄