Do Digital Artists Need a Resume?

my issue is that they always seem to want a resume… and it doesnt help if your just starting because all you've worked as is retail unfortunately… you want them to see your work but they won't even bother to look 😑

A resume isn't always for getting an idea of what you can do, but how well you can do it. It shows that you can commit to jobs through completion, work on teams, provide communication, etc. When an artist says that they don't have a resume/references it usually means that they are either very new, which is ok — or that they have burned lots of bridges in the past, due to missed deadlines or just failing to deliver completely.

As an artist also in charge of hiring other artists, the sad truth is that some of the most talented illustrators and designers I've ever worked with, also had the worst work ethic and time management skills. Their portfolio screams "hire me at any price!" but once they are on a job, it's just a waste of time and money.

Writing a resume shouldn't be difficult, you update it once per year, add maybe a sentence or two, and you're done. Nobody wants to read a resume longer than 1 page, and no cover letters longer than 3-4 short sentences. But by providing neither, you're just showing that you couldn't be bothered to spend a couple hours preparing for a potential job/client.

All this said, artists usually don't have resumes, and are reluctant to provide references. So it's important to look into what they've done for other people (not themselves or friends or DA commissions) and try to contact those people to get a feel for how well it really worked out.