Open Letter to Art Schools Everywhere
To the faculty and boards of art schools everywhere,
As an Illustrator, Writer, and Podcaster I explore the issues that face creative professionals every day and do my best to share resources and inspiration with my fellow artists.
At least once a week, I receive an email from both experienced and novice Illustrators alike who express immense gratitude for the information that I provide via my blog and podcast, Escape from Illustration Island. In these emails, artists from all over the world complain about the lack of business education they received when they attended art school. Many of them tell me that when they graduated with their Bachelor’s degree they felt a sense of panic and anxiety as they realized that while they had learned the technical skills to pursue their craft, they were completely unprepared for the many aspects of running a creative business. I have often been thanked and praised as a breath of fresh air in the industry, and even called a “hero”.
I am not a hero.
However, the reason I mention this is that I am increasingly angered and frustrated by the lack of business education that most art schools seem to provide to their students. The fact that many artists are so relieved when they find my site is testament to the gaping void in this area of their academic studies. I find it difficult to understand why a simple artist and blogger like myself can impart so much business-related information, while many universities and institutions that cost tens of thousands of dollars and 4 years of study or more fail to do the same.
This concept has been troubling me for some time, and I have finally decided to voice my frustration and ask art schools everywhere:
Are you doing your best to prepare your students for the business side of their Illustration careers?
If your answer is “Yes”, (and I know that there are a select group of schools that fall under this category) then I commend you for your efforts and encourage you to continue to explore ways to prepare your students to build their businesses in the “real” world.
If your answer is “No”, then I beg you to consider the harm that you may be inflicting on the Illustration industry, as well as your students.
I understand that you can only impart so much knowledge in 4 years of education, and that it is not necessarily your obligation to teach about business. However, I can’t help but wonder what the point is of teaching someone the technical skills of the trade if you are not empowering them to apply them after their graduation. I strongly believe that this is one of the many reasons that most art school graduates end up working in some other field besides that which they studied in school.
I also feel that this serves to help lower the standards of the industry as a whole, by producing artists who have little sense of best practices when it comes to running a creative business.
Obviously, there are many factors at play here, and I am not suggesting that every problem a creative professional faces is related to the quality of their academic education. In addition, I believe that every artist is responsible for nurturing their own level of knowledge, experience, and skill.
That being said, I see a lot of room for improvement in the academic world, and I hope that you will seriously consider the thoughts expressed here. I am open to any dialogue on this topic from both artists and those involved in the academic world. My main hope is to help raise the standards of education and our industry by echoing a concern that I hear more often than I wish I did.
Sincerely,
Thomas James
Note: If you believe in the ideas written here, please share your thoughts in the comments section or help to spread the word by passing on this post to your fellow artists and those in the academic field. Thank you.
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Trackbacks
- Thomas James’ Open Letter to Art Schools | Terry Biddle dot com
- The Nature of the Business of Art – A Summary « The Art of Dawn Blair
- Open Letter to Art Students Everywhere « Freelancing With Children
- EFII 3.0 – The Future of Escape from Illustration Island « Freelancing With Children
- This and That « Cedric’s Blog-O-Rama!
- Arts Business Institute | Artists in a Transitional World
Amen, Thomas!
Well said!!!
I, too, get emails from artists who thank me for information they should have learned in college that is helping them to actually earn a living off of their art. Unfortunately, many art students are graduating with HUGE student loans and no means of paying it off. The art schools do not prepare their students for life in the real world as a creative professional.
It doesn’t matter how great your artwork is or if you are the most talented person who ever lived. If you can’t run your art career like a business, you’ll fail.
Thanks for this open letter. Maybe some of these colleges will hire people like you to come in and show them how to teach the important business skills that are necessary to thrive. I highly recommend that they do!
Thanks Maria. I hadn’t even considered the student loan issue, but that’s unfortunately a great point. I also think part of the equation is that students demand more education in this area.
This echoes much of what I have been hearing about art schools. I used to wish I could go back in time to go to art school to have the competitive edge that’s so needed in this industry, but now I am realizing more and more that my years of working in business for various employers may have been the best preparation. I guess that’s good news for me, but I agree it’s a shame for the industry as a whole.
Art school does have its uses – you get to experiment artistically, with feedback from more established practitioners.
But the only way I could see it preparing you for the real world is if graduation *required* that you independently take on and successfully execute several commercial briefs.
I agree, David. That would be a great approach, and seemingly not difficult to implement.
Good post Thomas, and definitely something that needed to be brought up. I was lucky enough that my school had at least one class geared towards the business side of things, and the professor was good enough to handle it from both a fine art perspective and from a designer/illustrator perspective. Some of the projects we had to do were a mock interview or mock project proposal where you had to pitch your project to the professor and class to get funding. We also had to ship a piece of artwork to him and have it arrive safe and intact. Very good class.
But, it was only one class. I asked a lot of my professors about this, and there was mixed response about the subject. I really came away from all of these experiences with the idea (and this came from not-art class experiences as well) that a student in today’s university setting needs to be aggressive about an academic plan, researching which classes they feel the need to take and to seek advice from those within, and outside of, the university system. It’s perfectly feasible for a student to put together an art degree that has business elements to it, but the student is going to have to be firm about doing that. Part of the issue, in my eyes, is academic advising, not necessarily the art departments.
I feel that a lot of this stems from the general perception of the arts – they are there to round out everything else instead of a career in and of itself (although that is by no means an absolute).
Thanks Thomas for this interesting post!
I have to say that I had the luck to do a study on a private artschool (Ibkk in Bochum/Germany). Their concept is to bring student who are willing to graduate all informations they need to get afoot on the freelance-ground. From over 30 students in a course the number dropped down to nearly 6 who graduated with me, this number is comparable to “regular” absolvents who get their business working after artschool.
The downside on this private and besides dayjob-schools is: all informations that are taught were brief and on a tight timeline(just like in real-life) everything has to be worked out by the students and its interesting that I can say -most of what I´ve learned was from my fellow students, not from the profs.
But in the end this all reflects real life far more than any university can, I wanted to attend a regular uni, but my portfolio was “too fantasy”, yepp, thats me, and that´s what I always wanted to do, why bothering with a school who wants me to learn something different?
This is in my opinion a big waste of time and sad for those who don´t know what they want, a big disappointment for those who think they can make a living, and so forth…
Its understandable that in the fine-arts sector students learn all the nice and nifty techniques, its the best times of their life, because after graduation the most have to work in factories.
Why are there always these walls , and how can they be beaten?
I suggest everyone to watch Randy Pausch´s last lecture: how to achieve childhood dreams: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo
This was a big eye-opener for me, if you know what you want, there are no walls. Walls are only in the way of those who tend to give up, those who want something really bad will find a way around or through, that´s the only reason me thinks these artschools exist.
Major in Art, Minor in Business. Problem solved.
Valid point, Richard. However, it would be great if more art schools made business a part of their standard curriculum, especially because there are business issues that are unique to the Illustration industry that a Business minor may not cover.
I see the logic in this point. However, I attended CCAD in downtown Columbus. They did an excellent job of preparing us for the business world. Yes, a business degree can be an excellent source of information, but much of it can be gleaned by word of mouth or print-outs/packets. Most of my professours were working artists. As we did projects, they carved out a class or two to go through the hazards, and benefits, of the illustratour’s world, post-graduation. They gave us hand-outs with contact information and sources, mostly pulled from either personal experience or from books that are already being (or have been) published. Simply directing someone to the “Artist’s and Graphic Designer’s Market” would be a huge relief for most would-be illustratours, even if no other information is given in the realm of business in schools. Going back and looking at old editions, their Q&A’s, articles from professionals, and publisher’s advice, has been invaluable. But, honestly, how hard would it be to make sure a class or two is scheduled to handle business? If all the teachers used even one class to talk about it, then students would get several perspectives and be able to make more informed decisions about their futures and the steps needed to succeed. It’s hard enough without being armed with the right knowledge. I moved schools for this reason. CCAD was worth the money and time. The most helpful business information has come from people who do what I do, have gone through the gauntlet of publishing, and now have something to offer in terms of perspective. If a teacher is not willing to give all the knowledge relevant to the area in which he is focused, then how, in any way, could he be considered a “teacher”?
-Teacher, noun:
1 : one that teaches; especially : one whose occupation is to instruct
-Teach, verb:
1 a : to cause to know something b : to cause to know how c : to accustom to some action or attitude d : to cause to know the disagreeable consequences of some action
2 : to guide the studies of
3 : to impart the knowledge of
4 a : to instruct by precept, example, or experience b : to make known and accepted
5 : to conduct instruction regularly in
4 is particularly interesting in this context. Teachers have a thankless job, but one that can help make and break lives/careers.
Fine if you’re going to a liberal arts school, but most exclusively art schools do not have business courses, nor do they have “minors”.
To reiterate a point from the Facebook thread, part of the problem may stem from art students concentrating on developing their artistic voice and less willing to ‘waste time’ engaging with whatever business training is offered by their college.
Nothing concentrates your mind so much as trying to make a living.
Definitely, David. I think my response to Mark’s comment below also speaks to your point as well. Thanks for engaging in this conversation.
It’s the elephant in the room of college level art education.
Of course, as the astounding thread of illustrators’ comments (66 at this writing) on your Facebook post made mention, 1.) some schools do a superb job of placement and vocational preparation and 2.) many art students aren’t receptive and or aren’t recognizing or appreciating it when they hear/see it on campus. But it’s the perennial issue of all the arts. Thank you for your open letter and starting this conversation!
Agreed, Mark. However, the lack of students being receptive to information certainly isn’t unique to this topic alone. It’s definitely up to the students to care, but they need to be given the information in the first place. Thanks for your comment!
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Hear, hear!! I actually petitioned my school (20 years ago) to take a business course (replacing a biology 101 course) and was told science was more important. (The panel to which I petitioned was mostly made up of science professors and I had to actually explain what my major was – graphic design.) I have since wished time and again that I had gone ahead and taken a business course anyway (despite the extra cost).
Might I also add – with all the illustration students being turned out into a society that no longer hires illustrators – shouldn’t we be training our students that as illustrators, art directors, designers, etc. they will need to support their field to keep it viable. No more clip art – HIRE AN ILLUSTRATOR.
Thanks for all you do!
e
Excellent- thank you for your post!
I went through my entire undergrad without any mention of a business class. When I became intereted in earning my MFA, I was surprised to still see that it was still absent from the curriculum.
I ended up deciding to attend University of Hartfords MFA program, which DOES include a rigorous business class, taught by industry pro Jim Carson. I wish that there were more programs like this for artists…. and not just in graduate school!!!
This is EXACTLY why I started my blog! (www.artofbusinessblog.com) To address a problem that I felt was important to help solve.
Interestingly enough, there is a discussion that goes along these lines over there:
http://www.carolinehimmelman.com/?p=101
In summary, an art teacher once told me that he believed that art schools purposefully don’t teach business because if artists knew how hard it really was to be an artist, they wouldn’t go to art school and give their money to those tuition-funded institutions. It’s bad for their business to teach business.
Some commenters felt that teachers under-prepared students so they would not have the competition.
Sadly, I’d have to agree with your teacher regarding many schools.
Absolutely agree with what your saying. So many coming out of school end up not using their craft because they cannot figure out direction and content for their work. Great article, spot on the problem new artists are facing today.
Amen, brotha! :)
I really think a major component in this issue is the huge rift between the academic world, and “the outside world.” Many people in academia are professors “by profession.” They can teach technique, they have the necessary skills…but their paycheck comes solely from the university.
No real world application. This is not to belittle the profession, I would like to one day teach at the university level, but I think it speaks volumes about what students end up leaving with.
The very nature of college (the hours of the day) actually prohibit working art & design professionals (with business experience) from teaching to students. I have run into this many times when trying to teach courses. I simply cannot be gone from work for 4 hours in the middle of the day, and I would venture to say most working professionals probably can’t either.
What often ends up happening is that the academic world is far behind the outside world, as the academic world tends to move at a slower pace. The outside world’s pace is always changing.
Without enough people who are actively making a living in the courses they are teaching, I think we’ll continue to see a lag in “real world” application.
I think the student is best served by both types of experiences (professors by profession, & working artists). That’s my two cents.
Thanks for your comment Terry. In a future episode of the EFII Podcast, I’ll be sharing a conversation with Whitney Sherman, chair of the Illustration program at MICA, and she mentioned that one of the main aspects over her overhaul of the department was to make sure the professors were “working artists” who were active in the industry. I think that can go a long way to enlightening students about the real world applications of Illustration.
Awesome Thomas! I look forward to listening to that podcast.
Great post Thomas and a very important one.
I didn’t study illustration at Uni but rather Graphic Design and I think we may have had one hour long class on Business/Marketing and from what I know from friends that did study illustration in the UK, it was much the same.
Due to the emails and comments I get on the blog too, this is one of the main reasons that I made the primary focus of the 12 Week Challenge about creating a solid business rather than just creating portfolio pieces. The business side isn’t as exciting for most people as creating the work (me included) but you can’t have one without the other.
EFII continues to bridge the gap seemingly left by art education – great job as always Thomas.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Thanks Jonathan. You definitely can’t have one without the other, which is another reason it’s baffling to me that schools don’t spend enough time on that. Here’s to hoping that will change.
I agree this is a problem with most art school. I was however lucky to find the Academy of Art in San Francisco whose instructors are all working creative professionals. So you actually do get a lot of info about the real world as well as how to properly clutch that conte.
I absolutely concur Thomas! I have long said it should be a standard that illustration departments offer a structured business program (specific to illustration) incorporated into their degree programs. And not just a class or two, but more of a minor in business. Considering how much money art schools make, there is absolutely no excuse to not include it in the curriculum.
Students may not like it, but its been proven over and over again that this is desperately needed. Whether we like it or not, we as illustrators are small businesses, independent contractors most often. The years of the staff illustrator has been gone for decades, we need to bring current illustration education standards up to speed.
Thank goodness for organizations like the Graphic Artists Guild, the Illustrators Partnership and to all the individual artists who set up educational courses, websites and blogs to help those desperately looking for guidance. Thank you Thomas for being one of those who want to help and for making a difference.
Thanks Diana. I agree that we are fortunate that so many people and organizations try to pick up where art schools leave off. Like I said before, there are definitely some positive exceptions to my complaints, where certain schools are getting it right, or at least trying to. As for the ones who don’t seem interested, I wonder about their true motives, and whether they have the students’ best interests in mind.
My alma mater, Cal Poly SLO, cares deeply about preparing its graduating students. The internship in a design firm I did while in college went a very long way in preparing me for what to expect as a working designer. I agree that schools should have a hand in preparing students for the business challenges that lie ahead. And it would also be great if students could gain an honest perspective of future lifestyle in their career choice.
I think it speaks volumes that I have gained more creative business knowledge from EFII in the last six months than I did in my entire 4 years at college and university.
Once again, excellent post Thomas. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Ryan. I’m both proud and frustrated by that fact. I’m at least glad I can help people that couldn’t find resources anywhere else.
You provide a great service for artists everyday, Thomas, but now you’ve gone and done it – stated a truth so screamingly real that it needed to be said!
I hear this same thing everyday from artists and it’s the only reason my blog exists. Educators bear a tremendous responsibility for preparing emerging artists for the real world. Quite often lip service is paid, but no real change is made. Credit goes to those schools who take business training seriously. Where are the rest of you?
Thanks for your comment, Carolyn. This is something that is difficult to understand, but I have to admit it can sometimes be difficult for me to understand the motivations of the “academic” world. Thankfully, there ARE some schools that do a good job of preparing their students for the business side of things.
absolutely. well said!
A very powerful letter indeed, especially as it rang with truth!
I’m a recent graduate, and I just had a discussion with my girlfriend today about how I am confident in my technical and creative abilities, but I’m clueless as to how to market myself and earn a living doing what I love. She is the more business like person, so she’s been a great help in providing ideas! Yes, I’m lucky to have her! Don’t worry, I still subscribe to your newsletter!
I can say that there are many faculty members that realize this very issue. For instance, a new group has emerged on Facebook comprised of Art Institute graduates, with the purpose of helping both existing students as well as graduate move forward. It was founded by several former instructors and classmates that saw this need and decided to fill it. Granted, it’s in it’s early stages, but I can easily see it growing.
The bottom line is that I agree with you, and that some in the academic community do as well. Have hope, but don’t hesitate to get the message out!
Thanks so much for what you provide here! Keep it up!
Thanks Jim. Would you care to share a link to that Facebook group?
Heartily agree with you, Thomas. I did a Fine Arts degree here in Australia and I think, over the space of 3 years, it was brought up once in one class. And by “brought up” I mean “mentioned in passing” and it was actually only about what a working fine artist needed to earn before they had to take out tax and actually nothing about the business of art itself.
Mind you, looking back at my degree in hindsight, it was not a place of building technical skills and all about the conceptual stuff which has stood me in poor stead later in life now that I know what it is I want to do with my art ability. I’m having to start from scratch in a lot of ways and haven’t even thought about the business side of things.
I think it’d be useful to have a survey of graduates of different illustration programs or at least some way to rate how well different schools prepare students for the business side. That way incoming students can have a clearer idea of what their getting into, and it could provide incentive for schools to do more in that area.
That’s a great idea, Nate. Holding schools accountable for what they really offer is a good thing.
I wholeheartedly agree that all illustration departments should have mandatory business training included in the curriculum.
That said, I wanted to weigh in from an illustration business professor’s perspective. While I can’t speak for other schools, I teach professional business practices at Sheridan College and OCAD in the Toronto area. My students graduate having been taught licensing contract terminology, how to negotiate fair contracts (and better yet, how to write their own), how draft a quote, how to invoice, how to manage a business, how to manage taxes, how to promote themselves, how to find clients, how to price their images appropriately and generally how to conduct themselves like pros.
I can only provide training, though…I can’t force anyone to listen in class (or show up) and APPLY what I have told them in practice once they leave school. If a student has been through my course and still insists on doing professional work for free once they graduate (as some have) in the mistaken belief that setting one’s professional rates at zero leads to handsomely paid work, I don’t know what more I can do. I’ve explained until I am blue in the face that desperation-based business decisions end badly. All the business training and information in the world doesn’t bestow judgement. Judgement comes from making real-world mistakes and learning from them. Many former students confess that some of their worst boo-boos resulted from failing to heed my words.
Business knowledge and training are absolutely vital but limited in effectiveness by how they are applied in practice. Conversely, one of the best aspects of my business classes is that the students go on to teach their pals, who aren’t getting business training, what to do. Also, many keep a watch out for, and bring to my attention, bad contracts or business situations so that I can alert others to the danger. I can’t fix an entire industry but I can clean up my corner of it in Toronto.
Why any professor would deliberately withhold business information in the odd belief that competition is kept to a minimum that way is beyond me. It would be totally counterproductive. So would a faculty composed entirely of academics with no outside professional practices of their own. The day I see my students as a threat to my own professional practice is the day to get out of teaching. Illustration success is an alchemy of talent, APPLYING business training, perseverance and chance. Some of those aspects can’t be learned or controlled.
Thanks very much for responding, Kathryn. Your comment is very encouraging. As I stated in an earlier response, I do see the point that not all students will be close attention to the business concepts involved, but that’s no reason to not cover it at all. After all, I never paid much attention to Math classes growing up, but that didn’t stop the teachers from teaching it :)
My hope is that schools will at least present the information along with everything else and give it the importance it deserves. I’m not familiar with your program, but judging by your comment, it sounds like you have an interest in helping new artists to understand the more practical challenges they face in the industry. Thanks for that. Do you have any ideas about what your fellow professors think about this situation?
Hi Thomas,
My fellow professors agree that business training should be mandatory in art schools. I also agree that not everyone will make the most of business training but schools should at least have the subject thoroughly covered in the curriculum. I had no business training myself in art school and learning it the hard way, as I did, isn’t highly recommended.
Teaching the subject is rather like teaching people to drive by description. Explaining business comes across as a weird abstraction until an artist gives it a go for themselves. All I can do is provide sufficient information so that my students are prepared. Early confidence comes from the sense that they know what they are talking about when confronted by real-world business situations. Judgement comes with time and practice but, to follow the driving analogy, there are bound to be a few prangs in the process. Every young illustrator deserves a shot at success and business training is DEFINITELY key to that goal.
Great to hear that other schools also have good business courses on the go.
Kathryn, I think you’re doing a wonderful service for your students. It’s this kind of work that ultimately benefits the whole field. Many thanks!
Kathryn, your class was the most important class I took in 3rd year illustration at Sheridan.
The real shame though was that we only had it one year. I wish it was something we learned from the first year. Because the range of topics we covered was much too grand for that one class.
Illustration graduates are the only grads who immediately go into business for themselves. The majority of graduating designers and art directors will go to work for a firm, learn the business-side by actually working in that environment. Even most photographers will assist a pro before heading out on their own. A lot of designers and art directors I’ve know always dream about starting their own business, illustrators do not have that choice coming out of school, for them it is a reality.
You’re correct in saying that very few schools offer business pointers to any degree which is a shame. This should not be a trial-and-error situation for graduates. And you’re also right when you say it hurts the industry. From my vantage point I see a lot of poor marketing going on, weak websites, poor presentations and it’s obvious that no one has really given them direction on what to show or how to show it. I hope academia wakes up and gives artist’s the tools they need to survive and thrive.
This whole issue of the business side of illustration is the reason we decided to hold our first Nuts & Bolts conference here in New York in July. I didn’t see any university in my travels that was doing the job on either side of the pond though I have to say the Association of Illustrators does an excellent job in the UK in supporting young illustrators with a similar type of conference.
Keep up the good work! And make sure the chairs of all the illustration programs gets a copy of the letter and a link to these comments. It may just be the eye-opener they need.
Thanks Charles. That’s very encouraging. It’s nice to know that there are others out there fighting for better support for Illustrators. I do intend to reach out in a more direct way with the Illustration programs out there. We’ll see what, if anything, comes of that.
I completed a Graphic Design HND a couple of years ago and, although there was a module called “Professional Practice”, it was sadly lacking. In the 1st year it was taught by a Business Studies lecturer who just wanted to talk about copyright for 6 months (and who we complained about so much he was removed from the course after that). In the 2nd year we just occasionally piggy-backed onto the Fine Arts group when they received talks from visiting artists. I say artists. Most of them lived on some cloud somewhere and there was only one (a rock album illustrator) who ever had anything useful and relatable to say. Another visitor (I forget who but he was there for something totally unrelated) mentioned that the majority of graphic designers were freelance but our course never geared us up for that. Their approach was that we would all work in studios but – surprise surprise – out we came to the worst recession in living memory and these studios weren’t hiring anyone without 2 years’ experience. I always wanted to be freelance anyway but there was no support whatsoever for that! I’ve been self-employed before so I know the basics of setting up, but I needed some insider tips about finding clients, selling my own work, using social media, etc. I genuinely have learned more just by browsing sites like this for 6 months, so thank you for being there. Oh and I totally recommend Jonathan’s 12 Week Challenge (even if I’m lagging behind a bit myself) – http://zero2illo.com/
It’s about time this kind of open letter was sent to Art schools across the country, if it went out to them 20-years ago perhaps Work for Hire contracts would’ve died and I would be able to freelance full time instead of having a traditional day job.
SU
Nice one Thomas, you’ve definitely done a huge amount for the community as a whole in the last year, and have really helped many of us get access to information that wasn’t really taught in schools.
I recently took a business class for illustrators with The AOI here in the uk, and found that the most helpful and useful seminars came from very successful, practising illustrators, who are at the top of their game right now. Its amazing how much of their wisdom was really just a lot of common sense, yet were things I’d never been taught in school.
From talking to friends who moonlight as teachers or guest lecturers in artschools and colleges, the biggest problem is maybe that classic insulation and cushioning effect of academia.
For instance, at the top colleges in London or New York, a visiting lecturer is likely or hopefully going to be a pretty successful practioner who’s somewhere at the top of the heap, and therefore has a pretty good handle on the illustration industry as it is right now, yet in a little provincial backwater where someone hasn’t had so many freelance gigs in the real world of late, how much wisdom can they impart?
This is a huge generalisation and i sincerely hope not to offend many great teachers who no doubt read this blog; I grew up in a small rural town and the art college and its teachers were exemplary, but there’s always a danger of academia cushioning us from the real world, and therefore the actual state of affairs in our respective industries.
Just some thoughts.
Thanks again, as ever
Dylan
As someone that has totaled a debt of $102,000 and counting from art school:
You cannot count on art school for anything other than a roof to be around other artists. All of my business knowledge, and art knowledge has come from relationships I’ve been fortunate to build with great folks already in the industry for a number of years – or with my friends going through the same thing as me. You have to be pro-active. Just relying on school to teach you how to make art and run your business is a recipe for disaster
I appreciate what you are doing with this letter, but most schools employ teachers that haven’t actively worked in the field for 10+ years. They simply are not able to talk about modern illustration business practices because they literally do not know what they are. You need to seek out the knowledge of those currently in the field and in the trenches.
Francis, on one point I do not agree. Not all art colleges employ “teachers that haven’t actively worked in the field for 10+ years”. All it takes to learn which are or are not is to google the faculty. The one’s working stand out.
I do agree with your sentiment “you need to seek out the knowledge of those currently in the field and in the trenches”. So college is really about learnng how to learn s o you can keep doing it for the rest of your life!
Actually I shouldn’t have suggested ALL art schools when I made my statements. I can only speak on the one I attended. There are great teachers that teach at art schools, that work at the top of the field, but I’ve found them to be scarce. I’ve received backwards information from former teachers that was honestly wrong and dated. I fortunately researched the information and recognized the error. Unfortunately some classmates took the info at face value and suffered the consequences jeopardizing their early careers
But as we enter the information age, a whole new frame of mind is required for every aspect of business. The world is changing in a massive way similar to the Renaissance. Business models are changing. Creative strategies are open for discovery and I’m very excited with the options that are being presented by the new exchange of information and ideas. These ideas on business/promotion need to be explored, considered, and applied in a creative fashion. Similar to your art, your promotion can be an extension of your creativity. But if your teachers haven’t made a living off of their art in 15+ years, this information is left to be discovered on your own. That is fine for some people. But many are left behind because of this.
Up front the idea of business, and the whole hustle that is required to start your entrepreneurial illustration career seems daunting, taxing, and not natural for artists. So don’t treat it like such. Treat it as a creative venture as you would a gig. Make association lists, and ideation charts on how to get your work in the right avenues. It’s great fun if you approach it that way.
I went on a tangent, but the business side of illustration is of great interest to me. Best of luck to everyone.
I have to agree with many of the comments, but it frustrates me to see students at my college not taking advantage of the many opportunities we provide, including a minor in Business of Art and Design. We offer workshops through Career Services on business skills throughout the year, and a two-day career conference on campus that should have better attendance. It seems like some students get so wrapped up in their artwork that graduation sneaks up on them. I guess it’s true that you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink!
Very true, Amy. I’m curious. Are the programs you mentioned mandatory? In my experience, there were quite a few mandatory things being taught when I went to school that might be perceived as less crucial than the business teachings. Also, I think it’s important for business classes to be mandatory to communicate its importance in the field.
I totally agree that business education is a key factor for an artist. I would say it would be mainly directed to illustrators though. As Charles said Illustrators are the main types of artists who go in business for themselves right out of school. That being said Kathryn Adams who posted earlier teaches business illustration at Sheridan College which I had the great fortune of being a student of hers. Many lessons reading contracts and formulating invoices I still use to this day and it serves me well. Of course there are many other things an illustrator learns from trial and error. But without a solid foundation of business ethics and practices, it would be hard to make the right decision.
I totally agree that business education is a key factor for an artist. I would say it would be mainly directed to illustrators though. As Charles said Illustrators are the main types of artists who go in business for themselves right out of school. That being said Kathryn Adams who posted earlier teaches business illustration at Sheridan College which I had the great fortune of being a student of hers. Many lessons reading contracts and formulating invoices I still use to this day and it serves me well. Of course there are many other things an illustrator learns from trial and error. But without a solid foundation of business ethics and practices, it would be hard to make the right decision.
As a Design Director I stumble upon two issues just about everyday.
1: Freelance artists straight from university.
Whereas this itself doesn´t pose a problem at all, however their fundamental lack of knowledge when it comes to a: finances/Business and b: contracts is quite obvious-
It´s sad enough to see offers from freelancers which if you calculate it through, end up with less than 200 dollars a day as payment. It´s even sadder if the same people then don´t know what to do with a contract or have contracts they downloaded and hope are correct, which they rarely are.
2: Artists that don´t realize how the people in business think.
This starts with the portfolio ( I believe a large number of universities have absolutely no idea of how we in the industry expect a good portfolio to look like.) and doesn´t end at them easily getting down or burned out when they face their first customers and the amount of critique (even honest critique is hard to swallow if you haven´t learn how to cope with it) they are bound to get especially at the beginning.
And sadly I could go on and on and on with this…
Thanks. I think this is something that’s WAY overlooked. We had some business training, but not enough to be able to make a living off our talents. We have all graduated now with no idea of how to market ourselves or run a freelance business. I tell you, it sucks to be $100,000+ in debt and working at Starbucks or something to attempt to pay it off before you can retire.
Thomas,
This is a great discussion, I had to share this on my blog! Hope you don’t mind!
Ten years ago when I began chairing the Illustration Dept at MICA I instituted a full 3cr seminar linked to the senior thesis course to cover writing contracts, business proposals, setting up a studio, having good verbal skills, marketing skills, understanding copyright and intellectual property issues and more. The goal was to — yes — teach students how to protect themselves, but more it was to teach them how to be professionals and be aware of how fluid these issues are and how to continue learning after the ‘academy’.
We expect the ability to write and organize thoughts, the students are routinely asked to think on their feet to answer questions about “if you got this call what would you say” scenarios. And they all participate in real-life projects with clients — sending estimates, correcting contracts, following up with billing statements.
Three years ago I changed the final senior crit to a portfolio event that now partners with the Society of Illustrators and engages art directors and designers from both coasts using Skype to review portfolios. The goal is to create a bridge from the classroom to the professional world. The students must have a completed hard copy portfolio, portfolio CD, promo cards etc.
We can’t expect art schools to graduate business whiz’s, only to give the basic tools on which to continue learning to run their sole proprietorship.
Thanks for joining the conversation, Whitney. It sounds like you are making a genuine effort to impart relevant knowledge to the students at MICA. I very much agree with what you’re saying about creative professionals also being responsible for learning the necessary skills to run a business. From what I’ve heard about your program, it seems like a good approach.
It seems to me that the least an art school can do is communicate the importance of these types of skills while encouraging them to empower themselves to continue building upon that foundation. I agree that we can’t expect all schools to turn out business whiz’s, but at least make this aspect of the industry an integral part of their education.
Thanks for being one of the leaders in the academic field who seem to be trying to find ways to do that.
I’m looking forward to posting my conversation with you about this in Episode 40(?) of the EFII Podcast on June 29th, because I think our fellow artists will find it very interesting.
Thanks Thomas. We require the GAG Pricing and Ethical Guidelines and have the 2 semesters of intensive seminar plus the realities of the business [all parts of it] come into play at the jr and soph levels. If they leave MICA not doing it right then they were not listening!
As I’d mentioned in our call, I feel the educational treadmill of K-12 thru college eliminates any possibility for students to know much about the world or themselves. Except for the most mature, they can make choices that are not as select as the price tag attached to a college education. I’m a proponent of HS students applying, getting their acceptances then deferring for a few yrs to sharpen life goals, save some money and ripen them to utilize the resources offered at an institution of higher learning.
I had a similar experience to Francis up there – whenever I’d ask teachers “So how did you get that job?” the invariable response was “Oh, I did that 10 or 15 years ago… everything’s different now.” I actually had a teacher say it was more important to mail mini-portfolios than to have a website.
On the other hand, I think it’s just as important for artists to possess common sense as any other independent contractor; we’ve all seen artists who offer impossibly low rates, have incomprehensible websites, or otherwise manage to shoot themselves in the foot and cringed.
UARTS in Philadelphia had a strong program with serious professional instructors. The chair was adamant about the business, and stressed preparation and practices… this didn’t sink in with kids that saw themselves as “artists”, not business majors.
We had been told more than once, by a few different instructors: “Of you thirty in this class, only one or two will stick it out and become professional illustrators…”
That should have been a wake-up call to re-assess career goals and question the dollars spent on a university degree. I’ve been fortunate to have a career in the arts, but that is through bull-headedness, as much as luck.
Historically, I have been ripped off by the big three: Family, State and Church… each as past clients, so I enter each contract and business deal like a wet cat. It takes some hard knocks to become business savvy, and nothing can teach like experience… The universities can teach, warn and direct, but it still is a sink-or-swim world out there (here).
Agreed, Paul. I think I’ll be posting a similar Open Letter in the very near future, this time directed to Art Students everywhere, because it’s important to say that students and professionals alike need to take the reins as well.
Thanks for your comment.
I taught graphic design and illustration at diploma and degree level respectively. The lack of business skills training was a large hole in the syllabus, which was often filled with token gestures in the form of ” work placement” which often left each student to their own devices in the search for somewhere to “place” in industry. It was and I am confident still is in many cases, a joke.
I have recently written on the subject of colleges and what they offer potential professional image makers. The sorely lacking syllabi in colleges is not restricted to a lack of business training only. You can read here http://philbrownillustration.wordpress.com/2010/06/04/becoming-a-professional-image-maker-part-one-college-or-not/
I don’t know you, but I love you for saying this. The same thing that you address in this letter has bothered me for years, and I recently started my own blog addressing the business of art:
http://smartistsinc.blogspot.com/
I went to a very well known college that didn’t have any business courses available to my knowledge- I went around trying to learn about business but didn’t see how the general classes and books I found worked when we’re talking about art and not other more common businesses. I managed to claw and stumble my way into a better understanding of business over lots of time and begging for help.
The best you could do in my major upon graduation (unless you’re lucky enough to know what you need to know somehow), is to get work at a studio who will be partly running based on hiring the young and inexperienced workers who are fresh out of college, who are cheap and have no boundaries in place yet. It’s so screwed up. I am thinking we need to start new colleges (if only it was so easy!) to strenghten our field and dispel this idea that the ideal artist doesn’t care about money and get rid of the stigma that we are the idiot underdogs.
Thank you for raising this subject, and thanks to all for the interesting links. As a person who has been in the position of hiring artists, I have been frustrated by graduates’ lack of practical knowledge about many aspects of working in the artistic field.
As an artist working in a bad economy, I am being forced to confront some lacks in my own education many moons ago because I am in a position of having to change how I market my own work. I think this conversation is useful on multiple levels.
I think the idea of sending an open letter to students and potential students (and their parents) is great. They are the ones who by putting their money into the educational system have the most power to encourage change.
As a p/t instructor and working illustrator I can say from experience that there are two main reasons why I think art schools focus less on the business aspects of visual fields than they could:
1) students are just plain hostile to anything they perceive as “uncreative” or “commercial” and, increasingly, with the corporatization of academia and university boards, education is seen more as a service industry and students are perceived and treated as clients. And the client is always right.
2) Of necessity, the folks higher up the administrative food chain have spent more time in academia than they have in the field, so that they’re pedagogical pov tends to be more theory than practice. Many curricula tend to be very pie in the sky with the excuse of encouraging academic experimentation.
Just my thoughts..and love the site! Thanks
I think one of the problems is when classes on business practices take place. As a student, I had two required classes on business practices and portfolio development in the latter part of my senior year. That’s too late. In an ideal world the business classes should start freshmen or sophomore year and run through graduation.
I went to a very well known college that didn’t have any business courses available to my knowledge- I went around trying to learn about business but didn’t see how the general classes and books I found worked when we’re talking about art and not other more common businesses.
That should have been a wake-up call to re-assess career goals and question the dollars spent on a university degree. I’ve been fortunate to have a career in the arts, but that is through bull-headedness, as much as luck.
I definitely agree with your ideas about many schools. I went to a good University, but not putting as much forethought as I should have about why I was training to be an artist, and could they help me with this career choice. The focus at my school was on conceptual art, the faculty assuming that most of us had, if not mastered then at least received a thorough training in many of the disciplines. I was not taught one iota of business sense, and those that received mentoring were the students who mimicked or pleased the teachers the most. I learned about creativity, but worked in everything but my field. One of the first lectures from a retiring teacher that I heard set the tone for the whole four years. In his speech to us at the beginning of the first class, he said that probably most of us would never make a living as an artist, and that was just the facts, on and on, a bitter and hopeless tirade. I should have quit then, but I was determined to follow through. It does make me think now about what is it I really want to do and just go and do it, and research everything.
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I think the teacher is the one who should have quit. Had he followed up with what measures to take to help your flourish that would have been different, but he didn’t and it just comes off as the students were basically entering a crap shoot and that is was not even worth it to be there. I”m sure they didn’t give this speech to those same students BEFORE they laid out money for tuition.
I went to a state school that offered nothing in terms of business related courses or practical information for freelancers, so I went into the business absolutely clueless, and struggled to figure it all out. Thankfully, the school where I currently teach has a very different approach; we take great pride in teaching both undergrads and grads the nuts and bolts of running a freelance business; building an effective portfolio, leveraging social networking, website design, direct mail promotions, copyright issues, business structures such as Sole Proprietorship and LLC’s, tax issues, the benefits and pitfalls of using a rep, and other issues that face artists and designers who want to build a successful business as a freelancer. It isn’t that the Illustration Department has taken a renegade stance on fostering business knowhow, it comes from the top as a mandate for all the majors in our college. We are not in the business of creating homeless artists. We are in the business of teaching artists how to make a very good living making art.
All schools should have this attitude and model. Thanks for bringing art education to the next level.