Illustrating a book is a heavy task, such as the initial draft design, composition analysis, color blocking, to the final overall detailing, and so on. It requires not only the illustrator's participation, but also a lot of communications with the client and the company. Illustrators will be careful with their specific requirements, deadlines, etc. Moreover, as a professional book illustrator, some of the necessary areas of this job should be covered - creating a portfolio and approaching potential clients. Many digital illustrators choose to create personal art website on specific entertainment media for self-publishing (Rees, 2014). Also, It is a misconception that formal education is not required to become a professional illustrator, the combination of illustrator’s own basic skills and drawing experience should not be overlooked either.


There are two of my favorite book illustrators in this paragraph I gonna share and they make drawings for their respective graphic novel book illustration. Respectively Jeff Stokely (The Spire, 2015) and Molly Mendoza (Skip，2019). On one hand they do their own character and story creation, on the other hand they will actively present themselves on social media, in terms of painting stable output and fan interaction. They leave their general painting characteristics and working contact detail such as email or personal website on their media profiles, so that some companies who need painting outsourcing in a specific time could find them through media recommendations. In addition, it takes a long time from the commission proposed by the client to the final product, because of the specific commission amount, tax issues and related copyright protection policies, so most illustrators will find a professional agent for themselves or set up a studio team for themselves, with their own staff to solve the business needs and problems.