Bot Roda on “Making it as an illustrator”…

I spoke with illustrator Bot Roda about how he got his start in illustration, how he keeps his name out there and the best way for a designer to work with an illustrator.

Bot Roda’s love of drawing and illustration comes through in his work, and work has been coming through for him for 30 years.  He built his confidence in Lancaster, PA at a local agency, and then following advice from his father, he realized “they’re not going to find me here [in Lancaster County, PA]…I’ll have to go there [New York].”  Standing on a New York city street he called the Art Director at Field & Stream who told Roda to come up, he had 10 minutes for him. From there Roda began doing spot illustrations and then got the cover for Field & Stream.

Bot then made the move to artist reps in New York and PA.  This led to new relationships and new clients, some of whom have worked with him for years. Bot continues to market himself regularly.  For his latest marketing effort, he researched ad agencies, ad clubs and agency websites and culled 100 email addresses of key contacts or general mailboxes of his target market.  He sent a 10 page pdf of his illustration samples and plans to follow-up.

Graphic designers and Art Directors call illustrators because the decision has been made that the visual solution should be an illustration. After the initial contact is made they agree to terms and a budget. Bot usually works with a graphic designer or art director who directs the illustration – the illustration might be a map, product illustration, or storyboard. They might also supply reference or “scrap” to work from for the illustration.

Bot credits his success to flexibility and his love of drawing and his work looks effortless, that is part of its appeal! It can be difficult to make it in the illustration field, but you can take these tips from Bot: Love what you do, build your confidence and market yourself.

Leave a comment about how you built your illustration career or ask a question.

What can designers learn from painters?

Graphic design is more about organization.  Painting is usually more about expression.  A balance of organization and expression in art and design leads to successful outcomes.

Edge quality in painting is a big deal.

It’s one of those things that separate the good from the best.  The edge quality in graphic design is often hard edge due to the nature of the tools.  Photographic images incorporated into your layout as a design element can totally transform your work from an austere crisp graphic to something that is more expressive and appealing. This will keep your audience looking at your message longer.

All lines are not created equal.

Good line quality is important because it can support the visual communication of an idea from a poster or website. Painters use tools that immediately allow them more expression in contrast to a designer who usually works digitally and spends a lot of the time with hard edge picture boxes.  It may not be appropriate for every project but when possible, experimenting with line quality can dramatically impact the quality of your designs.

Pictured left to right: Chinese Reader for Beginners, With Exercises in Writing and Speaking James C. Nute, Arthur P. Lites, Stanford, California, 1942.  Lines, M Plus M Incorporated, New York, New York, 1991 and Endangered (series of six posters)
Sommese Design, State College, Pennsylvania, 1993.

What’s a compositional shape anyway?

At at the most rudimentary level, designers begin a layout by thinking in very graphic terms about the content, including proportion and compositional shapes.  How creative one can be with their compositional shapes and proportions depends on their ability to see and comprehend proportions. Many times when a design is lacking that special sauce, an adjustment to proportions is all that is needed.

For designs with character that stand out from the cookie cutter template solutions proliferating our visual field, think line quality, edge quality and keep up your drawing. For additional design resources visit the AIGA Archives.

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