Greeting Card Illustrator to Develop an Original Commercial Range

We are an established greeting-card and small-gift business based in the UK. We sell primarily through Amazon UK and design, print, finish, pack and fulfil thousands of greeting-card SKUs in-house. We perform particularly strongly in humour-led categories. We are now investing in more traditional, sentimental and premium greeting-card categories, where established publishers currently have a stronger presence. We are looking for an exceptional commercial illustrator to develop an original and recognisable visual style for a new greeting-card range. We may ultimately commission several illustrators whose styles suit different parts of the greeting-card market. For this particular role, we are not looking for someone who can imitate every possible style. We want an illustrator whose own visual approach is distinctive, commercially appealing and capable of supporting a substantial coordinated collection. The opportunity The initial commission will begin with a paid three-design trial. If successful, we expect to develop the chosen style into an initial collection of approximately 10–15 greeting cards. A commercially successful range could subsequently be extended across many more recipients and occasions. Potential categories include: Birthday and milestone birthday Mum, Dad and other relations Get well, operation and recovery Wedding and anniversary New home, thank you and congratulations Cute character-led cards Floral and sentimental cards Recipient and hobby-specific cards Seasonal occasions We are looking for a style that feels original and recognisable while remaining accessible to mainstream greeting-card customers. The style could potentially involve: Original character illustration Watercolour or painted artwork Pencil, ink or hand-drawn illustration Mixed-media or collage Decorative botanical illustration Narrative scenes Printmaking-inspired artwork Contemporary stylised illustration These are examples rather than restrictions. We are particularly interested in seeing an illustrator’s authentic personal style and ideas. Commercial requirements The finished designs must work as products, not only as standalone artwork. They should: Communicate the recipient or occasion immediately Have a strong emotional or commercial idea Stand out in Amazon search results Remain effective at small thumbnail size Support clear greeting-card wording Be capable of extending into a coordinated range Be suitable for professional printing Appeal to mainstream UK greeting-card customers Be original and legally suitable for commercial product use Competitor examples will be supplied to explain the target customer, current market and commercial standard. These examples are for context only and must not be copied, traced or closely reproduced. We want an original illustration range—not another version of an existing publisher’s artwork or characters. Complete card design and typography Our primary requirement is exceptional illustration. The ability to create complete card-front compositions and integrate typography is a strong advantage. If typography is not one of your specialist skills, please state this clearly. We can collaborate on final wording and typography, provided your illustration is composed with the card format and message placement in mind. How the project will work You will receive written briefs containing: Occasion or recipient Required wording Target customer Card dimensions Relevant market context Competitor examples where appropriate Potential special-finish opportunities For the three-card trial, all three briefs will be commercially connected. We want to see how one distinctive illustration style can become a coherent range rather than receiving three unrelated styles. We will assess: Strength and originality of the illustration style Commercial appeal Emotional warmth and storytelling Character or visual consistency Amazon thumbnail impact Suitability for different recipients and occasions Potential to expand the style into a larger collection Quality and usability of the final artwork files Special finishes Some designs may receive gold foil, spot UV, embossing or other premium finishes. Experience designing with these finishes is desirable but not essential. Any proposed finish elements should complement the illustration and be capable of being isolated cleanly in the layered artwork. Final technical prepress separations may be prepared by another specialist. Required final files For each completed design, we will require: High-resolution artwork at the dimensions supplied Minimum 300 dpi at final print size Correct bleed and safe area Layered PSD, PSB, AI or equivalent editable source file Important characters, objects, backgrounds and decorative elements separated where reasonably possible Editable or separately supplied typography if you are designing the complete card front Potential foil or special-finish elements isolated on separate layers A flattened high-resolution proof file Clean artwork without watermarks or accidental marks If your natural process produces flattened traditional artwork, please explain how you normally supply commercial files and what editing or adaptation will be possible. Originality and commercial rights All submitted portfolio examples and commissioned artwork must be your own original work. Please do not submit: Artwork created by another illustrator Stock illustrations presented as your own Traced or closely reproduced competitor designs Recognisable third-party characters or properties Work for which you cannot grant the required commercial rights Any stock elements, external brushes, fonts or third-party assets must be disclosed and appropriately licensed. The final contract must allow LimaLima to manufacture, advertise and sell products using the commissioned designs. We will also need the practical ability to create reasonable wording, recipient, size and product adaptations from the final artwork. Please identify any proposed licensing, exclusivity or adaptation restrictions before the contract begins. Exact usage and ownership terms will be agreed in writing before work starts. Portfolio requirements Please do not submit only a general portfolio link. Your proposal should contain 6–10 carefully selected examples showing: Your strongest and most distinctive illustration style Multiple pieces that clearly belong to one coordinated visual world Characters or subjects shown in different situations Emotional, narrative or occasion-based illustration Commercial products such as greeting cards, giftware, stationery, publishing or packaging Illustration combined with typography, if applicable Finished printed products, if available Artwork prepared for professional production For the most relevant examples, briefly explain: The original brief or intended product Whether it was commissioned work or a personal project Your exact contribution The materials, software and production methods used Whether the artwork has been manufactured or sold commercially Whether any part of the work involved third-party or generative tools Reference images and mood boards must be clearly labelled and must not be presented as your own portfolio work. Payment and project structure This will be a fixed-price project completed through funded Upwork milestones. We are not requesting unpaid test work. Milestone 1: Paid three-design trial The selected illustrator will receive three connected greeting-card briefs. For each brief, we expect: Initial rough concept sketches or composition options Discussion and selection of the strongest direction Development into one finished illustration or complete card front Up to two reasonable revision rounds Delivery of the agreed high-resolution and layered files The three finished designs should feel like members of the same recognisable collection. Payment will be released when the agreed concepts, revisions and final files have been supplied in accordance with the brief. Payment will not depend on subsequent Amazon sales performance. Milestone 2: Initial collection If the trial is successful, we expect to commission approximately 7–12 additional designs in the same illustration style. These may be divided into smaller funded milestones, normally covering three or four designs per batch. The deliverables, deadlines and payment will be agreed before each milestone begins. The agreed fixed price should include: Initial sketches and concept development Finished illustration or card artwork Up to two reasonable revision rounds High-resolution final artwork Agreed layered or editable source files A completely new direction requested after approval, additional versions outside the original brief or revisions beyond the agreed scope will be discussed and priced separately. Please include: Your proposed fixed price for the three-design trial Your normal price per finished illustration or card design thereafter Any proposed licensing or exclusivity terms Your expected trial turnaround time Your availability for the remaining collection We are not looking for the lowest bid. We are looking for an illustration style with genuine commercial potential that could become a significant long-term greeting-card range. There is potential for regular ongoing work if the initial collection and working relationship are successful. We may also commission more than one illustrator where different exceptional styles suit different parts of the market.