Introduction. I’ve done a small follow-up illustration survey in class with 23 2nd year illustration students. The goal was to get some insight in student interests, ambition and their view on the field of illustration. There were 4 ‘closed’ question:
- what are an illustrator’s best chances in today’s market?
- what are you current interests in relation to market opportunities?
- What is important about freelancing for students to learn at the academy.
Based on the input we can make some crude assumptions. When it comes to ‘best chances in the market’ students consider: advertising, animation, editorial, and product/fashion as their top opportunities. Historical/Nature/Documentary (one topic), science are considered as the worst opportunity to find illustration work. Gallery- and expositions also score low in the expectations of students for illustration work. When asked about the students personal interest gallery- and expositions score highest. Followed by editorial, product/fashion, and advertising. Science, Historical/Nature/Documentary score relatively low. What students want to learn about freelancing is primarily the ability to work independently and proactive and communication skills. The ability to make deadlines and to be flexible with client is considered less important to learn at the academy.
Interpretation Based on these outcomes I have the following impression; the majority of the students have an interest in gallery-work and expositions, but it might give limited chances for work. When it comes to editorial illustration, I understand the students interest in this area, but I don’t share the idea that there is a lot of job opportunities in this area. Further more I think we (as a department) can improve by showing students the possibilities that the field of science-, documentary-, nature-, and documentary illustration can offer. I do believe that the field of information, and data design offers new opportunities for illustrators.
Regarding freelance work; it’s interesting that students show such an interest in learning how to work independently and proactive. Stimulating self-motivation, and independent learning is often a challenging topic for tutors to teach students. It’s also interesting that the results show that students are less interested in learning how to be flexible with clients. I think the academy is a place where students can learn what it implies to be flexible in a safe and playful context. Staying loyal to artistic principals in an applied, and commercial context is often difficult.