Finding Illustration Clients | Freelance Business Tips Part 1

[@jimsonfire76]

Really helpful stuff - also to look out for, don't get drawn into filling lots of drop shipping websites that pay hardly ever, after spending days editing your work. See your work as 'works of art' rather than 'art-work'! And that's coming from me, only this last lockdown went freelance, list my day job, a blessing in disguise. I'm currently trying to capture contacts for work, against the odds. Also if like me your a traditional artist creator, don't change your style for trends! Keep building it up into something remarkable that no one else can do. Thanks.

[@Rae_Ritchie_Illustration]

Linked in has been a very helpful tool for my freelance career. Also making a newsletter has been helpful! Keeping in contact with past clients in just as important as finding new ones! 😉

[@KendyllHillegas]

+Rae Ritchie Great point!

[@ElvannReacts]

I never quite understood how linked it worked. This website feel sooo confusing to me by times. I never got decent proposals from there, ever XD Please let me know what you do! XD

[@speedygainfounderrevountio3408]

i have some stock leads...do u want??

[@eelettricblue]

Also for searching art directors name, I guess

[@jonahtravis5257]

sorry to be offtopic but does anyone know of a trick to get back into an Instagram account? I somehow lost the login password. I love any help you can give me

[@Kavixiu]

Thank you, this is really helpful! Please post more videos about the nitty gritty of working as an illustrator! I feel that most people don't want to talk about or admit to the less glamorous behind the scenes stuff, but that is exactly what us newbies need to help us get the ball rolling. Much appreciated!

[@KendyllHillegas]

Thanks, Kavi! Glad to hear that you found it helpful! I've done a number of these kinds of videos so please feel free to take a look through the archives! And if you have any ideas for a future video, or any questions let me know! :)

[@animegamernerdo]

Graduated from college 4 years ago. Managed to get 1 client since. This happened a couple of months ago. Haven't been able to find any related job after college to gain any experience either. Now I'm 29 and still hardly have my experience. I'm slowly dying inside because I see no end to this.

[@anikatasnim6001]

Come on, you know you've got it. Do some diligent research on getting client, market place, building portfolios, try your luck on different freelance market places as well. Most importantly believe that you're going to make it with some deliberate effort and patience. You deserve to do this as much as any other illustrator out there, if not more. You went to art school dammit, people are killin' it out there without any academic knowledge, you've got it better. And please, stop using your age as an excuse, excuses are for people who don't want it enough.

[@sheatheunicorn]

I got my first freelancing gig thanks to my mom actually. She had a coworker who was looking to publish an illustrated children's book. We're a bit over a year into the project now! Things are winding down though and I've been looking for a regular job so I won't have to worry about money but its been a big challenge getting people to reach back.

[@ElvannReacts]

Grats on your first freelance job! :)

[@KingFishStudios]

So happy I found your channel Kendyll!! Mixing business, the practical, the mundane and the realities of this profession truly sets you apart from other artists' channels. Thank you so much!! 🤗

[@KendyllHillegas]

Thanks very much, Aaron! Much appreciated. And I'm really happy to hear that you've found the more pragmatic videos helpful! :)

[@imkarenavila]

Fantastic video Kendyll!! What has helped me most than anything to get clients is to connect + reach out directly to the brands I'd like to work with 😁

[@KendyllHillegas]

Excellent advice!👏🏻👏🏻💕 Thanks for sharing.

[@DianeMillerArtist]

Hi Kendyll, First let me compliment you on your amazing food illustrations - they are gorgeous! Second, I wanted to thank you for the information you've shared. I am just in the beginning stages of getting my work "out there" and so often I feel overwhelmed. I know it will be a slow process, but I also believe that if I stick with it, I will reach my goals/dreams. You are an inspiration and thanks again for sharing the great tips. I love your work!

[@KendyllHillegas]

+Diane Miller Thank you, Diane! That's so lovely to hear, and I really appreciate it! I feel you on the overwhelming aspect of getting yourself out there - it can definitely be bewildering, and I've felt that way too (still do at times). Just keep on going, work hard, do your best and focus on that one next step that you can take! That's pretty much my philosophy. :) Thanks again for the sweet note.

[@DianeMillerArtist]

Kendyll Hillegas More wonderful words from you...I must remember..focus on the one next step! I need to write that down and pin it where I can always see it. It takes the sting out of the overwhelming! Thank you! : )

[@beanstaIkjack]

Smart lady with sound advice. Many thanks

[@BrandyKelleyArtVids]

Thanks for sharing this video! I've always found these sorts of videos to be incredibly helpful.

[@KendyllHillegas]

+Brandy Kelley I'm so glad to hear that! I know it can be a challenging subject, so it makes me happy to know that there was something good in there for you.

[@Lee935]

I love how you don’t yap forever about random stuff before you get to the point of the video. Thank you!!! ❤️ I hate getting ‘subscription notifications’ but I’m gonna subscribe just to support you. :)

[@KendyllHillegas]

Thank you so much, Lee! I am a bit of a yapper in vlogs but I try to keep the sit-downs straight and to the point! :)

[@noelbrown1425]

Thanks for creating this informative video Kendyll. I am a freelance Illustrator myself and I have had a few clients here and there but not enough to earn a living as an Illustrator yet. So I will definitely put all that you said to good use. Thanks again and continue to create more informative videos like this.

[@KendyllHillegas]

Thanks very much, Noel! That's great to hear, and I'm so happy to learn that you found the video helpful. :) Many more on the way...

[@anthonybrown238]

So informative, your a blessing and God bless you. This is exactly what I needed. Thank you for all this information. I'm very appreciative.

[@KendyllHillegas]

You are so welcome, Anthony! Thank you!

[@allisontheillustrator]

Excellent tips, Kendyll. These are all excellent words of advice - I am looking forward to part two. As much as I don't like to hear tip number 3 it is great advice and also very sage advice at least for me right now in my career. Thank you for sharing!!

[@KendyllHillegas]

+Allison Ranieri Thank you, Allison! Yeah, I was on the fence about sharing #3 because I know that most people won't like hearing it, but I wanted to be honest and that was definitely a big part of how I got started, so it seemed good to mention. :)

[@allisontheillustrator]

Kendyll Hillegas I appreciate the honesty! It's not fair to anyone (especially ourselves) to be warm and fuzzy all the time. It's hard to be business minded but I think it's very necessary to be your own boss. Paint With Nick has some good thoughts on being business minded and a realist about your work. (Also if you haven't seen his channel it's awesome!)

[@MrsTiffanyGrey]

You are lovely and inspiring! Thank you for sharing your experiences and wisdom!

[@KendyllHillegas]

Thank you so much, Tiffany!☺️💕💕

[@maisminion]

Hello Kendyll, thank you very much for the video - I just recently discovered your channel and watched so many of your videos - they are so incredibly helpful and interesting to watch. So yeah, I just wanted to quickly say: Thanks a lot and have a nice day ☺😀

[@KendyllHillegas]

Hi Nina, thanks so much! That's lovely to hear, and I really appreciate it!

[@beckynetley5259]

Thank you for your advice, I do / have done these and found them useful tools to getting work. Thanks for being so honest about your work!👍

[@KendyllHillegas]

It's my pleasure! Thanks for watching!

[@WarrenWarSantos]

Really appreciate these tips, Kendyll! Thank you 😉

[@uffortkingsley9530]

So this is from 2 years ago and Im just watching. Great advice.

[@blakeandjordinfan06]

You are really talented!! I love art too, and I'm an aspiring freelancer!! Thank you for the tips!!

[@KendyllHillegas]

+blakeandjordinfan06 Thank you very much! That's kind of you to say. Happy to share my experience and glad to hear when it's helpful! That's great that you're thinking of going into freelance. It's hard work, but a lot of fun and very rewarding. Best of luck!

[@blakeandjordinfan06]

+Kendyll Hillegas Aww thank you!! 😀

[@twiggyt]

Thanks for sharing your experience! This is quite helpful. :-D

[@pinkdogapples]

Your videos are super helpful!! I'm glad I subscribed c: looking forward to your adivce/tips/ more work from you!

[@KendyllHillegas]

+pinkdogapples Thank you so much! I'm really glad to hear that it was helpful!

[@SteffanieLuv]

Great video, thanks for sharing your experiences! Looking forward to the other videos. I really love your art style too, I subscribed :) I left my full-time regular boring office job last year to pursue my freelance art career after years of doing it on the side. It is definitely a slow start but if I keep at it, things will work. I knew I wanted to be an illustrator when I was about 8 years old. It takes a lot of work, patience, dedication and perseverance but the rewards of seeing clients gratification and the sense of freedom of working for yourself are definitely worth it. Do you teach any courses on skillshare? I just joined that site to broaden/improve my illustration skills, so much cool stuff on there!

[@KendyllHillegas]

+SteffieM Thank you! So glad to hear that you liked it. Taking the leap to freelance is definitely daunting, but as you say, persistence is key! That's amazing that you knew you wanted to be an illustrator at 8 years old! I loved to draw at that age, but I didn't have much direction/clarity on what I wanted to do. I don't teach courses on skillshare at the moment, but I'm definitely planning on posting more educational content here! What have you thought of skillshare so far?

[@ElvannReacts]

All of these things. althought slightly differently, also apply to freelance musicians :) I kind of keep repeating that as a freelance artist, you have to be willing to create your own job. You don't wait for people to knock to your door. It's like you have to put your buisness pants on and sell your work door-to-door (not litteraly, but almost) ^.^ Of course you'll be rejected more than once, some people will not even open the door to know what you have to say, but for every client you get, it's a victory :) It's always worth it in the end ^^

[@KendyllHillegas]

So true! Preach!🙌💕

[@ElvannReacts]

+Kendyll Hillegas :) Keep making videos, they're awesome

[@emanuelamarchetti5559]

Very relevant video, I am a UX design by education and an academic, but I dream of working more with my art mostly watercolor and digital painting, I managed to do some book illustrations, tasks that I found through my friends network, and scientific illustration, I would like to do more editorial and continue on the book side, although I am very uncertain where my style fits and on how to contact people

[@rolandotorres2340]

love your video. It was very informative I am a person who wants to get into illustration., thank you so much you are really greate, again thank you

[@KendyllHillegas]

That makes me so happy to hear, thank you, Rolando!

[@LaurenMakai]

This video is so informative and motivating . Thanks for sharing ! :)

[@KendyllHillegas]

Thank you, Lauren! That makes me so happy to hear.💕

[@jamiemcleese9737]

EXTREMELY helpful!!!

[@KendyllHillegas]

+Jamie McLeese So glad to hear that! Thank you for watching. :)

[@dellycomicsinc.4164]

Many thanks Kendy. This is really helpful.

[@KendyllHillegas]

Glad to hear it!👍

[@montycarlo8387]

This was great, thank you for simplifying the process.

[@lucyrosetill-campbell7443]

So helpful! Thank you!

[@denisewilsonart3552]

this was so useful ! thanks kendyll

[@aminahouha]

this video is really really helpful. love it and thank you so much.

[@KendyllHillegas]

That makes me so happy to hear! Thank you, Amina! :)

[@wintereh4818]

Thanks, will be applying this to web development

[@KendyllHillegas]

Excellent! I'm so glad to hear that!!

[@popnocturne7909]

Superb tips!!!!❤

[@KendyllHillegas]

Thank you! I hope they help!

[@liveyourhobbies2473]

Nice Video! I am new to freelancing. Thank you for all the tips :)

[@KendyllHillegas]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. :)

[@sovemba]

thanks for the video!.. googling the name of the company is def a food tip

[@KGArtDesign]

Nice work Kendyll, great video and greate advices :)

[@azzuparis]

Super helpful video, thank you 😊

[@checkitoutwithcarmella-t1526]

Thank-you. You were very helpful. Bless you.

[@keziafrederick8262]

Thank you so much for this video , its helping me so much!!

[@KendyllHillegas]

Thank you, Kezia! I'm so happy to hear that! 🙏🏻🙂

[@timelessmemories5150]

thanks this is very helpful love your work

[@KendyllHillegas]

+Linda Bulpin Excellent! So glad to hear that. Thank you for watching! :)

[@mrbwatercolors]

Thanks for sharing!

[@LunaFranco-ge2rj]

Hi, kendyll, thank you for such helpful content. I'm about to start cold emailing, and a lot of times I can't find the institutional e-mail of art directors, but with a little research, I often find their emails on their portfolio/website. Is it rude to send a cold email to an email that is not related to the company/agency they work for or could even be their personal email? I'd love your opinion, thanks!

[@ceriyork1710]

Really helpful, thanks xx

[@KendyllHillegas]

So happy to hear it!

[@IrisMG]

Kendyll, would you recommend attaching a PDF of your fee structure and terms with the first e-mail contact, or would you wait until the art director or art buyer actually expresses interest in you first? Appreciate the first steps outlined in this video.

[@KendyllHillegas]

Hi Iris! Usually I give a rough overview of the fees, process and terms in my initial reply. If the client wants to move forward, I then send the PDF with more detailed info. Hope that helps! :)

[@IrisMG]

Kendyll Hillegas it does! You've been most generous. Thanks!

[@Sasher216]

I'm a 13* (i said in another comment i was 12) yr old artist and i have gotten most of my clients via instagram and other artists support

[@KendyllHillegas]

+Sam Misan Hi Sam, That's great that you already know what you want to do and that you're pursuing it. I certainly didn't have that much clarity when I was your age. Go you!

[@ElvannReacts]

That's soo cool! Good luck with that! :) You're already on the right way ;)! Keep pursuing your dreams!

[@AngelaMoayedpardazi]

When you decided to go freelance, did you register your name as a business right away or did you do something like that once your income reached a certain threshold? I'm not sure at what point illustrating goes from "hobby" to "job."

[@KendyllHillegas]

+Angela Coppola Since I'm just using my own name, I've simply filled out all the tax forms as a Sole Proprietor. Haven't actually registered my name as a separate business yet. As for when it goes from hobby to job, I think that really depends on the person. To me it has more to do with how professional the work is and how seriously you take it (i.e. how much blood/sweat/tears etc you're willing/ready to put in) than it does with hours spent per week or directly related income. So, you could be working 40 hours as a waitress/barista/dog walker, and then still be a professional illustrator even if you're only doing a few hours a week as long as the work you're producing is at a professional level. Unless you have an amazing safety net, freelancing as a career kind of happens gradually - like taking the training wheels off. Hope that helps. Good luck, Angela!💕

[@larryglatt2548]

Love your videos. My question is, is your work copyrighted or work for hire? I don't know your industry standards, in photography we have both.

[@whitepathxx22]

Considering most artist's/illustrator's face constant rejection, how does one not become bitter, depressed and resentful and then give up altogether?

[@KendyllHillegas]

+Connie Freitas Wow, well - I think that's probably pretty unique from person to person. While I am sensitive, (nobody likes rejection) somehow I'm able to block out those negative thoughts for long enough to get stuff done. And when I have a really bad day or get stuck in a mind rut and can't block out those thoughts, I just remind myself that I won't always feel that way, and that it takes years to build a career in the arts. Basically, I just keep going even when I have those feelings. For me, making the work is priority number one. Sometimes I'll feel depressed and rejected, but that's just part of the package.

[@whitepathxx22]

+Kendyll Hillegas Thanks for that thoughtful and honest response. I really appreciate it. :) I hope it helps someone else too.

[@mariebethadriano5841]

Hi Kendyll, kind of late watching your video but I find it very informative.. I recently resigned from work and would love to go on as freelance textile designer.. I love to draw and make designs.. but this is also my very first time to do textile design.. so what sort of things can I put on my portfolio as a beginner? I would love to hear from you.. thank you.

[@KendyllHillegas]

Thanks so much, Mariebeth! Glad to hear you're enjoying my channel so far. To be honest, I don't know much about the world of textile design. It's a very specific niche in illustration, and I've only done a little bit of it when clients came to me specifically, so I haven't actually put together a textile design portfolio. One resource you might want to snag is a copy of the Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook for Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. There is a whole chapter on textile and surface pattern deign complete with pricing tables and industry standard customs. You can find it here:amzn.to/2TzjnRa. You also might look into taking a couple classes on Skillshare. I know this one about getting started in textile design is really popular: skl.sh/2TznpsL Hope that helps!!

[@carla1111ish]

GRACIASSSS! :)

[@LanceBase]

** Thumbs Up! **

[@myportfoliomax4971]

Subbed)))))))) I like the way you explain.)))))

[@KendyllHillegas]

Thank you!

[@yassinelamarti4157]

Thank you for your videos. Can you please tell me about the freelancing website that i can use as a developer of websites? Thank you

[@sawyercloud4429]

Thank you for your advices Kendyll, I'm actually still have a day job but I'd like to become a full-time illustrator. I have a question: when sending the mail, do I need to add a book or just leave the links to my pages? thanks for considering my question

[@KendyllHillegas]

It depends on the Art Director. For most of them, it's good to include a couple of low-res images, as well as a link to your portfolio.

[@listerkhoi]

Im a 19 year old looking for illustration Do you know what to do with paitings? I have most of them water color And i would loveeee if you share a video how to sell ur painting If i make any sense

[@KendyllHillegas]

+Kevin Lucardio That makes sense! I'll add a "how to sell originals" video to my list. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@ElvannReacts]

I always wondered how to calculate painting prices and lately I've met an artist and she told me the price were set accordingly to the surface of her painting (her calculations looked like this: 12"X12" would mean 12+12 = 24 ---> 240) I thought it was kind of clever, even if her calculations were not really proportional to the actual area of her paintings) Hope it can give you an idea :)

[@creativemindloveworks]

which sites are the best to get donations?

[@sawyercloud4429]

Hi Kendy, thanks for this video. Got a question: what do you put on the email object when you want to contact the company? I always hesitate because I don't want to look like a spam or something

[@KendyllHillegas]

Something simple and straightforward like "Illustration Submission from First/Last Name" is a good place to start. :)

[@sawyercloud4429]

I get it! thanks :)

[@MySweetChxnnel]

I tried to open a website (for my shop) but it was hard! And kinda expensive. So I think it's better to use a blog, maybe? Or anyone has any advice?

[@KendyllHillegas]

You can definitely use something free like Tumblr - there are lots of good themes that let you set up the blog like a portfolio. I started out with only a Tumblr before building my website. :) Good luck!

[@MySweetChxnnel]

Thank you!

[@ruthbaedraws]

being in Bangladesh that too in a small city like Chittagong..is kinda hard for me to get clients... let alone clients.. people here barely wants to pay for any hard work.. not that i want to make art my profession...i mean.. i dont want to end up getting frustrated because of something i love.. what am i gonna do ?

[@KendyllHillegas]

That's tough! I don't know anything about the illustration market in Bangladesh, as I've only ever lived in the US. I can say that the internet can provide access to international clients, which sounds like it might be helpful. Beyond that, I would say the base idea still applies - make work (art, drawing, design, whatever) consistently, share it online regularly, and be patient! And there is nothing wrong with working a day job in the meantime - I did in the beginning! Good luck!

[@ruthbaedraws]

thanks a lot 💗

[@BuddhirDhenki]

ruthbae draws I'm from Tripura, India - very near to your place as well 😃 I work online - 100% Check out the online freelance sites. Make a portfolio & learn the nuances of applying for jobs. I'm sure you'll do wonders.

[@srini324]

I need client I'm a graphic designer

[@JawadRashidVlogs]

Ahaan (Y)

[@ryosworkshop500]

is this video sponsored?

[@KendyllHillegas]

Nope :)