Transcripts
1. Introduction: There's a huge
misconception that if you want to make money as
an artist or designer, you have to put on this whole different business person facade and become someone you're not. But the Kati success isn't
becoming someone else. It's actually becoming
more of yourself and embracing the stuff that
makes you unique. Hi. I'm Katie. And I'm Alana. For the two designers and
co owners behind Good type, it's a community of over
1 million creatives. And years ago, Katie
and I both left our jobs as art directors to
become self employed artist, and we noticed that our peers who were out there
really killing it and booking jobs all over the place had
something in common. They were all connecting to
people in a really big way, simply by telling
their real stories and letting their
distinctive styles shine. The more time we spent
building our businesses, the more we found
that monetizing your passion doesn't have to mean selling out or doing
what everyone else is doing. In the end, someone's going to want to work with you or buy your art because it resonates
with them on a human level, and that's actually a very
authentic experience to share. In this class, we'll help you identify your own unique traits and preferences that will help you stand out and connect
with your audience. Then we'll hone in on a business model that stays true to you. We'll also setting you up
for financial success. And finally, we'll help you to craft an artist statement
that sums it all up, so you never get tongue tied in an elevator again when
somebody asks you what you do. We're really excited to
jump into today's class, so let's get started.
3. Finding Your Voice: Face an interesting
situation when we build businesses
around our artwork. So, a business like
Nike or Apple, they're selling products
that are touched by so many different creators and salespeople and
marketing people, and that creates
distance between the stuff they're selling
and the people who make it. Artists, on the other hand, kind of are the product. There's no distance there. We are totally intertwined
with our work, whether it's
freelance designs or originals or T shirt
graphics, whatever. We are creators, and a big
part of why people buy our pieces or hire us is because they
connect to our story, and unique point of
view as human beings. And that makes our
kind of businesses way more personal and
vulnerable than others. If we want to make
those connections with people and get them really
excited to buy our work, we first have to give them
something to connect to. In other words, we
need to uncover our distinctive perspective
and then share it. The keyword there is Uncover. We're not asking you
to contrive anything. It's all about celebrating
the real things that make you unique and
finding your own voice. So what is a creative
voice anyway? Let's define what exactly
we're talking about. Your creative voice is defined by the things you put
out into the world. So what techniques
and what mediums do you use in your art?
What's your process like? Why do you make that kind of
art and not another kind? What messages are
you getting across? How do you show up and speak about yourself
and your work? All of that stuff
gets mixed up into a blender and creates a
story about who you are. If you want that voice to be memorable and stand
out from the crowd, you need to do two things. Be different from other
people, which, by the way, you already naturally are, and two be consistent. So let's talk about
the first thing. Be different from other people. In the last lesson,
we had you do several exercises that included writing out your
unique passions, goals, strengths,
and weaknesses. Those are just some of the
qualities that set you apart, but there are 1 million other
things that make you, you, all the experiences
that you've had, your childhood,
your relationships, the way that you
prefer blue and hate Browns or that you grew
up watching Anime, and that's now a big part
of your visual vocabulary. When you're searching
for your voice, it can be really helpful
to reflect on all of those things and
start to notice and really celebrate
your idiosyncrasies. But there's only so much analyzing and studying
yourself you can do. The most helpful
thing you can do to discover your voice
is to create. You need to make your art, and you need to make lots of it because whether you
intend it or not, your personality and
your influences are just going to flow out
of you onto the page, whether it's the quirky
way you draw characters based on the cartoons or the anime that
you used to watch. The color choices
you're drawn to, or maybe it's the loose
flowing lines that you use. There's this quote
that I absolutely love that I first heard from
lettering artist Ken Barber. You couldn't not be
you, even if you tried. We often think we're
un original or that we think the way
that everybody else does. But the truth is we're just
too used to ourselves. I can promise you that your brain works in a
completely unique way, and you are always going to arrive at a different
solution than I will. So, make things and while you're in the process of
creating, just observe. Try not to judge yourself just notice when something
interesting happens and give yourself the opportunity to push in that direction a
little bit farther. This process takes patience, but it should be fun, too. Now, for the second
thing we need to do to stand out as
artists, be consistent. When some artists
hear consistency, they may think restriction, and that sounds really
scary for a creative. But we're not suggesting that you have to
confine yourself to one style or one
medium for the rest of your days in order
to be successful. We're just saying to put your special stamp
on whatever you do. So what are the through
lines that tell people, This is your work. Do you have a dry sense of humor that always
comes across, or do you consistently
feature dramatic whiting? Is there a unifying
influence from your cultural background that
ties everything together? When people can see those
threads through your work, they have a much easier
time remembering it, hiring you for projects, and sharing it
with other people. Let's go through an
example of what all this looks like in real life by
taking a look at my work? I'm primarily a
lettering artist, and my art tends to
feature a lot of details and ornaments
and flourishes. It also tends to be pretty
structured and precise. So whether I'm making
a greeting card or maybe a book cover
or an art print, those qualities come out. I don't even have to
think about it because it's just a manifestation
of who I am. I'm a person who
thinks really deeply. I'm very thorough. I'm pretty good at catching little details. So drawn to visuals that
are maximal because I get to delve into the intricacies
and special hidden touches. Now, it's time for
you to get involved. Wherever you are in
your artistic career, think about the art that
you've made so far. It'll help if you get
it in front of you. So pull up your Instagram feed or your website or pull out a sketchbook and think about all the qualities that are consistent throughout your work. Write down in your workbook, the words that describe
some of those traits. So is it detailed or minimalist? Is it loud or quiet,
soft or rigid? Serious or lighthearted. Jot down as many words as you can think of
about aesthetics, the subject matter, the medium, or the style of mark making, or anything else
that comes to mind. And once you're done with that, it's time to move on
to the next lesson.
4. Finding Your Niche: Finding your niche
is all about using your unique voice to find something you can specialize in. So by combining your passions, your strengths, and your
distinctive point of view, you can really carve
out a space in the art world that's
perfectly suited to you. So in this lesson,
we're going to help you identify that space. Finding a niche that you
can truly own is important because then you can become that go to person for
that special thing, and you're so much more likely to find clients
and customers. When people have
a want or a need, maybe they're ready to fill
an empty space on their wall, or maybe they just need to hire an artist for an ad campaign. They can think through their
mental filing cabinet, and who will fill that gap. If you have a really
clear and defined niche, it's so much more
likely that you'll be able to be at the top
of that filing cabinet, and you will come to mind
because it's so much easier for them to grasp what you do and what they can
expect from you. Just like the word consistency, artists tend to really
dislike the word Niche because it sounds like
confinement and restriction. You've probably heard the
term Niche down before, paired with the advice
that you need to find a very small lane for your business to
stay put in forever. But we have a very different
approach to Niching. Instead of Niche down, we like to tell you to Niche
So what do we mean by that? Well, instead of picking one tiny definition for the
kind of art you make, like, I only do lettering
for children's book covers. You might focus your niche more on the way you
approach your art. Like, I make vibrant lettering that makes words
exciting for kids. That way you allow yourself
to take on more types of projects than just
children's book covers, while still being really clear about what a client
can expect from you. Niching out is about discovering who you are and what
makes you unique. AKA finding your voice, and then applying
that voice with intention across
everything that you do. Now, you don't have
to be an artist that does a bunch
of different stuff. You can totally focus on
lettering for book covers, and let that be your thing. It can be really helpful to have such a clear direction
as long as there's a big enough customer base for you to make the income
that you want to make. We just find that artists
get really really hung up on this idea of doing just one
thing and one thing only. And we want to show
you how you can niche without compromising the
other stuff you love to do. So let's get that workbook
back out because we have another exercise for you to
help you find your niche. There's a Japanese
concept called Ikigai that translates
to reason for being, and we really love this concept. This is not necessarily the original purpose it
was intended for, but we really like
to use this idea to help people find
their business niche. So here's how it works. We're looking for the
intersection of four things, what you love, what
you're good at, what people need, and what
you can make money doing. Your knee should live right
at the center of all of it, where all the sections overlap. So let's revisit those
answers that you've written down from the
previous exercises, and we'll take a moment
to circle or highlight words from any of your answers that really resonate with you. So grab some from
your passion list, from your strengths,
and from your descriptions about your work. And now we're going
to brainstorm all the different ways
that we can overlap them. Let's say you're really
passionate about photography, and you also love high fashion. You're really great at working
with people and you're obsessed with dark
fantasy and fairy tales. It sounds like you
could be the go two person for really moody fantasy inspired photoshoots
for high fashion brands. Or maybe you're an illustrator, and you really love
being in nature. You love learning about
animals, and you're really, really detail
oriented and precise. This might be the perfect recipe for leaning into
scientific illustration. Katie's husband actually used this exercise to choose
the career he's in now. He ended up combining his
passion for music and gaming into designing sound for
video games. Such a cool job. Once you've got some ideas, it's important to
make sure they fit the other criteria
of the Iki guy. Can you be paid for it? And
do people actually need it? If the answers are yes, then you know you're on
the right track. If you still find
yourself wondering if your idea is a niche or not, you can ask yourself, Is
this something I can own? Can this be my calling card?
Would people remember this? Will it stand out against
what other people are doing enough to catch
their attention? And remember, as artists, execution is so important. Maybe when you
describe architectural chalkboard illustrations as your niche, it
sounds a little dry. But then when you see the art itself, it's completely
breathtaking. So we're looking for
how it looks and feels, not just how it sounds. As you work through
this exercise, don't forget to factor
in other things you've defined for
yourself in this workbook. Like, do your goals of
working only two days a week, align with your idea to paint giant burals on
buildings, probably not. Or if you know that you're not interested in speaking
with a lot of clients, does branding feel like
the right fit? I doubt it. When you're really
excited about an idea, you'll also want to look at what other people are
doing in that area. If you decide to focus on
dynamic sports illustrations, you should research who else is putting out work in
a similar space. Just because you
find another artist who's doing sports
illustrations, doesn't mean that
you have to stop in your tracks and
find another niche. All you need to do is figure out how you can
differentiate yourself. And that's where your authentic
voice really comes in. Two artists can have two
totally different takes on sports illustrations
that would attract totally different clients that would be right for
different projects. I know I just gave you
a lot to think about, so we're going to
summarize some of the main points we
covered in this lesson. Your voice is the distinct
stamp you put on your work. Your niche is how and where
you apply that voice. Your niche doesn't
have to be confining. If you use your
voice consistently across everything that you do, you can make different
types of things, and it will still make sense. You can find your niche by finding the intersection
of what you love, what you're good at,
what people need, and what you can
make money doing. Don't give up if someone
else is in the same space. Figure out how to approach your work differently
than they do. If we did our job
right, your head is swimming with
ideas right now. So take a few minutes to
sort through all the ideas, write them down, and
then we can move on.
5. Writing Your Artist Statement: Part 1: The next step once you've
honed in on your voice and your niche is to express it
and share it with the world. So one big way
you'll do that is by sharing your art and
showing your craft. But there's another thing
all artists need to have in their back pocket.
An artist statement. An artist statement might mean different things to different
people, but for today, we mean a few short
sentences that succinctly describe who you are and
what you do as an artist. This statement is really nice
to have on your website, to use for PR or events and to have as an answer for people when
they ask you what you do. It can also just be
a great reminder for yourself of what
your True North is. Let's start by looking
at some examples we've come up with of
artist statements, and then we'll reverse
engineer how to create yours. Let's use this imaginary artist
from the last lesson with the really specific niche of making architectural
chalkboard illustrations. This one will be geared more towards fine artists
and then we're going to look at another that's more for commercial artists. So here's what this imaginary
artist statement might say. I use chalk to
illustrate buildings and spaces to capture how delicate and fleeting
things can be, even the most solid structures that seem like the last forever. My work is a form
of therapy that has taught me to
appreciate details but be less precious
about them since the swipe of a hand can
wipe them all away. Now, you can write
an artist statement in many different ways. The way that is best
is the one that feels most like you and
tells your truest story. So keep that in mind
as we evaluate these. This artist statement
works well because it succinctly and evocatively communicates the
artist's unique approach and the purpose
behind their work. So it introduces the
medium, which is chalk. And the subject matter, buildings and spaces, which paints a clear
image of their art. The statement also shares
the meaning behind the art, which gives people a
deeper understanding, as well as a story
to connect with. Overall, you walk away with a super clear understanding
of this artist niche, and they've given you
something simple that you can hold onto and remember.
Let's try another one. We'll imagine this is a
commercial illustrator with a quirky take on a
70s inspired style. So maybe they say, as an avid collector
of vintage design, my art is full of references
from the ephemera, and it brings the 70s back to life with a modern makeover. I'm not afraid to get weird, and you're quite likely
to find a lot of gloriously strange
details peppered throughout my work
because life is short, and we deserve to have fun. This is a completely different
vibe from the last one, but it's equally as personal
as the last example. There's a more conversational
tone to this one, but it's fully appropriate
because it seems like it's in line with this
artist's artistic voice. We want these to be
an extension of you. How do you actually
talk to people? You don't need to be fake and formal if that just
isn't who you are. Again, this statement gives
context around the art, and it paints a
real clear picture. So I'm going to remember this
because it's interesting. And it's simple, and it's clear. And the artist is also giving me a piece of their story
that I can connect to. They're unafraid to
be unconventional, and they just want
to make life fun and not take anything
too seriously. And I can absolutely
get behind that. And now that you've seen some of these examples and why
we think they work, let's get cracking
with writing your
6. Writing Your Artist Statement: Part 2: This lesson, we're putting
pen to paper and writing your artist statement
for your class project. So let's go. Just like Katie said
in the last video, you're going to be
personalizing your statement, so we can't give you the exact formula you
need to write it. But we can definitely
give you some guidelines and exercises to help
get the juices flowing. Here's some of the things
your statement should do. First, it should be about
two to three sentences long, and it should be in
the first person, A, I or M. We want this
statement to paint a picture in someone else's head of what your art
probably looks like. We also wanted to
define your niche and how you are different
from everyone else. We also wanted to give
the reader something personal to connect to and
a way to tell your story. And lastly, we really
want it to reflect your personality and act as if it's an extension of your voice. Here are some things
we suggest avoiding. First, try and avoid
using cliches or phrases that feel too
formal or overused, like whimsical or
getting Bragadocus. The first thing I
want you to do is to think about the tone you
want to write this in. What have you discovered
during this class about your own unique
creative voice? How do you typically
communicate? Are you full of sarcasm, or are you very brief
and straightforward? Do you keep things
light and informal? Take a second to write some adjectives in your workbook that describe the tone that you really want to capture
with your statement. Next, we're going
to make a huge list of words and phrases
that you may want to include
in your statement by answering the
following questions. Set a short time for yourself, maybe a minute or two
for each question, and just let the words come out. Don't edit yourself. There
are no bad ideas here. You can absolutely
grab words you've come up with before in
this workbook, too. So here's some questions
to think about. What does your art look like? What feeling does
your art evoke? What's unique about
you and your art or what words describe
your voice and your niche? What are the values
or philosophies reflected in your art? Why do you make
this type of art? What major influences
show up in your work? Once you have a
really solid list, it's time to come back
through and circle or bold or highlight the words that
really resonate with you and really feel like they
hit the nail on the head. Look for more
interesting phrases or unexpected words that will help your statement sound more
thoughtful and unique. Once you have some words or
phrases that you really like, start trying to
piece them together into sentences that
actually tell a story. So let's look back at Katie's example from earlier
and remember how it started. As an avid collector
of inched design, my art is full of references
from ephemera and brings the 70s back to life
with a modern makeover. So we're starting with some of the passions that inspire
this designer's work. They're really interested
in vintage design, and that's important enough to them that they're
going to include that right at the
beginning because it's the inspiration
behind their work. And that's really
the foundation of why they make the work and
the style that they do. Then they explain what they
do with that inspiration. They bring the 70s back to
life with a modern makeover. That's a much more
interesting way to explain your
work than to say, I like the 70s so much that my work looks like
it's from the 70s. Let's say you do very elaborate
embellished calligraphy, and you want to get
a little saucy. You might say I
turn ordinary text into elegant script
that's so fancy, even the Queen would approve. Or if you're a ceramic artist that uses holographic glazes. You could say I hand craft holographic
survware that brings back the 90s so
hard you'll want to pop on your Walkman
and dance to Brittany. If you don't want to go
the humorous route and you that dark fairytale
inspired photographer, we imagined earlier, maybe you could say
something like this. My photographs turn
fantasy into reality with heavily stylized sets
and ethereal lighting. Are you starting to pick up on where we're
putting down here. Now for the next
part of the example with the 70s style Illustrator, they say, I'm not
afraid to get weird, and you're quite
likely to find lots of gloriously strange
details peppered throughout my work
because life is short, and we deserve to have fun. After explaining
what the art looks like and what it's inspired by, this artist gave
us a chance to see their personality
and a little bit about the way that
they approach life, which we can then connect to. Oh, wow, this artist suddenly isn't just another
Instagram account. I can scroll past.
They're a real person. They're fun to be around, and they remind me to loosen up. Now I'm going to
remember them, and I'm going to look for
them in the future. So think about how you can craft your own opportunities
for connection. What bit of your story can
you tell to invite people in? Is it how your
difficult relationship with food comes across
in your paintings? Is it that you're an
existential thinker and you'll always be
asking the big questions? Or maybe you have kids, and that's what drives you to illustrate for young readers? Hopefully, your few sentences are starting to come together. And if you're really struggling
with the writing part, maybe ask a friend to
work shop it with you. You could also try putting
those keywords into chat GPT and using some
writing prompts to see what AI can spark for you. Then you could head
to with thesaurus and find some more
inspiring vocabulary. As you solidify your statement, use the artist
statement graphic we've included in the course
materials to write it down. We specifically
designed it so you can proudly share it across
your social channels and take that first
exciting step towards defining your voice and claiming
your niche as an artist. I also want to remind you that this statement is
never set in stone. Just because you write it
in this way now or because your work is going
in one direction now doesn't mean you're stuck. People are always evolving,
especially creative people. And it's totally okay and
encouraged to revisit your statement and change it to the person you become
later down the road.
7. Wrapping Up: Congratulations. We hope you're feeling excited about the
work that you did in class, and that you are
a lot more clear about your unique
attributes as an artist. We can't wait to see
your artist statements, make sure to share them in
the project gallery below, and we hope you'll put
them on social too. If you do, don't forget
to tag us at good type. If you want to learn
more about how to set up your business or how to
market yourself as an artist, now that you know what
you're all about, head over to one of
our other classes. We've got lots more
where this came from. Bye for now, we'll
see in the next one.
Goodtype, Championing good type & good business
