Once upon a time my husband decided he wanted to illustrate for a living. Growing up he was always content to be drawing. Some kids like to read or play video games. He liked to draw.
Up until 2010 he had two jobs. One was a regular ol' day job and the other was being a freelance illustrator. When we got married in 2008 he was able to build up his business over the next couple of years to where he decided he wanted to quit his day job and be a freelance illustrator full-time. This was not an overnight decision but came after two years of discussion, budget crunching and prayer. Shortly after our son was born, he took the plunge, quit his day job, and said goodbye to that steady paycheck.
He has three websites that display his portfolio of work. The biggest one is Childrens Illustrators. There are over 700 hundred artists all displaying their work. If you take a look you will see they are all GORGEOUS illustrations.
For Korey to get contacted by a client to illustrate a book, I believe, is a matter of prayer. Here's why:
When someone decides they have a book they want illustrated they will start scouring portfolio sites to find the illustrator's style that might best capture the characters in their book. They already have an idea of what the characters will look like. It's just a matter of finding the illustrator who they think will do the best job. Did I mention there are over 700 illustrators on just one site?
Once they find someone they like, as in Korey, they contact him and ask about his prices, etc. Then Korey will respond with his time frame, price per page, etc. A lot of his business comes from clients who want a book to be self-published. It seems everyone has a story to tell.
After Korey responds, we wait. We pray. Then we rejoice when they want to proceed. At this point, Korey sends them a contract and starts working on sketches.
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