Si Clark Interview
11. How did you first establish contact with a client?
I started working freelance 6 years ago. It's something I went
straight into and to be honest, I didn't give it much thought. If I did I might
have worried too much about it. I started getting work by looking through
various online job sites. I applied for as many jobs as I could and eventually
got one. I can't remember what is was, one of my first projects was doing some
illustration work for a dentist. He had posted an ad saying that he needed an
illustrator/animator which I replied to, sending him links to my website and
got the job. So it was all through email, that's pretty much how I conduct
almost all of my business.
22. How are your work habits? How do you go about
dealing with your projects, deadlines, and the like?
I normally am working
on a number of different projects at any given time. For example at the moment
I am working on 1 music video, 2 children's book projects, 1 private
illustration, 1 illustration for a fashion magazine, 1 leaflet illustration, 1
web animated cartoon, 2 album covers and small job changing some information on
some leaflets. Sometimes it's a little difficult to balance everything but
normally each project has very different deadlines and I just sort them into
ones that are urgent and ones that are not so urgent. There is also a lot of
waiting involved as clients look over various stages and give feedback. So that
means you can do the first part of project A and then while you are waiting for
feedback you can start projects B and C and so on.
I have a work diary
which I try and write down lists for each day and can then easily prioritise
which jobs to do first. I find this is a huge help to me and I can structure my
day and be very productive. Sometimes it is hard working from home as you can
be easily distracted but I seem to do ok.
As I work from home I
normally spend the mornings sorting out chores and food shopping and then leave
the rest of the afternoon and evening for work. Even though I am quite good at
managing my time there have still been many occassions when I have to work all
through the night to get work done but I work well under pressure so it's not
too much of a problem.
33. How
helpful is your internet presence and website?
My website and internet
presence is VITAL. That is one of the most important things to do if you want
to become an illustrator or any kind of artist. If you don't know how to build
a site or can't afford to pay someone else to do it then just use one of the
many free online gallery sites like Deviant Art or GFX Artist or just start a
blog. You need something so you can send interested parties to your portfolio.
I spent the first few years of being freelance finding as many online galleries
as I could and putting as much work on there as I was allowed. At the time it
might seem almost pointless as you might not get instant responses but
hopefully overtime more and more people will see your work.
Also enter as many
competitions as you can, sites like Deviant Art have them all the time. Just do
anything to get your work out there, that is the most important thing. It's clichéd
but you never know who might be looking. I have had countless jobs from random
people all over the world that have seen my artwork on one of the many sites it's
on and have asked me to do work for them. This happens all of the time.
So you need to put a lot of time and
effort in to build up your internet presence but hopefully that will pay off
and lots of people will find your work. I'm not that great at it at the moment,
I've been meaning to update my website for ages but have been too busy.
44. I
see that you have other skills besides Illustration under your belt. Are there
any other skills you have that you feel are helpful or ideal for an illustrator
to have?
If you going to be an
illustrator then most likely you will be freelance and self employed so will
need as much work as you can. Therefore it makes sense to learn some other
skills so you can get other kinds of work when illlustration jobs dry up. There
are always loads of graphic design and web design jobs out there. I don't know
anything about them, my other job is as an animator. My work load is pretty
evenly split between both animation and illustration.
55. Were
there any non-art related classes you took in college that you feel have
helped/influenced your work?
I wasn’t really aware
of any non-art classes at our art college, it wasn’t that big. I spend pretty
much all of my time on my artwork so I have very little time for anything else.
It’s my job and my hobby.
66. What
sorts of things inspire you and influence your work?
Ideas come from so
many things. For example, I am working on a large animation project at the
moment which is made up of lots of small shots which I need ideas for. I went
out into London for the day and on the tube into the city looking at the
buildings gave me an idea. Then later listening to a particular track gave me a
new idea. I went to a couple of art exhibitions each of which gave me new ideas
and then later when I am trying to get to sleep I have new ideas popping up in
my mind. I try and carry a sketchbook with me wherever I go or at the very
least a pencil and some paper just so I can scribble down all of the things
that come into my head. It might be the colour scheme of a building that sparks
off a new idea, or a tiny little area of a painting or a certain technique that
inspires some new ideas. They can come from pretty much anything.
When I have
a new project (illustration or animation) normally I get the idea for it almost
instantly as I am reading through the brief. On the occasions that this doesn't
happen I will start drawing rough ideas until something works. Sometimes I get
projects where the right idea just isn't coming into my head. When this happens
it's best to re-read the brief and get all of the information in my head. then
I go away and do something completely different and trust that while I am doing
this my unconscious mind is working away on the problem and then eventually the
idea will pop into my conscious mind.
In terms of
influence, 1920s German Expressionistic cinema, in particular the film The
Cabinet of Dr Caligari had a big influence on my style. Reading Dr Suess books
as a kid probably influenced me too. With regards to the texture and darkness
of my personal work that has mainly been influenced by personal issues and
mental illness.
77. What
do you do when you run out of inspiration?
I sort of answered that question in the
previous answer. I just fill my head with information and then go and do
something else and hope that my unconscious mind sorts it out which is what
normally happens.
88. Is
there anything you wished you knew in school that you know now? What sort of
advice would you give to an aspiring illustrator?
I think I probably
would have taken more advantage of the equipment at my college. We had a couple
of print making courses but I really should have used the print room in my free
time and learn how to screen print as I think this would have been very useful.
I highly recommend learning screen printing if you can as it means you can
produce your own t-shirts and make your own prints. Obviously I can still do
courses now but it's just easier when you're at college because all the
equipment is there and there are no extras fees for using them.
When I was at art
college I don't think it was made very clear that it is quite hard to start off
being freelance. Due to there not really being many full time illustration
jobs, freelancing is what you are most likely to be going into. Therefore I
think it would have been helpful to have some teaching about how to set
yourself up working for yourself. I would recommend getting an accountant as
soon as possible unless you like filling out horrible tax returns. I can't stand
it and am more than happy to pay someone to do it for me.
Also, I don't know if
you use a large portfolio case at the moment but I strongly recommend that you
get a much smaller case for when you go to meetings/interviews. I use an A4
size portfolio case which means I can do any printing at home which just makes
life easier but having a large portfolio case is like having a neon sign on
your head stating 'I have just left college'. In my experience (I can't
remember if I already mentioned this) illustration agencies want you to have
some experience before taking you on.
In terms of advice spend your first few
years trying to do as many competitions and any free work that comes up just to
build up your portfolio with professional work so you don't have college work
in your portfolio. And include personal work as well as this will show you have
a lot of passion and enthusiasm for illustration if you are doing it in your
free time.
