Comments on: How To Use An Illustration Service http://www.trulyace.com/blog/design-inspiration/how-to-use-an-illustration-service/ Graphic Design Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:44:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: Amanda - Truly Ace Graphic Designer http://www.trulyace.com/blog/design-inspiration/how-to-use-an-illustration-service/#comment-48497 Amanda - Truly Ace Graphic Designer Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:25:29 +0000 http://www.trulyace.com/blog/design-inspiration/how-to-use-an-illustration-service/#comment-48497 With regards to vector stock on the web, I think the main reason why it's cheap is because if you look through a stock agency such as www.istockphoto.com for instance you can start to see that everyone is offering illustrations in pretty much the same style. It's all swirly patterns/flowers, silhouettes where essentially the characters have been traced from photos, and detailed illustrations that often look the same as all the others in style or are lacking in true detail... ie they are lazy illustrations whipped out quickly for a bit of stock download income. You do get the odd bit of interesting work in stock libraries, but it's not really the place to find a good illustration because most of it is pretty unoriginal in style. So I don't feel the low cost is due to lack of demand, I think it's due to the low quality of most of the illustrations in the stock libraries. Illustrations are pretty high value work compared to other design services, provided that the illustrations offered are of high and 'original' quality and don't look the same as everyone else's work. I personally have a fairly high demand for illustration services considering I don't actually particularly market that service 'hard' ... it's sort of marketed along with the general graphic design service and I could probably get a lot more illustration work if I were to target that more. I think any illustrator prepared to put the effort in to create originally styled work pieces can expect to earn a good living being an illustrator. Illustrations are popular 'enough' for the amount of working illustrators out there competing for the work ... ie there is enough illustrative work available to skilled illustrators because there simply aren't that many professional illustrators working. If you have a look round at illustrators individual website portfolios and compare that to what you see in a stock library you can see there is a vast difference in quality. The best illustrators don't use istockphoto.com for income because they don't need to - they can get paying clients to pay them much much more for each workpiece than they can earn via istockphoto.com per workpiece. The Lotus illustration? Interesting to hear that it's a favourite of yours, I mean I like it, but it's not my favourite by miles...... essentially I like her face a lot still, but years after it's completion I've decided that the body is entirely wrong. With regards to vector stock on the web, I think the main reason why it’s cheap is because if you look through a stock agency such as www.istockphoto.com for instance you can start to see that everyone is offering illustrations in pretty much the same style.

It’s all swirly patterns/flowers, silhouettes where essentially the characters have been traced from photos, and detailed illustrations that often look the same as all the others in style or are lacking in true detail… ie they are lazy illustrations whipped out quickly for a bit of stock download income.

You do get the odd bit of interesting work in stock libraries, but it’s not really the place to find a good illustration because most of it is pretty unoriginal in style.

So I don’t feel the low cost is due to lack of demand, I think it’s due to the low quality of most of the illustrations in the stock libraries.

Illustrations are pretty high value work compared to other design services, provided that the illustrations offered are of high and ‘original’ quality and don’t look the same as everyone else’s work.

I personally have a fairly high demand for illustration services considering I don’t actually particularly market that service ‘hard’ … it’s sort of marketed along with the general graphic design service and I could probably get a lot more illustration work if I were to target that more.

I think any illustrator prepared to put the effort in to create originally styled work pieces can expect to earn a good living being an illustrator. Illustrations are popular ‘enough’ for the amount of working illustrators out there competing for the work … ie there is enough illustrative work available to skilled illustrators because there simply aren’t that many professional illustrators working.

If you have a look round at illustrators individual website portfolios and compare that to what you see in a stock library you can see there is a vast difference in quality. The best illustrators don’t use istockphoto.com for income because they don’t need to - they can get paying clients to pay them much much more for each workpiece than they can earn via istockphoto.com per workpiece.

The Lotus illustration? Interesting to hear that it’s a favourite of yours, I mean I like it, but it’s not my favourite by miles…… essentially I like her face a lot still, but years after it’s completion I’ve decided that the body is entirely wrong.

]]> By: Danny Hinde http://www.trulyace.com/blog/design-inspiration/how-to-use-an-illustration-service/#comment-48393 Danny Hinde Mon, 13 Apr 2009 22:49:52 +0000 http://www.trulyace.com/blog/design-inspiration/how-to-use-an-illustration-service/#comment-48393 I agree with you, when looking at designs (especially in print) there is a lack of illustrations - and it really makes a difference to see a clean illustration once in a while. I have also noticed that vector illustrations on the web are often cheaper than stock photography, I believe this is due to the lack of demand. Over the past few weeks I've been trying to improve my illustrator skills so I can get creating some nice vector designs, I think in the future they could become quite popular. Oh, and great illustration on the Lotus design, it's a favourite of mine. I agree with you, when looking at designs (especially in print) there is a lack of illustrations - and it really makes a difference to see a clean illustration once in a while. I have also noticed that vector illustrations on the web are often cheaper than stock photography, I believe this is due to the lack of demand. Over the past few weeks I’ve been trying to improve my illustrator skills so I can get creating some nice vector designs, I think in the future they could become quite popular.

Oh, and great illustration on the Lotus design, it’s a favourite of mine.

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