How to create a good Portfolio for illustrators:
.
As a first thing, it is
important to understand the target of your audience according to the style and
the genre of your illustrations.
For example: 0-5, 6+, 10+ or young adult.
Fiction, Non Fiction, Horror, Adventure… etc.
After having categorized
your illustrations by age and genre, you can start preparing your thematic
portfolio.
Every publishing house
is different and so the portfolio must be targeted accordingly.
For example, if a
publishing house publishes books for children and young adults, you can send
them a single portfolio containing these two different genres of illustrations.
In case the publishing house publishes books only for children, the
illustrations for young adults are redundant and it’s advisable to not include
them. The opposite is true as well.
How many illustrations should I have in my portfolio?
In my experience, the right number of illustrations (especially to show at book fairs) is 15/20.
The situation is
different when you have to send illustrations to a publishing house.
Many publishing houses
specify in their faqs the number of illustrations they want to review and other
important information on file format and pdf. Occasionally they can also just
ask for the website (not social network page) where you post your
artworks and projects.
How can I organize the
pdf?
It is very important to
include in the pdf the illustrations in the same size, or using a large size
for the highlighted illustrations and a smaller size for the others of the same
project. The important thing is to keep the same design through the portfolio
and trying to make it as easy to be read as possible - keep in mind that
publishers review lots of portfolios each day, and they rapidly skim through
them.
If a publishing house
publishes books in grey scale or black and white, remember to include in your
portfolio this kind of illustrations.
And at the end of the
pdf or the mail, always leave your contact info.
email
mobile phone
professional website
social networks
And if you want to write
titles or description, always use the same font through the pdf.
