When I wrote the collection of poems that later became Destination: This Moment, I knew I wanted them to be illustrated. After many unsatisfactory experiments with my own hand (drawing, word art, etc.), I realized I needed a partner. But I didn’t have any ideas for what the art should look like nor how to go about finding the right person, so I ended up sitting on the collection while I mulled it over. Years later, I stumbled upon Kaki Okumura entirely by happenstance and instinctively knew she was the perfect artist to bring the book to life. 

But when I decided to find an artist for the comics and graphic stories I wanted to create, it was a totally different scenario. I had a better idea of what the visuals would look like, and I wanted to actively find someone to illustrate the comic. I knew I wanted someone who was as talented and easy to work with as Kaki, but could I really be so lucky again?

I was surprised to find the answer was yes!

I was fortunate to connect with two talented, knowledgeable, and wonderful partners on Upwork who brought my stories to life. I’ve had so much fun collaborating with these artists to tell these stories, and I wanted to share how I was able to find the perfect match for me. Hopefully it will help others do the same!

I started with a test run

I wrote a full-length nonfiction comic book and wanted to find an artist to illustrate it, but committing to a 52-page comic with an artist based solely on their portfolio was too scary for me. Rather than place the bet and hope for the best, I decided to do a test run first. 

Reasons to do a test run

I wanted to:

• Practice editing a script with the very real pressure of handing it to an artist when it was done.
• Practice working with an illustrator.
• Try out multiple artists.

Benefits of a test run

Seeing the illustrators’ art and working styles before committing to a full project with them was super helpful.

Doing a test run proved even more effective than I imagined: 

• I got a true representation of the illustrator’s art style and working preferences.
• I was able to refine the rest of my script based on the questions the illustrators asked, so the script was more detailed. 
• The artist I hired was able to get into the story faster after working together on the one page. 
• I was able to edit the script with the artist’s designs and style in mind, so the script was even better than before.

Drawbacks of a test run

The benefits of the test run far outweighed the drawbacks in my experience, but the drawbacks are still worth noting.

• Paying multiple artists gets expensive fast.
• It feels inefficient to work with multiple people on the same thing.
• Coordinating with all these artists — providing each of them a script or character descriptions, answering their messages, providing feedback — takes time and energy. It can get overwhelming.
• If you like the work of more than one artist, your decision may be even more difficult.

Despite these drawbacks, doing the test run was still a worthwhile investment of time and money for me. When I started looking for an artist for my webcomic, I had already started working with another artist on a graphic short story. If I hadn’t done the test run first, I would’ve asked her to illustrate the webcomic instead of finding a new artist, and my characters would’ve been totally different (and less like what I’d imagined for the characters).

Here’s how I found not one, but two! amazing artists on Upwork.

1. Prepare for the test run

Before I started looking for an artist to create my graphic work, I did these things.

Start small

For the first artist I was looking for, I had a rough draft of a 52-page script that I was editing. I knew I wanted to do a test run, so I pulled 10 pages of the script that was a story in itself. And from that short story, I pulled just one page that I was fairly certain would not have major changes after editing.

The next time I looked for an artist was for the webcomic. Even though I had over a dozen completed 4-panel scripts, I wanted to start even smaller and focused on character design instead, so I posted a job to design the 4 main characters and 1 environment or landscape. I wanted to see all 4 characters together and what the landscapes or backgrounds would look like too. With a tighter budget, I would start with one character instead of those 5 items.  

Polish the script

I made sure my script had everything it needed to be ready for an artist. Here are a couple things I looked for:

• It should be the final version, or as close as you can get it without seeing the art. It’s expensive, time-consuming, and frustrating if an artist has to redo a panel or an entire page because of rewrites.
• One panel shouldn’t include multiple actions. This isn’t a movie; it’s still art. If your script has panels with multiple actions in them, consider if all that movement is necessary and split it up instead more panels if needed.
• You live in your story, but your artist is coming in new. In addition to the description in the script, add reference images or sketches of what you imagine, especially if you have something specific in mind or if what you’re referring is specialized knowledge. This will save them time so they don’t have to find reference images themselves and potentially base the art on the wrong thing.

Build a favorites list first

Finding the right artist for my project felt a bit like finding a particular tree in a diverse forest — lots of options that look similar at first glance but very different when you look a little closer. I spent some time looking at portfolios and built a list of favorites. This helped me get a better idea of what I would want for my characters.

In some cases, the artists bid lower on my project than their public rate, so that was a benefit of posting a job instead of hiring them outright if you’re trying to save money. 

2. Post the job

With Upwork, you can post your listing and leave it up as long as you want.

Here are a few things when I posted the job that I think contributed to my success with these tests.

Be honest

My job ad was super detailed and transparent. I explicitly stated that I was creating this job as a test, I would hire multiple artists, and choose the one whose work fit the project best. I described the job at hand (design 4 characters and 1 landscape) and what I had planned for the future (at least 1 full-length graphic novel).

I wanted to make sure everyone knew what would happen at the end of the job. I also provided information about about my working style, how I tend to give feedback, and what I was looking for in a partner. 

Provide clear instructions

For the 1-page test, I provided the one page of the script, including reference images for each panel and character. All artists received the same script.

For the character design test, I provided information about the character’s names, species, and pronouns, and I included information about their personalities. I made copies of this document for each artist and included specific examples from their individual portfolios that I liked so they knew what I was looking for. 

If any one artist asked questions, I provided the answer to all the artists so they were all working with the same information. 

I also learned not to be too restrictive in the character descriptions. I mentioned not wanting to anthropomorphize the characters too much, and some of the artists made the designs too realistic, which was too far in the other direction.

Invite favorites

After I posted the job, I invited the artists from my favorites list to apply. 

When I found the artist for my graphic novel, I hired the person I expected to hire. I remember wondering if I wasted my time and money on the test run, but I also liked having peace of mind that this artist was definitely the one I wanted to work with.

For the webcomic, I ended up hiring someone who found the job herself and applied, so I’m really glad I did the test run for the webcomic!

3. Hire your test artists

I usually only left the job ad open for a day or two because the proposals would pour in and became kind of overwhelming. I evaluated the applicants based on their portfolios and what they wrote in their proposal or responses to my questions, if I asked any. 

I chose a minimum of 3 artists for these test runs, but it was an arbitrary number. It felt like enough to have good odds but not so many that it would be too expensive or too many people to deal with at once.

Note about Upwork job settings: Upwork asks how many people you’d like to hire for this job. If you select 1 but send 3 offers out, Upwork automatically declines the other 2 offers. I had to recreate ads to hire additional people because I didn’t know that; Upwork allows users to send multiple offers even if the ad says you’re only hiring 1 person.

4. Evaluate the experience

When I’m working with an artist, it’s not just about what they create based on my words. It’s also about how they communicate, how they respond to feedback, how fast or slow they work, etc.

If they drew something that didn’t work for the comic, how did they respond when I provided feedback? Did they understand why it didn’t work? Did they argue and insist on being right? These kinds of things are important because you both need to be comfortable with each other in this process.

For example, one artist I hired for a test was the clear favorite from the first round. I sent her some feedback on her designs, and then she disappeared for 4 days. I panicked a bit since she’d been in touch frequently before. A family member who has been making comics for years said this was a red flag, but I was hesitant to write her off. I had a good feeling about her, and her characters were my favorite!

At the end of the week, the artist reached out with designs updated based on my feedback. She explained that she normally works the whole week and submits work and timesheets at the end of the week. It would’ve been helpful to know that beforehand, but once that was clear, I knew not to worry.

For some people, this might have been a deal breaker, but since she set expectations (albeit a bit late), I decided to trust my instincts and hired her for the job.

Be open to their ideas

Whenever I write a script, I have certain visuals in mind, but I find myself in awe of what the artist creates compared to what I’ve written. In some cases, it’s exactly as I wanted it. In other cases, it’s even better than I described!

Staying open to their ideas highlights the benefit of working with a partner. In my case, the illustrator is more experienced at making comics than I am, so she had a lot of helpful pointers and even gave me a vocabulary lesson 😆

In rare cases, the artist will come back with something that doesn’t quite resonate but is on the right track. In those cases, I’m specific about what works and what doesn’t, and we go from there. But I always want to make sure they feel confident in taking risks and following their instincts.

Certainly some panels I have specific ideas for what I want them to look like, and in that case, I would let the artist know and provide a sketch or reference images. 

In closing

I’ve been fortunate to find some amazing, talented people on Upwork, and I hope this helps someone else out there find the artist they’re looking for.

I’m always amazed with how artists can receive all the same information and come back with their own unique interpretation. This is exactly why the test run is something I plan to do whenever I’m looking for a new artist.

I love supporting artists and developing relationships with them, and making comics has been one of the most fun and rewarding experiences I’ve had as a writer.

Feature image by Ray Piedra