5 Tips for Creating an Illustration Portfolio as Unique as You Are!

Portfolios can make or break your art career. Keeping them a continuous representation of yourself will help you not only to get new work, but will also allow you to get projects you love to work on.

May 31, 2023

Image from ARLO DRAWS AN OCTOPUS written by Lori Mortensen Illustrations by Rob Sayegh Jr — Illustration from ARLO DRAWS AN OCTOPUS written by Lori Mortensen illustrated by Rob Sayegh Jr. Published by Abrams Books

1. Promote personal work over commercial projects.

• I think it’s a common misconception that you need commercial projects to get new work. I’ve actually found that most of my personal work has led to my illustration projects. On top of this, they were projects I truly loved working on because they were so close to my personal work. My portfolio is balanced with about 80% personal work and 20% commercial projects. A great example of this is my next release, CUPIG: THE VALENTINE’S DAY PIG, started as a silly Valentine’s Day card I made for my wife. I later posted the image to Instagram where it was seen by my agent and an editor who loved the idea for a book.

2. Aim for one new portfolio piece a month at a minimum.

• Refreshing your work over time is key to getting new visits to your portfolio. It will also help you or your agent promote your recent work. Having a portfolio that has been the same over time can grow stale and doesn’t allow you or your work to evolve. Aiming for one solid portfolio piece a month gives you the chance to have a new portfolio every year.

3. Create work that will specifically highlight and showcase your unique style and niche.

• Think of your portfolio as a TV commercial for your work. If you had an art director’s attention for 60 seconds, what would you want them to know? Completing my prior blog post and exercise FINDING YOUR NICHE AS AN ILLUSTRATOR will help you identify the key characteristics of your work. These may change over time as your interests might change, but making them a considerable part of your portfolio pieces will help you get the work you love. For instance, my work is about texture, humor, and mostly animals. Tying those ideas to my portfolio helps tell that story and make it front and center.

4. PROMOTE! PROMOTE! PROMOTE!

• Promoting your own work is a huge (and free!) opportunity to get new eyes on your work. Using social media, portfolio sites like Behance and Dribbble, and your agent, if you have one, to push your new work are all great. I also suggest starting a monthly newsletter to have people who have visited your website before come back regularly (Substack is a great resource for this!)

5. Seek out critiques regularly.

• When I first started, I struggled with ways to improve my portfolio pieces, especially seeing them through an art director’s eye. So, I hired a freelance art director to review my portfolio (the wonderful Chad Beckerman to be specific) and regularly signed up for critiques at SCBWI regional and national events. These critiques were crucial for learning new ways to improve my work but, also allowed me to constantly grow as an illustrator and enhance my portfolio pieces.