5 Top Tips On Freelance Illustration From Artist Lizzie Knott

5 Top Tips On Freelance Illustration From Artist Lizzie Knott

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Making It As A Freelance Illustrator

For Dark Yellow Dot’s series of Artist Talks, we had the opportunity to meet with illustrator Lizzie Knott. Although a recent graduate of the Cambridge School of Art, Lizzie Knott’s career has skyrocketed in a short amount of time, from creating a digital zine about mental health to being commissioned by BBC News and Comic Relief. Knott’s work touches the mind and eyes of those who are fortunate to see it.

In this online talk, which forms part of our art club, Knott discusses the three major points in her career: her current work as a children’s book designer, graduating in the pandemic, and the year she spent as a full-time freelance illustrator. What’s touching about Knott’s talk is that she starts off by discussing her desire to share resources and support other artists; as advice can often fall victim to gatekeeping. From her talk, we picked 5 of our favourite tips that can be used for freelancing but are also helpful in all areas of an artist’s career.

5 Things We Learned From Lizzie Knott About Freelance Illustrating

1. Draw, experiment, and make mistakes

Knott described these 3 things as fundamental aspects of drawing. Sketching and experimenting are a part of the illustration trade, but being proactive and taking the time to draw and teach yourself new things is crucial to building your career and furthering your abilities. Making mistakes comes in hand, whether it be an eraser or white-out, you can scrap your mistakes but that possibly takes away from your experience. No artist starts by drawing straight lines, and no person is above making a mistake; they are a part of life so why not embrace it?

2. Reach out and Take Risks

Without taking risks Lizzie would not be where she is today. Graduating during the pandemic was a difficult reality for thousands of students, and that time and energy put into getting a grade and building a career were going to be side lined due to the chaotic force of the pandemic.

At this time Knott was unsure of what to do but subsequently found herself dealing with and taking an interest in mental health; eventually creating a digital zine on the topic. She wanted to use what she had learned to help people and to do this she asked for help herself. She reached out to those who could tell her what it is to be living with mental health issues but also to people who would share and value it. Through her risk of starting something new, she found herself being commissioned by the BBC.

3. Show Diversity

A point that stuck with us in Knott’s talk was her discussion on diversity in her portfolio. Illustrators need to show a range of styles, whether it be characters, typography, or animation. As a student, Knott would find places to sit and draw the world around her. Finding things that grab your attention is beneficial to finding a style and understanding what makes you inspired. Not copying others and resisting making things that are trendy is greatly important for your own artistic development. Do what you love and tap into your interests.

4. Take Initiative

After being a full-time freelancer, Knott chose to look for a full-time job. She discusses her desires for structure and learning, as well as the hardships and rejection that come with putting yourself out there. There are many examples of Knott taking the indicative within her talk, but two really stand out.

Whilst Knott was being rejected by publishers, she had the idea of making a visual book of her CV, cover letter, portfolio and details. This is something that proved successful for her, as it landed her current job, however, Knott also discussed it in the realms of others – telling a story of how someone made calendars that she and her team have on their desks. Stepping outside the box comes looks different depending on what you’re trying to achieve.

“If you have a goal and want to work with specific clients, take existing material and redesign it.” – Lizzie Knott

This may be something you’ve heard before, but in this case, it is something that worked for Knott. Discussing wanting to work with Doc Martens, she created a fake brief and sent it on its way which led to her speculative window display that was used for Dr Martens 2021 pride celebration.

5. Dedicate and Communicate

In a funny anecdote about how she almost skipped an email from comic relief, Knott made sure to specify not ignoring emails. Something we stand by is having a dedicated space for your work, whether it be a website or studio space, having a home for your work as a freelancer or commissioned artist is key. Something Knott says at the beginning of her talk is missing the space and resources she had found at university in others. Whilst making sure your work is separate from day to day is important, make sure to communicate with others in your shoes who can help. Communities like this do exist outside of educational institutions, as our own art club demonstrates.

The Takeaway

Whilst Knott found success in freelancing she realised as time went on that it wasn’t suitable during that particular stage of her career. But through taking risks and putting herself out there, she gained success and understanding; hearing her story and listening to her advice, we are shown that at any point on your journey or in your career you can make a change.

To watch Lizzie Knott’s talk and experience our conversations with freelance artists like Kelly Frank and other illustrators like Nic Mac, join Dark Yellow Dot’s Art Club. By becoming a member, you’ll gain access to a wealth of resources and opportunities from workshops to art nights, where artists are supported by a network of creative friends and like-minded individuals. If you take anything from Knott’s talk, let it be that the creative journey is a difficult one to face on your own, so join us and be part of a creative community.