Q.
When looking for a graphic design position, what are the kinds of things I should put in my portfolio? (I should mention that I have very little experience with web design.)
A. Do some homework. Find out what your prospective studio specializes in. Put work that applies to their specialty in your book, but do not put in something you know is one of their accounts. (It affects our fragile egos diversly when we see you trying to show us up!) Just teasing, but really, best to leave that one at home.
Design studios usually do a good deal of corporate identity and collateral work (logos, annual reports, newsletters, employee handbooks), as well as illustration and other publishing materials and packaging. So, just about anything you're proud of should go in your book. Don't get too repetitive (10 illustrations of a little boy and his dog might qualify as repetitive... especially the same kid and the same dog!)
What programs are you versed in? Put a sampling of work you've done in each. Show how you work with color. If you've had anything published, show it (unless you really didn't like the way it turned out, of course. Never appologize for your work! If you were disappointed, leave it out, even if it's the only printed piece you have.)
Have you cooperated with someone on a project - say a writer? Put that in. As you start interviewing many people will have some suggestions for you about what to show and what not to. Some of those suggestions will be good, others just plain garbage. Go with your gut... you'll know the difference.
P.S. Unless they ask, you don't need to tell them you're not into the Web yet. But chances are they will, in which case be honest. In the meantime, do get started. It's the future, and its here now!
Q. I'm graduating soon. I didn't really major in advertising or commercial art, but I think I'd be really good at it. How do I get started?
A. That's a very broad question... Do you want to get into an agency? Do you want to be an illustrator? Do you want to do packaging? Do you want a web job? Not knowing what you've studied specifically makes it hard to give a blanket answer, but here goes.
First of all focus on what exactly you want to do. If you hit the streets figuring someone's going to come up to you and say, 'I see youre carying a portfolio. Ive got a job for an artist...' Well, hey it could happen. But seriously, you've got to have a goal first. (Also, I'd be a little leary of such a random encounter.)
Secondly, you need to reassess your skills and match them with what each area of commercial art requires.
Agencies will require a knowledge of layout design and production. They'll want someone proficient in Quark Xpress or PageMaker (or both) and possibly even Power Point and a word processor like Word. They'll most certainly require knowlege of Photoshop and Illustrator.
Design studios, also, although they will expect you to be heavier on the Photoshop and Illustrator side, as well as some other graphic programs. They may even need annimation, CAD and Web Master skills. If you're a good illustrator in traditional mediums like acrylics, water color, pen and ink, you can get freelance jobs from Studios and Agencies, not all illustration is done digitally, but for fulltime work you need to upgrade your skills.
In the meantime, you might try freelancing. It's a foot in the door and gives you a contact list. You can build your skills while you get to know your clients and they get to know you. Mentoring, although scarce these days, is still alive and... well, struggling. You'll get a sense of where you want to work and what it'll take to get you there.
Don't discount temping even if only as a secretary in an agency or studio. I've known several opeople who got a foot in that way... even one who started out in the mail room! Look at your other skills. If you got a BFA, did you also do a lot of writing? You can get started as a copywriter and switch.
Call people. Network. Get referrals and don't get discouraged. Remember, when things are looking bleakest, that's when you need to push harder... somethings usually about to pop! Good luck.
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A Word About Pricing
Q.What hourly rate can I charge for a hand-done airbrush illustration?
A. I personally don't do airbrush by hand. That wasn't my medium until I started doing computer graphics. However, most illustrators, regardless their medium, will quote a flat price for a job rather than by the hour. Clients have no idea how many hours go into an illustration. Only you can tell them, and it's best to give them the figure up front.
There are a number of factors going into estimating an illustration besides an hourly rate, not the least of which is how and where the illustration is being used. An illustration for a huge national ad campaign can command a higher price tag than the same illustration for a one time use in a small publication.
When I do quote an hourly rate for say an ad campaign, I'm flexible depending on how wide-scoped the campaign is. I think it's safe to say the same would apply when quoting for an airbrush illustration.
So, you could estimate at anywhere between $45-$100/hr. (Some big name illustrators can command more just because of their name like designer jeans.)
You've also got to take in consideration what part of the country you're in. Los Angeles, New York and Chicago illustrators tend to get more than say an Akron illustrator (unless, again, you're a name illustrator and have retired there and can get whatever you want, if you really want to do it anyway)!
1) Figure how long you're going to need to do the illustration, how many revisions or minor touchups you'll allow and how many visits to the client you'll be making.
2) Multiply by what you need to make per hour on that job.
3) Don't forget to add postage if you're doing this long distance and color copies if you'll need to send those!
4) Give the client the lump-sum quote, and stick by it. It doesn't do to bellyache later to the client that you underestimated.
Of course, if the client makes all kinds of undue alterations or revisions, you have every right to charge for those. Get it upfront and in writing (especially these days) exactly what you will be doing and what revisions you'll include in the original quote. Have the client sign off on the estimate and later on pencil sketches before you begin.
Get yourself a good guide on pricing and contracts for Artists. Caution: They tend to report rates higher than the market actually will bare (probably because they're published in New York)!
Specific Design How To's
Q. Hi, could you teach me how to make a 3D button using Adobe Photoshop 5.5 and 3D objects in general. Also, how to make something to look as if a light is shining on it? Thank you very much.
A. I would need more from you what kind of a button you're doing. Is it round, spherical, flat disc, convex, concave, square or rectangular with beveled edges? I am assuming this is for a web page. Would you want it to have the effect of receding as someone clicks on it?
Not knowing exactly what you're looking for, here's a really simple sphere you can try:
1- Create a new file, let's sat 2"x2". You're going to convert this to gif? Then leave the background transparent and set your resolution to 72ppi.
2- Holding down the shift-opt keys (if on a Mac) and using your eliptical marquee, make a circle within the window. Leave it selected, and fill it with the color of you choice.
3- Now, go to Filter>Render>Lighting Effects. A dialogue box will come up. Don't worry about all the stuff on the right for now. Just use the Preview window and the handles for directing the light. Play with it until you have a shaded sphere. Then click "ok."
4- Leave the resulting sphere selected. You have one more thing to do. Go back to Filter>Render and this time choose Lens Flare. Again, play with the little crosshair to move it where you want your highlight. Then make it larger or smaller with the brightness guage. Have fun with it. Try the Lens Types. See what takes your fancy. Click "ok," and there you have it!
As far as getting a lighting effect on something, in a photo say, try playing around with those same filters there, too. It can get very complex, but doesn't need to be most of the time.
A good book if you're doing web graphics - like buttons... "Photoshop Web Magic" by Ted Schulman, Renee LeWinter and Tom Emmanuelides; published by Hayden Books.
Don't be afraid to experiment... it's not necessarily an exact science. I have my own shortcuts... everyone does.
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About Corporate Identity
Q. How is the creation of a company logo(ie. apple) affected by contemporary culture?
A. Obviously, comtemporary trends in culture influence a company's outlook. But a corporate identity, of which the logo is only one element, does not live on contemporary "culture" alone. It can't, otherwise a company would be changing identities every other month or so in today's fickle, short-attention-span society. Any company looking beyond their next million has to be more concerned with where they want to be in the next five-ten-twenty years in spite of trends - and that means spanning many trends.
(That said, let me point out that the Internet may be an exception since many dot-com companies seem soley interested in getting that first million or two, then selling and who cares whether their logo/identity has any staying power anyway?)
Equally as obvious is that the Apple Corporation did look ahead (and beyond trend) when they planned their identity originally. They kept that original logo for how many years? and how many trends came and went in that time? The current new look is a nescessary and somewhat logical extension of their contemporizing their line and reevaluating where they are headed in the next ten years.
Did contemporary culture have anything to do with it? Of course. Apple saw their target market was an Internet culture - whether a 9 year old grammar school student doing a report, or a 17 year old downloading music, or a 50 year old business person putting up a company web site.
But in terms of what youre talking about? Let me ask you... how many definitions of culture are out there? For that matter, how many different cultures are there?
I have two teens in my home. Both in High School, both claim to be from two opposing subcultures, and to hear them tell it, there are at least 13-14 others within their school. I checked Yahoo and got 13,301 listings for Cultures and Groups. So, who defines contemporary culture?
More important to Apple than whether their target market identifies with punk or retro music, Homer Simpson or Ally McBeal, pop, modern or neo-classical art is what kind of a computer user are they? What are they using their computer for? What are they willing to pay for multimedia bells and whistles? What personality types are they? Are they forward thinking, adventurous, colorful, fun loving, cut-to-the-mustard individualists? They look at other demographics, of course, like are they mostly young families? How much do they earn? Are they urbanites? You know...
In summary, I think contemporary culture colors logo design some, but for a corporation who's planning on being around a long time, it's not the most important element. In fact, you'll find some companies shy away from it all together for fear of looking too fly-by-night.
More important is what the corporation wants their market to know about them, whatever culture that market subscribes to. What's in it for the consumer? Innovation? Quality? Is the company solid and trustworthy? Will they provide the support and service the consumer wants? These are things a companiy's logo or trademark must reflect - no matter what cultural influences are prevailing at any given time.
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