Creative Boom

OCTOBER 4, 2023

Image licensed via Adobe Stock The worst clients can turn your life into something out of a horror movie. We outline four common types of nightmare clients and explain how to deal with them. We're talking about those clients you simply hate working with. Clients who ended up making your professional life a nightmare.

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Creative Boom

FEBRUARY 19, 2023

For creative freelancers, the start of the year is often a quiet time, with few enquiries coming in. And there are plenty of useful things that creative freelancers can do to stay productive, focused and positive during these quieter periods. Graphic designer and illustrator Muhammad Alfarizy has a similar approach. "I

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Creative Boom

APRIL 23, 2023

Image licensed via Adobe Stock With the economy looking a little flat, most freelancers must put more work into selling themselves. So how can you survive the next few years as a creative freelancer? Ultimately, whatever the broader picture, there will always be clients who are desperate to hire good people.

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Creative Boom

JANUARY 10, 2024

The work of illustrator Danii Pollehn is bold, unmissable and amazing. But the journey to her current destination as a freelance artist is a somewhat winding one. Her goal is to create artwork that stands out, whether in a mural, graphics, packaging design or an illustration. It's safe to say Danii has achieved these goals.

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Creative Boom

NOVEMBER 5, 2024

Illustration by Inma Hortas As an illustration agent at Folio Art, James Hughes offers insights into the future of illustration amidst the rise of AI. With many artists concerned about AI taking over creative jobs, he explains why human creativity still has a unique place—and how illustrators can thrive in an evolving industry.

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Creative Boom

SEPTEMBER 17, 2023

Image licensed via Adobe Stock When clients ask you to graft for nothing in return for "exposure", be very wary. It's a great time to be a creative freelancer. But in truth, promises of exposure or future paid work rarely materialise in ways that benefit the freelancer. We explain the downside of working for free.

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Creative Boom

MARCH 19, 2024

Image licensed via Adobe Stock We celebrate International Client Day by sharing some tried-and-tested tips for growing and nurturing your relationships with clients. Happy International Client Day! International Client Day was started in 2010 by Russian and Lithuanian businesspeople and has since spread around the world.

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Creative Boom

FEBRUARY 22, 2022

Particularly as your clients may also be feeling the pinch as the economic situation worsens. After all, most of the time, our freelancer bank accounts are empty. Getting paid in full and on time often feels like a job in itself, and it's as much about organising our own affairs properly as it is chasing clients.

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Creative Boom

JUNE 2, 2024

Image licensed via Adobe Stock As National Freelance Day approaches, we share the community's best advice for making it as an independent creative. Embarking on a freelance career is a weird mix of freedom and responsibility. says illustrator and designer Kohenoor Kamal. Muralist and illustrator Briks agrees, saying: "Go for it!

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Creative Boom

NOVEMBER 17, 2024

By her own confession, Monika Jurczyk – AKA Monsie – has bounced between places and jobs like a pinball, but freelance illustration has given her creative soul its voice. "I I want my illustrations to be a source of empowerment," says the Edinburgh-based illustrator Monika Monsie.

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Creative Boom

MAY 21, 2024

Image licensed via Adobe Stock Working as a creative freelancer can be stressful right now. We love freelancing. And in 2024, as AI, algorithm changes, and economic turmoil continue to disrupt everything around us, many freelancers are feeling that stress more than ever before.

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Creative Boom

DECEMBER 11, 2023

Eastbourne-based illustrator Beth Tibbles specialises in creating colourful illustrations brimming with joy and humour. We caught up with her to learn more about her journey so far, how she looped back into illustration, and what it's like to go freelance. For Beth Tibbles, drawing has been a life-long passion.

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Illustration Illustrator Freelance Freelance 529

Creative Boom

FEBRUARY 19, 2024

It doesn't matter how talented you are in your chosen creative discipline; that's only half of the work of being a successful freelancer. Talk to a freelancer who's got that sorted, and you'll probably find they have a suite of productivity tools that help them achieve this with minimal fuss. Obsidian Do you work in Markdown?

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Creative Boom

SEPTEMBER 12, 2023

Image licensed via Adobe Stock There are lots of pros to going freelance, but also quite a few cons. If you're thinking of going freelance, you're probably getting a lot of encouragement from people you know who've already taken the leap. The alluring dream of freelancing 1. It's fantastic!"

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Creative Boom

NOVEMBER 12, 2023

Let's be honest: we freelancers like to think of ourselves as a pretty intelligent lot. A staggering 73% of freelancers say that tax management is the biggest strain on their mental health. Pie: the app to solve your tax problems Pie is quite simply the app freelancers have been crying out for. But we're here to reassure you.

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Creative Boom

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

Image licensed via Adobe Stock Freelancing is great, but at the start money can be tight. Or do you yearn to break free and embark on a freelance journey more than ever? It's time to take your passion for creativity and kickstart your freelance venture. Graphic design and illustration 1. Don't worry.

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Creative Boom

JULY 27, 2022

But July and August can also mean a much quieter time for creative freelancers. If there's one thing that lets down so many freelance designers and illustrators, it's their About page on their website. They often go into one big personal statement without really thinking about potential clients. And that isn't ideal.

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Creative Boom

JANUARY 31, 2024

Auckland-based illustrator Joseph Carrington creates instantly recognisable work thanks to his sleek, deceptively simple style. Having originally trained as a graphic designer, Joseph Carrington pivoted to illustration seven years ago. Lately, I'm most proud of jobs where I've had the opportunity to animate my illustrations."

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Creative Boom

MAY 26, 2024

We canvassed the views of illustrators, who shared their biggest challenges and explained what they're doing to meet them. Working as an illustrator is a fun way to earn a living, but it's not without its challenges, not least the need to constantly adapt to new challenges and shifting paradigms. Sebastian Abboud tells a similar story.

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Creative Boom

JULY 5, 2022

For Sarah Madden , a graphic designer based in Leeds, she realised she wanted to embrace freelance illustration and design full-time to explore a better lifestyle. She'd been illustrating on the side to make some extra cash and had the realisation that she could go for it and make illustration part of her full-time gig.

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Creative Boom

JUNE 29, 2022

London-based illustrator Grace Helmer draws viewers into her tender, painterly illustrations with a masterful use of colour and compositions that contain a sense of story. We caught up with her to hear how she's gotten to where she is and what illustrators should look for when seeking an agent. © Grace Helmer. © Grace Helmer.

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Creative Boom

APRIL 29, 2022

Instagram is still a good visual resource or portfolio for clients, but it's the PR push that has been the most effective.". LinkedIn has been a favourite for quite a long time," agrees illustrator Ari Liloan. Go old school and remind clients you exist (and ask for help). Don't forget to ask clients for referrals, either.

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Creative Boom

FEBRUARY 17, 2025

Three years on from our last conversation, Taiwanese illustrator Poan Pan reflects on his evolving creative journey, the power of community, and his ever-expanding artistic practice. Good news I'm still freelancing as an illustrator! Honestly, when we first spoke, I had no idea if freelancing would even work out.

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Creative Boom

AUGUST 16, 2022

Play your cards right, and your worst client relationships can eventually become your best. We've all had clients that have made our lives a misery. Because let's face it, keeping existing clients is always easier than finding new ones. Yes, clients can sometimes be maddening, insanely irrational, and act like total jerks.

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Creative Boom

SEPTEMBER 24, 2023

Bertrand Aznar, represented by Illustration Division Whether you need representation or are looking to hire an artist or illustrator, these are the best places to head to in New York City. This is where illustration agents come into play. But how on Earth do you find a market for your work? David Doran, represented by B&A 2.

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Creative Boom

MARCH 14, 2024

Stoke-on-Trent-based illustrator and animator Qianhui Yu is on a mission to highlight social problems and tell stories from new perspectives. She's doing this by creating imaginative illustrations imbued with a healthy dose of feminism. Outside of her animation work, Qianhui is also making waves as an illustrator.

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Creative Boom

JANUARY 20, 2025

Come with us on a deep dive into the last twenty years of Sam Gilbey's freelance illustration practice. We'll find out what inspired him, how he got through difficult periods, and what advice he'd give to up-and-coming illustrators. The change happened gradually, as Gilbey's career began as a website and graphic designer.

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Creative Boom

FEBRUARY 10, 2025

Illustration by Tom Woolley As AI-generated artwork becomes more common, many illustrators worry about being replaced. Illustrator Tom Woolley shows us how to future-proof your career in an evolving industry. As illustration agent James Hughes mentioned in his article, Is AI really coming for your illustration career?

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Creative Boom

APRIL 4, 2022

Freelance illustrator and artist Marcel George has a unique style, combining watercolour and hand-cut illustrations. Currently living and working in London, clients include Financial Times, Esquire, Stella Artois, Vanity Fair, and Penguin Random House. "I Your hand-cut, watercolour illustrations are beautiful!

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Creative Boom

MARCH 27, 2022

A freelance illustrator, mural artist and designer based in Glasgow, Ida Henrich creates colourful and energetic work, often exploring social and economic issues that are close to her heart. Alongside her illustrations, Ida creates murals in and around Glasgow and is also partial to the odd cartoon and watercolour painting.

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Creative Boom

OCTOBER 31, 2023

After gaining residency without needing an employer sponsorship, he quit his job and pursued freelance full-time. As a freelancer, I work with agencies that normally hire me during their peak times or when they can't solve a project internally," he explains. But it's been anything but a smooth ride. And it's not been all bad. "I

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Creative Boom

JANUARY 24, 2024

Award-winning London-based illustrator Josh Patterson specialises in creating bright, bold and playful artwork that grabs people's attention. Like many illustrators, Josh settled on a creative path when he was young. So I switched back to freelancing in 2022 and have been loving it ever since."

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Creative Boom

JANUARY 23, 2024

That's exactly what illustrator, designer and creative consultant Molly Maine did in 2016, and since then, she's been enjoying the joy of travel while bringing her creative ambitions to life. And on top of that, her ambitions of becoming an illustrator were still niggling away in her mind. Her solution? Quit and travel the world.

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Just Creative

DECEMBER 1, 2020

The freelance-driven gig economy has taken off like a rocket over the past several years. With the government forming new protections for freelancers like the right to collect unemployment benefits, people are looking toward self-employment as a means to cut their ties to traditional corporate work more than ever.

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Creative Boom

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

Landing on graphic design, Min was always drawn towards the illustration courses and graduated with an illustration major from the Art Center College of Design. With just a few jobs under her belt as a freelancer, she found herself working as an in-house illustrator at tech companies through a recommendation from a friend.

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Creative Boom

JUNE 22, 2023

Multi-disciplined creative and globetrotter Maria Navarro Sanchez combines illustration and design to create stunning and empowering artwork. Based in the German city of Karlsruhe, illustrator and designer Maria Navarro Sanchez's career has been meandering. It has given me a more comprehensive and practical view of illustration.

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Illustration Illustrator Freelance Freelance 501

Creative Boom

MARCH 12, 2024

© Dong Qiu The Chinese artist's distinctive style blends Asian tradition with modern sensibilities, attracting global clients and resonating with audiences worldwide. The moment you clasp eyes on freelance illustrator Dong Qiu 's work, you feel yourself being pulled in multiple directions.

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