Blog Interview with Illustrator Alli Arnold

Photo courtesy of Alli Arnold

Our sixth blog interview is with highly accomplished, national and internationally successful illustrator, Alli Arnold. I am a fan of Alli’s work and accomplishments, and she was gracious enough to participate in my blog interviews. You’ll be inspired by her thoughtful responses and her incredible badass boss confidence! Confidence is everything.

Alli’s Bio:

Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Alli spent her early days reading and drawing. Her early love of art and design was nurtured by her family, and Alli’s first illustration was published when she was just seven years old. Alli moved to New York City to attend Parsons School of Design (BFA Illustration), and has continued illustrating for newspapers, magazines, boutiques, packaging design, books, advertising and luxury retailers. These days, Alli resides in St. Petersburg, Florida with her husband, two little dogs and one very sassy bird. Alli’s client list includes The New York Times, Boston Globe, Chronicle Books, New York Magazine, Travel + Leisure, Real Simple, Bergdorf Goodman, Barney’s New York, Neiman Marcus, Tiffany & Co., Target and kate spade. To see more of Alli Arnold’s artwork: www.alliarnold.com Instagram: @alliarnoldillustration Etsy: AlliArnoldPortraits.Etsy.com.

Interview Questions:

Question: How did you get started as an illustrator?  What inspired you?
Answer: I knew I wanted to be an illustrator since I was a very little girl. Living close to a public library I was exposed to endless magazines and books, and living close to New York City I was inundated with store windows, compelling advertising, theater posters and everything else! I was paying close attention to all of this visual stimulus and I thought: “I want to do that.”

Question: What made you decide to go into business for yourself instead of working for an agency or as part of an in-house creative team?
Answer: I got my start in illustration by just calling up publications that I wanted to illustrate for. This was the mid-90’s, so it was a different time. I had an agent for about ten years and that was good for obtaining new and elevated clients, but that relationship ran its course. Going forward, I decided to represent myself. I have learned that who I am is a big piece of the package, and clients usually want to connect with the artist themselves.

I have never had an interest in working as part of an in-house creative team because I usually have my own vision for creative projects that I would like to execute myself! I also feel like too many cooks in a kitchen can ruin a meal.

Question: I know you have had a wide variety of clients ranging from Bergdorf Goodman, The New York Times, and Tiffany & Co., to portraits of families and pets.  How do you find your clients, or what has been the most successful marketing tool(s) for you?
Answer: When I got my start in the mid-90’s there were so many magazines being published around the world, and with budgets to pay artists. I would literally look up the art directors in the masthead and call them up! Being bold served me well! I usually had an illustration in a handful of magazines each month, and that exposure did most of my marketing for me. Being published in respectable publications made other publications trust that you are a professional person, so most assignments begat other assignments.

In terms of marketing for my pet and people portraits, I just put a few samples on Etsy and told my friends via social media. Luckily for me, Etsy took notice of my work and made me an “Etsy’s Pick” twice over, and Real Simple Magazine shared my Etsy page saying that my pet portraits are “The Perfect Gift for the Woman who has Everything”. That shout-out from Real Simple resulted in a deluge of commissions. Being spotlighted by Etsy and Real Simple gave me faith that even on the gargantuan World Wide Web, my work has still stood out.

Question: What has been the most difficult part of having a career as an illustrator?  What advice would you give to someone starting out as an illustrator?
Answer: The most difficult part of having a career as an illustrator is that it is not necessarily a linear path to success. There may be lean years and it can be challenging to not have the same financial freedoms as your peers with more traditional jobs.

The advice that I would give to someone starting out as an illustrator is to know that it can be a difficult and lonely career. There can be periods of crippling self-doubt. But if you do choose this path, give it everything you’ve got.

Question: Where do you see yourself in your career in 5 years?
Answer: In five years from now I hope to have grown my recently launched greeting card collection (available on Faire.com) and expanded into other products as well, such as home decor and pet merchandise.

Question:  Is there anything new coming up for you in the near future that your fans can look forward to seeing or looking out for?
Answer: I am currently creating a cache of original artwork that I will be shipping to a fabulous client very soon! Stay tuned to my Instagram @alliarnoldillustration where I will happily reveal more details when the time comes!