How to prepare an artist dossier or portfolio

Reviewed as of 27 September 2026. If anything has changed, let me know and I will update it with the date of the change.

The dossier is the document that represents you when you are not present: in an open call, in a gallery's inbox, or on the desk of a curator reviewing numerous proposals. Whoever opens it usually spends only a few minutes on it. In that time, they must understand what you do, see it, and know how to find you.

There is no official format. Every open call establishes its own requirements and, when it does so, those requirements take precedence over any general recommendation.

Dossier, portfolio and other documents

In practice, 'dossier' and 'portfolio' are used as synonyms, and the body issuing a call may refer to the same document by either name. Before preparing anything, verify exactly what is requested and work according to that definition. As a general criterion, this guide distinguishes between the following documents:

Dossier or portfolio. A selection of work with brief texts, designed to present yourself to a specific recipient. This is the document covered by this guide.
Curriculum vitae. A chronological and verifiable record of education, exhibitions, awards and other milestones.
Biography. A brief prose text that situates your practice.
Artist statement. A text that explains the conceptual approach of the work; it has its own guide.
Project proposal. A document that develops a specific proposal: objectives, timeline, budget and technical requirements.
List of works. A list of pieces with their details, without large images or design.
Press kit. A package for the media containing a biography, authorised images, captions and terms of use.

Each document addresses a different question. Mixing them into a single file lengthens the dossier without providing greater clarity.

What it must answer

A good dossier answers three questions quickly: what you do, what the work is like, and who you are. You do not always have to follow that order, but the work should appear before a long biography or a theoretical framework gets in the way of understanding it.

Furthermore, the dossier does not replace a project proposal, a web portfolio, a full curriculum vitae, or a technical report. It may contain elements of all of them, but it must have a defined objective and recipient.

Define the recipient and the decision

Define in one sentence who will open the document and what decision they must make with it: inviting you to an exhibition, shortlisting you for an open call, requesting further information or considering an acquisition. That sentence determines which works are included, the length of the text required and which data must be provided.

Start with the inventory

Before designing anything, gather the data for each work in an inventory: identifier, title, year, technique, dimensions, edition, status and available photographs. With this foundation, preparing the dossier consists of selecting and ordering, ensuring the data is consistent across all documents you send. The master work record serves as a model, and the documentation of provenance assists in establishing the source data.

What to include

Cover

Your professional name, the project title or "Dossier", the year or date of update, and a representative image. Add your website or email address if they do not clutter the page. Avoid decorative covers that do not showcase the work.

This is useful when the document exceeds a few pages or brings together several projects. Internal PDF bookmarks assist with navigation but do not replace a visible order.

Artist statement

Between half a page and one page is usually sufficient. Explain the issues that permeate your work, how you address them, and through which languages or materials. Do not turn the statement into a list of adjectives or a complete reconstruction of your influences.

Write with precision. If you use a technical or theoretical term because it is necessary, ensure the context allows it to be understood. Clarity does not require simplifying the work, but rather preventing the reader from having to decipher the prose before viewing it.

Selection of work

This is the core of the document. Select the pieces that support the application or the contact. Ten or twenty images may work in a general dossier, but that is not a rule: an open call may require fewer, and an installation project may need more views.

Each work must include a consistent entry:

title;
year;
technique and materials;
dimensions or duration;
edition, if applicable;
photo credit, when necessary.

For installations, interventions, performances, video, or digital pieces, combine general views, details, and the information necessary to understand the scale, space, or temporality. If an image is a simulation or a montage, indicate it.

Projects

If you are bringing together several projects, open each one with a brief text: starting question, development, media, and current status. Avoid repeating in each caption what is already explained in the general text.

For video, sound, or interactive work, include a still image and a direct link. Indicate duration, year, and password if applicable. Check the links before sending and do not force the reader to leave the dossier to view all essential content.

Short curriculum vitae

Order it from most recent to oldest and distinguish relevant categories: solo exhibitions, group exhibitions, education, grants, residencies, awards, collections, publications, or commissions. Include only what provides context to the recipient.

If your career is short, do not inflate it. A brief and verifiable list is better than a long one filled with minor education, irrelevant activities, or ambiguous categories.

Biography

A brief biography can serve as a starting point in a general dossier; its length depends on the destination and the requirements of the call. Do not repeat the entire curriculum vitae. Summarise your practice, professional location if relevant and a few milestones that help to situate it.

Contact

Include email, website and professional profiles that you keep updated. It is not necessary to publish an address, personal telephone number or other data that are not required. Contact details should appear at the beginning or at the end and may be repeated discreetly in the footer.

Editing and sequencing

Selection does not consist solely of choosing the best works. It must construct a narrative. Open with an image capable of situating the work, alternate between general views and details when useful, and conclude with a piece that does not appear to be an afterthought. If you mix series, make the transition clear.

Ensure that the design does not compete with the work. Maintain consistent typefaces, margins, captions and sizes. Do not stretch images or crop essential details to make them fit. Verify that colours and proportions are reasonably accurate.

Format and accessibility

Unless the guidelines state otherwise, use a single PDF. It must open on a telephone and on a computer without broken fonts or misaligned pages.

Use a recognisable name, for example Name_Surname_Dossier_2026.pdf.
Optimise images without compromising their quality.
Respect the page and file size limits.
Insert descriptive links and verify that they function.
Add alternative text when the PDF creation system permits it.
Maintain sufficient contrast, legible body text and a clear reading order.
Include the date of the update and remove metadata or internal comments before sending.

Do not protect the file with a password unless requested. It may prevent review, indexing or opening on certain platforms.

A version for each destination

Maintain a master dossier and prepare a specific version from it.

Call for entries. Follow the guidelines, respond to their criteria and retain proof of the version sent.
Gallery. Review their programme, artists and type of professional relationship. Do not feign affinity if it does not exist.
Curator or institution. Prioritise works related to the research or project and provide details on loans, installation or availability where appropriate.
Press or communication. Prepare a separate package with a biography, authorised images, captions, credits and conditions of use.

Adapting does not mean changing your practice to please the recipient. It means choosing which part of your work best allows them to understand why you are writing to them.

Master and derivative files

Maintain an editable master file with the images at maximum quality, and generate derivatives from it: a lightweight PDF for email, another for screen viewing and a version adapted to each form. Derivatives are regenerated; the master is the only file that is edited.

Version control system

Name files using a fixed pattern that includes your surname, the destination and the date, always in the same order. Note on a sheet which version you sent, to whom and when. This allows you to respond if you are asked for an expansion and avoids repeating a submission.

What to remove

images that are poor or inconsistent with current work;
works included only to increase the number of pages;
theoretical texts that do not assist in understanding specific decisions;
laudatory quotes without a source or that are of no use to the recipient;
lists of adjectives describing your own work;
broken links, QR codes as the sole means of access or expired passwords;
unnecessary personal data;
prices, unless the document is commercial and the recipient requires them;
internal notes, revision marks and duplicate pages.

Review before sending

Check the guidelines and the requested file name.
Review spelling, dates, titles, measurements and credits.
Open the PDF on a telephone and on another computer.
Test all links without being logged in.
Confirm that the document is understood without oral explanation.
Ask someone who does not know the project to read it.
Save the version sent with the date and recipient.

Keeping it alive

Update the dossier after completing a series, documenting an exhibition or incorporating a significant milestone, rather than when the deadline is about to close.

Portfolio for a school, a publisher or a client

This section expands on the portfolio guide. A portfolio is not an album of everything you have made: it is a selection chosen for a specific person and a specific decision. It changes depending on who will look at it.

First, the goal

Ask yourself what you need it for: getting into a school, persuading a publisher or landing a commission. Each case calls for different work and a different presentation.

For a school

Each school sets its own requirements: number of pieces, format, file size and deadline, and sometimes a separate test. I have not located the 2026-2027 requirements of the art schools in Málaga and Seville, Escola Massana, Joso or ESDIP, so check the website of the school you are applying to and save the requirements with their date. As my own judgement, include observational work and life drawing if you have any, and show process, not just the final result.

For a publisher

Give the publisher what it asks for. These examples come from verified calls for submissions and are not a rule:

Norma Editorial, illustration portfolio. A letter, your career history and around ten images.
Norma Editorial, comic project. The team, a half-page presentation, a synopsis, the characters and between five and ten finished pages.
Norma Manga Competition. The first eight pages, complete and inked, with a plot summary. Works made with artificial intelligence are not accepted.
KADOKAWA portfolio review. Manga manuscripts or storyboards, in black and white or colour, made digitally or by hand, up to 100 MB. It does not accept standalone text or scripts, standalone illustrations, fanart, derivative work or works made with AI.

How to present a project is covered in Presenting a comic project to a publisher, and competitions and reviews are covered in Manga portfolio competitions and reviews in Spain.

For a client

This is my own judgement. A client wants to see that you can solve their problem: show work similar to what they are asking for, together with the use it was made for. State what you did on each project and how long it took. If you have no commissions, show your own examples in that format.

Order and number of pieces

The number depends on who will see it, and there is no universal figure. The calls above range from eight complete pages to ten images. As an editorial judgement, not a rule: put your best work first, leave out anything that does not represent you and do not pad it out to reach a number.

Information for each project

For each piece or series, give the title, year, purpose, your role, technique and size, and whether it is a study, a personal piece or a commission. This is my own judgement.

Contact details

Name, email, a link to your website or profile and your general location. Leave out details that are not needed, such as your full address or date of birth, unless the call asks for them.

Collaborative work and studies

Collaborative work. State who did what and ask your co-authors for permission. If the project was made by several people, see Creating a comic or fanzine with several people.
Studies. You can include them if they show process or technique, and label them as such. If you work from other people's references or from fanart, bear in mind that some calls do not accept them: this is explained in Using visual references for drawing and Fanart: what you can do with other people's characters.

Formats, file size and accessibility

PDF or website. A lightweight PDF can be sent by email and opened on any device. Your own website lets you show more work and keep it up to date. Some calls set a maximum file size, such as 100 MB for the KADOKAWA review or 20 MB for the Norma Manga Competition.
Accessibility. This is my own judgement: give each image a clear file name, add alt text on the website and check that the PDF reads well on a small screen.

Points requiring clarification

The portfolio requirements for the aforementioned schools for 2026-2027.
The portfolio composition guidelines from KADOKAWA, a second publisher and the illustrators' associations.

On the open conversation

This guide gathers professional practice criteria, not universal rules. Each call for entries, gallery or institution may request a different structure. If you receive dossiers as a curator, gallerist or juror and notice something that should be added or removed, the guide remains open.

Sources

Professional practice guide. For each submission, the guidelines of the call and the instructions of the recipient take precedence.