I’ve been perusing a few illustrator directory/aggregator sites. These are for-pay sites, btw, as opposed to some of the free portfolio sites online. Costs vary greatly, depending on the services you want, the promotion within the site, etc. I’ve seen these sites over many years. Some have come and gone, some have been bought and sold and changed names, while a few seem to be solid institutions. Whether or not the investment of placing your work here is still a question to me. I would need to chat with artists who have spent time and money there over and see what kind of return or value they have experienced.
Here are a handful of those sites I was asked to look at. I’ve featured an artist from each that grabbed my attention and have listed the links below.
1. Directory of Illustration https://www.directoryofillustration.com
I had difficulties with DoI’s site in speed and connectivity. I tried multiple web browsers on multiple devices on different days and it was still so slow as to be functional unusable. Perhaps it’s a temporary infrastructure issue on their end, but as is, I can’t imagine art directors waiting and waiting to look through their directories.
Mike Deas: https://www.directoryofillustration.com/artist.aspx?AID=15881
I was unaware of Mike’s work previously, and was attracted to their cartoon style, loose line work, and color choices.
2. The iSpot https://www.theispot.com
This directory seems to be more user friendly and offers a paid mentorship as well as a database of stock images by their users for sale. Clever diversification on their part to increase income.
Rob McClurkan: https://www.theispot.com/artist/rmcclurkan
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I’ve known about Rob’s work for some time. They are a solid children’t book illustrator and the humor in their work really draws me in. Their economy of line and shape are huge draws for me and inspire me to simplify my work. Still working on that…
Daniel Guidera: https://www.theispot.com/artist/dguidera
Another cartoony and funny illustrator I stumbled upon while looking throught this site. Very appealing. I’m drawn to wonky, funny illustrators.
3. Workbook.com https://www.workbook.com
This one seems to be another popular venue for creative professionals. Like the others there is a bit of obfuscation on pricing. You can purchase a page in the workbook for X amount, pay for a portfolio for X amount, etc.
Stacy Curtis: https://www.workbook.com/portfolios/view/stacy_curtis/gallery/childrens
I’ve followed Stacy for years on IG and love their style and sense of whimsy. Stacy’s old school pen and ink/brush style is great. Whether it’s analog, digital or some hybrid it is inspiring. Their use of texture and color are spot on and something to strive for.
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Thinking about the investment involved in these directories segues in my next thoughts on marketing. Likely to be a bit of a rambling section, as I’m just jotting down thoughts.
In a recent email exchange and a bit of what I would call crossed wires, the term “lack of interest” in marketing and solo entrepreneurship was applied to what I had said. I would call that a mischaracterization, which is easy to happen in these toneless emails and chats we all have. In my mind, it’s more like a lack of unbridled enthusiasm for these things. I’ve been working in advertising and marketing for over 25 years and am familiar with a lot of that aspect. I am certainly no expert (understatement) in self-marketing and genuinely want to learn the broad strokes of what it will take to advance my illustration career. But to put a finer point on it, my eyes glaze over at the minutiae of it all. Let me put it this way: I want to know how to correctly do my taxes. I don’t want to be an accountant. I rely on the experts and software to facilitate that. I used to create websites back in the dark ages when I could get along with simple HTML coding and the help of software to do what I needed to do to make a site look great and function properly. When CSS arrived and heavy coding became necessary, I knew I did NOT want to be a developer and stopped doing that. When necessary, developers were hired to get that part of it done.
So, I know I don’t want to BE an agent or own an agency or run an agency, or teach or develop curriculum. I DO want to have a successful illustration/cartooning career and I need to learn the building blocks of marketing, including how to utilize the people and tools as a baseline. None of us, or at least very few of us, live in ivory towers of fine art in this arena. I get it. This is the junction of art and commerce. Let’s find out how I find my path here…
