Illustrator at an Agency: What You Need to Know About the Job

Contents:

• What does the agency do?
• What criteria are used to select authors at the agency?
• On what basis does the agency assign orders to illustrators?
• What is the role of the agency for the illustrator?

Designers and illustrators have the opportunity to work both freelance and on permanent staff of large companies or in partnership with studios. Their services can also be provided through specialized agencies.

Let's use Pic-o-matic as an example to examine how such a structure functions: why an agency requires a permanent team along with a network of external contractors, how important is having a portfolio, and what benefits do authors receive from this model of cooperation.

SEO Pic-o-matic. For over twelve years, she has been heading the agency, and previously gained experience in the creative departments of well-known advertising companies such as BBDO, Ogilvy, MullenLowe and others. She has a passion for advertising, creative ideas, design and illustration, and also runs a blog dedicated to commercial illustration.

What an agency does

Each agency has its own unique characteristics. However, there are certain principles that unite all agencies within this business.

Primarily, agencies provide services and work with authors who are in demand by clients.

This is not a matter of preference of the agency team and is not associated with the influence of fashion trends.

The agency is engaged in solving the business problems of its clients, choosing the most appropriate tools. These tools may include illustrations, graphic design, animation, and other forms of visual communication.

The key element in this situation is communication.

Clients turn to our design agency for exactly this reason, which is why we consider ourselves a visual communications agency. Our main areas of work are illustration, animation, and design.

What criteria do you use to select authors at the agency?

I already briefly answered this question at the very beginning: we select those authors who can meet the needs of our clients. We strive to fulfill the most popular and frequent requests using the resources of our internal team, which includes illustrators, designers, and animators.

There are two key reasons why we cannot always rely solely on the work of our internal employees and why we turn to freelancers for help.

• The main factor is the imbalance between demand and workload.

There are times when the number of orders reaches a peak, and we are unable to cope with the workload on our own. In such situations, we turn to our database. This is a collection of authors' portfolios, including their contact information and other important aspects of collaboration, such as pricing, turnaround time, and ease of communication.

In our case, the information is organized into several columns, each corresponding to a specific style, type of work, or service. For example, these could be categories such as "3D illustration," "watercolor," "web design," or even "screenwriters." Within these columns are cards representing each specialist.

Since projects often require prompt execution, we don't have the time to search for suitable contractors online. First of all, we prefer to contact those with whom we have already worked and whom we can trust.

When our database doesn't contain suitable candidates, or they're all taken, we turn to saved emails and links. We often receive portfolios and resumes, which we carefully collect in a special folder in our email. We flag the most promising documents. And only if we can't find the right person among our saved materials do we begin an active search online.

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Freelancing for an artist can be a great opportunity for self-expression and income. First, it's important to define your niche and style to attract potential clients. Creating a portfolio with work samples will help demonstrate your abilities and uniqueness.

Next, consider freelancing platforms like Behance, Upwork, or Fiverr, where you can post your services and find projects. Don't forget about social media: Instagram and Pinterest are great for promoting your work and interacting with your audience.

It's also important to be able to negotiate prices and set clear deadlines for projects. You need to be prepared for a variety of tasks and client requirements, so flexibility and the ability to quickly adapt will help you.

Finally, don't forget about self-development: constantly learning new techniques and styles, participating in exhibitions and competitions will not only improve your skills but also expand your network of contacts in the industry. Freelancing can be a challenging path, but with the right approach, it opens many doors to creativity and professional growth.

Inviting an unproven contributor to a project always comes with certain risks. A freelancer may disappear without warning or overestimate their capabilities, ultimately leading to missed deadlines or poor quality work. There's also the possibility that some freelancers may be unwilling to accept criticism and feedback.

For this reason, we strive to avoid situations where an unknown contributor is involved in a project. If such a need arises, we usually try to insure it by attracting additional resources.

Before starting work on a project with new participants, we have the opportunity to offer a test that will help us ensure the specialist's competence and ability to complete the assigned tasks.

• The second factor is the variety of artistic styles used in illustrations.

Illustration is one of our main specializations, and we receive a wide range of requests in this area. However, it is worth noting that there are many styles and trends in the world of illustration, and, of course, we are unable to have specialists in every single one of them on our team.

Our stylists have a wide range of skills, but sometimes there is a need to involve an illustrator with a narrow specialization, be it engraving or photorealistic watercolor. To create truly impressive material, it is often necessary to engage a talented artist with extensive experience in a particular field.

Our database plays a key role in finding unique authors or specialists working in well-known styles. In a time-pressured environment where clients urgently need solutions, conducting such a search without this database becomes extremely difficult. That's why we make an effort to gather contacts and store links to the portfolios of the authors we need in advance.

Of course, a portfolio plays a central role in the process of selecting and retaining specialists. However, there are also general qualities that we invariably consider when selecting contractors. Here are the main ones:

• Ease of interaction with the professional, prompt response, adaptability, and willingness to collaborate.

We do not work with authors who try to pressure us from the very beginning or impose their demands. It's surprising, but such situations are quite common.

• Competencies and skills in the professional field.

Often a portfolio can make a good first impression, but upon closer examination, errors in perspective, anatomy, and other fundamental principles of illustration or design become obvious.

• Official payment options.

Most of our clients are large brands. We formally process the transfer of rights, and appropriate contracts are required for all projects. In addition, we strive to avoid the risks associated with informal settlements, as this is not an acceptable practice in the modern world. If the author is not registered as self-employed or does not have an individual entrepreneur, we are always ready to provide consulting assistance.

• Portfolio comfort and organization.

If a designer, illustrator or any other creative professional does not strive to present their portfolio in a clear and If you see this information in an accessible form on a personal website or on one of the specialized platforms, this should raise concerns. You shouldn't count on his ability to organize work within the framework of a project.

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Creating a portfolio for a designer is an important step in professional development. Start by defining your specialization so you can focus on those projects that best reflect your skills and interests. Include a diverse portfolio of work that showcases your broad range of skills, whether it's graphic design, web design, or illustration.

Choose high-quality images of your projects that highlight details and showcase your style. Be sure to include brief descriptions for each piece, explaining your approach, the challenges you tackled, and the results you achieved. This will help potential clients or employers better understand your role in the project.

It's also important to keep your portfolio current. Update it regularly by adding new work and removing outdated ones. In addition to a traditional portfolio, consider creating an online version to reach a wider audience. Platforms like Behance or Dribbble can be great showcases for your work.

Remember that a portfolio is not only a collection of works but also a reflection of your personality. Try to create a unique design style that will be memorable and consistent with your image.

On what basis does the agency assign commissions to illustrators?

The agency is focused on commercial activities, where the successful completion of clients' tasks is key. When choosing an author for a project, we focus on the one who can most effectively achieve the stated goal.

In our work, any visual elements—be it an illustration, an animated video, or a design layout—are not just images, but means for achieving the goals outlined in the brief. This aspect always becomes the main criterion when choosing a specialist to implement a project.

When a project is carried out not with an in-house team, but with an external author, as I have already mentioned, an important aspect is not only the specialist's professionalism, but also the level of comfort in collaborating with them, as well as the degree of trust in them.

In this field, there is no room for idealizing the profession. We do not focus on finding the most outstanding or unusual writer - our choice falls on the one whose experience includes the largest number of suitable works and who inspires us with the greatest confidence in a positive outcome. Perhaps, awareness of this aspect will help authors approach their portfolio in a new way.

This does not at all mean that we ignore new authors and fresh directions. On the contrary, we are actively engaged in this work, although it is not our main task. If we come across someone with talent and an original style, we'll be happy to offer them for promotion and include them in the project, even if it's just an alternative to the main option.

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What is the role of an agency for an illustrator?

The question of whether an illustrator needs an agency has long been the subject of debate and discussion. The situation with designers is somewhat simpler: as a rule, exclusive representation is not implied, and a qualified designer is easiest to hire as a permanent part of a team.

Working with illustrators presents certain challenges. Some styles are extremely rarely in demand, making it difficult for an agency to provide such artists with regular commissions. This leaves artists with a dilemma: should they seek out vacancies themselves or is it better to be represented by several agencies simultaneously?

In Western countries, there is usually a stable practice whereby one author collaborates with only one agency. In contrast, in Russia, the culture of interaction with agencies and the contracts themselves has not yet reached such a level of development, which leads to ambiguous situations.

First and foremost, we establish verbal agreements with authors and strive to find solutions that will be beneficial for all parties.

• Some prefer to work exclusively with us.

We are happy to promote such authors, post their profiles on our website, and actively recommend them to our clients.

• Some people seek to interact not only with various agencies, but also work directly with clients themselves.

In this situation, we do not promote the writer, but simply invite them to participate in the project if all our members are busy.

At Pic-o-matic, we focus more on developing our team as a whole than on individual author promotion, since the market has not yet formed a culture of working with a single agent. Nevertheless, we still pay attention to individual authors, developing them as brands. We post their portfolios on our website, include them in projects on specialized platforms, and take other steps to support them.

Benefits of working The relationship with an agency for an illustrator is as follows:

• Promotion.

A large company will likely not independently search for a freelancer to complete a project. They typically turn to an agency, where we pre-screen authors, screening them for professional qualities and adequacy. Finding such a client without the help of an agency is almost impossible, the chances of this are close to zero.

For the client, such a measure represents protection from the arbitrariness of freelancers, while for the contractor it is a chance to get a significant project and a worthy client, who in 99.9% of cases would hardly have approached him without this opportunity.

• Improving work processes.

There is a certain set of necessary actions: paperwork, transfer of rights, and payment. However, this is only part of the story. The agency also provides significant support in matters related to the work itself and various procedures.

It is necessary to develop a convenient brief, collect and agree on references, detail the stages of work, and establish a clear schedule for completing tasks. It is also important to ensure that the client does not exceed the boundaries of the established agreements without additional payment.

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