6/29/22, 9:51 AM 5 Tips for Arranging Images in Your Portfolio | Muddy Colors

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5 TIPS FOR ARRANGING NOW!

IMAGES IN YOUR
PORTFOLIO
ROVINA CAI
SATURDAY, JUNE 18TH, 2022

There are plenty of fantastic posts about what to put in your

portfolio, but once you’ve created and gathered those
illustrations, how do you arrange it all? Chronological order – with
your newest work first – seems to be the default, but I prefer to
take a more curated approach, because it can help make a
portfolio look cohesive and well-presented. NEW VIDEO
This post is about online portfolios like a website or Artstation
gallery – physical portfolios where each image is seen on its own
page work a little differently. As always, things may not be FANTASY
applicable for you depending on the sort of work you do, and the CHARACTER
specific industry or niche you work in. This is just what I do on my
own website, and will probably be most pertinent to commercial
DESIGN WITH
illustration portfolios. JUSTIN
GERARD
1. BEST WORK FIRST
This one’s pretty simple – the first row of your portfolio should be
your best work! It should provide an immediate clear impression
of what you do as an illustrator, and aim to “wow” the visitor, FEATURED
making a good first impression. Additionally, these first few slots POSTS
can be used to indicate the kind of work you would most like to be
commissioned for, and highlight your area of expertise if you have
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one.

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VARNISHIN
G YOUR
PAINTINGS

INTERVIEW:
DAVE
RAPOZA

WHAT I’VE
LEARNED
ABOUT
BEING A
MOTHER
AND AN
ARTIST
ARTIST
2. MATCHING NEIGHBOURS SELFIES:
To create a sense of flow throughout your portfolio, you can EVERYBODY
arrange images so that each one matches its neighbour. This can ’S DOING IT
be somewhat subjective. Personally I like to group together pieces
with colours that complement each other – either images using a
similar colour palette, or different colours that look harmonious
together. I also group images that are similar in tone or subject
matter. RECENT
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I love your
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Great article.
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3. VARIETY IRWANSYAH on
Having said the above though, be mindful of placing pieces that ARTIST SELFIES:
EVERYBODY’S
are too similar together, as this can make your portfolio seem DOING IT

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repetitive. It may also shape the visitors perception of your work thank to
in an unintended way – for example; if you have a whole row of information
dragon images (from different projects), it could imply they are
part of a series*, or that you really love painting dragons, or that RIZKA
you are an expert at painting dragons – and if that doesn’t align FIRDHAYANTI on
ARTIST
with your goals, spreading out these similar pieces creates more INSPIRATION –
of a sense of variety. HERAKUT
Okay. Thanks for
*If you do have a group of images from the same series, obviously information
putting them together is the way to go.

ARCHIVES

Select Month

4. BOOKENDS
Similar to matching neighbours, matching the left and right-most
images in a row can help create balance. Pair images that face
inwards or otherwise match (similar colours, or compositions),
and placing them on opposite ends of a row like bookends will
frame the images between them.

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5. ANCHORS
Showing your illustrations in context is a nice way to add visual
interest to your portfolio and provide anchor points so that a
visitor doesn’t lose interest. Things like book mockups, or photos
of your illustration applied to whatever product it is illustrating
can be very effective. Presenting work in this way highlights it, so
only do this sparingly, for projects you want to bring special
attention to, or where the application of the illustration is
especially important.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

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At the end of the day, the quality of your work is the most
important thing. A good portfolio is one with strong work, which
also aligns with the clients’ needs. The particular arrangement of
images is not of crucial importance, but I enjoy taking the time to
curate mine because I want my portfolio to feel intentionally put
together – like flipping through an art book. Though these tips are
most applicable to a portfolio website, I’ve also had success using
them to make my Instagram account look more cohesive, and in
other situations where I need to present a group of unrelated
images together. I hope something here might be helpful to you
too!

Example portfolio “illustrations” created by Alex Stone 🙂

ROVINA CAI
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2 COMMENTS

Lester Yocum on June 18, 2022 at 9:34 am

Great post. Expanding on a subject to touch
stone in paragraph two above, there is no “one-
size-fits-all“ portfolio. Each portfolio should be
unique to the audience or market you are
targeting. If you are targeting booksellers, put
book-related images in there, things that look
good in the interior or on the cover. For
advertising, editorial, fine art, topic-specific
grants, whatever, customize your portfolio to
best meet the buyer’s interests. If you don’t know
enough about them, check out their websites or
go to a bookstore. They usually have displays of a
pre-existing art. As a wild example, a portfolio
heavy in fantasy art probably will not impress
someone looking to do romance stories.

REPLY
Rovina Cai on June 20, 2022 at 2:01 am
Definitely! I linked to a bunch of great
posts in the first paragraph that discuss
portfolio building, and how to target
various audiences in depth. The focus of
this post is more about how to arrange
the images within a specific portfolio.

REPLY

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