Women Who Draw is an open directory of female* professional illustrators, artists and cartoonists. It was created by two women artists in an effort to increase the visibility of female illustrators, emphasizing female illustrators of color, LBTQ+, and other minority groups of female illustrators.
OUR STORY.
Like so many great things, Women Who Draw started in the bathroom. Julia Rothman was sitting and thumbing through back issues of a prominent magazine, when she noticed that most – in fact ALL – of its covers had been illustrated by men. She went through her whole collection and found that out of 55 magazine covers done in 2015, only 4 had been created by women. She called Wendy MacNaughton and together they agreed something had to be done. Instead of complaining to the press, they decided to solve the problem by increasing the visibility of all the talented female* illustrators. In early 2017, Julia and Wendy launched Women Who Draw to highlight illustration by women, women of color, LBTQ+ and other less visible groups and make it impossible for any publication, art director or editor to ever again say “I’d hire more ____ if i only knew where to find them.”
Since its launch, Women Who Draw has become the place to go to discover new talented illustrators from all over the world. It features over 2700 (and counting) professional artists, tools to help users curate their own stables of artists, interviews with industry pros, monthly member collaborations, and a resources page for artists and the people who hire them. Social media channels and live events enable members to connect with each other. Women Who Draw members have been discovered and hired by publications like The New York Times, TED, The Globe, Bust Magazine, and Bitch Magazine. More than just a website, Women Who Draw has become a community of support and professional and political action.
Get in touch if:
-You are looking to hire an artist and want help finding the right person for the job.
-You are a company or organization and you’d like to collaborate.
-Have a suggestion. Women Who Draw is a work in progress and we’d love to hear what you think.
Email hello@womenwhodraw.com
Also check out the Cartoonists of Color Database and the Queer Cartoonists Database.
*Women Who Draw is trans-inclusive and includes women, trans and gender non-conforming illustrators.