Find out what to show in an illustration portfolio to get work as an illustrator
Hurry hurry! Our Giant Cyber Sale is now on, which means that, until next Monday, November 30th ONLY, all your old favorites plus Lilla’s thrilling NEW class for 2021, My Toy Pitch, are ALL heavily discounted! Registration for all of our outstanding courses for 2021, including the raved- about Illustrating Children’s Books and last year’s new course, My Kid Book Pitch, will be open next year at full price – but you can grab them now and make a huge saving of 25% on individual courses, and up to 50% on our fabulous bundles!
Paisley puzzle design by Make Art That Sells student Janie Secker for Assignment Bootcamp 2020. Janie is now represented by Lilla Rogers Studio after Lilla spotted her in class.
Today we’re going to talk about what to show in an illustration portfolio to catch an agent’s or art director’s eye and help you land your dream illustration jobs. How can you make money from your art so you get to hang out in your pajamas eating toast and listening to music while you work? We caught up with art agent Lilla to find out.
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: “It’s vital that your portfolio shows several strong pieces for each market that you’re interested in. As an art agent, I look for an artist that has work in multiple markets. You need to have enough pieces to show the art director that you can produce consistently, especially in the editorial market, where work is almost always commissioned. As an agent, I need to know: if I assign you work, can you deliver? Art directors don’t like surprises! Art directors and art agents both need to know that you’re capable of producing consistently high quality work. So when you show lots of great work, you get lots of great commissions!”
Editorial illustration by Make Art That Sells student Marloes de Vries for Editorial Live: Illustrating for Magazines and More. Lilla leads you through the whole process, from rough to finish. Read more here.
Q: How do you know which markets to focus on or what to draw when your time is limited and precious? I sometimes have a million ideas in my head, but there are so many hours in the day, especially right now, when I have children constantly under my feet and/or trying to pick a fight with the cat. (Also, do you know how many times a day they need feeding? It’s a lot!)
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 if you can, or probably online at the moment, 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 – and as a bonus it’s something I can do while “watching” Blippi on repeat for the thirtieth time today too.
Paisley puzzle design by Make Art That Sells student Lucia Picerno for Assignment Bootcamp 2020. As an agent, Lilla knows what’s hot right now, so her assignments are always on trend. Puzzles were huge in 2020!
The shortcut to a powerful illustration portfolio
Here’s a cheeky shortcut: the My Brilliant Portfolio bundle will help you create a powerful, job-snagging portfolio that will showcase your unique art across some of the hottest markets right now. For this bundle, we’ve picked the courses that will help you make loads of great portfolio pieces!
You’ll get two of Lilla’s inspiring and motivating LIVE courses – Editorial LIVE and student-favorite Assignment Bootcamp 2021 – plus two self-paced courses specifically geared towards a fantastic portfolio: Lilla’s Art Recipes: Drawing Faces and (new as a self-paced course for 2021!) Portfolio Review, in which you’ll watch art agent Lilla review student portfolios just like yours and learn a ton. 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 My Brilliant Portfolio bundle will give you all the on-trend job-snagging portfolio pieces that you need.
West Side Story poster by Make Art That Sells student Ruth Burrows for Assignment Bootcamp 2020. Find out more and book your place here.
HURRY! This bundle will ONLY be reduced this heavily during our Giant Cyber Sale, which ends this Monday, November 30th, so if you want in – if you want to explore some of the hottest art markets with the help of top art agent Lilla, with the support of hundreds of like-minded creatives all over the world; if you want to fill your portfolio with show-stopping, job-snagging art – then sign up now!
Plus, join your Illustrating Children’s Books and My Kid Book Pitch teachers, art agent Lilla and children’s book art director and author Zoë, in a FREE live Zoom on Monday 30th November, at 10.30 am ET/3.30 pm GMT! They’ll be answering your questions, sharing teaching tips, showing some of their favorite pictures books and more. Set an alarm on your phone now!
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 your, here.
