What do they do?
In her words, Ajanta Guhathakurta, 35, gives a "face to text". So, one moment she's creating a cute teddy bear or lily for a story book, next she's designing the jacket for a non-fiction book.
Winner of a certificate for her illustrations at the 2002 International Board on Books for Young People Congress in Switzerland, Guhathakurta has lent her creative touch to Letters from a father to his daughter (collection of Jawaharlal Nehru's letters), and done the jackets of books like MG Vassanji's The Gunny Sack and Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi's The Last Song of Dusk.
Like in many walks of life today, the computer has become her easel but this graphic designer and illustrator also does oil paintings at her studio.
"I did five years as an illustrator. I struggled in those five years as an illustrator only (at The Children's Book Trust). Then I got a break in Penguin where I started designing books," says the Senior Design Manager, Puffin and Ladybird Design, Penguin group.
Today, Guhathakurta says, "There's immense scope" in this field.
The canvas has exploded for those bubbling with ideas. It stretches from book jackets, broadsheets, magazine leaves, print ads, billboards, to stationery, promotional pamphlets, posters, CD covers, corporate merchandise, technical catalogues, packaging, to designing exhibition stalls.
Academics and professional practitioners vouch for the tonnes of work available in the market. M Vijayamohan, Principal, College of Art (COA), Delhi, says prospects are very good for students of applied art. "Our students start earning even when they are in the second year." Advertising agencies lap students up during the college's annual exhibition in March. Most students go to the industry - publishing houses (like Guhathakurta, a COA alum), advertising agencies, design studios, and media outlets including television channels. Many people freelance. Teaching, of course, is also an option.
Adds illustrator Atanu Roy, 59, who has his art studio in Gurgaon, "The sky is the limit. It's a vast industry." He, however, adds you should know the difference between the art, that is ideas and craft, meaning skills. "It's ideas that matter. Your awareness should be very high."
Guhathakurta cautions that aspirants shouldn't "leave practising. That's what's happening. They forget the basics. That's what I've been observing for the last 11 years. They get into computer thing so much that they forget manual drawing."
