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About a Freelance Illustrator's Career

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Artists can pursue many career paths, one of which is becoming a freelance illustrator. Freelance illustration is useful in many industries but is most popular in marketing, publishing, and entertainment.

 

If you’re interested in this field, learning more about it will help you decide if you want this position. In this blog, you’ll find out who a freelance illustrator is, what kind of art they create, and how to pursue this role.

Who is a Freelance Illustrator?

A freelance illustrator is someone who draws and creates what they receive as orders from clients. Many industries use illustrators to create marketing content and product packaging. Freelance illustrators are often self-employed, but some work with advertising agencies or publishing companies as contractors. Some key responsibilities of an illustrator are:

 

Meeting with clients to assess their design needs; Creating illustration drafts, sketches, paintings; Using tablets and other technologies to complete work; Creating sample designs for clients to evaluate; Negotiating contract details with clients, such as price and deadlines; Keeping up with industry techniques and trends.

What do Illustrators create?

  • Concept Art: Concept art is a visual representation of an idea. It’s typically used in the planning stage of films, video games, or TV shows. For example, when working on a film, teams use concept art to plan scene shooting, set design, and can use them to showcase the film idea to producers.

     

  • Character Design: Character design is a character model that showcases its appearance and important characteristics. Studios may hire an illustrator to create characters for films, books, TV shows, video games, or other animated projects.

     

  • Entertainment: Illustration for entertainment purposes includes many categories such as comics, animations, and other works. Although this type of illustration can be for a film or video games, it differs from concept art as it appears in the final product.

     

  • Product Design: Product design is the process of developing a new product. Illustrators help visualize and illustrate the product, and then designers and manufacturers use these samples to create physical products.

     

  • Package Illustration: Package illustration is the exterior of a product. Illustrators collaborate with marketing teams to create artwork for products that motivates consumers to purchase the product.

     

 
  • Book and Editorial Illustration: Book and editorial illustrations include children’s books, magazines, blogs, newspapers, and websites. Companies and publishers want to create unique designs and artwork to help beautify and sell books or editorial content.

     

What skills and attributes do illustrators need?

  • Interpersonal skills: Establishing strong, professional relationships with clients helps an illustrator assess and meet their needs. This ensures client satisfaction with the final product.

    Communication skills: An illustrator can use their communication skills to talk with clients to learn more about their needs. This will also help you explain your ideas to the client.

    Problem-solving skills: When a client has a problem such as low user interaction with social media posts, they turn to an illustrator. They can use problem-solving skills to find a solution. These skills help the illustrator offer excellent service to the client to strengthen their professional relationships.

    Creativity: When an illustrator is creative, they can create unique art that helps their clients develop brand awareness and image. They can also use their creativity to introduce new techniques into their work.

What is an illustrator's work environment like?

 

A freelance illustrator has a diverse work schedule as they may be working with multiple clients and deadlines simultaneously. This means they may work overtime to meet these deadlines. Freelance illustrators try to create a schedule that allows them to strike a good balance between work and personal life. Illustrators who work as freelancers typically work alone in their own offices or at home. They can spend most of their time drawing, researching techniques, or meeting with clients.

So, if you want to know how to create a budget and timeline, build a portfolio, have an individual niche, and most importantly, be able to position yourself correctly in the market, we’re waiting for you at Comschool!

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