Tips and examples to improve your illustration portfolio

Having an online illustration portfolio is essential for getting work and building your career.

Whether it's an illustration or a graphic design portfolio, those who choose to make theirs beautiful are more likely to gain clients and full-time positions because their work, skill level, style, and personality is easily visible, and they’re easily discoverable.

In this article, we’ll cover some tips on building an online illustration portfolio, with some bonus advice on how to make it stand out. We’ll look at examples of incredible portfolios to inspire and guide you so that you’ll be fully equipped to create a perfect portfolio that you’re proud of and can’t wait to share. Let’s dig in!

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The purpose of a portfolio

You’re an artist who values personal expression. Having an online portfolio allows you to curate a space dedicated to your illustration skills. It says something about you as a creative and where you can share your favorite projects.

Professional illustrators keep online portfolios so they can get work. You need a portfolio because:

• It showcases your previous work
• It proves what you are capable of and shows off every illustration skill you’ve learned
• It provides insight into what your style is like
• It helps potential clients, employers, and collaborators decide whether you are suitable for a project
• It doubles up as a space to sell your prints and merchandise
• It makes you discoverable
• It makes you part of an online community of illustrators and designers

From freelance to full-time, fashion editorial illustration to children’s book illustration, and everything in between, every kind of illustrator needs an online illustration portfolio. Especially if you’re a design student looking to become an illustrator—you’ll need a portfolio during your studies and for “real-life” after university when you need to apply for jobs or show your lecturers a thing or two about your skill.

A physical portfolio is becoming less important than it used to be. Keeping a physical portfolio of any hard-copy projects you have completed is still a good idea.

How to make a good illustration portfolio

A beautiful, easy-to-navigate portfolio makes a world of difference.

You must put time and effort into your portfolio to craft your career into something you love! Check out these tips below to help you start from scratch or freshen things up.

1. Find the right platform

There are plenty of hosting platforms for illustrator portfolios.

You can create a personal website using a CMS platform like Squarespace, Wix, or WordPress. We recommend you host your portfolio on one of these popular creative portfolio sites:

• Behance
• Dribbble
• Cara
• Coroflot
• Fabrik

Most illustrators choose to have their own illustration portfolio websites, a profile on one or a few of the platforms mentioned above, and an Instagram account with posts showcasing their work.

Image source: Cargo Collective

There are limitations with some hosting platforms, so having your own website gives you a lot more creative freedom. You can go the extra mile with creative nuances and really make it an engaging experience that looks very professional.

2. Curate your work

The work you display in your portfolio should:

• Be a sampling of your best work
• Showcase a variety of styles and skills
• Attract your ideal clients

Everyone has some work they don't love. The good news is, you don't need to put everything in your portfolio.

You get to curate your portfolio just like you would a personal social media feed. You only need to display a few pieces of work. You can also have the option to provide more on request.

Secondly, you should have an idea of which types of clients you‘d love to work for and where your strengths lie in terms of style. 

If your dream is to be a children's book illustrator and you are the best at creating children's book illustrations, then your portfolio should be geared towards this. If your dream is to create interesting labels for craft beer cans, then your portfolio should be geared towards this. 

Having a niche can be extremely advantageous, so take some time to plan if you’d like to establish one and the kind of work you’d like to attract so your portfolio is aligned with this.

3. Pay attention to the layout

Use the layout of your portfolio website to show off your eye for design and creative flair.

Look, it’s got to be neatly presented and easy to navigate, but there’s always room to push the envelope. You can play it safe with a simple grid layout and plenty of whitespace—but if you look at portfolios like those of Aurelia Durand and Neil Stevens, you’ll see how you can make it striking, vibrant, and creative while still exhibiting the work nicely. A minimalistic portfolio with large areas of white space (like Philece Roberts’ one further below) can also look chic.

However you choose to display your gallery, you must also be mindful of how you’ll showcase each project. You can select a single image to showcase a project, but each project is different, so you might want to choose multiple images to show something from various angles.

Image source: That Artista

Image source: That Artista

4. Show your skills and style

It's a good idea to exhibit a range of projects to prove that you are capable of variety.

Even though you may have already honed an authentic illustration style, you will still need to be flexible and capable of meeting project demands and client needs. Choose a wide range of various projects to aptly exhibit your skills and style.

5. Add your personal touch

Take the opportunity to share a bit more about who you are and give it your personal touch.

Choose a color palette for your website design that reflects who you are. Your illustrations might be all about vibrant colors, so you'll want to highlight that in your portfolio.

Some illustrators include an “About” section with a bio, and some just include a short paragraph on who they are in their contact section. Many illustrators include their client list in this section as well.

6. Keep it updated

An outdated portfolio is one way to lose a potential client. Frequently update our portfolio site with new work and any awards or accolades you may have gained. It’s also a good idea to keep your social accounts fresh.

Instagram can be a great portfolio platform for creatives, so use it to share and link your work.

Take your portfolio to the next level

It's one thing to create a nice portfolio that does the job.

It's another thing to make it really stand out. There are a few things you can keep in mind to make your illustration portfolio stand out:

Use your words

Use wording to your advantage to enhance the experience of your portfolio.

You can get help from a copywriter to come up with some catchy phrases to use on your website and help you write an awesome bio. Plus, you can also include brief descriptions about each project that explain the concept, target audience, and any challenges you faced.

Preach your passion

Go above and beyond—show your passion for your craft by also sharing personal projects, not only work-related ones.

Collaborate with other creatives

Collaborate with other illustrators to expand your reach and challenge your skills.

If you’re a student, you can exchange portfolios with classmates for constructive criticism. Discuss strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. Or schedule meetings with lecturers to get feedback about portfolio expectations. 

But the best thing you can do is team up with another illustrator (potentially one more well-known than you) to create a piece that combines your styles or tackles a complex theme. Include the final product in your portfolio and a "behind the scenes" section showcasing the collaboration process.

Add creative flair

Use your creative flair to make it exciting and engaging.

Incorporate interactive illustrations and animation. One of our favorite interactive features is zoom.

If your illustration has multiple layers or elements, consider using zoom functionality to reveal them one at a time. Or allow viewers to zoom in on specific areas of your artwork. This is especially useful for intricate pieces or illustrations with hidden details.

The whole portfolio should be a visually pleasing and creative experience from the get-go.

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Create extra content

You can go the extra mile by adding blog content, videos, interviews, and downloadable coloring sheets to your portfolio website.

You can also include thumbnails, sketches, and early drafts alongside final pieces. This gives viewers a glimpse into your creative process and thought development.

Consider user experience

Make it easy and enjoyable for viewers to contact you and to navigate their way around the site.

We suggest organizing your projects in a logical way. Consider chronological order, project type, or thematic groupings. And, if you have a large portfolio, consider adding filtering options based on project type, style, or client. A search bar can also be helpful.

Testimonials

It's helpful to showcase a few testimonials from previous clients or lecturers to prove that you are reliable and know what you're doing.

Testimonials add a human element to your portfolio and provide social proof—and they could be the deciding factor between you getting the job or another illustrator getting it.

Professional illustration portfolio examples

In case you need some inspiration, we've put together a list of our favorite illustration portfolios.

These illustrators have gone all out and really have some beautiful work to show, so you might get inspired by their illustrations, too. It's good to stay on top of what others in the industry are up to so you can stay motivated and perhaps find some opportunities to collaborate.

Adam Fay

Image source: Adam Fay

Adam Fay is a leading figure in animation. In fact, he is the Lead Character Designer at Warner Bros. Animation. He keeps his portfolio simple with a funky cartoon of himself and some fun hand-drawn font. 

You can get a sneak peek into the work he has done on his homepage but to really marvel at his work you need to click into the individual portfolios.

Jennifer Xiao

Image source: Jennifer Xiao

Freelance illustrator Jennifer Xiao has a portfolio that truly is an experience.

It’s interactive, alive, and communicates her personality and style very well. She’s crafted a unique landing page for her portfolio website, which might give you some ideas.

Notice how the different sections of the site are placed in a circle around her name, with plenty of whitespace on the rest of the page, which allows the colorful design to exist without becoming cluttered.

Neil Stevens

Image source: Neil Stevens

Neil Stevens is an illustrator with an impressive portfolio of work, including clients such as The Guardian, Washington Post, The Daily Telegraph, and more.

His illustrations have a unique vintage-inspired style with carefully chosen color combinations. The layout of his portfolio website is beautiful and engaging. One large image fills the screen as you enter, and when you scroll down, you're confronted with a tightly packed grid of illustrations which makes for some seriously vibrant illustration eye candy and a nice showcase of projects.

Nathalie Lété

Image source: Nathalie Lete

This portfolio website has paid a lot of attention to design details.

Nathalie Lété has made an effort to create a creative experience for the viewers of her website. The background, combined with the buttons she has illustrated herself, immediately draws you in and shows a lot of pride and care in her work.

Teo Skaffa

Image source: Teo Skaffa

Teo Skaffa is an illustrator and character designer from Amsterdam.

His illustration style is quite dark, with a twist of magic and fantasy. His online portfolio enhances the style with a black background, which gives a dark atmosphere upon entering the site.

Matt Chinworth

Image source: Matt Chinworth

Matt Chinworth is an illustrator with a portfolio of some awesome clients, including Airbnb, the New Yorker, and NASA, to name just a few.

His portfolio website is beautifully laid out and showcases some incredible illustrations. He's created an animated logo out of his name at the top.

Dena Cooper

Image source: Dena Cooper

Dena Cooper's background in fashion design shines through in her oh-so-chic portfolio.

Dena is a freelance illustrator specializing in the fashion and beauty industry. This is a good example of a portfolio targeted towards a specific niche.

While her fashion illustration style is distinct, you'll notice she still shows variety in her ability as an artist. Some illustrations are hyperrealistic, while others are a little more stylized and collage-inspired. She also has a blog on her site and a link to her Behance portfolio.

Zach Meyer

Image source: Zach Meyer

Zach Meyer is an illustrator based in Long Beach, CA, with a very impressive client list.

His fine arts background is evident in complex, intricate illustrations. His portfolio is worth browsing through to appreciate some great work.

Michael C. Hsiung

Image source: Michael C. Hsiung

Michael's portfolio is refreshing. It's rich with information and feels like a little shop of curiosities when you scroll down the landing page.

There are many examples of his various projects. By browsing his profile and reading his bio, you can tell he doesn't take himself too seriously. His personality really shines through, especially through his writing on the website.

Aurelia Durand

Image Source: Aurelia Durand 

Vibrant. This is one way to describe Aurelia's portfolio site, and it aptly reflects her illustration style. This portfolio is interactive and alive. There are all sorts of visual and design nuances that transport you into the colorful world of this illustrator.

She has a positioning statement about who she is as an artist front and center when you enter the site. It's playful and inspiring.

Image Source: Aurelia Durand 

Get your work out there

Your work speaks volumes. “Show, don’t tell” is the best policy to live by when it comes to a creative portfolio. So, get working on some extra personal projects to showcase your creativity and make your portfolio stand out.

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