Make Art Work: Entering the Illustration Industry

This hands-on workshop is part of the Make Art Work series from The School of Illustration, delivered at the Barbican Creative Hub.

It is designed to support artists and creatives who want to move into commercial illustration, helping you understand where your work fits and how to take the next step towards building a sustainable creative career.

This session is about how to approach clients, pitch for work and successfully market both yourself and your illustration practice (because they are both the same thing!).

What Will Be Covered

• Finding the right client and how to contact them.
• How to approach and speak to clients.
• The importance of networking – and why it doesn’t have to be painful.
• How to market yourself and build your existing creative identity.
• How to price your work and knowing your value.
• How to stay positive and keep moving forward.

What To Expect

• Friendly, practical advice.
• Real-life case studies and examples from an industry professional.
• Supportive space to discuss your practice and receive informed feedback.
• Time to ask questions and get feedback.

Who It’s For

Anyone who wants to start working in illustration – from children’s books to album covers – but is unsure of how to get their work out there.

What You’ll Leave With

You’ll walk away with the skills, confidence and tools to step into the industry and start working with clients.

About The School of Illustration

The School of Illustration is run by our Creative in Residence Nick Moffatt, a freelance illustrator with an MA in Illustration currently working in the industry. Nick has been a commercial illustrator for over 25 years, working for clients such as Google, Microsoft and the BBC. He has created illustrations for film, TV, animation, children’s books, comics and everything in between. Nick also has over 10 years of experience in lecturing at various UK universities across the disciplines of illustration, graphic design, concept art and comics.

Passionate about empowering creatives to be able to make a career from their creativity, Make Art Work is part of his ‘The School of Illustration’ project which allows people to do this by providing the right tools and the right mindset.