Magazine/Corporate Illustration - HOW TO?

[goad74]

The best thing to do (and cheapest) is to make a postcard with some examples of your art and a link to your website....this way you're not sinking a bunch of cash into portfolios and such....

edit : I guess I should have read the above posts first.....postcards, postcards....

[danieldanger]

my postcards are arriving in under 10 minutes.

::is waiting::

[danieldanger]

they arrived!

not too shabby. dude did a good job in 4 days.

[guybur]

Yes, postcards. And target a client you would actually enjoy working for.

[necro]

Also, there is a book called Artist's and Graphic Designer's Market. it comes out annually. its filled with names and addresses and how each place prefers to receive resumes and samples. Anyone here had any luck using this book?

..i have it, although i have never really used it....i bought it this year to hopefully kick me in the ass...

where's a good place to get postcards printed? just any local printing place?

[GIGART]

Well...I do lots of illustrations for mags...you can see on my site stuff for Spin, ESPN, Revolver, etc...

Postcards are good.
I also send posters...they are like big business cards...

But what I do is go to Borders or some bookstore, sit there for a few hours and look through any and every mag that uses illustrations...
I write down the art directors names, art buyers names, etc...get all the addresses...

And then send them my stuff...promo cards that lead them to my website that shows them everything...

There are also web addresses and email addresses in mags sometimes and I take them too...

So I email them with a link to my site...

I try both...a few weeks apart...just as a follow up reminder to them.

There are books out there with info on many mags...but I have found there is a fast turnover with art directors...so I choose to go and see the latest issue...

I also send to assistant art directors too...because they are usually people like you and me and if they like something, will show it to the main art director, when they may have just looked over it.

What I have found is that you may not hear or get a job right away...infact when Spin Mag called me to do a job, I asked how they found me...they said from a postcard...I asked which one and it was one I had sent 2 years before...they said they held onto it until they needed that style...

So I figure the more you send out...after time at least one must contact you, if your work is quality and what they need...

[Jeph]

I have nothing to add, I'm just marking this page with a comment so I can find it later.

[fatmat]

Well...I do lots of illustrations for mags...you can see on my site stuff for Spin, ESPN, Revolver, etc...

Postcards are good.
I also send posters...they are like big business cards...

But what I do is go to Borders or some bookstore, sit there for a few hours and look through any and every mag that uses illustrations...
I write down the art directors names, art buyers names, etc...get all the addresses...

And then send them my stuff...promo cards that lead them to my website that shows them everything...

There are also web addresses and email addresses in mags sometimes and I take them too...

So I email them with a link to my site...

This is great info thanks, that' s sort of what I was thinking.