If you have been doing art for a while you may have thought about selling your work at some point, maybe even wanting to do freelance work. However, with this thought comes many questions so I’ll try my best to answer the most common ones I’ve been asked.
What Is Freelancing And How Is It Different Than Just Selling Art?
Freelancing, or someone who is a freelancer, refers to people who are self-employed and not committed to a employer long-term. Or, in other words, they are full-time artists and typically (although not always) will take in art requests from people and make what they want for a fee they have both agreed upon. All of this is different from just selling your work as those who aren’t freelancers only sell part-time or on occasion and (usually) don’t take requests.
How Do I Start?
If you’re from a small town or even thriving in a large city, it can be confusing trying to figure out where to start. For those who are just trying to sell previously made art, I would suggest selling sites (Ebay, Amazon, Etsy, ect) as they are the most reliable for that type of thing. For Freelancers, I would suggest those sites above as well as creating a website and portfolio of your work (both digital and hard copy) as buyers who are interested in you will be able to access you more easily and see your skill level. For both, I would suggest advertising as much as you can. Now, if you’re short on money or low on time that doesn’t mean you have to pay for advertising online and staple millions of posters around where you live (although it does help). For a cheap and easier alternative, get on social media and start posting your work to get the word out to friends and family. They will be your biggest supporters and will help link other people to your stuff. Oh, and don’t forget to make a business profile on those social media sites too!
How Do I Price Things?
Well, every artist prices things differently but most rely on three things: Skill Level, Supply Cost, and Size of The Piece. Supply Cost and Size are relatively easy to calculate and add to your asking price but Skill Level is a bit tricky. If you’re really struggling with how much you want to ask for a piece I would go on one of the selling sites mentioned above and search for other art that is similar to yours and see what the seller is asking for it and either increase or decrease from there. For freelancers, I would suggest coming up with commission prices. These are basic price ranges for people who would like you to make them something tailored to them. You can see an example below.
(Art Credit To Appricatt Art, if you would like to check out more of her stuff here’s a link to her twitter! https://twitter.com/apricatt_art )
Can I Do Commissions Even If I’m Not A Freelancer?
Of course! However, I would be careful with how many requests you accept as it could end up interfering with your actual job and family/friends. Just because it’s art doesn’t mean it’s easy!
How Do I Make Sure People Pay?
Down Payments. DOWN PAYMENTS. DOWN PAYMENTS. Do NOT under ANY circumstances send someone their finished product if they have not payed (even if they say they’ll pay you afterwards). If they insist on seeing the product before paying and have refused to pay a down payment, they are almost 99% guaranteed to run off with your art without paying. However, most people will not want to pay for art upfront either for fear of you running off with their money so I suggest Down Payments. Again, even if you do have a Down Payment, I wouldn’t recommend sending a completed artwork to someone without them paying for it completely. I would add a watermark over your work just to be safe.
And Finally, How Do I Accept Payments?
Even if you know the person who is trying to buy your art in real life, I would suggest an online service like PayPal, Venmo, or Payoneer as they are reliable and keep a digital receipt of the transaction. Plus, if you don’t know the person in real life, it is the easiest way to transfer money online.
Sam's Art Tips 