Freelance Illustrator for Webtoon Studio - Marketing, Branding & Comic Adaptation - Contract to Hire

Kryptsec is a cybersecurity education company best known for Kryptsec Chronicles, our flagship cyberpunk webtoon that teaches real-world security skills through immersive storytelling. (See attached overview for more about us and the series.) We're looking for an ongoing freelance illustrator to become our go-to artist for everything outside the main webtoon itself. The role This is paid contract work on an as-needed, per-project basis. It is not a full-time role, and the workload will not be evenly paced — some weeks will be quiet, and other weeks we'll have multiple briefs lined up. What we're looking for is an ongoing creative relationship: someone we can reliably reach out to when projects come up, knowing they can take them on. You won't be illustrating the ongoing webtoon - our existing artist handles that - but you will be the artist we turn to for nearly everything else. What you'll work on -Promotional artwork, banners, flyers, and social campaign visuals -Logo design and broader visual branding for Kryptsec and Chronicles-related sub-brands -Character art and key art tied to the Chronicles universe for marketing use -A major upcoming project: adapting our ongoing webtoon into a print comic book, which will involve reformatting vertical-scroll content into traditional sequential panel layouts -Occasional artwork that needs to match or mimic the existing Chronicles webtoon style, using reference art we'll provide No AI-generated artwork This is important to us: we do not accept AI-generated art for this role. At Kryptsec, we pride ourselves on knowing when AI is the right tool for the job and when something needs to be handmade- and artwork falls firmly in the handmade category. Using AI generators to produce deliverables (or to pad a portfolio) is a dealbreaker. Skills we're looking for -Proficiency in Clip Studio Paint (required, our pipeline runs on it; Photoshop or other tools are welcome additions but not required) -Strong character illustration skills -Style versatility, including the ability to mimic an established art style from reference -Comic book / sequential art experience (panel layout, pacing, print formatting) -Graphic design fundamentals -composition, hierarchy, typography -Logo design and branding experience -Print production knowledge (bleed, CMYK/RGB, DPI, file prep) -Comfort taking art direction and iterating on feedback -Reliable communication and dependable turnaround on deadlines Logistics -Pay: Industry-standard rates, negotiated per project based on scope and timeline -Timeline: Most individual projects will range from a few days to a couple of weeks; the comic book adaptation is a longer engagement we'll scope together -Tools: Clip Studio Paint required; final deliverables must be print-ready when applicable To apply, please share: -A few words about your availability and how you typically prefer to be briefed -Your general rate range or how you prefer to price contract work We're excited to find someone who wants a real ongoing creative relationship, not just one-off gigs. Looking forward to seeing your work.