Illustration jobs board...

An experiment. Want to join in?

Since I started freelancing in 2012, things haven’t always been how they are now. I have a weird problem that I never ever anticipated.

THERE IS MORE ILLUSTRATION WORK LANDING IN MY INBOX THAN I CAN POSSIBLY DO.

Last year I experimented with scaling Illustrated Live and hiring a (bloody wonderful) team. And y’know what? I have never been so frazzled in all my life.

I quickly learned that managing 24+ illustrators and 3 salaried staff members just wasn’t for me. The jobs were exciting, the clients were great, the illustrators were incredible but I was Overwhelmed - capital O and at the end of 2024 I decided to scale it waaay back.

Long story short, I’m still up to ma neck in illustration opportunities from clients that are amazing but just not right for me/Illustrated Live.

Then I had a brainwave - if we’re not taking on the jobs…why not share the goodness!?

That’s why I’m setting up this new jobs board for illustrators!

This jobs board will be a mix of jobs that I see in the wild, as well as clients who reach out to me directly looking to hire an illustrator, scribe, graphic recorder, infographic-maker or (occasionally) animator.

You can join and leave at any time.

Disclaimer: this is definitely an experiment. Come along for the ride. If I hate it, I will shut it down. I welcome feedback! I’m too old and grumpy to do stuff that makes me miserable 😆

Questions You Might Have

1. How many jobs can I realistically expect to see each month?

   • I’ll be honest. I don’t know.
     I can’t guarantee any specific number, but to give you an idea of how many enquiries I’m dealing with, this week there were 3 illustration jobs that I passed on to other illustrators. Today - a good day - I got 5 illustration enquiries landing on my digital doormat. I’ve only got 2 hands. I can’t draw this many pictures. Please take some 😅

2. What kinds of illustration jobs will be posted?

   • Mostly infographics, live scribing (in-person, all over the world + digital events), and occasionally an animation job or a mural commission will pop up too. The nature of the work is usually fast-paced with quick turnarounds.

3. What’s the quality of the opportunities?

   • They’re generally well-paid, high-quality jobs. That being said, not all clients are created equal and all I’m doing here is sharing the opportunity. It’s your responsibility to do a bit of research and make sure they’re a good fit for you.

4. Will there be competition for jobs?

   • These jobs are exclusively ONLY shared with people who are paid subscribers to the jobs board. So, yes, there will be competition. I’m going to set it up so that you apply for each opportunity, then the client picks who they’d like to work with. All I’m doing here is putting the opportunity on a digital plate for you. Yum.

5. How do clients choose illustrators?

   • Clients will choose illustrators based on portfolio and availability. I can’t guarantee that you’ll get a job because I’m not the client.

   • I’ll let you know what the client has said about their available budget. I absolutely do nottttt want this to be a race to the bottom fee-wise. If I find out you’ve been charging tuppence for a massive project, I will give you a brisk flick of the tea towel. A rising tide lifts all boats.
     When one illustrator charges properly, it makes room for all illustrators to charge properly. That’s how we make our industry a better place to be. OK? Ok.

6. Is the subscription easy to cancel?

   • Yep. Just go to your settings in Substack and click cancel on this subscription. BOOM. Easy peasy. You can cancel at any time and I promise, we’ll still be pals.

7. What’s included?

   • As well as access to the jobs board, I’ll also keep writing about being a freelance illustrator (I’ve been earning over £100k* a year from my illustration work alone since 2020) and sharing what’s working for me / how I’m building my illustration career.
     
     There are no guarantees that you will 100% definitely get a job from the illustration jobs board, but I’ll do my best to equip you with advice and inspiration and help you on your way.
     
     *That’s my gross income from freelance illustration. It doesn’t include tax deductions or expenses. Just to be totally transparent with you.

8. Are there location restrictions?

   • This is open to illustrators from anywhere in the world. Hooray for the internet!
     **I’m updating this a few weeks in to add that most of the jobs are in the UK, yes. However, just a couple of weeks in and we’ve also had 2 jobs come in from Australia & 1 from Abu Dhabi.

9. Can I share feedback on the jobs board?

   • YES! Feedback is a gift. If you think something is good or shit, please share so that we can make this jobs board the coolest, most usefulest thing for illustrators.

10. Are there additional perks or community features?

    • I dunno yet. If you think of something else that would be exciting, do let me know! I might ignore you, but that’s ok.

Other stuff you might be wondering

1. "I’m worried £15/month isn’t worth it if I don’t land any jobs."

   • If £7 is going to put you in financial hardship, please do not subscribe.

2. "I already find job postings online for free."

   • Cool! Carry on :)

3. "What if the jobs aren’t relevant to my skill set or experience?"

   • These jobs will be relevant for you if you’re an illustrator who can do
     - infographics
     - drawing live at events doing graphic recording, scribing or live event illustration
     - live portraits
     - corporate illustration jobs like making illustrations for presentations
     - very occasionally, there might be opportunities for murals too
     
     However, if you’re a more traditional illustrator, then yeah, this might not be worth it for you. Please don’t subscribe 😆 (or subscribe for 1 month and then flounce out yelling, “SEE? I KNEW THIS WOULDN’T BE FOR ME, KATIE!” I don’t mind.)

4. "It sounds like this is just starting out. What if it’s not reliable yet?"

   • You’re right. This is a brand new tiny baby of an idea. I’m really excited about it, though, and if you’re joining now, you get the chance to help shape it into something excellent and useful. Also, you’ll lock in the current price if I decide to raise the cost later on when we get going.

5. "I’m nervous about competition with other illustrators."

   • This is a legit concern, and one I’m not really sure how to deal with. To be honest, you’ll always have competition with other illustrators, wherever you’re finding jobs. But by getting access to more opportunities and applying for more things, you’ll be stacking the deck in your favour a bit (and it’s great motivation to work on your portfolio and flying your Freak Flag.)

   • Maybe I’ll set a cap on how many people can join? Or create like some kind of tiered system? I DON’T KNOW. If you have any ideas, throw ‘em my way. Right now the plan is to just post opportunities when they crop up, and let you take the lead on applying.

6. "I’m not sure I trust that clients will pay or follow through."

   • In my freelancing-for-over-a-decade-now experience, clients are inherently good as long as you have a contract in place, do a good job on-time, and communicate clearly. Once you’ve got the gig, the job & client relationship is 100% on you, so please make sure you know what you’re doing. If you need help setting up your freelancing stuff, we have a course for that inside The Good Ship Illustration! It’s called The Business Course which covers all the freelancey things for an illustrator. The AOI also have great templates and resources to get you started.

   • There’s an effin’ incredible (and free!!) book which I highly recommend from Creative Scotland - The Illustrated Freelancer’s Guide. READ IT BEFORE FREELANCING AS AN ILLUSTRATOR, PLEASE. Download the PDF. It is free. There are no excuses 😆

   • I ask new enquiries for an idea of the budget when they get in touch, so you’re not fumbling around in the dark as much regarding pricing your work. I tend to charge a 50% fee to confirm a job, but not all companies are able to do that (especially big companies) and sometimes clients take fucking ages to pay. I always recommend having 6 months of emergency savings stashed away, or a part time job with a regular steady income so that a late-paying client doesn’t totally sink your freelancing boat.

7. "I’m already overwhelmed with finding work; this might add more stress."

   • I’m going to make it as easy and straightforward to apply for opportunities here as possible. Also…if you’re already stressed just reading all this? It’s not for you. Please don’t join.

8. "I’m worried the illustrator jobs board will end suddenly if you decide to stop running it."

   • You’re right to worry. I am impulsive and I can be silly. But if I really enjoy something, I will keep doing it. I bloody love writing on Substack, and I also really really love helping other illustrators. This project ticks both of those boxes. HOORAY!

   • If I decide to stop running the illustration jobs board, I pinky-promise to give you a month’s notice to cancel your subscription so you won’t be out of pocket.