Illustrator/surface pattern designer

We are a kid’s room decor and accessories business looking to hire a talented freelance illustrator or surface pattern designer to create 1) illustration wall art prints and 2) high-quality surface pattern designs.

Project details:

The surface pattern designs will be printed onto products such as blankets, comforters, bedsheets, throw pillows, tote bags, towels, mugs, water bottles, and tumblers. The illustration wall art prints will be used to decorate kids’ bedrooms. The prints will not be surface patterns.

The print illustrations and the surface patterns will revolve around 8 characters: the boy’s collection will have 4 boy characters, and the girl’s collection will also have 4 girl characters. On most products, the four characters for each collection will all show in beautiful, colorful patterns that include animals and/or objects around several themes. Also, because our customers will have the option to personalize the products (with a kid’s name), we will also need to design versions of the patterns with text; thus, we need to find fonts that will beautifully fit in the patterns and prints.

The characters need to be black kids around 8–10 years old with four different skin tones representative of the diversity present in the black community. Several black hairstyles also need to be showcased (around 8 different hairstyles for girls and 4 hairstyles for boys).

Themes:

Here are the themes being considered for now (additional themes are possible later):

BOYS: Astronaut, Superhero, Race car driver, Pirate, Pilot, Firefighter, Sports GIRLS: Mermaid, Princess, Ballerina, Fairy, Astronaut, Gymnastics/Sports, Superhero

In conclusion, the work has the following steps:

• Design the eight characters. The next step will not happen until we are completely satisfied with the characters.
• Design the illustration prints around the characters and above-mentioned themes.
• Design the surface patterns, which will include the characters based on the above themes, for the other kids’ room decor products (mainly blankets and pillows to start).

Ideally, we would like one professional to do the roles of illustrator and surface pattern designer. However, we are open to splitting the job into two: one illustrator to design the characters and one pattern designer to use the characters to design the surface patterns.

We have attached some pictures of character illustrations we love, just to give an idea and not to reproduce as is (not all are the proper age, but we like these styles). There will likely be several iterations until we are happy with the results.

Requirements:

• The ideal candidate will be able to follow our guidance but will also be creative and have a lot of imagination to be able to make proposals as well.
• Ability to create fun, creative, and engaging designs suitable for a wide range of kids products, including wall art, blankets, mugs, pillows, tote bags, etc.
• Ability to collaborate and meet deadlines
• Digital drawing skills.
• To be considered for this job, we require that you submit a proposal that outlines your approach to the project and how you plan to contribute to its success.
• Please include links to past completed projects that demonstrate your ability to create high-quality designs that are suitable for kids' products.
• We might require a test for the illustrations before we award the entire project.
• Please use the word “colorful” in your response.

We are excited to work with a talented and experienced illustrator and surface pattern designer who can help us create unique and captivating designs that will delight children and their parents alike.