AOI, is it worth joining?

BenJonesDesign

Active Member
Hi guys,

I've been looking into sites fir illustrators and came across the association of illustrators. It seems to have been mentioned a good few times on a number of sites and looks to have some good benefits.

Has anybody joined or used it in the past and is it worth it?
 
I've always held off joining myself but I've been very tempted just for their pricing and legal advice.
Some people have easily made their membership fee on one job with their advice on fees.
I'm not sure if it's still the case but it used to include a portfolio review/advice with one of the team which you could take advantage of being down south.

I've used the forum a lot in the past and there are a great number of people willing to share and help for nowt:)
 
I'm tempted to join, mainly for the legal & pricing help, but never seem to get round to it. The main times i've needed to ask for help on the AOI forums it's been for urgent pricing advice, & the only response you get to that is "Are you a member?"

If you're not a member they're not always very helpful. Which is strange as that's not particularly helpful to the industry & people starting out who maybe can't afford to join.
 
thanks Typo. After thinking about it I think your right, it just seems like I'd be getting lazy and expecting people to just start rolling through the door. I've been getting into art a lot more recently, partly because I love traditional art but also because I felt it would help give me a style and work it into my illustration work and so I spoke to an art dealer the other day. He pretty much told me to never speak to agencies or sites like AOI. His main advice which I'm sure many other professionals like yourself would say, was that you need to get yourself out there, face to face, go direct. As a result I am booking places at galleries for next year, get my art out there and work in my illustration work with craft fairs etc. Oh and another thing I've been advised about for those viewing this thread is the illustrators and writers year book, seems like a great place to start to get yourself out there with great lists of contacts.
 
good point, i really need to get down there, I keep thinking, oh god another thing to buy (even though it would be worth it in the end), nothing like a good ol' try before you buy
 
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