When I first started taking my drawing seriously, I had no idea what kinds of illustration careers were actually out there. I thought it was either children’s books or bust. But once I started exploring and actually getting paid for my work, I realized how wide open this field really is. The challenge isn’t a lack of opportunity—it’s figuring out which direction makes the most sense for you, your style, and the kind of life you want to build.
In this post, I want to walk through 8 real, diverse paths illustrators take—from well-known roles to some you may not have considered yet. Some of these I’ve done myself, others I’ve seen close friends build solid careers in. I’ll also share a few strategic tips that helped me find footing, especially in the early stages when I was trying to connect my sketchbook to a paycheck.
Table of Contents
Key Points
- Build a focused portfolio website tailored to the type of illustration career you want to pursue. Show you understand the work by creating relevant, intentional pieces.
- Don’t wait for someone to give you permission. Start applying for jobs, reaching out to art directors, and introducing yourself to the people who hire for the roles you want.
- Learn how to talk about your work clearly. Whether you’re pitching a storyboard job or writing an artist bio, your confidence and clarity make a huge difference.
Illustration Careers You Can Actually Pursue
There are more paths than you might expect. Illustration isn’t just about drawing—it’s about communicating, solving visual problems, and telling stories.
1. Editorial Illustration
Editorial work was one of my first entry points. These are the illustrations you see in magazines, newspapers, and online articles. The turnaround can be fast, but it’s a good match for expressive, concept-driven styles. If you like visual metaphors and drawing things that feel a little abstract or poetic, this path might click.
You’ll need to develop a strong visual voice and practice distilling complex ideas into one powerful image. Editorial clients tend to favor illustrators who can interpret written text in original and thought-provoking ways. If that sounds like your kind of challenge, it can be one of the most rewarding fields.
Want to dive deeper into this path? Check out the illustration business breakdown for strategy and tips on landing your first gigs.
2. Surface Design and Licensing
If you’ve ever seen artwork on a mug, a greeting card, or a calendar, you’re looking at licensed illustration. Licensing lets you create the work once and get paid multiple times. It can be a slow burn at first, but over time, it can build into a reliable passive income stream.
You might start by uploading your designs to print-on-demand platforms, or pitch directly to companies at trade shows or via email. Repeating patterns, themed collections, and seasonal artwork are common formats. It helps to know the market—what sells during holidays, what trends are coming, and what niche your work fits into.
You can learn how to start with art licensing basics, or build a targeted art licensing portfolio to pitch your style.
3. Comic and Graphic Novel Illustration
If you love visual storytelling and have the endurance to draw the same characters again and again, this can be incredibly rewarding. Comics require not just drawing skills, but pacing, layout design, and an ability to guide a reader’s eye through a scene.
You don’t have to start with a full-length graphic novel. Many artists break in by publishing short comics, participating in anthologies, or launching webcomics. From there, you can pitch to publishers or crowdfund your own books. Having a strong, consistent style helps, but so does being able to tell a compelling story with clarity and emotion.
Clear artist statements and a solid artist bio help when pitching to editors or applying for residencies and grants.
4. Storyboarding for Commercials and Live-Action Films
This is a fast-paced, client-focused career that blends illustration with cinematography. I’ve worked on commercial boards for advertising agencies and directors, and it always comes down to communicating ideas quickly and clearly. You’re not making a pretty drawing—you’re mapping out shots, moods, and transitions.
Clients want to visualize what the camera will do, how scenes will cut together, and where the pacing hits. A good storyboard artist in this space can adapt their style depending on the client—sometimes it’s loose sketches with arrows, other times it’s detailed frames with lighting and mood.
If you enjoy thinking like a director and breaking down scripts into visual beats, this work is both creatively satisfying and financially viable. Understanding how to talk about your art clearly and efficiently helps a lot here, since clients often don’t have an art background.
5. Storyboarding in Feature Animation
This is one of the most demanding yet creatively rich paths in animation. Feature storyboard artists help translate scripts into full scenes by drawing thousands of panels that establish camera angles, action, expressions, and timing. It’s a very collaborative role—you’ll attend pitch meetings, revise panels based on director feedback, and often work with writers, animators, and editors.
You need strong draftsmanship, but also storytelling instincts and timing. It’s more about whether your boards land emotionally and clearly than whether they look “finished.” If you enjoy cinematic storytelling and are willing to do deep dives into character motivation and scene structure, this is one of the most fulfilling jobs in the animation pipeline.
6. Storyboarding in TV Animation
TV animation moves much faster than features, and storyboard artists often take on multiple roles—including layout, direction, and even punch-up writing. Depending on the show, you might be responsible for everything from rough thumbnails to near-final boards, including dialogue pacing, shot transitions, and visual gags.
Deadlines are tight, so you need speed, clarity, and stamina. But TV also gives you a surprising amount of creative input. You’re often not just executing someone else’s vision—you’re shaping the comedy, the emotion, and the rhythm of entire episodes. Many artists break into this space by working on animatics, doing revisions, or getting hired through personal projects or internships.
7. Character Designer for Animation
Character design is one of the most recognizable roles in the animation world—and one of the most competitive. You’re responsible for creating the visual look of characters and ensuring they can be animated consistently from multiple angles and expressions. A typical design includes turnarounds, pose sheets, facial expression charts, and often costume variations.
The best character designers think like actors and storytellers. It’s not just about drawing something cool—it’s about capturing a personality, hinting at a backstory, and creating something that animators can bring to life. Strong fundamentals in anatomy, gesture, and shape design are essential here. Many character designers build their portfolios by developing their own IP or participating in design challenges online.
8. Teaching and Content Creation
I never planned to teach, but I’ve found sharing what I know to be one of the most sustainable ways to grow my income and impact. This could mean creating courses, running workshops, starting a YouTube channel, or writing educational content.
Some artists focus entirely on online teaching, using platforms like Skillshare, Patreon, or Gumroad. Others run in-person classes or school programs. It’s especially effective when paired with your own creative projects. If you go this route, read up on passive income for artists and selling art online to build systems that grow over time.
A Few Final Thoughts
There’s no single right path. Many artists blend several of these together. I’ve done a mix of licensing, storyboarding, and teaching—and it all evolved over time. Some months are client-heavy, others are more focused on creating new portfolio work or writing courses. The important thing is to stay flexible and keep moving forward.
Whatever direction you’re drawn to, one of the most helpful things you can do is build a focused portfolio website. Pick one of the careers above and create a small, intentional body of work that speaks directly to that role. If it’s storyboarding, include sequences that show character movement and camera angles. If it’s editorial, create 5–6 pieces based on real or made-up articles. Let your work show that you understand the job.
Once that’s in place, don’t wait for permission. Start applying for jobs, reach out to art directors, pitch clients, and introduce yourself to people who hire for these roles. Be polite, be professional, and most importantly—be visible. Even a simple email with a link to your site and a short note can go a long way.
For me, that meant figuring out how to start an art business from home and building from there. You don’t need a massive following or fancy degree—you just need a portfolio that shows you understand the work and that you’re ready to do it.
It’s normal to feel unsure at the beginning. Start small, stay consistent, and improve your work as you go. Clarity tends to come from action.