How to Become a Profitable Fashion Illustrator

So you want to become a profitable fashion illustrator, but don’t know how to start?

It’s great you’re here! And it’s awesome you’re ready to put hands to work towards making your dreams happen.

Starting your own profitable business as a fashion illustrator is fantastic because:

1 | Creating fashion illustrations is one of the most fun + fulfilling work you’ll ever do.

You get the best of both worlds: fashion + illustration. You can get the creative freedom you crave, you can create the illustrations according to your point of view, to how you experience fashion + life, and you can create them in your own authentic style.

It feels amazing to have an idea in your head and turn it into something you can see in real life. It’s so fulfilling when your clients LOVE what you create. And it gets even better when you see that little thing you created it’s being admired + loved + purchased by someone else.

You can create fashion illustrations for your favorite brands, magazines, and people. It’s just FANTASTIC!

2 | Building your own business means you can live your life on your own terms

You can work from home, you can work on the go, you can work on the runway. You can live near to the beach, in the mountains, or travel the world. You CHOOSE.

You can set your own schedule, you can take time off whenever you want, and you can go on a long vacation every time you want.

You set your prices, and you decide the amount of money you earn. You don’t have to settle. And you choose how many hours per day you work.

You have the FREEDOM to do what you love and create the inspired + happy life that you dream of.

3 | As a fashion illustrator, the possibilities you have to create are endless

As a freelancer, you can create your fashion illustrations to be featured in products like accessories, clothing, stationery collections, fabrics, decor, phone cases, wall art, and more. You can create custom illustrations for branding, packaging, and even portraits of people who are in love with your style. And your illustrations can be part of books, coloring books, and appear in your favorite magazines.

Of course, no one said it was easy. Actually, I always say: becoming a fashion illustrator, and making money out of your creations is not easy, but it’s not just for the lucky either.

It’s for passionate + talented + hard-working people – like you 😊

If you’re like most of my students, you may be super worried about things like:

 

What if I’m not good enough? What if I’m not ready?

Good enough and ready for what? For doing what you love for a living? For living your dreams?

We’re all good enough + ready for that.

But waiting to feel good enough or ready to start your business is just a waste of time.

Being good enough or ready is just an illusion that gets you off track keeping you focused on something that deceptively gives you security – for many people being good enough + ready = success, but that’s not necessarily true.

I believe we’re all a work in progress. I think we’re always growing + evolving + improving, and so does our work. Every new project, every new experiment, and every new illustration give something special to our experience + skills + style.

Even I, after eight years of being a fashion illustrator, just discovered something that would change my style – making it more me. If I’d waited this long, I would’ve missed a lot of knowledge + projects + experiences, I would’ve missed everything, and maybe I wouldn’t have been happy with my style as I am now.

This ‘what if I’m not good enough or ready’ question is tricky because we’re all in the making, but you got to differentiate between feeling scared of the unknown, and actually not being ready.

See, you may not feel ready or good enough ever, but I believe that you must start before being ready or good enough because the best things are learned along the way when you experience them. And you’d be holding yourself back if you wait for the illusion of feeling secure.

So, just in case you want to differentiate fear and not being ready.

When you’re ready…

Your skills are strong. When you create a fashion illustration, you do it with ease. Of course, perfectionism + comparison try to creep in, but overall you know what you’re doing and you like it. Besides, people can’t stop noticing how good you are, and they keep telling you how much they love your work.

And your style is rising. Even if you don’t have it super clear yet, when you put your latest work in front of you, you can notice some similarities and cohesiveness.

Again, there’s no such thing as ‘being good enough’. If you have a calling, if you feel it in your heart that you’re meant to be a fashion illustrator, then it’s your job to make it true, nurture your skills, discover your authentic style, and show up 100% for each new client + project you get.

It’s your job to be the best fashion illustrator you can be right now, and commit to doing your very best every time.

And, it’s okay feeling fearful and doubtful, and it doesn’t mean you’re not ready or good enough – actually, you’re more ready + good enough than what you allow yourself to admit 😉

 

What if no one wants to work with me?

Fashion is a diverse industry, there are products and styles for everyone, and I mean it when I tell you that there are people for your fashion illustrations. I KNOW it because I’ve seen it.

There’s no style too simple, too realistic, too happy, too melancholic, or too whatever.

People is looking for what you have to offer, and there’s still room for you.

Think if this is an irrealistic fear or if it’s rooted in facts.

A question that makes my students + mentees laugh (out loud) and vanish this fear is this:

Really, are you that bad that even your mom wouldn’t buy an illustration for one buck?

I know it’s a silly question, but most of our fears are silly too, and the best way to disarm them is realizing how dumb they are 😊

Stop freaking out about if people will want to work with you. And start focusing on how you can improve as a fashion illustrator, showing up in front of the people who are your ideal clients, and serve them well.

 

Where should I start? What do I need to set up before starting?

As I describe in a lengthy lesson of my free email course, the 3 pillars to become a profitable fashion illustrator are:

• Skills
• Style
• Showing Up

Your skills should be strong. Your style should be authentic. And you must show up and share who you are and what you do.

Also, on my free email course, I share with you along two lessons the step-by-step you must follow. If you want all the nitty-gritty, I recommend you to go and sign up here; it’s free. But, in summary, this is what you have to do:

1. Embrace yourself to stand out, and determine what kind of offerings you want to sell
2. Know who is your dream client, and what they need + want
3. Create offerings your dream clients and you LOVE
4. Have a website + branding
5. Build an effective portfolio
6. Create a content + marketing strategy that attracts and catches your dream clients
7. Delight your clients, so they keep coming back

 

How will I attract clients, and how will I book them?

This is the most frequent question among my students + mentees who want to start working as fashion illustrators. And the truth is, you can get a large stream of clients through a bunch of different and powerful ways like content marketing, referrals, word of mouth, networking, collaborations, social media – and more.

The key is in the third pillar of becoming a profitable fashion illustrator: you have to show up.

It’s not as difficult as you may think. And as soon as you get the ball rolling, clients will start finding you.

What if I mess it up so bad that I have no way to support myself?

Well, I messed it up so bad that I had no way to support myself. I was so determined to make my clients happy no matter what that I invested all my time + money in the project of one of them.

I was so obstinate that I made my boyfriend invest his savings too – savings for our wedding, our new home, and our new life together.

That was a huge mistake, the client ran away, I got in debt, and I lost it all: the money, my faith in people, my dreams (all but my boy, we’re now happy + married 😍)

It was the worst case scenario I could’ve ever imagined. For months, I cried all night, and during the day I was like a zombie – I couldn’t believe someone could take advantage of my good will, my passion, and my love for her project. Heck, I was helping this client not only giving my all with my work but also financially so she could get her samples on time.

For sure, I wanted to give up, I wanted to get a regular job and forget everything about entrepreneurship + being my own boss + building the life of my dreams.

And I couldn’t look at Allan (my hubby) in the eye; he was as devastated as I was – we were getting married in three months, and I screwed it all up. But, as always, he supported me with love + grace, and he told me something I’ll never forget:

Now we can tell this adventure to our children and grandchildren. It’s part of our love story, it made us stronger, and I love every piece of it.

You know, it’s almost six years since that happened, and I still get tears in the eyes, but thinking about the worst thing I had to do it was getting a part-time job. And it didn’t last two weeks because I got another freelance project.

Most of the times, the worst case scenario is that you have to get a part-time job, and that’s fine. That doesn’t mean you failed; it just means you’re growing + getting stronger + adding another adventure to your own story.

You’ll never mess it up so bad that you’re not able to get up again – I won’t let you, I promise!

I believe in you; you can become a profitable fashion illustrator!

So, if you want to start your own business and become a profitable fashion illustrator, this is what I recommend you to do:

1 | Plan for success + take action

Now you know the pillars you have to have in place to be profitable (skills + style + showing up), and you know the step-by-step you need to follow:

1. Embrace yourself to stand out, and determine what kind of offerings you want to sell
2. Know who is your dream client, and what they need + want
3. Create offerings your dream clients and you LOVE
4. Have a website + branding
5. Build an effective portfolio
6. Create a content + marketing strategy that attracts and catches your dream clients
7. Delight your clients, so they keep coming back

So, start following these steps, work on the nitty-gritty details of each, put them on your calendar and take action. If you need accountability, tell your boyfriend, your mom or dad, or your BFF what you want to do, and ask them if they can keep you accountable.

And no matter what keep going, even if things get hard, even if fear + self-doubt try to stop you. Make your dream a reality.

2 | Don’t be afraid to side hustle or start small

You don’t have to quit your 9-to-5, and you definitely don’t have to launch big with bells and whistles to become a profitable fashion illustrator.

I had the privilege to be living with my parents when I started my business, and I didn’t have a 9-to-5, but I still was in school (kind of a regular job but without payment). And I started very small, I had a tiny portfolio, no referrals, no website, and I underpriced my work, but I started.

Little by little I + my business evolved, I began gaining traction and as clients kept coming I increased my prices, built an effective portfolio, a strong word of mouth, and a long waiting list. It didn’t happen overnight, and it wasn’t easy, but all the great things I experienced + all the fantastic people I met + all the lessons I learned happened because I decided to side-hustle and start small towards achieving my dream – instead of waiting until everything would be “perfect.”

Don’t be afraid to follow your heart + be brave + make your dreams happen. You deserve it.

3 | Own yourself + embrace, trust, and use your talents.

By all means be yourself, own yourself, be proud of you and your journey. No one’s story is like yours, and no one’s journey is for you. You + your story + your journey + your style are all special, and it’s your job to own them and be proud of them. Because, that’s what differentiates you from the crowd, that’s what makes you and your work special, and that’s what makes clients choose you over other people.

Own who you are.

Always, embrace + trust + use your talents, they’re there for you. You have them for a reason, so you better put them to use.

And, whenever you need to learn something or nurture your craft, do it. There’s no better way to embrace + trust + use your talents than learning new skills, finding new tools, and investing in yourself and your own growth as an illustrator to be of better service to your clients.

To Finish…

Becoming a fashion illustrator, and building my freelance business is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made – and I LOVE it! It’s been challenging + scary at times, but it’s the most fulfilling + exciting + fun I’ve done as a fashion creative (I can’t really imagine myself working full-time, I just can’t :P)

If you want to become a profitable fashion illustrator, I hope this post has clarified some of your doubts + encouraged you to start doing what you love for a living + guided you through the steps you should take to get started on your journey.

One more thing, before I go.

 

This blog post is part of a series I’ve created to present you the first launch of Thriving as Fashion Creative, an 8-week step-by-step program that’s here to help you turn your passion for fashion illustration into a CRAZY profitable business.

A business that makes you stand out from the crowd so your dream people find you. One that offers services that your dream clients can’t resist loving, sharing, and buying. A business that is all yours, and that allows you to do what you most love + live the life you want.

There are a few spots available, and it starts in September 2016 – find out more this way.

With all my heart!

P.S: My question for you today is, will you become a profitable fashion illustrator?

If your answer to this questions is ‘heck, yeah!’, my invitation + encouragement to you is:

Sign up to Thriving as Fashion Creative. It’s been created for you, the passionate + talented fashion illustrator who can’t wait to make her dream business happen.

I’ll teach you how to start your business from scratch + make a living doing what you love.
I’ll give you space to learn + implement.
I’ll make it easier for you to plan + show up.

And I’ll be with you along the way, step-by-step, hand-in-hand. Go here to secure your spot.