Tell us a bit about your current job.

My name is Emma Block and I’m a freelance illustrator. I have been working full-time as an illustrator since I graduated in 2011, but I’ve been working since I was 17. I work across editorial illustration, publishing, packaging and branding. My first book, The Joy of Watercolour, a guide to painting with watercolours, was published in summer 2018, and I’m currently working on new books.

What and where did you study after school?

I studied a national diploma in art and design at Suffolk College instead of A-levels, and then studied illustration at Middlesex University.

How did you get from answer 2 to answer 1?

There is no standard career path to becoming an illustrator, almost all illustrators are freelance which means there aren’t really graduate schemes or internships. I started working when I was 17 after sharing my work on my blog, and I picked up commissions with companies including Woodmanstern and Moo. I worked professionally throughout my time at university, getting a book deal in my third year. This meant when I graduated I had enough clients and cash flow to go straight to full time. At that time all my clients found me through my blog or through Google images.

How does your formal education feed into your present career (if at all)?

There are no qualifications needed to become an illustrator; nobody’s ever asked me to prove I have a degree in illustration. The only thing that matters is your portfolio and your experience. The most important thing is what you actually learn at university, rather than the degree you leave with. My university course was very traditional and drawing-focused, so we spent hours every week doing life drawing and drawing on location. I really appreciate this solid foundation in drawing. Doing multiple projects at the same time at university also taught me to manage deadlines and learn how to structure my working week.

What things have you learnt outside of formal education that have been helpful to your career?

Probably one of the most useful things I learnt when becoming freelance came from attending a workshop run by HMRC for the newly self-employed. If I hadn’t attended that I would’ve had no idea how to do my taxes, which is really important when you’re self-employed. I think when it comes to drawing and painting you can get better just from practice. When it comes to running a successful business, negotiating, pricing, contracts, doing your accounts, you need a bit of expertise. I also went to a really great workshop on negotiating which completely changed how I ran my business and gave me the confidence to negotiate much better.

What are the really useful skills for someone in your job to possess?

Obviously you need to be good at illustrating, which means being good at drawing/painting/image making, but also it means being good at interpreting a brief and working with a client. Illustrators tend to be visual thinkers and problem-solving is key. As most illustration is freelance it’s also important to be self motivated and organised. I personally love working from home, but I know lots of illustrators who hire shared studio space as that suits them better.

What does an average day at work look like for you?

I am not a morning person at all, so I tend to get up late, have breakfast in bed then do an hour or two of work before lunch (sketching, emails, editing work on photoshop). I have joint problems that means my wrist and hand to get sore if I paint for more than an hour or two, so I have a very short working day and take a lot of breaks. I tend to feel most creative in the afternoon, so I will probably do a couple of hours of painting and sketching after lunch. I might take a break mid afternoon to have a coffee with my husband or go to post office, I normally do an hour of admin at the end of the day and then finish at 6pm. I usually have a gym class in the evening before dinner. My short working day it means that I need to be very productive in the hours that I work, which makes me very decisive and focused.

What’s the best thing about your job?

I love that I get to paint and draw every day for a living. Sometimes I spend a lot of time doing admin, but most of the time I am doing lots of painting and drawing from the comfort of my home. Also seeing my work published is the best feeling ever.

What’s your least favourite aspect of your job?

Having to do my own accounts. I do have accounting software which makes it much easier, but it’s still not something I enjoy doing.

What (concrete) advice would you give to someone seeking a job like yours? 

Keep practising and get really good at drawing/painting/creating artwork. Create artwork for the kind of projects you would like to do. For example if you would love to do book-covers, design book-covers for your favourite novels to put in your portfolio. Get your work out there as much as possible online through social media and don’t underestimate the power of good SEO.

Check out Emma’s work on her website.