Koren Shadmi

The Last Gasp

Koren — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:29:01 +0000

Interesting assignment for the Progressive - I got to illustrate an article written by Lawrence Egbert - a retired anesthesiologist from Baltimore, who has so far helped about 300 people commit suicide. Egbert argues that people with terminal illnesses, who suffer and want to die in dignity - are entitled to end their own lives. Here are the sketches I sent the A.D followed by the final illustration:

Radio-In-Active

Koren — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:14:20 +0000

A recent illustration for the Washington Post about the US owned uranium enrichment corporation. The government company has quickly become dated falling behind other, more modern international companies which are creating fuel for nuclear plants in cheaper and faster ways. Below is the final illustration and page layout.

Communication Breakdown

Koren — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:44:57 +0000

Two recent illustrations done for the Israeli magazine 'Mint'. the first deals with the subject of medical psychology and the ways in which doctors can improve their communicating with patients without making them feel degraded or small.

The second illustration was paired with an article about learning to better live after reconverting from a serious illness, such as cancer - with the mental recovery sometimes taking longer than the physical.

Rock Show

Koren — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:55:12 +0000

A concerned mom debates if she should or shouldn't let her 15 year old son go see a Kanye West concert by himself. For Family Circle.

How To Price Your Work

Koren — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:00:48 +0000

A recent tweet of mine got re-tweeted quite a few times, here it is: 'Young illustrators! don't be afraid to ask for more $$ - This would benefit not just you but everyone in the industry.' The fact that so many people found this relevant made me think that I should really write a blog entry about pricing for illustrators. Now I don't pretend to be an expert on this, and neither am I a super savvy businessman, but I'll try to share some advice just the same:

1. The State of the Industry

Ok, so you've chosen to be an illustrator, you're coming out of school all starry eyed and ready for a world of exciting assignments. But once you start getting work you realize pretty quickly, illustration, for the most part, doesn't pay very well. Magazines are shutting down left and right, newspapers are cutting their editorial budgets and book publishers are walking on thin ice. I remember proudly showing one of my first full page illustrations in BusinessWeek to my former teacher at SVA, and he asked me, so how much did you get for that? I told him: $1,500 his answer was: 'Back in 1982 you would have gotten $1,400'. so this is it? 30 years have passed and fees have increased by such a measly percentage? yes. it's true. cost of living has skyrocketed, but our fees for illustrations have barely changed. So what should you do? give up and become an investment banker?

2. Fees

When an art director writes to you interested in commissioning an illustration, they usually include the size and budget they have for an assignment. If you're not sure if the price is right, you can look up the Graphic Artists Guild handbook - This book would give you an idea of pricing for different types of assignments as an illustrator, although bear in mind that prices in the book are somewhat inflated, in order to help push general pricing up for freelancers.

3. Setting the Bar

It's important to know what you're worth, and not to accept jobs for unresonably low prices, you're not just undercutting yourself but the whole industry. Be sure to set the bar for yourself - for instance, tell yourself: I will not accept any work below this amount of $, since it would not be worth my time. No matter how desperate you are for recognition, there's really no justification for you doing a job for next to nothing. The staff in the magazine gets paid salaries that are up to date with the current payroll in the market - why is it that you should accept a job for a humiliating fee? I have gotten offers to make illustrations for as low as $50. I find these emails somewhat unnerving, yet I will always politely decline.

4. Raising the Fee

I would encourage you to try and raise the fee of the assignments you receive, that is unless you find the budget totally reasonable. You can lose absolutely nothing by requesting a higher fee, the art director will not resent you - if anything they will respect you for knowing the worth and quality of your time and work. Here's an example of an email I would receive from an imaginary art director*:

* (sometimes I do get jobs from non imaginary art directors as well)

Hi Koren,

I'm checking to see your availablity for an illustration assignment. We have an article coming up in our next issue which I think you're work will be great for.
Size: Full Page
Budget is: $1,100
I would need sketches - Monday 19th PM / Final - Monday 26th AM next week

Let me know if you're available and we can go from there with a bit more of a brief
Many thanks,

Arty McArtson
Senior Art Director
Untitled Magazine

And here is my reply:

Dear Arty,

Thanks for reaching out and having me in mind for your upcoming issue, I'm a fan of the work you do in 'Untitled' and it would be an honor to have my illustration published in the magazine.
I should be able to take on this assignment in the schedule provided.
I was wondering if there's any chance you could push the budget up - my fee for a full page is usually around $1,500.

Looking forward to hearing from you and working together.

Regards,

Koren

At this point the art director will either agree to raise the fee or reply that he is unable to shift the price due to budget constrains, I find that in more than half the cases the AD will agree to increase the fee moderately (usually from $100-$300). At this point you must decide if the price is right for you, and either accept or decline the job. Again, don't be shy! its really easy to ask for budgetary changes over email. Even when you get a call, you should still try and raise the fee. If you're really shy you can tell the art director you need to consider the offer, and get back to him via email with your reply. Don't get put on the spot and accept a job for a low fee, later regretting it, you will feel really bad about the whole ordeal, I guarantee it. If you're a young illustrator and accept a job for next to nothing - you will be undercutting not just yourself but other illustrators. The publishers will be quite content sitting on their untouched art budget and continue to offer low fees to everyone.

5. Rights

This is a whole universe upon itself, I will just give you one small pointer here: add a disclaimer at the bottom of your invoices, clarifying that the rights are for one time use only, and any further use of your art will require permission from you - the artist. If someone wants to re-use your illustration - charge them for it!

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I hope this has helped some of you, again, dont be afraid to ask for more $$, and don't sell yourself short! when you fight to increase your fee your not just fighting for yourself but for the industry as a whole - ideally, you will be helping raise fees for everyone.

Fender Bender

Koren — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:47:15 +0000

A recent illustration for the NYTimes, for my Art Director pal (and former teacher) Minh Uong. The writer was arguing that in order to start improving the structure of government, one must first start with local outposts such as the DMV. He discribes the difference between certain offices of the DMV - where some present a miserable, kafkaesque experience, and in contrast others have been 'fixed up' and are streamlined and modernized. You can read the full article here, and below is the final illustration.

A Postcard From The Keys

Koren — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:26:56 +0000

It was an honor to illustrate this article by Tommy Chong from the famous duo Cheech and Chong. The article will appear in the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Chong tells of a road-trip he took to the florida keys, to visit the Hemingway house. The drawing was inspired by a segment from the article, where Mr. Chong describes Key west as something from an old postcard he'd seen.

Here's the final, and you can read the article on the Wall Street Journal's site.

Blasted Arms

Koren — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:22:41 +0000

Recent illustration for Runner's World Magazine for the 'Ask The Experts' column: 'Runners who develop upper body strength can thrust their arms - and therefore their legs, more forcefully'.

Maze Print

Koren — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:50:10 +0000

There's a new print available in the printstore - 'Maze'.

Occupy Wall Street

Koren — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:11:44 +0000

Last week I went down to Occupy Wall Street and took some pictures and made some drawings, needless to say I think this movement is incredibly important and is a more then valid demonstration of a growing social frustration in the US. Salaries are stagnant, jobs are scarce, all the while health and education costs are skyrocketing, while a small minority keeps growing obscenely rich. The middle class is rapidly disappearing as part of a well devised plan fueled by the infernal greed of the corporate behemoths and american oligarchy.

As an illustrator I've been incredibly lucky to be able to live off what I love doing, but I'm not indifferent to signs of erosion in my field as well - fees are the same as they were in the mid 1980's, and in many cases much lower. I have to buy my own health insurance, which is costly and covers very little. The school I studied in has now more then doubled its tuition, and some of my friends are burdened by immovable student loans. Something needs to change, soon!

Anyhow, enough kevetching, here are the drawings: