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I’ve been a freelance illustrator for a few years, but I’m starting to feel like my portfolio is just a collection of random client work that doesn’t show what I actually want to do. How do you decide what to leave in and what to take out when you’re trying to pivot toward a more specific style or niche?

I did a hard pass on my work last year. I kept only pieces that felt like the direction I actually want to go, and I dumped a bunch of client stuff that felt generic or rushed. I asked a couple friends to rate things by vibe instead of skill, and that helped me see what’s carrying the mood I’m after.

Labeling things as experiments helped. I put a short caption under each piece explaining what I was testing and what the result suggested about my taste. It kept me from pretending every piece is a finished project and reminded me what to push forward.

Do you think the issue is the actual pieces or how you’re presenting them?

One time I got stuck chasing a certain font vibe and spent days tweaking thumbnails. Then I shrugged and pivoted to mood boards and two anchor pieces that felt like the real direction. It wasn’t perfect and I still dropped things later, but it gave me a clearer line to judge everything else.

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