Illustration seniors gather tips from young professionals

The Illustration Department sponsored “The Young Professional Chats” series this Spring, during which three young and successful illustrators, Liz Cleaves,Linus Curci, and Mike Yakovlev, skyped in to speak with the senior Illustrators about the transition from student to professional within the Illustration Industry.

Linus Curci

All three invitees graduated from art college within the last 5 years and are making a mark in the industry from LAIKA to Houghton Mifflin Publishing. Two of them (Yakovlev and Cleaves graduated from  PCA&D Illustration.

Each talk offered a unique take on each professional’s personal experience. Topics covered an array of subjects including marketing strategies for newbies, venturing out on your own to a new city, on paying off student debt in a set amount of time, and getting new clients while maintaining current ones.

Mike Yakovlev

These informal chats were followed by a Q&A where the student’s could ask numerous questions about pretty much anything:

• How did you find a place to live in a new city?
• What is it like to work in the publishing industry?
• Did you work a part time job while you were getting on your feet?
• How did you move into a full time job at a movie company from freelancing?
• How did you get your first client?

• Did your work change much from the work you did in college? 
• Who critiques your work now that you don’t have class?

This was an invaluable experience for the current seniors to demystify the process of entering the workforce. We are excited to see what this group does once out the door with the insight imparted on to them.