Nate Williams - Illustration, Lettering & Animation


See Nate Williams latest projects and events

How to start your illustration career

The career path of an illustrator isn't very clear and that is probably why people often ask me how I got started as an illustrator and if there is any advice I can give them in regards to becoming a professional illustrator. I think having a successful illustration career comes down to the following: Unique Consistent Style, Technical Skills, Marketing, Tracking Work and Attitude. Hopefully, you will find something useful in this article.


Unique Consistent Style


Technical Skills

It's hard to execute a good idea if you don't have the technical skills to do it. Having great technical skills not only allows you to realize your ideas, but also will save you a ton of time in the long run because you will be much more efficient and responsive when clients have feedback.

You can search for tutorial videos on Youtube and Vimeo , but in order to save you  time I highly recommend's video tutorial. You pay a monthly subscription fee which gives you access to all the videos you can watch on all the major programs (photoshop, illustrator, aftereffect, and tons more)

Marketing your illustrations

All your marketing efforts should point back to your web site. Your web site is a place where you can centralize information and understand the success of specific marketing tactics via Google Analytics and/or Statscounter. Other platforms come and go and you want to build equity in something you own. YOUR WEBSITE IS YOUR MOST VALUABLE LONG-TERM MARKETING TACTIC!

What makes a "GOOD WEB SITE"?

  • I highly recommend Squarespace for creating and hosting your website - It's easy, search engine optimized, responsive for all devices and has a e-commerce solution. *





After working as an art director for Microsoft's Xbox .. I can't say how important it is to have a positive attitude. Of course talent is crucial .. but talent isn't the only thing that gets you work. People are people and it's always nicer to work with someone that is positive and solution oriented. I used to hire tons of external agencies to create web sites and other online promotional material. All the agencies were extremely talented but those that could talk about their work in an exciting way, were easy to work with and accepted feedback well were the ones I hired over and over again.

I'm not saying do anything the client wants with a smile on your face. You were hired because you are an expert in your field .. articulate the decisions you made and get them excited about your ideas .. but it's also important to stay positive and flexible.



First, get the basic information:

  • Technical Specs - size, bleed, resolution, etc

  • Important Dates - (Rough Date, Final Date)



  • Which pieces of work do you particularly like and why?(I like the man on the boat cause it's funny, I like all the texture in the piece you did for Converse, etc)

  • How did you discover my work?


Next, get more information about the job, if it's a long editorial .. ask them:

  • What part of the story do they really want emphasize?

  • Is there anything they want to stay away from?

  • Do they have any ideas?(This doesn't necessarily mean to use the idea .. but it will give you a general idea of the path they want to take or what part they think is important/interesting)

Tracking the Work


  • When are roughs due?

  • When are final sketches due?

  • Are there any jobs you need to complete?

  • Are you too busy to take on more work in a specific month?

  • Who hasn't paid?




I have a web page for every job where the client and I can keep track of job's progress .. this page includes:

  • the job dates (roughs and final)

  • contact information

  • creative direction/job info

  • pencil sketches

  • final image


I created my own solution using php/mysql .. but an easier route might be to do this using a Wordpress or BLOGGER account.



Creating the Work


  • Here is an article to help with the brainstorming process


Pencil Sketches

Next you can talk to the client and talk about your ideas .. I prefer just to create pencil sketches, because a lot of the time it's hard to envision what you are talking about .. and my sketches are extremely rough so they don't take me more than .. about ... 60 seconds ... I try to sketch very loose and fast so the focus is on the ideas and not on the craftsmanship .. at this stage of the process it's all about ideas .. and you don't want a slow drawing hand to slow them from coming out of your teeming brain.

I usually take pictures of my sketches with a digital camera .. its a lot faster than a scanner and because it's a rough quality isn't so important ..

Next I scare my client with my super rough sketches and explain to them .. to just focus on the concepts .. the final piece won't look exactly like this .. ;)

The client emails/phones their feedback .. usually something something like .. "sketch 4 is great .. but can we emphasize the blah and maybe reduce or take out blah .. make the cat a dog and make the dog a cat .. etc"




Thanks for reading! More articles here.

Nate Williams