Get A Real Job: How Artists Put Themselves Out There
Creatives toil over their work. Be it a manuscript, an illustration, a design or a film, artists put their best into whatever they do. For many, that’s the easy part. Where many artists stall is at the self-promotion, networking and communication skills that they need to get noticed. Thankfully, in today’s connected world, there are many ways to put creative work out into the world.
“In order to be found, you have to be findable,” says artist Austin Kleon in his New York Times bestseller Show Your Work!
Kleon’s first bestseller Steal Like an Artist showed the reader how to unlock creativity in a world where it is impossible to be original, but Show Your Work! focuses on how to get your work out there.
Kleon, who “hates to talk about self-promotion” is a proponent that artists shouldn’t hide their work, even if it is in progress. “By sharing [the] day-to-day process [you] can create a unique bond with your audience,” he writes. On Instagram, which has become the social platform for freelance artists, the hashtag #wip (work in progress) conjures up around 17 million posts.
Aastha Agawar, a luxury and fashion management student at SCAD, has created a separate Instagram account just to show her work. In this account, she posts conceptual illustrations of her fashion design as well as samples of fabrics and behind the scenes glimpses of the production process.
Kleon’s book is made up of tips for building an audience, but there are tools out there to share finished, professional-looking work with potential employers. Portfolios, for example, are the collection of an artist’s best finished work. The Behance network, owned by Adobe, is a free tool that houses an artist’s portfolio. It is popular among creative professionals from all disciplines.
“It is a place where people can see what I do,” says Doris Ramirez, an industrial designer who started her Behance portfolio to showcase the projects she made during college, but continues to update it with her professional endeavors. Ramirez describes the network as a portfolio website, but also a place where you can seek out inspiration.
The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) requires their applicants to their Master programs to submit a portfolio in their admission process in order to gauge their potential in the field they’re applying to.
SCAD also offers an exclusive network for students and alumni to create their portfolios. This network helps its users get discovered more easily by potential clients, recruiters, and creative enthusiasts.
Behance is also a job portal where employers can view the work of potential hires. The artists give a brief resumé on their profile, and the potential employers get visual feedback by looking at the finished projects. Artists can also tie their Behance account to their LinkedIn account and gain more visibility for their work.
For freelancers, showing finished work is what gets them hired. Lachelle Robotham, an advertising student at SCAD, started her website in 2017. It showcases her graphic design, photography and web design work and encourages potential employers to contact her for business inquiries. Robotham describes each featured project and shows preliminary sketches, exposing the developmental process as well.
SCAD offers workshops that teach communication skills to creative-minded students, teaching them to better express themselves. From Oct. 18 through Nov. 8 SCAD Path workshops are available and free for SCAD students. With topics on how to engage your audience, embracing improvisation, and discovering your story, the workshops are designed to teach students how to self-promote.
When it comes to networking, SCAD offers alumni events through their office for Career and Alumni Success (CAS). CAS helps students and alumni by setting up employer visits, career fairs and company expos. Additionally, they offer a job portal for SCAD students and alumni where they can find exclusive opportunities.
Art is, indeed, a business. We must get over the “starving artist” romanticism, says Kleon, “Even the Renaissance had to be funded,” he writes. So, put yourself out there.
