Profession illustrator: show everything that is hidden

Many people think about who draws pictures in children's books, and not only books. How is this mysterious profession called and what does it eat? Now we will try to understand this issue.

Who is an illustrator?

First of all, the illustrator is an artist. And in the broadest sense of the word. Cartoons, commercials, drawings in books, graphics in computer games, movies, wallpapers, website designs, postcards - this is all the work of the illustrator. And although the profession is one, it is divided into many branches.

I want to note that this is a difficult job. In addition to the ability to draw, the artist must have his own style, understand the customer's requests and provide him with several different options for the same task.

Where does the illustrator find a job?

Despite the fact that the artist-illustrator is a rare and creative profession, it is not so often possible to meet such an announcement on the usual job market. The search for such work is carried out using a portfolio of specialized sites. Also, the illustrator profession is in great demand in book publishers and editorial offices, in design studios and advertising companies.

Rarely see the artist on the salary. Their salary is linked specifically to how much they do. Illustrators of books receive money for a particular project. That is why it is difficult to say what salary a professional can have in this field of activity. According to some data, the average salary is from 20 to 70 thousand rubles. The scope just reflects the fact that the artists are project workers.

Study and career growth

There are two opinions on the topic of education for illustrators. Someone says that the graduation is a must. After all, where, how not in the university, artists can get an idea about computer programs for drawing, about techniques, methods and much more. Others, on the other hand, say that education for a talented person is a completely useless thing. And if there is a desire to master something, you can do it yourself or with the help of short courses.

To a common opinion, even popular artists did not come, whose experience has been tested for years. Perhaps, indeed, the illustrator's profession does not require anything other than talent.

Career growth in the illustrator is very diverse. The artist can lead a creative group, open his own advertising company, become the head of an art agency and even achieve worldwide fame. It all depends on talent, aspirations and the ability to conduct business, as in any other profession.

Pros and cons of the profession

Like any other activity, the illustrator's profession has pros and cons. The first can be attributed the following:

• There is no binding to the workplace. The illustrator does not need to walk every day to the office, and he not only can work at home, but also travel without violating the deadlines for the delivery of the project.
• Ability to engage in creativity. Any artist paints pictures with love, enjoying.
• Vacation at any time of the year. There is no schedule, only the deadline for the delivery of an order and discussion on the implementation.
• You can start at any time. If you are no longer 20 - this is not an excuse to say goodbye to the illustrator's career.

Minuses:

• Criticism. Not all creative people are able to endure criticism, even if it is constructive.
• Hot dates. If the inspiration has not visited the artist, there are times when in a panic you have to finish something. The same applies to those who find it difficult to organize their time.
• High competition. Despite the rarity of the profession, talented and simply able to draw people well, very much.
• Self-promotion. Searching for clients, advertising yourself is also the responsibility of the artist.

Any disadvantages can be closed by hiring a person who could control time, keep a notebook, promote the artist and deal with his image. This is not always possible for novice specialists, but, as we recall, career growth is possible, because this profession is an illustrator.

Children and adult artists

Often, thinking of books with pictures, we imagine children's books. But in fact there are a lot of books for adults with stunning illustrations. It can be graphic novels, which are now at the height of popularity, fairy tales for adults, editions with pictures of the author and much more.

Children's artists are remembered to us much more often, because it is children who are the main consumer of the talent of illustrators. They love picture books, regardless of age. Adolescents switch to comics, and adults are content only with rare copies of books, where the artist helps to present what has been read.

Modern illustrators of books

Of foreign contemporary illustrators on hearing the name of Chris Riddel, which you can learn from the books of Neil Gaiman ("The Virgin and Spindle", "Coraline") or his own ("Young Lady Goth" and others). Also, the Russian-speaking audience knows such artists: Kay Asedera (Lizle and Po), RV Elli (Paddington Bear), Art Spiegelman (Maus) and many other talented names.

Russian illustrators also keep up with their foreign colleagues. Igor Yulevich Oleinikov works not only with books, but also with films. This is a very popular artist both in Russia and abroad. Known for the books "The Hobbit, or There and Back", "Peter Pan" and "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen."

Eugene Antonenkov published many books in collaboration with Rosman. He can be recognized from the illustrations of the books of Alan Milne, Boris Zakhoder and Korney Chukovsky.

Ukrainian colleagues from the publishing house "A-ba-ba-ga-la-ma-ha" - Vladislav Yerko ("The Snow Queen") and Yevgenia Gapchinskaya ("Alice in Wonderland" and "Alice Through the Looking Glass"), as well as from the publishing house Clever - Galina Zinko (Andersen, Perrot, Pushkin) - also shake their sensual and penetrating drawings.

There are a lot of names of great artists, therefore, choosing an illustrator's profession, think about whether you can achieve the ideal in your drawings and compete with prominent names, turning your hobby into a job.