How to describe your illustration style

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Good Ship Illustration – "How to Describe Your Illustration Style"

Release Date: April 22, 2024

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Introduction to the Episode

In this insightful episode of The Good Ship Illustration, hosts Helen Stevens, Katie Chappell, and Anne delve into the perennial challenge many illustrators face: how to describe their illustration style. This discussion not only tackles the intricacies of articulating one's artistic voice but also explores the balance between authenticity and marketability in a competitive creative landscape.

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The Struggle to Define Illustration Style

The episode opens with Helen posing a common yet perplexing question: "What is your style?" (00:24). This simple inquiry often leaves illustrators grappling for words, as Katy admits, "We've struggled so much before press and record on this one, haven't we?" (00:41). Anne echoes this sentiment, comparing the question to someone asking about their music taste and not knowing how to respond effectively (00:50).

Subjectivity of Art

Helen reflects on the subjective nature of art, sharing her frustration: "It almost feels like an attack being asked. Do you know what I mean? I just want to say, bugger off." (01:03). This highlights the difficulty of encapsulating one's unique style into mere words, as Anne points out, "Art is so subjective, we don't really have the language to describe it." (01:29).

Avoiding Pretentious Language

The hosts discuss how using specialized illustration terminology can alienate or confuse others. Katy mentions, "People say it's a cartoony doodly style. You're like, yeah, people mean well as well." (01:49). This underscores the challenge of finding accessible language to describe one's work without diminishing its essence.

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Authenticity vs. Marketability

Transitioning from defining style, the conversation shifts to maintaining authenticity in the face of commercial pressures. Helen raises a crucial point: "Faking it in any aspect of your life is really uncomfortable and awkward and it's unsustainable." (09:05). The discussion emphasizes the importance of staying true to one's creative voice rather than imitating others for market gains.

The Risks of Imitation

Anne warns against the pitfalls of copying other illustrators: "You're lying. And it's really. I think that's a really dangerous path to go down." (08:39). Helen adds that imitating popular styles is not a sustainable long-term strategy, as trends evolve and copied styles can become oversaturated.

Building a Unique Creative Voice

Katie and Anne advocate for developing a personal visual language. Katie states, "That's what we talk about in our course, isn't it? ... finding your creative voice and then once you feel really good and you're like, yeah, unapologetically yourself." (09:50). This authentic approach not only distinguishes an illustrator in the market but also fosters long-term creative fulfillment.

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The Role of Marketing and Business Skills

Acknowledging that artistic talent alone isn't sufficient, the hosts discuss the necessity of effective marketing. Katy elaborates on the importance of business skills: "It might be that your work doesn't need to change. You don't need to adopt somebody else's work. Maybe you need to focus more on your business skills, get it under the right eyes." (05:25).

Overcoming Visibility Challenges

Anne highlights the misconception of instant success: "You might be looking for it too quickly." (04:57). The conversation emphasizes patience and persistence in building an audience, utilizing platforms like websites and mailing lists to enhance visibility beyond social media's limited reach.

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Developing Your Unique Creative Voice

A significant portion of the episode centers on the "Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag" course offered by the hosts. This course is designed to help illustrators uncover and cultivate their unique artistic identity.

Embracing Authenticity

Helen explains, "We really dig into all of the stuff that you've always been into... it's very easy to take your kind of history and your influences and the stuff that's made you who you are, take it for granted." (12:20). The course encourages artists to reconnect with their past interests and hobbies, which are integral to their creative DNA.

Encouraging Play and Exploration

Katy emphasizes the importance of playfulness: "The more ridiculous, the more your work stands out and the more people are like, oh, thank God it's not another light bulb." (15:27). This playful approach fosters creativity and helps artists break free from clichéd motifs.

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Testimonials and Success Stories

To illustrate the course's impact, Katy shares a heartfelt testimonial: "So glad I made the leap to join the course, having believed for years that I can't draw at all..." (13:02). This endorsement underscores the transformative power of the course in boosting creativity and integrating it into professional work.

Helen recounts personal experiences of rediscovering her creative joy after reconnecting with her sketchbooks: "I have to work 9 to 5 and I have to... get back to my sketchbooks... and then it all worked out fine." (14:16). Such stories highlight the importance of nurturing one's artistic passions amidst professional demands.

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Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The episode wraps up with the hosts inviting listeners to join their community and participate in Art Club sessions (17:59). They reiterate the value of authenticity, continuous learning, and community support in cultivating a successful and fulfilling illustration career.

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Notable Quotes:

• Helen Stevens at 00:24: "I have a question people ask me and I never know how to answer it. What is your style?"

• Anne at 01:29: "Art is so subjective, we don't really have the language to describe it."

• Katy Chappell at 05:25: "Maybe you need to focus more on your business skills, get it under the right eyes."

• Anne at 09:05: "You're lying. And it's really. I think that's a really dangerous path to go down."

• Katy Chappell at 15:27: "The more ridiculous, the more your work stands out and the more people are like, oh, thank God it's not another light bulb."

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This episode of The Good Ship Illustration offers a candid exploration of the challenges illustrators face in defining and maintaining their unique styles while navigating the demands of the creative marketplace. Through personal anecdotes, practical advice, and testimonials, Helen, Katie, and Anne provide valuable insights for both emerging and established artists striving to "Fly Their Freak Flag."

Transcript

[Anne]

Hello.

[Katy Chappell]

Welcome to the Good Ship Illustration podcast. We're here to offer no nonsense advice to illustrators and image makers navigating a creative career in the Good Ship. There are three of us. Anne, Katy Chappell, and there's Helen Stevens and Tanya Willis too. We are celebrating our flagship course Find you'd Creative Voice Fly youy Freak Flag, being open this week. So we've got lots of episodes all about Finding youg Creative Voice.

[Helen Stevens]

I have a question people ask me and I never know how to answer it. What is your style? When I'm asked this in conversation, I never know what to say. How would each of you describe your own style in words? What do you think people want to know when they're asking this question?

[Katy Chappell]

We've struggled so much before press and record on this one, haven't we?

[Helen Stevens]

Yeah, I hate this question. I wriggle out of it, don't you?

[Anne]

Yeah, totally. I mean, I can't answer. Before we recorded and we discussed it, I thought, there is a good person answer to this question. And I racked my brains and I still can't come up with it. It's like someone saying, what kind of music do you like? Then what's your taste?

[Helen Stevens]

It almost feels like an attack being asked. Do you know what I mean? I just want to say, bugger off.

[Anne]

Yeah.

[Katy Chappell]

And I didn't. When I describe my work, I never describe the style. I'm just like, I describe what I do.

[Helen Stevens]

Yeah, that's easier, isn't it? But then when I do that, if I say, oh, I write and illustrate picture books, they look a bit dreamy, like, oh. And then they say, wouldn't you like to be J.K. rowling?

[Katy Chappell]

Always.

[Helen Stevens]

Every time. I get that all the time, I.

[Anne]

Just hand them a spade and say, keep digging them. You're making it worse so bad. I think you're right that you can only say what you do and hope the pictures are made in their head. Because art is so subjective, we don't really have the language to describe it. And if you use illustration language, it can be really alienating and pretentious and then.

[Katy Chappell]

Or like undermining. People say it's a cartoony doodly style. You're like, yeah, people mean well as well. I think that's the thing. So this question asker, we haven't got their name on there, but that's all right. Said, what do you think people want to know when they're asking this question? I think they just don't know any better.

[Helen Stevens]

I think it is. Well meaning it's just. It's just a way to have a chat with somebody you've just met. It's the same thing. Sometimes I get friends or family will say to me, oh, I'm sure I saw a cushion with your drawing on it the other day. And I'll say, really? Oh, send me the link, or whatever. And they'll send it and I'll look at it. I'll feel insulted. I'll be like, it's nothing like my work. But they're just. They don't realize that they're not visual people and they're just being friendly or they're trying to help me out by saying, you want to, like, sue them, sue them, sue them.

[Anne]

I found them.

[Helen Stevens]

I don't know what it is, but.

[Anne]

It'S the context, isn't it? If the context is just social and making concept and they're genuinely interested in your work, it is much easier to describe by where it's seen and how you use it, rather than saying things, you know, using terminology. But then I think if it's a client, and that's a valid question, they wouldn't ask it because you show the work, everyone. It's like dancing about architecture. You can't do it. You can't describe the stuff exactly.

[Katy Chappell]

That's the thing I would say. If somebody really wanted to know what my work looked like, I'd be like, here's my website. Have a look for your own eyes.

[Helen Stevens]

Yes.

[Anne]

You interpret it.

[Katy Chappell]

Yeah. Don't make me describe it. It's weird.

[Helen Stevens]

I find it ends conversations for me because they say, what do you do? And I go, oh, writing. Illustrate children's books. And then I kind of glaze over and look the other way while I wait for them to work out what that means. I feel like it ends the conversation unless I ask a question back.

[Anne]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Katy Chappell]

It's.

[Helen Stevens]

Yeah.

[Katy Chappell]

The one I get a lot is. So I describe what I do. Like, I'm a live event illustrator. I do pictures at events and they go, oh, like a court reporter. And I'll be like, oh, yeah.

[Helen Stevens]

Grasping for the nearest thing they can.

[Katy Chappell]

I'm like, no. Sometimes I was like, yeah, just to make it easier. And, yep, that's what I do.

[Anne]

Maybe you should cat. We should all carry around, like a set of little business cards that you can flick over, you know, ten in one. Here you go. Quick, look here. Why don't you just have it on your phone and show them?

[Katy Chappell]

Because people send them your Instagram.

[Helen Stevens]

I'll just lie about your job.

[Katy Chappell]

I'll just lie about your job. Yeah.

[Anne]

But don't say you're a doctor or a lawyer, because that will keep them there for hours.

[Katy Chappell]

It's so much easier to say you're a nanny than say you're an illustrator because people go, oh, children. Yes, that's it. You know what? I do.

[Anne]

What have we got next? Now we've just nailed that question in the most brutal way.

[Helen Stevens]

Should we have another question?

[Katy Chappell]

Yeah. Shall I read this one?

[Helen Stevens]

Yeah, go for it.

[Katy Chappell]

Okay. How do you not fall into the trap of trying to imitate someone else's art when your art isn't getting the attention you need to make an income? Do you make it more marketable or do you just keep doing you?

[Helen Stevens]

I wonder why it's not getting the attention. Like, there are many reasons for that, aren't there?

[Anne]

There could be, you know, the expectation of fast results and that, you know, it takes a while to build up. Not just following, but for people to get used to your work. You might be looking for it too quickly. What do you think about the notion of attention?

[Helen Stevens]

Yeah, I like that. It reminds me of, you know, that I was just talking about this the other day. You know that thing where there's a rule where you've got to give your toddler the same meal nine times before they'll try something new? Is it seven times or nine times? Something like that. And I wonder if your work is really individual and new and different. It needs to be under those eyes a few times for people to get used to it and read it and understand it.

[Katy Chappell]

Does that make sense? There's a lot to be said as well for, like, the business side of things. I know in these podcasts we're talking about the freak flag course and finding a creative voice, but on a. Because you mentioned marketableness, part of not getting the attention you need is more related to your marketing, your ability to communicate your value, talk about your work. Even learning about things like search engine optimization.

[Anne]

Exactly. That's what I was thinking.

[Katy Chappell]

Yeah. So it could be that you maybe. So obviously we can't see your work. We don't know what we're talking about in terms of that. But it might be that your work doesn't need to change. You don't need to adopt somebody else's work. Maybe you need to focus more on.

[Helen Stevens]

Your business skills, get it under the right eyes. Maybe they're not sending out enough samples. Maybe they're not attracting enough people to their website.

[Katy Chappell]

That's such a good point. Because it is a numbers game. There's like this percentages. So if you send an email to 100 people, for instance, the official percentages are like less than 1% to 3% will buy if your marketing is really good in an email. But a lot of the time we're not even getting 100 people to see the thing and we're like, oh, a failure. It's not working. When really you're still above. You're above the average, but you just haven't hit the numbers to get people to hire you, to commission you, and that applies. So those percentages are even lower on social media because, you know for yourself, social media reach isn't great unless you're doing whatever the algorithm wants you to do that week. So, yeah, it's about kind of building up your audience, not necessarily on social media, you know, away from there. Build your mailing list, get your website up to scratch with good traffic. I hope you have a website. Sometimes, actually, I'm surprised how many times we speak to people and there's no.

[Anne]

Website and they're just working from Instagram, which is literally throwing the interest into thin air, isn't it? Because they haven't got that website to double check on and have a proper look at your portfolio.

[Katy Chappell]

Yeah. And it's so destroying. If you spend loads of time on a piece of work, you think it's brilliant and you post it and you get one, like. And it's your mom, no offense, Mum. You're just like, oh, what, everyone hates me. Why should I bother? This is me on LinkedIn, by the way. Like, I posted this morning.

[Anne]

I had one like, it was me.

[Katy Chappell]

It was Tanya, I tagged Tanya in it.

[Anne]

I was like, oh, that's so coming from Katie Chapel. But it does build up, doesn't it? I mean, it takes a while, but I think that's the soft end of the question. The other end is, God, no, don't copy anyone else. Yeah, absolutely not. You know this. You've got to be yourself. Faking it in any aspect of your life is really uncomfortable and awkward and it's unsustainable and you eventually, when you do get caught out, there's a lot of people copying certain illustrators who we really like. And you can see that work everywhere. And I'm thinking, we all know that. We can see it. People can see when you copy someone else and if you adopt that style and suddenly you get a lot, you could get work from it, but you're lying. And it's really. I think that's a really dangerous path to go down. Because suddenly you get bigger and bigger until you get more exposure and the whole thing's a lie. And at some point someone will say to you, you know, your work really looks like, and are you ripping them off? And it's the ethics of illustration and I think the ethics are really important. Whether it's charging properly for your work, not undercutting people, but most importantly, not plagiarizing.

[Helen Stevens]

I think if you're trying to be like somebody else, the chances are that person's work is pretty in your face everywhere at the moment. You know, it's out there. It's a successful illustrator. There are probably loads of people trying to be like that illustrator. So you're just going to be one in amongst loads of people working in a similar way, which is not a long term plan, is it? When that work goes out of style because everybody's imitated that illustrator, where does that leave you?

[Anne]

Yeah, totally. Then you've got to reinvent yourself. And if, if your mind is attuned to understanding your own work as a cop, as it's slightly being a copy of someone else, you'll probably, you'll be feel a bit lost when you're searching inside yourself for your own creative voice. So it really has to be about you and developing your own visual language and spending time learning about what you love and what really excites you. So it might be that you're in the early days of your career and it isn't realistic to expect attention at this point. I mean, I don't know, I could be completely wrong. Perhaps they're 10 years into their career. But if you just build yourself and build your own visual strength, then you, you've got the fuel to run for years and years.

[Katy Chappell]

Yeah, and that's what we talk about in our course, isn't it? And it's, it's called find your creative voice, fly your freak flag. And it's all about really, really digging in and figuring out what work feels best to you, how you best work, the stuff that makes you feel really good to put out into the world. And in that course we actually kind of abandon the business side of things, don't we? Tell people not to worry about commercial.

[Anne]

Commercial, commerciality, marketing and commercial stuff because.

[Katy Chappell]

You want to kind of put that on the back burner, find your voice and then once you feel really good and you're like, yeah, unapologetically yourself, then you can move on and kind of mess around with all the nerdy business stuff.

[Anne]

But I think people crave authenticity at the moment. And as the world moves towards a digital slurry of AI, as you. As you coined it, Helen, it's such a good word now because you don't even have to have the conversation. You just say digital slurry with look on your face like. And everyone knows what you, what you're talking about and how you feel about it. But I think for analog illustrators and digital illustrators, developing your creative voice is more important now than it's ever been. And being authentic in a way that can't be second guessed by a machine. I mean, the Ramones would have never existed if there was AI. Lots of weird stuff would have never come about. The weird stuff that we love now that is part of our culture, a part of our. It was alternative, but now it's mainstream. Those things were weirdos doing their thing. And that's really why we did Fly your freak flag, wasn't it? Be a weirdo.

[Katy Chappell]

When we first made the course, there'd never been a better time to be yourself. But now even more, isn't it like you stand out even more if you are yourself and embrace all your weird stuff.

[Anne]

It grabs eyes because we see that sheen of three dimensional digital visual culture everywhere and polished up photography and AI until we're so blind to it that when you see some, something that's genuine and unique, wow, let me go look at that. That looks really interesting.

[Helen Stevens]

And we help you uncover that in the course because we really dig into all of the stuff that you've always been into, stuff, you know, it's very easy to take your kind of history and your influences and the stuff that's made you who you are, take it for granted and just not value it at all. Just kind of forget it. And once you've got a, you know, once you're a grown up and you've got all those responsibilities, all of those weird hobbies and habits and stuff that you used to do can get put to one side. But as an illustrator, it's really important to value all that stuff. So we really dig into that in the course, don't we?

[Anne]

We've got special methods to unearth those things. You'll be like the Princess and the Pink. You'll remember weird stuff.

[Helen Stevens]

What's sleep.

[Anne]

You'll find that weird nugget of goodness from, you know, 40 years ago that you used to love when you were 8 years old. And that's what makes us who we are, isn't it? You know, finding those. Our cultural DNA and our creative DNA is often buried in the past.

[Helen Stevens]

Would this be a good point to read out a brilliant testimonial that we got?

[Katy Chappell]

I was going to say, you don't have to take our word for it. Obviously we're biased, but we brought nice things people have said about the course. So shall I read this one out and pretend I'm not me?

[Anne]

Go for it.

[Katy Chappell]

So glad I made the leap to join the course, having believed for years that I can't draw at all. All the exercises encourage exploration and make you think about drawing and painting in a completely different way. It's had the weird and fab effect of spilling creativity into my real job and folk have noticed this change.

[Anne]

Wow, I've not read that one before. That's really interesting.

[Katy Chappell]

That's the thing, I think a lot of the time you can forget what you're actually interested in, like you said, and you get swept up in day to day life and you just get on with it.

[Helen Stevens]

Yeah, I remember early days, me being an illustrator. I'd done a few books, a few books down the line and even working as an illustrator, as an illustrator, as my job, I still felt like I put aside all that valuable stuff. It's like now I'm a proper illustrator. I have to work 9 to 5 and I have to. I have to get on with it and forget the play. And for those first few years I completely forgot to value all of that stuff that I was really into, really interested in all the kind of useful play that I used to do before that drawing in sketchbooks. And I was really unhappy and I had to take a step back and then come back to it, remembering all the valuable stuff again. And once I did that, then I was rolling again.

[Anne]

It's amazing that you could identify what you needed to do to get back to that.

[Helen Stevens]

It sounds now like I could identify it at the time. But you can only do that with retrospect, can't you? At the time it was just, I can't bear doing this anymore. What am I doing? Why am I doing this? I don't find it fun. What do I find fun? Well, I used to really like drawing in my sketchbooks at art school. I'll do that for a little while. So now I make it sound like it was a plan. Of course it wasn't a plan at the time. It was just, I can't bear doing this. If I don't go back to my sketchbooks, I'm going to go mad. And then it all worked out fine. But it's a good story now. But at the time, you don't know you're in it, do you? No.

[Anne]

You're just blundering through, I guess. Yeah. I remember a lot of time working on editorial, especially for business mags. Oh, that's so dry. Draw another man on a tightrope. Oh, finance is risky. Oh, God. Finding a way out of that. We used to have a book, a sort of fake imaginary book in this studio where I worked, and everyone would say, I'll throw that cliche in the books. We had a list of all the business cliches. Brilliant.

[Katy Chappell]

I love it. I've recently found a man called Dario Paniagua, and he specializes in helping live illustrators avoid cliches. And it's been so interesting because he talks about all the cliches, you know, like a light bulb.

[Anne]

A light bulb, yeah.

[Katy Chappell]

And he helps you work out different ways of, like, approaching them and stuff. But again, the same thing, like play figuring out what you're interested in, bringing your childish silliness to it and letting yourself be a little bit ridiculous. A lot ridiculous. The more ridiculous, the more your work stands out and the more people are like, oh, thank God it's not another light bulb.

[Anne]

So if you're feeling at that point in your career. We've had lots of people on the course, haven't we, who are very well established illustrators. And they just feel that they've been art directed, out of shape. They can't feel their kind of core selves in their work anymore. They're unhappy with their work. And in Picture Book as well, people have done full 360 reinventions and come out with work that they really love.

[Helen Stevens]

But we've also got absolute newbies in there. People who haven't drawn since school.

[Anne]

Yes.

[Helen Stevens]

And have started to draw again because they've just wanted to get back into it. And this has been a really good way for them to start again.

[Anne]

Yeah. And it's a good way with people who are coming at it afresh to signpost them in the right direction, because quite often they think they should be doing things a certain way, which would just lead to them not being true to themselves, perhaps doing what they think industry expects of them, or doing something they recognize as illustration, which is already a sign that it's the wrong direction. If you recognize it already and you think, I can, you know, I can create this kind of images. If you know it too well, then you're not making something new. So we can divert them down the right path of finding themselves.

[Katy Chappell]

You don't know what you don't know.

[Anne]

I know, isn't that. I love that phrase, but it does solve a lot. Yeah, it describes a lot of problems. And then we have people in the middle, don't we? People who are perhaps in the second or third year of their career or people who have graduated from illustration and maybe gone off to do another career or had kids and want to return in a different way.

[Katy Chappell]

Or people that are like super successful, doing really well, but just know that there's something else they could be doing or having more fun with their work. They see them in there as well.

[Anne]

And we have a great gang of data scientists. Yes, and Helens, the two biggest groups.

[Katy Chappell]

Yeah.

[Helen Stevens]

Do you remember the first launch? How many hell we got on that first launch?

[Katy Chappell]

We're like, Are you called Helen? Come on in.

[Helen Stevens]

If not, change your name.

[Anne]

Well, if there's any Helens listening, if you were in any doubt, clearly you must join. Or data scientists.

[Katy Chappell]

But anyway, the doors are open now. We'll put a link in the description and stuff so you can hop in and if you've got any questions, we'll put links where you can get more information and where you can ask us questions and things if your question is not answered on the other page.

[Helen Stevens]

And we've got Art Club on Friday.

[Katy Chappell]

Yes, Art Club on Friday.

[Helen Stevens]

We don't do Art Club every week. We do it now and again for fun. So if you're worried about missing it, make sure you're on our mailing list so you get a heads up. See you at Art Club.

[Katy Chappell]

Yeah, see you there.

[Anne]

Bye.