How to make a living as a freelance illustrator
I'm writing this article to try and help out aspiring illustrators out there. I'll be writing a bit about how I make a full time living from freelance illustration exclusively from my home studio. There's a huge amount of information that could go into this so I'll try to keep it to the point.
Most of this article is based on my experiences and what has worked for me as an illustrator. I'll try to do what I can to give some advice for other kinds of artists too, as some parts may apply better to you, and some not so much.
Finding commissions yourself
Before you get really stuck in applying to a million different projects, you're going to need at least a small portfolio. More established illustrators will be adding to their portfolio as they go, but getting the ball rolling to start with is tough and will mean you'll need to make some work for portfolio pieces.
These could be projects from a university course, self initiated pieces, or free work for a small charity for example. Other than this I would absolutely never recommend doing free work. (One thing I do for free is sending prints to charity auctions – this doesn't cost me time I can't afford to lose, and can be a good form of donation).
Something that has naturally formed and helped me secure more jobs has been having a recognisable style, and some sort of speciality or niche. While this is easier said than done, your style will probably naturally develop from your inspirations. For example, mine is a bit of a mixture of technique inspiration (screen print layering / limited colours) and artists/designers I love. Obviously I'm not suggesting copying anyone, but chasing 100% originality is a pretty much impossible task.
An animator friend of mine Dan Palmer has had success with animated explainer videos for example. For me, it's mostly map and children's work.
For you, it might be concept art for games, fashion illustration, photo manipulation etc. One thing I wouldn't recommend is trying to be an expert at everything.
