How do I make a transition into free-lance Illustration or just painting for a living?

I finished Art school a couple of years ago and as time goes by I can't figure out how to make time for painting anymore. At the moment I work full-time at a restaurant and i'm always tired or busy on my days off. It has been upsetting me inmensely that I only have a tiny window of time that I have per week to be creative. Should I look for a part-time job while I'm working on my paintings so that I can have the time, but perhaps not be able to support myself? is there some type of city funding in NYC that helps artists out in exchange for something?How do I make a transition into free-lance Illustration or just painting for a living?
Hello Owl, How are you?



Well I have to agree with what Imagerry had to say. As an Illustrator, you know the first thing you have to do, is make time to start and complete your work. You need to have hard samples and/or digital samples of work in your portfolio. You know, like a resume, you have to be able to prove you can do what you say you can, and also show your style of work so that a potential employer can examine and determine whether or not you're right for the job...



That being said, how do you find the time to work on your portfolio? Well, unfortunately, coming from one illustrator to another, you have to sacrifice spending time on something else... A part-time job would be a good idea, something that pays a little bit more per hour, but gives you more free time... Also, your social life will have to take a hit too. You can't let your friends guilt you into going out on your time off, you have to spend a lot of that time being creative and doing research...



Another thing that may help is keeping a calander or schedule of dates and times that things need to be done, set a simple goal (I'm sure you've heard this before) and stick to it, it gets easier the more you do it. Have a daily schedule, a weekly and even monthly. Keeping track of your time will help you manage better... Keeping deadlines are important especially in the illustration (painting) field.



(No offense I know you know that...)



Save up what you can and make sure you have the supplies you need to do your work and a quiet place as well, maybe doing preliminary drawings in the library (which I sometimes do when I need a quiet spot).



There are grants for artists, but there is a lot of paperwork and showing up to meetings and proving that you are doing specific things, genres of art and such, I'll send some info your way when I can if I find anything relavent. I hope that this helped a little, if I think of anything else I will definetly let you know...



Peace %26amp; Love

:) JazzHow do I make a transition into free-lance Illustration or just painting for a living?
I know you don't have much free time, but could you get a list of the kind or organizations - publishers, magazines, newspapers, who you think might commission you to do work for them. Find out who the Art Editor is and phone or email them. Make and print a coiple of A6 cards with samples of you work and send it to them, or make a CD, or send them samples as email attachments. And do something at least every weekend or whenever you have free time. Put effort into it. Make connections with people. Show them your porfolio, ask for live briefs. Pester!



You may never make a living in illustration, but you may be able to combine two jobs. Some illustrators teach and work. Good luck!