Aspiring freelancers often ask me for advice, so here are seven helpful tips:

1. Have a passion for creating art.

2. Find a medium that you are comfortable with and enjoy working in.

3. Develop a style all your own.

4. Persevere. Perseverance is a large part of being a successful freelance illustrator. Don't give up when your art is rejected (and it will be) by a publisher.

5. Pick up copies of the latest editions of illustration market resource books at the library, your local bookstore or online. These resource books offer great tips on submitting your artwork, as well as indispensable business information.

6. Make time to create just for yourself. Explore and stretch your abilities and imagination on your own. Create for the sake of creating. It's inevitable that some art assignments, because of budget, time, size, or the personalities directing the project, will not turn out as "masterpieces." This can leave you frustrated and artistically unsatisfied if you do not take the time to occasionally create just for yourself.

7. If you think freelance illustrating will be an easy path to fame and fortune you might want to consider another career.

-- Mark A. Hicks, illustrator