[participatie] price it right

The European Illustration Forum is hosting a FREE webinar on ‘Licensing and Negotiation for Illustrators.’ Empower yourself with essential business knowledge to build a sustainable career. #PriceItRight

credit Tania Yakunova

At the EIF, we believe our industry should be accessible to all illustrators. As a community of illustration organisations, we are dedicated to removing barriers for underrepresented groups and celebrating diversity in illustration across Europe.

We are proud to relaunch the Price It Right campaign, ensuring key resources on licensing and negotiation are freely available to all illustrators.

The EIF have surveyed over 1,000 illustrators across 9 countries to better understand the challenges faced by underrepresented illustrators in Europe. The findings highlight significant challenges in achieving true diversity and equality. Many illustrators struggle to earn a sustainable income, with those from underrepresented backgrounds facing even greater challenges. 

Illustrators from minority backgrounds highlighted three key obstacles:

  1. Low fees and wages
  2. Inadequate negotiation skills
  3. Clients’ lack of understanding of illustration’s value

The EIF is dedicated to driving positive change, and we invite you to join us in making educational information on fees and negotiation more accessible to all.  

Here’s how you can get involved:

  • Review the full diversity survey results on the EIF website.
  • Explore the Price It Right campaign for invaluable resources focused on pricing and negotiation. All materials and recordings are freely accessible on our website.
  • Amplify our message by sharing this post to raise awareness and foster change. #EIFDiversitySurvey #PriceItRight

Price It Right – Resources Page 

 http://www.european-illustrators-forum.com/campaigning-price-it-right-resources/

Full survey Results 

 http://www.european-illustrators-forum.com/devsite/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/EIF-Diversity-Survey-Report-2023.pdf

Price It Right – Event Page https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/price-it-right-licensing-and-negotiation-webinar-for-illustrators-tickets-996053913067

[educatie] research table

Artist Research Table

By presenting The Research Table in the Exhibition Baanbreker/Trailblazers we would like to tap into collective intelligence to expand the research of Dr. Jaleen Grove on Diverse Genders in Illustration. Contribute here to the list

Dr. Jaleen Grove is an Associate Professor in Illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design, USA. She co-edited History of Illustration (Bloomsbury, 2018), the first textbook on the topic, and authored Oscar Cahén: Life and Work (Art Canada Institute, 2015). Her most recent publication is a chapter in Nineteenth-Century Women Illustrators and Cartoonists (Manchester University Press, 2023) https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526161697/ . Grove maintains a studio practice as well, with an essay on illustration research appearing in the open access journal Colouring In (2023) https://www.colouring-in.com/ . 

Women’s Work in Writing History

In 2018 I had the opportunity to design a new course, Diverse Genders in Illustration, that combines liberal arts and studio practice. Students use the history of women illustrators (and cartoonists, designers, printmakers, and animators) to inspire their own practices; and to connect historical conditions to present-day experiences in order to better understand the systemic and cultural origins of current career challenges. Students research and compose an illustrated biography of a foremother, in the form of a zine, poster, instant book, or other format. Since a handy reference book with the scope I needed did not yet exist, I began compiling a list of practitioners to give my students research leads.

The real beginning, however, was in the early 1990s when at age 22, I was fired from a design job because, as the only woman in the workplace, the boss thought I was “disruptive,” since a few of the men enjoyed talking to me at lunch. 

The personal is political, and also a calling. In the decades in between I sought reasons and survival skills for this sexism by learning the history of prior female graphic arts professionals. First it was my work on the British illustrator Olive Allen Biller (1879-1957), an initially graphically cheeky young woman who, under the pressures of being a “girl” in Edwardian British print culture, suppressed her spirit in print and eventually gave up illustrating after becoming a widow and single mother.[1] Then it was an examination of the early female editorship and illustrators of Canada’s long-running women’s magazine, Chatelaine.[2]

In 2017-19, my study of canon formation took an especial interest in gender, using data-driven methods to put some actual numbers to frequent—but frequently challenged—claims that women illustrators have been discriminated against.[3] Predictable spoiler: only 10% of the names in English-language “best of” lists before 1970 are women, and when samples of artworks pictured in those annals are counted up, that drops to 7%. Take the children’s book specialization out and women’s names sink to 5.5%. In the few “best of” lists for non-Anglophone countries, women’s representation was just 2.3%. Overall, female writers always recorded more women than male writers did.

I ended that study noting that the story is bound to change once non-English histories are assessed. I am pleased to now share my nascent list, which as a simple classroom tool was not composed with any particular rigour, with a wider audience.  The input of those with different knowledge and languages are needed. We cannot take the inclusion of women’s history for granted, nor count on that inclusion to be maintained. As I write this, a petition remains open to return Kate Greenaway’s name to the prestigious medal for illustration that had been named in her honour since 1955.[4]  As in the past, once again women must make sure women are remembered. 


[1] “Olive Allen and the Graphic Nonchalance of the Modern Girl, Illustrated,” in Nineteenth-Century Women Illustrators and Cartoonists, edited by Joanna Devereux. Manchester University Press, 268-291.

[2] “A Castle of One’s Own: Interactivity in Chatelaine Magazine, 1928-1935.” Journal of Canadian Studies, Vol. 45, Issue 3 (Fall): 166-187.

[3] “Illustrator Identity in the Historical Record, 1830-1970: A Quantitative, Bibliographic Inquiry into Canon and Renown,” Nathalie Collé and Monica Latham, gen. eds. and dirs. Sophie Aymes, Brigitte Friant-Kessler and Maxime Leroy, guest eds. Illustrating Identity-ies / Illustrer l’identité. Vol. 10. Collection Book Practices & Textual Itineraries. Nancy: Presses Universitaires de Nancy – Éditions Universitaires de Lorraine, 2020.

[4] https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/bring-back-the-kate-greenaway-medal

[expositie] Gouden Penseel 2021

Ludwig Volbeda wint Gouden Penseel 2021

6 december 2021 door Anne Rombouts

Aan de vooravond van de 67ste Kinderboekenweek is Hele verhalen voor een halve soldaat, geïllustreerd door Ludwig Volbeda en geschreven door Benny Lindelauf, bekroond met een Gouden Penseel. Een parel voor alle leeftijden.

Omslag Hele verhalen voor een halve soldaat

Al eerder was Hele verhalen voor een halve soldaat beloond met de Woutertje Pieterse Prijs 2021, en nu ook met de Zilveren Griffel én Gouden Penseel. Illustrator Ludwig Volbeda wijkt af van zijn kenmerkende gedetailleerde tekenstijl, en toont nu sferische landschappen in pastelkleuren. Hele verhalen voor een halve soldaat, geschreven door Benny Lindelauf, bestaat uit verschillende verhalen, alle verteld door broers bij een grenspost. Er zijn minder illustraties in dit boek dan in de vorige samenwerking tussen Lindelauf en Volbeda, Hoe Tortot zijn Vissenhart verloor. “Als je tekeningen gaat maken bij tekst, moet je zoeken waar de ruimte ligt. Die lag hier heel sterk in de sfeer. Ik moest atmosferischer werken dan bij Tortot, daar had ik een soort fijn pennetje bij gebruikt. Dat was voor dit boek niet voldoende, ik heb al het materiaal ingezet dat ik door de jaren heen heb gehamsterd; van aquarel tot kleurpotlood. Ik heb zelfs zand gescand en alles naar mijn tekenplek gesleept,” vertelt Ludwig Volbeda aan het Parool.

Ludwig Volbeda – beeld uit Hele verhalen voor een halve soldaat

Luister hier naar aflevering 5 van de Potloodcast met Ludwig Volbeda

Lees hier Ted van Lieshouts mening over Volbeda’s werk

Lees hier over de winnaars van de Zilveren Penseel