Dear Jacky:
How can I craft the perfect portfolio submission?

First things first, really take the time to research the agency you want to submit to. Check out the kind of work that they do, the artists they represent, and the clients they partner with. It can also be helpful to take a look at the work that they are showcasing on their social media platforms - is it indicative of the types of projects that you would be excited to do?

If you love seeing your work brought to life through animation, does the agency have in-house animators or motion partners you could collaborate with? If you’re a mural artist, it makes sense to target agencies that share examples of large-scale environmental projects because they will have the contacts in this area of the industry.

If you’re into children’s publishing, some agencies specialise in just that. One of our recent ventures, Gildlings, is an illustration-led literary agency composed of picture-book creators and graphic novelists. Some agencies focus on visualisation and storyboarding artists, or artists who are from specific regions.

At the Jacky Winter Group, we represent a diverse roster of artists across many styles, aiming to answer any client brief that comes our way. When submitting a portfolio, we appreciate it when it fills a stylistic gap, whereas smaller agencies with specialised rosters might be more likely to respond to a submission that speaks to their established style.

For us, it’s important that our roster of artists demonstrates a range of varying styles - not only to ensure that we’re covering all bases, but to avoid any internal competition on the roster which could come from stylistic crossovers.

Try to connect with the agency before you send your submission so that your name feels familiar when it lands in their inbox. You could attend portfolio review sessions, join events they host, or interact with their posts on Instagram or LinkedIn - anything that makes them light up when they see your name.

Some agencies also appreciate receiving physical items in the post - maybe you’ve illustrated a coaster or a desk calendar. It’s a nice way to be remembered when that item gets placed on their desk.

Keep your socials up to date! If you’re sharing a link to your Instagram, it’s likely the person reviewing it will take a look. Before you hit send, make sure your social platforms are showcasing recent work, this could be a commercial project or even some personal explorations! If you have a furry-friend that you like to feature on your socials, we certainly will appreciate these too (you’ll see that we practically have as many pet companions as we do producers!)

An introductory email is your chance to showcase your communication style - so make that first impression count. Keep it friendly, clear and to the point - it gives a great impression of how you’ll express yourself to clients on projects, too. The email doesn’t need to be a long one - just a quick paragraph about yourself, any notable clients that you have worked with, your social media links, and a short PDF portfolio with 5-10 slides of your best work. It's also good practice to ensure that your portfolio is easily accessible, making sure that it's not password protected or so large in size that it will take a huge amount of time to load!

Make sure that you’re addressing your email to the right person. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve received a submission titled ‘Dear Jacky’... she doesn’t exist, I'm afraid, but there are plenty of lovely agents and producers who are introduced on our ‘About’ page, who would love to see your work!

If you’re reaching out to multiple agencies, it’s important to personalise each email. Avoid sending a ‘blast’ email template to 20 agencies all in CC - we see it often, and it’s not the best way to start a relationship. A nice personal touch could be referencing a project that the agency has worked on recently, or your favourite artists from their roster. At the Jacky Winter Group, we love to hear specifically what drew you to our agency in particular.

Commercial appeal matters - it shows that your work can be commissioned by real clients in advertising, packaging, publishing or editorial. If you’re targeting a publishing-focused agency, your portfolio should highlight strong storytelling, diverse subjects and backgrounds, and characters showing a variety of poses and expressions. In this case, it’s best to curate your portfolio submission specifically to publishing work.

If you’re applying to a more general illustration agency, they will often want to see a broader range of work across different commercial areas - like advertising, packaging, branding, publishing and editorial - to get a sense of your versatility. If you notice gaps in your portfolio, especially if it’s an area you are keen to work within, it could be worth creating speculative pieces to help show how your style could be applied across different contexts.

That said, if your work is particularly focused on one area within the industry e.g. packaging, we’ve definitely seen artists succeed with a more selective portfolio when the depth and quality of work is evident.

The ability to work in a range of visual styles can be a strength, but presenting this work in a cohesive portfolio can be tricky so we suggest curating your portfolio to highlight your unique voice. Though it can be tempting to hold onto those old projects from art school (I once did a wild visual re-interpretation of some tracks by Radiohead) try to stick to recent work to keep your portfolio focused and current.

Our usual process (of course, every agency is different) is to review submissions as they come through - if we see something which catches our eye, we would then add them to our ‘New Talent to Watch’ list. It might be that we reach out immediately to say hello and line up a call. Other times, we’ll keep an eye on your work over months, even years, and get in touch when the timing feels right.

In terms of following up, I would suggest that 4-6 months is an appropriate time frame to check back in! It could also be a nice opportunity to congratulate the agency on a great packaging project they have worked on and share some of your own work in this area, helping to keep yourself on the agencies’ radar.

Lastly, please don’t feel disheartened if your submission doesn't receive an immediate response. The creative industry can be very competitive, style trends ebb and flow, and sometimes it’s just about timing or fit. It could mean that we’re not seeing many briefs for that artist’s style at the moment, but trends change - so just because you weren’t successful previously doesn’t mean this will always be the case.

It could also be that an agency is at full capacity within their roster. Here at JW, we like to keep a healthy ratio of artists to producers, to ensure that every artist is fully supported, creatively and logistically - so they can focus on doing what they do best.

That said, by continuing to develop your portfolio with these things in mind, you’re not only strengthening your chances with agents in the future, but also opening doors to other creative opportunities along the way. Keep creating and keep sharing your work, you never know where it might lead.

https://www.creativeboom.com/tips/creatives-share-portfolio-tips-that-really-work/

https://www.theillustratorsguide.com/blog/illustration-agency-submissions

https://www.penguin.co.uk/about/company-articles/how-to-find-an-illustration-agent

https://www.creativeboom.com/tips/tips-from-agents-on-how-to-get-represented-as-an-illustrator/