[thaumaturgy]

I'm not sure why someone downvoted this -- I think it's a good suggestion. I ended up using 99designs as a gallery of portfolios, found a guy whose work I consistently liked, and contacted him through the site.

Someone that's trying to get started like this could wander through some of the cheaper jobs on there (where the payment has been "guaranteed"), do those, make a little money, keep going.

If you're actually any good, it would be a viable option.