Hurry hurry! Our Giant Cyber Sale is on now! Right now you can get every single one of our individual courses at a fabulous 30% off (up from our usual 25% cyber sale discount) and up to a massive 50% on our incredible bundles! Don’t miss this chance to boost your illustration career at a huge discount – shop the sale now.
Art by Make Art That Sells student Kay Wolfersperger for Editorial: Illustrating for Magazines and More. Kay is one of 30 students who are now represented by Lilla Rogers Studio after Lilla spotted her in class.
What should you show in your portfolio to get work as an illustrator?
- Do you want to build a successful career as an illustrator and bring in a side income or even your main income from drawing pictures?
- Do you want to get royalty checks from your books and products?
- Are you thinking of shifting to a more creative career that you’re in control of, with unlimited potential to grow and the ability to work whenever and from wherever you want?
Today we’re going to talk about what you should show in an illustration portfolio to catch an agent’s or art director’s eye, so you can land your dream illustration jobs and build a rewarding creative career. And who better to tell us what art agents look for than top art agent and Make Art That Sells co-founder and course leader, Lilla Rogers.
Q: Lilla, what do art directors, art agents and clients really want to see? What are they looking for? What should I show in an illustration portfolio?
Lilla says: “As an art agent, I look for an artist that has work in multiple markets. It’s also vital that your portfolio shows several strong pieces for each market that you’re interested in. Why? Because art directors and art agents both need to know that you’re capable of producing consistently high quality work. We need to know: if we assign you work, can you deliver?”
Art by Make Art That Sells student Maria Ofili for Bootcamp Special: Character Play. Sign up now for 30% off or save up to 50% when you buy as part of a bundle!
Q: How do you know which markets to focus on or what to draw when your time is limited and precious? There are so many things I want to do that I often end up feeling paralyzed and doing none of them. Help!
Lilla says: “I hear you! As a creative person, it can be difficult to stay focused. Here’s my suggestion. Take some time to look at different products – in shops and bookstores or online, and think about what calls to you. Look at children’s books and magazine and book illustrations, look at fabric, look at cards and aprons and teacups, look at wall art and home décor. Look at everything, and take note of what thrills you: what makes you think, oh, I would LOVE to do that!
Then take a look at what kind of art you love to make:
- Do you like to draw people? You could look into the children’s book and magazine illustration markets.
- Do you like to make repeat patterns? Think about the bolt fabric, home décor and stationery markets.
- Do you like to draw a variety of decorative things? You have a whole host of options to consider, including bolt fabric, home décor, gift, paper, baby apparel, scrapbook, party paper, and wall décor.”
Thanks, Lilla! It’s good to know that I can include browsing the internet for gorgeous stuff as research.
Art by Make Art That Sells student Lydia Graves for Bootcamp Special: Character Play.
Here’s a cheeky shortcut: we’ve picked the courses that will help you make loads of great portfolio pieces and packaged them up together in the Boost My Portfolio bundle with a fabulous 40% discount. This is the bundle for you if you want to create a powerful, job-snagging portfolio that will showcase your unique art across some of the hottest markets right now.
Here’s what you get:
- LIVE! Assignment Bootcamp: Portfolio (three months): Pack your portfolio with art designed to land you work, with something in your inbox every week and fresh assignments every month.
- LIVE! Bootcamp Special: Character Play (three months): The same formula as Assignment Bootcamp: Portfolio with an emphasis on creating winning characters for fabulous art markets like children’s book illustration, toys and games, and more.
- Hot Markets for Your Art Part A and Part B: Explore ten of the hottest art markets, including children’s book illustration, bolt fabric, baby apparel, party paper and more. Get instant access as soon as you sign up and complete on your own schedule.
- Editorial: Illustrating for Magazines and More: Multiple assignments with different themes to fill your portfolio with stunning editorial illustrations that clients will love to see. Get instant access as soon as you sign up and complete on your own schedule.
- Portfolio Review: Discover exactly how a top art agent views an artist’s portfolio, website and social media accounts, and how you can make yours work for you. This is gold! Get instant access as soon as you sign up and complete on your own schedule.
Whether you want to explore lucrative new markets for your art or broaden and strengthen your portfolio so you get more of the work you love, the Boost My Portfolio bundle will give you all the on-trend job-snagging portfolio pieces that you need.
Art by Make Art That Sells student Brooke O’Neill for Assignment Bootcamp: Portfolio. Find out more and book your place here.
HURRY! This bundle will ONLY be reduced this heavily during our Giant Cyber Sale, which ends December 6th, so if you want to fill your portfolio with show-stopping, job-snagging art with a huge 40% off – then sign up now!
And don’t forget, if you’ve already bought a course or two and now want to upgrade to this or any other bundle, just email Louise at [email protected] and she’ll be happy to help out.
Lots of love
The Make Art That Sells team xxx
P.S. Want to see what else is included in the sale? Download your free copy of our gorgeous sale guide, including worksheets and a handy tool to help you pick the perfect bundle for you, here.
