Would You Hire You for an Illustration Project?
Escapee Speaks:
It’s time to be brutally honest with yourself.
I encourage you today to take a step back from your portfolio and ask yourself if you would hire you for an Illustration project if you were in an Art Director’s shoes.
This can be difficult to do, since you probably have a strong emotional connection to every piece you’ve ever created, but it can also be one of the most helpful questions that you ever ask yourself as a creative professional.
This is because the people that you want to hire you don’t have this same connection. They are simply looking for someone to help them solve a problem or communicate a message in a visual way. They have needs that need to be met, and if you look at your work from this perspective you will probably notice some things that might cause a potential client to hesitate or decide to hire someone else. The challenge is to find the flaws are that are degrading your overall portfolio, your overall brand, and fix or eliminate them.
If you do the hard work of being brutally honest with yourself, you just might end up with a stronger portfolio, a more compelling website, or a more recognizable brand.
If it helps, it might be a good idea to get a second opinion, but cultivating this skill within yourself will help you for years to come.
Escapee has spoken.
How do evaluate yourself as an Illustrator? I invite you to share your thoughts in the comments.
Related Posts:
7 Elements of an Effective Portfolio Website
Someone Would Love to Hire You Right Now
Read More Escapee Speaks Business
Really good food for thought.
I’ve found that even if I can recognize when my work isn’t up to par, it’s really hard to figure out how to fix it without an outside opinion from someone I trust. Making friends with other artists is really important in this industry
I’ve asked myself the same question in the past, I really don’t have an answer, it depends on what kind of art director is looking at my work – are they magazine ADs, apparel design, entertainment industry, they all have different needs. You don’t want to end up watering down your work with samples that you think will appeal to ADs, I have done that in the past and the work was weak, I was doing things that were unnatural to me, but ADs thought I should have more smiley faces in my portfolio, or they suggested I work on more positive topics… I’m taking a second stab at an illustration career after a long hiatus and this time I’m doing work that I believe in and hopefully that will attract the right kind of art director.