Owen Mathers: Becoming an illustrator and promoting online
As an artist and illustrator inspired by drawing on location, Owen has a distinctive style in capturing the energy of real life.
Establishing himself as an illustrator has taken on many forms, from impromptu sketching on a beer can at the design festival D&AD, to building a social media following and posting unique perspectives from the drawing board.
We spoke to him what it’s like to build an audience, establish a style, and stand out against the crowds both in person and online.
As an illustrator where, and how, do you promote your work?
As an illustrator the first place I promoted my work was probably a Tumblr I setup to record drawings I was making on the tube when I lived in London, this was more as a record for myself to be honest but it was ‘out there’ as it were online. I then built a simple website to showcase my work and that worked well to show people my style at the time and what I can do. I had enquiries through this for some big commissions, from just coming up on google searches so that showed me the importance of a well built and up to date online presence.
I started using my personal instagram profile to share my work in 2014 and that has been my go to platform since. As my personal work is constant usage of sketchbooks I found instagram worked best as I can quickly share latest drawings on a day-by-day basis. Rather than scanning, editing and uploading to a website, the quick nature of instagram works for me and reinforces the nature of my on-location work by showing it in-situ. I do however sell all my work through my website. Being a graphic designer this helps as I design and build that myself. I have used Etsy but find selling direct works for me.
Are you a natural when it comes to self-promotion?
To be honest I do feel I am a natural in self-promotion, I like to share! Always have done, be that showing sketchbook sketches through to commissions. What has taken time however is doing this strategically and learning what works for me and what I do.
Biggest learning curve has been thinking of myself as both an artist and as a business. Any creative is a independent business and needs to be aware that you offer a service that people want to hire you for, so you have to embrace that in order to make digital and physical networking work for you. Endless whimsical doodles will not get you work, showing proven commissions and published work reinforces to people you are are a serious player and can do the job.
And don’t be shy, just share what you do and ensure it’s examples of work that you want to be commissioned to do more of. Don’t share projects you didn’t enjoy or you don’t feel accurately reflect your current way of working as people will ask you to do more!
Networking at events is sometimes the best way to promote yourself if you have confidence, and for me that has grown over time. When I was younger I wasn’t that way, but now I love networking at events and public speaking and you can make a much bigger impact on potential clients this way.
What was your first "I can't believe that just happened" moment?
One of my first success stories was purely from chance when I was in London for a D&AD show at The Old Truman Brewery, when I had a drink at JuJu’s bar in the courtyard with some friends. I drew on a beer can whilst there and shared it on instagram tagging the bar. Shortly after the manager contacted me after seeing my work through my mention of them and asked me to come back and create a large scale live artwork for them!
I worked up a few designs and they then setup a large wooden panel for me to work on one hot Saturday afternoon. I drew a scene in thick paint pen that evolved over the afternoon which went down well with their customers and the client. It was being used as the backdrop for group selfies soon enough and created quite a buzz. So I ended up doing an artwork in the heart of creative East London all through a quick drawing on a beer can!
How straightforward did you find it setting up shop online?
Setting up an online shop I have felt is pretty straightforward, I manage this myself through a Squarespace site who I have been with since 2014. Most difficult thing to work out is how to price your work and what to sell. Positive things to come from it are that you find out what sells and what doesn’t. You could be surprised what pieces spark interest with clients. And you can build a base of return customers who are keen to see what you are working on. I have had requests for certain subjects or locations which has led me to produce artworks from that. And a lot of my live event illustrations comes from people stumbling across my work online.
What do you find is works well in connecting with, and growing your audience?
I mostly use Instagram to share work and grow my following. I find that its best to go all in with your platform of choice rather than spread yourself too thin. It takes time to get content out there and you can’t lose sight of doing the work itself as well as promoting it. Sharing work that starts conversations and isn’t necessarily a particular new illustration is as important I have found. Non-digital means of growing a following is useful when starting out and appealing locally which I have found when showcasing my illustrations at local zine fairs and makers markets. They are really good also at getting real-time reactions to your work and seeing what people are drawn to. I have sent email newsletters to clients to promote exhibitions and they do work for people who know who you are already. But for me instagram is the key platform, along with being present and alert when meeting people at events.
Which websites do you think are having a positive impact on helping new talent get noticed?
Website platforms such as ‘It’s Nice That’ and other creative blogs as well as new digital tools such as instagram reels, IGTV, podcasts and other more long form content can help illustrators share their voice and perspective. During lockdown especially people want to see more video content with people having more free time to explore their interests online. Sharing process videos or doing ‘live’ sessions can really showcase what you do.
As far as copyright concerns I don’t have too many myself, it’s something that will happen regardless, so best to keep an eye out for people copying your work. I wouldn’t go so far as to watermark all the images on my website, as it looks awful. However, be aware that people will save your pictures if they can and sometimes being ‘inspired’ by your work can cross over into plagiarism. And it is within your control to block or contact these people.
Do you have any advice for someone wanting to pursue a career as an illustrator or artist?
My advice would be to stop comparing yourself to others and share your unique voice and perspective. Work out what makes your work ‘yours’ and share it all! Don’t get hung up on your style – that will come in time.
Links: Keep up to date with Owen Mathers
Website - owenmathers.co.uk
Instagram - instagram.com/owenmathers
