Commissions Guide

As you get better at art, the next step you may want to take will be taking commissions. Not every artist decides they want to do this, and that is completely fine. If your art is something you don't want to sell, or if you only do it as a hobby, then don't take commissions, otherwise it could burn or stress you out.

One good rule of thumb when deciding how to price your commissions will be to time yourself on the type of drawing you want to sell. For example, if you want to sell sketches, time yourself doing a sketch. Then multiply this by the minimum wage, and that's a good price point. For bigger pieces, your prices will most likely come out to $100 or more. This is fine! You work hard on your art, and you should be able to sell it at a fair price.

If, however, you are willing to sell lower, don't go too low. This devalues your art, and may even drive customers away. If they see you selling large pieces for very little, they could suspect you of art theft, or they might think your piece was made by an AI.

As you get more commissions, and as you become more experienced, it is recommended that you raise your prices. The customers are paying for a service, and if you do that service well, you deserve to get paid more.

Another good rule of thumb is to have a terms of service available for your customers to see before they commission you. This is where you can include what you are and are not comfortable drawing, how your service works, and how the customer will pay you. For example, some artists take the full comission price up front, because they want that security. If, however, you feel that might make your customers uncomfortable, or if you're just starting out, you can take half upfront, and half when the either the sketch or the entire piece is completed. It is not recommended to recieve all the payment after you submit your piece to them, because some clients may try to scam you.

Another thing you can include on your terms of service will be a statement saying you can refuse your service to any client. This is a nice backup in case your client asks you for something that you are not comfortable drawing that you don't have listed in what you will/won't draw, or if your client makes you uncomfortable.

This is a commission page template from the artist Nadiaxel.