Since 1975, the artists and graphic designers market has been a must-have reference for all creatives looking to have a successful career in graphic design, illustration, and fine arts. Since then, the market has grown tremendously. One of the factors contributing to this growth is the decline of print media and the development of online stock collections.

However, the rise of stock collections has made the illustration industry quite competitive. There are lots of stock collections out there than illustration agencies. Your work must be outstanding to get noticed by any of the agents. You can even have excellent illustrations and still fail to get hired since there are too many to choose from. So how do you stand out of the crowd?

1. Make high-quality illustrations
The first thing an illustration agency considers before hiring is the quality of your artwork. Your art should be well-executed with clean lines and crisp details. Its colors, shapes, textures, and composition must be perfect. Make sure your illustrations are free of spelling mistakes or bad grammar.

You can't expect to be hired when all your artwork is sub-standard and contains typos. To ensure that you produce high-quality pieces, have a friend or a family member look at your design before submission. Get their honest review and change your illustration based on their advice.

2. Consistency is key
If you want to be noticed, the next thing you should do is make sure you are consistent with your work. It would be best to create quality work every time you sit down at your computer. You should never create poor designs today, then better ones tomorrow, and worse ones the day after. Aim at making quality illustrations consistently. Your work must also have a consistent, distinctive style. Illustration agencies typically hire people with unique skills. They cannot afford to have hundreds of artists who make illustrations with the same pattern.

If you want to make it big, you need to stick to one style. The more styles you try, the less likely you'll succeed. It's better to focus on one pattern and master it rather than trying different things and getting frustrated because you're not good enough yet.

If you keep creating unique work consistently, it will eventually catch the attention of an agent or editor. It may take some time, but they will start calling on you more often once they see what you're capable of making.

3. Be original
Your work needs to be original. If you copy other illustrators' ideas, chances are you won't get noticed. Most illustrator agents don't like copied work. They feel cheated when you copy someone's idea and present it as yours. Remember, you are being paid for your creativity. Clients do not pay you to copy someone's work. If that were the case, they wouldn't need your services as they can copy other people's art online.

If you are short of unique ideas, consider brainstorming with friends or family members. Ask them about their interests, hobbies, and so forth. Then use these ideas in your illustrations. You can also mediate or do extensive online research for new ideas.

4. Have a strong portfolio
Having a solid portfolio is essential in illustration. It shows off your strengths and weaknesses, your best and worst works. It also helps illustrate your growth over the years. An agency wants to know where you've been and where you're going. It gives them insight into your potential.

So, make sure your portfolio is complete. Include everything you've done, from pencil sketches to final artworks. Also, include any projects you've worked on in the past. If possible, get a domain and a website for your portfolio. All this information tells the agent how much experience you have.

5. Know your market
An artist's job is to sell their art. But you can only sell your art if you understand your audience. What kind of clients would buy your art? Who are your target clients? How can you reach out to them? These questions help you narrow down your field of interest. Once you identify your market, you can go ahead and find ways to connect with them. Do not just stay and wait for them to approach you.

Conclusion
The above are the top ways you can use to stand out from other illustrators. If followed to the latter, illustration agencies will come knocking on your door. Remember to show your best works only to increase your odds of being identified. Don't include anything below average.

Some illustrators think showing everything they've done is necessary. But this approach doesn't work. Only showcase the best of what you've created. If you aren't happy with a particular art with negative feedback, delete it.