What to know before hiring an illustrator
When approaching a professional of any kind, be it an accountant, building contractor or in this case, an illustrator, it can often feel a bit intimidating to someone who may not speak the lingo or know what is expected from them when requesting a specialised service, such as illustration.
But, luckily, us illustrators are a delightful bunch who spend our days drawing pictures and crafting graphics to make the world a brighter place. While doing on-the-spot arithmetic may not be our forte, working with clients from all sorts of industries and backgrounds is. We’re used to collaborating with professionals in their own [often non-creative] industry who have never worked with an illustrator before.
So, if that’s you - here are our top 9 project topics you should know and have considered before hiring an illustrator for your next project. Giving proper thought to the following will help you, as the client, feel more prepared, and the illustrator to be thoroughly briefed; making the process run as smoothly as possible for everyone.
The illustrator’s style: Do you like the illustrator’s current work
Firstly, before you consider anything else, do you actually like the illustrator’s style (as well as their values if this is a factor in aligning to your campaign or brand). Have you looked through the illustrator’s portfolio, do you actually like their style? Are there any particular pieces they’ve done in the past that are similar to what you have in mind for your project? While many illustrators may be versatile in their delivery, they often have a defined style and manner of creating. It’s best to go with what they do really well so you know what to expect and get the best results.
Content: What is the project about
What is it that you want the artwork to be of? What characters, objects and scenes do you want to be included? What message are you wanting to portray? Is it a series of website illustrations of various farming equipment? Is it the hero image of a dog having a bath for a new line of dog shampoos? This is the starting point for visualising the outcome and defining the purpose of the project, as well as the overall scope.
Art style: How do you want it to look
Some points for addressing style: Do you want the artwork to be 2D or 3D, vector with strong shapes or hand-drawn and imperfect, simplified or highly detailed, stylised or realistic? Words are a great start to get your ideas across, however, also having actual images similar to the look you wish to achieve is valuable guidance for the illustrator. Pinterest boards are great for the overall art direction and selecting specific projects from the illustrator’s portfolio of past work will help make sure everyone is on the same page.
Tone: How do you want the artwork to feel
Illustration’s greatest function (apart from looking cool), is to prompt the viewer to feel a certain way, or to perceive the product that it’s advertising in a certain way. Should the artwork be bright and dynamic filled with lots of details to advertise a new energising drink? Or should it be an uncluttered, calming, pastel-coloured abstract pattern for a lux organic beauty cream? I like to ask my clients for 5 adjectives that they would like the viewer to feel when they see or interact with the illustrations. This helps address the more abstract, emotional touch points of the illustration.
Budget: How much do you have available
Illustrators often have a minimum starting fee for their projects; knowing your available budget from the beginning allows both parties to know whether the project is realistically achievable from both sides. It also allows the illustrator to customise a quote/proposal to suit the provided budget, this may include the amount of illustrated detail, the number of revisions that will be included for that price bracket or the number of deliverables etc.
Brand rules: What branding rules and style constraints are there
A brand’s consistency lies in having strict style guidelines on how the brand looks and communicates. Having a style guide (this is usually a PDF document containing a brand’s official colours and rules for text treatments etc.) to share will inform the illustrator of any set colour palettes (with accurate colour values and breakdowns), image treatment, line weights etc. that should be followed to keep the artwork in line with the rest of the brand. However, if this doesn’t apply to your particular project, then skip #6.
Final output: What will the final artwork will be used as
Think: print vs digital, final artwork size, file type deliverables. This needs to be established early on, not only for quoting and licensing purposes (which we’ll touch on shortly), but so the illustrator can create the artwork at the best suited resolution and colour output and will know which creative programmes will best suit.
E.g. Needing an illustration created for screenprinting onto t-shirts is always best to be supplied in vector format, therefore this would rule out the use of pixel-based illustration methods and programmes (such as Photoshop). Or, if the illustrations will only be used on a website, this allows the illustrator to work with bright, luminous colours in RGB (on-screen colours) that wouldn’t necessarily translate to the same colours if it were being printed too.
Timelines: When will you need it by
It’s important to let the illustrator know early on whether there are any deadlines they should be aware of. Depending on the illustrator’s availability, this may affect the project deliverables or project fee if given a short timeline. Rule of thumb - the more time available for an illustration project, the better! A lot more time is used for things like correspondence and sign-offs than is often anticipated.
Licensing: Where and how do you plan to use the artwork
Lastly, and very importantly, what usage rights will you need to use the illustration work? Where and for how long will you need the rights of use? Licensing can be quite involved and complicated, but before hiring an illustrator you should know where you plan to use the artwork (e.g. Just in Australia, vs internationally). And you should know where it will be displayed (such as in one edition of a national magazine, or printed on a set of three stationery products sold internationally), and for how long (e.g. for the duration of 2 years, with the possibility to renew the licensing, or for a once-off print).
So, there you go. These are our top 9 tips and ‘homework’ you can do before starting talks with an illustrator for your next illustrated project.