Illustrator

Illustrator job description: Typical employers | Qualifications and training | Key skills | Useful links | Find jobs and courses

Most illustrators are self-employed and run their own studios or work from home. They are normally commissioned directly or via an agent to produce drawings for newspapers, magazines, books, and catalogues.

Typical responsibilities of the job include:

• researching and making contacts
• drawing rough sketches for approval
• negotiating contracts
• promoting and running the business
• undertaking relevant research
• general administration
• producing final illustrations.

You will have to be a keen networker to build up the number of contacts you will need. Beyond that you will need the ability to understand what other people want, even if they don't.

Typical employers of illustrators

• design consultancies
• advertising agencies
• publishers.

Vacancies appear in national newspapers and publications including Design Week, Design, Artists Newsletter, Creative Review and the Association of Illustrators' Journal. Illustrations can be displayed to potential employers via the internet or in specialist directories such as Images and Creative Handbook.

Qualifications and training required

There are no formal academic requirements for entry into the profession, although fine art, illustration and graphic design qualifications may be helpful. Aptitude, relevant experience and artistic abilities are generally considered by employers to be more important. Becoming established may take as long as five years. It is essential to prepare a sound portfolio of work that can be used to demonstrate abilities.

Key skills for illustrators

• aesthetic sense
• ability to compromise
• innovative ideas
• patience
• eye for detail.