Natalie Merheb

I am a published children's book illustrator and graphic/brand designer.  I have been running my own freelance design business for 10 years, as well as illustrating for international book publishers and authors the past 2 years.  I have signed with an art agency, who gets me work and projects on a project-by-project basis.

B.A. in Art, Design or Illustration.   Many people in these fields are also self-taught.

If you are working for a company as a graphic designer, starting wage can be anywhere between 40,000-65,000 USD per year.  As a freelancer, the price can vary even more depending on how well you sell yourself and how many projects you can take along, along with your talent.

Design and Illustration is a growing field.  More and more people are becoming self-employed and starting businesses (due to the help of social media and the WWW).  Every single business needs design work done in order to be able to promote or be active on social media, not to mention, through traditional advertising means.  There are increasing opportunities for freelance designers and illustrators.

I love that I can set my own schedule and work from home and still be present for my young children.  I moved overseas and can still work from anywhere in the world.  And in strange times, during this coronavirus quarantine, my work is not really affected, since I work from home and already social distant from my colleagues and clients.

The hardest part has been learning how to run a business and wear many different hats, all the while meeting the demands of clients and trying to make them all happy.

Although there are many artists, illustrators and designers who are self-taught and have developed careers for themselves, a bachelor's degree and even a master's degree not only offers you foundational skills and knowledge, it provides you with a backup plan or option to work for company if self-employment doesn't work out.  A degree will give you an extra edge.   My next piece of advise for artists is that you have to practice, practice, practice.  Don't look at others who are "ahead" of you or "better" than you, don't compare yourself to them.  Keep practicing and only compare your work to the work you were doing a year before and be proud of what you accomplish and look at how you improved.  Even the most successful and talented of artists started somewhere and are constantly practicing and improving.