Artist Representatives

If asked whether I would ever use an artist rep or not I would have to give a solid...maybe. Really it depends on whether I feel like my work can sort of "sell itself" well enough that I can let my portfolio speak for me when I'm not present. Of course a rep would be doing the speaking as well, but I would feel more comfortable letting him represent me if my work had a louder voice in the matter. Basically I would want my work to be something worth representing. That is what I would consider before trying to get a rep.

There are plenty of small time jobs that you can get simply for money. There is no shame in taking jobs outside of your interest, so long as they are profitable and they allow you to work on your portfolio work on your own. Jumping into the illustration wold unprepared could land you a bad reputation if you aren't careful. Personally I would take low profile jobs and build my portfolio on my own time before trying to tackle the big jobs that I really want but aren't yet comfortable with. An artist rep would not be the first priority for me coming out of school. I would actually rather fumble my way though the business aspect for a while to get an appreciation it. That way I don't become dependent on a rep, and less likely to cling to an unhealthy relationship if that is how things turned out. After deciding that it was appropriate to get a rep I would want to research which reps deal with the kind of work that I made and how to get their attention.

I found a post online about becoming attractive to representatives. After all if you don't even impress the rep how are they going to present you to clients? Among the things it talks about is marketability. It's not just about how versatile you are, but how relevant you are to your target market. Say that your style deals in realism, yet your work deals primarily with children's books. You might find that your work stands out...but not necessarily in a way that will help sell children's books. Seems straightforward but I have seen people dead set on landing a job in a niche, when their work isn't really suited for it.

After deciding whether a rep is right for you consider what they have to offer. A good rep can help you develop your career in ways not always available to you on your own. Some clients may deal solely with representatives who have an array of illustrators in the area they represent. Taking time to look at the work of an up and coming artists portfolio might not be the first course of action when a rep is giving a company professional recommendations based on hand picked illustrators. A rep can land you a relationship with a client who might not have taken a look at your work otherwise. Good reps also know the right clients to seek out to give you a good resume and good experience, as opposed to just finding jobs based on pay or availability.