How to find the best remote illustration jobs in 2021? Insights on top salaries, qualifications and skills needed!

Looking for remote illustration jobs? Here’s the best place to start your search – read about top companies hiring, skills needed, salaries.

When you need to set a tone or tell a story, an illustration will go miles to get your message across. You can find yourself at work in an illustrator job in a variety of industries. There are opportunities to design video game sets, to create storyboards for movies or television, or to illustrate medical textbooks.

The illustration is a highly versatile field, from working in criminal justice to illustrating children’s books, which rewards those who can easily adapt to change. An illustration job will certainly give you the opportunity for creative expression. With remote illustration jobs, you can even be your creative self and earn money from the comfort of your home.

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Remote Illustration Jobs

Illustrating for a particular requirement from a remote location is the description of remote illustration jobs. You can take up freelance illustration jobs, medical illustrator jobs, or book illustrator jobs – the options are many. Remote graphic design jobs offer a lot of flexibility in work schedules and can greatly enhance your creativity.

Areas of work for illustrators

1. Advertising – Storyboards, press, posters
2. Publishing – Books
3. Corporate work – Catalogues, brochures
4. Editorial – Newspapers, magazines, comics
5. Fashion – Forecasting
6. Merchandising – Ceramics, calendars, greeting cards, t-shirts
7. Multimedia – Video games, TV, film, apps, websites, animation
8. Scientific, Medical, or Technical  – New products, processes, techniques

The opportunities for remote illustration jobs are,

• Full-time – If you choose full-time remote illustrator jobs, you will be expected to dedicate every working day to one company only.
• Part-time – If you choose part-time remote illustrator jobs, you will be obligated to work for only a few hours. You can do freelance data entry with this choice.  
• Contracts – In contract remote digital graphic design jobs, you will have to serve a company for a specific time duration as mentioned in the contract.

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Tip: Build good social networks to get great remote illustration opportunities. 

Market opportunity for remote illustration jobs

If you are thinking about getting illustrator positions in a big creative firm, it is important to know about the market opportunity for illustrator jobs home-based. Part-time illustration jobs are one of the most versatile career options available for creative junkies.

With the growth in digital platforms, there is a high demand for illustration artist jobs. People looking for illustrator work from home jobs can find employment in different advertising firms, print businesses, publishing houses, as well as in the fashion industry.

You can also get design illustration jobs in the medical sector as well as in different government organizations. The growth rate for illustration careers was 1%, but with the expansion of the digital revolution, the growth rate in this sector will certainly improve.

Illustrators working for freelance illustrator website can get the best job opportunities. Illustrators in computer and related fields can expect to have job growth of 24% to 26% by the year 2028. If you are looking for graphic design and illustration jobs, you need to add extra skill sets like knowledge about programming and websites to make better illustration careers.

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Job titles and career paths under remote illustration jobs

Most people believe that illustration jobs and graphic designer jobs are the same. But, this is not the truth. An illustrator is someone who helps brands and businesses to show their feelings without writing a single word.

With experience and skills, you can work for a design agency. If you have no previous experience of working as a freelance illustrator, you can start your career by taking an internship. Typical illustrator job begins as a junior illustrator after you have completed your degree or certification in this field.

You can work for a creative agency. From there onwards you can progress to midweight graphic illustrator jobs. After that, you can get an opportunity to become a senior designer, art director, creative director, and even beyond. Thus, there are multiple career paths that you may follow.

Good illustrators with creativity and the needed skills are always in demand. You may get an opportunity to design book covers, cartoon designing for editorials, fashion illustration, and many more. Another industry that is always open for illustrator position includes advertising and media. You can even take up the job of teaching if you have the needed training and experience.

Also Read: Remote marketing jobs | Know before you start

Responsibilities of remote design jobs

The responsibilities of remote design jobs are quite a few. You can create pictures for books in book illustrator jobs. You could also contribute to newspapers, journals, e-zines and any number of publication styles.

You will be dealing with consumer items and fashion design, greeting cards, paper packaging, and invitations. You will use a computer to scan your designs to add colour or use a graphics tablet and pen to draw directly into the screen.

You may opt to work in scientific and medical illustrator jobs and produce anatomical and biochemical 2 and 3 dimensional illustration. In the field of criminal justice, you can make illustrations of age-progression or work as a sketch artist.

If you do not wish to progress in one field only, you can take up freelance illustration jobs and work for whichever field you like. It is important to note that your job description for remote digital graphic design jobs will include more than just creating artwork.

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You will also spend your time doing the following things,

1. Liaising with clients, publishers and writers to recognize and perceive their business needs. 
2. Having knowledge of suitable styles. 
3. Negotiating rates and deadlines. 
4. Studying the specification of a brief and the text to be illustrated, as well as reviewing sources. 
5. Engaging in innovative and creative thinking to create fresh ideas. 
6. Creating images and designs using conventional hand drawing and painting skills to meet design briefs, among other techniques.
7. Utilizing computer-aided design (CAD) packages to scan images, and adjust the scale, colors, and other rough elements for approval. 
8. Redefining a brief by further consultation with the client to include, as needed, new ideas or text. 
9. Running the business, while freelancing. 
10. Speculatively asking prospective commissioners for new sources of work. 
11. Working within a defined timeline, often to tight deadlines. 
12. Creating original self-promotion pieces. 
13. Researching relevant galleries to find appropriate locations for exhibiting work.
14. Working with printers or others to ensure that the final product is of good quality

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Requirements for remote illustrator jobs

There are paths to illustration for university and school graduates. Although there are no specific academic criteria for entry into the profession, qualifications in fine art, illustration, and graphic design may be helpful. Postgraduate courses can be of use and are available in subjects such as an illustration of children’s books, medical art, graphic design, and illustration.

However, employers typically find that aptitude, relevant experience, and creative skills are more important than qualifications. Preparing a sound portfolio of work that can be used to show your skills is important. In time, progress can be made by specializing in a specific field.

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Qualification needed for remote illustration jobs

You don’t have to follow a strict and hard and fast rule in terms of getting appropriate qualifications to get illustration jobs remote. Having a bachelor’s degree in fine arts may be the best degree you can complete to get artist-illustrator jobs. Even a bachelor’s degree in arts and science can suffice for a freelance illustration job from home.

Your creativity and skills determine the type of illustrator jobs you will get. Different sectors need different qualifications for candidates. Thus, if you are thinking of working in the advertising and media sector, knowledge about marketing may be expected.

If you are thinking about working in the IT sector, knowledge about different computer applications and web applications may be expected. Thus, it depends upon the industry you want to work for, that will determine your qualification.

After your bachelor’s degree, you can also complete your Master’s degree in the fine illustration to get senior positions at art illustrator jobs. Try to get different skill sets and certifications to get better graphic design illustration jobs. You also need to improve your chances of getting better job opportunities by regular practice and repetition.

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Remote illustrator skills

These are the required remote illustrator skills,

1. Artistic Skills

Your ability to draw or paint is your most marketable skill in a remote illustration job. By taking classes which will help you improve your technique and develop your knowledge of colour and composition, you will enhance your natural talent. Assisting with an illustration program at an art school will also help you develop the skills you need to market yourself, learn new technologies and create a compelling portfolio.

2. Technical Skills

Illustrators frequently create their work using computers. Having technical skills in your illustration job would help. When you want to use computer-generated effects or easily edit your work, computer software will help you achieve results.

3. Social Skills

Most illustrators freelance, so you will need to be able to network to find remote illustration jobs. Initiating and sustaining customer relationships requires social skills. You will need to be able to clearly communicate your ideas and be willing to receive feedback or criticism from customers.

4. Problem Solving Skills

You will need to be able to clear up obstacles, develop alternatives, and execute solutions, especially if you are working on assignments or a deadline.

5. Self-management skills

You must be able to follow a strict schedule and meet deadlines with high-quality work. Maintain a timetable to neatly organize the work to be done.  

6. Project management skills

All remote illustration jobs rely heavily on project management skills. Make yourself familiar with project management tools like Trello.

Tip: Take breaks while creating illustrations so as to improve the quality of your work. 

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Certifications to get remote illustration jobs

You may need different types of certifications to get freelance illustration jobs. But, the need for certification may vary depending upon the type of sector and industry you are working for. Following are some of the major certifications needed for remote illustration jobs.

1. Certificate of completion in Natural Science illustration – This certification will enable you in getting the best wildlife illustrator jobs. You will also learn how to reproduce and mass-produce artwork for commercial purposes.
2. Certification of completion in Children’s book illustration – If you have an interest in making illustrations for children’s books, this certification will enable you to get freelance illustration jobs online. You will also get to learn digital artwork by the completion of this certification.
3. Associate of arts in fashion illustration – This certification will enable you to improve your artistic skills. Taking up this certification will enable you to get a magazine illustrator job. You can become an illustrator for a fashion magazine by taking up this certificate course.
4. Adobe creative suite – This certification is needed even for entry-level illustration design jobs. Adobe offers this certification to showcase the proficiency of the candidate.
5. Canva – Getting a certification in Canva can help you to create a large variety of engaging illustrations quickly and effectively.

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Top 10 tools needed for remote illustration jobs

Every illustration freelance needs certain types of tools that they can’t live without. Following are some of the top 10 tools needed for illustration work at home.

1. Notebook – No creative person can think about showcasing their creativity without having a netbook in front of them.
2. Creative software – Creative software like adobe, sketch, and canvas is a must on your computer if you want to get illustrator freelance jobs.
3. HD monitor – A simple monitor won’t work for remote illustrator jobs. A large HD monitor is more like a need rather than a luxury for most illustration job.
4. Wacom tools – No tool can suffice if seeking an illustrator, does not have the line of digital assets by Wacom. This includes a list of digital tablets, styluses, and software that are as per the industry standard.
5. External Hard Drive – Every illustration gigs need to have lots of storage space, and thus, an external hard drive is extremely important for most illustration freelance jobs.
6. Ergonomic chair – You may have to sit for longer if you get art illustration jobs. Thus, you will need an ergonomic chair that can help you to create your cozy and creative corner in your home.
7. Headphones – Headphones are not a specific tool for work illustrations, but they are important if you are working in an environment full of distractions.
8. Behance – Behance is a social media platform that helps illustrators to showcase their skills and gain inspiration from other designers.
9. Cloud storage – To help you get rid of any type of unforeseen circumstances in which you may lose all your designs and samples, using cloud storage can be the best option.
10. Anti-virus protection – Your computer system needs the best anti-virus protection so that you can work on the internet without facing any inconvenience.

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Building a great illustration portfolio

To attain success in remote illustration jobs, having an appealing portfolio is a must. It acts as a visual representation of your accomplishments and abilities.

1. Include only your best illustrations

Every illustration of yours that goes into your portfolio must reflect best on your skills. This is why including only your best illustrations can give potential recruiters an idea of what you can offer to them. If you are a beginner in illustration, your portfolio might be small. However, even one strong page can raise your chances of being recruited by top companies.

Ensure that you add a variety of illustrations you have done so that they can understand your potential and expanded abilities. You can also include commendable work that you have created for personal use. Labeling the illustrations as paid and self-initiated is a professional way of presenting your portfolio.

2. Avoid work that is questionable

You must not include in your portfolio all the work that you are unhappy with. Every illustrator sometimes fails to produce great content. You can make improvements on that but make sure that your portfolio does not contain any of your downfalls.

You might really want to add those illustrations and explain to your potential recruiters why they did not get accepted by clients. Doing this will result in a negative impression about you during the process of recruitment. Also, do not add several samples of the same style of illustrations. You can choose the top five for your portfolio.

3. Choose a good website for formatting

It is important for your portfolio to have a good format. Research for websites that seem appealing to you and upload your work. Ensure that the website you choose accommodates content that is highly visual in good quality and allows you to create an aesthetic portfolio.

Choose those templates which you think are best suited for your samples. You can even build mini-portfolios for each style of illustration that you have created so that when they get compiled, it becomes simple for the potential recruiter to identify all your skills.

4. Convey a story through your portfolio

It is essential to make your portfolio easy to navigate. For this, you could use a narrative arc. Your illustrative work can have a beginning, middle, and end. You can present the best of your illustrations in the beginning and end.

This will give a good initial impression about your skills and ensure that the potential recruiters are left thinking of your best illustrations even when you close your portfolio. It is advised that you keep your captions short because those who will be hiring you will not have the time to read lengthy texts. However, make sure that your contact information is clearly mentioned.

5. Add your social media handles

Include your social media handles in the portfolio. It would give recruiters a sense of your online presence as an illustrator. Social media handles are very popular platforms for building your brand.

You could retweet a poster illustrated by you for an event, or show your Instagram feed. Choosing to include your social media handles also lets the employer get an idea of who you are as a person. It is very important to keep your social media feeds professional.

6. Regularly update illustrative content

Portfolios must not be stagnant. They must grow constantly. You must regularly update your portfolio with newly created illustrations. As you gain more and more experience, the illustrations done will be better.

After creating your portfolio, determine whether or not it looks attractive and carefully curated. When you feel confident with your work, you can present it to your potential recruiters.

Tip: Establish office hours and follow them diligently to avoid slacking off. 

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Top 25 dream companies for remote illustration jobs

Are you sure about finding illustration opportunities? If yes, this list of top 25 companies should be your best place to start your hunt for jobs in illustration and design. Check this list of top 25 dream companies for online illustration jobs,

Name of the company	About the company
Pentagram	This is the world’s largest independently-owned design studio.
Landor	Landor is the world’s most famous brand consulting firm.
Wolff Olins	This is a brand consulting agency.
Meta Designs	Famous design firm in the world located in San Francisco.
Happy Cog	This is a web designing company.
The Chase	Known for innovative corporate branding
Pearlfisher	The company is known for creating illustration designs for life.
Charlie Smith Design	Offers services like packaging design, and digital designing services with illustrations,
Mucho	This company is involved in brand management of brands like Apple, BMW, and GAP.
Saffron Brand consultant	They transform brands with the clarity of rigorous thinking and by using bold ideas.
Anagrama	This is a self-proclaimed brand intelligence group.
Studio Dumbar	They have created meaningful brands from strategy to reality.
Fire Studio	This is a Warsaw-based company who have clients ranging from startups to big brands.
Spin	Spin is all about bringing elegant and clean ideas in terms of design.
House Industries	This is one of the most famous typography and illustration companies in the world.
SocioDesign	They are known for their minimal and reductive style of designing.
Triboro	They create creative, colourful, and hip designs with a small team.
Only	This is a strategy and design consultancy.
Frog	Frog is the only design company that advances human experience through different types of designs.
Made by Alphabet	They are a team of youthful designers and illustrators who create playful designs.
DIA	This company specializes in a flexible designing approach.
Radish Lab	This is a designing company that has made a name for itself by working in different social change projects.
Hey	Hey is a company that focuses on geometry, colour, and direct typography through brand identity design.
Franklyn	Franklyn is known as the most creative graphic design studio that offers lots of opportunities to illustrator jobs remote.
Design	This graphic designing studio has achieved numerous awards and recognitions for its amazing design capability.

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Important resume elements for remote illustration jobs

Having a good resume is very important when you apply to remote illustration jobs. The elements that must be on your resume are,

1. Personal details including name, age, sex, nationality, and contact information. 
2. A professional summary that highlights your experience, skills, and candidacy. Mention your most definitive characteristics relevant to remote illustration jobs in two to four lines.
3. List out your objectives so that the recruiter can know what your expectations are from the job and what your contribution will be. 
4. Highlight the skills you possess which are relevant to remote illustration jobs.
5. Educational qualifications must be mentioned. 
6. Any additional certifications or training must be included. 
7. Mention all of your illustration experiences along with their assigned responsibilities in the form of a portfolio. 
8. Write about your accomplishments relevant to illustration.
9. Mention your interests. 
10. Give valid references.

Once you gather all the required skills and make a good resume, you can start your search for remote illustration jobs.

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Best online job boards for remote illustration jobs

1. FlexJobs – FlexJobs is one of the best online job boards to find remote opportunities. With more than 50 categories of remote work, this site provides a good number of quality remote illustration jobs every day. This means that there is always an opening for you to use your illustrative skills. You have to pay a small monthly membership fee to view the job openings.

2. Remote – Remote displays only those online jobs which are fully flexible with location. Illustrators can find remote jobs from several well-known companies through this website. Remote was co-founded by the founder of FlexJobs, Sara Sutton. You do not have to pay any fee to view job openings on this board.

3. Hired – Hired is an online job board with a very fascinating feature. Instead of you applying to a client, this website makes clients apply to hire you. You can also hide your profile and other information from recruiters, both past and present if you wish to work on your own business after the set working hours.

4. Toptal – Toptal is a premium freelance job website. It is famed for its practice of pre-vetting freelancers so that they are able to offer a worthy experience to clients. All the openings on this site pay above-average rates to illustrators. Toptal has a very attractive client pool. You will have to pass a rigorous interview to become a member on Toptal and land the job of your choice.

5. We Work Remotely – We Work Remotely is one of the largest communities online to discover remote jobs. It regularly updates its list of remote illustrator jobs. If you sign up on this site, you will receive timely alerts on your email with filters. Ensure that this site is bookmarked!

6. Dribbble Jobs – Dribbble Jobs is an online job board that was born from a company that has been catering to illustrators for about a decade. Dribbble has always been a great platform for illustrators to display their work for clients and fellow illustrators. The job board on Dribbble lets you discover great remote jobs in illustration from all over the world. You can choose whether you want to work on a full-time, part-time, or contract basis.

7. Working Nomads – A majority of the job openings that get displayed on Working Nomads are full-time positions. The illustration category of this website is very vast. It also puts up part-time and contract positions for illustration from time to time. The website was founded by a few nomadic workers who traveled from city to city and worked anywhere in the world, which is why the list of remote illustration jobs is very authentic and of great quality.

8. Remote OK – A great site for finding every type of remote job, including remote illustration jobs, Remote OK provides a list of well-established clients you can apply to. The list gets updated regularly.

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Remote illustration jobs pay structures

Most candidates want to know how much they will earn through illustration employment. The average salary of illustrator jobs from home is $41,896. Entry-level illustrator jobs with less than a year of experience can expect to get average total compensation of $15.49 per hour.

This data is based on 30-salaries provided on a job portal. An illustrator with less than four years of experience can expect an average total compensation of $19.50 based on 162 salaries. If you are a mid-career illustrator and you are looking for freelance illustrator jobs, you can expect to earn an average compensation of $20.63 per hour based on 94 salaries.

If you have more than 10 years of experience in careers in illustration, you can expect to earn average total compensation of $24.79 per hour based on 54 salaries. If you have been working as an illustrator for more than 20 years, you can earn a total compensation of $33 per hour. All these compensations are for freelance illustration work in the USA.

Entry level remote illustration jobs

If you have just begun your career, you can get positions like Junior illustrator, instructional illustrator and assistant illustration works. Entry-level illustrator jobs with less than a year of experience can expect to get average total compensation of $15.49 per hour.

You will need basic skills of Canva, Photoshop, and different Adobe tools to start working as a junior or entry-level illustrator. You can also choose to complete an internship from reputed design studios to get heights in your career.

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What jobs are there in illustration?

You can find illustrator jobs near me. Some of the best illustration job opportunities that you can get include courtroom illustrator, cartoon illustrator, film storyboarding, medical illustrator, and fashion illustrator. The illustration jobs online that you will get may depend upon your skill sets, experience, and expertise in the domain.

How do I get a job in illustration?

If you don’t know how to get freelance illustration work, you can look for different online platforms like Unremot and Indeed, to get freelance illustration jobs. You can also look for platforms like Linkedin to get remote illustration jobs as per your domain and expertise.

How much do illustration artists make?

The average salary of illustrator jobs from home is $41,896. Entry-level illustrator jobs with less than a year of experience can expect to get average total compensation of $15.49 per hour.

Are illustrators in demand?

Yes, illustrator freelance jobs are in demand across different sectors and industries. But, you need not only creativity, but you also need to have the business knowledge and management skills to get the best jobs for illustrators.

Is Illustration a good career?

Illustration has become a competitive career because of the digital revolution. If you have the needed passion and creativity, you can get numerous opportunities for jobs in illustration.

Can you be an illustrator without a degree?

Yes, you can become an illustrator without a degree. But, you need to be highly skilled and creative. You can get entry-level jobs as an illustrator. If you want high growth in your career, or if you are aiming to get top positions, you need to have an educational degree.

Where can I find remote illustration job?

You can find remote illustration jobs through online job boards like unremot.com, FlexJobs and Remote.

Do illustrators work at home?

Many illustrators work from home or a studio.

How do illustrators work remotely?

Illustrators can work remotely by applying to a company or publication, or by starting a freelance business.