Erik Jones (aka. theirison) is one of my all time favorite illustrators and I was very fortunate to be granted a private interview with him. His beautiful gallery combines strikingly realistic figures with fancifully surreal environments. In this interview, Erik generously offers guidance to soon-to-be college graduates seeking careers in illustration.

Please visit his gallery to order his gorgeous prints.

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1. When did you first become interested in drawing and what subjects did you draw?

I started drawing really young, around 7. I liked chips characters a lot, especially Chester the Cheeta from Cheetos. I wanted to be like him and drew him constantly. I then pursued drawing other things with persuasion from mother.

2. Did you plan to be an artist when you were young?

When I was young, I knew I could either draw or make music. However, I figured I could only make consistent income creating art.

3. What subjects and themes do you enjoy drawing most?

I discovered comics when I was young, and comic artists like Jay Scott Campbell greatly influenced me. I love pinup art, and I tend to draw women most.

4. What are your favorite tools to use? What is your process?

I use pretty much every type of medium for drawing. I typically start with watercolor, and then move on to Prismacolor colored pencil. I then tint the piece with oil paint to create flesh tones. The paint is water-based, so it adheres to the colored pencils. Lastly, I use Copic or Prismacolor marker for outlines.

5. What art fields do you most enjoy working for?

Honestly, I most want to be a fine artist and create gallery or “wall” art. However, people see my work as more comic-like, so I tend to do a lot of work in that field as well.

6. Did you attend art school or are you self taught?

I attended 16th Street Middle School, an art school in Florida. I then attended the Magnet Program in visual arts at Gibbs High. Lastly, I received my degree from Ringling College of Art and Design.

7. What do you feel you have learned most from school and what do you feel you have learned most on your own?

School is more about networking, although some kids go to learn the basics of how to draw. I already knew how to draw pretty well, but school was helpful in teaching me how to find work through social exchanges and searching for other artists. School also made me more aware of the art world. Working life taught me how to save money, which made me realize how important networking is to finding jobs.

8. What was your first art-related job or internship?

For my first art job I was contacted by a high profile music client through a guy I met at a convention. The assignment was to create images for the rock band. It was actually a horrible experience. I was still very green, and I excitedly signed their contracts without much thought. They took six designs from me and never paid me for any of them. The contract said they owned everything. The story serves a warning to new artists: When you first get out of school, many companies and clients will try to screw you. Always review a contract before agreeing to any deal. For instance, if someone tells you “they are going to make a certain number of t-shirts and you will get a certain percentage of all sales” be wary of it.

9. Do you work solely independently or do you also work for certain studios?

Everything I do is freelance, although I do have a comic rep and an art dealer. My comic rep gets me comic jobs. I will accept jobs to do t-shirts, ads, anything.

10. How do you come across work? Where do most these jobs come from? Is the workflow steady?

It’s a snowball effect. The more work you do, the more people see your work, and the more people request to hire you. Just keep getting published.

11. What are your aspirations for your art career in the future? What would you like to accomplish?

I want what likely every artist wants and that is the freedom to create my art exactly how I envision it. I hate art directors who tell you to alter your artwork in accordance with their own judgment. I want to have creative control over my own work. Creating fine art would provide that for me.

12. What expectations do you think artists should have for their careers?

It depends on the art you want to do. There are artist that might view me as being snooty, because I won’t do certain jobs unless I get paid well. In contrast, a lot of illustrators will often take any job for little pay, because that’s what they are accustomed to. Likewise, fine artists have their own unique standards and attributes. Overall, you should do anything you want to do, don’t do anything that makes you unhappy. This is just what I go by.

13. Who are some artists who have influenced your work?

I’m attracted to artists and art styles from the 60s. My biggest influence is Robert Mcginnis. He did the illustrations for all the James Bond comics. I’m also inspired by the work of Andy Virgil and Coby Whitmore.

14. If you were to pitch your art style to a client, what would you say about it?

If I were to pitch my work somewhere, I’d likely pitch it to an editorial magazine like Playboy. I’d probably say my work is comic-like, sexy, fun, realistic, and edgy.

15. What thoughts do you have starting a piece? Any initial problems or decisions you have to work through?

The whole thing is a problem. From start to finish there are things to overcome. I never have anything set. I’ll start with a thumbnail and by the time it’s done it will look totally different. That is one struggle I have to overcome when working with clients, because they want to rely on my thumbnail process to get a clear idea of what I’m going to do. It can be stressful.

16. Do you continuously work on one piece until it’s finished or do you alternate between works?

If I can’t finish a piece quickly, it will take me months. Typically the drawing will take days, and then transferring it and painting it takes about one day. I try to get it done as fast as I can, or I will begin to lose the drive to finish it.

17. What kinds of deadlines do you have to finish each job? Do you set your own deadlines or do your clients provide you with deadlines?

The clients set the deadlines. I’m not bad with deadlines, but I can procrastinate before getting something done. Normally for comic projects they give me a month in advance, but it often takes me three weeks to get started. Of course deadlines vary from job to job. I recently did a comic cover, and they only gave me a few days to complete the piece.
But I got it done and it might be my favorite cover thus far. You absolutely must get work done by your deadlines or no one will hire you, no matter how skilled you are.

18. How do you get paid for each piece you do?

You have to send a big guy that breaks legs. The economy isn’t doing well right now, so it’s increasingly difficult to get paid. You almost need to have a rep to avoid clients taking advantage of you. Be wary of verbal or written “agreements,” since many of these will screw you. If you take complaints to court, the costs may be higher than your payment for the job. Publishers know this and may use it to their advantage when making agreements with you. They can usually count on you not taking expensive legal action if things go awry. Try to receive your half of your payment first. Some clients won’t deal with you if you do this, so you have to weigh your options. Larger comic companies are examples of companies that won’t give payments for jobs ahead of time, but they are creditable establishments. They don’t want to pay a no-name artist up front, because they pay well and have a reputation to uphold. However, not all companies are as dependable. A smaller company I know hasn’t paid many artists they commissioned work from, including myself. At the very least, they will publish your art. On this note, the promotional value of a job is something to consider as well. If a job pays very little but the image will be published it might not be a bad idea to accept this job, but don’t keep accepting jobs like this after you’re published.

19. What do you enjoy most about your job? What do you find most difficult?

The most difficult part of my job is doing my job. The work feels so casual, because I have no boss. I just wake up and go to my home studio and get working. It sounds easy, but you have to be self-motivated for this kind of work. At the same time, the freedom you have on the job is fun. I get to work on my own schedule and do what I love.