‘Animation Insider’ Interview

Recently I was interviewed by Mike Milo over at Animation Insider about my work and about my upcoming Pose Drawing Sparkbook. Thanks Mike!

I’ve Been Interviewed On DesignMontage.com

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Australian designer Jenica Smith publishes designmontage.com, a website which brings together an eclectic mix of creative goodies from all corners of the internet – design, illustration, photography, animation, and the like. She’s just posted a short interview with me about my illustration work and career. I encourage all my blog readers to take a poke around the site. There’s some really neat stuff, and I’m very flattered to be included.

 

My “Creative Independence” Podcast Interview

Recently I was interviewed by illustrator Bob Ostrom for his podcast “Creative Independence”. The interview is now available online.

Bob’s not only a good illustrator but a super nice guy who’s very knowledgeable about the freelance biz. Since starting his podcast he’s interviewed a long list of successful freelancers and many of them have some very valuable advice to offer on a variety of topics related to freelancing. The Creative Independence podcast is available both on the CI website and through iTunes. I encourage you to browse the episodes and give some of them a listen.

In my interview we discussed such topics as self-promotion, networking, and social media. I hope some of my ramblings at the very least will be interesting and at the very most will be helpful to anyone trying to build a freelance career.

Portfolio Tips

Tim Hodge (former Disney artist and an Executive Producer on 3-2-1 Penguins!) recently posted some great tips on assembling your portfolio:

Portfolio Submissions

If you are an art student, job hunting, or just trying to break into commercial art or animation, this is some great stuff to know when interviewing for a position. Since Hodge’s background is in the animation industry, his advice is geared towards landing a job in that field. However, much of what he says can also apply to the fields of illustration or graphic design.

Yes, even if you freelance.

The internet is the new and improved way for a freelancer to show off his/her work, but that doesn’t mean the old-school physical portfolio is entirely obsolete. While a website will do the lion’s share of your self-promotion, there will still be times when you have to present your portfolio to potential clients face-to-face. Especially local clients. In the last month I’ve actually shown my book twice: Once at the Hasbro freelance fair where it was thumbed through by several dozen people, and just last week when an art director at a local ad agency asked me to come in and show my work to his creative team as a sort of pseudo-interview.

And of course, if you are interviewing for a full-time position you will almost certainly need to carry a portfolio with you to interviews. If so, be sure to heed Hodge’s advice.

Peter de Seve Interview

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Here’s a short but sweet interview with Peter de Seve about his sketchbook. I own a copy and it is incredible stuff. De Seve’s work is amazing. Besides being one of the world’s most sought-after illustrators, de Seve has also done character design work for movies such as A Bug’s Life, Prince of Egypt, and Ice Age. His website is well worth a visit.