Toptal is a marketplace for meeting and hiring a top freelance illustrator. Top companies and startups trust Toptal when they need illustrators for hire on their mission critical design projects.
Todd has been a full-time creative professional his entire career. He is a UX designer, Figma expert, video editor, and AI art enthusiast with a one-person studio in Seattle. Todd does app design, motion graphics, web design, UX design, app prototyping, presentations, and illustration. He's trustworthy, fun, friendly, on time, and on budget. His enthusiasm and love of design are infectious.
Chris Blanz designs user-friendly (web) experiences that inform, instruct, and inspire. He also designs integrated mixed-media campaigns ranging from branding and sales presentations to website designs and fully functioning Webflow development, all with a user-centric focus on utility, product innovation, and brand continuity.
Miroslav is an art director with 18 years of experience based in New York City. He is focused on brand development and has excellent design and illustration skills. From illustrating a fleet of airplanes for his home country's flagship airline to creating a collection of 200+ branded emoji stickers as a senior illustrator and art director for Kiehl's, Miroslav has been known to take a hands-on approach to directing artists, collaborating with clients, and bringing creative concepts to life.
Ciro is an experienced Brazilian designer focused on UI and UX. He has more than 15 years of experience in the visual field across a broad range of industries—from illustration to graphic design. Over the last few years, Ciro has been crafting digital experience solutions for companies and startups, placing users at the center of his design process.
Nicolle is a graphic designer and illustrator from Guatemala who has been working remotely for over a year. In the last five years, she has gained significant experience freelancing for several advertising agencies and as an in-house designer. Nicolle currently focuses on rebranding and visual identity development projects while participating in illustration campaigns, digital ads, and editorial design projects.
A visual designer, Lucía has spent the last ten years working with companies and museums like IKEA, LEGO, Munch Museum, and the Museum of the Future, helping them build experiences for their customers. She is a keen problem solver and can deliver visual guidelines, exhibition artwork, event design, interface design, illustrations, and animations. Lucía loves challenging herself to find a unique voice for each project and developing it further through innovative yet simple visual communication.
Miha is a senior game developer, art director, 3D modeler, 2D/3D animator, and game designer with three decades of experience in creating game art, 3D and traditional animations, and managing teams with clients such as Housemarque, Rovio, and Maze Theory. His broad skill sets and extensive experience give Miha the perspective to analyze the project's needs and implement them with solutions that best fit the available schedules, tools, and resources.
With over 18 years of experience in product design and engineering, San has worked with tech giants such as Snapchat, Y Combinator, Prudential Insurance, Frontier, American Chemical Society, Unacademy, and Prezzee. His unique UX design process has helped businesses improve their product KPIs manifold. From facilitating rapid prototyping workshops to identifying business problems and implementing creative design solutions, San takes care of it all.
Ahila is a user experience designer who creates beautiful and intuitive products. She has over seven years of experience and has worked with global brands like Citibank, Travelex, JLL, Sydney Opera house, and Dubai Future Accelerators. Ahila enjoys working with startups.
Patchaya is a senior designer with 10+ years of experience working in advertising agencies and production houses. Fully trained to be detail-oriented and deliver perfect results, she has worked with top brands like Formula 1, Unilever, and 7-Eleven. Patchaya enjoys helping brands build their identities through design, creating interfaces and visuals that fit their identity. She leverages her skills and experience to make the most of the available budget, maximizing marketing output and exposure.
Christine is a multidisciplinary creative UX designer with skills in illustration, copywriting, and branding who holds an MFA in product design. She has 15 years of experience at companies like CrowdStrike, Lowe's Home Improvement, The Hershey Company, and Dell. She uses design thinking processes to discover user needs, define value and fit with proofs-of-concept and MVPs, and iteratively improve and redesign products through testing and experiments.
Illustrators are experts at creating images that support written content, clarify complex ideas, and boost conversion rates. This guide to hiring illustrators features an overview of relevant skills, job description tips, and interview questions and answers that will help you identify the best candidates for your company.
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Testimonials
Michael is an incredible designer, and has been a great fit for our project. He just gets it in a way that can’t be taught. My goal was to pay Toptal to find me a high quality designer for my project, and that is exactly what happened. It was easy. Being able to see the portfolio work on Toptal’s platform is what gave me the infomation I needed to choose Michael. I have nothing but good things to say about Toptal and am looking forward to using Toptal for other projects in the future.
Edward Daniel
Co-Founder
I've worked very closely with Martina for over a year and have to say she is one of the best people I have ever worked with. Instead of simply following instructions blindly, she thinks through the task at hand, becoming a thought partner to help with whatever the project may be. Besides being super talented at design, she possesses specific qualities that make her exceptional to work with given the fast paced nature of being a startup. I would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for a talented, professional designer who doesn't need much direction to hit the ground running.
Sahil Khanna
Sr. Manager, Marketing
Darko did a great job figuring out the user architecture for our concept, which led him to produce terrific wireframes. His knowledge of usability and design was a perfect match for the outside voice we needed to help jumpstart our project. We would certainly recommend him and work with him again in the future.
Rich Danker
Founder
Carlos has the unique talent of blending both quantitative and qualitative research to keenly identify UX challenges and opportunities. He thinks methodically, emphatically, and holistically to produce data-driven strategies and well-executed designs. Over the past 8 years of working with fully or partially distributed teams, Carlos manages working remotely far better than anyone I've encountered because of his strong communication and presentation skills. He is the first on my list the next time I need a UX designer.
Michelle Krogmeier
Project Manager
Rafael is an amazing designer. His aesthetic sense is spot on, and he seems to be able to anticipate our needs before we even know what they are. He's taken the time to understand both our company and our clientele, and his solutions are consistently in-line with our values, interests, and our customers' needs. He delivers on time (if not earlier), works quickly, is well organized, and very effective. He's a pleasure to work with, and we're very happy to have found him through Toptal.
Ethan Brooks
CTO
How to Hire Illustrators Through Toptal
1
Talk to One of Our Client Advisors
A Toptal client advisor will work with you to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics.
2
Work With Hand-selected Talent
Within days, we'll introduce you to the right illustrator for your project. Average time to match is under 24 hours.
3
The Right Fit, Guaranteed
Work with your new illustrator for a trial period (pay only if satisfied), ensuring they're the right fit before starting the engagement.
Capabilities of Illustrators
Illustrators are crucial in bringing brands, content, and products to life. Toptal illustrators create custom visuals and engaging artwork that enhances storytelling, simplifies complex ideas, and reinforces brand identity.
Custom Illustrations
Custom illustrations add visual appeal, enrich storytelling, and infuse your project with brand-specific details in ways stock images can’t replicate. Toptal illustrators create original, brand-aligned art for a range of projects, including book covers, advertisements, and digital banner ads.
Illustrated Branding Assets
Illustrations are an excellent way to incorporate personality, energy, and storytelling elements into your brand identity. Toptal’s artists create custom assets—like icons, spot illustrations, background patterns, and decorative typography—to make your brand’s visual identity truly distinct.
Infographic Design
Illustrations excel at making complex information and data easier to understand. Help your audience quickly comprehend key insights by allowing our designers to create infographics that make nuanced data more accessible and engaging for your audience.
Social Media Illustrations
Brands that want to gain traction on social media need to create visually engaging content. Our illustrators capture attention and communicate your brand’s message by designing compelling and shareable graphics tailored to specific social platforms.
Storyboarding for Animation
Storyboards serve as the blueprints for any successful animation project. Toptal illustrators ensure your animation projects are cohesive by creating detailed storyboards that establish storytelling essentials like narrative, pacing, and flow.
Illustrated Characters and Mascots
Make your company stand out at every customer touchpoint with a branded mascot. Our illustrators design expressive characters that embody your brand’s unique identity and captivate your audience to leave a lasting impression.
Packaging Illustration
Illustrated packaging helps your product stand apart in crowded store aisles. Toptal designers create packaging illustrations that boost brand recognition, enhance shelf appeal, and motivate customers to purchase your product.
Editorial Illustrations
Adding creative graphics and images to your content enhances communication and engages readers. Our illustrators are skilled at creating artwork that imbues blogs, magazines, reports, and news articles with visual intrigue and nuance.
Children’s Book Illustrations
Bring your children’s book to life with whimsical and enchanting illustrations. Our artists create vibrant scenes and vivid characters that enliven your text, spark curiosity, and captivate young readers.
Pattern Design for Products
Patterns add style and charm that make products more desirable. Toptal illustrators enhance aesthetic appeal by creating repeating patterns for digital products and physical items like clothing, wallpaper, and home decor.
Find Experts With Related Skills
Access a vast pool of skilled designers in our talent network and hire the top 3% within just 48 hours.
Typically, you can hire an illustrator with Toptal in about 48 hours. For larger teams of talent or Managed Delivery, timelines may vary. Our talent matchers are highly skilled in the same fields they’re matching in—they’re not recruiters or HR reps. They’ll work with you to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics, and match you with ideal candidates from our vetted global talent network.
Once you select your illustrator, you’ll have a no-risk trial period to ensure they’re the perfect fit. Our matching process has a 98% trial-to-hire rate, so you can rest assured that you’re getting the best fit every time.
How do I hire an illustrator?
To hire the right illustrator, it’s important to evaluate a candidate’s experience, technical skills, and communication skills. You’ll also want to consider the fit with your particular industry, company, and project. Toptal’s rigorous screening process ensures that every member of our network has excellent experience and skills, and our team will match you with the perfect illustrators for your project.
How are Toptal illustrators different?
At Toptal, we thoroughly screen our illustrators to ensure we only match you with the highest caliber of talent. Of the more than 200,000 people who apply to join the Toptal network each year, fewer than 3% make the cut.
In addition to screening for industry-leading expertise, we also assess candidates’ language and interpersonal skills to ensure that you have a smooth working relationship.
When you hire with Toptal, you’ll always work with world-class, custom-matched illustrators ready to help you achieve your goals.
Can you hire illustrators on an hourly basis or for project-based tasks?
You can hire illustrators on an hourly, part-time, or full-time basis. Toptal can also manage the entire project from end-to-end with our Managed Delivery offering. Whether you hire an expert for a full- or part-time position, you’ll have the control and flexibility to scale your team up or down as your needs evolve. Our illustrators can fully integrate into your existing team for a seamless working experience.
What is the no-risk trial period for Toptal illustrators?
We make sure that each engagement between you and your illustrator begins with a trial period of up to two weeks. This means that you have time to confirm the engagement will be successful. If you’re completely satisfied with the results, we’ll bill you for the time and continue the engagement for as long as you’d like. If you’re not completely satisfied, you won’t be billed. From there, we can either part ways, or we can provide you with another expert who may be a better fit and with whom we will begin a second, no-risk trial.
Jorge is a senior designer and art director with expertise in illustration and animation. He has worked for several brand design agencies and created social content for numerous companies, including the gaming technology company NZXT. He holds a master of fine arts in animation from the University of Edinburgh.
Demand for creative professionals is strong. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects approximately 95,800 art and design job openings, on average, for each year between 2022 and 2032, making it clear that companies recognize the power of visuals and the ability of illustrations to influence customers. Moreover, illustrations are widely used to improve the user experience of websites and mobile apps. It can be challenging for users to interpret detailed photographs at small sizes, so illustrations are often utilized to more effectively communicate ideas in such contexts.
Finding and hiring a talented illustrator can be challenging, despite a vast talent pool. Many illustrators are freelancers, which limits their online visibility to a portfolio site and a handful of social media platforms, and makes it difficult to find them. Additionally, illustrators represent diverse capabilities, each with their own styles and specializations, such as lettering, 3D modeling, or mixed media—meaning not every illustrator will suit your project’s needs.
In this guide, we clarify what a professional illustrator does, how to better define your project goals, and how to assess the fit of the illustrators you interview. We also cover what you need to know to hire the right illustrator for your project.
What Attributes Distinguish Highly Qualified Illustrators From Others?
Illustrators for hire have different skills and abilities, and it’s important to be able to distinguish talented candidates from the less skilled. This helps ensure that your project’s artistic vision is realized and its message clearly conveyed to your intended audience. Depending on your project, you may need to hire a freelance illustrator with some or all of the following skills:
Composition and Design
Composition and graphic design skills involve positioning graphics, achieving balance, establishing scale relationships, emphasizing essential design elements, applying colors, and proficiency in logo design. When hiring an illustrator, it’s important to look for candidates who are highly intentional about arranging their compositions because every detail contributes to a work’s overall mood and message.
Sketching and Drawing
Sketching and drawing are complementary skills, each with a broad spectrum of styles ranging from primitive to hyperrealistic. Sketching is an effective way for illustrators to explore their initial ideas and share them quickly with stakeholders. Drawing skills come into play when a concept is chosen and the composition requires more precision. As you review candidates, keep in mind that an experienced illustrator should have a distinct drawing style that makes their work stand out from that of their peers.
Use of Photography
While it’s not uncommon for illustrators to draw without visual references, many of the best illustrators take photographs to inform their work. For instance, rendering lighting, perspective, and even the human form without photo references can be challenging. Some illustrators also use photos to create illustrative collages, while others draw directly on top of photographs. Hiring an illustrator who references photographs can provide visual accuracy that improves the relatability of your company’s marketing content.
Storytelling
Top illustrators don’t just produce photocopies of the natural world; they create images that convey meaning and bring concepts to life. Think of an editorial cartoon that has no words but still makes a scathingly sarcastic statement. Look to hire illustrators who know how to cleverly juxtapose characters, objects, and settings in ways that tell a story.
Adobe Illustrator is a vector-based design tool that allows illustrators to create graphics that can be adjusted and scaled without pixelation. It is a popular tool for creating many types of illustrations, from lettering and infographics to website and stock illustrations.
Adobe Photoshop is a raster-based program, so it’s best for graphics that don’t require significant scaling. It also allows illustrators to replicate the look of traditional media such as charcoal, ink, and watercolor.
The files illustrators create in these programs should be well organized so that other creatives, such as web designers and graphic designers, can easily manipulate and export assets as needed.
How Can You Identify the Ideal Illustrator for You?
As you embark on your hiring process, you’ll need to decide whether you’d like to work with a seasoned illustrator or someone newer to the field. Each option has advantages and drawbacks. An experienced illustrator is more likely to have strong project management skills and a distinct style—which will help differentiate your content from that of your competitors. But veteran illustrators also tend to charge higher fees. Junior illustrators are often eager to explore new illustration techniques, and they bring a fresh perspective to the illustration process—which can lead to innovative visuals. But they might struggle to incorporate stakeholder input or communicate their ideas, and their work may lack a definite style or be heavily influenced by fleeting trends.
In addition to evaluating experience, styles, and techniques, you should look for key soft skills when hiring an illustrator. The best illustrators exhibit adaptability, teamwork, consistency, and introspection. They can synthesize a project’s requirements and produce custom illustrations that meet their client’s needs. They hit deadlines, implement feedback, and guide the project toward a favorable outcome—even when that means pushing back against stakeholder requests that don’t align with the project’s stated purpose.
How to Write an Illustrator Job Description for Your Project
When writing an illustrator job description, it’s important to communicate exactly what you’re looking for in potential illustrators. While every role will have different needs, reliable freelance illustrators possess the following traits:
Command of Illustration Techniques
Whether you’re seeking an illustrator with a broad skill set or one who specializes in a specific medium, the illustrator you hire should demonstrate a strong understanding of their preferred illustration techniques. The best way to assess this is by examining an illustrator’s portfolio. Look for someone whose work showcases not only quality, but also a consistent level of skill and style.
Sense of Creativity and Inventiveness
In addition to solid illustration skills, you should look for an illustrator who can conceptualize images that delight, surprise, or challenge viewers’ assumptions about a topic. Illustrators should be able to present artifacts, such as concept sketches, mood boards, color studies, and diverse illustration styles, that show how they explored multiple concepts before arriving at a final image.
Devotion to Details
Skilled illustrators can articulate how their artistic choices, including color and typography, communicate meaning. For instance, a subtle variation in shade, scale, or font can be the difference between a compelling illustration and a generic stock image.
When writing the job description, be sure to mention these traits, as well as the kind of work you are offering, full time or freelance. You should also discuss your project and the types of illustrations you are looking for, and if possible a timeframe for when they would be due.
What Are the Most Important Illustrator Interview Questions?
The following questions can help you hold productive interviews and make well-informed decisions:
How would you describe your creative process?
Knowing how an illustrator works clarifies their abilities and fit for your organization. No matter the type of illustrations they are creating, their approach should include periods in which they conduct research, generate concepts, create comprehensive layouts, and incorporate stakeholder feedback. Look for talent with exceptional communication skills, as you’ll be relying on their ability to convey ideas and information throughout the project. Additionally, consider their years of experience to gauge their level of expertise and proficiency in the field.
What illustration software or tools do you use?
This question can help you gain valuable insight into a candidate’s technical skills. For instance, you might find that a certain type of illustrator is most comfortable working in traditional media, such as colored pencils or acrylics, for print illustrations—which could be good or bad, depending on your illustration job.
Have you worked on similar projects?
This information can help you evaluate the candidate’s ability to handle your illustration project and anticipate potential obstacles. If you need a library of brand-specific illustrations, you should look for a candidate with experience creating a large number of illustrations that exhibit a cohesive theme and style.
Can you walk me through a recent project in your portfolio?
Reviewing a creative project together provides an opportunity to assess artistic, presentation, and communication skills. The illustrator should be able to explain the project’s purpose, their role, their illustration process, and the project’s outcome.
Why Do Companies Hire Illustrators?
Whether you need a full-time, in-house illustrator or a freelancer for occasional design projects, illustration is an effective way to help people understand complicated products and services. This is why leading SaaS companies like Slack, Dropbox, and Gusto use illustrations to clarify their product features. For instance, Gusto, a human resources platform, promotes its full-service payroll suite with an illustration of its user interface adorned with whimsical characters and graphics. This technique signals a user experience that is both effective and enjoyable.
Designers who offer illustration services can also inspire optimism and help people envision seemingly mundane scenarios in a positive light. For example, the note-taking app Notion makes workplace collaboration seem fun with its illustrations of cheerful people working together on creative, even adventurous, tasks.
Ultimately, illustration conveys ideas with an immediacy and clarity that words can’t. It’s capable of evoking emotions like empathy, curiosity, and joy, and it’s a valuable way to draw comparisons, accentuate irony, and simplify complex concepts and processes. These qualities make illustration a potent marketing tool that can engage consumers across various print and digital touch points.
