Guest Post By Chris Moeller

The one emotion every newly-minted art school graduate experiences is anxiety. Can I really make it? ย What do I do now? ย All my friends are getting jobs making $50,000 a year. ย Where does that leave me? ย Iโ€™ll be lucky to get a job delivering pizza.

I graduated from the University of Michigan School of Art back in 1985, ready to take the illustration world by storm. ย Until that moment, my life had been mapped out for me. ย I had put in my hours painting, drawing from the model, and showing up ย at crit time. ย Suddenly, I was out in the real world with no more crits, no summer vacation, no spring break, no class-mates. ย I wasnโ€™t an upperclassman or a fraternity brother. ย I was one of millions of adults, expected to make my way in the world. ย Worse, unlike those folks with the $50,000 jobs, I had no clear idea what to expect. ย What faced me, ย what faces every student who graduates with a degree in the arts, is an undiscovered country that appears shadowy and frightening.

As the years went by, I realized that there was indeed a path through the wilderness, as clear and as straightforward as any law-studentโ€™s. ย I hadnโ€™t seen it as a terrified graduate, but looking back now it seems obvious. ย The first thing to understand is that youโ€™re going to have to pay your dues. ย Every starting profession demands this step, even those seemingly wonderful jobs your friends are embarking on. ย The hottest law student doesnโ€™t leap right into a partnership, heโ€™s expected to start at the bottom and work his way up. ย And prepare yourself, because, for an artist, this step can take time. Embrace the notion that it will take five years before youโ€™re working full time.

 



FIVE YEARS

I can hear you laughing. ย Laughing nervously, perhaps, but, honestly, five years? ย When I graduated, I would have laughed right along with you. ย I may have felt intimidated by the challenges ahead, but I also felt ready. ย I was confident in my skills. ย I had been taught what I needed to do to get work as a freelance illustrator. ย So, when a successful illustrator named Richard Williams cautioned me that it could take a long time to break in to the business, maybe as long as ย five years, I nodded and thought to myself: ย โ€œmaybe for you, old man, but not for me.โ€ ย Over the coming months and years, I had ample time to reflect on his words, and it helped me keep things in perspective. ย Five years later, literally, I got my first graphic novel commission, and my career took off. ย For those few of you who will get snapped up by a game studio right out of school, give yourself a hand! ย Everyone else, take a deep breath and consider the notion that this could take time. ย The years immediately after graduation arenโ€™t some horrible purgatory. ย They can be some of the most fruitful years of your artistic life. ย Give them room to unfold. ย Have patience. ย Use the time to push hard for what you want, to refine your work and build your confidence.

 

THE RIGHT KIND OF JOB

First, youโ€™ll need a particular kind of job. ย Remember, youโ€™re looking for a JOB not a CAREER. ย Keep that distinction clear in your mind. ย Optimally, a job should be both part-time, and career related. ย The importance of your work being part-time canโ€™t be overstated. ย If youโ€™re working full-time, you wonโ€™t have the time and flexibility you need for portfolio-building, self-promotion, networking, all of the things you need to do build your career. ย There are obviously secondary points to be made here, the most important of which is to live inexpensively. ย Think carefully about taking on difficult financial obligations like large student loans, a house, or children. ย The leaner you can keep your life during this critical time, the easier it will be to get your career going. ย It can be frustrating to see your former school-mates driving expensive cars and living in big houses a few years after graduation, but keep your eye on the prize. ย Your path leads to you making a living doing what you love most.

The idea of finding work that builds career-related skills can encompass a broad range of possibilities. ย During my 5-years, I did some freelance spot illustrations, painted portraits, and worked in a textile design studio in Manhatten. ย In their own way, all of these jobs helped me hone my skills. ย The textile design studio was the least directly associated with what I wanted to do, but I was using paint, and I learned everything I know about color-mixing during my years there. ย So, if you can get work at a gallery, in a comic-book store, or in a museum, that time is serving a dual-purpose. ย If you find yourself working as a waitress or a garbage collector, donโ€™t worry about it. ย Every job will teach you important life-lessons, and your job is fundamentally a means to help launch your career.

 

CAUTIONARY TALE

A friend of mine just graduated with a degree in film-making, and is facing the same uncertainty about the future that you all are. ย Rather than get a part-time job, however, heโ€™s chosen to start working full-time as a salesman for an internet company. ย He told me that he will feel much more comfortable looking for film work with a yearโ€™s earnings in his savings account. ย It would have driven me crazy to โ€œtake off a yearโ€ after graduation. ย To my friend, the idea of having no money in the bank is equally unthinkable. ย Heโ€™s doing what feels he needs to do to move forward with confidence and security. ย Though it wouldnโ€™t have worked for me, I support his decision, because I know his strength of character, and because he has a clearly formulated plan. ย My warning to him, and to all of you, is that money anxiety is notoriously persistent, no matter how much you have saved. ย Odds are, the same anxiety you feel now will still be there a year from now, demanding an extension of the โ€œyear offโ€ by one more, and then one more, until you’re looking back and wondering when exactly you fell off the train.



SAYING YES

Iโ€™m not going to go into the mechanics of looking for illustration jobs. ย Hopefully itโ€™s something you learned in school, and if not, the internet is full of helpful advice on building a portfolio, submitting work to editors, etc… ย What I want to emphasize is this: ย while youโ€™re on your five year plan, look for opportunities, and be prepared to act on them when they appear. ย As master illustrator Michael Kaluta told me when I met him at a comic convention in back in 1989: โ€œWhen you are where I am, you can say no. ย Until then, you say yes.โ€ ย Prepare yourself to say yes at every moment. ย Donโ€™t worry about protecting yourself from unscrupulous publishers, take any job that comes your way. ย I know that sounds odd, but unscrupulous publishers are as likely to be your pathway to the promised land as they are to take advantage of you. I started my career painting comics for $60 a page! ย In exchange for working nearly for free, I demanded 100 copies of the printed comic to give out as samples (I still have some in my studio). ย Carry business cards wherever you go. ย Build a web-site and keep it up to date. ย Talk to people. ย That may seem obvious, but I learned as much from talking to artists during my five years as I did in school. ย Go to conventions, and when youโ€™re at them, donโ€™t forget to talk to the artists! ย It can be intimidating, but they are some of the friendliest, most helpful people youโ€™ll ever meet. ย Trust me, they all walked the path youโ€™re walking right now and they remember how scary it was. Ask them to look at your work. ย Ask them about their artwork, and their experiences breaking into the business. ย Youโ€™ll be surprised how generous they can be.

 

THE PAYOFF

Twenty-five years ago, I was in school with some incredibly talented students. ย I’m only aware of a few that are working as professional artists now. ย Iโ€™m convinced that most graduates drop out during the years immediately following graduation. ย They’re stressful years. ย  It’s easy to feel forced by financial necessity into the full-time workplace, putting your dreams on hold. ย If youโ€™re serious about wanting to become a professional artist, donโ€™t let that happen to you! ย Keep your financial obligations low. ย Give yourself time to build your career. ย Look for ways to open the door to opportunity, and be ready to jump when that door opens. ย In the days ahead, remind yourself that you really are on a path, just like your engineer and lawyer friends. ย Their path is eased by fat paychecks and fancy cars. ย What youโ€™re aiming for lies farther down the road, but is better than the most expensive car or the biggest house: ย a career doing what you love most. ย Be brave, be persistent, trust in the process. ย Every one of my illustrator friends will tell you: ย itโ€™s a life worth fighting for.

Thanks to Chris Moeller for the wonderful guest post today on Muddy Colors!