3 Point Perspective: The Illustration Podcast

Every student has the question: "How much will I make in illustration?" The frustrating thing is that this is too often avoided or glossed over in school, which honestly, is a bit crazy! In this episode we hope to cut through the fog of uncertainty and shed some real light on what the market is like and how much you can expect to make in illustration, in different fields, and in different stages of your career.

What is The Creative Bank Account? We have mentioned it a lot in past episodes and it’s about time we talked about the source of all good ideas: what it is, how does it work and what are the best strategies for filling your personal creative bank account.

Every time we get an offer to do a book we feel super grateful and flattered that someone would want one of us to illustrate a book for them, but for many reasons we can’t say yes. In this episode we get into the details of book publishing, including the economic, social, and career building reasons we take on certain book projects, and why we say no to others.

Our first mailbag episode! Lee, Will, and Jake will be answering questions that people in the forums have been asking; there are lots of great questions, some fun questions, tons of insightful answers, and even some differing opinions.

Today we tackle the subject of fan art. We discuss what it is, what it isn't, whether or not you should do it, and the legality of it. We definitely are of three minds on this one so get ready for some arguing!

In this episode we swallow some pride and take a look at some of our less stellar moments. These are the times we wish we had a rewind button for life and could do things over. We have take away points from each story so you don’t have to make our mistakes again. Hopefully, none of you are as dumb as us!

Today we talk about one of the main things that separates the pros from the amateurs: Having the ability to not just come up with the idea of a project, but to carry that idea all the way through to the actual production and shipping of it. In this episode we cover what it means to "ship" something. We share stories from our own careers, and discuss ways to go from an creator who isn't producing to one who is consistently putting out actual tangible things into the world. We talk about how to overcome the obstacles preventing you from shipping.  And Jake ends the podcast with his 10 item list on how to take a project from start to finish.

Many people wonder, is it too late? Or, am I too old to start? Will, Lee, and Jake talk about this age old question and discuss how it isn’t too late. There are many successful creatives that didn’t start until they were older. Lee shares his story and how he didn’t start art until later on in life. We talk about ways you can amp up and make the most of your early years if you are starting for the first time, or looking to accelerate your growth later in life. We discuss some of the benefits of age and the need for sacrifice and prioritizing to create a thriving career in art.

Many artists work hard and try to get there their work out there, hoping to break into the illustration world and then...nothing happens. No clients offering work. No e-mails. No phone calls. And they wonder why no one wants to hire them. We offer our perspective on why you might not be getting hired (yet), and then go into great detail on strategies and give practical advice on overcoming that hurdle and really standing out. We discuss: -what might be missing in your work, and how to not miss the mark -how to give yourself a self-audit and honestly judge your work, using Will’s 9-Square approach -discovering specific principles to improve from looking at your heroes work -why you should be copying and absorbing masters’ work -getting feedback from a professional and creating a feedback loop -the need for interest and storytelling in your work -how to handle critique and the proper attitude to have -how to be a more interesting person All that and much more!

Coming soon: 3 Point Perspective, a podcast where illustrators Will Terry, Lee White, and Jake Parker talk about illustration; how to do it, how to make a living at it, and how to make an impact in the world with your art. Your hosts are Jake Parker, Will Terry, and Lee White. For the last 25 years, they've all worked with just about every major publisher and every publication in the biz. They've collectively published about 50 books, and have all taught at universities. Each week, they're going to tackle a subject related to an illustration from their three different perspectives. Sometimes they'll agree, sometimes they're gonna argue, but you are going to learn something new every time.