1. Do you have certain qualities that you look for in an illustrator before you choose to represent them?
The main thing we look for is a consistent and commercially applicable signature style. By that I mean a body of work that is coherent and sits together well, but also that has commercial appeal to the advertising, design and publishing worlds. We always advise illustrations not to have anything in their portfolio that they're not proud of or they don't like anymore. It's better to go for quality over quantity. The other thing we look for in an artist is their attitude and personality. We need people who are reliable as well as talented. People who can produce great work under pressure and work to the industry's notorious tight timings.
2. How long have you worked in the creative industry?
My initial introduction was when I started working in publishing, selling advertising for Creative Review in 2003. I went on to work for Design Week too, before leaving to set up Handsome Frank in 2010. This year we're celebrating our 7th birthday. So I guess it's 14 years in total.
3. What made you and Tom start the Handsome Frank Illustration Agency?
I guess it was mainly a desire to do our own thing and work for ourselves. I'd just had my first child and Tom was about to become a Dad too. That's something that was definitely a catalyst, we were both looking at where our careers had taken us since University and in light of the changes in our lives we both had the urge to do something else with our lives. Aside from that it was meeting lots of talented illustrators, through my role at Creative Review, and sensing that I could help people in that sector find more work and bring more attention to the amazing work they were doing. Illustration as a medium is something I've always loved, so I thought why not set up a business involved in something you love.
4. What makes a piece of illustration successful to you?
It depends on the aim from the outset. From a commercial point of view it's successful if it achieves the things it was intended to achieve. If it's on a book cover, did make somebody buy the book? In a magazine, did it convince somebody to read the article? If it's an advert did it help somebody discover a new product or get across a message to the audience. Commercial illustration is really all about communication. If a piece of work successfully communicates a message or a feeling then it's successful. On the flip side, I think from an artistic point of view, you can also deem a piece of illustration 'succesful' if it makes you want to buy it, hang it on the wall and smile at it everyday. I guess the really amazing work are the images that succeed on both fronts.
5. Have you noticed particular trends within the illustration industry lately?
Yes, trends come and go all the time. At the moment we're seeing more texture in vector based work. I've also noticed a trend for placing a sheen like (shiny) reflection on objects and people. That seems to be very common at the moment. My advice to illustrators would also be not to follow trends too closely. They come and go so quickly, if you chase them you'll get pigeon holed and your work will date quickly. It's always best to try and do something timeless and original.
6. What advice would you give to someone (me) just starting out in the industry?
I think the main thing is to work towards having that consistency in your portfolio that I mentioned before. Once you've established that, it's then a case of trying to get a wide variety of subject matter in your work and therefore show that you're adaptable and can cater for a wide variety of briefs. Things to make sure you have in your portfolio would be people (and portraits), food & drink, objects, technology, buildings, cars, animals and maps. These are some of the very common things that our artists are asked to draw, you need to show that you can do these things in your style.
Aside from that I would say it's important to stand on your own two feet and learn about being a freelancer and running your own small business. Don't be obsessed with trying to get an agent from day one. It's good to prove to yourself you can do things and have understanding of how the industry works, so learn about contracts, quoting, invoicing a little bit about how tax works (the AOI offer some good courses on this stuff), build a database of clients and art directors. This knowledge will allow you to start working independently and then if and when you do end up with an agency, you'll have a better understanding of what they do.
Another big consideration is having the right attitude, it doesn't matter how good someones work is, a client will only work with them once if it's a difficult process. You need to have positive attitude and be willing to listen to (inevitable) feedback and take it on board. That said, don't be a push over. Place limitations on rounds of feedback (after which you charge extra) and don't work for free, make sure people are respectful of your time and talents from day one.
7. I have attached a couple of examples of my work, the second of which is a work in progress. At the moment it is shape and detail driven, I use a mixture of paper and digital work - do you think it is better to choose one specialist area of craft, or is adaptability important?
These are lovely, you already seem to have a clear direction. For me personally I would say it's wise to chose one direction or the other, both have advantages and disadvantages but it's better to decide which way you want to go. If your work is papercut then really it's all about craft, the joy of something hand made and the skill that goes into it. A good example of this is Helen Musselwhite. Her story and the charm and appeal of her work is that it's all done by hand. https://handsomefrank.
If your work is digital but has a feel of papercut to it, that's fine too (see Quentin Monge), but it will take you in a slightly slicker, cleaner direction. If you offer both it might confuse clients as to what they're going to get. Personally I feel you're better off presenting yourself as the master of one technique / process rather than somebody who can do lots of things well, but not as well as a specialist.
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