How to get Art Commissions

Miriam and the Planet of the Unicorns, Commissioned Illustration by Kiri Leonard

If you're a new illustrator looking for ideas on how to get art commissions here are some tips. First, a little about me; I’ve been doing private commissions for 15+ years and make a living of my artwork. In the interest of helping emerging artists get started on this journey, I’m sharing some tips I’ve picked up over the years on how to get art commissions.

Please bear in mind each artist’s path is different and colored by their circumstances. What works best for me, may not work best for you. As with any advice you read on the internet, weigh your personal situation, and apply what knowledge is useful to you, then toss the rest.

To get art commissions you need two things: 1. Artwork good enough to get hired on and 2. Eyes on your work. If you’re not having any luck attracting commissions, it may be that your artwork isn’t ready yet, or that you’re not getting enough eyes on it. This blog post only addresses the latter problem.

Let’s dig in.

1. First, you need a portfolio

Before you set out to get commissions you need a solid portfolio that showcases a consistent body of work. (If you don't know how to build a portfolio, here’s a blog post on how to do it.)

Please note, that this will take some time to do but it'll be worthwhile.

Q: Why is it important the portfolio has a consistent style?
A: Clients hire you based on your portfolio. They need to see in your portfolio what they can expect to receive from you when they hire you. With a consistent portfolio, clients can trust you know your stuff, and they're much more likely to sign on with you.

2. Decide what kind of commissions you want to do and tailor your portfolio to match

When it comes to commissions, there are so many paths you can take. Pick the one that has the most appeal to you and tailor your portfolio to match. If a client is looking to hire someone to paint their dog, they don’t want to see paintings of landscapes. They want to see great paintings of dogs, so they can be confident that when they hire you, they’ll get what they want.

Here are some potential commission paths:
Pet portraits,
Family portraits,
RPG character portraits,
Baby portraits,
Wedding paintings,
Character art for authors,
Wall art for home decor,
Horse art,
and so on.

Bear in mind that some of these are much easier to get hired for than others. As an example, you’ll have an easier time getting hired for pet portraits than zombie portraits. It’s a simple numbers game, there are more people that have pets that they adore than there are people who are really into zombies.

Kiri working on a D&D character illustration.

3. Showcase your portfolio on a website

Next, you need a website that showcases your beautiful portfolio, with clear contact information. Your contact info should basically poke the client in the eyes when they look at your site, don't make yourself hard to get in touch with. This also goes for printed portfolios, put that contact info on the first page.

As far as websites go, if you’re not up for building and maintaining your own, you can use one of the many portfolio service sites available such as ArtStation, DeviantArt, Behance, or others. I prefer having my own website (I use Squarespace for mine), but the choice is yours.

4. Advertise Your Services

This is the actual getting the commissions part, but you can’t do these steps without the initial step of having good art, and a portfolio.

Now you're going to start advertising your services and get eyes on your work, thereby attracting potential clients. Repeat this step frequently so you stay on people's radar. There's a variety of ways to do this. First, you can do word of mouth, and tell everyone you know you're open for art commissions. Also, since you have a website now, make it clear on your website that you're available for hire.

On your social media, show examples of your artwork (3-4 best pieces from your portfolio) and share that you're looking for commissions. Ask people to share.

Join Facebook Groups / Discord Servers / or similar to find people in your art niche, and share your commission info there as well. Remember things move fast on social media, so don't just share this once, do it every week. I've personally found Twitter/X to be a great place to find jobs, but you may find differently.

5. More ways to get Eyes on your Work

Attend conventions and bring your portfolio. Whether you're exhibiting or just visiting as an attendee conventions are a great place to get eyes on your work. Companies send art directors to these shows to find artists, same with publishers. Go visit the publishers’ and companies’ booths, tell them you're an artist, and ask if you can show them your work.

Exhibit at local craft fairs. Showcase your art and have a clear sign you accept commissions.

Set up ads on social media to advertise your services. You can advertise on Facebook for as little as $5 a day, but naturally this requires you have a budget to put into advertising. If you do not, just skip this. If you do, you can send people to your website where they can see your portfolio and art samples, along with commission information.

Network with other artists. I've received some of my best jobs from other artists referring me because their plate was full. Join art groups and communities.

Scour art sites like ArtStation / DeviantArt for jobs. They have sections where people can post jobs. If you dare, you can also check out Fiverr. (Never done so myself but I've heard of people using it)

Personal Projects
This one is a heavy-hitter for me. The one that never failed to bring me great commissions: Do personal projects and self-publish them! By creating personal projects, advertising, and publishing them you show potential clients you know how to deliver. This can be a calendar, a sketchbook, a postcard set, a series of paintings - whatever you fancy. It also helps to update your portfolio. When you're publishing (for instance through Kickstarter) tell people you accept commissions.

Exhibit at cafés and coffee shops, and hang a sign next to your art, saying you take commissions.

6. Contracts, Never Work Without One

Make sure you vet the people who inquire about commissions. There are a lot of scams out there. Protect yourself, and make sure they are real people. Never work without a signed contract. It protects both you and the client. If you don’t know how to write up a contract I recommend picking up the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook, 16th Edition: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines. (This is an affiliate link)

7. Build a newsletter

Start building a newsletter through your website (A pop-up window with a sign-up form when people click on your site will do, also have a sign-up sheet at any shows/conventions you may attend). Start sending out regular newsletters about your art to your subscribers, and let your audience know you take commissions.

8. Be patient

It takes time to build up momentum, and it won't happen overnight, but you can absolutely do it! Nurture your art and the people who respond to it, engage with them, share about how you make your art, and always, let people know you're open for commissions. When you do get commissions, break down the process in a blog post and show future clients how you go about making their art dreams to true!

I hope these tips were helpful, these are just some of the ways you can go about it, I'm sure there are more.
Happy art-making!