|
 Hello
and welcome, thanks for checking out this web site, I hope you've
enjoyed the illustrations found within. Normally I write these
biography things in the second person, as if I am being interviewed,
it certainly makes them easier to write. It's funny, but in person
you can't get me to shut up, but ask me to write something about
myself and I don't know what to say. I guess nobody is looking
to hire a public speaker anyhow, so here I go....
I as a visual artist I always feel that one's work should
speak for itself, but often I myself like to read about a fellow
artist's background, training, and possibly, the way they conduct
business. Likewise, it's interesting to find out where a person
was born and raised, if they have a family, how old they are
and what their long term creative objectives are. Given this
interest in the background of other creative people, I thought
I should mention a bit about myself as well.
I was born long ago, in another century, on a cold December
night in the industrial town of William's Lake, British Columbia,
Canada, but we soon moved
to Vancouver and then Kamloops. My parents were both accountants
so I grew up in a household of business minded people, and my
bothers and sister and I all had offices of our own - on Saturday
and Sundays anyhow- at my late
 Father's
accounting practice in Kamloops, British Columbia. Both at home and in 'my'
office, I drew constantly, no, not financial illustration as I do now, but
Star Wars ships and robots, warriors and dragons, and mutants. I have always
loved to both write and draw my own stories, and actually set out to be a
writer instead of an illustrator in my early 20's but found plenty of
success with my art, and pursued it as a career, allowing my writing to
assume the secondary role as a much loved hobby. My wife, Brooke,
and I have three children.
Artistic Background
While I had been selling art and illustrations for many years,
I decided to add the graphic design skill set to my portfolio
and was accepted into the Graphic Design and Illustration program
at Capilano
College in Vancouver British Columbia, which I highly recommended to
anyone wanting to make a living as an illustrator or designer. I graduated
in 1999 and set out as a freelance illustrator immediately from college.
How I work
I work in a three room studio, one room is the office where I do all the
scanning and computer work, another is the photography area and wood work
shop, and the third area is the library and painting studio with its stereo,
rows of reference books and two drawing tables. I usually work in acrylics
on board, ink or pencil, as well as do some computer colorization of ink
drawings and whatnot. Most images shown on this site are destined for print
usage, often for annual reports or corporate magazines, news letters and
such, and therefore need to be photographed, for this service I charge an
additional fee of $50
per session, and depending on the image, may have to hire another
photographer who has more appropriate lenses and lighting. Our office is equipped with a fairly powerful computer
system hooked to ADSL high speed internet, which I use to clean
up the digital photographs of a client's work before loading
it to a client's ftp site. Most of the time a client only
asks for the rights to use the image, and doesn't actually want
the original art at all. I am usually happy to add the cost of
mailing the artwork to the client if they want to keep it, since an original work hanging in an office usually serves
as a reminder to the client of who supplied the image, and leads
to further assignments for me down the road.
 How do I get paid?
If a new, potential client calls me up or emails me and wants
a quote, I usually ask what sort of price range they had in mind.
Who keeps the original, what size they want the final art to
be used at (which affects how large I do the original illustration).
I am not concerned with how wide the usage is, how big or how
small the client is, which country the email or call is coming
from, or whether I get my credits in the publication or product
opening. I am concerned with the detail and complexity of the
job, the possibility of changes after the sketches have been
approved, and if I am going to get paid within thirty days after
acceptance or not. All new clients are required to pay 50% up
front on a job before I commence work, but this amount can be
paid after the client has approved sketches if desired, but I
don't begin final work until the deposit arrives. The remainder
of the funds are preferably paid on acceptance of the work when
it arrives in the client's ftp or mail box (if on CD-ROM or original
art), and while I welcome checks in any currency, I prefer to
be paid via paypal
since it is instantaneous and once the deposit arrives, I can
get to the color portion of the job immediately.
My Production Timeline
I usually have between 3 and 6 jobs on the go at any one time,
many of them are in the sketch phase, some waiting for approval
from a designer's own client, while other assignments are lined
up to be painted. Usually it takes two weeks to receive an assignment,
do the sketches, get the deposit, then do the painting, get it
photographed and then sent to the client for approval. If you
have a rush job, and I am going to have to sneak it into the
line, it usually means I have to give up my weekend and evenings
to get the job done, and I will do it as long as the deposit
is paid and a slight 10-20% increase in the normal fee is tacked
on to the agreed upon price.
In Conclusion
I think that about covers it. I know that every client has his
or her own company protocols and payment terms, and many larger
advertising agencies pay up to 90 days after acceptance, and
I don't mind that as long as the deposit is paid and the payment
terms have been specified in advance. I don't work on spec and
I don't produce anything on a paid on publication basis (having
lost my shirt on this sort of project in earlier days).
I welcome any feed back you may be able to offer on my work
here, and let me know if there are any other designers I should
send an email too to inform them about my service. If you have
a project in mind but don't see an example of
the style or subject matter shown on this site, just drop me
a line and I can send you a link to another site or fellow artist
who might be able to help you out. If you are not a designer
or art director, but simply curious about becoming an illustrator,
such as if you are a student, I encourage you to write me as
well. This industry spans the globe, however it is a virtual
community like no other, designers, publishers and art directors
move around a lot, and junior members break off and start their
own firms all the time, so It's an excellent idea to both network
and introduce yourself to others in this field at every opportunity.
In closing, whether you're an established illustration buyer
or a curious student, I invite you to discuss a potential job
or just say hello.
Best Regards,
Will McAusland
Creative Director
McAusland Studios / Artmotive.com
About William McAusland
I The Studio
I Testimonials
I Client List
I
Doing Business |
