The Art of Promotion

For illustrators, the road ahead presents many challenges. A persistently uncertain economic climate has changed the playing field, forever altering the competitive landscape and significantly diminishing the traditional role of the freelance illustrator. To penetrate the instability in the marketplace and remain viable for the long term, illustrators must take a more active, forward-thinking, leadership role. They need to become more entrepreneurial, looking outside traditional venues to discover alternative markets for their work to move, grow and flourish. Read more here from my Communication Arts Illustration Annual article Navigating the Labyrint h .

Q: Can you talk about your brand and how you incorporated that vision into your promotional materials? A: My design aesthetic is simple, clean and contemporary, while my illustration and artwork is detailed, tactile, layered and full of energy. Having promotional materials that showcase my artwork without competing with the design of the piece was instrumental to conveying my brand effectively.   Q: What advice can you give other illustrator/designers when it comes to developing successful self-promotional materials? A: Promotional materials should be dynamic while still representing your aesthetic vision. Consider your medium, audience and what work you are trying to attain. Design something that not only allows your work to sing, but also showcases how your abilities can benefit their business.    Q: Do you work in a sketchbook to develop your ideas? Please detail your conceptual approach to design. A:  Absolutely! Organic free-flowing sketches are instrumenta

When it comes to engaging an audience, interactive and new media initiatives are at the forefront. Because of advances in technology and the Internet, we are seeing a plethora of digital entertainment vehicles introduced into the culture. The opportunities seem endless. “More than any other genre of entertainment, gaming advancements are happening at an absolutely mind-boggling rate and the need to stay on top of technology is critical,” details Daniel Dociu, concept artist and chief art director for NCsoft North America. “When the next generation of gaming hardware comes out, the potential of the machines is high and developers need to question how they can best use or take advantage of the com­put­ing power. A lot of the time, it means more man­power and bigger budgets to create; an approach where more is more.” To read more go to my article in Communication Arts on Interactive Storytelling.

My article in Communication Arts entitled Building Fantastical Worlds: in Print, Broadcast, Film, Interactive Media and Beyond provides an inside look into the development of intellectual properties that span across multi-media platforms. To meet the changes in the economic climate and competitive landscape, creators need to expand their intellectual properties to encompass a multitude of avenues. Featured artists include James Gurney and Dinotopia , Tony DiTerlizzi and Spiderwick Chronicles and Phil Straub's Utherworlds .