Commercial Illustration vs Stock Images
A plain look at when a custom illustration can say something more specific than a stock image.
Stock can be useful. I use it too when the job is simple and the image only needs to fill a space. But some stories need a more particular feeling: a strange idea, a specific tension, a subject that cannot be photographed, or a brand that wants to sound like itself.
Where stock starts to feel thin
- Abstract products, finance, policy, and technology
- Stories where the mood matters as much as the subject
- Reports or campaigns that should not look like everyone else's
- Editorial pieces where a literal photo makes the idea smaller
What a drawn image can do
An illustration can put different things in the same frame: a person, a machine, a symbol, a place, a joke, a warning. That is what I like about it. The image can be direct, but it can also hold a little bit of mystery so the reader wants to continue.
When it is worth commissioning
Commission the image when it has a job to do: introduce the story, explain the tension, give a campaign a visual voice, or make a publication feel more considered. If it is just decoration, maybe you do not need me. If the image needs to say something, that is where illustration starts to make sense.
If you have a story or campaign that needs that kind of image, send it through the contact page.
Browse the illustration portfolio or contact Alex about a commission.