By Mark Stutzman
A global pandemic abruptly altered the interpersonal relationships that exemplify the creative team experience. But these individuals, who traditionally live on the edge of convention, proved pliable and technologically skilled, rapidly migrating their work disciplines directly into their home environments. Suddenly, the entire creative industry—much like many other sectors across the global economy—found itself living the quintessential lifestyle of a freelancer, tethered together only by Wi-Fi connections and self-governance.
In this new reality, illustrators and art buyers share a common independent thread unlike ever before. Historically, since the golden age of illustration in the 1930s, the dynamic between the maker and the buyer has been distinctly separate and clearly defined. An artist’s day-to-day life stood in stark contrast to the office-dwelling corporate cohort who paved the way for the anticipated art. Outside talent would occasionally visit the corporate workplace to share a physical portfolio in person, hoping to make a lasting impression and snag a new assignment.
Whichever way a company ultimately sells a product or service, illustration consistently emerges from a joint, collaborative interest in making something entirely new and unique. The one-on-one dynamic between art directors, art buyers, clients, editors, producers, film directors, and ideally, the artist remains a constant, fertile place for true synergism. This treasured collaboration provides the ideal ground for inventing and reflecting memorable visual representations of who we are as a society. Our shared cultural narratives, societal trends, and evolving aesthetics continue to make for powerful, impactful illustrations.
Besides the now-fading in-person interview, art directors once relied heavily on their physical Rolodex systems—the modern equivalent being digital contact databases—alongside dedicated artists’ directories and direct-mail promotional pieces to keep up with shifting trends and emerging talent. Portfolio review days, which often felt like high-stakes speed-dating sessions for creatives, served as a popular way to streamline the search for new talent and forge bonds with creative minds working outside traditional office walls. The landscape has always been intensely competitive, and cultivating up-and-coming talent or employing seasoned veterans long stood as a reliable path for art directors and designers to earn prestigious industry awards and widespread recognition.
Finding that talent can be a daunting and ongoing challenge, according to Eng-San Kho, a partner at Love & War, a small but chic Manhattan branding agency. He vividly remembers a time when his office was routinely inundated with sales sheets and promotional postcards from artists and photographers that typically fell into one of three categories. Some samples were immediately discarded, some were carefully saved for later reference, and a select few were pinned directly to the office walls. Today, online search engines make finding creative talent somewhat easier for art directors like Kho, but the modern task of sifting through countless digital options and complex search criteria can still be entirely all-consuming.
As art directors and buyers cull the internet for viable talent, however, stock catalogs and readily available in-house images continually gnaw away at commissioned work.
“If we’re up against a tight deadline, we often rely on stock photography,” Kho explains, highlighting a persistent industry reality. “The cost of licensing existing art versus commissioning new art is often easier.”
In many cases, the authentic touch of the artist’s hand can be substituted with cobbled-together imagery and the digital tricks of the trade. Although these assemblages can look appealing on the surface, they ultimately pale in comparison to the magic that naturally emerges from collaborating minds. Even so, these digital shortcuts can fill a vacant space without requiring the expansion of creative margins or the hiring of outside services.
Kho further explains that some clients simply may not be equipped to handle the intricate creative process that comes with commissioning original work. It can impose a greater operational demand than they are professionally prepared to manage. However, having someone on staff who is deeply familiar with developing original concepts for illustration can successfully coach coworkers and clients alike, transforming the endeavor into an enjoyable and exciting experience.
The digital age is now firmly established as a permanent staple of everyday life, crossing every demographic and industry line. Consequently, standing out is increasingly difficult in an environment where every designer has access to the exact same software tools and stock imagery libraries. This fosters a dangerous visual sameness that may safely align with current trends, but completely misses the profound individuality of fabricating art entirely out of thin air.
Interestingly enough, this widespread dearth of originality is actually carving out a valuable new place for traditional illustration. Some firms are actively engaged in reviving the heritage of print media and physical product premiums, using them to reach audiences with a distinct tactile advantage—something their competitors may simply not be able to afford. There is a growing awareness and deep appreciation for traditional visual media, alongside hand-crafted art, rising up against the immense digital glut of Creative Cloud effects designed to closely resemble true illustration.
While technology connects everyone instantaneously, the mere convenience of a click can also unintentionally build a virtual wall characterized by single-dimension communication. It is entirely possible to work on a project from start to finish today without ever speaking to a collaborator in person, but industry veterans warn that no one should fall prey to this isolation. Each project represents a unique opportunity to foster genuine camaraderie, trust, and mutual inspiration between creative services, and the final product invariably benefits from these deeply human tenets.
Greg Burke, Senior Creative Director at Atlantic Records, constantly searches to see what visual talent is available to him, approaching the process as anything but a one-size-fits-all proposition. He is tasked with the exceptionally complex role of developing visual continuity for top recording artists across multiple levels and mediums. Developing imagery, packaging, and physical merchandise is an intricate labyrinth riddled with subtle details. The nuance, uniqueness, and core essence of each recording artist’s distinct sound must translate accurately into thoughtful imagery that faithfully represents them.
For many years, Burke has bookmarked his favorite artists in the hope that the right project will eventually ignite a fresh working relationship. He sometimes actively seeks creative talent that fits a highly specific assignment. These continuous searches, driven by a clear creative direction, keep his personal collection of illustrator contacts constantly expanding. Burke’s years of professional experience have taught him that some illustrators’ personal styles may shift and evolve over time, meaning older references he fondly recalls for an immediate project may no longer be part of their active repertoire. Even so, keeping his reference arsenal handy consistently helps spark new ideas.
Burke’s search criteria always begins by identifying fundamentally talented individuals. He then carefully evaluates the broader body of work an artist has curated to ensure that a single striking image catching his eye is not merely a fluke, but rather indicative of consistent quality across a larger portfolio.
“There are times when you may see an image that you love, but the rest of the portfolio is inconsistent and all over the place,” Burke notes.
He finds reassurance when each individual portfolio piece is just as strong as the one that initially reeled him in. He remains entirely open to artists possessing diverse styles, provided they demonstrate true mastery in each area. When shopping for an artist, Burke looks closely at the collective strength of their work to confirm they can habitually fulfill a specific creative direction.
As a basic professional courtesy to the talent and to preserve the overall integrity of a project, Burke emphasizes that he will never ask an artist to create something he is not confident falls well within the scope of their demonstrated capabilities. In his professional opinion, doing otherwise is an absolute setup for failure.
Given the rigid reality of hard deadlines, Burke requires unwavering professionalism from every artist he hires. Acknowledging that every creative person works at a different pace and through different methods, he initiates a direct conversation regarding timing and process. As a reliable gauge, Burke will select a piece an artist has already completed and ask how long it took from start to finish, allowing a realistic project schedule to be built outward from that baseline example.
Spicing Things Up
Kho and his team are deeply passionate about infusing original art into their agency work whenever the opportunity arises.
“We try out a specific artist who might not be the obvious choice for a project,” he says, detailing their experimental approach. “We like to see what they’ll bring to the table.”
More often than not, Love & War carefully tailors the assignment to fit the artist, much in the same way they fit their overall work to their client’s specific needs. Ultimately, the priority is ensuring the final output serves the targeted audience and meets established business goals, rather than being blindly dictated by a rigid design agenda or passing trend, according to Kho.
Cultivating strong artist relationships remains vitally important to Kho and his team, who routinely take advantage of video calls whenever possible. Being able to see the person they are speaking with personalizes and significantly expedites the working process. Kho also appreciates how work takes center stage through the screen-sharing option during client video calls, eliminating physical room distractions and focusing all attention directly on the presentation.
Furthermore, his team values maintaining a roster of creative professionals they can consistently rely on or keep queued up for future assignments. Returning to an established, highly functioning working relationship adds a distinct level of confidence and operational efficiency that Kho says helps any project run much more smoothly from inception to completion.
When Eyes Meet
Greg Burke describes personal relationships with talent a bit differently, depending on the specific circumstances of the engagement.
“There are illustrators who will always be a go-to because of the quality of their work and their great communication skills,” Burke explains. “Pero there are times that a project will be a one-off, and you are fully aware that you may not be using this illustrator again.”
Creative briefs can also dictate the degree to which Burke needs to steer a project. Sometimes his role requires strict control over the final product, whereas other assignments allow for more flexibility and greater direct input from the artist. Art directors like Burke naturally expect the artists they collaborate with to fully understand the practical parameters of commercial art. Commercial art assignments occasionally come paired with the inherent disappointment of heavy client input, making it essential for artists to grasp the operational confines of the trade.
There is a distinct, undeniable difference between commercial art and fine art. Art directors deeply appreciate illustrators who embrace the commercial world and understand that sometimes they have to take one for the team rather than indulge purely in individual expression.
“An illustrator must also understand that at times, directions for revision will come from a recording artist or other outside sources,” Burke points out.
He readily acknowledges that any revisions deemed necessary to appease a client may not always enhance the artistic merit of the work. In those difficult moments, both he and the illustrator share in the mutual disappointment. Yet, strong bonds can form throughout the arduous journey of satisfying clients, even when the final outcome strays somewhat from the original creative inspiration.
How this valued professional relationship begins between the illustrator and the commissioning body can vary widely. It may result from a deliberate search using standard directories like the Workbook or stem from direct referrals from trusted industry colleagues. Similarly, Love & War relies heavily on word-of-mouth referrals for new business connections, talent networking, and everything in between.
“We don’t seek referrals for new commissions, but we do our best to spend enough time interviewing newly found illustrators to make sure we’re all aligned on scope and expectations,” Kho says.
Internal conflicts can occasionally arise regarding the sharing of newly discovered talent among art directors, according to Burke. On one hand, finding an exceptional illustrator often sparks a desire for professional exclusivity; on the other hand, no art director wants to see a talented individual miss out on broader career opportunities.
“I freely share illustrators whom I respect and whose work I admire with colleagues,” Burke says proudly. “I’m a little jealous when someone else gets to use one of my recommendations that I may never get to use myself, but I get over that pretty quickly when I see the amazing work in the end.”
Burke also tends to reserve his personal artist recommendations for art directors he deeply respects, viewing his experience in creative matchmaking as a natural extension of his overarching interest in facilitating impressive visual work.
Ultimately, relationship-building remains an absolutely essential component of sustaining a viable career as a professional illustrator. With work not always as plentiful as it once was, solidifying these connections helps keep doors wide open for future assignments. If every new relationship results in only a single project, maintaining a full professional schedule requires an exhaustive, ever-expanding roster of new clients. Moreover, as Kho explains, illustration assignments are not a guaranteed part of every incoming project; much of what branding agencies do involves broad design solutions that may not require illustrative works at all.
For an illustrator, building valued and sustainable relationships ultimately boils down to a few core elements: consistently meeting deadlines, delivering high-quality and reliable work, maintaining open communication, and skillfully accommodating a client’s unique needs. A truly successful commission is measured fundamentally by delivering exactly what was promised to the client.
Creating commercial art for a living will always present unique challenges and continually undergo transformation. Yet, as long as the unchangeable human connection propelling the kinship between artist and buyer remains intact, both entities can look forward to a bright and enduring future.
Article Author Mark Stutzman is best known for his rendition of the young Elvis Presley U.S. postage stamp. Stutzman’s illustrations are widely used in advertising, on commercial products, posters, magazines, book covers, and various niche markets. His work is especially prominent in the entertainment business, including Broadway productions such as Young Frankenstein, The Musical and Annie Get Your Gun, as well as illusionist David Blaine’s mystical event art posters. He has created artwork for major movie products and promotional premiums for blockbuster films like Batman, Jurassic Park, and Space Jam, alongside book covers for Stephen King, and is an acclaimed playing card artist. With a prestigious client list featuring McDonald’s, DC Comics, MAD Magazine, The New Yorker, Nickelodeon, Rolling Stone, Microsoft, Time, and Esquire, he has had the distinct opportunity to influence many creative worlds through his illustrative works.
