Starting art commissions means setting up a system where clients pay you to create custom artwork, and you can begin taking orders as soon as you have a portfolio, a price list, and a way to accept payment. Whether you work digitally or with traditional media, the process follows the same core steps: decide what you’ll offer, price it, post it where buyers can find you, and protect yourself with clear terms.
Build a Portfolio That Sells Your Style
Before anyone will pay for custom work, they need to see what you can do. Your portfolio doesn’t need to be massive. Five to ten strong pieces that represent the type of commissions you want to take are more effective than fifty random sketches. If you want to sell character illustrations, show character illustrations. If you want to paint pet portraits, fill your portfolio with pet portraits.
Create a few example pieces at each tier you plan to offer (sketch, lineart, full color, background, etc.) so potential clients can visualize exactly what they’re buying. If you don’t have client work yet, draw pieces based on prompts you’d enjoy receiving. Fan art of popular characters can attract attention, but original work demonstrates range. Post your portfolio on a personal website, a social media profile dedicated to your art, or a platform designed for artists.
Set Your Prices
Pricing is where most new commission artists stall, but you only need to pick a starting point and adjust over time. There are several models that work well depending on how you create.
Flat fees are the most common structure for commissions. You charge a set price per piece based on what’s included: a bust sketch might be $25, a full-body colored illustration $80, a detailed scene with a background $200. Clients like flat fees because they know exactly what they’ll pay. The risk for you is underpricing complex requests, so define what’s included at each tier.
Hourly rates work better for projects where the scope is hard to predict, like large-scale paintings or detailed concept art. Track how long your typical pieces take, then set a rate that reflects your skill level and cost of living. If a fully rendered portrait takes you eight hours and you want to earn $20 per hour, the price is $160.
Complexity multipliers let you adjust a base price depending on how involved the request is. A simple composition stays at your base rate (1x), a moderately complex piece gets a 1.3x multiplier, a complex one 1.6x, and a highly complex piece doubles the base price (2x). This prevents you from charging the same amount for a single character on a blank background as you would for a group scene with a detailed environment.
When setting your initial prices, factor in the cost of your tools (software subscriptions, tablet, traditional supplies), the time each piece takes, and platform or payment processing fees. Many beginning artists underprice their work. A useful gut check: if you’re so flooded with requests that you can’t keep up, your prices are too low.
Create a Clear Commission Sheet
A commission sheet is a single image or page that shows potential clients everything they need to order from you. It should include your available tiers (sketch, lineart, full color, etc.) with an example image and price for each, any add-on costs (extra characters, backgrounds, complex props), what you will and won’t draw, your current availability (open or closed), and how to contact you.
Keep the design clean and easy to scan. Post it on every platform where you share your art, and pin it to the top of your profile. Update it whenever your prices or availability change.
Choose Where to Sell
You don’t need to be everywhere. Pick one or two platforms that match your audience and skill level, then expand later if demand grows.
Social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter/X, Tumblr, and Bluesky are where most independent artists find commission clients organically. You post your work, build a following, and share your commission sheet when slots open. There are no listing fees, but you handle payments and communication yourself.
For a more structured storefront, several marketplaces cater to artists. Etsy gives you access to over 90 million buyers and works well for new artists seeking exposure, though the fee structure adds up across listing fees, transaction fees, and payment processing. ArtPal charges no membership, listing, or commission fees at all, making it a low-risk entry point for beginners. If you want full control over branding and customer data, building a simple shop on Shopify or Fourthwall lets you sell originals, digital downloads, and print-on-demand merchandise from one place.
For artists targeting collectors rather than casual buyers, curated platforms like Saatchi Art (which reaches buyers in over 140 countries) or UGallery focus on higher-end original work and sometimes facilitate custom commissions directly. These platforms are selective and better suited to artists with an established body of work.
Set Up Payment Processing
You need a reliable way to collect money before you start drawing. The standard practice is to collect 50% of the agreed price upfront and the remaining 50% when the piece is finished. This protects you from doing free work if a client disappears, and it gives the client confidence that you’ll deliver.
The most common payment processors for freelance artists each come with different fee structures. Stripe charges 2.9% plus 30 cents per domestic transaction, with an additional 1.5% for international cards. PayPal’s standard rate for online card payments is 2.99% plus 49 cents, and if a client pays through the branded PayPal Checkout button, the fee rises to 3.49% plus 49 cents. Square charges 3.3% plus 30 cents for online transactions unless you pay for a monthly subscription plan.
These fees add up. On a $100 commission paid through PayPal’s standard processing, you’d lose about $3.48 in fees. On a $50 commission, you’d lose about $1.99. Build this into your pricing so you’re not surprised when your deposit is smaller than expected. If you work with international clients frequently, Wise offers currency conversion fees between 0.5% and 1%, which is significantly cheaper than what most processors charge for cross-border payments.
One thing to watch: if a client disputes a charge through their bank (called a chargeback), Stripe charges you a $15 dispute fee on top of reversing the payment. Having a written agreement and proof of delivery helps you win these disputes.
Use a Simple Contract or Terms of Service
Even for a $30 sketch commission, written terms protect you. Your agreement doesn’t need to be a formal legal document. A clear terms-of-service page or a message you send to every client before starting works fine, as long as it covers the essentials.
Scope of work: What exactly you’re delivering (size, medium, file format for digital work), how many characters, whether a background is included.
Revisions: How many rounds of changes are included in the price, and what additional revisions cost. Build check-in points into the process where the client reviews a sketch or rough draft before you move to the final stage. This prevents a situation where you spend hours rendering a piece the client doesn’t like.
Usage rights: Specify who owns the finished piece and whether the client can reproduce it commercially. Many artists retain the right to display commission work in their portfolio and on social media. If a client wants exclusive commercial rights (for a book cover, game asset, or product), that should cost more.
Timeline: When the client can expect delivery, and what happens if either side needs to cancel.
Cancellation and refunds: A common policy is that the upfront deposit is non-refundable once work has begun, since it covers time already spent. If you cancel before starting, return the deposit in full. Spell this out so there’s no confusion.
Manage Your Workflow
Once commissions start coming in, you need a system to track them. A simple spreadsheet works: client name, description of the piece, price, deposit paid, due date, and status (sketching, rendering, delivered, paid in full). Some artists use project management tools like Trello or Notion to move each commission through stages visually.
Limit how many commissions you accept at once. Taking on ten commissions when you can realistically finish two per week means the last clients are waiting over a month. Long wait times lead to frustrated clients and refund requests. Open a set number of slots, close commissions when they’re full, and reopen when you’ve caught up.
Communication matters as much as the art itself. Send progress updates at your agreed check-in points. If you’re running behind schedule, tell the client before the deadline passes. Clients who feel informed are far more forgiving than clients who hear nothing for weeks.
Track Your Income for Taxes
Commission income is self-employment income, which means you’re responsible for reporting it and paying taxes on it. Keep a record of every payment you receive and every business expense you incur throughout the year. Common deductible expenses for freelance artists include drawing tablets and software subscriptions, art supplies, a portion of your rent or mortgage if you use a dedicated home office space, internet costs, and health insurance premiums if you’re not covered through an employer plan. You can also deduct half of your self-employment tax as an income adjustment.
Set aside roughly 25% to 30% of your commission income for federal and state taxes so you’re not caught off guard at filing time. If your income is steady, you may need to make quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid penalties.
Get Your First Clients
The hardest part of starting commissions is getting those first few orders when you have no reviews or reputation. A few strategies that consistently work for new commission artists:
- Post regularly. Share finished pieces, works in progress, and time-lapses. Consistent posting builds an audience that’s primed to buy when you open commissions.
- Offer a launch discount. A limited-time reduced rate for your first five or ten commissions helps you build a client base and gather testimonials.
- Draw what people are searching for. Fan art of trending shows, games, or characters attracts followers who may later commission original work.
- Ask for permission to share. Post completed commissions (with client approval) to show potential buyers what the experience looks like.
- Engage in communities. Participate in art subreddits, Discord servers, and forums where people actively seek commission artists. Many of these communities have dedicated channels for artists to advertise open slots.
As you complete commissions, ask satisfied clients if they’d be willing to leave a review or recommend you. Word of mouth is the most reliable source of repeat business for commission artists at every level.