Nobody likes them, and I'm no exception.
But here is what annoys me the most: after 20 plus years of illustrating I have piles of pictures.
Just like pencils, pictures are everywhere in this house.
Every now and then I hear about some establishment looking for freelancing illustrators to add them to its pool (more like waiting list). The requirement is to send five (!!!) of my best pieces, on basis of which I'd be judged, selected, discarded - whatever.
It makes me want to scream!
FIVE! Which five? What style? What topic? What medium? Why ONLY five?
My offers of turning up with my well trimmed and carefully selected portfolio are usually declined.
We are these days not represented by our names and faces. We have www. identities, easier to deal with, less biased, and non-personal. This is all apparently a time-saving strategy.
So how come I just spend the whole weekend scanning dozens upon dozens of my pictures into the computer?
Then I'll have to select the most suitable bits for a particular purpose (in my opinion) and email them in batches, waiting for each attachment to process. This is, of course, when I want to create a decent collection, which represents my skills. Not just five random images.
On the receiving end someone will have to spend a lot of time opening each batch, each image, only to discard 3/4 of the pictures as unsuitable for their publication style. This assuming, that this particular person won't run out of patience half way through the process of sorting out my offerings.
The alternative scenario could be pretty simple: a scheduled appointment, in person, portfolio in hand.
We finger through the decently filed stuff. This is OK, that we could use, while that over there is not our cup of tea.
Half an hour plus MY trip across town.
OK. Having vented my frustration I'm inclined to look at the positive side of virtual self-promotion. Come on, let's be fair. Read on:
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