Style is what gets you noticed. Story is what gets you hired again. Editors come back to illustrators who can read 2,000 words and find the picture hiding inside them.
Read for the surprise
Find the sentence that surprised you. That’s almost always the seed of the illustration.
Resist the literal
If the article is about traffic, don’t draw cars. Draw the feeling of being stuck. Draw the negotiation with time. Draw the alternate route never taken.
One idea, fully committed
Spread your one strongest idea across the entire frame. Editorial illustration that hedges always disappoints.
Make the editor’s job easier
A clear concept lets the editor pitch the illustration internally. Murk requires defending. Don’t make them defend.
