Every talented illustrator understands the importance of having an online portfolio. It's the first point of contact for prospective customers, why they portray their brand, and it has the power to make or break a career. An online portfolio will help you highlight your creative work, whether you're an artist or a graphic designer.
It's critical that you choose the best medium for displaying your doodles, drawings, and artistic concepts. Your professional portfolio should include a well-rounded presentation of your future vision, biography, illustrator portfolios illustration style, influences, publications, and commissioned work. You'll stand out from the crowd if you have the right skill set, personality, and design portfolio.
Why Is It Essential to Have an Illustrator Portfolio Website?
Great art was once found by galleries, and published manuscripts were selected by publishers. Ordinary people are discovering amazing content these days. There is no longer a divide between artists and the general public. If you have an online presence and your work can be searched, posted, ‘pinned,' or ‘liked,' you can reach levels of exposure previously unimaginable. In a short period of time, a single picture or blog post will gain thousands of views and be viewed by a large number of potential customers, admirers, and fans. If you're an artist, photographer, blogger, or creative entrepreneur, you should take advantage of the internet's power and create your own website as soon as possible.
Sharing content is promoted on a variety of social media sites. These can be useful for promoting your own work, meeting people who share your interests, getting input, and reaching out to people across your extended social networks. Being an active member of any of these sites can be beneficial – and may even be a necessary part of your online strategy – but these sites should serve as a supplement to, not a replacement for, your own website. They can be used as a marketing outpost to push traffic to your own website rather than as a replacement.
You must make your own unique website in order to have the best chance of success.
Make a Website With Strikingly
Strikingly is a portfolio website builder used by creative professionals all over the world. Take a look at some fantastic examples of illustrator portfolio website designs. Strikingly features a drag-and-drop website builder, as well as client galleries, eCommerce, and blogging resources, so you can handle your entire online presence from a single platform. Discover all of the features that make Strikingly such a great choice for creative professionals, including artists, photographers, and designers. Strikingly has a long list of talented artists who have used the best artist website design to create their pages. We're delighted to share tips on how you can start building your own illustrator portfolio website right now.
Strikingly isn't your ordinary website builder. Rather, it is a one-click friend who can greatly assist you in presenting your masterpieces to the rest of the world. Strikingly has it all, from a free range of illustrator portfolio website models to an incredible selection of features.
You can now create a personalized section for your illustrator portfolio website with Strikingly’s Custom Form feature. You can start sharing your thoughts and ideas with your online art portfolio audience by creating a simple blog. You can also easily create your first easy shop and sell your artwork online. Simply pick one of the three plans available, each with the features you'll need to create your illustrator website portfolio.
Best Strikingly Illustrator Website Portfolio to Inspire You
Look at this collection of Stunning Illustrator Portfolio examples to get ideas for your own illustrator portfolio website.
• Mr.Nobody Official
Image is taken from Strikingly user’s website
• Racoonfly
Image is taken from Strikingly user’s website
• Satokogojpn
Image is taken from Strikingly user’s website
• Wholehearted
Image is taken from Strikingly user’s website
• Julianne Feir
Image is taken from Strikingly user’s website
• Inksome Tiny
Image is taken from Strikingly user’s website
Website Elements of a Good Art Portfolio
The best artist websites are themselves works of art. Consider your online art portfolio to be an extension of your work, and to create it, you'll need to look for inspiration all around you. Looking at other online art portfolios will teach you a lot. Investigate how other artists present their work. Keep an eye out for content, presentation strategies, and other design features that you may want to use in your own art portfolio. Here are the critical pieces for a few hard and quick tips:
• A Brief Bio or About Page
This should be a professional overview of who you are, the type of art you create, and what sets you apart from those in your field. This is also a great place to start learning on why you do what you do in order to compel your audience.
• Contact Details
Opening a medium of contact through phone numbers, email, and other social media accounts is critical as a solo artist or as part of a group searching for collaborators or job opportunities - you'll want to be reachable to your target recruiters and art sponsors. Your illustrator portfolio website should include a section that functions as a digital calling card, along with all of the details they need to contact you.
• Cover Page
If you've ever created a typical art portfolio, you might already have a functioning skeletal framework for how you'd like to arrange your pieces on the cover page and table of contents. You can use this as a starting point for your website's menu - with a few slight changes if you're using a different platform. A good landing page is an excellent way to summarise what you have to offer in both traditional print and digital spaces once you've started creating your space.
• A List of Your Work That Has Been Curated
So, what exactly do you have to offer? This is where you show off your talents, photography, and any product work that you have to sell to potential clients in your illustrator website portfolio. While providing value to your clients, you'll want to provide summaries or website copies of your thought process and the motivation behind each work.
Image is taken from Mosz
• Awards or Certifications
If you've earned any awards or certifications for your work, an illustrator website portfolio is a perfect place to keep them. Include any certifications you've earned over the years to boost trust in your skill and progress. You've been recognized by a panel of experts in your profession - that's an impressive accomplishment that future clients and partners can see!
• Testimonials and Press Releases
This category is for those who are already celebrities in their field and have received press coverage as well as compliments from museums and curators since exhibiting their work. Many who are just starting out, on the other hand, may have done some product or client work, and input from these good contracts may convince potential clients that they, too, can benefit from working with you or from what you have to give.
Characteristics of an Illustrator Portfolio Website
Artist websites can serve a variety of purposes, just as art can take several different forms. Your online illustrator website portfolio should, for the most part, highlight your best work, but there are other main features that your platform should have to boost user experience and ensure that your talents are financially rewarded.
• Choose a Design That Complements Your Artwork
Since great art evokes emotion, it's critical that your website do the same. This may be very clear or somewhat more subtle, depending on the type of work you do. For instance, the design of your website may be a tribute to the materials you use (wood, clay, etc.). It may also have a context that reflects your overall style. Whatever the case may be, your website should be a representation of your work.
• Bring Your Work Into Focus
It's easy to go overboard when creating a website because the web isn't bound by physical space. This is particularly difficult for artists, as any unwanted distractions will detract from the art. Every little design detail we have, when added together, can add up to something we didn't expect. As a result, it's important to ask yourself what's essential and what can be ignored. In general, keeping it straightforward is preferable.
• Make a Personal Link With Your Fans
Many musicians depend on a dedicated fan base to keep their careers afloat. Without that support, musicians, for example, would be unable to continue touring and recording. Keeping fans informed of activities such as concerts should be a top priority for your website. If you sell your work online, you'll need a user-friendly shopping experience. Finally, use features like a frequently updated blog and access to multimedia to invite fans to be a part of your inner circle.
Image is taken from Amyrodriguezart
• Come Up With a Novel Idea
Although art is always serious, it's fine to have a little fun with your website when the occasion calls for it. Of course, you don't have to go to lengths. Adding an imaginative twist to otherwise mundane elements like headlines or illustrator website portfolio listings, on the other hand, makes it much more fascinating for visitors. It invites them to stay and explore more of your offerings.
• Dare to Be Unique
Image is taken from Shantel Martin
Historically, art has been a catalyst for cultural change. It has forced us to think in different ways and questioned the status quo. A website that does things a little differently will contribute to that tradition in a small way. Although this does not mean we can go against the grain in terms of usability and ease of use, it opens up many possibilities for creativity.
A Website Is an Artist’s Portrait
As an artist, you face both a challenge and an opportunity. You must strike a balance between the desire to share your work with the world in a fun way and the requirements and demands of a modern website. Doing it right the first time is difficult. However, for those who succeed in achieving the goal, the rewards may be substantial.
At the end of the day, your website should be about you and what you do. It can be used to represent your art’s personality and encourage visitors to participate in the experience.
Are you ready to reveal what you've got to the rest of the world? Now is the time to start your illustrator portfolio website and see where this new artistic adventure can take you. Do you need additional time or motivation to consider it? Take a look at some more illustrator portfolio website examples to see what makes them special.