The Friday Five | No. 9
Five Newsy Nuggets in Five Minutes, Issued Every Friday
Welcome to The Friday Five, a weekly digest of 5 things that caught my attention in the past week. Welcome to Issue No. 9!
01 Industry News
World Illustration Awards (WIA) 2024 Announced
Winners of the World Illustration Awards were announced last month. You can learn about the winners and view their work on directly at theaoi.com, and a full review of all winners at Creative Boom’s website.
Tip: Regardless of how you might feel about competitions and awards, you can learn a lot about the current illustration market by looking at the winning work. Illustration competitions are definitely biased, but so are the art directors who might hire you.
02 Worth a Follow
Roman Muradov’s DADA issues
This week’s recommended follow is DADA issues, the monthly newsletter Roman Muradov. In his most recent issue, the erudite artist and author shares fascinating insights on what makes a visually compelling character. Just look at these zingers:
“I think a good character is a balance of shape and reference.”
“If it looks too familiar, the character can appear dull, and if it has no connection to what we know, the brain has little to hold on to in distinguishing it.”
“Something should be a bit off to be interesting.”
Subscribe to DADA issues for Roman’s off-beat comics, insights on the craft, and even the occasional peek at his mid-process work.
03 Something You Will Learn
Best Overhead Camera
If you make process videos for online classes, streaming or reels, you know how tricky it can be to get the perfect overhead shot. I have experimented a lot with various setups and cameras, some more basic and others more fancy. Most recently, I bought the Sony ZV-1 Mark II, hoping it would be a game-changer. In the end, I still prefer to use my iPhone 13 (along with a Vijim LS02 Camera Desk Mount Stand).
The biggest problem for me has always been lighting. It’s always too bright or too dark, or there are too many shadows, or the light temperature is off. Provided you have sufficient light, any newer iPhone, connected as a webcam, will give you a very good quality image. Use the Studio Light setting. This is by far the best quality video quality that I can get for overhead shots, without much effort at all.
p.s. Don’t bother with the Desk View function. It’s awkward.
04 Unsolicited Advice
It’s Who You Know
I was able to make the shift from employed designer to freelance illustrator only by knowing people in real life who could help me get there.
Before that, I was able to get my first design job only by knowing people in real life who could help me get there.
Before that, I was able to discover the whole idea of a creative career path only by knowing people in real life who were already doing it.
I couldn’t have had my first spark without having real people around me to show me what was possible, and I couldn’t have made any steps into the industry without people who knew me enough to give me a chance.
The Takeaway: Don’t look too far from home for your first opportunities. That’s where almost all the ones that are available to you in the beginning will be.
05 Caught My Eye
If Logos Could Sway the Vote
What do you think of Allan Peters’s most recent logo “fix” reel? This time, he braves the political woods to redesign the campaign logos of both former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris.
What did you think of this week’s Friday Five? Please let me know in a comment!
Tom Froese is an award-winning illustrator, a Top Teacher on Skillshare, and host of the Thoughts on Illustration podcast.
I unfollowed Peters after that post. The Harris design team had to all of a sudden make a whole new brand in a matter of hours. Calling it "uninspired" is just wrong: https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/the-harris-walz-logo-is-here. Thinking people will vote for a presidential candidate based on a logo puts inflated importance on the role of a one single piece of graphic design.
Sorry for the rant.
I’ve been enjoying the Friday Five for a while! I find it inspiring and helpful😊I checked out Roman’s Substack and love it! I made a note about using a newer iPhone to take a overhead video with Studio light setting from this post. It’s about time for me to upgrade my iPhone finally! Thank you, Tom!