I remember when I first went full time freelance, I was arrogant enough to think I’d email a couple illustration agencies, name drop a couple clients, link my insta and one would snap me up immediately and I’d be good to go, career in the bag. Safe to say that wasn’t quite the case…
I got a pdf portfolio together, mentioned clients like Apple, Selfridges and Ted Baker in the email, linked to my Instagram and bada-bing bada-boom, I thought that’ll be me sorted and signed… I didn’t hear back from a single agency. At the time I took that as cementing the idea that I was going to do this all solo, I didn’t mind searching for work and I actually enjoyed pitching and thinking of ways to get new work in, so I thought that would just be me, a little lone lead wielding wolf.
A year went by and I was doing alright, still had decent clients and work coming in but then I decided to go travelling for a bit, once I returned with my bank account comprising of 2 copper coins and an I.O.U I thought I should tackle this illustration career a bit more wholeheartedly.
Little snippet of my travels across Europe
I researched endlessly the London agencies that came up on from a google search, read up each of their submission criteria, which is important as they all ask for different things (more on that below). I even got cocky and looked up a couple New York agents thinking whilst I was on the submission spree I might as well try my luck. I applied to around 15 agencies, I read articles about applying and most said to expect a wait of around 3-4 months for a reply. I sent my agent submissions out on a Friday (stupidly) I got a reply from my agent on the Monday, we scheduled a call for Tuesday and amazingly I was signing my contract on the Thursday!
On the initial call with my agent we chatted about why I’m looking to be represented, how I managed to get my current clients, why did I select this agency to apply to and where I see my career heading. It was a great chat whilst I was sat in Itsu stuffing some sashimi into my face and I felt like the agency would be the right fit. But after reading the article that suggested a 3 – 4 month wait I was worried, should I wait? What if the other agencies get back to me and I ended up with multiple offers? but I went with my gut, with an agent who seems to specialise in fashion illustrators and event work and I’m glad I did as I never actually heard back from any of those 14 other agencies!
Honestly if I didn’t have my live event work in my portfolio, I don’t think I’d be sitting here writing about how I got an agent, as my portfolio isn’t geared or tailored towards any editorial or client work. It’s just an accumulation of paintings I’ve done of fashion I enjoy but there isn’t a commercial or client thread through my portfolio. Illustrators are predominately project or client based artists, you need to show you can give what the client is looking for, like successful illustrators who show their style across a multitude of topics and can be commissioned for article illustrations, covers, campaigns etc Which is a key element to getting work.
A lot of my portfolio is personal work so I think without my event illustrations I still wouldn’t be signed
You can be the greatest artist in the world but if there isn’t a commercial element or potential clients for you to get work with, you won’t get signed. An agent won’t know how or what to pitch you for and clients want to be able to see exactly what outcome to expect.
Another factor that cemented my decision is, being a fashion illustrator is almost a double-edged sword, a lot of illustration agencies don’t really quite understand what we do or where we fit in the industry. Do we design garments? Do we work in house for a brand? Are we interested in any work outside of Vogue or Harpers? Our portfolios are, potentially, not as varied as other illustrators as our work is mostly figures or garment based as opposed to illustrators who have still life’s, portraits, editorial, design, animations etc, we are relatively niche.
The key to getting an agent is making sure you fit within their agency, most of my client work is live drawing event based so applying to an agency that is predominantly editorial based isn’t going to work for me as I mentioned earlier my portfolio isn’t editorially focused. My tips for anyone looking to apply to an agency is to research where your work fits in and what type of work you want to do. You need to tip toe that fine line between finding an agency that represents artists similar to you but your style still separates you from the rest of the roster, as an agent isn’t going to represent two people with the same style.
Some tips if you’re looking for an Agent!
Read and research thoroughly what agencies you are going to apply to, they each have their own submission criteria. Don’t send a pdf to someone who specifies they want only a website link, email the correct submissions email address and answer any questions they’ve specified on their submissions page. Every agency gets bombarded with so many submissions a week, don’t give them a reason to ignore yours.
Also do not be under the illusion that as soon as you are represented by an agency that you’ll be Ubering everywhere, venti Starbucks in hand and ending every conversation with ‘my agent will be in touch’, representation is still only a piece of the puzzle in becoming a successful illustrator, one that many other illustrators chose not to do.
Having an agent is incredibly useful, they discuss the fee with the client so you don’t have to, they chase up payments, vet out any time wasters and they’re also a lot more informed when it comes to licensing and technical things like that so it does leave you with more headspace to focus on creating your work. But having an agent is by no means a necessity, I know plenty of illustrators who don’t have agents and their client lists and work schedule leave me in the dust.
Everyone has their own formula, it’s never one size fits all!
Keep reading:
How I Got My First Ever Clients As A Fashion Illustrator
Illustrating Live at Events - A Fashion Illustrators Tips For Live Drawing