Careers For Artists - We Talk To Illustrator Becky Cameron About Her Career

Becky Cameron is a children’s book illustrator. When it comes to careers for artists, we asked her what inspired her career choice and how she went about it.

I always loved drawing and creating things so studying art seemed like a natural path to take. It was only after college that I started to think about career options. I wanted to do a job where I could draw every day and illustration allows me to do that.

At school I did a GCSE in art and then went to college to study BTEC Art and Design. I did a Degree in Graphic Design and Illustration at university before completing a Master’s Degree in Children’s Book Illustration.

There are not very many permanent illustrator jobs out there so most illustrators are freelance. Finding work, especially if you are new can be difficult and takes a lot of networking and self-promotion. I would say you have to be a little bit business minded to be freelance or you will struggle to get jobs.

I regularly update my online portfolio and I actively promote myself on social media. I also have an agent who shows my work to publishers and negotiates deals for me.

I work part time as an illustrator for a company that makes teaching resources. The rest of the time I am freelance so I work for myself! The two days a week I work for the company helps me to pay the bills as the freelance work isn’t always reliable.

I work from home but I still get ready for work like anybody else does and I try to be dressed and at my desk for 9 am. I usually check my emails first thing and then the day varies depending on what stage of a project I am at. I might be drawing up roughs for a picture book or working on some final artwork and when I have a deadline looming I can work quite late into the night to get things done on time.

The best bits of being an illustrator are being creative and getting to draw every day, working on a variety of different projects with different clients, being your own boss and choosing how and when you work.

The downside - finding work can be hard and it’s a very competitive field, you might not have a very consistent schedule or work-life balance, sometimes being a freelance illustrator can be quite lonely and not having a reliable flow of income, especially when you first start out.”