Hiring a Live Illustrator for your Wedding or Event
Photo by Melissa Stimpson Photography
Wedding entertainment can be as elaborate or as simple as you want to make it and can come in many forms. For most people, they want their big day to have unique elements that their guests will enjoy. I mean, the whole purpose of booking entertainment is for your guests right?
My particular service is illustrating live and I’ve been doing it since 2018. I’ve had couples reach out with many of the same questions about hiring a live artist so I’m going to answer them all below!
What is live illustration?
A live illustrator or artist is someone that comes to the venue itself and creates artwork on the spot. Depending on the artist, this can come in many mediums such as painting, charcoal, markers, or more and can be done on canvas, paper, or products. Everyone’s process is different so be sure to do a deep dive into your artist’s work and offering before putting down a deposit.
2. Who is the illustration made for?
There’s 2 different options: individual sketches for the guests, or one big illustration for the couple/client. Guest illustrations are usually done quickly within minutes (varies from artist to artist) while one big piece is done for the couple to take home at the end of the night, or shipped to them post-wedding. If this is a corporate event, some clients like to have a full scene done to commemorate a venue or special date.
Note: some couples choose to have both! A piece for them and sketches for their guests. This option, of course, requires 2 artists.
3. What’s the difference between digital and paper?
Paper sketches are exactly how it sounds: illustrations drawn on paper with markers/pens/pencils (or whatever medium that artist uses). I use 5x7” (13 x 18 cm) paper and put them in plastic protectors. Digital sketches are still hand-drawn, but emailed to guests the next day. I also provide a link for guests to be able to purchase a physical print to be shipped to them if they’d like to order one. I can sketch at the same pace for both mediums, so the preference is really up to you and what will work best for your event!
4. What event can I hire an artist for?
If you don’t choose to have an artist at your wedding, most couples have a few events aside from the big day. This includes bridal showers, engagement parties, rehearsal dinner or welcome party, bachelor/bachelorettes, and day after brunch. All of these are a perfect opportunity to wow your guests with a fun and unique favor for them to remember your special day or weekend.
5. How does it all work?
I can’t speak for other artists, but this is how I do it:
I arrive at the venue 30 minutes prior to set up
When someone wants an illustration, I have them put their name/email on a sign up sheet
After they sign in, I take a photo of them (so they don’t have to wait around and can enjoy the event)
I complete the sketch in the order on that’s on the list
They come pick it up at the end of the night, or if the sketches are digital I will email it to them the next day
If the couple/client chooses overtime, the guest will receive it after the event
6. You mentioned overtime, what is that?
I can only sketch so many people in the designated hours, so once my sign up sheet is full, I will cut the list off for the rest of the time that I’m there. Some quotes may include a limited amount of overtime. If the couple decides they’d like more guests to get drawn, they can pay a per sketch rate or have me stay additional hours. I will complete overtime illustrations after the wedding and ship it to the couple within a week or two from the invoice payment (US addresses only). All sketches will have guests’ names on them for reference.
Pro tip: put the overtime sketches in your thank you notes for distribution!
7. how long does this all take?
For individual guest sketches, most artists work at relatively the same pace which is 5-15 minutes per illustration depending on how many people are in the sketch and how intense their outfits are to draw. This works out to around 6-8 people (or 3-4 couples) per hour. For this reason, I do recommend hiring more than 1 illustrator if you’re having over 75 guests.
For a full scene illustration, it usually takes a minimum of 5-6 hours or more depending on the size and intensity. Some artists will finish by the end of the night and some will complete it post-wedding and work off a photo.
Hiring a live illustrator is the perfect way to memorialize your special day. Regardless if they’re sketching individuals or a big scene, your guests will love to watch the process and remember it for years to come. If you choose to have guest sketches, they’ll be leaving the wedding with a favor that they truly love, as it was made JUST for them. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Interested in live illustration? Click here to fill out the form and I can send you a quote! I will travel to wherever your event is (I love to travel!), however, please be aware that anywhere outside of Boston, DC, and NYC will have additional travel fees.
Check out these live illustration reviews!
“Samantha is an incredibly talented artist! I was lucky enough to have Samantha at my wedding in Red Bank, NJ for live illustration for my guests and she was fantastic! She has great communication throughout the planning process and even found another amazing sketch artist to join her for my wedding to accommodate the amount of guests I had. She is easy to work with and open to all of my ideas, even sketching the first dances! My guests have not stopped texting me raving about Sam and how much they love their sketches. This was the perfect addition to my wedding, to give my guests not only a memorable experience but a custom illustration that will last a lifetime!”
- Sarah, 2023 Bride in NJ
“Samantha was super friendly and great to work with for our Bloomingdale's Spring Fashion event. She was efficient in creating sketch illustrations for our guests! During the planning process, she was quick to respond and an overall great vendor to add to our list. Looking forward to doing more events with her in the future!”
- Karen, Event Coordinator for Bloomingdale’s in VA
“Samantha is nothing less than amazing!! She was one of our guest portrait artists at my wedding in 2023, and I have only positive things to say! She is so warm and friendly and her portraits all came out perfectly. We used these portraits as our guest favors and our guests couldn’t stop talking about how cool they were and loved their photos! 100/10 would recommend Samantha for any event or portrait you’re looking to get!”
- Kate, 2023 Bride in GA
“Samantha was great to work with while planning to bring her talents to our wedding day. At the wedding, guests raved about her beautiful sketches! She was a hit and we are so honored to have had her at our big day!”
- Ashley & Bob, 2023 couple in PA
“I cannot say enough good things about Samantha, or recommend her highly enough for any event! We were looking for an artiist to do live sketching at our wedding, and we found her website and impressive work online. Samantha was very responsive and so easy to work with before the big day, and on the day itself, she was truly one of the hardest working people at our wedding! Our guests raved about how they loved getting her sketches of them, and Samantha did a sketch of my husband and I as well, which we are currently having framed! Her sketches are incredible and were such a unique and special part of our day. She's the best!”
- Andrea, 2021 Bride in NY
“I had her at an event over Valentines day weekend and she was FANTASTIC. Rave reviews by all. She was the hit of the event. Thank you!”
- Brian Curry, event in DC
Samantha Shammas, Author and Owner of SamiaLynn
