Ryan Peltier is an editorial illustrator who currently mentors three students from the MFA program. With a prolific editorial illustration practice, his clients include The New York Times, The New Yorker, Apple, The Wall Street Journal and TIME Magazine among many others. Peltier started out as a character designer but has found his way to the centre of the illustration world with his unique visual style.

One piece of advice that accompanies an aspiring illustrator and at times, even professionals, is that you must have one particular style. Peltier says, “You can have multiple styles. But you have to promote one style robustly. For example, when we think of Van Gogh we think of his painting style, we don’t know if he had other styles or if he liked burgers or something. In the same way, art directors think of an illustrator for a specific theme, topic, or style.”

Peltier’s experience in the illustration industry spans well over a decade. “Illustration as an industry has changed so much since the 90’s. Today it seems more important that ever to promote yourself as a visual brand. But it is also important not to get pigeon-holed doing one thing or one style all your life. It is tricky to balance that. It needs a lot of discipline to stick with and hone one style,” he said.

One can often find in Peltier’s work an amalgamation of characters working in an environment. Speaking about the inspiration behind his unique characters Peltier says, “You can’t draw anything that is not inside of you. All the characters in my work in some way are different parts of myself.” Speaking about his experience in the industry, Peltier said, “Editorial has been great so far. For me it is a good way of doing what I love to do while paying the bills. I don’t know if I will do it forever, but maybe I will choose some projects over others at a later stage. Currently, I think the way forward for me is paintings. I have been making paintings in this style lately.”

A believer in self-promotion, Peltier says that starting out, aspiring illustrators can use multiple ways to put their work into the world. He thinks using social media and sending postcards to art directors is a good way to start. “Send personal emails and postcards to art directors whose work you really like. Many art directors are also illustrators themselves, so you can talk about their work too. It is always nice to speak about their work while showing them yours. It is a thoughtful gesture,” he said.

So what lies ahead for Ryan Peltier? “I think painting is a way forward for me right now. It is difficult to survive solely as an illustrator nowadays so it is important to have other things going on at the side. I am teaching, mentoring and getting my paintings going along with being an illustrator.”

Later this week, you can come hangout with Ryan Peltier and ask him all your illustration questions. This Thursday, February 20 at 6pm, Peltier speaks on the topic Inspiration and Trends in Illustration in the MCAD MFA classroom.

Photos provided by Ryan Peltier

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