The 8 Elements of Illustration That Bring in Plenty of Work 00: Introduction

(This lecture is written based on the circumstances of the illustration industry in Japan and on Japanese law.)

Works of MORI Ryuichiro

This school was created for people who want to make a living as professional illustrators.

It is not simply a course that teaches you how to draw skillfully.

Here, I will teach thoroughly how to become an illustrator who receives plenty of work.

Simply becoming good at drawing is not enough to make a living.There are many illustrators who create very good artwork, yet still cannot earn enough to live on.So what should you do?

There are three types of illustration:

1. Skillful illustration

2. Good illustration

3. Illustration that easily leads to work

   
   

Being “good at drawing” alone is not enough to become a professional illustrator.

Unless your work is “good art” that moves the viewer’s heart, it will end up as “illustration that is technically skillful but uninteresting.”Such illustration tends to receive few job offers.

Even among those who can create “good art” that moves people’s hearts, many still receive few job offers.That is because “good art” often becomes “illustration with limited practical use.”

And yet—

Even if your work is “illustration that easily leads to work,” if it is not “good art,” you will often end up with low-paying jobs or jobs with poor conditions.

There are many illustrators who create that kind of work, so instead of receiving jobs where the client says, “We specifically want you,” you may often receive jobs where the client is thinking, “Is there anyone who can draw this cheaply?”

Because the pay is too low, even if you receive a certain amount of work, it can be difficult to live a comfortable and happy life.

In other words—

In order to receive many offers for truly good jobs—jobs with good pay and favorable conditions—you must become capable of creating illustration that is skillful, good, and also likely to lead to work.

What this school teaches is precisely this: illustration that is skillful, good, and also likely to lead to work.

I will theoretically explain what “illustration that is skillful, good, and also likely to lead to work” really means by breaking it down into eight elements.

These eight elements are:

1. Technical Skill

2. Aesthetic Sense

3. Worldview

4. Expressive power

5. Popular appeal

6. Sense of the times

7. Adaptability

8. Originality

   
   

I will also teach specific training methods for developing each of these eight elements.

This theory and these training methods were originally developed by Ryuichiro Mori.For that reason, only those who have read my lectures know about them.They are not taught at other schools or classes.

This will serve as a powerful strategy for standing out from the many people who aspire to become illustrators.

However—

To become an illustrator who receives plenty of work, you need two more things in addition to “illustration that is skillful, good, and also likely to lead to work.”

Those two things are:

Promotional and sales ability, and human quality.

If you only have “illustration that is skillful, good, and also likely to lead to work,” you may easily become a “sometimes illustrator” who receives work only when someone happens to find you by chance, or only when a suitable job happens to come along.

Some people are fortunate enough to receive many jobs by luck, but they are only a small minority.And no one can continue to be lucky forever.

If, in addition to “illustration that is skillful, good, and likely to lead to work,” you also have strong promotional and sales ability, as well as human quality, then it should become possible to receive plenty of work without relying on luck.

There is no reason why work would not come to an illustrator who has these three pillars.

The lectures on promotional and sales ability are currently in progress.

The lectures on human quality are scheduled to begin soon.

For the time being, we will proceed with these three areas simultaneously.

In Japan, I am already running a school with the same content.

By the time students graduate from the Japanese school, many of them have grown so much that they are almost unrecognizable.I am often surprised myself.

Comments from students of the Japanese school are available here.

Please note that they are in Japanese:https://www.illustrators-tsushin-school.com/about-8

I hope you will study at this school as well.

You may find yourself surprised by your own growth.

I sincerely hope you enjoy this course.