tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post6260277865781369059..comments2024-03-19T04:22:31.613-04:00Comments on Today's Inspiration: Don Crowley: "Cooper gave me what I needed: he gave me work."leifpenghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07232334860061949895noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-46470575654718265452010-09-17T20:02:23.441-04:002010-09-17T20:02:23.441-04:00When I started looking for my first job out of art...When I started looking for my first job out of art school in 1963, there was a heavy recession that was causing some well established studios to close their doors or cut way back, and the ad agencies were also cutting back. So, after looking all over the S.F. bay area, my first job was for a nuts and bolts studio called Holt Graphic Arts. He told me he would only pay me by the hour ($2.00 per hr.), and only if he had work for me to do that day.. no work, no pay. He was a full service studio and I made it my mission to learn everything that needed to be done in the studio, in order to stay busy. I worked 8 hours five days a week for two year, and made about $4,200. a year. $8,000. to $10,000. a year was considered a very good salary at that time, but not a salary for an inexperienced novice out of art school. But, it was an excellent learning experience for me, and I had two good years of practical experience and had a variety of reproduced samples in my improved portfolio. Most of us expected to start at the bottom, so it wasn't a shock to start at a very low income and work our way up. <br /><br />The studio owner's twin brother moved out from the east coast and they went into partnership, and I had to look for a another job. I started doing freelance storyboards, comps and finished illustrations for ad agencies, that payed at least $8.00 to $10.00 an hr., but it was spotty work and unreliable at that time. Like most illustrators, each decade we made increasingly more money that would out-pace the rise in the cost of living. Perserverance and hard work always paid off.<br /><br />Tom WatsonTomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13237565169344311948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-66473701830839398882010-09-17T01:25:51.094-04:002010-09-17T01:25:51.094-04:00I wish they had equivalent fees today! $2000 back ...I wish they had equivalent fees today! $2000 back then went a long way. No wonder why Jack was able to move to Paris for a year. <br /><br />Being an illustrator during the 50's/60's must have been an interesting time.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246196432986734587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-18272184369563413502010-09-17T00:08:26.688-04:002010-09-17T00:08:26.688-04:00DANIEL....Thanks for the input. Remember, late 40...DANIEL....Thanks for the input. Remember, late 40's and early 50's started out slowly....but prices, wages, etc. doubled or tripled between '50 and '60. $2000 for a top ad illustration in the east or the west would not be unusual. But new, untried, artists back there always started frugally, as they did here.Charlie Allennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-38919277238169789062010-09-16T14:16:05.062-04:002010-09-16T14:16:05.062-04:00Charlie-
I read in Illustration Magazine #18 that...Charlie-<br /><br />I read in Illustration Magazine #18 that Jack Potter got $2000 for a spread back in the 50's/60's. <br /><br />Were clients paying that sort of fee back then?<br /><br />Compared to the numbers you're talking about that's huge! Almost a years salary. Then again Jack worked for the big Magazines of the time.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246196432986734587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18907156.post-9929044214779562432010-09-15T22:16:34.284-04:002010-09-15T22:16:34.284-04:00Those salaries sound ridiculous in today's wor...Those salaries sound ridiculous in today's world....but they were right on. In the 50's S.F. starting artists could expect about $200 to about $275 per month, if the artist was 'special'. Commissions were 50/50, or maybe 60/40 later on. Ah....them were the days!Charlie Allennoreply@blogger.com