How an illustrator can promote himself in the international market

We will tell you how to start thinking about the distant future and step by step promote yourself in the international market.

How to understand where to move

Have you ever thought about the fact that you would like to reach a new level? To understand in which direction to move, it is important to realize why you need it.

For example, do you want to move to another country or just work in a cool team with big brands? Or maybe you have already realized that there are few interesting orders now or you just want to significantly increase your income?

For some purposes, you can try to promote a tik-tok or YouTube channel, and for some you will need to move to London and obtain a work visa.

If you already know what industry you are interested in developing, and, for example, work in book illustration, then you can safely focus on international book awards and publishing houses. Their websites contain requirements for artists, principles for selecting works, and sometimes open portfolio reviews.

If the industry is not so important to you or you are just looking for yourself, collaborating with a communications agency or building a career as a designer in a corporation, then the best way to understand why you need to reach a new level is to note who or what you like to follow. Do you follow international brands, add cool characters to your favorites, or heartbreaking gifs from illustrator agencies? Do you want to do something similar?

What you need to be able to do

Commercial illustration is, first of all, a response to business needs. If you decide to build a career, and not draw for a desk or on TikTok, then you need to be prepared to follow not only trends in the illustration itself, but also changes in the technologies that can use them.

For example, static images for social networks and websites began to be animated a few years ago. Those illustrators and designers who already had a minimal animation skill or were able to quickly learn it, quickly got their bearings and began to receive cool orders.

An important aspect in any digital profession is to be at ease with technology and the application of your work in practice. For example, sometimes novice illustrators do not know how to work in a vector so that their final product does not raise questions when uploaded to the site or further processed by designers or layout designers in their programs. If you want to go international and stay there, such issues should be closed even if there is a manager from the agency or design department on the client's side.

At the same time, it is important to remember that you do not need to be a pro in everything at once. In order to make a small animation of your illustration, you don't need to know Cinema 4D and After Effects thoroughly — basic tools in Procreate or AI bots will suffice.

Also, an illustrator or designer does not need to have education and experience in marketing. But it is important to understand the difference between what can be offered to a communication agency for a special project on a brand book of a large brand, and what to the owner of a little-known clothing brand from Spain.

How to Build a Portfolio and How to Maintain Social Media to Work with International Agencies

A portfolio and an artist statement are an integral part of the personal brand of any artist, illustrator, and designer as well.

It is not necessary to have a complete catalog of your work posted on a personal website with filters and sections. It is enough to regularly post something on TikTok, on Behance and other relevant platforms, and lead all leads to one resource, whether it is your page in Notion or a creative portfolio on Readymag. This way you will not get confused about where you left which contacts, and you will also be able to update them as quickly as possible.

This is due to the requirements of most international agencies and companies: you will be asked for one link to works, one social network and contact address.

The choice of social networks or platforms where you need to periodically post your work will depend on the industry, the target audience of illustrations (business, agencies, publishers, etc.) and your desire to develop your account. For example, posting something to your YouTube or TikTok channel doesn't make sense if you're not willing to dedicate a lot of time and effort to it, or if you're not sure if it's necessary to grow your personal brand at all.

Portfolio and CV examples

A portfolio can simply consist of your short CV, a short description, and a contact email address. At least one link should lead to LinkedIn, Instagram, or Behance, depending on the specifics of your work and career goals.

Not necessarily all works have to be real orders. You can add personal works or examples of your competition works. Through them, you can show the flight of your imagination and skill, not limited by the format of the brief and deadlines.

If you've been involved in projects that have been covered in the media or posted online by the customer, it's always a good idea to add a link to them and describe what exactly you did there. There is no need to describe the case, as product or communication designers do, it will be enough just to show your level of involvement in the project, understanding of the brief and the industry.

How often to update social networks to work with international companies

In social networks, there is a general rule for all creative industries: regularly post on 2-3 social networks, properly format works with tags, descriptions, links, and so on.

If suddenly only your friends are subscribed to your accounts or they are closed, it is worth creating a separate work account where you can post your art, tag brands, other artists and lead a professional social life.

Not all famous illustrators even have a few thousand subscribers. However, if you want to impress an agency or brand, then a small active account with an adequate amount of quality content will always be a plus. For example, you can post one work a week or two by scheduling these posts in advance. You don't have to post something as soon as you draw it. If you have a stock of work, then they can be distributed in the content plan for some time ahead. This will create the illusion of being active, even when you're actually working on other projects or even taking a second month off.

Do I need to know a foreign language?

Fluent communication in the client's language is desirable, but not at all necessary. In today's world, it is really important to know the basics of the English language in order to be able to express your thoughts or understand the wishes of customers regarding the working conditions.

But no one will ask you to speak without mistakes or accents, because there are always representatives of different cultures and nationalities in international teams. In addition, customers are often not native speakers themselves. If you want to move or work in a specific industry, then it will be more logical to improve your spoken language and be ready to learn some terms. But, again, you are a representative of a creative profession, and not a marketer or UX editor — you most likely will not have to write texts or take interviews.

Unlike a student visa, obtaining a work visa, as a rule, does not require confirmation of even basic knowledge of the language.

But the rules are always changing, so it's best to understand in advance what your plans are.

It is always better to check texts for portfolios and social networks online – this will show that you care about the reader, even if you are clearly not fluent in the language.