Open Access or Open Chaos – The Effect on the Illustration Industry

So the last entry on the blog talked about illustudents and the future faces of illustration, so on that note I thought it might be relevant to look at what the future of illustration might hold. So with that came the hot topic of MOOCS, stock images, the saturation of the industry and the million dollar question “Do online classes and stock image providers de-value the illustration industry?”. Naturally this is a question that doesn’t have one straightforward answer, there are positives, negatives and more questions in between so I thought I would explore them.

Beginning with more questions like who defines the quality and industry standards? Yes there are internet forums and places like this very blog in fact that impart someone’s opinion/s upon the public but how do we really know if standards exist? I personally think that in this day and age anything put to the public will soon be standardized and critiqued by all who inhabit the internet. The flip side of this is of course that while the internet is filled with many talented experts there are also those who aren’t trained and maybe fooled into thinking that clip art is an industry standard and an adequate substitute for a professional.

As Ben the illustrator poignantly stated

“potential clients have low budgets for things like illustrators and can easily turn to stock for a cheap option”

not only was this an observation it was written in response to a young graduates plea for advice on whether or not to become a freelance illustrator.  So this leads to the next question are stock images taking the place of the illustrator? I think both yes and no. Vague I know but it has to be considered that if a client feels that substituting stock imagery for the professional quality of a qualified designer or illustrator then perhaps the client will get what they need and nothing more.

Will this replace illustrators though? Of course not, there will always be clients who want the best and will be willing to pay to get it. Therefore I would almost extend to suggest that stock imagery might even raise the quality of work produced by professionals because we have to fight to prove the unaware that clip art is not an industry standard!

This may very well seem bias and that I am preaching the mantra that qualification = quality and as we know that is not the simple fact of the matter. I think ideally I would like to see online portfolios like this or clients guided to these portfolios and work chosen simply based on the visuals and not the background of the artist. I think that selection by the eye would be the most honest reflection of talent.

Such a concept reminds me of when I have seen exhibitions of artist’s sketchbooks as I often looked at these works and felt that even the greatest of artists seemed more human and error prone when looking at these works. In turn I have often wondered what the consequences would be if art galleries removed all the written additions to displays and let the art pieces speak for themselves. Would this affect the way people perceive the art and what their opinions are? I think yes (though I do fully appreciate the context and time periods in which these pieces were created)

So this covers stock but what about online classes and the so called “education inflation”? Will these MOOCS help or hinder the industry? Well let’s look at the positives and the negatives. Firstly many people have argued that MOOCS have devalued tertiary education and that combined with the everyone and their grandmother having photo shop trend that seems to exist is the battle for work going to resemble that of the roman coliseum?

Personally I think not, yes there is no doubt that there are a lot of people in the industry but talent prevails and that should be the goal for everyone in the industry. Simply you have to do the best you can to get the best. Furthermore like this everyone and their grandmother these MOOCS do not mean that everyone enrolled is out there to be a professional nor will they be a professional. More often I would suggest that people take advantage of these courses for the chance to flex their creative muscle and if one or two of these people choose to become qualified as a result or turn out to be exceptional talent then all the better for the industry and for those who enjoy visual brilliance. Much like the use of stock images I do not believe MOOCS will hinder the industry more than they will help to better than standard and push illustrators and designers to higher levels of perfection.

The one thing out of all of this that I do have a problem with however is the mind-set of young designers and often their clients that experience and exposure = compensation for their work. I would say this is the one major negative coming from both MOOCS and stock is that while it may set standards it does also pressure young graduates into working for the bare minimum. I have read many blog posts and myself experienced the stress that comes with trying to compile a portfolio or being offered jobs in return for peanuts but needing these jobs to gain valuable experience.

This is a terrible idea because not only does it open the floodgate to amateurs as examined in this article, it really does undervalue the quality of the work of many of these young designers / illustrators and gives business the mentality that they can get the best for the bare minimum or maybe they don’t even realize they are underpaying. My first-hand experience would suggest that it is a combination of all of these things all be it logos commissioned for a pittance in first year or the offer of producing multiple books for the price of a third of one I have found that there needs to be better communication that qualifications, quality and compensation need to be of equal measure!

So ultimately I would say in my humble opinion that yes there are benefits and shortfalls of the introduction of MOOCS and stock images into the industry and yes the internet may have saturated the industry but ultimately the benefits outweigh these pitfalls and that talent will prevail. Basically as my wise old owl of a father constantly tells me

“reward follows effort”

and if we as designers and illustrators choose to make the most of these resources all be it taking a class or just searching for inspiration and use these opportunities to better ourselves then the industry will just get better.

Let me know if you have any thoughts!

Happy Doodling!