✏️ Learn How to Make Good Work AND Please Your Clients — Take The Six Stages of Illustration: https://skl.sh/4cCTxEH— Use this link to get 30 days of free membership on Skillshare.

Have you ever been asked by a friend or family member to do some work for them? Perhaps to illustrate a "quick" birthday card for someone's boyfriend or "whip up" a little logo for their start-up coffee truck? While it seems like a no-brainer — of course you should share your creative gift — if you've ever actually gotten into it, you may have noticed it's not all fun and games.

In this episode, we tackle a question many creatives grapple with: should you work for your friends (and family)? Combining personal and professional relationships can be a double-edged sword, offering both unique advantages and significant challenges. We explore both sides the debate — FOR and AGAINST working for friends — and then, I'll give you 7 tips to help set you up for success (and safety) for those times when you decide to go ahead and do it.

HOW TO SUPPORT

Thank you for listening/watching!

01 — Share this episode/podcast with a friend.

This is the single most effective way to help grow this podcast.

02 — Support me on Patreon at http://patreon.com/tomfroese

• $8 Drawing Buddies gain exclusive access to my monthly Draw With Me meetups.
• Join for as low as $3 to get 20% off my 1-on-1 coaching sessions

03 – Take my Skillshare classes!

• Visit http://tomfroese.com/teaching to find links to all my classes. Use these links and get 30 days of free membership on Skillshare!

04 – Subscribe to my Substack Newsletter

• Never miss an important update. Sign up at https://mrtomfroese.substack.com

SKILLSHARE CLASSES MENTIONED

Now's a great time to finally check out Skillshare while supporting this podcast in a major way! Get 30 days free membership with these links.

• The Six Stages of Illustration: Leading Clients Through Your Art — https://skl.sh/3LxzI4I

IN THIS EPISODE

• Intro: Should You Work for Friends and Family?
• How to Support
• Part 1: Reasons NOT to Work for Friends and Family
• Part 2: Reasons TO Work for Friends and Family
• Part 3: Seven Safety Tips for Working With Friends

PODCAST TEAM/CREDITS

Mark Allan Falk, Audio/Video Engineer
https://linktr.ee/semiathletic

All Music, including Theme Song and Cues by Mark Allan Falk.

FIND ME ELSEWHERE

www.tomfroese.com

Learn How to Make Good Work AND Please Your Clients — Take The Six Stages of Illustration: https://skl.sh/4cCTxEH — Use this link to get 30 days of free membership on Skillshare.

What makes otherwise good people such bad clients? How do you deal with them — and how can you avoid them in the first place? In this episode, I explain why there almost never truly bad clients. In my 10+ year career, I've had very few bad clients. Most of them were in the beginning, when I didn't have enough experience to spot them before it's too late. By listening to this episode, you'll learn what I wish I knew when I was starting out — and this will help you make sure every client is a good client! That means they'll trust you to do what you do best (the art!) and they'll give you everything you need to do your job.

HOW TO SUPPORT

Thank you for listening/watching!

01 — Share this episode/podcast with a friend.

This is the single most effective way to help grow this podcast.

02 — Support me on Patreon at http://patreon.com/tomfroese

• $8 Drawing Buddies gain exclusive access to my monthly Draw With Me meetups.
• Join for as low as $3 to get 20% off my 1-on-1 coaching sessions

03 – Take my Skillshare classes!

• Visit http://tomfroese.com/teaching to find links to all my classes. Use these links and get 30 days of free membership on Skillshare!

04 – Subscribe to my Substack Newsletter

• Never miss an important update. Sign up at https://mrtomfroese.substack.com

SKILLSHARE CLASSES MENTIONED

Now's a great time to finally check out Skillshare while supporting this podcast in a major way! Get 30 days free membership with these links.

• The Six Stages of Illustration: Leading Clients Through Your Art — https://skl.sh/3LxzI4I

SHOW LINKS

• The Copyright Series on this podcast
  • EPISODE 19 — Copyright For Illustrators: Part 1
    • https://thoughts-on-illustration.simplecast.com/episodes/why-copyright-is-more-important-than-you-think-part-1
  • EPISODE 20 — Copyright For Illustrators: Part 2
    • https://thoughts-on-illustration.simplecast.com/episodes/copyright-licensing-and-self-promotion-part-2

IN THIS EPISODE

0:00:00 - Intro and Opener: No Bad Clients, only Bad Behaviours

0:05:16 - How to Support

0:07:50 - Main Content

0:08:25 - Ordering a Coffee at Starbucks for the First Time

0:10:20 - Describing What Haircut You Want to Your Barber

0:15:00 - Problems arise from Misaligned Expectations and Inability to Communicate

0:15:30 - The Four Types of Clients to Avoid

0:17:00 - 01 The Unprepared Client

0:25:36 - 02 The Inexperienced Client

0:34:00 - 03 The Uninformed Client

0:40:45 - 04 The Over-asking Client

0:55:07 - Summary

PODCAST TEAM/CREDITS

Mark Allan Falk, Audio/Video Engineer
https://linktr.ee/semiathletic

All Music, including Theme Song and Cues by Mark Allan Falk.

FIND ME ELSEWHERE

www.tomfroese.com

Learn how to illustrate ideas in Sweet Spots: Expressing Big Ideas in Small Illustrations — https://skl.sh/3e8Wl33 — Use my links to get 30 days free on Skillshare.

So you know how to illustrate — now, how do you start your career as an illustrator? In this episode, I'll share 10 key strategies that helped kickstart my illustration career. These personal yet practical tips offer valuable insights for aspiring illustrators looking to advance in the industry. Whether you're seeking a reminder of fundamental practices or hoping for fresh perspectives, this episode provides a blend of familiar and surprising advice to motivate and inspire. This episode originally launched in July 2023 as a Patron's Only "Summer Shorts" episode.

HOW TO SUPPORT

Thank you for listening/watching!

01 — Share this episode/podcast with a friend.

This is the single most effective way to help grow this podcast.

02 — Support me on Patreon at http://patreon.com/tomfroese

• $8 Drawing Buddies gain exclusive access to my monthly Draw With Me meetups.
• Join for as low as $3 to get 20% off my 1-on-1 coaching sessions

03 – Take my Skillshare classes!

• Visit http://tomfroese.com/teaching to find links to all my classes. Use these links and get 30 days of free membership on Skillshare!

04 – Subscribe to my Substack Newsletter

• Never miss an important update. Sign up at https://mrtomfroese.substack.com

IN THIS EPISODE

• Episode intro
• Thanks/How to Support
• Updates
  1. Skillshare Referral Drive Update (Thanks for showing up for me!)
  2. Response to Episode 30 in Designer Sketches: Learning to Speak Machine with John Maeda
• 10 Things I Did to Get my Illustration Career Off the Ground
  • Tip 1 - Start as a designer
  • Tip 2 - Make everything about illustration
  • Tip 3 - Make mistakes
  • Tip 4 - Start it on the side
  • Tip 5 - Start local
  • Tip 6 - Submit work to blogs, collections and awards
  • Tip 7 - Have a daily project that you share
  • Tip 8 - Invest in special self-promotion
  • Tip 9 - Get an agent (when you are ready)
  • Tip 10 - Pay attention to what others say about you
• Conclusion
  • Plant seeds now, that's the only way you'll see growth later
  • Don't listen to the bad stuff people say, embrace only the positive
• Outro

EPISODE LINKS

Learning How to Speak Machine with John Maeda — https://designersketches.substack.com/p/learning-how-to-speak-machine-with

PODCAST TEAM/CREDITS

Mark Allan Falk, Audio/Video Engineer
https://linktr.ee/semiathletic

All Music, including Theme Song and Cues by Mark Allan Falk.

FIND ME ELSEWHERE

www.tomfroese.com