Nigel Sussman (not the politician) is a mural artist, illustrator, art director and designer. His complex compositions are born from an exhaustive sketchbook practice, which he documents on his blog. I asked him a couple of questions and got a very expansive response.
Firstly, could you describe what led you to your current profession?
You seem to have received a huge amount of commissions from clients, how do you approach commercial briefs compared to, for instance a more personally driven project?
I took a look at your site and I like your style and attention to detail. Nice work!
I also studied illustration in college, but right out of school I took a job in design/advertising because full-time illustration jobs are VERY rare. Also, I was playing bass in a rock band which was taking alot of my time and creative energy, recording and playing shows (of course i did the posters, merch, website, and album covers for our band) I worked my way up to an advertising art director over the years, all the while doing personal projects and the occasional commission in my "free time".
I did this mostly because the San Francisco Bay Area is pretty expensive place to live, and being a starving artist was not something i felt like doing forever.
A few years ago the band broke up due to the lead singer having kids, and I decided that I needed to get back into illustration. Luckily the ad agency i was working for at the time let me have a relatively flexible schedule, so I started hustling and trying to find illustration jobs any way I could. From physically approaching business owners to offer my services, to responding to craigslist creative gigs classified ads.
Over the course of several years, my illustration business steadily got more and more busy until i could not maintain both the full-time ad job and the illustration at the same time. Only then did i quit the day-job and now work in my home studio in Berkeley.
Personal projects always seem to have more "passion" and "spark" in them, that can sometimes be killed by picky clients. It is sometimes hard to inject the same amount of enthusiasm into a project that isnt 100% your idea, and not every job is "portfolio worthy". I learnt a lot about how to mitigate client expectations by working as a commercial designer/art director for 10 years, and there really is no trick besides being very patient. Also, only about 60% of the work that I do gets showcased on my portfolio. Some of it I just wasn't as pleased with, and some of it is good, but doesn't help enhance the style/feel I am trying to create in my body of work. Posting too much of a variety of things can be confusing for potential clients. They want to know what to expect when they hire you. I try to only display the types of things that I want to get more work doing.
- This reflects what I have experienced with my own commercial briefs, patience proved to be pretty key. It was easy to become frustrated, however I rationalised at the time that there was a reason for every decision. I understood that delays are inevitable, and I understood that my creative input was secondary to that of the client.
It is interesting that Nigel has pushed deliberately for work that is very consistent, a great way to show clients exactly what they are going to get.
Best of luck to you in your illustration career! It is not an easy route to take, but if you have the dedication and a bit of business sense/hustle you can get there. My overarching advice would be: Maximize exposure, nowadays you cannot afford to only have a website. you must be active in ALL the social media, all the forums and groups, all the promotion, and all the contests (be wary of ones that charge you up front). make sure you have a good sticker or business card and give to anybody you meet that is REMOTELY interested.
You must constantly be drawing to improve your craft. If you don't have a commission, then create a personal project.
And always be nice to everyone and never burn any bridges. There are a lot of people who can draw, but there are not as many who can draw, are reliable and easy to work with. That is what will give you repeat customers and network referrals. This is a huge part of how a small business like ours grows.
Nigel's response has supported many things I have learned from previous chats, Big Heads and professional talks. He seems to represent the success of illustrators that are extremely proactive, he has sought out work, competitions and has reaped the rewards and is able to sustain a good income from his practice.
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