I'm an illustrator from Australia who - given I'm living in Australia - can't go to conventions or events regularly. I'll be heading over to LA and NYC in October for a few weeks and would like to know if you'd recommend me contacting art directors who I'd like to work with, showing them my work, and offering to meet with them while I am in town if they have time? This would be not just for editorial illustration, but for perhaps agencies and reps too. I'd like to take advantage of being in USA.
Yes if you’re coming into town it’s a great idea to email ahead and set up meetings - it’s very hard to catch people on the fly. Make sure your subject line says something like “Illustrator NYC visit July 4-10″ or something like that. And then don’t bury the info in a wordy email, just be to the point. “Hi, I am so-and-so, here’s my work link, I’m going to be visiting NYC from X to X and I was hoping to come in and meet you briefly to show my work. Please suggest a time.”
Then most likely they won’t answer directly, so a few weeks before you go then forward that email to them again and say pretty much exactly the same thing, but say “…I’m going to be meeting other ADs in your building/area/etc. on (suggest day) - do you have 15min free for me to pop in?”
Now you may or may not get a ton of answers, but you only need a few. When you meet with anyone, ask them at the end…do you know of any contacts that you think I’d be great for that you might suggest visiting? If the AD likes you they may email another AD right there on the spot to catch you while you’re in town. I’ve done it.
Let m also suggest front-loading your trip with offers to meet and buy a coffee or drink to a few hero illustrators you might have that you may want to meet with. If you’re super polite and impress them they might also open their rolodexes and give you new targets (no one actually HAS a rolodex anymore, right?).
