How to deal with rejection

Found wanting Four pro artists tell Ruth Hamilton about their most toe-curling rejection experiences, and how to turn a ‘no’ into something positive

- Ruth Hamilton

Death, taxes and “Sorry, but you’ve been unsuccessful this time.” There’s no getting around it – if you want to reach your career peak, you’re going to have to clamber past plenty of painful rejections on the way up. Even the most successful and talented artists have had their portfolios mercilessly discarded plenty of times.

We asked four professional artists for their tales of rejection (get ready to break out in a cold sweat). We also wondered what advice they had on how to deal with rejection without letting it dent your confidence, and even get something positive out of the experience, too.

I arrived for the interview 15 minutes early – then had to wait for three hours… The interview lasted three minutes

“When I was a student, I got an invite to speak to a huge studio for a potential internship. I was over the moon! It was the only positive response I had in months. I arrived for the interview 15 minutes early – then had to wait for three hours,” recalls Maeve Broadbin (known online as DrawMaeve).

WATCHFUL WAITING

The studio, it transpires, was trying a bold new recruitment technique in which all the candidates were invited in at once, to sit in the same room and be interviewed for 10 minutes each while the other prospective candidates watched on.

“By the time I sat down, the recruiter was exhausted. She asked me how many followers I had on Twitter, flipped through my portfolio, and told me I had no sense of colour,” Maeve continues. “The interview lasted three minutes. It was my first rejection that had passed the initial email stage.” Maeve is now a concept artist at Blizzard Entertainment.