Finding community as an illustrator

Illoguild question #10

Each month members of the illoguild answer a question together, and this month it is: Where do you find community as an illustrator?

This is such an important question for artists, because it can get a bit lonely drawing by yourself all day.

Below I will share about where I find community, and if you’d like to share what works for you, feel free to share about your art community in the comments. What courses or groups do you recommend? Where do you find community as an illustrator?

And be sure to check out the illoguild page on Monday to read everyone’s responses!

---

So, where do I find community? Do I get lonely? Although I work by myself at a desk in a tiny room surrounded by children’s books and stacks of greeting cards, I don’t feel lonely too often while I’m working. I am grateful for all these places where I find art community:

Critique Group: Illoguild

I am so incredibly grateful for my critique group! We have been meeting every two weeks on Zoom since the summer of 2021, and those illustrators are the secret ingredient to any progress I have made in the past two years. I would not be where I am without them, and I will never be able to thank them all enough!

If you’re thinking of starting your own critique group, I recommend these suggestions from the IlloGuild. The post describes how we set up our structure and some other helpful tips such as having a shared goal.

Courses

My best suggestion for finding community is to take live courses, either in person or online. Do your research to see if the courses have a way for classmates to connect— in Zoom, a Facebook group, etc… Even if the course already offers a space to connect, you can take it a step further and suggest meeting outside of class time. (That’s what Adam Ming did when starting our IlloGuild community, so it works!) Then you can start a Zoom to give feedback, just to chat, or to share your ideas. I promise you, your creative heart will feel so full after meeting with like-minded people.

Sketch party 🎉✏️

Back in November I wrote about community and included a few polls. Although 91% of readers said they are artists, only 19% of the artists have a community they meet with regularly. That made me really want to offer a space for artists to connect, because I am so grateful for my group. Rather than start another critique group, I decided to launch a monthly Zoom Sketch Party since sketching is very relaxing and low key.

If you’d like to join the next one, it’s on May 17 at 11AM EST. I hope you’ll join! The link will be sent a few hours before the zoom, so just make sure you’re subscribed.

My job

As many of you know, I work part time as a museum educator. Since it’s part time and at an art museum, many of my colleagues are artists! It’s really amazing to hear about their projects. While I connect mostly with children’s illustrators online (because… algorithms!), I get to connect with various types of artists at the museum, which encourages creativity and fresh ideas.

Social Media

Before I started using social media for art, I didn’t think it was possible to really connect via Instagram, but it is! I’ve met some really supportive and talented artists. We understand what each other are working towards, and the online art community is incredibly supportive and open. Don’t be afraid to reach out and connect with people!

Social media connections were especially important when I first launched my instagram two years ago. Some of the first people to reach out to me are the ones I still message frequently.

---

So does it ever get lonely as an illustrator? Sometimes, yes, but that alone time is also key for deep work. And when I’m seeking a bit of community, I’m lucky that I can turn to all the connections above, including this one here!

Thank you for being here as a part of this community. It truly means a lot to me, and I hope you find something each week to take with you for your own artistic journey!

See you next week to continue chatting about wholesale products (part 3 in the series),

Katie