Creative portfolios 101: Illustration.

by Ariela Kozin

Clockwise from top-left: images courtesy of Mariana Rodrigues (via Jelly London), Ayesa Tengiz (chair and illustration), and Kyle T. Webster

The creative industry is packed with talented illustrators, but you can stand out with a portfolio that demonstrates your unique point of view and best work.

There are endless ways to showcase your work, and tools like Behance and Adobe Portfolio help take out some of the guesswork. We asked our favorite leaders in the industry for tips on how to make your digital portfolio stand out in the illustration space.

Create a thoughtful digital experience.

Aysha Tengiz, Freelance Illustrator  

Even though the focus of your portfolio is your illustration work, solid layout and UX design can make all the difference. “Illustration is a form of design, and if the portfolio’s design layout isn’t strong, it takes away from the quality of the images within it,” says Aysha Tengiz, a freelance illustrator whose clients include The New York Times and Bombay Sapphire. Poor design can make your portfolio difficult navigate and may also indicate to clients that you approach your work without much care for details.

But Tengiz insists that just because portfolios “should also be easy to access and navigate,” they can be playful, too. Tengiz’s own website is accented by a custom cursor and navigation bar. “When making my website, I thought carefully about the colors, type, shapes, and illustrations that I used within the design. Digitally, the options are limitless, and you can play with so many different aspects."

Find your focus.

Sarah Morris, Illustration Agent, Jelly London

As an illustration agent for Jelly London, Sarah Morris regularly scopes out illustration portfolios to find new talent. The portfolios that attract her attention are those that demonstrate thoughtful choices in which work to display. “There’s huge value in taking time to explore, finding your niche, and getting clear on this,” she explains. “It’s about clearly communicating and capturing the essence of you as an artist and what you’re about.” She points to the portfolios of Jelly-represented illustrators like Eva Cremers and Kelly Anna as examples of strong intention and clarity.

Morris also recommends considering how your illustration style might fit within an agency roster: “Do your research. Each agency will be slightly different, look at the kind of work they do, [whether] you would fit in, and what is it about that agency you love.”

Make it original.

Kyle T. Webster, Illustrator & Senior Design Evangelist, Adobe

No matter where you are in your career, a portfolio should only show work that is entirely your own. “There is far too much fan art right now,” observes Kyle T. Webster, an illustrator, author, and design evangelist at Adobe. He recommends professional illustrators avoid derivative work and instead show clients that “you are able to think for yourself, design your own original characters, create your own environments, and solve visual problems with an authentic approach that is true to how you think as an artist.”

It wasn’t so long ago that Webster — then acting as a one-man design agency — attracted the attention of the Adobe Design team with his unique Photoshop brushes. While he notes that a career like his, one that balances technical chops with artistry, is “no easy feat,” he emphasizes that it’s worth the extra effort to forge your own path. “Without a strong, compelling portfolio of work, you will simply get lost in a sea of mediocre portfolios out there.”

Edit, edit, and edit some more.

Craig Redman and Karl Maier, Illustration Duo

Craig Redman and Karl Maier have made a name for themselves in the illustration world with a body of work that features brilliant colors, daring patterns, and a bit of humor. Achieving a unified perspective in a shared portfolio not only requires constant collaboration, it demands a lot of editing: any work that doesn’t help tell their story is deleted from their portfolio. “Think about what it is that makes you you. Are you bright and bubbly? Your folio should reflect that with colors and forms that are representative of that,” say the duo, who have collaborated with Adidas, Universal Studios, and the Tate Modern.

“Starting out, it can feel important to show a little bit of everything, even if it jumps all over the place stylistically. It’s a bit of a balancing act — and showing range is great — but a concise and cohesive selection of your best work will always win out in our view,” Redman and Maier explain. “Show only what you think best represents you, not necessarily what you ‘think’ someone else wants to see.”

Experiment.

Niege Borges, Freelance Illustrator and Graphic Designer

While the gig economy has its challenges, it offers illustrators the opportunity to experiment from project to project – and there’s no better place to play with creative ideas than in your own portfolio. Brooklyn-based illustrator Niege Borges uses a moving logo at the top of her portfolio page to pull visitors in, and seeks out new ways to show off the details of her work.

“I love to see details of illustrations. It is great to be able to see certain elements from up close. It also shows how much effort is put into the artwork,” says Borges. No matter what your idea is, there are no boundaries with digital portfolios. Take advantage.