Tackling an illustration brief

How to go from start to finish

First of all congratulations on getting illustration work! 🎊🎉

After the initial celebration of agreeing to a new project, commission or book deal there is always that question - how am I going to do this?!?!

Well this is how I tackle it - hopefully there is something useful in it for you…

1. Understand the assignment

• This is the most important step for me! If you aren’t sure what is being asked of you, its very hard to deliver a quality product.

• Ask yourself who is the target audience, what is the illustration being used for, what technical specifications are required and what elements need to be included and when is it due.

• Make a checklist of the requirements.

2. Gather inspiration and generate ideas

• Set up a mood board, use google images, look at books on similar topics, search relevant hashtags on social media and come up with ideas for the final illustration.

3. Plan

• Work out what each phase of completing the assignment is, how you are going to go about doing it and allocate your time.

• I like to use excel spreadsheets for planning. I realise is a very non-creative way to do things, but due to my background in finance, this is what I am most comfortable with. You can use anything from sophisticated planning tools to a napkin.

4. Illustrate

• Sketch - In this phase you work out the composition, hierarchy, elements to include and what items you need to research further.

• Line drawing - To me this phase is ‘formalising’ the sketches and really working on the details.

• Rendering - This is really bringing the illustration to life and pulling out all the bells and whistles.

5. Present your final work

• Don’t just ‘toss’ it over ‘gift- wrap’ it. It makes the receiver feel more special and it also shows that you have put in that extra little bit of effort (above your already stellar effort).

• This could mean including the illustration in a PowerPoint presentation, printing and framing it or showing your client over a coffee - do what works for you.

Throughout the process

• Keep checking in with your client - make sure you are both going on the journey together. You don’t want to finish your illustration and realise they were expecting something completely different and you want to make sure you have a happy client.

• Record the process, including the amount of time it takes you to complete each phaze. This will help you to better plan your next project, learn from your experience and also more accurately charge for your work.

• Take photos and videos- these can be used for social media later.

• Keep referring to your checklist to make sure you are meeting the requirements that you established in step one.

Please share your experiences or post your own question in the comments below.

News

• The Brisbane launch of ‘Little Shark Lulu is Sleeping’ is booked in for 9 October at 1pm. Its free, but reservations are required. Register Here

• Save the date for the Sydney launch of ‘Little Shark Lulu is Sleeping’ - 16 October at Harry Hartog in Marrickville. Details are coming soon.

• Little Shark Lulu activity printables are now available to download on my website.

Now stop reading and start illustrating 😀