Even with your hands full of work it is always important to be creating new promos. There’s nothing worse than a stagnant portfolio. When I send out an email campaign to Art directors, the last thing I want is them thinking that I’m not generating any new work. I also believe that the more that you create, the better you become at your craft and, in turn, the more creative you become. The Unselfie Project has actually become a huge tool for me as a self promotion outlet. I’m always talking about what I’m working on and posting new stuff in addition to my blog and website. It’s nice to be have pretty much “live” updates on what I’m working on.
Social media has been a tremendous help and I gotta say, I LOVE YOU INTERNETS! You make my job easier. I don’t have to live in a crowded, smelly city to be an illustrator. I can work from home, wearing clothes covered in cat hair with no makeup on and nobody will know! Aside from the wonder of the internet making my profession easier than it was just a few short years ago it also gives me the chance to get my work in front of many more people than ever before. AND HOW!
You never know who may be watching. It’s important to generate interest in your work and anyone can be a potential client so I try and get my work out in front of as many people as possible. I’ve even had a few celebrities, including Danielle Colby of the TV show “American Pickers", Questlove of the Roots and Adam “Nergal” Darski, of extreme metal band, Behemoth, admire and re-post my work, on their Twitter, Instagram and Facebook feeds which is totally awesome because thousands of people see it. Plus, HOW COOL IS THAT? PRETTY COOL! Check out some of my brushes with "greatness" below. :)
Questlove of The Roots. He saw this on Twitter and was kind enough to give me a retweet and a shout out. It was super nice of him.
Sketch studies of Adam "Nergal" Darski, controversial polish celebrity and front man of extreme metal band, Behemoth. He saw this on Instagram and contacted me to ask if he could re post on his Facebook page.
Finished illustration of Nergal for the US Behemoth tour. I used this in an email campaign geared toward art directors in the music, arts and entertainment industry. I emailed it to him and he wrote me back, telling me how much that he loved it and also posted it on his Facebook and Instagram pages and hundreds of people saw it. Thanks Nergal!