VickyAre you planning a new creative project and need stunning visuals? Before you hire an illustrator, it’s crucial to write a clear and effective illustration project brief. This helps you communicate your vision, set expectations, and ensure your freelancer delivers exactly what you need.
Are you looking to hire an illustrator? Visit our freelance marketplace to post your brief and get proposals from top-rated illustrators.
Why You Need a Strong Illustration Project Brief
A well-structured illustration brief is the foundation of any successful design project. It guides your illustrator through your goals, style preferences, deadlines, and budget. Without one, you risk endless revisions and missed deadlines. Whether you’re commissioning a children’s book, editorial artwork, or brand illustrations, a clear brief saves time and ensures your vision translates perfectly to the page.
For pricing guidance, see our full Illustrator Cost Guide.
What is an Illustration Brief?
An illustration brief is your roadmap for a successful creative collaboration. It outlines your project scope, style preferences, target audience, and goals – everything your illustrator needs to bring your vision to life. Think of it as your illustration brief template, a structured guide that keeps everyone aligned and ensures your project stays on track.
What comes with the illustration practice? What kind of illustration templates should I be using when creating a brief structure for my creative freelancer?
An effective illustration brief will contain an overview of your entire project, which includes:
- Illustration style wanted – include a sample design or two if you can!
- Key dates & deadlines
- Audience for project
- Deliverable outcomes
- Project goals
The key to getting the illustration you want is to make sure you give your freelancer a fantastic project brief. It can be hard to know what information to give your creative freelancer when you’re planning your project. If you have no idea how an illustration brief structure works, how is an illustrator or animator supposed to know what’s needed of them?
Key Elements of a Successful Illustration Project Brief:
Section | What to Include | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
Project Overview | What the illustration is for | Sets project context |
Style & References | Mood boards, examples, links | Helps define the visual direction |
Target Audience | Age, market, language | Influences tone and detail level |
Deliverables | Format, resolution, page count | Avoids scope confusion |
Deadlines | Milestones and final delivery | Keeps project on schedule |
Budget | Estimated or fixed rate | Ensures realistic expectations |
Point of Contact | Decision maker info | Speeds up communication |
How do I get Illustration ideas?
Need inspiration for your next illustration project? Explore our freelance illustrator portfolios for creative ideas and trending styles. You can also browse Pinterest, Behance, or follow illustrators on Instagram to refine your visual direction.
Once you’ve gathered ideas, include a few references in your illustration project brief — this helps freelancers instantly understand the look and feel you’re aiming for.
Need help getting started? Read our guide to what makes a good project brief.
Example Illustration Project Brief:
Luckily, we’ve provided an example illustration project brief that’s sure to get you off on the right foot. We’ve also added an analysis section so that you know exactly how the brief works.
If you’re struggling to get off the starting block, feel free to use it as a template for your own brief:
Project name: Illustrations for a children’s picture book
About the author and book: I’m a self-published author, about to publish my third children’s picture book. My previous titles were bestsellers in their category. The book is aimed at the 3 to 5-year-old market. It will be 20 pages long, and each page needs to be fully illustrated.
The book will be printed at 11 x 11 inches. This book will be the first in my jungle series centred on a friendly tiger. In this story (titled Who’s There?), the tiger encounters a series of jungle animals and discovers their identity and distinguishing features. It’s an exploration of jungle animals, but also teaches children basic colours and shapes (eg leopard’s spots are black and circles). I have a full storyboard that will be made available to the chosen candidate.
Vision for the project: I want the illustrations in this book to be big, bold and bright. I’m less keen on the traditional styles of illustration – I’d rather explore some more modern techniques including collage and mixing traditional media with digital. Open to ideas and suggestions from the illustrator too.
Example styles I like: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-cow-that-laid-an-egg/andy-cutbill/russell-ayto/9780007179688
Target audience: 3 to 5-year-olds. The book will be English language and initially published in the UK.
Skills I’m looking for: Ideally, the illustrator will have worked on children’s picture books previously and have examples in their portfolio. Illustrations are the most important thing about a children’s picture book, so I need someone with a keen eye for detail who understands the target market. The illustrator must be able to make the story immersive and bring the characters to life in a way that has not been done previously.
The published book: The finished book will be published in the UK at first, and will be sold in several independent local bookstores, as well as ‘Hattakers’ which is a nationwide chain.
Deadline: I’m aiming to have this book published by August 2017.
Budget: $5000
Point of contact: You’ll be dealing directly with me, Alison Tweedy, the author.
Analysis:
Now, let’s break the brief down section-by-section so you know exactly what makes it work:
Breakdown of This Example Illustration Project Brief:
Project name: Illustrations for a children’s picture book
Your freelancer is probably working on lots of different freelance projects, so give yours a name to distinguish it. It’ll help you keep organised too.
About the author and book: I’m a self published author, about to publish my third children’s picture book. My previous titles were bestsellers in their category. The book is aimed at the 3 – 5 year old market. It will be 20 pages long, and each page needs to be fully illustrated.
The book will be printed at 11 x 11 inches. This book will be the first in my jungle series centred on a friendly tiger. In this story (titled Who’s There?), tiger encounters a series of jungle animals and discovers their identity and distinguishing features. It’s an exploration of jungle animals, but also teaches children basic colours and shapes (eg leopard’s spots are black and circles). I have a full storyboard which will be made available to the chosen candidate.
Why does the freelancer need to know about you and your company? Giving them the whole picture helps the freelancer create the most appropriate illustrations for you. A family-run business may want a very different illustration style to a huge corporation. Tell your freelancer what you do and how you do it.
Vision for the project: I want the illustrations in this book to be big, bold and bright. I’m less keen on the traditional styles of illustration – I’d rather explore some more modern techniques including collage and mixing traditional media with digital. Open to ideas and suggestions from the illustrator too.
If you already have an idea of how you want your illustrations to look, write it down in your project brief. This will help the freelancer hit the ground running and could shorten the delivery time. Don’t worry if you don’t know what you want yet – mention this to your freelancer and you can talk through ideas. Your freelancer may do a few illustrator practice projects, so you can develop the concepts together.
Example styles I like: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-cow-that-laid-an-egg/andy-cutbill/russell-ayto/9780007179688
Sometimes it’s hard to describe a style you like, so show your freelancer the type of thing you like. Include images, links to other illustrations you’ve seen, colour pallets, fonts – anything that will help your freelancer get a good idea of what you want your finished illustrations to look like.
Target audience: 3 – 5 year olds. The book will be English language and initially published in the UK.
Your target audience is a vital piece of information that your freelancer should know. It’ll help them design illustrations that engage and resonate with that section of the market.
Skills I’m looking for: Ideally, the illustrator will have worked on children’s picture books previously and have examples in their portfolio. Illustrations are the most important thing about a children’s picture book, so I need someone with a keen eye for detail who understands the target market. The illustrator must be able to make the story immersive and bring the characters to life in a way that has not been done previously.
Illustration is a very technical skill, and depending on the type of project, you may require different skills from your freelancer. For example, this type of project requires someone with a lot of imagination.
The published book: The finished book will be published in the UK at first, and will be sold in several independent local bookstores, as well as ‘Hattakers’ which is a nationwide chain.
Where will the finished project end up? Is it global? Is it more local? Who will have access to it? All of these details help the freelancer to build up a bigger picture of the project.
Deadline: I’m aiming to have this book published by August 2017.
When do you need your project to be completed? Don’t forget this crucial detail.
Budget: $5000
How much will you pay for the project? If you have a budget in mind, include it in your project brief. If you have no idea, you can discuss costs with your freelancer. To estimate costs for similar projects, check our Illustrator Rates Guide.
Point of contact: You’ll be dealing directly with me, Alison Tweedy, the author.
Who will your freelancer be dealing with? Make it easier for remote workers to communicate with you by making it clear who their point of contact is during the project. There will be extra questions and work that needs to be signed off, so make sure your freelancer gets straight through to the right person.
When you post an illustration brief on Twine, you can add a fully comprehensive project description to help you find the perfect illustrator for your project.
We also vet all of our illustrators and match them to clients using over 10 different criteria. This allows both parties to gain maximum results at the most effective possible price. We’re here to help along every step of the way and will do everything we can to make sure you have an awesome illustration experience.
Final Thoughts:
A clear, well-written illustration project brief makes all the difference between a good and a great creative outcome. It ensures your illustrator understands your goals, delivers on time, and stays within budget.
Ready to bring your vision to life? Post your illustration brief on Twine and get matched with vetted illustrators tailored to your project and budget.
- Find out what makes a good project brief
- How to write the perfect project brief
- 11 tips on writing the perfect brief
To find a top-quality illustrator for your project, click here
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