Make your graphic design portfolio stand out with our free guide’s key tips.
The email you entered is invalid.
Thank you for subscribing.
By entering your email, you indicate that you have read and understood our Privacy Policy and agree to receive marketing from Squarespace.
Creativity runs in the family for illustrator and artist Kentaro Yoshida. His mother, also an artist, has been a major influence on his work—even when she wasn’t completely on board with his career moves. “First she disagreed with me becoming a full-time artist. I think she knew how hard it is, from her experience. But I gave it a try and fortunately, survived,” Kentaro says. “She is definitely the biggest inspiration for me.”
Kentaro grew up in a rural fishing village in Toyama, Japan, but moved to Australia at age 18, where he now lives in Sydney. Since that move, he’s built a successful full-time freelance career as an artist, selling prints, custom painting murals and surfboards, and collaborating with major brands and musicians.
Read on to learn how Kentaro developed his distinct art style, and how his Squarespace website has grown with him over the last decade to support his creative career and express his personality.
Sharpening his artistic vision
Kentaro didn’t begin his career as a full-time freelance illustrator. First, he worked corporate jobs as a graphic designer, using his personal time to establish himself as a working artist.
“I think finding a flow for both projects and finances is important,” Kentaro says of his early freelance days. “Consistently finding and making projects and working with various clients was hard for me when I first started.”
But his artistic style—influenced by his love of Japanese comics and manga, and which he summarizes as “bold line-work, quirky characters, and a beach-side sense of humor”—helped his freelance career flourish. By developing a unique style and point of view, Kentaro attracts freelance clients who already love his work. That means he doesn’t have to compromise his own vision to make even the biggest clients happy.
“When I became an artist and worked for commercial projects, most clients asked me to express their brand essence in my style, or wanted to see me creating something for their brands,” he says. “I feel like I still have a lot of creative freedom, so I think I can stay true to myself with various unique projects.”
Sharing the professional and the personal in a portfolio website
Kentaro started his Squarespace website 10 years ago, to use it as a portfolio for his corporate graphic design work. Since then, it’s become a home base for not just his artwork, but how he represents himself online to clients and supporters.
The home page of Kentaro’s website immediately puts visitors face-to-face with a gallery of his work. Users can click through to view more art in a series or read his notes on a project. Or, they can visit Kentaro’s online store, where he started to sell prints of his work after building a following for his art.
Kentaro lets his website and his art speak for him. The site communicates his style, makes it easy for clients to contact him, and includes tidbits about his personal story alongside a lengthy resume of accomplishments.
“Having an entire website is essential for any type of business these days, so it is very natural for me to have one,” Kentaro says. “After 10 years, now it is not just about my portfolio. It tells the page viewer who I am, so I feel like it is more personal.”
See more artist website examples
Advice on becoming a full-time freelance illustrator
Kentaro’s advice for other artists looking to become full-time illustrators and creatives is different than it might have been a few years ago. “I thought it was safer to be a part of a big company than working for yourself as a freelancer,” he says. “But after COVID, I feel like there is no 100% safe spot.”
His biggest piece of advice to other freelancers is to discover their own style so that they can stand out and find projects that they enjoy. “Practice what you are good at, then express your personal stories in your work, which makes it unique,” he recommends. As for his own freelance journey, despite his many successes he says, “I am still working it out!”
Inspired by Kentaro’s story? Start building your own brand on Squarespace.