Illustration agencies and representatives are an integral part of the illustration industry. There are different agents for all levels of illustration and all areas for the industry, from publishing to products to advertising. An agent’s job is multi-faceted and busy: promotion, client contact, negotiation, contracts, support. They proudly present an illustrator’s work, and fight for more time or a fairer price. In a highly competitive industry an illustration agent is more than a middle-person, they are trust-managers, acting as a guarantor of an illustrators professionalism and talent. Getting to know more about how they work takes away quite a bit of the romantic notions of illustration, and you realise how much there is behind the surface of glossy finished illustration.

Many freelance illustrators struggle with contracts, usage rights and budgets, but alongside working to develop your style and connecting with clients, one of the most important things that illustrators need to do to improve their careers is to get comfortable talking about money! In a long-form interview, Kris Krüger, founder of Egger Grey in Berlin, gives a detailed overview of how he works as an agent. Getting to see behind the scenes opens up your understanding of how an agent approaches creating an offer for a client.

Due to experience and positioning in the market it seems that it is easier for agents to reach bigger and higher level clients and budgets than it is as a freelance illustrator. But never fear! Nicola Manuel from Folio illustration agency in London gives some how-to advice for freelance illustrators.

But what about an illustrators perspective? Heather Gatley is a talented illustrator based in Berlin, who has been working with her London-based agency The Artworks for the last nine years. She answers some questions about her experience working with an agency.