Things I Learned Along the Way — Huck’s Fiftieth Anniversary Special collects lessons learned and creative advice from fifty of the most inspiring people we know. Each day we’ll be sharing a new excerpt from the magazine. Today, illustrator Mr. Bingo talks about how embracing his funny bone launched his career.

#26 – Mr. Bingo

“My name is Mr. Bingo and I’m an illustrator and person. I’ve worked with people like the Washington Post, Byron Burgers, Jimmy Carr, The Mighty Boosh and Doritos, but what I’m really good at is drawing dicks on postcards and sending them to strangers; that’s my Hate Mail series which turned into a book. Some people say I’m the Justin Bieber of drawing; others say I fuck about for a living.

‟You definitely have to be fairly thick-skinned and cynical in this industry; in the last four months I’ve been offered (and lost) over £150,000 worth of work, where for various reasons the jobs have just gone away! You can never get too excited when a great sounding job is in the pipeline. Saying that, I’ve also learned to say “No” to clients. In the early stages of an illustration career, you feel like you have to say yes to everything that comes your way. You say yes because you kind of feel grateful that someone is actually offering you money for this fun thing that you do, and you say yes because you’re afraid to say no.”

This is just a short excerpt from Huck’s Fiftieth Special, a collection of fifty personal stories from fifty inspiring lives.

Grab a copy now to read all fifty stories in full. Subscribe to make sure you don’t miss another issue.

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