How to Prepare for a Live Illustration Job

On one of my visits to New York City, I attended the a drawing session at the Society of Illustrators. I had planned my trip around this Thursday evening live drawing experience. I was so excited to be at the Society of Illustrators and was looking forward to meeting fellow illustrators who shared a love for fashion illustration. Unfortunately, this drawing session didn’t have models in fashion attire like I had seen many times on the SI Instagram. It happened to be May fourth so low and behold the models were dressed up in their Star Wars best. And by best, I mean lingerie. Yes, Star Wars, lingerie. I’m a Star Wars fan and I would’ve happily drawn costumes, but themed lingerie was tacky (tacky for drawing, but not for in the bedroom if that’s what floats your boat) and it had put a damper on this experience I had planned my whole NYC trip around! I sucked it up and did my best, but I just couldn’t bring myself to draw R2D2’s head on the model’s boob.

Luckily, I was sitting next to a fellow fashion illustrator who was detesting the entire experience out loud! Thank heavens! She was maybe in her sixties and I was beaming at her because she was a PROFESSIONAL. Any other artist feel like they will forever be that lowly student and when you’re in the presence of a well seasoned artist you feel pretty, well, not a professional. Anyway, I got to talking to her, telling her that I was a fashion illustrator and she gave me this one piece of advice that brought me to where I am today.

She said, “Learn how to draw live and to draw fast. If you can get that skill down, you’ll get jobs!” So with that, I give in return my advice on how to draw live at events.

TIP #1: RECREATE YOUR DRAWING ENVIRONMENT AT THE EVENT.

Do you draw best sitting at your desk?

Do you draw best standing at your desk?

Do you draw best sitting but holding a drawing board?

Do you draw best standing and holding a drawing board?

For me, I do well drawing at a standing desk, but I doubt Bloomingdales would have a standing desk for you at their store event. So I learned to draw on a board while standing. I also like to have a small table to place all my other supplies on. Know what your ideal drawing space is by practicing this at home or in your studio. Then take note and relay what it is you need to the event coordinator who hired you!

TIP #2: PREPARE YOUR SUPPLIES WEEKS BEFORE YOUR EVENT.

I’m serious! Don’t delay this! Also, I feel like I need to state this again, this advice is for traditional medium artist. You iPad illustrating wizards got it made! Okay, back to prepping supplies!

Paper: I spent days on days tearing paper for my event at Alt Summit. Again, I’m a traditionalist. I like that fancy fine art paper. Hmmm…..niddegan. I’m just kidding, I didn’t use niddegan. That stuff is expensive! You can also just buy a nice pad of watercolor paper, but tear it out of the pad before the event! No one wants to pose for a fumbling illustrator! Always be ready to take a client because they don’t have all day! They’re at the store event to get first dibs at the latest collection. Yeah, the enjoy the perks, but let’s be real, they just wanna shop! Oh and one last thing, I print a smaller pad of watercolor paper to test out my colors. I made mine out of scrap watercolor paper and bound it together using a Japanese style book binding technique. Or you can just hold it together with a fancy gold leaf clamp!

Paint Palette: If you’re using watercolors, have your portable palette clean and with the paint all set. And by that I mean, that if you need to refill some of your paint, do so with enough time for the watercolors to dry! The lighter colors (red, yellow, or orange) the longer it’ll take to dry than the darker colors (black, purple, blues). Again, do not procrastinate this! I made the mistake of prepping my palette two days before I had to travel to an event. When I unpacked my palette from my luggage cerulean blue (a light color) had spilled into my other paint pots. Luckily, it was next to another blue because if it was next to an orange, that would’ve been a sad day for the lady wearing orange.

TIP #3: USE THESE WATER-FILLED WATERCOLOR BRUSHES!

The Sakura Koi Brush is an easy solution to not having to deal with brushes and a container of water. They are limited in brush sizes, so I use both the Sakura Koi brushes and my traditional larger round brushes. Just don’t forget to bring your own container for water. Water bottles are just a no-go because the opening is too narrow and/or they’re not transparent and you’ll soon find yourself painting with muddy water! You poor client’s portrait! So I solved that problem by bringing a glass jar. And I gave it multiple uses! Fill it with other supplies you need so an empty glass isn’t just jostling around in your luggage. Put supplies in that won’t break easily like markers and kneaded erasers or securely lock in tubes of paint that may burst with elevation change! Then at your drawing event, have your supples laid out nicely or tucked away in a bag to only be brought out when needed. Then you’ll have nice water container for your painting sessions! Also, be vigilant about using the jar’s lid. You don’t want to leave an open jar of poop water (sometimes watercolor water can stink and look like poop) on a table in the middle of Nordstrom where a guest who doesn’t give any attention to the lowly artist could possible knock it down with her Prada bag while you’re away at the restroom! Did I paint a lovely “how I got fired by Nordstroms” picture for you? It’s just nice to avoid any accidents!

Lastly, organize your brushes and carry them in a protective container. I use this canvas brush organizer as it rolls up nicely, fitting perfectly well in my backpack. I also use a small art bin to safely carry other supplies like chalk pastels or color pencils.

I hope this was helpful and that this sets you up for your first live illustration job! Or if you’ve thought about venturing into the wild by literally illustrating on the streets at fashion week amongst the photographers, know that it is possible!

Practice makes perfect. That’s my last, and honestly, the only advice that matters because even with all this prep, you still got the actual art making to take care of and that is all on you my friend!

All the best in your creative endeavors!

Xoxo,

Victoria-Riza