Wordifying

Writing is an essential skill for all creative professionals. Writing, and clear communication in general, is important regardless of specialization.

This is especially true for professions where written or verbal narrative is central. For filmmakers, writing, rewriting and editing screenplays is vital. And, of course, writing novels, short stories, essays and poetry requires its own set of word-crafting skills.

For fiction, essays and poetry, pitfalls like writer’s block and lack of inspiration can be problematic. A good resource for these, and many other creative writing-related problems, is Writer’s Digest magazine. It gives information about publishing, upcoming creative writing contests, and tips to get around writer’s block.

Even if you aren’t a writer or don’t like writing, you should still be comfortable writing if you want to be a creative professional. You may have to write formal proposals asking for grants or other funding for an artistic undertaking. Or perhaps you will need to write an Artist’s Statement for a gallery opening. If you are starting your own creative business, you will need to write a mission statement and a business plan.

Before you start writing, acquaint yourself with the conventions of the genre. Figure out the essential elements. Is the style formal or informal? What tense is used, past, present or future?

Often, you will have to consider your audience when writing. This is especially true of proposals or advertisement copy, where you are trying to persuade those reading your work to spend money. Do they want lots of detail or just a general overview? Should you define technical terms? Use jargon or industry terminology?

Show your work to someone before you release or submit it to make sure the tone is appropriate and it clearly conveys the information you want to convey. If you have a friend who is proficient at writing, ask them to proofread your work to catch any grammatical or spelling errors. Spell check and web dictionaries are also invaluable with this.

The New Tools of the Trade

Creatives need an understanding of, and proficiency with, the tools of their chosen art form. In the information age, many of the tools that an artist will use take the form of computer software.

Digital tools have allowed artists to become more prolific. Traditional artists would do well to explore the electronic equivalent to their medium.

Digital speed paintings using software like Corel Painter, Artrage, GIMP and Photoshop have allowed concept artists and illustrators to create impressionistic works in minutes, and in rapid succession. In terms of hardware, tables like the Wacom Intuos allow artists to take the tactile skills of painting and drawing and apply them to digital art.

“Aspen”, a digital painting by the concept artist Lorin Wood. http://lorinwood.com/personal_aspen.html

If sculpture is your chosen field, you may want to research 3D computer modeling. Some software packages for this include Maya, Softimage, 3DS Max, Blender, and Houdini. You may also look at digital sculpting, a complement to modeling. For this, you can use programs like Mudbox and ZBrush.

Graphic and web designers will likely need proficiency with the Adobe Creative Suite. This bundle of programs includes the image manipulation program Photoshop, the art program Illustrator, the web design application Dreamweaver, the graphic design program InDesign, and a host of others. Those seeking a job in this field are often required to have an understanding of several of the programs in this suite.

In addition to your portfolio, you may need a resume for certain jobs (for more information on this see this earlier post). On this resume, you can include your software proficiencies. This may help you in your hunt for employment as a digital artist. Indeed, knowledge of certain software packages is required for most art-related jobs.

It is worth noting that, while many of these software titles are extremely expensive, GIMP and Blender are free under the GNU License. However, they might be somewhat harder to use, and may come with fewer features.

Additional Resources:

A good resource for more information on digital painting and sketching is conceptart.org. In addition to giving its users highly visible online gallery space, the site serves as an artists’ forum and even provides an online art academy.

For more information on 3D modeling, check out cgsociety.org. It has resources similar to those available on conceptart, but with more of an emphasis on 3D art.

The Peril of Plagiarism

This article was authored by a guest writer, Divya Ghatrazu. You can read more of her thoughts at http://divyatypes.wordpress.com/. You can also follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/toomuchofDivya.

If it is not an output of your brain work, do not showcase it. What do I mean by ‘it’?

Ideas, materials, themes, schemes, pictures, actual documentation and anything imitating these even.

For the purpose of this article, we are going to discuss plagiarism on a broader definition.

Think of it on an expansive level that goes beyond words or “literary theft”

En route to becoming a successful creative professional there are many ethical hurdles. Making someone else's work one's own is a big issue. If you’re in a time crunch and need to get some things in order before a deadline, taking something that was not originally yours and taking credit for it seems like it is a simple solution. The material is available and you have limited amount of time. Simple solution right? Not necessarily.

What counts as plagiarism?

Everyone has been taught not to plagiarize when it comes to writing. The act and its consequences have been introduced to us at a very young age. Plagiarism doesn’t only imply cheating on a few papers or "borrowing" sentences. It means the theft of ideas. Not crediting the right sources for "inspiration" also counts as theft of ideas. The above articles provide a good, detailed list of what counts as plagiarism.

What’s the worst that could happen?

Cheating on school paper or an assignment is exponentially less serious than plagiarizing on a project or a document at the workplace. That’s because when you are stealing ideas at work, it's not just your reputation on the line. The company that hired you has its big rear end on the line as well. If you get caught, they get caught. Not only is the company a target to media and public scorn but other clients will reproach from ever working with a defamed company.

What happens to the person doing the plagiarizing?

The consequences are determined on the intent and the amount of copying. However, it is safe to say that most corporations will not excuse that kind of behavior.

Professional plagiarism comes with consequences. Ever heard of copyright infringement ?

The plagiarizer gets fired and is most likely not rehired to do the same kind of job again.

What about the person you stole from? Well other than being deeply hurt and angry, they feel like they are being taken advantage of. It is their work and they did do a lot of work to get something right. Take a look at this rant if you're still in doubt.

We all know that cheating is bad, but great ideas are not jut born out of nowhere. Every great work is influenced by something or someone else’s work. And even if we do “borrow” little things, we are smart enough to tweak it to look like our own so there shouldn’t be any trouble. Wrong, that still counts as plagiarism.

Here is a tip: it is okay to be inspired by someone else’s work but make sure you credit them.

Placing the right credit where it is needed is very important and is very helpful too.

You might need some references or ideas to build your own. However if you incorporate others’ ideas into your work be sure to cite the sources, or credit the right artist or writer.

If you didn’t work on it, do not claim it as your own.

I cited my sources. So should you.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarize

http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_article_what_is_plagiarism.html

http://www.ehow.com/about_5371475_penalty-plagiarism.html.

http://creativethursday.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/10/well-then-theres-nothing-like-someone-stealing-your-art-claiming-it-as-their-own-and-then-selling-it-in-their-etsy-shop-as.html

http://webdesign.about.com/od/copyright/a/aa081700a.htm

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/07/great-designers-steal/

http://www.emerson.edu/academic_affairs/policies/Plagiarism-Policy.cfm

The Nitty-Gritty: How to Apply for a Job

It might seem elementary, but to get a job, you need to apply for it. This post will walk you through the step-by-step process of applying for a job as a creative:

1. Do Your Research

To begin, decide which company (or companies) you want to apply to. You can check their website, ask employees who work there, or read press releases to get information.

This research serves two purposes: First of all, by examining the company, you can determine if it is a place worth working at (working creatively requires a good environment--try to stay away from soul-sucking jobs) Secondly, knowledge of the company’s previous work (creative corporations usually show off the work they’re proudest of) will help you to tailor your portfolio to them.

Try to figure out what the company wants, what kind of work they do and what work of yours would fit in with the company’s portfolio. At this stage you should find the job’s requirements and how the company wants you to apply.

2. Polish Your Portfolio

Get some examples of your work together so you can show them to your potential employer. If you're looking at a job in film or animation, you'll need a demo reel. If you're looking at a career in theater, music, or film acting, you'll need to get that audition piece ready. For our purposes, we’ll use the term “portfolio” to mean any demonstration of your creative work.

Make sure your portfolio is pertinent to the job you’re asking for (for instance, a web design company doesn’t necessarily need to see your sculptures). The work you show them should fit in reasonably well with the company’s own work.

For more info on portfolios, check out my previous post: http://iwordifygood.blogspot.com/2009/09/portfolio-artists-best-friend.html

3. Put Together/Update Your Resume

Though those who employ creative individuals are usually most interested in portfolios and samples, a resume is often still required.

After you’ve got your portfolio together, you should start on your resume (if the job you’re applying for requires one). This is record of what you’ve accomplished so far and can include:

• Your name and contact information
• A statement of purpose
• Your employment history
• Your educational history
• Any certifications or awards you’ve earned
• Extracurricular and charitable activities you’ve been involved with
• A link to your portfolio and/or your demo reel

Obviously, you don’t want to lie on your resume any more than you’d plagiarize on your portfolio. However, you do want to make sure your resume makes you look good. Put your most pertinent work (like working as a modeling intern if you’re applying for an animation job) front and center on your resume.

Also, consider that employers may only see the first page of your resume, so don’t put important info several pages back.

You can check out some examples at http://www.resume-resource.com/examples.html

4. Write a Cover Letter

A cover letter is a letter that says how you would fit in at the company you're applying to. You’ll want to take the best parts of your portfolio, and the most impressive sections of your resume, and use them as examples of why the company should hire you.

Try to address your cover letter to someone. Even if it’s “Dear Sir/Madam” or “Dear H.R. Director”, it’s still better than nothing. Of course, if you actually do have the name of the person you’re submitting it to, put it in there.

Your cover letter should also clearly state which position you’re applying for. At this point, check again to make sure that the position matches with your portfolio and fits with the experience highlighted in your resume.

For more information on writing a cover letter, check out http://jobsearch.about.com/od/coverletters/Cover_Letters.htm

5. Fill Out and Submit the Application

If the company you’re courting has an application, you’ll need to fill that out. You might want to save this until the end, because the application may include lots of redundant fields (for instance, the application may ask you to fill out your employment history, something already covered by your resume). If you have all the information gathered together, this step will go much more smoothly.

Get the application and all associated documentation to the company. Virtually all companies now use online applications, but a few may still ask you to mail your application in. Whatever the guidelines you are given, it’s important to follow them. You don’t want to make a bad first impression by turning in your application the wrong way.

6. Follow Up

After a respectable amount of time has passed since you submitted your application, you can call or email someone at the company to check up on the status of your application.

Just to be clear, "Follow Up" is not the same thing as "Be a Stalker". Don’t call the day after you submit, or more than twice per application.

It’s probably best to wait about 3 weeks to a month after you submit to ask after your application. The time it takes for a company to reply can vary significantly, so try not to get impatient.

If a company is impressed by your work and is interested in hiring you, they’ll get in touch and ask to schedule an interview.

The Portfolio: An Artist's Best Friend

To become a creative professional, you will usually have to prove your skill with a portfolio. A portfolio can make or break an artist's chances of getting a job.

The Oxford American Dictionary defines a portfolio as "a set of pieces of creative work collected by someone to display their skills, esp. to a potential employer" or, interestingly, as "a range of products or services offered by an organization, esp. when considered as a business asset".

A portfolio can take the form of a CD or DVD, a booklet of reproductions, or a case of original works. It is a good idea to research the company to which you are applying to see what format they accept as well as what type of work they are looking for.

To answer some of my portfolio questions, I asked Russell Smith, a professional artist and former Arts & Technology teacher at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Q: Are there any basic rules for portfolios that artists should follow, regardless of the job they're applying for?

Russell:

• A. Put your best piece first
• B. Tailor it to the job you want (For example, if you are going for modeling, no need to put in the graphic design logo you created in computer imaging).
• C. Don't use techno music. If you can, have someone compose the music for you. There are plenty of music students. Or, find one and have them do a custom. Plus they can put it in their portfolio.
• D. Give credit where credit is due (for example if you worked on a group project and all you did was the textures, don't say you did the modeling).
• E. Have people take a look at it before you send it out (professor, artist that you admire, friends, heck, even Mom will have an opinion).

Q: Should portfolios be targeted to a specific industry/employer or be broad to show off all the artist's skills?

Russell:

• See answer B. No they should not be broad. If you graduate and don't have enough pieces, work on pieces for the type of job you want to get after graduation. The only exception is if you are applying to a small house that may need you to be more than just a modeler.

For more information, check out Russell's blog at atec2industry.blogspot.com. You can also follow him on Twitter and Facebook:
twitter.com/russell_smith
facebook.com/russellmania

The Life and Times of the Creative Individual

This blog aims to give you the information you need to start down the path of becoming a professional in your chosen creative field.

I will be collecting information from those I know across the creative spectrum. If you want to become a visual artist, filmmaker, game developer, author, graphic designer or musician, you’ll find useful info here. I’ll be interviewing art directors, independent moviemakers, video game designers, editors, and other creative pros to find out how to get into (and stay in) the creative industry.

For our purposes, a Creative is defined as anyone who makes money by generating creative content (with the exception of counterfeiters and people who make fake IDs. They have other sites). If your creative profession isn’t getting attention here, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll try to research it and put up a post.

Yes, it is possible to make money as an artist. People have done it for thousands of years, and they’re still doing it today. It’s all a matter of knowing where to look, knowing the right people, and knowing the right skills to practice. If you have talent and knowledge of how the industry works, you can make it a career.

New posts will come out about once a week. If you have any questions (or answers, or corrections to any dumb mistake I might make), feel free to leave comments—especially if you happen to be Orson Scott Card, Dave Matthews, or Steven Spielberg. Your opinions are (almost) as valuable as mine.