Have you written a book that’s begging for adorable illustration or maybe need an animal illustration or two for a presentation? Hiring a freelance illustrator for this is an excellent choice, and after reading this article, you’ll know all the ins and outs of finding and hiring a pro for all of your animal illustration needs – read on!
Do you need a professional to create the animal illustration you want?
We all have talents, right? You may be an excellent, exciting, and engaging writer, but when it comes to illustration, eh, not really in your wheelhouse. That’s totally okay. Think about it, maybe you love taking care of everything around your home. Except mowing the grass makes you cringe. So you hire someone. Or what about training your dog? You may give it a go, but then realize it would be a whole lot easier to get a professional involved. Then, boom, your dog is so well behaved and everyone loves him. Hiring someone for your animal illustration isn’t really so different. Freelancers and contract pros let us do what we excel at while taking care of the things we don’t.
Freelancers also usually know the trends and can read your vision to turn it into reality. Working with a good animal illustrator can complete your project with a professional sense and help you reach the goals you want. Sounds good, right? Here are a few more instances when you could hire an animal illustrator:
- You’ve written a children’s book and want to self-publish. You know animal illustrations are the perfect thing to complete it and that a professional can create just the animal characters you want.
- You work with kids and want to create an animal mascot for your group or class. An animal illustrator can create super cute ones that you can use however you like.
- Animal illustrations can enhance presentations and websites within and outside of your company.
- You want an animal illustration to complete your brand and marketing endeavors. You can use this animal illustration on everything business-related, from your website to social media to merch representing your brand. Don’t forget business cards, package inserts, and marketing tools.
The Benefits of Hiring a Pro Animal Illustrator
Some people are comfortable creating their own illustrations whether by hand or with graphic designs. And sure, this is a great way to work. However, if you want that professional touch, it can only benefit you to hire a professional animal illustrator. Not only can this get you professional illustrations, but it also frees up your time to work on other components of your project, whether it’s company branding, writing and publishing your book, or handling any other related matter.
Another great thing about hiring an illustrator is often they will promote themselves using your design. This adds to your exposure, and you can create a symbiotic relationship with the illustrator. As Lanternco tells us, As you build your brand by telling a story, different threads will come together to create your company’s identity. Original content is a crucial plot point, and hiring an illustrator is a big part of that. Besides, everybody likes stories with pictures better!
So it’s not just children’s books that need illustrations. It’s company material, branding, classroom mascots, digital sites, and social media. And once you have your animal illustrations, you should be able to use them however you want, whether it’s to market your book or your business or send your animal out on an invitation. And, just as people love illustrations with content, they love animals! So what’s better than working with an illustrator to design an effective animal illustration or two to complete your projects?
Hiring an Animal Illustrator
If you are thinking of using an animal illustrator to work on your designs and projects, you’re on the right track. But maybe now you’re not sure how to go about it. Well, the good thing is that it’s pretty easy to find animal illustrators; the trick is getting one that jives with you and that you like how they work. Let’s take a look at some options…
- Hiring an artistic friend or acquaintance
- Checking out some design schools or even local high schools for artists trying to get their careers started
What to look for…
It’s important to know what you want in an illustrator before beginning your search, but as we all know, it’s difficult to know what you don’t know. So how do you know what you want? It’s helpful to ask yourself some questions about your project before hiring an artist for animal illustrations.
Think about some things like:
- Do you have specific ideas that you’d like the illustrator to follow or just very general specifications? In other words, are you thinking of a bear or a dog for your brand or do you want a squirrel family of four who are all different squirrel tones and sizes and wear identifying types of clothes, and have a whimsical vibe for your children’s book?
- Be conscious of your deadline. If it doesn’t matter – that’s great, but if you want something in a week, make sure your artist can deliver on this.
- What type of design do you want and is your artist experienced and skilled in this medium? You probably wouldn’t hire a barbecue chef to bake your partner’s birthday cake, so don’t hire a watercolor artist if you are looking for digital art. And if you have something in mind, you shouldn’t settle for something that’s not it.
- Cost is always a factor, so go ahead and set a budget. Make sure your potential artists for animal illustration fit the budget. You’d hate to get too excited about someone only to find out they are way outside your budget.
- Think about future uses and ideas for your animal illustration. Maybe you’d like to have this little mascot transition as your classroom goes on or be in a sequel to your book. If the animal plays a part in your branding, can you use the designs as your business grows? You probably want an artist who gives you all rights and who will continue to work on your illustrations if you need them to do so.
- Another factor is ongoing communication. During the process, do you want to be involved? Or are you okay just receiving the final product? Also, check to see if you can have revisions if you want some tweaking upon completion. You should want to work with someone who will work with you and make sure you are happy with the final artwork.
Mediums for Animal Illustration
The glorious thing about art these days is the amazing choices out there. According to Felt Magnet, we’ve got two main categories – traditional and modern illustration. Both of these styles will lend a different vibe to animal illustration. For instance, traditional illustration encompasses mediums like pencil and charcoal, watercolor and acrylic, and pen and ink illustration.
On the other hand, modern illustration is usually divided into freehand and vector illustration. Freehand digital illustration is when the artist uses a tablet to draw digitally. With a variety of colors, brush settings, and other tools, they can create amazing graphics, including so many options for animal illustration. Vector illustration can be a bit more versatile than freehand digital art, but each has its pros and cons. This is a noteworthy point to discuss with any artist or service you’re thinking of using because the choice and type of medium can depend on how you want to use your animal illustration.
This article from our Bunny Library shares even more information on choosing your medium and choosing your artist, and offers this great advice:
Whatever your purpose, make sure your illustration reflects you. Work with someone who will take the time to personalize your illustrations and give you what you want.
Types of animal illustration
Animal illustrations are super cute ways of enhancing material. As mentioned, though, the animal needs to match your vibe. Think of all the cutesy, kawaii style animals out there- maybe that’s what you’re looking for. Or do you want something a little more rough and tough? Think about your audience and your purpose to pinpoint how you want your animals to look. If they’re geared towards kids, you probably do want that gentle animal look, but if you are using the animal for company branding, maybe you want a stronger, fiercer illustration. The key is to match your vibe, your purpose, and your audience.
The Big Takeaway of Animal Illustration
Everyone loves animals! The cute ones are endearing, the comical ones bring in humor, and the fierce ones provide empowerment. By incorporating animal illustration into your work, you are stepping it up to a new level. Animal illustration is not just for children’s literature (though this is a great use for it) but it’s also so effective in marketing, company branding, and small business. You can find other uses, too, whether it’s personal use or for your young learners in class or extracurriculars. Think about some of the most famous illustrated animals, Arthur and his friends, Eric Carle’s children’s books, and our own Mr. Bunny. Animals share a magical vibe and whether they are characters in a book or an image in branding, great animal illustration can make all the difference.
