Excited to share I’ve written an article for an upcoming issue of BLAG magazine. Thanks to Sam for the invite. It covers contracts, including outputs, revisions, scope creep, and kill fees. Looking forward to artwork by @davidcousens.bsky.social ❤️ Sharing a few shots from Issue Six. More soon!

I’ve just updated my Ultimate Artist Contract Template and I’m really proud of how much stronger it is now. If you work with clients, this will make your life easier. Find out more about the updates here: www.hireillo.com/blog/a-stron...

I wrote a thing on using social media as an artist. It reads a bit like a conspiracy theory, but it's honestly not. Please give it a read and let me know what you think.

I wanted to chill for 10-minutes, so I thought I'd share a photo I took near Littlehampton a few months ago to encourage others to do the same. 🕊️

My laptop case was looking a little worse for wear, so I treated it to a shiny new one! Which means cracking out a fresh batch of stickers. 😃 How many artists do you recognise and can name?

I wrote this as a script for a video on why artists should have an identifiable illustration style, but who has time to record videos these days? So, I’ve turned it into a blog post instead. Check it out on Hireillo! www.hireillo.com/blog/one-sty...

Talked comics, industry, and real life with @jasonpiperberg.bsky.social 👉 youtu.be/DJPJ5Z-g5WU Potential podcast: 300 DPI 🎙️ Thoughts?

We made a podcast! 🎙️🙌

It’s been a minute since my last update, so here are a couple of photos taken by second-year student Poppy Frith of me reviewing portfolios at last week’s Industry Ready event at DMU. It was great to be invited back again this year and to check out the students’ work.

I had a nice little chat with Tom Froses about the State of Illustration and the industry in general, if you fancy checking it out. 🙂

Love this document!

Awesome illustrators to follow in 2026! 💥 go.bsky.app/5RwifQf

This week, our creative director @darrendilieto.com joins @mrtomfroese.bsky.social on the Thoughts on Illustration podcast. Together, they have an honest conversation about confidence, pricing, late payments, mental health, and the quiet pressures that illustrators face today. youtu.be/UzMmz2o7y9g

We had a smashing time at Thought Bubble this year! 😃

Whether you are an artist or someone who hires artists, the 𝐔𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 template is perfect for you! · Customize for various jobs · Reuse with future projects · Document the agreements between parties · Enjoy peace of mind knowing you are protected hireillo.gumroad.com/l/artist-con...

The new State of Illustration 2025 report from @darrendilieto.com has some good news—and some tough news—for illustrators. www.dailycartoonist.com/index.php/20...

Over the weekend at Mil-D-Con, I watched actor Mark Williams (known for The Fast Show and Father Brown) participate in a Q&A session. He certainly doesn't suffer fools gladly, and it was delightful to watch. 🙂

Twelve 12x18-inch prints, and I'm out of matte black ink. They were fresh cartridges, yikes. 😱 ... Luckily, I have more ink arriving tomorrow.

It's my forty-third birthday, yay! 🥳 Time doesn't half fly. Shown is a fun little gift my fantastic partner got me. 🙂 Now it's time for cake and lots of it! 😋

I'm sorry for the radio silence. I've been swamped and have been working on a top-secret project, while also trying to go to the gym more regularly. Here's a photo I took during a recent trip to London.

We hope you're having a good week! Yesterday, we (re)published an interview with art director @tommykane.bsky.social from the 2007 offline archive. Tommy is a brilliant artist and a remarkable person; some might even call him a genius! Enjoy. 😁 🔗 www.hireillo.com/blog/tommy-k...

I had an interesting chat with @mrtomfroese.bsky.social yesterday for his Thoughts on Illustration podcast. I'm looking forward to the episode, which I expect will be released sometime in October/November. 🎙️

Morgan is selling a few books I picked up on Kickstarter several years ago. They have been sitting on my shelf since then. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15732093...

If you're an artist seeking a contract for your next commission, the Ultimate Artist Contract is perfect for you! 👉 shop.hireillo.com/l/artist-con... Buy once and get free lifetime updates! The lawyer-reviewed template includes terms that prohibit AI (LLM) training.

Stop doom-scrolling and enjoy nature. Maybe touch some grass? There's always tomorrow for work and social media. I took this photo of the ducks and birds at Bradgate Park near Leicester.

It's nice to see that the State of Illustration is getting some coverage. 😃 Thank you downthetubes.net (John Freeman) and @dailycartoonist.bsky.social (Alan Gardner)! 🖖 #stateofillustration #weareillustrators #illosurvey 1. bit.ly/dtt-state7 2. bit.ly/tdc-state7

I host livestreams now. 😃

That's me done emailing everyone who said they wanted to be told about the latest State of Illustration report. If you didn't get an email from me, please reach out or subscribe to my Gumroad list. I think I've earned the right to take a five-minute break. I might go for a walk. 😁 shop.hireillo.com

Over the bank holiday weekend, I worked with four clients, helping them with their budgets and finding the right illustrators. It's a lot of behind-the-scenes work, but it's rewarding to connect people and help them earn a living.

This report is great because it shows you things like what other illustrators, on average, are being paid for work so you can set your prices appropriately and fairly, amongst a lot of other helpful metrics

The latest State of Illustration report is finally available! 🙌 I will be promoting it properly over the next few weeks, but I wanted to give my followers on my personal pages a heads-up before I start doing that. You can find the report at shop.hireillo.com/l/state-7

The 2025 State of Illustration report is out! 👉👉👉 shop.hireillo.com/l/state-7 👈👈👈 The 7th Edition of the report was created using fully anonymised data from around 1,500 artists, illustrators and other professional creatives, who were surveyed over multiple years. ✊ #WeAreIllustrators

The latest State of Illustration report is finally available! 🙌 I will be promoting it properly over the next few weeks, but I wanted to give my followers on my personal pages a heads-up before I start doing that. You can find the report at shop.hireillo.com/l/state-7

I thought I'd share a photo of my desk, as it's not looking horrendous at the moment. What does your workspace look like? Please feel free to post yours in my comments or tag it with #OnMyDesk via your account. 😉

Ready to take your art career to new heights? I'm excited to offer additional portfolio review sessions this month! This is a fantastic opportunity to refine your work and become more business savvy. Join me at shop.hireillo.com/l/review-with-darren and take the next step toward success!

I know I'm going to get blowback for this, but business has been tricky for the last few years, and I need to get paid if I'm going to survive. I'm about to release the new State of Illustration report, and I won't be making the payment optional, unlike in previous years.

I've been keeping my head down while working on the State of Illustration report, which I incidentally finished the first draft of this morning. 🙌 To prove that I don't spend all my time in my hobbit hole, here's a photo of a Jackdaw I took recently. Tchack, tchack!

I'd seen bad reviews for Mickey 17 since it was in the cinema. I finally got to watch it and quite enjoyed it. It's a good film IMO. youtu.be/tA1s65o_kYM

The latest State of Illustration report is almost ready, hopefully in a week or two. My eyes and brain hate me! Seventeen pages done, twenty-five give or take, to go. If you'd like to be notified when it's finished, download the old version at stateofillustration.com

I'm using this now and it's super easy to use, so I'm sending it again.

I took this photo at Bradgate Park and the expressions on the faces of this derpy Fallow Deer doe and fawn just about sums up my mood today. 😐

I'm slowly chipping away at the 2025 State of Illustration report. I think my brain is slightly frazzled, but the project is coming together. Art by Beach. ❤️

Is your web hosting or web-creation platform becoming unaffordable? I've been providing inexpensive, reliable hosting and support for years and am always happy to help you with setting everything up. 💻🧔🏻 Send me a DM to find out more.

I perused the Small Press Day tables at Forbidden Planet Leicester this morning, picked up a few goodies, and had a good, but brief, catch-up with Drew Summers. There's always a ton of interesting art and comics on display on SPD, and I always want to buy everything! Indy comic artists are cool. 🖖

We took half a day off yesterday and decided to visit Charnwood Museum. Because, why not? It was fun. 😄

I took this photo several weeks ago at Nene Park. I got a good number of close-ups of the Heron, but I much preferred this wide shot of the habitat. I've muted the colour as I felt the lush greens were overwhelming to the point where the photo looked fake. It was a fabulously sunny day.

A brief reminder to my artist friends, because I wish I'd remember this myself. Sit up straight, don't hunch and drink more water than you think you need. 🖖

Is cover art more important than a book's content? I often buy based on cover art alone. Here are comics I'd buy without knowing their contents, though I know, for a fact, their stories are as captivating as their covers. Does the success of a book come down to more than its cover?

Artist contracts are the linchpins of the creative industry! Make sure yours is up to par by using the Ultimate Artist Contract template.

I've not posted any moon photos for a while. I took this one last night while the skies were clear, looking out of our back window in Leicester. I took it freehand with a Nikon D3200 (300mm lens) and removed some of the noise with Affinity Photo.