An essential requirement for an illustrator is to present your artwork in a professional manner, whether that’s on your website or as printed portfolio. A requirement of being freelance is to share your illustrations widely in order to find commissioned work. This guide is designed to help demystify the process of putting together a professional portfolio. The ultimate aim of your portfolio is to show your best work, and let that shine through. By keeping the format simple you can allow the artworks to come to the forefront. Consider the perspective of the art director. Do your best to create ..read more

Josef Albers was an artist and educator. Well known for his design, photography, typography, paintings, printmaking, and poetry. He is considered to be one of the most significant teachers of the visual arts to have emerged from the past century, he taught at the Bahaus as well as the Black Mountain College. While he also developed one of the most extensive and influential courses on colour. Alber’s believed that formal knowledge about the order of colour, would be of little practical use to his students if they didn’t understand the elasticity of colour. For instance while you can do your bes ..read more

Colour is used everyday in the visual arts from illustration, graphic design, to architecture, and technology. Choice and arrangement can have the power to create iconic imagery, for instance artworks by painters such as Mondrian and Matisse are recognisable for their distinct visual language which is identifiable by the clear and precise use of colour. The thoughtful order and positioning of different hues can have drastic effects on how an artwork is perceived, which can make for pleasant viewing experiences that evoke moods or emotion. In contrast to some colour combinations that may produc ..read more

Over the past few years I’ve found the following books to be invaluable to informing my ideas and understanding about illustration. Drawing is at the heart of the job, however good draughtsmanship is just one small piece of the larger puzzle. The role requires you to have a professional understanding of the industry, as well as knowledge on the different areas that illustration can be applied to. Being an illustrator requires you to be continually creative, which isn’t always easy, as well as knowing how to share your work and get noticed (another difficulty). On top of this it’s helpful to cu ..read more

Mind-map your initial ideas Pull out key words, themes, or visual ideas from the text you are working with. This is a great way to get vital information from the brief.  Almost like day-dreaming, allow your mind to wander and write down (or draw) any words that bring immediate images to mind. These can be used as a spring board for new ideas. Try to keep as open-minded as possible, and make note of any idea that might appear. Record concepts no matter how out-there or ridiculous they might be. If you’re too self-critical early on, it can be inhibitive to your creative process. These short ..read more

What advice would you give to anyone hoping to become established in the industry? Create personal projects directed by subject matter that you feel passionate about. This will help build your illustration portfolio with themes that you’re interested in and will hopefully attract the type of clients that you’d like to work with. Share your work widely and a like-minded audience will find you.  How did you establish yourself as an illustrator? Towards the end of my time studying Illustration at Falmouth University I arranged portfolio reviews with some publishing houses and organisations t ..read more

Who’s Flying The Plane is a podcast centred around creatives making a difference in their field, the creator of the podcast Alex Wilson interviewed me in January 2020. We chatted about how I became an illustrator, and what it’s like to come up with editorial illustrations to go with important issues. Plus where I find inspiration and how to come up with ideas. You can find my interview here, as well as many other interesting episodes via their website, Itunes or Spotify. I also drew a portrait of Alex, featured below. Who’s Flying The Plane? Interview with Alex Wilson Subscribe Sign up to my ..read more

If you love to create, and want to develop your practice, whether you’re at the beginning of your journey or are a professional wanting to further your knowledge; this guide is made for you. Subscribe Sign up to my newsletter to stay in the loop. Email Address Sign Up We respect your privacy. Thank you! In this concise guide I round up what it takes to be an illustrator covering everything from developing a distinct visual language, to creating a strong portfolio, to promoting your work and how to get commissioned by your dream clients.  Access the free course via Teachable here ..read more

An artist residency can be a wonderful way to work in a new environment, experience life in another country, meet other international artists and gain fresh perspectives. You can apply for many different artist residencies all over the world and the expectations or specifications will vary, so it’s good to get an idea of what’s on offer and to research thoroughly before applying. Where to look Some very attractive and competitive schemes offer fully funded scholarships, travel grants, a stipend to live on, or may even cover materials costs. On the other end of the spectrum some placements wil ..read more

An editorial illustration is an artwork that sits alongside a text in a magazine, journal, newspaper or online platform with the intention to reflect and build on the words in order to convey an idea or theme. Covering wide ranging topics from social justice to book reviews. Some editorial illustrations may illustrate a scene, moment, or narrative, but for now we’re going to focus on artwork that has a conceptual edge. Conceptual artworks tend to lend themselves particularly well to an editorial context because the aim of the image is to reflect and build on a text in order to convey an idea o ..read more