IllustratorHub launched last summer with the mission to create more opportunities and visibility for Black illustrators. Illustrators can submit their work to be reviewed by IllustratorHub’s panel and showcased on the website ­– at no cost. But the platform is more than just another portfolio website. A free Slack channel provides participating illustrators a community where they can share stories, ask for advice, and engage in conversations.

For art directors and companies seeking talented illustration, the IllustratorHub talent database provides a simple interface. Illustrators are listed along with their major discipline, a brief artist’s statement, links to their websites and social media accounts, email contact, tags identifying their style of illustration, and four thumbnails showing their work. Clicking onto the artist’s profile doesn’t yield more information on the artist but does permit the viewer to pull up larger images of the thumbnails.

The interface is a bit cumbersome to use to search illustrators. For example, the style tags listed under each illustrator are not clickable. Anyone wanting to sort illustrators by style to scroll down the long page of showcased artists to find a clickable filter list. However, this minor inconvenience is more than offset by the range of styles and quality of illustration on display.

Interested Black illustrators may submit their work for consideration by IllustratorHub via their “Get Hired” form. Once accepted, participation on the platform is free. All illustrators are invited to join the IllustrationHub Slack channel.

A selection from the Black History Part 1 – Icons free illustration pack available on blackillustrations.com.

IllustrationHub is the creation of web designer John T. Saunders. The platform follows his earlier venture, the stock illustration house Black Illustrations, featuring microstock images of Black people. The illustrations can be purchased via a monthly license or in single-purchase packages curated with different themes. The agency also offers free packages of beautiful illustrations along with topical themes, such as The Office Hustle, The Movement, and Black History Month.

Saunders launched Black Illustrations because, as a designer, he was frustrated by the dearth of creative stock illustrations featuring Black subjects. The agency seems to be filling the void. In the year since it launched, the website boasts of 52,000 downloads and 370,000 visitors.

Illustrations from the Black History Part 1 – Icons free illustration pack © blackillustrations.com.