This Friday we talked about what a niche is and how we find
one for ourselves. The leaders shared who inspired their work and how these
artists helped them find their Niches.
What is a Niche?
The Literal definition of a niche is a recess in which you
can place something into. This relates perfectly into how we are as artists, we
need to find a field in art that we fit into. We need to find what niche fits
us perfectly.
How do you find your Niche?
To find your niche you have to do research into what art you
enjoy and what type of artwork you make. Then ask yourself what do these
artists do? Where do they work? and how can you improve your work to get a
great portfolio like the artists who Inspire you.
Another Great tip is to do research into where your favorite
artists work. If your work is similar to these artists this means these are
Studios and businesses that could hire you. So you should make a list of
possible places that you could apply to.
Lexie explained that you should look at where your favorite
artists work to see possible places that you can apply for jobs. She said that
if your work is similar to theirs then those companies could be interested in
Hiring you. Lexie Talked about her two favorite artists Brittney Lee and Chris
Sanders, Both of these artists work For Disney and are involved in Visual
development.
Brittney Lee
Her work is graphic and colorful
She has worked on movies like,
-Wreck-it-Ralph
-Tangled
Link to Brittney's Work,
Chris Sanders
is a story board and Character artist for Disney
He Has worked on the Movies,
-The Croods
-Lilio and Stitch
-Mulan
Link to Chris's Work,
Lexie is Niche is;
-Story Boards
-Prop Designs
-Color Studies
Link to Lexies work,
AJ talked about how he has found his niche and wants to
become a medical illustrator. The most important things that he talked about
was that you need to research what it will take to go into the field that you
are interested in. He would not have known that he needed to take 4 specific
classes to get into Grad school if he did not research what it takes to get
into the Medical illustration field.
His first favorite artist is Sam sprat. This artist inspired
AJ with his use of color and his unique Portrait paintings.
\
Is and Editorial artist and has created cover art for Game
Informer.
Sam Sprat focuses on,
-Portraits
-Color Theory
-Shaping
-Line work
Link to Sam Sprats Artwork,
AJ's second artist is Ken coulter
Ken coulter
is a Medical Illustrator and started Ion Medical Designs
Link to Ken Coulter's Website,
http://ionmedicaldesigns.com/ion_site/about.html
Link to AJ's Artwork,
http://ajrothert.deviantart.com
Wes shared his two favorite artists Nicholas Kole and Justin
Gerard. Wes explained that as artists we need to do what we love to do, not
what other people want us to do.
is a Freelance Illustrator and Character designer.
He has worked for,
-38 Studios
-Comics (Dark horse and Disney)
In addition to creating artwork he is a voice actor, He is
not afraid to do what he loves.
Link to Nicholas's Artwork,
is a Freelance artist and has worked on Book Covers and
Concept art. He starts his work in watercolor and boosts the colors in
Photoshop.
He has Worked for Warner Brothers as a concept artist
Link to his Website,
Wes has found his Niche as a Freelance Artist
He wants to,
-Work for Lego
-Fantasy Freelance
Link to His Artwork,
http://westalbott.deviantart.com/
Colleens two favorite artists are Kali Ciesemier and Natasha
Allegri. She is interested in artwork that depicts people as Realistic,
specifically real life women. Colleen encourages you to create artwork that you
like even if your teachers do not. Be who you want to be. She wants to be a
character artist and an in house worker.
She is a Freelance editorial artist and has worked for
places like,
-New Yorkers
-New York Times
Link to Her Website,
Is a concept artist for Cartoon Network, specifically
Adventure Time. She Draws what she wants to and has a very creative voice.
Natasha was the one responsible for the Gender swap episodes
for Adventure Time.
Here is a link to her artwork,
Link to Colleen's artwork,
Lucie Shearer also Visited us
this week and shared with us what she does as a Freelance artist. She Graduated
two years ago and is now doing freelance art for Layne Bryant.
She Works with Layne Bryant's
marketing team to create Brand Presentations and Charts. The charts she creates
tell the stores where and how everything should be placed in their stores. For
example the charts explain where banners hang, Where fixtures go and how
mannequins should be displayed. A fun fact is that where Items are placed can
affect how well the items sell. The Chart book runs at around 60 pages. Another
job she does is create illustrations of Items that would look weird if you just
cut them out of a photo.
The First big tip she had for us
was that when you are applying for a job you need to know who to apply through.
For example to get the job for Layne Bryant she did not apply strait to Layne
Bryant, she went to the Limited company
first. Layne Bryant does not Hire you Limited does.
The second tip that she gave us
was that as a freelance artist we will not have our taxes taken out of our
money. You need to put aside money to pay the government for the taxes you owe
them. Lucie recommends that you make four smaller payments throughout the year
instead of one large sum all at once.
It is easier to do so and not as painful when you pay.
The Biggest tips what she gave
were ones about how to be professional and how to appeal to the person who will
hire you. Lucie gave us three things that will help you get hired by a company,
-Know what your talking about
-Know the Process
-Show you know the process
She recommends that you put
something personal into your portfolio, the people who look at portfolios see
the same things everyday. If you put something personal into your portfolio you
show that your different and that causes you to stand out from the multitude.
Lucie Shared the artists that
she is inspired by,
He is a Freelance artist for Cafe Presser and has worked for
the Tri color Ink company.
link to her website,
Kelsey Beckett
She is a Freelance artist that does very detail portraits of
women.
Link to Her website,
Glen Arthur
Is also a portrait artist and has his own unique style.
Link to his Website,
http://www.glennarthurart.com/Portfolio_VGKE.php
Lucie wants her niche to be in fine art illustration
Link to her website,
Her suggestion to finding your niche is to find a style that
you are comfortable with. She also stated that you and your art will change.
You need to experiment with different media to find what you are most
comfortable with.
Do not be afraid to ask people
about Niches and where they think you would
it in.
Some of the Members of our group presented their work. First
was Luis Uzcategui who shared the artists Victo Ngai (Victoria Ngai) and Yuko
Shimizu. Both of these artists focus on line work traditionally then color it
in photoshop.
Victo Ngai
Is an editorial artist and has had her work published in,
-The New Yorker
-New York Times
-Tor Books
Link to her Website,
Is also an editorial Artist and has had her work publish in,
-The Discovery Channel Magazine
-Rolling stone
-Tor Books (Tor Books hire alot of illustrators so research
them if you want to be an editorial artist)
Some tips for artists looking for jobs are,
-Know alot of illustrators (networking)
-Be a hard worker
-Be Persistent. The people who try the hardest are the ones
who get the jobs.
Link to Luis Uzcategui's work,
http://www.behance.net/luzcategui#page=1&sort=creatives_order
Allison Also Shared who inspired her
The first artist is,
Ralph Mcquarrie
He was a concept artist for the first Star Wars Movies,
Link to his Arrtwork,
http://galactic-voyage.com/Ralph%20McQuarrie%20Art.htm
Tod Lockwood
Is a fantasy artist. He has done work for,
-Magic (Card game)
-Legend of Drizz Books
-Dungeons and Dragons
Baolong Zhang
Is a 3D Modeler who creates the 3D models and does the
texture painting,
He has work on,
-Ghost Recon 2
-Brother in Arms
-Doctor Who PS3 Vita
Link to His Work,
http://baolongzhang.blogspot.com/
Other artists Mentioned,
Sam Webber
Arthur Rackham
Edmund Dulac
If you have any question concerning Niches help finding
where you would fit in please ask us. We are here to help!
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