Basic Lecture 03: The 8 Essential Elements of Illustration for Making a Living

(This lecture is written based on the circumstances of the illustration industry in Japan and on Japanese law.)

There are many illustrators who create truly excellent work, yet still don’t get enough jobs to make a living.

Even some illustrators who have won awards in prestigious competitions and had their work featured in major illustration magazines actually receive very little professional work and struggle to support themselves through illustration alone.

On the other hand, there are also many illustrators whose work may not be outstanding, yet somehow manage to make a living.

Do you know why?

I used to believe that “if you create great illustrations, the work will come.”

But that turned out to be an illusion.

The reality is that creating great work alone is not enough to make a living as an illustrator.

So then—

What does it take to become an illustrator who consistently receives plenty of work and can make a living from it?

In this school, we will examine the reasons why some illustrators struggle to make a living from a logical and systematic perspective, and teach you practical training methods to help you build a sustainable career as a professional illustrator.

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■ When Ryuichiro Mori Was Starting Out, He Struggled with a Lack of Work, Too

When I was just starting out, I believed that “as long as I create good illustrations, the work will come.”

Even before becoming a freelance illustrator, I had already been selected for and won awards in several competitions and open exhibitions. Because of that, I mistakenly thought, “I should be able to make it as an illustrator.”

I quit my job as a graphic designer at an advertising production company in Osaka and moved to Tokyo, even though I had no professional connections and no track record as an illustrator.

I first settled into a run-down apartment in Kodaira, Tokyo, and secured a source of income by working nights. (Nothing shady, by the way—I worked at Matsuya, a Japanese beef-bowl restaurant.)

During the day, I drew constantly.

And every week, I visited anywhere from several to around ten potential clients to show them my portfolio and look for work.

I was often complimented during those meetings.

So when I got home, I would eagerly wait for the phone to ring:

“Maybe someone will call today.”“Maybe tomorrow.”

(This was before the Internet had become widespread.)

But the phone hardly ever rang.

I visited a great many potential clients, yet I still couldn’t earn enough to make a living.

“Why?”

They had seemed to like my work so much—

Why wasn’t I getting jobs?

And what could I do to change that?

I thought about these questions intensely.

I thought and thought.

Then I began putting my ideas into practice, and little by little, the number of jobs I received began to increase.

Eventually, I became extremely busy.

Over the years, I combined what I had learned during that period with:

• my long experience advising members of Illustrators Tsushin on their illustration work, and

• the knowledge I had gained from reading an enormous number of books.

From all of this, I developed my own system for helping illustrators make a living:

the Illustrators Tsushin Method.

■ The Three Pillars of the Illustrators Tsushin Method

The Illustrators Tsushin Method is based on the idea that an illustrator needs three essential pillars in order to make a living.

They are:

1) Illustration Ability — the Eight Essential Elements of Illustration for Making a Living

2) Marketing, Promotion, and Sales Skills — including self-promotion, marketing, branding, and the ability to win new clients

3) Professional Qualities — including manners, personality, initiative, and the ability to take action

1) Illustration Ability

Even if you are excellent at marketing and self-promotion and have strong professional qualities, clients will not hire you if your illustrations are not good enough.

You are an illustrator, after all.

Strong illustration ability is essential.

2) Marketing, Promotion, and Sales Skills

Even if you are a wonderful person and create excellent illustrations, it can still be difficult to receive commissions if you are not good at promoting yourself and finding clients.

You may occasionally be discovered by chance and receive a job, but then your career depends largely on luck.

If you also become skilled at marketing, promotion, and sales, you can create many more opportunities for yourself instead of relying on luck.

3) Professional Qualities

Even if your illustrations are excellent and you are good at attracting clients, there may be no second assignment if, after working with you once, the client feels that you lack professional manners.

Likewise, if you are unreliable and repeatedly miss deadlines, that client is unlikely to hire you again.

Without strong professional qualities, it is difficult to receive work continuously—and therefore difficult to make a living as an illustrator.

When All Three Pillars Are in Place—

If you are pleasant and professional to work with, your illustration ability is strong enough, and you are skilled at marketing, promotion, and sales, there is very little reason for you not to receive work.

When an illustrator develops all three of these pillars, making a living becomes much more achievable.

In these Basic Lectures, we will focus on the first of these three pillars:

1) Illustration Ability.

The other two pillars—Professional Qualities and Marketing, Promotion, and Sales Skills—will be covered in separate lectures.

■ The Eight Essential Elements of Illustration for Making a Living

In the Illustrators Tsushin Method, we consider illustration ability to consist of eight elements.

They are:

1) Technical Skills

2) Taste

3) Worldview

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