Hello Illoguild family!
This month we wanted to share our thoughts on how to build and curate your portfolio. Your portfolio can get you the jobs you want, so how do you create one that works for you!?
We had lots to say. So, lets dive in…
ILLOGUILD Talks:
While the hosts of Illoguild meet privately, we also offer LIVE sessions for anyone who wants to join our conversation because we know (above all) we really can’t do this alone!
Join us on the 17th of November for a LIVE Zoom session. All about ‘Portfolio Building’.
(You’re invited to the FREE LIVE ZOOM - however, replays are only available to PAID Subscribers)
Illustrator Spotlight: Katie Stack
Katie Stack is in the illustrator spotlight this month! Katie is a Boston-based artist. Her focus is on kids books, surface pattern, and wedding stationery. Learn more about Katie below.
Portfolio Advice from Illoguild:
Damjana Loddelina
shares this observation: “Great portfolio pieces often aren’t planned, they can development from sketchbook explorations or from casual prompts in online drawing challenges. The spontaneity of the process makes them feel more confident and fresh.”
Chantelle Holt
shares advice she once received: “When you’re starting out, your whole portfolio should change every six months’ because your skills and style evolve rapidly. So, only the last six months is relevant and you should only show the best stuff in your portfolio. You’ll be judged by the worst piece you present!”
Adam Ming
offers a fun analogy of a portfolio: “It’s a menu, each piece is like a dish, and together it’s a kind of like a restaurant collecting all the offerings in a sensible way. Start with the type of restaurant, then the dishes.”
Carla Hoffenberg
has lots of great advice on portfolio building:
Show the work you want to get — Only include the kinds of projects you want to be hired for; if you hate drawing cats, don’t fill your portfolio with them.
Show you can do the job — Include three consecutive picture-book spreads to prove you can tell a story visually. No manuscript? Use a classic fairy tale or a prompt challenge (e.g., Folktale Week).
Show range within your style — Display variety of subjects, while keeping a consistent visual voice. For example, if a potential client needs sharks, they don’t want to guess if you can draw them- they want to see them.
Bonus: Show your process — Add a page or two of character sketches, thumbnails, and colour tests to demonstrate your thinking and confirm the work is hand-crafted (not AI-generated).
Katie Stack
shares advice on world building she received from a Top Art Director:
Brenda Harris
describes building your portfolio as your “Dream Machine” and she shares how to keep it tuned:
Jen Gubizca
talks all about sharing the work you want to get:
We’d like to hear from you !! What advice would you give for portfolio building? Share in the comments!
Also, we are approaching a new year and discussing how Illoguild might evolve and grow in the future. What questions, topics, or any other things would you like to see from us? What have you enjoyed so far or has helped you on your journey? Hearing from the Illoguild community would help us move forward. :)
Illustrator Spotlight: Katie Stack
Hi! I’m Katie Stack, a Boston-based artist. I work mainly on kids books, surface pattern, and wedding stationery. After a decade of teaching elementary school, I decided to pursue my long time love of art. Aside from creating my own art, I also work part-time at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and host monthly Art Gym Workshops on Substack. My studio assistant is named Auggie, and unfortunately he makes me give priority to all projects focused on dogs. But if you have a non-dog related project, I’ll try to sneak it by him and see if we can work on it together! Katie is working on two books right now... One for the American Kennel Club and one about an unusual event in Boston history (the book isn’t officially announced yet!)
Announcements
Congratulations to Brenda Harris who’s Operation Aviation book series she illustrated won a bronze medal in the 2025 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards for BEST PICTURE BOOK SERIES:
Operation Aviation™ is a series of rhyming military aircraft adventures featuring anthropomorphic fighter jets and a supportive cast of aviation friends. Available in English and Spanish.
Find ALL our scheduled LIVE ZOOMS HERE! It’s a page we keep updated with all our future dates so you can plan ahead.
Join the illoguild on November 17th for a FREE live session, we do these sessions because we are so grateful to have found our small community, and wanted a way to share that with anyone who wants to feel just a bit less isolated - RSVP HERE.
To access to all of our recorded LIVE conversations consider a paid subscription.
We hope this has been useful and inspiring for you. If you would like to help others be inspired – why not share this post?
Links to Illoguild Member Newsletters and Socials
Adam Ming: ‘Ten Minute Artist’ and Adam’s Instagram
Brenda Harris: ‘On The Creative Road’ and Brenda’s Instagram
Carla Hoffenberg: ‘Carla’s Crowd’ and Carla’s Instagram
Chantelle Holt: ‘Chantelle’s Studio’ and Chantelle’s Instagram
Damjana Loddelina: ‘Lemon Tart Bandit’ and Damjana’s Instagram
Jen Gubicza: ‘Rymes with Pizza’ and Jen’s Instagram
Jennifer Jamieson: ‘Jennifer’s Newsletter’ and Jen’s Instagram
Katie Stack: ‘Katie’s Newsletter’ and Katie’s Instagram
Noreen Anne: ‘Creative Canvas by Noreen Anne’ and Noreen’s Instagram
Rose Lihou: ‘Studio Tea with Rose Lihou’ and Rose’s Instagram
Tammy Angelis: ‘Tabbykat Chats’ and Tammy’s Instagram
This is very helpful- thank you.