(originally posted March 2022)
I spoke to Ben The Illustrator about his career so far, his amazing cover versions project and his two very different illustration styles.
Ben happened to send the below answers to me on a day when I really needed to read them, after a month of no paid work. It gave me a real confidence boost to know that someone super successful has tricky months as well as ones full of exciting projects. Low and behold, things have picked up for me since then but it just goes to show how a bit of transparency in the industry can go a long way towards helping other illustrators. Thanks so much Ben!
Can you tell me a little about your career path?
I graduated from an animation BA in 1999, while I was still studying I started touting my work around to independent record labels (I was obsessed with music videos) and managed to make some connections and started getting some commissions. I built up on those commissions and after 2 years of freelancing formed a studio with some friends, we worked predominantly in animation (everything from early web advertising and a TV show for CBeebies to record sleeves, t-shirts and flyers for DJs). Running a small studio with zero-experience involved a lot more admin than creativity and I started to realise that animation production was not the area for me. I had been taking on some illustration commissions outside of my studio work and I realised this was where my passion really was, in 2005 I left the studio and became ‘Ben the Illustrator’. I taught myself Adobe Illustrator (yep, from a dodgy copied disc) and started to connect with fellow illustrators and art directors, it was a great time, a renegade nature was required which suited me and there was a lot of excitement around digital art and the UK creative scenes.
I’m a sole-trader, although I have been in a Limited Company previously while working alongside my wife, she now has a separate business so I’m back to being a sole-trader.
What kind of illustration work do you do?
Since day one in illustration I have focused on colourful, graphic, vector illustration, I like to create bold, exciting places and simple, geometric details, it’s always been part-creativity/part-therapy for me, the nature of creating digitally is very clean and satisfying, I find it quite meditative. My portfolio hasn’t changed hugely, but it has evolved over the years, sometimes getting simpler, sometimes more detailed, but always a thread running throughout. HOWEVER! Last year my studio-mate (who works in branding) was working on a project requiring a particular style of illustration, more hand-drawn, pen lines, editorial wit and maturity with a contemporary twist. I recommended some illustrators to him but unfortunately none were available, so he asked if I fancied playing with it, so I spent some time doodling, far more free than I had drawn for years, and something clicked, I found that I could draw in this different way and it was right for that particular project. From that one project I have built up a portfolio in this new style, and so far this year (writing at the end of Feb) perhaps 80% of my commissions/income have come from this new style, not the portfolio I’ve been working on for the past 17 years. I also sell art prints, they’re quite niche but I love doing them, I create tributes to album covers and sell them as 12” prints. This came out of the first classic 2020 lockdown, I had lost all my work (I was on a roll working for travel companies until they all stopped rolling), and one morning had the idea to do a simple graphic version of the cover from the first Massive Attack album. Folks liked it, so I did a couple more, then after a chance encounter with Tim Burgess (who I have now collaborated with on various aspects of his Twitter Listening Parties) it became quite an immense on-going project, since then I have created over 150 and sell them all over. During the pandemic people have spent more time at home and in-turn made purchases for their homes, so I’ve managed to attract some collectors and provide a lot of people with gifts for their friends and families.
Have you been able to support yourself as a full-time freelance illustrator for the past 5 years?
Yes, and I know I’m lucky to have survived so long because I’m really not a clever business-head, there’s a lot I can never understand, if I couldn’t work as a commercial illustrator I don’t know where else I could turn. We don’t really have savings to rely on and my wife’s business is still fairly young. I’m 100% dedicated to my illustration practice (second to my family obvs), when there’s instability, a quiet period or a late-paying client I will look at my business and find a new route to a new client, re-connect with an old client or push print sales. I have never considered myself to have a steady, predictable income, I always feel like I’m playing catch-up, but thanks to my renegade nature (and being so used to living like this) I’m still able to do what I love to do.
How does the thought of being open about your earnings make you feel?
Super nervous. I’m aware of how lucky I’ve been, for example making it through art college before having to pay tuition fees, and also starting my career while based in London with all potential connections and opportunities on my doorstep. I started this career to make a living, not to make a fortune, so money comes second to enjoyment wherever possible. Sometimes I will work for small or new businesses and happily work to their lower budgets, because I love being able to support people like that. But at the same time it works in my favour to be passionate and enjoy my work, as potential clients are attracted to that, and one of those potential clients can be the one that enables your business to keep going. I know the end of year figures look good, but the route to get them isn’t always, and I’ve had massive fluctuations in my workload and picked up and paid off debts en route.
How you manage your money?
I’ll be honest, I’m terrible at it, and the weight of my ‘boring things to do’ list has crushed me many times. I can’t always get my head around accounting, and my mental health rarely says ‘do the admin Ben!’. Saying that, having been self-employed for over 20 years I’ve learnt a few lessons and the biggest one of all was ‘ask for help’. So, I have a book-keeper, Natalie (nabusiness.co.uk) who works locally to me and does 1 hour’s work per month for £25 and it’s worth every penny to know everything is legit. We use Hubdoc for receipts, every time I have paper receipt I just take a photo of it on the app, email receipts I forward to a specific email address. Everything then goes into Xero which is connected to my bank account, Natalie files everything away and then at the end of the tax year passes it on to my accountant. My accountant is also local to me and Natalie and the accountant’s team all know each other, so they can communicate when it comes to filing tax returns etc. I have never had such an efficient and stress-free set up for my accounts, and for 3 years now (since returning to being a sole trader) haven’t had a single problem. Also, I have a separate bank account, it’s not a business account, I didn’t see the need or the benefit.
How do you know what to charge for jobs?
I’d like to say I have a very structured format for it all, but it depends on so many factors, size of client, what the job entails, licensing uses etc etc! Previous experience can always help, for example knowing you received a fair fee for a similar job previously and charging the same again. I value my time, and can usually work out how long a job might take, and then will add on licensing fees based on size of client, actual usage and how long the images would be used for.
Sometimes a job might require a unique set-up. I have no idea if the industry would disapprove of this approach but here goes… Some years ago I was contacted by a health clinic, I was fully in support of the services they provided but they didn’t have the budget to meet their illustration requirements. So we worked out a solution…. They needed a large volume of illustrations for their information sheets, blog posts etc. Most of these illustrations were scenes of bedrooms, so I suggested re-using elements throughout, same beds, same furniture, sometimes the same characters etc etc. This meant that sometimes I could take one illustration, edit one simple aspect, change a colour or edit a character’s facial expression, and then they’d have a new illustration for a new blog post. Over the years we’ve added to it, built up a large library of assets and they’ve been able to build their services and make good use of the illustrations. It’s really important to me that illustration serves a function, and if my artwork can assist their patients’ experience, then I’m all for it, however we work it out.
Do you have an idea of what you’d ideally like to earn each year?
I do basically take on most jobs that come my way, I rarely get swamped, in fact I don’t know if I’ve ever been so busy I have to turn good work down. My income year-on-year has always fluctuated, but some years I’ll know why it’s less, one year I was putting a lot of time and investment into a line of products my wife and I developed, so that will always have an effect, earned less, spent more. One year I lost my dad and the grief struggle effected my work and how much time and energy I put into it.
As far as working towards a target, I have a spreadsheet that I put every job on, I record the month the job came in and then add up each month, that’s the only way I can work out if it was a good month or not. I can then see the fluctuations and know if I need to push a bit more the next month.
Illustration can be lucrative, have you any examples of this that you’d like to share?
Firstly, any specifically ‘lucrative’ projects I’ve had over the years are nearly always through an agent (I have agents in the US and France), I have always found that those clients with those budgets are far more likely to seek an illustrator via an agent than going direct. The largest budget I ever had was for a set of 20 illustrations that were used in advertising for a fruit juice brand in Australia. In a way it was a perfect project, enjoyable to work on, well paid and I was given a fair amount of creative freedom to create the 20 artworks. It came at a time when I was trying my best to appear more ‘professional’ as a commercial illustrator, I had stopped working on a lot of fun projects and side-ventures, I had committed to not be ruined by unfair budgets and fake client promises, and I was growing in my awareness of how we present ourselves on social media or on our own websites (this was 2010 so social media was in it’s infancy). I do think making these business-defining decisions helped me to attract these projects, I was more honest and open, but also it changed how I approached everything, I was more efficient, more reliable and (I hope) an enjoyable person to work with.
Do you have a pension or any insurance such as critical illness insurance?
I have an insurance in case anything prevents me from working, I have no idea when I first took this out or where the advice came from, but it helped when I broke my arm and couldn’t work for a period! I have to admit I don’t have a pension but yes, I am planning on it.
What advice about finances would you like to share with illustrators who are new to the industry?
Exposure is unquantifiable but usually comes in at less than 1p per unit.
Epic clients don’t always have epic budgets.
If you can, save a quarter of your income for taxes.
Research ‘payments on account’ for your self-assessment taxes, you’ll need to know about that.
Start a private chat group with some peers so you can discuss new projects that come in and advise eachother on fees. Shared knowledge is powerful.
Wherever possible ask if a client can pay 50% up-front, unless it’s a very short project time wise or if the company system doesn’t work in that way (for example monthly magazines).
I put 14 day payment terms on my invoices, but understand some companies process within 30 days, so won’t chase until I know they’re properly late.
Chase your invoices. Don’t be worried that you’ll upset the client, if they’re not paying you then that relationship isn’t worth it and you shouldn’t want to work with them again anyway.
What have you earnt over the past 5 years?
Please note all quoted figures are invoiced amounts, so before any expenses / tax etc have been deducted.
2017 - £47,102 (£7,000 of which was an American business consultant, £8,000 was an American environmental campaign).
2018 - £37,680 (£8,000 of which was for an American travel company, in March and June my income was under £1,000, in August and December that year I didn’t have a single commission).
2019 - £72,585 (£22,000 of which was a single project for an American retirement company).
2020 - £59,805 (This year really highlights the ups and downs, in June I was lucky enough to have 4 jobs which were £2000+, in August I didn’t have a single commission, November and December incomes were predominantly from print sales)
2021 - £53,548 (£12,000 of which was a single project for a European health advice service, not in the UK).
And finally, where can we see your work?
My main portfolio - bentheillustrator.com
Instagram @benillustrator
The new line-drawn portfolio @benobriendraws
Cover Versions prints - Cover-Versions.com