The Art of Submission, Part 1

By Todd Secord

Getting your art published for the first time, whether as a career goal or curious attempt, is never easy. As the Creative Director at Fiery Dragon Productions, I’ve seen a lot of art submissions from people with a wide range of talents and experience. One thing is clear to me, however: many aspiring fantasy illustrators could use a little advice on how to introduce their work into a professional forum. How you present yourself plays a large part in getting selected for a job. Talent is important, too, but in the end, the key is to gain the trust of an art director in order for him to take a chance on your skills and business sense. Hopefully, the following suggestions will provide you with enough inspiration to make this a reality.

The Basics

You will need a calling card. Two forms work best: (A) a simple business card — something clean and relatively cheap to produce; or (B) a contact sheet — an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper (usually of high quality stock) containing several examples of your art as well as any information a business card would include. While potentially very expensive to make, the contact sheet is also highly effective in serving as a constant reminder of your work. Today, some people hand out CDs with picture files. This format works as well (and shows that you’re computer savvy), but I suggest sticking with the contact sheet in the long run. In the beginning, if your portfolio is strong, a business card will do. Needless to say, it should be of competent design with your name, home/studio address, phone number, e-mail, website address (of which we will talk more below), and discipline, whether it be illustrator, graphic designer, cartographer, and so forth.

You will need a computer and a scanner. You will also need a high speed internet connection for the exchange of picture files. I doubt that any active artist out there does not have a quality computer set-up.

Lastly, do research. Know the game publisher you are contacting. Are they a d20 company? Do they have fantasy games? western? science fiction? How many products do they have published already? What’s their upcoming product schedule like? Have they made any big announcements lately? What artists have they used in the past? Who is the art director? Do his tastes appear to be traditional or manga?

The Contact

You have a number of options for getting your portfolio in front of an art director. The best and most common is the interview. Another is by snail-mail (which obviously includes a contact sheet). The last way is e-mail, which should include a link to your website.

While we’re on the subject, let’s talk about websites. You must have a website. Would you believe that for thefirst year of Fiery Dragon’s existence, we did not meet any of our freelancers face-to-face? All business and communication were done through the internet. Artists were either scouted by or referred to us through email and the internet; some also contacted us by e-mail with an invitation to check out their web-site. Fiery Dragon is based in Canada, but at that point in time we dealt with artists from Brazil (our main man, Claudio Pozas), Australia (Kieran Yanner), and, obviously, America (Brian LeBlanc).

If you have the means to visit a publisher’s home office to make an appointment, that’s great, but the only real opportunity for some "face time" with an art director occurs at conventions. Personally, I would rather interview people than go through the internet, but a series of e-mails can prove very effective. You do want that "face time," however, and should always make an effort to network in person when the chance comes. Still, depending on conventions is tough, as they are few and far between (not only in time, but in distance), so that is why the internet proves so vital to a beginner — it represents the only way that you can hit a sizable number of publishers in a workable timeframe. Believe me when I say that it is the chief method in art-for-hire right now.

Let’s say, though, that you do get an opportunity for a proper interview. Generally, as I mentioned, interviews happen at conventions. Some of the bigger companies such as Wizards of the Coast or White Wolf either do convention interviews by appointment (for which you must sign up), or they hold "open calls" at designated times when you line up and see somebody. Smaller publishers such as FDP simply require you to walk up to the booth and say "Hi"; usually, somebody there will sit down with you. Yet that does not automatically mean they have work available. It means that they are willing to look at your work for future reference. Never assume anything; never get your hopes up. Do not act cocky or aggressive — quiet confidence will do. Let the art director ask the questions, and keep your comments and answers direct and simple.

BE OPEN TO CRITICISM. Should the art director offer some advice or make open notations on why some of your pieces are not very strong, listen and nod. Don’t take what he or she says personally, but then, don’t forget it either. With criticism or feedback, you should listen for consistency in the comments. If you have shown a number of art directors your portfolio and keep hearing that all your hands are rendered awkwardly, then you better concentrate on drawing hands. Feedback can be your friend in the beginning, and you will want a lot of it. If you wish to speak to an art director, and he tells you right away that he has no work available, just ask him for the opportunity to receive some feedback. He’ll likely oblige you. Remember, your goal at the start is to get your name out there. Show your portfolio to anyone who’ll look.

Next Week: In The Dragon’s Breath #4, Todd returns with Part 2 of "The Art of Submission," in which he continues his discussion of the contact process, looks at how to build your portfolio and web site, and explains the follow-up.

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