Getting your first paid commission

Make the work you want to be paid for

Clients hire from what they can see. If you want to draw wedding invitations and your page shows band posters, you will be asked for band posters.

Making two or three speculative pieces in the category you want is the fastest way to be considered for it, and costs you only time.

Be findable for a specific thing

"Illustrator" is a category with thousands of people in it. "Illustrator who draws South Indian wedding invitations" is a category with very few, and it is the one somebody actually searches for.

Narrow does not mean small. It means findable.

• Name the thing you want to be hired for
• Use the words a client would use
• Show examples of exactly that

Price by the job, not the hour

Clients find an hourly rate hard to commit to, because they cannot tell what the total will be. A fixed price for a defined piece of work is easier to say yes to and easier for you to plan around.

It also protects you from being penalised for being fast.

Say yes carefully

A first client who is disorganised, changes their mind constantly or will not agree scope teaches you bad habits and eats the time you needed to find a better one. It is reasonable to decline.

Do the unglamorous parts properly

Reply promptly, agree what is included, deliver when you said you would. Most repeat work goes to people who are straightforward to deal with rather than to the strongest draughtsman.

Treat the first enquiry as practice

You will not have a process yet, and that is fine. Write down what you agreed, what you delivered and what took longer than expected, and the second project will be noticeably smoother.

Most freelancers get better at the business faster than they get better at the craft, simply because they were paying attention.

Ask for the rating afterwards

A new freelancer has nothing for the next client to go on. One honest rating from a real project is worth more than a dozen more portfolio pieces, and most satisfied clients are glad to leave one if asked.

Ask once, plainly, when the work is delivered and they are pleased. It gets awkward only if you leave it for weeks.

Deliver slightly more than you promised

Not more work — more care. A file named clearly, a short note on how to use it, a version they did not think to ask for but will need.

This costs almost nothing and is the single most reliable reason a first client becomes a second project or a recommendation.

How to start

Everything runs through one place. Artists sign in at the artist studio, upload work, choose which products each piece suits, and see what they have earned. Customers browse the artwork, pick a design, and choose what to put it on.

Nothing about it is exclusive. You can sell the same work elsewhere at the same time, and there is no listing fee and no minimum.

• Apply with three pieces so we can see how you work
• Choose which products each design belongs on
• Get paid by bank transfer on what sells

Common questions