A Recent Interview

Here's a recent interview I did with a university student for a project. Hope it's somewhat informative or interesting and that it makes some kind of sense! You can also check out my FAQ where there's more info and my Youtube channel where I'm trying to get out more content these days. I've got some news coming later this week about the next couple of Oz Comic-Con events I'll be at this month (Brisbane 19-20th  & Sydney 26-27th) so I'll be sure to let you know what's happening. Cheers guys!

1. What is the most efficient way for clients to contact you in regards to your art works/practice? E.g. email, phone number, Facebook message, other?

Although as a creative, sometimes it can be hard to manage - Email works the best (austenmengler@gmail.com). As I work from home and have sometimes quite irregular working hours email works the best as I'm able to reply to them with more preparation. Facebook messages work too but ultimately the conversations end up going to email anyway - and a tip I can give that I've learnt from past experience is to try to reply to emails right away. I know that sounds basic but it's easy to read and email and give yourself time to think about it, but if you jump in and start writing - even to say you're busy right now but will get back to the person soon - it shows your reachable and is a good plan to get more productive.

2. What forms of advertisement do you display to reach your clients e.g. business cards, web advertisements, physical banners/posters?

The main thing to do these days is create an online community around your artwork. Show off your artwork on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, deviantART, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube, Behance, ArtStation etc. And have them all link back to your own website if you've got one (which depends on which level your at as an artist, but I would reccomend). It's quite a job to keep them all updated, but it's important to try and post new work or work in progress work semi-regularly to remind people that you exist. You don't have to post the best highest quality of work all the time, but instead try to post a variety of kinds of your work to remind people your busy working on things (such as work in progress, finished work, study work etc.). Try to respond to people and be a real person, and if people like your work they'll share it with friends and post it elsewhere on the web for you (hopefully with a name credit!).

I also do print a lot of business cards for the Supanova and Oz Comic-Con events that I attend around Australia each year, and they act as a great way to reach actual people that you meet and include them in your online community of followers. Keeping a mailing list too is a good way to have a list of people that you send out important news (like event dates or if you have any crowdfunding projects on) to a select audience that you know is keen to hear what you're up to - but again it's also stuff that you would post on your social media sites. MailChimp is a good website to do that, reminds me that I need to send one out soon actually!

3. Do you have any of the following: A website, a Facebook page, Linkedin profile, Local Artists advertisement, Seek, Gumtree? Do you find any of these media outlets effective?

I mainly keep an online presence at the social media sites that I listed above - and use that as my main form of business which is pretty effective. Most of the business inquiries comes from either my Facebook Art Page, deviantART or my own website portfolio (www.austenmengler.com). Haven't had much work come from LinkedIn but it's good to have just to connect with people on another site. Another thing that I'm trying to get more into is using Reddit to reach a wider audience. It's great to join art sites like deviantART but all the people there are already fans of art and thus you might have a higher level of skill to attain before you get more exposure. But places like Facebook and Reddit expose your artwork to people who don't live and breathe art everyday and so they're going to be a more accepting audience on some cases. It's a lot to think about but it's good to keep in mind.

4. How would you best describe your art practice?

I'm a concept artist and illustrator primarily - and a general artist as well as I create a lot of my art that is more for myself too. My main body of work is made up of character and creature designs intended for use in video game, publications or film projects - be it freelance work or my own projects. The difference between concept art and illustration is that concept art is more about solving a problem with a design, about creating a lot of sketches and different takes on a character or creature design - and through feedback from the client or myself, the idea of a design will be narrowed down and finalized through the process. Traditionally these designs will usually then be taken by another artist or 3D modeller and then your concept artwork will be the base design for which they create the end products for - be it videogame characters or costumes for film etc.

Illustration is more about storytelling and creating a very finished piece - that has a purpose. Book covers, card illustration for games (like Magic the Gathering), album covers etc. are all illustration work. So with concept art traditionally it's a much more involved process and you're creating artwork to serve as a solution to a problem to help another artist in the production line, whereas illustration is more about creating jaw dropping artwork that tells a story and is more visually appealing.

Now it gets tricky as a lot of my work is illustrations of creature and character designs, and as I am getting more into my own projects and book publications I'll be creating characters (concept art) and then finishing them with a nice illustration of the character - and doing it myself I don't have anyone else to get feedback from. Hence why I like to promote myself as a mixture - as I do both concept art work and illustration,

I also create a lot of artwork for myself which I sell as prints or license off to companies to use as album artwork or promotional material. Fan artwork is another thing I do - which is a great way to get attention online - and they're purely reinterpretations and my own twisted spin on well known characters - which are fun to do for me and great for anyone who wants to see a much more morbid take on their favourite characters.

5. Does your work limit you to one area, or are you able to travel?

Being in Perth my concept art and illustration work is primarily done through the Internet, so as long as I had Internet access I'd be able to do my work from anywhere. There aren't any big videogame or production companies in Perth so travelling would be a very possible way to get more into it in future, be it over East or overseas to America (which would be awesome!). I also do travel a lot to different pop culture events around Australia each year these days to sell my artwork and network with other creative people - but it's usually just a weekend trip to sell and then come home again.

With the rise of the Internet though, and things like Kickstarter, Patreon, and the ability to set up your own websites and print shops (which I'll hopefully be utilizing more in future for my own projects) it's becoming more and more possible to become a self-sustaining artist from home, and cut out the middle of a publisher or something like that, which would ideally be the end goal for me. Creators are able to directly interact with their fan base - which is pretty huge when you think about it.

6. Are there any suggestions or advice you can give to young aspiring artists?

Practice! The only way people get better is from practice. There are so many great resources online these days to become a better artist - and it's great to watch YouTube tutorials and videos, follow inspiring artists and all that - but the only way you implement those skills is to draw. You've got to get rid of the thought that you're going to make something amazing the first try - it takes years of practice to get to a good level, so in the beginning it's more about quantity rather than quality per say. The thing with creating art is that you never reach a point where you're like "Oh ok, I'm good enough now" - it's a continual process and I'm still learning myself new things and have a long way to go. So the sooner you start and just buy a sketchbook and try and fill it with sketches from imagination, life studies and doodles and notes the sooner you'll start being an artist.

7. Do you make a living off your work, or do you have other work that helps upkeep your practice?

Although at the moment I have less bills than I would as I'm still living at home, yes I do work full time on art and don't have another job to sustain it (which is perfectly fine by the way to do). The income comes from a lot of sources though, as I think the key to any successful creator these days is to have multiple income streams. Freelance work, selling my work at events and conventions, licensing, my own book projects and publications and online print sales all make up my income from artwork. Education is also a good way to both give back to the community and earn a little extra income, at the moment I have free content up on YouTube but things like Gumroad tutorials are great things to consider (when you reach a high enough level).

8. What, in your experience, really kick-started your career/practice? E.g. Viral Facebook page/Youtube/photo, professional networking events, through friends, advertisement, study?

I've been actively promoting my work online for something like 8 years - so I think being on as many social media platforms as you can will help. Creating a series of illustrations or a themed body of work is a good idea as people will like to share it in a collection online, be it fan artwork or your own original creations. Attending as many conventions as I can aswell has really helped - but ultimately at the end of the day if you work really hard and get to a high level of skill - the online exposure and followers will come to you.

9. What networking events do you attend to get better access to resources, links and connections? If you don’t attend networking events but would like to, which events would you recommend?

Supanova Pop Culture Expo and Oz Comic-Con have been great to attend around Australia for me. Although I don't specifically work in comics, I do a lot of other work too which is popular at those events and as the artist's alley is made up of lots of different artists people like my different take on things with my twisted style. I also attend a lot of small trader shows and toy fair type events in Perth too - as you find it's the same type of event just on a much smaller scale, but still worthwhile doing.

10. Did you have prior study to your practice?  If yes, do you think this hindered or bettered your success?

I attended Curtin University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts: Design (Major in Illustration). Prior to that I went to Applecross Senior High School and was part of the Special Art program (which involved studying art and attending school on Saturday mornings to do so too). I think it's definitely helped my success but I'd also advise that you have to remember education doesn't stop at the end of school or university. There were a lot of things that I didn't learn at uni which I've had to learn myself through watching online lectures and podcasts, studying, life drawing and reading books. 

11. If you could start your art making career/work over again, would you do things differently? Please elaborate?

That's a hard question! Of course it would be interesting to think about going back and doing things differently but then of course the me that I am right now would probably be in a different spot (different friends etc). I think what I would do is spend a little less time playing video games or just casually doodling and more time taking it seriously and studying when I draw. I might also have taken a break from freelance work after university and just tried to do an online course or get a better business hat on, as I took on a lot of projects which in some cases I didn't get paid for or might not have been in the best place to do them. Ultimately though it's never to late to start getting more into it so I'll just try and use that energy for the future.

12. Do you often find work in your immediate area or do you often have to travel or communicate online for work? How has this affected the way you conduct yourself and your practice?

I work almost exclusively online for my paid freelance concept art and illustration work, and then I'm able to sell prints of my artwork both locally in Perth and around Australia (and online too). Working from home can be hard as there are heaps of distractions and it can be a comfortable place - but I find making deadlines for yourself and keeping really busy with a lot on really does help you get more work done and be more productive. Also coffee helps too! But seriously, in future I might like to try working in-house at a 9 to 5 illustration or concept art production studio (which would involve moving), but I do like the flexibility that comes with freelance. Hope those answers made sense and thanks for the interview!
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