Building a Portfolio That Gets You Hired

Your portfolio is one of the most powerful tools you have as an artist. It’s more than a gallery of images—it’s your professional handshake, your sales pitch, and your proof that you can deliver the kind of work clients are looking for.

Whether you want to break into children’s books, editorial, surface design, concept art, or any other field, a strong portfolio will open doors, build credibility, and help you stand out in a competitive industry.

In this post, I’ll walk you through how to curate and design a portfolio that positions you as the obvious choice for the opportunities you want.

Why You Need a Portfolio (Beyond Social Media)

While platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Behance are great for visibility, they aren’t designed to replace a professional portfolio. A dedicated portfolio website:

• Gives you control over your presentation

• Shows your work in a clean, uncluttered space

• Looks more professional to publishers, clients, and art directors

• Makes it easy for clients to find your contact info and hire you

• Helps you curate pieces instead of overwhelming viewers with everything you’ve ever made

Think of social media as a storefront window.Your portfolio is the actual showroom.

Create Your Portfolio for the Clients You Want

One of the biggest mistakes artists make is building a portfolio around what they like instead of what their target audience needs.

Your portfolio should show the type of work you want to be hired for. That means:

If you want to illustrate children’s books:

Include kidlit-specific pieces like:

• Character-driven spreads

• Full-page illustrations

• Spot illustrations

• Covers

• Scenes with emotion, storytelling, and consistency

If you want to do surface design:

Show:

• Repeating patterns

• Placement prints

• Motif collections

• Products featuring your art

If you want character design work:

Add:

• Turnarounds

• Expressions

• Poses

• Costume variations

• Strong silhouettes

If you don’t have these pieces yet—create personal projects to fill the gaps.

You must show examples that prove you can do the exact job the client needs.

What to Include: Curating Your Best Work

A polished portfolio is intentional and selective. Here’s what to focus on:

Keep It Neat & Organized

If you work across different categories, group related work together:

• Children’s books

• Editorial

• Character design

• Surface design

• Concept art

Avoid mixing unrelated pieces in the same gallery.

Highlight Your Strengths

If character design is your strongest skill, showcase that.If expressive environments are your specialty, let those shine.

Do not include work you don’t want more of.

Quality Over Quantity

8–12 strong pieces is better than 30 mediocre ones.

Clients will judge your talent by your weakest portfolio piece, so remove anything that doesn’t represent your current skill level.

Personal Projects Are Gold

You don’t need tons of paid client work.Strong personal projects can be even more impressive because they show:

• Your creativity

• Your storytelling

• Your artistic point of view

Design a mock picture book spread, a faux magazine cover, or a redesigned product line if needed.

Designing Your Portfolio Website

Your website should be clean, simple, and easy to navigate. Art directors often browse hundreds of portfolios—if yours is confusing or messy, they’ll click away.

✔ Keep the design simple

White space is your friend. Your artwork should be the focus.

✔ Make navigation intuitive

Your main menu should include:

• Portfolio

• About

• Contact

And that contact page must include an email address—not just a form.

✔ Show your process (optional)

Sketches and work-in-progress images can help clients understand how you think and solve problems creatively.

✔ Optimize for mobile

A large portion of art directors browse on mobile. Don’t lose them because your site doesn’t load properly.

✔ Use mockups where appropriate

For:

• Surface design

• Packaging art

• Book illustrations

• Merchandise

This helps clients visualize your art in context.

What to Avoid in a Portfolio

A great portfolio can be ruined by a few common mistakes:

✖ Too Much Work

Keep it tight. Keep it polished.

✖ Inconsistent Styles

If you work in multiple styles, separate them into categories so the viewer isn’t confused.

✖ Low-Quality Images

Never upload:

• Dark photos

• Glare

• Pixelated scans

• Cropped-off artwork

Clean, crisp presentation is essential.

✖ Cluttered, outdated layouts

Messy or amateur-looking websites instantly turn off clients.

Keep Your Portfolio Updated

Your portfolio is a living, evolving document. Review it regularly:

• Swap in stronger pieces

• Remove older work

• Add new projects

• Refresh categories

• Create new personal work if needed

If you're not landing the opportunities you want… it’s probably time for a portfolio refresh.

✸ Want Expert Eyes on Your Portfolio? ✸

Book a personalized portfolio review with me.

I’ll walk you through:

• What to remove

• What to add

• How to organize your work

• How to present for your target industry

• How to strengthen your visual storytelling

• How to upgrade your professionalism

• Next steps to get hired faster

→ Click Here to Book your review and get clear, actionable feedback tailored to your goals.

✸ Want Tools to Build a Standout Portfolio? ✸

My Freelance Illustrator Master Kit includes everything you need to build a polished, professional portfolio—including a Mini Portfolio Planner and a Canva Portfolio Website Builder Template that lets you create your entire website quickly and beautifully.

Inside the Master Kit, you’ll get:

✔ Mini Portfolio Planner

To help you:

• Identify missing pieces

• Build industry-aligned samples

• Plan personal projects

• Map out spreads, concepts, and themes

• Organize your portfolio with clarity

✔ Canva Portfolio Website Builder Template

A customizable, drag-and-drop template designed specifically for illustrators, including:

• Homepage layout

• Portfolio gallery pages

• About page

• Contact page

• Mobile-optimized design

• Clean, minimal, art-director-friendly layout

You can build a full portfolio website in under an hour—even if tech stresses you out.

✔ Plus, you also get:

• A customizable contract template

• Pricing guide + rate-setting worksheet

• And more resources to help you operate like a confident professional

→ Click here to get the Master Kit and start building a portfolio and freelance system that attracts real clients.