My Journey To Becoming A Live Illustrator

Creating live illustrations at a wedding in April. Image Credit: Joshua David Photography

About a year ago I started hearing about this thing called ‘live illustration’. I had heard about it from illustrators like Katie Chappell, Niki Groom and Sunshine Jo. It peaked my imagination as I realised it could be a great way of combining my background in fashion illustration with a new confidence in drawing quickly from observation in my sketchbooks.

I was exhibiting at a local arts fair and I decided to offer live portraits using watercolours at the venue I was exhibiting at.

It was super fun, and I had lots of visitors posing for portraits with their dogs, kids and partners. It was a gorgeous sunny day and I had set up an illustration station in the garden with chairs for people to pose for their portraits.

I used watercolours and fineliner pens and found that could create a portrait in just 10-15 minutes.

A portrait I created at the Caversham Arts Trail in 2022

Getting Organised

Following the Art Fair I updated my website and social media and started promoting the fact that I could be booked for weddings and live events and I had enquires from a number of different clients.

I also decided to invest in some high quality art materials such as a Windsor and Newton Professional Watercolour palette, Uni Pin waterproof fineliners, as well as a big stash of Derwent A5 watercolour paper.

I also had a bespoke stamp made with my brand name which I could use to quickly sign my illustrations, and I ordered a table top easel to take with me to live illustration jobs.

A lot of live illustrators use marker pens as they are great to work with quickly, but I still really enjoy using watercolour paints, combined with fineliner pens.

I also invested in some CRM software called 17hats which is a great place to organise my quotes, invoices and contracts for clients.

A custom bridal portrait commission

Marketing

The next step was to make sure I had good marketing materials to promote what I could do. I ordered some new business cards with my new live illustration branding, and designed some flyers to hand out at events.

I made sure that my website was up to date with details of my live illustration packages and did lots of research on the market rate for live illustration fees.

I decided to focus on the wedding market to begin with, so I registered a profile with information on my services on Hitched and Add To Event.

I also sent some pitch emails to local wedding venues asking if they would like to include me on their recommended wedding supplier lists.

Getting in front of potential couples was key, so I booked to have a stall at some wedding fairs in Berkshire at venues that I loved.

If a couple was interested in booking me for their wedding I asked them to fill their wedding details in on a form on my website (set up on my iPad as part of my stall set up), and also asked them to sign up to my mailing list if they wanted to hear more about my upcoming events and creative projects.

I also created a selection of template emails to send out to couples after the wedding fairs, and also used these as templates for enquiries that I received via Hitched and Add to Event.

Following up on enquiries is so important, particularly for wedding clients. They will be speaking to lots of different suppliers so you want them to keep you in the front of their mind when they are planning their big day.

Illustrating my outfit at a wedding this summer

Practice, Practice, Practice

Whilst I was making all these preparations, I also made sure to spend plenty of time honing my skills as a live illustrator.

When I first created live portraits, I focused on head and shoulder compositions. However, I knew that being able to create full length fashion portraits of guests and bridal couples would be a much more popular service and it would also mean that I could pitch for working with PR companies and fashion and beauty brands as well.

My background in fashion design was a great starting point for working this way, but I also wanted to be able to draw real people, not just stretched out skinny models. I needed to be able to draw men and women confidently as well as kids and babies. After a lot of trial and error I’ve refined my style and now love using a black brush pen to plot the outline of my subjects, followed with splashes of colour using my watercolour palette.

Another key skill is being able to draw super fast, and in front of other people. Taking my sketchbook out and about and drawing people in the street or in cafes has been a great way to get comfortable with drawing quickly and whilst other people are watching you. Observational drawing is a great skill to have as an artist and I would always recommend doing it as much as possible.

Visiting galleries and museums is another great way to do lots of drawing from observation. Just grab your sketchbook and a travel paint set, along with some brushes with water barrels like these, as well as some pencils and pens and draw what you see around you.

Looking Ahead

With all that preparation under my belt, I’ve now got a number of exciting live illustration bookings this summer and into next year.

Each job has been an opportunity to promote my services on socials as well as my newsletter and website. I’ve collected great photos of me at work on each job.

I’ve simplified my wedding packages, and I’m looking forward to working with a range of branding clients later this year.

If you’re interested in booking me for your wedding or event, get in touch, or you can book a 20 minute virtual coffee and chat to find out more.