Hire the Top 3% of Illustrators

There are many ways to communicate visually. Typography, photography, and graphic design are tried and true, but none matches illustration’s ability to make ideas immediately memorable. In today’s eCommerce landscape, digital illustration is a powerful way to enliven information and strengthen brand identity.

Illustrations help customers quickly grasp the value of goods and services, but hiring a professional illustrator requires an understanding of the field and its practitioners. Knowing what you need, what to look for, and what questions to ask are paramount to finding the right digital illustrator.

What Is Illustration?

Illustration has much in common with drawing, but there’s a key distinction. Drawing is observational. People, places, and things (real and imagined) are rendered on a surface, and while styles may vary, the intent is to document what is seen or envisioned.

Illustration offers a twist. Subjects are rendered to communicate messages. Humor and social critique are common. Illustration is used to draw comparisons, explain technical concepts, showcase ideal scenarios, and tell stories. Drawing is observation. Illustration is commentary.

What Does an Illustrator Do?

No matter the project, illustrators face three recurring challenges.

1. Understand the message.

• What needs to be communicated, and why?
• Who’s the audience?

2. Uncover a unique aspect of the message.

• Why should anyone care?

3. Find an effective way to visually communicate the message.

• What image-making techniques will make the message instantly obvious and unforgettable?

Image-making techniques are endless. Programs like Procreate, Affinity Designer, and Adobe Illustrator provide illustrators with pixel precision, while styluses and touchscreens replicate the look and feel of traditional artistic media.

Many illustrators prefer the immediacy and unpredictability of analog techniques. Pens, brushes, and printmaking tools of every shape and purpose are widely used.

Some of the most prominent illustrators of the past decade are known for blurring the lines between digital art and analog. Model building, food art, sculpture, and traditional crafts are among the many analog techniques executed by hand, photographed, and digitally enhanced in programs like Adobe Photoshop and Affinity Photo.

Define Your Illustration Project Needs

Illustration projects are unlikely to be successful without clearly established goals. Even the most talented illustrators with multiple years of experience require direction. If no brief exists, communication problems are sure to arise.

Experienced illustrators can help mold and refine project briefs, but before hiring takes place, it’s important to answer questions like:

• Why is an illustration needed in the first place?
• Who are the illustrations for and in what environment will they be seen?
• What ideas, themes, or emotions should the illustrations convey?
• Is there a specific illustration style you are looking for?
• Are there established brand guidelines that the illustrations must follow?
• How much creative input and freedom are you willing to give the illustrator?
• Do you need an illustrator who is also an animator?
• Are you willing to consider candidates that live outside of the United States?
• Who will provide the illustrator with feedback during the project?
• Who is responsible for the final approval of the illustrator’s work?
• What’s the project timeline?
• Has a budget been established and how will payments be managed?

What to Look for When Hiring an Illustrator

Defining project needs will make it easier to find and hire the right illustrator. Factors like rate, availability, and temperament are important, but the first thing to look for are work examples that align with your quality expectations. Instead of relying on Google, the quickest way to find illustration portfolios is by browsing platforms like Dribbble and Behance.

Because illustration is such a visual art form, it’s easy to sort and identify candidates who seem like a good match stylistically. During this phase, it’s important to separate personal preference from the aesthetic expectations of your business and customer base. There will be candidates with stunning work examples that simply aren’t a good fit.

It’s not uncommon for illustrators to include process sketches in portfolios. Not only are these interesting to look at, they also provide insight into an illustrator’s creative process.

Illustrator Interview Questions

After narrowing candidates, schedule time for conversations. Video calls are great because they allow for face-to-face interaction and screen sharing. Full-time illustration positions are rare, meaning that many illustrators are freelancers. Avoid making interviews feel like one-sided examinations where candidates feel pressured to give “right” answers.

Think of the interview as a time to meet, share ideas, and learn about the ways candidates work. Ask questions that help both sides determine whether or not a partnership would be fruitful.

• How would you define your illustration style?
• What type of illustration projects do you typically work on?
• How would you describe the visual look and feel of our brand?
• How do you generate and communicate illustration concepts?
• What does your illustration process look like?
• Are there any parts of the project brief that concern you?
• Is our project timeline realistic?
• Do you have any initial ideas that you’d like to share?
• What kind of feedback and availability do you need from us?
• How many other projects are you working on?

How Does the Illustration Process Work?

Individual illustrators will have their own ways of working, so make sure to discuss this with candidates. By and large, the illustration process follows a similar progression. Here’s what to expect once a candidate is hired.

Work Agreement

It’s imperative that a work agreement or service contract be signed by the client and the illustrator before the project begins.

Research

Like designers in other disciplines, illustrators research at the beginning of projects. Typically, this means collecting visual reference material and learning more about business goals and customers.

Art Direction

It’s common for illustrators to assemble mood boards that communicate the look and feel of the illustrations they envision. This step ensures that everyone is on the same page before concept development.

Sketching

When art direction is established, most illustrators start sketching. Don’t be surprised if initial sketches are rough and unfinished. These early sketches help illustrators sort through their ideas and narrow in on more refined concepts.

Refined Proofs, Color, and Iteration

Once concepts are dialed in, illustrators create refined proofs and add color. Refined proofs will become final illustrations, so it may take some back and forth to get the details just right (iteration).

Don’t hesitate to provide specific feedback during this time, but also avoid asking illustrators to make wholesale changes this late in the game.

Deliver Design Files

When the project is finished, it’s the illustrator’s responsibility to format, save, organize, and deliver design files via email or a cloud-sharing service.

Payment

There are a number of ways to structure payments, so details ought to be covered in the work agreement. For instance, some illustrators ask for a 50% payment at the start and end of a project, while others bill at predefined project milestones.

Maintain the Relationship

It’s not uncommon for an illustrator to work on multiple projects for the same client. If all goes well with the illustrator you hire, there are simple things you can do to maintain the relationship.

• Thank them for the work they put in.
• Ask if they’d be willing to partner with you in the future.
• Pass along any compliments or positive feedback that their work receives.
• Check in a few weeks before your next project to see what their availability is.

It’s much easier to rehire a talented and trustworthy illustrator than it is to go through the entire interview process again. Likewise, it’s a good idea to assemble a small roster of backups in case your go-to illustrator is booked.