Senior Illustrator (Contractor)
About the role
The Illustrator will bring Lovepop's product designs to life through beautiful, on-brand illustration across our owned and licensed portfolio. Reporting to the Art Director, this role focuses on illustration - creating characters, scenes, patterns, graphics and sentiment art that translate into 3D pop-up cards and paper-art gifts.
As Illustrator, you will work closely with the Art Director, fellow illustrators, and the 3D paper-engineering team to turn briefs into production-ready art. Your mission is to:
(1) execute high-quality illustration work to creative briefs from the Art Director, adhering to the style engineering requirements of each product line.
(2) produce illustrations that respect licensor style guides for our licensed IPs - hitting character integrity, brand voice, and approval standards.
(3) partner with the 3D paper-engineering team to ensure your illustration translates beautifully on the finished product.
Accountabilities
Execute to Creative Brief: Interpret briefs from the Art Director and translate them into illustration that hits the visual direction, mood, and technical specs. Iterate constructively based on feedback.
Output metric: On-time delivery of illustration assets per project schedule.
Own Illustration Quality: Deliver illustration files for product development that meet Lovepop's technical specs and quality standards.
Study & Apply Style Guides: Internalize each licensor's brand guidelines (character proportions, color, expression, do's and don'ts) and produce illustration that hits the standard on submission.
Support Approval Cycles: Prepare submission-ready files, respond quickly to licensor feedback, and iterate work to approval with the Art Director's guidance.
Illustration Craft & Execution
Deliver beautiful, on-brief illustration work across Lovepop's product portfolio.
Licensed IP Execution
Produce illustration that respects and elevates licensed assets that contribute to Lovepop’s product portfolio.
Qualifications
Experience: Minimum 3-6+ years of professional illustration experience, ideally with time in product design for physical consumer goods (greeting cards, paper goods, gift, stationery, children's product, toy/collectible, or licensed consumer products). Portfolio work must show production-ready illustration, not only concept or personal work.
Licensed IP Experience: Prior experience illustrating within a licensor style guide (Disney, Sanrio, Universal, music estates, sports leagues, or similar) is a strong plus. Comfort working within tight brand constraints while still bringing warmth and life to the work is essential.
Illustration Craft: Strong command of illustration fundamentals - drawing, character design, color, composition, light, texture, expression. Ability to adapt style range to fit different product lines and licensor requirements (not a "one style only" illustrator).
Tools: Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Working knowledge of Procreate or comparable digital painting tools. Comfort with layered, production-ready file setup. Rhino 3D familiarity is a plus.
Print & Physical Product Awareness: Working understanding of how illustration translates to print - CMYK/Pantone color, resolution requirements, and how art will read on paper stock after die-cutting and folding. Prior experience designing for pop-up or die-cut product is a strong plus.
Feedback & Collaboration: Ability to receive art direction constructively, iterate quickly, and hold quality high through multiple rounds. Comfortable working closely with an Art Director, fellow illustrators, and paper engineers.
Attention to Detail: Delivers clean, correctly organized files. Catches inconsistencies in color, spacing, and character detail before handoff. Respects specs and deadlines.
Portfolio: A portfolio demonstrating illustration range, character work, and (ideally) licensed-IP or product-applied illustration is required for consideration.
Cultural Fit: Genuine passion for Lovepop's mission to create magical moments and natural alignment with our values: Engineering, Hunger, Magic, Connection.
Education: Degree in Illustration, Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Animation, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.