Creating an Award Winning Portfolio - Part 2: What to Illustrate

Go beyond a traditional solution to visual problems. Create a new hook or add a fresh layer to the classics. What non-traditional spin can you add to something well-known?

Places to search for ideas:

Folk & Fairy Tales

Classic Literature

Holiday Scenes

Songs or Poems

School Scenarios

Things Kids Hate

Historic Events

Change it up, don't draw just another version of Cinderella - make her a diva with her step-sisters waiting on her. Or check out Dani Jone's take on a classic holiday song: Frosty the Gourdman.

Use your unique style to retell a classic.

Create an unusual visual twist to an ordinary situation.

Leave a little mystery, the viewer should ask - what's the story here? What's going to happen next?

More Resources:
101 Projects for Illustrators by Dani Jones

79 Things Kids Don’t Like by Tara Lazar