Getting Commissions 101

Getting commissions is the biggest hurdle for most aspiring illustrators and even those who are already working as a professional illustrator.

Fortunately, it isn’t actually rocket science or some mystical art that only some people know - it’s a logical step-by-step process which you need to rinse and repeat over and over and over again (a bit like marketing yourself!. The following guide lays out the process you need to take to win illustration commissions…

Research the Market

The first step you need to take before you start thinking about getting commissioned by an art director is to go back to basics and decide what and where. That is, you need to decide upon the following:

• What types of commissions and work are you looking for?
  • Editorial illustrations
  • Childrens’ book illustrations
  • Fact/Fiction book illustrations
  • Magazine/book covers
  • Art licensing contracts and more…
• What sort of publishers use the type and style of illustration that you specialise in?

As you research this, it’s sensible to start making a list of possible contacts for a later date when you’re ready to start reaching out and making contact.

Build your Illustration Portfolio

In order to secure illustration commissions from art directors or individual clients, you’ll need to create an illustration portfolio that showcases relevant work. Here are the most important tips you need to keep in mind when producing pieces for your portfolio:

• Don’t show everything you’ve ever done - show only the best
• Tailor your portfolio tot he people/potential clients you’ll be contacting
• Only create the type of work you want to be hired to do
• Show colour work, not just black & white

For childrens’ books:

• Show characters interacting with each other, not just stand-alone characters
• Show your story-telling abilities

For editorial:

• Show concepts not just decorative pieces to show you can communicate ideas, stories and concepts

Prepare Your Marketing Promo Materials

Once you’re happy with your portfolio and you’ve got a clear list of target clients, it’s sensible to ensure your marketing promo materials are up-to-date, relevant and ready to go. You should already have worked on your marketing strategy, created the basics and have a well thought-out approach but if not, now is the time to do this before you start reaching out and making initial contact.

Make Initial Contact

Once you’ve got a complete portfolio and your marketing materials are ready, it’s time to start reaching out and making contact with the list of art directors and potential clients that you researched and listed in the first step.

This can be daunting, very daunting - but the worst that can happen is you get a big fat “NO” or you get silence. Here are a few key things to remember:

• Remember that the people you’re reaching out to are…people, they’re not just names on a list but they’re people with responsibilities, bulging inboxes and their own stresses and strains.
• Paper mailers still do work - emails are easily marked as trash. A combination of approaches can be the most effective i.e. an email followed by a paper mailer or vice versa.
• Tailor your pitch and portfolio pieces/mailers specifically to the art director/company you’re contacting.
• Don’t put mailers in an envelope - it’s just one more action the art director has to take to see your work and sometimes it’s a step too far.
• Make sure your contact info is clear on every single item in your promo pack so it’s super simple for an art director to get back to you.

This is the exciting bit…don’t be deterred if you receive rejections. If you’ve done your preparation and homework, you’ll find this task far simpler. And when you’ve got some practise under your belt, do more of what worked for you and keep refining your approach. The more commissions you get, the better you’ll get at getting more!