Portfolio Review with Darren Di Lieto

Level-up your freelance illustration career with a review that focuses on how to connect with clients and succeed in your business.

During a 1-to-1 video call, we will discuss how to curate and market your portfolio, use social media, and manage your online and offline presence to attract clients and customers. How to work with and retain clients, keep customers coming back, and manage your workflow will also be covered.

· The live video call is 60-90 minutes.
· Rewatch the review; the session is recorded.
· Take away actionable tasks to work on.
· Stay on track with a follow-up call.
· Hireillo members (full) get 50% off.

Note: The available times shown are UTC+1 (London timezone). Please convert for your local timezone, this isn't done automatically.

If you're a Hireillo member, reach out for the discount code or consider joining to take advantage of the discount. Full membership starts from £5.99. https://www.hireillo.com/join/

If no available dates are suitable for you, email me at darren@hireillo.com so we can try to arrange a different day or time.

Darren Di Lieto has worked with illustrators, art directors, publishers and universities for 20+ years. He's seen it all and wants to share his experience with you to help you thrive as a freelance artist.

Testimonials

I hadn't had a portfolio review in a few years, and now, while shifting the direction of my work, I asked Darren to give me one. He provided lots of insightful points and suggestions; ways to improve what I already have and new ideas to consider and test, many of which I hadn’t considered or had doubts about. 100% recommend the portfolio review.

– Ego Rodriguez (egorodriguez.com)


The portfolio review I had with Darren at Hireillo was really helpful. Darren provided me with lots of practical tips and helped reinvigorate my attitude towards freelance work. Getting an objective, constructive opinion on my portfolio and website was incredibly beneficial and I'd highly recommend booking on with Darren.

– Tom Woolley (tomwoolley.com)

My best art career investment last year was hiring Darren Di Lieto, founder of Hireillo, to review my portfolio site. Darren helped me refresh my personal brand—he suggested smart ways to better showcase my best pieces, and gave examples of how to market my art sales that are now key parts of my tool kit as an illustrator.

– Jeanna Pappas (jeannapappas.com)

I had the pleasure of receiving a portfolio review from Darren, and it was an incredibly valuable experience. He took the time to thoroughly go through my entire body of work, not just skimming the surface but really engaging with it. He listened carefully to where I was hoping to take my career and he offered thoughtful suggestions on how to develop personal pieces targeted toward specific markets, as well as practical advice on strengthening individual works already in my portfolio. He also shared insightful tips on how to approach potential clients in a way that felt strategic and genuine. Darren even went well over the allotted time for the review - which spoke volumes about his generosity and passion for helping artists grow.

– Simon Carr (scarrindustries.com)

Throughout my illustration career, I have had plenty of very useful portfolio reviews. Darren's clever review was the one that made me transition from a young artist to an established professional. I would absolutely recommend giving it a go, especially if you need guidance business-wise.

– Driss Chaoui (kalakal-illustration.com)



Darren helped me figure out how best to align my portfolio with the kind of work I was looking for, and challenged me to set higher prices for my original commission works. If you're lost on your creative journey, or just starting out, Darren can offer great advice to help get you where you're going.

– Matthew Clark (maecaart.com)

I’ve known Darren for years and have always respected his deep knowledge of the illustration world. As an experienced illustrator, I was curious to hear his take on my portfolio. He clearly took the time to look closely at the work, and his feedback was honest and thoughtful, never rushed or surface-level. He pointed out things I hadn’t noticed myself and helped me see the strengths I was overlooking. I came away feeling more confident and clearer about where to focus next.

– Timothy Banks (timothybanks.com)

Signing up to have my portfolio review with Darren was an invaluable extra that I am so glad I decided to do. Prior to having my review, it felt like making changes to my website was throwing spaghetti against the wall and hoping for a different result. Darren gave me purposeful and actionable changes that I think helped me to build a better, organized, and focused portfolio that is more attractive to potential clients. I highly recommend this service and really appreciate the time spent helping me put my best foot forward when looking for work. I certainly see more traffic, which I think is the strongest implication that Darren’s advice was beneficial.

– Carolyn Sehgal (carolynsehgal.com)

My portfolio review had an unexpected outcome because, after our session, I decided to shift my work more to the animation, and less to the illustration side. I still make a lot of illustrations, but they are mostly for well-established clients, and now I reach out mainly for animation jobs. This result reveals Darren's commitment to his client's needs and a genuine interest in helping.

– Paulo Zilberman (paulozilberman.art.br)

I turned to Darren a few years ago after seeing a sudden downturn in the amount of work I was getting. I assume the rise of AI created art was responsible. He gave me some very valuable and practical tips on how to better market myself using the Hireillo website. He even did a quick redesign of my logo, which I am now using. Darren is a great guy and he really cares about the artists on Hireillo. I highly recommend the portfolio review if you are considering it.

– Anton Brand (antonbrand.co.uk)

I had a fantastic chat with Darren when I was at a real crossroads in my career – I was doing in-house graphic design but dreaming of focusing on my illustrations. He took the time to go through my portfolio with me, and he had such great insights into what agencies or children's book publishers look for. He also gave me some really helpful tips about my branding and how to make a strong first impression. I've already made those branding tweaks, and I'm still working on making my portfolio shine. I can't recommend meeting with Darren enough for a portfolio review! The guy knows his stuff and is super helpful.

– Laura Ward (lauracwarddesign.com)