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So I'm in a bit of a job rut and I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to improve my chances of getting hired. I want to colour comics. About a year ago, I sent off packages to Dark Horse and Image. Should I make new ones to send off with some of my newer and better stuff? I mostly trawl DigitalWebbing for job postings, but haven't been getting responses lately. The last job I tried out for, I was in the "top 5 out of 70 applicants" but those other 4 people still did better than me and had more "wow factor" to each panel and didn't colour the sky green. I also just lost a job this morning. I was going to colour a 5 page pitch for a guy and he said his artist would email me the first couple pages. I'd been checking my email regularly for it, and assumed it might just take a few days since I was told he's a really busy guy at the moment. Last night I get an email asking how long it's going to take for me to finish those 2 pages that I hadn't received yet. I responded that I hadn't gotten them yet. The email must not have sent properly or something, so I had no idea. This morning I got an email saying that the artist already found a new colourist and that I wouldn't be needed for this project. This is the second time I've been turned down by this writer, so it's kind of got me feeling down since an artist friend of mine recommended me to him. It's completely my fault though for not following up sooner and asking where the pages are. I guess I learned my lesson there, in that there's really no excuse waiting more than 2 days for pages. I do have a real paid project coming up, but I'm not expecting to get any pages for that until January. My previous colouring job, I was fired 5 pages in for just not meeting the artists expectations. They had seen a lot of my work, but I guess it fooled them into thinking I was better than I was. Since then, I haven't been able to get any jobs. Even the $10 per page ones. I'll take anything but free work at this point. I was told by other artist/colourist friends that I shouldn't settle for less than $30 per page, but if I want work to build up my portfolio, I have no choice. My current portfolio has 10 pieces which I feel shows the most variety of my colours. Is that not enough? Sorry, that was rather long. I'm just looking for some advice on how to go about getting more colouring work. Christmas is coming up and it would be nice to have some money from colouring.
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Oct 14, 2011 19:36
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Locus posted:Well, if it's personal work and you're not getting paid, sure. Draw all the time every day. I'm pretty much working for 2-3 bucks an hour on the pages I'm doing now (my January project started early! yay!). And that's not to say I never colour anything for personal purposes. I do, though I have been focusing more on figure drawing lately. Pantothenate posted:If quality is your main concern, then just do more. The only way to improve is through practise. I just read a Malcolm Gladwell book that looked into the backgrounds artists, scientists, athletes, and so on, and found that all skills take the same 10,000 hours of practise to master. Being better than the competition is just a matter of putting more time into your craft. Quality is not my main concern. I know I'm not the best, but I know I'll just keep improving with the more work I do. Speed is my main concern. I take way too long to colour or even flat a page. I should be able to do a full page in a couple of hours, but I usually spend around 5-8 hours on a given page, much more if it's detailed or had a lot of lighting effects. I put far too much time into my pages and have to learn when a page is "good enough" to move on to the next one. I use all the keyboard shortcuts I know, but that still doesn't make me as fast as I should be.
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Oct 17, 2011 23:33
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Pantothenate posted:If it's anything like ideation and execution in writing then the solution's the same either way. The more practise you have, the more familiar you are with the tools of your craft, and the faster you work. I've musician friends who say the same about learning music, and I'm fairly certain I remember a part-time artist I worked with who said he practised constantly for the same reason, and he'd done portraiture for the ruling class of his home country before they were ousted from government. Oh, I know plenty of other artists and colorists, but I think my colours are okay enough to not get much of a critique. Just "these are fine, you do a good job with your chosen pallette." I've noticed that people are only eager to talk to you about your colours if they're really good or really bad. The closest thing to a colouring internship is flatting, and I already did that for several years. It doesn't really teach you anything beyond flatting and doesn't leave you with a lot of time to work on your own stuff. If I lived in the right city, I'd be all over interning at Dark Horse, DC, or Marvel. DC and Marvel don't even accept portfolios anymore, so it's really all about who you know or traveling great distances to get to the right con to meet the right people.
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Oct 18, 2011 02:40
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I had an interview for an arts job yesterday and it's sounding too good to be true, so I'd like to know how much I should worry. They want to hire me as a graphic artist to do colouring work and such for their comics, tabletop RPG guidebook and video game projects. I had not heard of the company before and they have no online presence, but have apparently already published a tabletop gaming book that should be at my comic store. The gig would be part time at first, coming in one day a week for $1000/month and move to permanent at $30,000 / year once they get new offices. It sounds absolutely perfect. In a couple weeks, they're going to give me a panel to colour to test my skills. I'm very excited about the prospect of making a decent living doing work that I love, but I'm worried it'll blow up in my face like the last time.
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May 12, 2012 01:11
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mutata posted:What's your expenses if you take it? You should do a cost/benefit analysis on the situation. If you don't incur huge risk to take the job (relocation, leaving an existing job, etc) then you could always take a leap and try it out and if it bombs, oh well. If there's much risk involved, then go with your gut. The only risk at all is not taking other job offers that I might be getting soon. I don't know if I should hold out for this one over the next couple weeks or just snatch the first thing that comes my way. If I take a job offer in the next two weeks, it would look really bad if I suddenly quit to take this new job and even worse if the new job doesn't work out. I guess I just find it hard to believe that anyone wants me as a professional artist, since the last time I got offered a dream job, I got fired after 2 weeks.
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May 12, 2012 17:36
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same posted:Here are a few of the next chapters I will be posting on in the future: I'm disappointed that these don't exist. Does anyone wanna take a crack at making posts for these?
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May 28, 2012 21:16
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qirex posted:3: No* I'm thinking of saving up some money and working on my portfolio so that I can attend a private college for a comic book illustration course. Tuition is about $16,000, and it's a long and involved process to get in, including an interview. I think in a couple years, I might be good enough to get in if I keep up with my drawing.
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May 30, 2012 18:09
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bairfanx posted:Are you looking at CCS? That tuition sounds about right, though the description of it as an illustration course makes me wonder. Nope. No clue what CCS is. I'm looking a Guru Digital Arts College. A friend of mine is taking the course next semester, so I might be able to learn a bit from her as well.
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May 30, 2012 19:31
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bairfanx posted:The Center for Cartoon Studies. They're in a really strange place, professionally, as they have been allowed the ability to grant MFA's and certificates by the State of Vermont and are pretty much thought of as one of the places for cartooning education among independent cartoonists but have not been accredited on the national level yet. I'm unsure about the success rate, but it seems really focused of the kind of illustration I want to do, which means I'll have a portfolio of stuff that I actually enjoy working on, as opposed to another program where I'd have to make a portfolio of stuff I don't really care about. Nessa fucked around with this message at 07:17 on Jun 5, 2012 |
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May 31, 2012 03:41
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ExplodingSquid posted:Anyone know of any colour and inking courses that can be done? Most colouring (at least for comics) is done exclusively in Photoshop. I'd recommend hanging around Gutterzombie.com for colouring. It's a forum for comic colourists and there are some tutorials on there too.
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Jun 16, 2012 20:02
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Hey thread, I'm preparing a CV for an artist in residency program at my local comic store. The page detailing the application says this: quote:Applicants must provide curriculum vitae that should not exceed two (2) sheets of standard 8.5 x 11 paper. Am I correct in assuming that the CV should comprise of the objective statement, works being focused on, personal career goals and community work? I've never actually made a CV before and don't really know what's expected for this kind of thing. I'm also going to be applying as a colourist, and I'm not sure if that puts me at a disadvantage. I'm planning on asking a professional colourist who I've worked for in the past to write me the letter of recommendation, and maybe help pick out my best pieces for the portfolio. I know I'm up against some mighty tough competition from some of my other artist friends, but I really want to get in. I think it would be a great opportunity for me. There was recently a write-up about it as well: http://www.gigcity.ca/2013/01/15/comics-art-marts-smart-start/ The terms are 32 weeks now, so if I don't get in on this term, I might not have another comic project going when the next term opens up. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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Feb 15, 2013 07:33
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Beat. posted:If you just want to get $5 or $10 commissions or whatever here and there, fine, whatever. There's no reason you can't try to do that, but drawing well is a skill that is learned. It doesn't just come out of nothing, and your best bet is to find a good instructor that can build really solid fundamentals, or in some other fashion meet people who do it well and try to learn from them. As someone with who's familiar with the comic industry rosselas could do way more than $5-$10 commissions. That would be selling himself short. I personally do $10 commissions for drawings of cartoon ponies and I don't have a tenth of the art skill that this guy has. rosselas, I think you're style is really well suited to comics and that it would have a lot of appeal to those who enjoy horror. Go find out what local conventions are in your area. Go to them and try to talk to as many comic pros as you can, and make sure to have some polished sequential pages to show. Get an artist alley table even and talk to as many people as you can. You never know if someone walking by has the perfect project for you. Also, just start making comics. Build some storytelling skills and some inking skills. Working in comics doesn't net you a whole ton of cash like a $1200 oil painting will, but it's a really fun industry to work in. I'm still trying to get in myself, and the indie project I'm working on is only serving to enhance my skills and make my portfolio even better the next time I apply to major companies, or talk to professional colourists or editors.
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Feb 25, 2013 16:50
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rosselas posted:I think there's a shop in a town that's about a 30 min. drive from here that promotes local comic creators. I get nervous about showing my work. I feel like "Who will care?" (but also like they should care, if that makes sense) and I'm wasting their time. I tend to be bad presenting. If I do, I'd probably That's great! I'd also recommend checking out if the sotre does comic jams or hosts creator meetings. It could be a great place to meet other local creators of different skill levels, as well as just get you comfortable talking to other folks and showing them your work.
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Feb 25, 2013 23:48
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Cross posting from the Career Paths thread. I just turned 27 and have been working at a store selling cds and dvds for the past 2.5 years. My husband and I are looking to get a house, a car and start a family in a few years from now, so I need to look at getting a full time job that won't make me want to kill myself. I have a somewhat worthless certificate in Graphic Communications. I was looking at various graphic design jobs, but it seems like I'm massively underqualified for most of them. They tend to want people who can do more web stuff and/or photography or work in programs that I'm unfamiliar with. I would really like to do something creative. I've had a few small comic book colouring jobs here and there, but its not regular work that I can rely on. I'm sending out a submission to Dark Horse this week anyway, since that's kind of my dream gig. Things I enjoy doing, but probably couldn't make a living out of: I really enjoy doing crafty things, like painting figures or decorative wooden items. I created and painted a number of decorations for my wedding earlier this year and got a lot of compliments on my design. Some relatives asked what book I got the ideas out of and a couple of my bridesmaids said I should seriously look into interior design. I don't really know if I could handle going back to school for something like that though. I also enjoy doing drawings for kids. When I draw stuff at conventions or for free comic book day, I always put more effort into the ones for kids. I've volunteered a few times to teach kids about making comics and that's always been a lot of fun as well. Any ideas? Maybe there's a career path I haven't thought about? Or maybe I should just keep looking for an entry level design thing? Even the entry level positions I've seen want at least a couple years of experience in the field. I did actually have an interview for a graphic design job at a printing place a few months ago. It was 2 and a half hours long and the guy mostly talked about why he had to fire all his other employees and how being an artist and caring about your work is a detriment to the job. He was willing to hire me without even seeing my portfolio, but I turned him down, knowing I would just get fired after 2 days. (I actually know someone who was fired from that place on her second day there. Didn't realize it was the same place until I got there though.)
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Oct 6, 2014 06:27
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le capitan posted:What was just previously posted might be helpful for you as well. Etsy would not really work for me. That kind of thing just wouldn't pay the bills and wouldn't give me maternity leave or anything. I need some kind of stable day job.
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Oct 8, 2014 19:45
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le capitan posted:Going off the children's illustrations, maybe try to find a design firm that mostly works on kids toys, books, etc? Perhaps my Google-Fu is not strong, but I did not find any such thing in my city. My searches only ended me up at stores that sell children's items.
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Oct 10, 2014 15:36
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mutata posted:I know very little about you and your situation, but I read it like this: You are looking for extremely specific, specialized work that requires no experience, pays well, is stable, has benefits, doesn't require you to get more education/certification (even though you admit that your current credentials are useless), and doesn't require you to leave the city you currently live in. Unfortunately, it does seem like I'm asking for something like that. I don't need something that pays well and I probably don't need much in the way of benefits. My credentials are a graphic communications certificate from a one year program. I would just like a job where I can do some things that I enjoy and that utilize the skills that I have. I was curious if there was a career avenue that i just hadn't thought about that might be worthwhile to pursue. If you're saying that i'm poo poo out of luck unless I go back to school for a couple more years, then I guess that I'll have to take that as my answer.
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Oct 10, 2014 16:52
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It looks like I may need to take some wed design courses, since pretty much every job posting I've seen is looking for someone to do web stuff. My program had very minimal web design because they wanted to focus solely on print media, with only just enough web classes to make a pretty barebones portfolio site. I did send off a colouring submission to Dark Horse comics the other day. I've been told by some industry professionals that my stuff is solid enough to get work, but I don't really expect to hear back from Dark Horse. It's essentially my dream job to colour professionally, but I really need to stop hanging my hopes on it at this point and work on something more practical and reliable.
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Oct 11, 2014 05:42
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Puppy Time posted:You might try looking into your local chapter of SCBWI for kids stuff. They have some great workshops and conferences, and you can network pretty easily. Ah, too bad. It looks like the "local" chapter only does events that are at least several hours away, if not in another province completely. I'm wondering... Would it be a better idea for me to take a complete web design and development course, or just take the night classes for web stuff on their own?
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Oct 13, 2014 06:58
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kedo posted:Sounds to me like you really just need to pin down exactly what kind of career you want (though I realize that's exactly what you're asking advice on). Taking a single course on web design isn't going to qualify you for a real web design job, though it might make you look a little more appealing to potential employers. However dabbling in different fields isn't always the best approach. Thanks for this. I do feel as though I may be spreading myself too thin. My husband was just saying something similar as far as specialization goes. I need to pick one thing that I want to do and stick to it. As far as greatest strengths go, it's pretty difficult for me to judge that sort of thing, as I'm my own biggest critic. It's certainly not illustration, as much as I enjoy doing it, I still have a long ways to go when it comes to drawing. I'm probably best at coloring, which is already crazy niche and difficult to find work for. I really consider coloring to be the only thing in the world that I'm good at, and even then I'm not pro enough for the big leagues. My rendering really needs a lot of work, which is why I've been working more on my drawimg skills. I just take a look at some of my colouring idols and see how far I am from reaching that skill level. I think I can confidently say that I have a solid eye for colour that I've developed over the years. I really don't know what I can do with that information. How can I apply that to other kinds of jobs? What other skills do I need to make a career? "Liking pretty colours" is not a career and doesn't really require any skill. I need to learn how to be good at things besides pretty colours. I know the creative industry is full of very skilled and talented people, which makes it much harder for someone like myself to find a spot in it. I need to have something to offer. Something that no one but me can provide. And when I think about things like that, I wonder if it might be best to drop out of the idea of having any sort of creative career. Maybe I'm just not meant to be good at that sort of thing. Maybe I'll just never be good enough to compete for jobs like that. Maybe I'm meant to be a secretary who secretly doodles when no one is watching. How many years of dedication would it take for me to become competent at art? I only have a couple of years left before it's time for me to start a family. Anyway, I'm rambling. I'm going to talk to a college registrar tomorrow and maybe see about getting some career counselling. Thank you for the advice, as it's helped me think about what I really need to do to solve my problem.
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Oct 14, 2014 06:51
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JuniperCake posted:Also for design work in particular you don't necessarily need a class for these things (unless you thrive in a structured environment, then go for it). There are a lot of resources on the web that are very good. The important thing is if you do graphic design, do some mock ups every day, if you do web stuff, build a web site every day, etc. That's how you get good at it. When looking at postings for design jobs, all of them demand at least a couple years experience and schooling at a minimum. The only job I was able to get an interview for was one where they guy did not want to see my portfolio. I didn't take that job for a number of reasons. [ quote:And yeah it can be difficult to get into creative work and art in general is loving hard too. But if you know that's what you love then don't give up on it. Age and a family life do not mean you have to stop doing art. It's the frustration from the struggle that might get you if anything. I'm not sure your self imposed deadline to get good at your dream job is helping you out in that respect if it's causing you so much stress that you just want to quit outright. The deadline is because my husband and I agreed to start having kids around 30. And in order to afford children, a house or a car, I would need to have a full time job and start saving money as soon as possible. I just turned 27, so 30 is looking awfully close right about now. Every now and then, I get into bouts of anxiety about my art and career. I look at how far my artist friends have come and how much I've lagged behind and still draw like an 8 year old. Some people in my life are supportive and say I've come a long way and to not give up, while others tell me to look into being a secretary, legal assistant or nurse. It usually encourages me to get back into life drawing (tomorrow night) or take some beginner art classes (back in the spring). I'm consistently plagued with self doubt and sleeping problems when I'm in one of these ruts. Hopefully, I'll have a plan or a job soon and it will pass. The worst part is the anxiety makes me so restless that I can't focus on getting any of my art stuff done! It's a terrible cycle, but I'm glad it only happens once in a while.
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Oct 14, 2014 16:26
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I'll admit I hadn't thought of colour consulting or colour correction before!
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Oct 16, 2014 06:57
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Hey there! So, I'm going back to school in the fall for a Digital Media and IT program. Enrolment starts soon, so I spent some time planning out my schedule for the classes I want to take. I wasn't really paying attention to the names of the teachers, just the days and times of the classes. Once I finally had a schedule I was happy with, I look at the teachers names and see the name of a teacher I had when I took a course through the college 7 years ago. He was the worst. Didn't "believe" in colour theory. My class nearly revolted against him. And now he's teaching 2 out of the possible 3 Visual Communications classes. I just spent an hour staring at the schedule again to see if there was any way I could get the other teacher without dropping important classes. There is not. Anyone have any advice for getting through a class with a teacher you've had issues with in the past? I know 7 years is a long time, but I'm still worried he'll be pulling the same bullshit that he was before.
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Apr 22, 2015 09:15
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PenguinSuit posted:I remember those days horrendously. But it's a good glimpse into the real world after you leave school. Sometimes you are absolutely stuck in a contract that seems against you yet you know you need to complete the contract or face worse consequences. Thank you. I'll do my best to put my feelings aside to learn. I'm at least armed with the knowledge that he will like your work one day and then hate it the next day when you present it to the class. I'm prepared for that now. When I first took his class, his speech got me really excited about what we were going to learn, until I realized that he just had a variation of that speech each day and didn't actually teach us stuff. Sometimes he put on a documentary about an architect or Helvetica and just left. One of the older students stormed out in a fury on that day. I did ask when we were going to learn some colour theory and he just told me he didn't believe in it. He might be a bit better in this course though, since he pretty much admitted that he was only teaching our class in Graphic Communications because he had to. The Digital Media Design students were his babies. And I'm going to be taking the course that used to be Digital Media Design, but has now morphed to include the Computer Science Technology program. Graphic Communications did not give me the web design skills needed for design jobs today, though to be fair, it wasn't really a "design" program. It was more of a "here's what you need to work in a print shop" program.
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Apr 28, 2015 04:16
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kedo posted:Color theory is all what you make of it, really, and at best it's a bunch of suggestions rather than rules. There are plenty of examples of what might traditionally be considered poor color choices working well in a specific context. Just because your professor doesn't closely adhere to what a bunch of aged sycophants say about which colors should be used when doesn't mean he's wrong. Teaching myself will only get me so far when no one will hire you in my city without a two year diploma. School can teach me some programming and JavaScript at the very least. The movie was Helvetica, but that was over 7 years ago, so I barely remember it now. It was good, but it would have been nice if the teacher had stuck around to field questions afterwards. I was hoping to actually take a Colour Theory class in the second semester, but my schedule won't allow for it. It's a shame, cause I just really dig colour and figured it would be a fun class that I would do well in.
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Apr 29, 2015 03:51
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I'm in my final semester of my Digital Media and IT program with a focus on Visual Communication and Web Design. The class I need to complete to graduate is Capstone, and I am in a Web Capstone. Capstone involves the students taking on an industry client in a small group and finding a self-initiated client as a solo project. I only have 2 and a half months to complete a website for each client. My first client proposal was rejected because it was for a portfolio website for a local illustrator. I was told that an artist isn't the best client and that his current website "serves". I then began talks with my old vocal school who has never had a decent website in it's existence. As a former student, I would really like to work with them on giving them a good website, and it's something I feel I can reasonably create on my own within the timeline. I am more of a designer than a developer with some JavaScript experience, so doing an online store or anything with databases, PHP or CMS is beyond me, as I didn't take those classes. I started talking with the owner of the vocal school on Friday and he's been very prompt with responses through Facebook, but was acting as a middle man for one of his instructors who is "in charge" of the non-existent web stuff. I told him to just give me her email so I could discuss it with her directly, since she wants me to build the website on Homestead and that wouldn't be allowed by my instructors. I waited the weekend since I know the school gets busy then, and by Monday, sent the owner another message like "Hey, I sent her an email on Friday, but got no response. Could you let her know to get back to me? I need to get the ball rolling on this project." He said he would let her know. Now it is Wednesday and I sent him another message that unless we can meet up in person within the next week to discuss the project, I will have to find another client as I am already 2 weeks behind and the project is due early April. He said he "talked to her last night and that she will get back to me." I have already messaged another potential client, but have not heard back from them yet. I'm thinking of telling the owner that I need to have an interview before Tuesday because I need a contract signed. I feel I have been too patient just because I wanted to do a project for my former vocal school. How much time is reasonable to give to a client to get back to you before you just drop them?
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Jan 18, 2017 16:50
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Anony Mouse posted:If they're not communicative now it's not going to improve over the course of the project. Imagine waiting days for feedback that you need to have in order to move forward. When they finally do give you feedback, it will be awful because they don't care and make your job ridiculously more difficult. I'd drop them and find someone more enthusiastic about engaging with you. The lady finally got back to me later that day saying it wouldn't work out, as they absolutely NEED to have the site built with Homestead. I recommended a different website builder and wished them luck. The other client got back to me and I had my proposal approved! It's for a local antique mall and they're pretty much letting me do whatever I want with it. The lady's favourite font is Comic Sans, but she understands if I don't use it for the website.  This class also has a group project (groups of two), where we're designing a romantic travel website. Since both my partner and I are designers, we both drew up logos to show her. My partner did several, while I focused on one. We put them in a PDF to show her so she could tell us which one she liked best. Turns out she absolutely hated mine, but preferred the one that I thought was the weakest of my partner's designs. Oh well! Based on her other opinions, it seems like we just have very different tastes, so my partner will be taking the design lead on the project. It's a little disappointing that the client and I don't jive, but that's life. At least the project is still going. Another group had their project put to a halt when the client revealed they just wanted the students to add e-commerce to their site without redesigning it (it was quite ugly, so the students who chose it really wanted to make it look nice). Another of my classes is Portfolio Development, and I have my business card design due tomorrow night. What's a good tagline or job title for someone who does graphic design, web design, colours and illustration? I don't wanna go with anything lame like "Creative Guru". I was thinking of "Makes things pretty" because that's how I like to describe the things I do.
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Jan 26, 2017 09:58
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Anony Mouse posted:I'm glad you found something that will work out! We had shown the client a different romantic travel website as an example. She really took to this other website and it seems she just wants that website now. She also now wants a blog for some reason. Her hosting is on Wordpress and neither me nor my partner have taken the CMS class so we have no experience with building a Wordpress site and will have to learn over the next 2 months to build the website for her. We're going to have to have an in depth conversation with her about exactly what she wants and why. In our initial interview with her, I asked what feeling she wanted her audience to have when they came to her site and her response was "I want them to feel that they want to hire me." This project will certainly be an excellent learning experience if nothing else, even if it fails. quote:As for a "tagline", feel free to drop it and keep it simple. IMO your name, contact info, and professional title are all you really need. When you give it out you will ideally be in a face-to-face situation where you can give a stronger first impression than your card ever will. Toeing the line of trying to be cute can backfire. My instructor for this class (not a designer) encouraged us to have one. I don't know what I would put for a single "professional title" either. Designer? I have until the end of the semester to really refine my card, resume, portfolio and personal branding. There is a student expo at the end of the semester where industry folks come to check out the students' work, though one instructor said it might not be happening this year. I just received my next Art Direction assignment which is to create a 12 page magazine "documentary". (It was originally a film project, but the instructor changed it to a print project.) It will showcase our portfolio as well as contain a personal biography. Something we could hand to potential employers at expo, so long as we still have an expo. I'm excited about it! Ferrule posted:Just gonna echo the poster above me. I guess I just don't know where the line is between "too cute" and acceptable. Or will that differ from person to person? How does one appear professional without seeming boring? How does one showcase some personality without falling into the "too cute" trap? Many of the creative professionals I know in real life are illustrators and colourists, so they often involve cute illustrations as part of their personal branding. I would like my branding to accurately reflect myself and my style, but I don't want to commit the faux pas of being "too cute" in my effort to do so. Do you have any good examples of business cards and branding that are professional, but also have personality and style? I would greatly appreciate another perspective! I fear my own preferences may lie in the "too cute" camp.  kedo posted:Also don't go too over the top design-wise. Your card should be engaging and visually interesting without being gaudy or difficult to read. Designers often take cards a bit too far and it doesn't show their skill, it shows their lack of restraint and taste. Agreed. I don't want to over design it.
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Jan 30, 2017 00:32
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Today is my last day of class from my 2 year program studying web and print design. We had an Expo to showcase our work to potential employers on Wednesday, and though a few people took my resume and cards, no one handed me their card or talked about any particular positions they had open. The animation expo next door brought in a few game development folks, one of whom asked why I didn't have "game designer" on my resume after I expressed interest in designing game UIs or doing character design. Is that something I should consider if I want to reach out to local gaming studios? Right now, my plan is to keep my eyes open on indeed for new job postings and print up some little flyers to drop off at local businesses. There are some businesses down the street from me who haven't updated their brand in 20+ years. I'm also considering sending out cover letters and resumes to companies that aren't actively hiring, but that I would be really interested in working for. I'm wondering if there's anything else I could do to improve my chances of finding a good job.
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Apr 21, 2017 19:04
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That's true! I'm going to develop a few more portfolio pieces that really showcase the kind of work I want to do.
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Apr 21, 2017 22:21
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Similarly, my portfolio is also mostly school projects, though some of them were for real local businesses and a couple others were real clients we worked with and built websites for as part of our Capstone class. I also did a logo design for someone else's Capstone website, but they ended up not picking a final colour scheme in time. I've been applying for jobs this past week, but there's very few that come up. I spent a decent amount of time preparing a cover letter for one position that seemed really great, but then Indeed asked if I had the required bachelor's degree. I do not have a bachelor's, but I do have a collective 3 years of directly relevant education and have been using Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign for over 10 years. That's all in my cover letter, but I'm worried that I'll get glossed over because of the lack of a bachelor's. I don't know how Indeed works on the employer's end. All of my instructors had been very encouraging and reassuring about my job prospects, but I'm still worried. I'm going to keep fleshing out my portfolio and replacing older work and school work with any real projects I get in the meantime. I sent out prospecting emails to a few companies and got a response from one saying that they're not hiring now, but will keep my info on file since they were impressed by my portfolio.
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Apr 29, 2017 18:46
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So I graduated from my Digital Media and IT program in late April and have been looking for a design job ever since. I've got an interview on Thursday and it's only the second one I've had since I started looking. I was told to bring my printed portfolio, so I'm going over my work to put one together. I have heard that one shouldn't put school projects in their portfolio. What should I do if the majority of my work from the past 2 years, and most certainly my best work is from school? What if the school project was done for a real, local business? One of my instructors had us do a rebranding of a real, local business with the idea that the company would pay one of the students for their work. Unfortunately, my instructor was never able to get someone from the company to come see our work, but it ended up being one of the projects I was most proud of. Other projects involved redesigning a local high school's logo and designing certificates and thank you cards for the local food bank. Would those be acceptable to put in a portfolio? My Capstone class involved building 2 websites for real, local clients, though one of those clients had us take her website down because she changed her mind about what she wanted. Should I only have the 1 website in my portfolio, or would it be okay to still show my final designs for the website that was taken down? I also did some logo design work for another group's Capstone project. I worked directly with the client, but he never got back to me about which colour scheme he wanted to go with. Their current website is still using an older version of the logo. I'd like to use the logo in my portfolio. Should I just choose the version with my preferred colour scheme? A designer friend of mine suggested I do some unpaid internships and free work for non-profits to get more experience, though all the internships I have been seeing lately have been student only positions. Is this a good idea? Should I just try to find a company I like and ask to work there for free for a few months or ask to design things for a non-profit?
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Jun 13, 2017 20:39
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So, it looks like unpaid internships in my province are only legal if they are part of a school program, otherwise interns must be paid minimum wage. If I were to gain more experience freelancing, to build my portfolio with real projects, what would be a good way to do that? I have a profile on some freelancing websites and just recently signed up for Upwork. Are there any other avenues i could try to get freelance work?
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Jun 13, 2017 22:38
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Yeah, after looking at some postings on Upwork and seeings things like "Expert Logo Design" with a budget of $30... I'm not too thrilled about my prospects. :/ I can't really think of any advantages I might have over other entry level designers except for having more years experience with Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator. I've done a couple things for a family member and a friend of mine since graduating. An arcade cabinet decal and a logo and business card. I'll try to get more work like that. I'll check out local meetups too!
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Jun 14, 2017 00:09
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I was looking at other jobs as well, but those admin jobs with minor graphic design roles all seem to want degrees in administration and at least 5 years experience in an administrative position (but they still want you to be a MASTER of all Adobe products). Looking at a variety of other entry level positions, they all seem to require highly specialized training and experience that I simply don't have. I went back to school because working retail was depressing and I needed to escape. My resume is just retail, freelance comic colouring, freelance graphic design (what little I've done over the years) and freelance illustration. I specialized in web design while in school, so I know HTML5, CSS3, some JavaScript and how to build responsive websites. I figured that would give me a leg up on getting hired somewhere since I have experience with both print and web. Is there anything worthwhile that I can do with these skills?
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Jun 14, 2017 19:00
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Neon Noodle posted:Yes. Maybe look into marketing. Lots of companies need people (particularly younger people) to get their marketing stuff into the 21st century. MANY businesses and non-profits have been left behind and have, say, only a Facebook page as their online presence. If you can make a web site and design a thing, and you understand how the Internet works, it can matter more than having a business-related degree. Also, you write well enough (judging by your posts) that you could be writing copy for things like that. Don't be discouraged by job "requirements" (unless they're highly technical like driving a forklift or having a CS degree). Most job ads are bullshit. Apply anyway. It doesn't hurt you to do so. I wrote nearly all the copy for one of my Capstone websites! But a few weeks ago, the client emailed me and demanded we take the website down because of errors in the text. Errors that she had plenty of time to inform us of and were a result of her being misleading about her work. She was a bit of a nightmare client, but my instructors were really supportive of us and how we were handling her. When given a lot of freedom, my designs tend to be very fun and colourful. I would be very interested in doing design work related to kids or teens. I really enjoy the opportunities I get to do drawings for children at local events and I've had a couple people interested in hiring me as a children's illustrator, but nothing really panned out. I think game design is really cool, but I already sent out prospecting letters to all the companies here, with a couple small companies letting me know that "they're not hiring, but my work is impressive so they'll keep me on file," which I know means that I'll never hear back. I took a very disappointing Character Design class in school because I've always been interested in the theory behind good character design. The class was just Figure Drawing 101. I know that actually getting a decent job in games is a ridiculous idea. It's just that some of my design role models are from games and the Persona games really make me want to be an art director. I know it's silly. gmc9987 posted:Many of the more intimidating-sounding job requirements (X years of experience, master in Photoshop, etc.) are more to help keep completely unqualified people from wasting HR's time than actual requirements for the job. For example, many jobs being offered at startups in the SF Bay area say they require 5 years of experience in technology that is less than 2 years old. Granted, there's a lot of bay area tech-startup hubris involved as well, but the point still stands. If you feel you could reasonably do the job advertised but you only have 3 years experience instead of 5, apply anyway. The only hard and fast thing that should keep you are if they require certifications. Also, network network network. Knowing someone who works at a company will do wonders for helping to get an interview. I've mostly been using Indeed to apply for jobs, and they have a radio button for certain requirements. So many design jobs have given me the question "Do you have the required Associates/Bachelors degree?" And I have to say no because I just have a 2 year diploma in web design and a Graphic Communications certificate. It's also tricky when they ask for a hard number of how many years experience you have. When freelancing work is few and far between, how do you compress it down? Would my experience flatting and colouring comics for a few years count? I just don't know! I've had to explain what colouring is at most of my job interviews. I got my Graphic Communications certificate nearly 10 years ago, but print shops wouldn't hire me due to lack of experience, so I worked retail while trying to get regular colouring work. I'm very nearly 30 and just starting my career, but I look much younger, so people often treat me like a kid. Even one of my instructors that was my age kept forgetting that I wasn't fresh out of high school.
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Jun 14, 2017 21:07
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I will, thanks! I'm trying to reach out to as many people as I can. It's just difficult when the self doubt clouds everything over and all I can think is that maybe I really do suck. Maybe I wasted 2 years of my life by going back to school. Maybe I'm destined to be a retail slave forever and should give up on seeking a career I love. But I'm gonna try not to think like that! I have to be positive and confident in my cover letters!
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Jun 20, 2017 03:49
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So, I seem to have been invited back for a second interview for a graphic design job. The first interview was only about 15-20 minutes long, so there wasn't a lot of time to discuss details of the position. They mainly wanted to see my portfolio and be walked through my creative process. They did ask if I had a GST number and if I would be up for getting one. (If you make 30k or more in a year, you have to have one.) They also asked me my hourly rate. This is a contract position, so I would like to prepare some questions for my second interview. The company is a business planning company, so I would be doing work for them, as well as their clients with branding, ads, newsletters etc.. I'm wondering if it's expected to work on site in this kind of role, or if working remotely is more common, with meetings with clients as necessary. I'm pretty new to this sort of work, so what are some questions I should be asking about the job?
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Sep 26, 2017 16:48
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Those are all excellent questions! Thanks! I'll write them down to make sure I don't forget to ask them at the next interview.
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Sep 27, 2017 18:48
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Ferrule posted:Another question - if it's contracted and at an hourly rate, ask if they take out taxes or not. Some places will handle that for you, some pay you the gross amount and you have to do the tax stuff on your own. That's a good point. I THINK if you have a GST number, you have to charge the GST to your customers yourself, but I'll have to look into it.
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Sep 28, 2017 22:04
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