Signing on with IllustrationX Agency | February 2024

Hello friends!

This is a short and sweet post because I just couldn’t wait to share with you all a new development in my illustration practice. I’ve recently signed on with renowned agency IllustrationX!

They will be representing me in everything illustration worldwide, for the only exception of Finland. So, if you do have some enquiries within Finland I will still be handling those commissions myself. Enquiries outside of Finland will be handled by wonderful folks at IllustrationX.

I was so excited to get signed on with them that I made this small hand-painted animation to celebrate!

What sparked this idea to create something for this wonderful news was the agency’s red X logo. I thought it had so much potential in it for artists to create something playful, so I began ideating in my sketchbook of all the different things I could do with the X. I also wanted the animation or illustration to symbolize my joining the roster in some way.

I quickly decided what I wanted to do was a little transformation animation. A little character turning into the X, symbolizing becoming part of the IllustrationX family! Then I planned the animation on my iPad through Procreate, just to get a sense of the transformation I wanted to create. See the quick pencil sketch below.

Now it was time to paint! I wanted to keep the process quick and loose. I planned a total of 12 frames that I would paint with acrylic gouache onto extra toothy watercolor paper.

It was such fun to make, and to play around with the watery textures and see how it all comes together in the end. I’d say 75% of the time I spent working on this animation was waiting for the watercolor puddles to dry out!

I’m often worried that my paintings will add a little too much texture to the animation, but it usually turns out to look fun and lively.

And I have to include a little video of each painted panel. I really like the mid-transformation paintings! I don’t usually get so abstract in my work but something about this is very satisfying! And there you have it - a finished little loop animation was born!

Anywho, back to the IllustrationX - I just think they’ve done a top-notch job writing a professional bio copy for me as well as helping me showcase my work in the best possible light. I’ve been handling my own illustration career for over four years now, and although I do love being in charge of my own promotion and handling of client projects, I think it will be a breath of fresh air to let an agency take the wheel! I’m hoping to have a little bit more time to focus on what I do best - being creative!

You can find my profile on the IllustrationX website here.

P.S. I’ve been thinking about making some illustrated web stories that I could share as a newsletter - could that be a fun thing to pop up in your inbox?

My best,

Tilda