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Tag: KDY 2016

  • KDY 2016: Celeb illustrator Yuko’s 10 ways to stay ahead of the curve

    KDY 2016: Celeb illustrator Yuko’s 10 ways to stay ahead of the curve

    JAIPUR: Finding the right balance between passion for art and client expectation has been a perpetual struggle in the design and illustration industry. Artists and illustrators often hesitate to aim big due to lack of exposure or self doubts to perform in the market. But not Yuko  Shimizu.

    A celebrated illustrator, Shimizu is well aware of all these aspects having been there and done that. Thus, while addressing the young creative minds at Kyoorius Designyatra 2016, she did away with the ‘this is my work’- type of presentation. Instead, she shared ten tenets that she learned from her own experiences, which could help young illustrators meet international standards.

    Her answer to the theme, ‘Why Am I Here’, was ‘to influence at least one person to chase his/her passion as an illustrator.’ Enumerated here are her 10 gems:

    1.       Take at least one small risk everyday: Warning illustrators from being complacent and taking the comfortable route of sticking to the tried and tested style, Shimizu encourages them to try one new thing each day to keep the work refreshing.  Don’t overdo it by making a sudden drastic change in how you work because that may upset your work flow. An inch at a time is good enough.

    2.      Clients love photography way more than illustrations: It’s a reality and Shimizu’s advice is to admit it and then deal with it. How? Come up with ideas that cannot be replicated in a photograph. Unlike a photograph, the only thing holding back an illustration is the artist’s imagination.

    3.     Have high ambitions, work harder for it: Shimizu isn’t an advocate for mediocrity. She believes there is no harm in dreaming big, provided one has the diligence to back it.

    4.     Learn to say no: Don’t take a project that will take your sleep away, and I don’t mean all nighters, Shimizu says, adding that every illustrator stands for something, and shouldn’t compromise with what they strongly feel about despite monetary considerations. It is okay to say no. Shimizu, however, understands that sometimes artists have to take hard calls to pay their bills and work for what they love.

    5.     It is okay to turn down a job: Resonating what she mentioned before, Shimizu opines that turning down a client for the lack of time or otherwise shouldn’t trouble an illustrator as there is always another artist to take up that job.

    6.     Help others, especially new comers: Shimizu strongly believes that for the illustrator community to function and thrive, everyone has to be supportive of each other. “If there is a work you cannot commit to, don’t hesitate to recommend others. And those who have made a name for themselves can look out for the new emerging illustrators by references,” she advises.

    7.     A project isn’t successful until the client thinks so: Shimizu asks young professionals to bear in mind that their personal verdict on a piece of work isn’t valid  as ultimately it should satisfy the client whose ideas they need to bring to life through art.

    8.     Once you commit, give your 100 per cent to finish the task: While Shimizu gives enough leeway to illustrators to back away from a project, once someone commits to an assignment, there is no turning back. No matter how complicated the process is, delivering work on time should be the artist’s prerogative.

    9.     Some things are more important than money: Shimizu encourages working for non-for-profit organisations because sometimes it adds more value to one’s work than what a client may pay. What’s more, when there is no money involved, illustrators can give their creativity a free run.

    10.   Put your anger to work: Working as an artist can be a gruelling and complicated experience. There is enough reason to get angry or feeling strongly about something. “If bitching to your friends and family doesn’t help you get over an issue, channelize it to your work,” she advises.

  • KDY 2016: Celeb illustrator Yuko’s 10 ways to stay ahead of the curve

    KDY 2016: Celeb illustrator Yuko’s 10 ways to stay ahead of the curve

    JAIPUR: Finding the right balance between passion for art and client expectation has been a perpetual struggle in the design and illustration industry. Artists and illustrators often hesitate to aim big due to lack of exposure or self doubts to perform in the market. But not Yuko  Shimizu.

    A celebrated illustrator, Shimizu is well aware of all these aspects having been there and done that. Thus, while addressing the young creative minds at Kyoorius Designyatra 2016, she did away with the ‘this is my work’- type of presentation. Instead, she shared ten tenets that she learned from her own experiences, which could help young illustrators meet international standards.

    Her answer to the theme, ‘Why Am I Here’, was ‘to influence at least one person to chase his/her passion as an illustrator.’ Enumerated here are her 10 gems:

    1.       Take at least one small risk everyday: Warning illustrators from being complacent and taking the comfortable route of sticking to the tried and tested style, Shimizu encourages them to try one new thing each day to keep the work refreshing.  Don’t overdo it by making a sudden drastic change in how you work because that may upset your work flow. An inch at a time is good enough.

    2.      Clients love photography way more than illustrations: It’s a reality and Shimizu’s advice is to admit it and then deal with it. How? Come up with ideas that cannot be replicated in a photograph. Unlike a photograph, the only thing holding back an illustration is the artist’s imagination.

    3.     Have high ambitions, work harder for it: Shimizu isn’t an advocate for mediocrity. She believes there is no harm in dreaming big, provided one has the diligence to back it.

    4.     Learn to say no: Don’t take a project that will take your sleep away, and I don’t mean all nighters, Shimizu says, adding that every illustrator stands for something, and shouldn’t compromise with what they strongly feel about despite monetary considerations. It is okay to say no. Shimizu, however, understands that sometimes artists have to take hard calls to pay their bills and work for what they love.

    5.     It is okay to turn down a job: Resonating what she mentioned before, Shimizu opines that turning down a client for the lack of time or otherwise shouldn’t trouble an illustrator as there is always another artist to take up that job.

    6.     Help others, especially new comers: Shimizu strongly believes that for the illustrator community to function and thrive, everyone has to be supportive of each other. “If there is a work you cannot commit to, don’t hesitate to recommend others. And those who have made a name for themselves can look out for the new emerging illustrators by references,” she advises.

    7.     A project isn’t successful until the client thinks so: Shimizu asks young professionals to bear in mind that their personal verdict on a piece of work isn’t valid  as ultimately it should satisfy the client whose ideas they need to bring to life through art.

    8.     Once you commit, give your 100 per cent to finish the task: While Shimizu gives enough leeway to illustrators to back away from a project, once someone commits to an assignment, there is no turning back. No matter how complicated the process is, delivering work on time should be the artist’s prerogative.

    9.     Some things are more important than money: Shimizu encourages working for non-for-profit organisations because sometimes it adds more value to one’s work than what a client may pay. What’s more, when there is no money involved, illustrators can give their creativity a free run.

    10.   Put your anger to work: Working as an artist can be a gruelling and complicated experience. There is enough reason to get angry or feeling strongly about something. “If bitching to your friends and family doesn’t help you get over an issue, channelize it to your work,” she advises.

  • KDY 2016: Handsome Frank on the business of creativity

    KDY 2016: Handsome Frank on the business of creativity

    JAIPUR: They were once in the mad corporate race, but opted out to discover the joy of working for themselves and the artistic freedom it brings. Since then, Tom Robinson and Jon Cockley have tried to give the same to the artist community cross the world — by bringing them under their banner of Handsome Frank, a UK based illustration agency.

    What Jon and Tom really do is represent close to 35 international illustrators, including the likes of Jean Jullien and Mallika Favre, and connect them to clients, and vice versa.

    Unlike any other job, Tom and Jon are required to understand each artist and their ways of expression to find a befitting job that respects the artist’s unique creative expression.

    Indiantelevision.com caught up with the dynamic duo during their visit to Jaipur for Kyoorius Designyatra 2016 and picked their brains on how they stay true the artists and still not compromise on business. In short, what it takes to keep the artists happy and the agency profitable. Excerpts from the conversation:

    Q1. How do you manage the business and keep it separate from the creative process so artists can only focus on their work?

    Tom:  There are four of us who take turns to handle things. At times one does the editorial and design, while another deals with the client.

    Jon: Apart from our varied skill sets, if the brief from the client is very technical, and requires animation and CGI, then Tom is more likely to pick it up.

    Q2. How involved are you in each of the projects?

    Tom: When we are picking an illustrator for a particular project, we keep an eye on the commercial appeal, making sure that the client is going to look at it positively, be it advertisement in print or a TV commercial. Once the project kicks off, our involvement varies quite a lot. Some artists are very hands on themselves, and we are comfortable just being copied on the mails with the clients.

    But there are illustrators who don’t want that at all. So we come forward and sort of act as a bridge between the client and the illustrator. It is about learning and respecting how each illustrator wants to work.

    Q3. They say it is hard to work with creative people like artists and illustrators. How do you change the perception?

    Jon: For me there is a big difference between an artist and an illustrator. An artist essentially creates for himself or herself and puts the art out to the world. An illustrator is hired to bring somebody else’s ideas to life. All illustrators we represent are very aware of this.

    Tom: Illustrators are also people and have emotions. They are not machines at the other end of the illustration process who just churn out work. You have to take into account people’s emotions. Some illustrators can get offended by feedback and a lot of clients write feedback in a very pragmatic and stale way that can come across as hurtful. That is when the professionalism comes in. Some learn the hard way that a negative feedback is sometimes for the better.

    Q4 .Have you worked with Indian clients/brands? Are you open to work in India?

    Jon: Yes, a couple of them, and we are open to accepting more work from here. When we started off, we thought we would only operate within the UK, but in the last five years we were surprised at how people from all over the world were reaching out to us, wanting to work with our illustrators. We have done work is Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, the US and across Europe. We judge a brief on things other than the geographical boundaries. We judge it on whether the project will be exciting or not. Obviously the timing and budgets do play a role for the artists.

    Q5. Do illustrators, especially independent ones, need help with marketing? Is marketing important to acquire good assignments?

    Jon: I agree that artists too need marketing but I don’t think they need an agent to do the job. A lot of them think they need an agent to find for them  work in the market. I think it’s the value of their work, built through their portfolio, which takes them through to the market and gets them more work. Good work will always get noticed.

    Tom: I doubt there are enough hours in a day for creative people to be business-like and do self promotion, especially when they are busy creating. To have a secondary voice spreading the word about their work is a huge help to them, I feel.

  • KDY 2016: Handsome Frank on the business of creativity

    KDY 2016: Handsome Frank on the business of creativity

    JAIPUR: They were once in the mad corporate race, but opted out to discover the joy of working for themselves and the artistic freedom it brings. Since then, Tom Robinson and Jon Cockley have tried to give the same to the artist community cross the world — by bringing them under their banner of Handsome Frank, a UK based illustration agency.

    What Jon and Tom really do is represent close to 35 international illustrators, including the likes of Jean Jullien and Mallika Favre, and connect them to clients, and vice versa.

    Unlike any other job, Tom and Jon are required to understand each artist and their ways of expression to find a befitting job that respects the artist’s unique creative expression.

    Indiantelevision.com caught up with the dynamic duo during their visit to Jaipur for Kyoorius Designyatra 2016 and picked their brains on how they stay true the artists and still not compromise on business. In short, what it takes to keep the artists happy and the agency profitable. Excerpts from the conversation:

    Q1. How do you manage the business and keep it separate from the creative process so artists can only focus on their work?

    Tom:  There are four of us who take turns to handle things. At times one does the editorial and design, while another deals with the client.

    Jon: Apart from our varied skill sets, if the brief from the client is very technical, and requires animation and CGI, then Tom is more likely to pick it up.

    Q2. How involved are you in each of the projects?

    Tom: When we are picking an illustrator for a particular project, we keep an eye on the commercial appeal, making sure that the client is going to look at it positively, be it advertisement in print or a TV commercial. Once the project kicks off, our involvement varies quite a lot. Some artists are very hands on themselves, and we are comfortable just being copied on the mails with the clients.

    But there are illustrators who don’t want that at all. So we come forward and sort of act as a bridge between the client and the illustrator. It is about learning and respecting how each illustrator wants to work.

    Q3. They say it is hard to work with creative people like artists and illustrators. How do you change the perception?

    Jon: For me there is a big difference between an artist and an illustrator. An artist essentially creates for himself or herself and puts the art out to the world. An illustrator is hired to bring somebody else’s ideas to life. All illustrators we represent are very aware of this.

    Tom: Illustrators are also people and have emotions. They are not machines at the other end of the illustration process who just churn out work. You have to take into account people’s emotions. Some illustrators can get offended by feedback and a lot of clients write feedback in a very pragmatic and stale way that can come across as hurtful. That is when the professionalism comes in. Some learn the hard way that a negative feedback is sometimes for the better.

    Q4 .Have you worked with Indian clients/brands? Are you open to work in India?

    Jon: Yes, a couple of them, and we are open to accepting more work from here. When we started off, we thought we would only operate within the UK, but in the last five years we were surprised at how people from all over the world were reaching out to us, wanting to work with our illustrators. We have done work is Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, the US and across Europe. We judge a brief on things other than the geographical boundaries. We judge it on whether the project will be exciting or not. Obviously the timing and budgets do play a role for the artists.

    Q5. Do illustrators, especially independent ones, need help with marketing? Is marketing important to acquire good assignments?

    Jon: I agree that artists too need marketing but I don’t think they need an agent to do the job. A lot of them think they need an agent to find for them  work in the market. I think it’s the value of their work, built through their portfolio, which takes them through to the market and gets them more work. Good work will always get noticed.

    Tom: I doubt there are enough hours in a day for creative people to be business-like and do self promotion, especially when they are busy creating. To have a secondary voice spreading the word about their work is a huge help to them, I feel.