When’s the last time you updated your portfolio website? Chances are it’s probably been a while. But where do you even start a website refresh?
In our latest Studio Feedback with a Pro Session, we asked Sunny Lee of First Second and Rae Crawford of Scholastic to critique a handful of Kids Comics Unite member portfolios! Sunny and Rae killed it with plenty of tips on how to strengthen your portfolio and get the illustration work you are looking for.
Every portfolio has unique needs, and we learned really quickly that there really is no “one size fits all” when it comes to a website! However, the main goal is the same for everyone—show your work in the best way possible.
Here are some key takeaways from our discussion that you can use for your website refresh:
Your Website is Always Changing
Because… your art is always changing!
Swap out older work when you create something notable. Think of your portfolio as an ongoing project that is flexible to your needs as an artist. Switch up galleries, tweak your biography, and update your webpage navigation to whatever you see fit.
Your website is not a “once and done” endeavor — it should not look the same forever. It should be constantly evolving to reflect your progress as a creator.
Show the Work You Want to be Hired For
If there’s work you’d like to be hired to make, you need to have examples of it in your portfolio.
An art director is looking for proof of skill. It would be amazing if an art director could read your mind and pick you up for the middle grade fantasy graphic novel of your dreams. But in reality, you’re going to have a much easier time getting your dream project by displaying work in that niche.
If your portfolio doesn’t look like the work you want to make, you need a refresh!
Don’t Put Anything In You Don’t Want To
Sunny and Rae described two paths for your work if you want to get hired as an artist: either “adjusting for marketability” or “honing your niche.”
Adjusting for marketability means tailoring your portfolio to meet the needs of the industries or clients you want to work with. That might involve tweaking your style or curating your portfolio to emphasize specific genres, age groups, or storytelling formats that are in high demand.
Honing your niche, on the other hand, means leaning fully into what makes your voice and style unique, even if it doesn’t appeal to everyone. It’s about becoming so distinct and consistent that the right clients know immediately why they want you.
Both approaches can lead to success — it just depends on your goals and where you see yourself fitting in the creative landscape.
The choice is totally up to you, so decide which one feels right and follow that path for your portfolio.
Do your additional projects reflect your charm? Remember, no one is making you add that piece to that portfolio other than you. If a piece doesn’t serve you anymore, you have a full right to cut it! In fact, Sunny and Rae advised that you should constantly be pruning your portfolio, not just adding to it.
You Only Get One Minute
That’s how long an art director is going to spend on your portfolio website.
Ask yourself, “what is the most important thing I want an art director to see when they open my website?” Whatever it is, whether it’s your comics or your illustrations, make it the first thing they see. Prioritize your best work over anything else.
Grid galleries are a great way to give an art director a strong understanding of your work. And don’t worry, if they like your work enough, they’ll make it to your About page.
Dumb It Down
Your website should be as easy to navigate as possible. Consistency and simplicity are key!
Try to not hide all of your work in menus, and submenus, and sub-sub menus, and sub-sub-sub menus and…I think you get the point. The more clicks an art director has to make to see your work, the less likely they are to stay.
Also, do not use “clever” navigation titles like “Behind the Pen” for your About page, or “Chronicles” for your blog. Art directors are busy and often reviewing dozens of portfolios in a day. If your menu items are too mysterious, they may not take the time to click through. Clarity beats cleverness—label your navigation Portfolio, About, Comics, and Contact so they can find what they need, fast.
Your portfolio website isn’t for showing off your web design or copywriting skills, it’s for showing off your artwork!
Don’t Hide Your Comics
While it may feel disorganized to display all of your comics pages from unrelated projects in one gallery, it’s usually the best way to show off your storytelling skills. While in some cases you might want to divide your comics by story, keep in mind that art directors are busy and often unfamiliar with you or your website.
If your comics are not located in an obvious place on your website, there’s a chance an art director might not see the work that makes you a good fit for their project.
If you do choose to divide your comics by story, be sure to make the thumbnail image an interior page instead of a cover. While covers can be attractive and well made, they don’t give an art director a good preview of the story. Skip the cover and pick one of your strongest panel(s) instead so your divided gallery still shows a good selection of your comic art!
Push Narratives Further
Storytelling isn’t just for your comics, inject storytelling into your illustrations! Think about how you can expand your static illustrations into narrative situations. Intention makes more interesting illustrations.
Build upon characters you’ve drawn. Where do you envision them? How do they interact with each other? What kind of story could your characters tell — could you show a glimpse of that story in a short sequence?
You can even put some of your highly illustrative comic pages in your illustration portfolio by removing the type and bubbles.
Bonus: Postcards!!!
At the end of the session, we got on the subject of postcards and how they can be an effective method for drawing traffic to your website! Sunny and Rae confirmed that snail mail is not dead. It’s still OK to send postcards to art directors (you might have to do some detective work to get their addresses, but it might be easier than you think).
Your postcard is an introduction to your work, so make sure you put your best foot forward. Just like your website, the art on your postcard should reflect the work you’d like to be hired for. Don’t phone in the illustration.
Send your postcard out to art directors the old fashioned way, or leave postcards at events and conferences for them to find. (The Portfolio Showcases at SCBWI’s annual conferences are a particularly great way to get your postcards in front of industry pros.) You can even post your postcards on social media on events like Kid Lit Postcard Day!
Final Thoughts
We’d like to extend a huge high five to all of the KCU Studio members who submitted their work for our Feedback with a Pro session. It takes a lot of courage to put your work out there, especially when it’s getting publicly critiqued. But thanks to them, we were able to compile these nuggets of advice to share with all of you!
You’re never going to stop changing your portfolio website…and that’s a good thing. As your artwork grows and changes, your website will be there to document your journey.
Now go forth and finally get to that website overhaul you’ve been putting off!
We’d love to hear from you:
What’s one thing you’re planning to update in your portfolio? Please comment below!
Curious about Feedback with a Pro – want to join in on the next one?
Check out Kids Comics Studio!
Kids Comics Studio is our membership program for creators who are serious about leveling up their skills. If you’re looking for accountability, live feedback on your work, connections with fellow writers and artists – plus in-depth workshops on all aspects of comics craft – it might be perfect for you.
