Meet Heegyum Kim | Children’s Book Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Heegyum Kim and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Heegyum, what’s something about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?
People might think that a freelance illustrator probably spends all day creating images: drawing sketches, playing with colors, and brushing on paper. But the truth is, there is a significant amount of non-creative work involved. My primary focus is still on creating illustrations, but I also need to handle administrative tasks like:

Emails and meetings: Communicating with clients.
Marketing and promotions: This is a huge part, actually. Creating content for social media, researching clients and sending cold emails, looking for markets, updating my portfolio – it can go on and on!
Project management: I usually work on several projects at the same time, so scheduling projects to meet deadlines is crucial.
Contract review.
Taxes and invoices.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
It’s been such a long journey! As a child, I always loved to draw, which led me to art school. But I studied graphic design in both university and graduate school because I never thought being an illustrator could be an actual job. Long story short, I started drawing again when I was looking for a job after graduate school. Since then, I’ve kept up this drawing habit. I draw almost every night after coming home from work and started sharing my work on Tumblr, and later on Instagram. In 2016, I participated in a 31-day drawing challenge and the 100 Days Project, which got a lot of attention. Not long after that, I received several book publication offers and some small projects. This was when I saw the possibility of being an illustrator, leaving my 9-6 job as a designer, and becoming independent. It took several more years to make this dream come true, and it was hard decision but I decided to give it a try 🙂

am still in the early stages of this new career and learning a lot every day. However, I would like to share my biggest lesson for anyone thinking of quitting their day job to become a full-time illustrator:

Please keep your day job or a part-time job to support yourself until you earn enough as an illustrator. It is not easy to make a living solely by illustration. You need to consider health insurance, rent, and other living costs.

I gave myself about six months to polish my portfolio right after quitting my day job. With this portfolio, I won the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) portfolio showcase honor the following year. I also landed an NBC Golf promotional project, two more book contracts, and several small projects. However, I found that making a living solely with illustration was not as easy as I thought. Even though I had several projects, it was not enough to support myself. I couldn’t keep up without my husband’s support. It was stressful and made me question, “Why am I drawing now? This doesn’t make any money!” Drawing is still part of my practice and could be the seed for future opportunities, but when I wasn’t financially stable, I couldn’t see it that way.
Now I am working part-time as a freelance designer, which can pay the bills, and I am grateful for that. I am also working on a new book that will be published in November, along with a few other small illustration projects. Additionally, I create YouTube videos of my illustrations, sometimes sharing my thoughts on my work and drawing tips on Patreon, creating merch with my illustration at my small home studio. My days are fully booked, and I am working hard toward my dream career: becoming a full-time illustrator who can support myself.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I always appreciate the artistic community on Instagram. Despite the recent noise, this community has played a huge part in getting me to where I am today. They’ve been my teachers, inspirations, and friends.

Website: https://www.mrfox.nyc

Instagram: @hee_cookingdiary

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heegyum-kim

Youtube: @HeegyumKim-Illustration

Other: Patreon
www.patreon.com/HeegyumKim
Etsy
heecookingdiary.etsy.com