7 Ways to Make Money as an Artist, Illustrator, or Hand Letterer
At Goodtype, we’re all about empowering independent artists and creatives to get paid while doing what they love! Here are a selection of some of our favorite money making strategies (including some passive income ideas!) to get your wheels turning, whether you’re a full-time artist or selling art as a side hustle.
Create custom art for clients (freelance)
Freelancing is one of the most popular and widely known income streams for self-employed creatives. Freelance artists work one-on-one with clients on custom projects. The freelance world is vast and includes a broad array of different types of projects that vary depending on the artists’ discipline.
For example, a freelance photographer may be hired to take a cover photo for a magazine or capture product images for an online shop. A freelance lettering artist could be hired to design the title for a book cover, a logotype for a new brand, or the headline for an advertising campaign. A freelance illustration project might be creating a spot graphic for a magazine or newspaper, designing an illustration to go on product packaging, or illustrating a children’s book.
How to Book Freelance Gigs
Artists create portfolios of their work to show off their skills and to “advertise” the kind of work they want to do for clients. Once an artist has attracted a potential client, they typically “bid” for the project by setting pricing and terms (our Price with Purpose guide will teach you how!). If the artist and client come to an agreement, they sign a contract (check out our Contract Kit for help with this) and the artist completes the job. As a freelance artist, you are completely responsible for finding clients, preparing contracts, bids, and invoices, managing clients and setting/keeping deadlines.
Getting an Art or Illustration Agent
Some freelance artists who have too much work coming in to handle, or who particularly despise the management side of freelance work, may work with an agent or an assistant to help. There is often a misconception that you need to have an agent to be a “successful” freelance artist, but this really isn’t the case. Many established artists manage their freelance businesses completely on their own (and save money doing so). An agent will typically take a percentage of the money you bring in, so it’s important to make sure they are pulling their weight and are worth the cost in the long run.
How to Know if Freelance is Right for You
Freelancing might be a good path for you to take if…
You’re confident, communicate well, and are willing to work directly with clients
You’re able to set and stick to your own deadlines
You’re organized and on top of details
You enjoy frequent change
You have (or are working on) a strong portfolio
To learn more about leveraging freelance projects as an income stream, like how to find your first clients, read our blog post: 5 Steps to Become a Freelance Artist: Get Started & Find Client Work.
2. Start making passive income with art licensing
Art licensing is an increasingly popular way for artists to make passive income and royalties from their art. It’s an especially great option for anyone with a robust portfolio that already exists, because licensing allows you to sell pieces you’ve already created time and time again!
Basically, art licensing means to “rent” your art to a company for use on a product. Artists can license their work for all sorts of products—from greeting cards to fabric to home goods to toys...there’s really no limit to what your art could end up on!
You can sell your art multiple times to different buyers (with the right contract in place), or offer exclusivity where the buyer takes ownership of the art (charge more for this option, of course!).
How Art Licensing Portfolios Are Different From Freelance Portfolios
While custom requests can definitely come up with art licensing, more often you’ll license art that you’ve already created. Serious art licensing artists have big portfolios full of art that is geared towards their intended markets and buyers and is ready to be licensed at any time. This means you basically have to “guess” what art will sell ahead of time, which takes a little practice. If you’re struggling to know what kind of art to make for your portfolio, take a shopping trip at a big box store and do some research! Look at the types of products you’d ideally like your art to end up on and see what trends and patterns you can find.
How to Get Your First Art Licensing Deal
Once you have a portfolio of at least 5-10 solid pieces, start reaching out to potential buyers! We always suggest doing your own outreach instead of waiting for clients to come to you. To find clients you’d like to pitch your work to, start paying attention to the back of products in stores—the company name and credits are often listed. You can also browse online, or scroll through social media to find companies that other licensing artists are working with.
After you’ve identified the buyers to reach out to, you’ll want to send them a simple, customized email that includes a link to your portfolio, or even a PDF with a curated selection of 5-7 pieces that you think they will particularly resonate with.
Art licensing is a pretty unique and complex industry, so we created a free video training to help demystify it for you.
Click here to watch our free art licensing training instantly.
3. Sell your own physical products
Check out more of Goodtype’s merch here!
Many artists choose to design and sell their own products, such as art prints, greeting cards, jewelry, t-shirts, etc. Artists can sell these products via their personal websites, online marketplaces like Etsy, at local events like craft fairs, or even through larger retail shops via consignment or wholesale.
This income stream can be rewarding and profitable, but it requires a lot of research and planning (and, depending on what you choose to create, it could require a financial investment too). Artists are in charge of all steps of the process, from initial market research and ideation to production and, finally, marketing and distribution.
Should You Use Print on Demand or Hold Inventory?
One of the biggest decisions you’ll need to make is whether you’ll create your inventory ahead of time or use a print on demand service that will make products to order.
Producing Your Own Inventory
Producing your own products all by yourself, or with the help of vendors that you manage, can be a lot more profitable than if you use print on demand (POD) services. However, it requires more initial risk and investment. Plus, you have to figure out where your products will be stored and how they will be shipped.
PrINT ON DEMAND
Print on demand services allow you to simply upload your art files so they can print and ship products to order. However, they take a BIG cut of profits, and you have no control over the customer’s experience or the quality of the product.
You can learn more about Print on Demand in our blog post here.
Should You Wholesale Your Art Products?
Wholesale is a topic that tends to overwhelm and confuse product creators when they’re just starting, but it’s actually not that complicated. Wholesale just means that you sell your products to another retailer at a discounted price, and then they sell those products on to their customers. So, instead of you selling your products directly to customers via your online shop or a craft fair, you’ll sell them to another shop and they will do the selling to the customer.
Wholesale pricing is typically 50% of the retail price, so if you sell a t-shirt to a customer for $20, the wholesale price will typically be around $10 (the price your retail buyer would pay you). That may be shocking when you’re first starting out, but this just means that, if you want to consider wholesaling, you need to make sure your profit margins make sense at the wholesale level. You wouldn’t want to consider wholesaling if, for example, a shirt costs you $9 to make and you need to sell it to the retailer for $10. If you can manage a reasonable profit with your pricing, wholesaling can be a good option because it guarantees larger bulk sales than when you’re just selling to one individual customer at a time.
Click here to learn more about physical products in our blog post How to Turn Your Art Into Physical Products.
4. Sell digital products and downloads online
Selling digital products can be a great way to make money as an artist, as digital products are incredibly cost-effective to produce and don’t cost anything to ship. This is one of the most accessible ways to create and sell your designs or templates, and it can become a powerful passive income streams.
Many artists create tools that other creators can use in their work or process (stock photography, software plug-ins or presets, digital brushes, fonts, templates for social graphics or presentation decks, etc...). Others create digital formats of their art for their customers to buy like phone wallpapers, or things like calendars or art prints that patrons can print themselves. Digital products can be sold on sites like Creative Market, Etsy, or Design Cuts, or via the artists’ own website.
Common Pitfalls with Digital Products
Because it’s so easy to upload stuff to the internet, some people take that as a cue to put just about anything out there and slap a price tag on it. Basically we’re saying—there are a lot of great digital products out there, but there are also a lot of people phoning it in. Just as in any other industry, make sure you’re putting your time into creating quality products that are going to stand out from the noise, and it’ll pay off for everyone involved.
When you do put out a quality product, don’t forget to market it, too! A lot of creators put their goods up online and then walk away frustrated when they don’t sell. Just because you’re selling digital goods doesn’t mean the internet will just “take care of it.” You’ve got to do your own leg work to promote the products, like adding the right keywords and search engine optimization, sharing on social channels, gathering reviews, and encouraging other websites to link to your shop.
Are digital products right for you?
You might want to consider selling digital products if…
You don’t want to store physical inventory or deal with shipping
You’re technologically savvy
You don’t mind dealing with customer service questions or issues
You’ve got good marketing a business sense and can pivot and adjust with changing times and technologies
5. Teach art in person, via online courses, by speaking or writing books, etc…
Education is an ever-growing landscape that has become increasingly more important for artists to leverage in the digital age. Artists can generate income by teaching their skills to students via workshops, online courses, speaking engagements, books, etc….
There are a lot of ways to start teaching, and you definitely don’t need to be an “expert” at something to share what you know! Once you identify a subject that you want to teach (and verify that there's an audience interested in learning that subject!), you’ll need to develop a curriculum, plan, or outline, find students, and decide where, when, and how you’ll make the information available.
How to Start Teaching Art Online
When teaching art online, it’s important to think about how you can make the experience as engaging as possible. You’ll want to consider the platform you use, as well as the overall look and feel of the online learning space. Make sure you have a space to receive feedback and support from your students. You’ll not only want to ensure that they have a way to communicate with you, but learning about their top problems & questions will help you create new ways (or classes) to solve those problems.
If you’re just beginning, it may be best to start with a short webinar before you delve into creating a full-blown class. This way, you can test the waters and see if your audience is interested. You can also practice and refine your teaching methods. We like to test our ideas with webinars on Zoom, or host workshops for our online community on Circle.
Teaching In-Person Classes and Workshops
Teaching art in person can be really fun because you can actually interact live with your students and develop closer connections. A great way to dip your toes into the world of workshops is to reach out to another artist or event space that is already hosting events. You can offer to teach a one-off workshop with them as a trial and consider splitting revenue so it’s a win-win for everyone. If you want to run events on your own later, you’ll have experience as well as an audience and referrals so you’re not starting from scratch!
How to Start Speaking at Creative Conferences and Events
One thing we love to do is present at conferences. There are all sorts of events, both online and in person, that are always looking for inspiring artists and creators who want to share their skills and perspectives.
If you’re looking to get into the speaking circuit, try starting small with a local event. Create a short description of the talk you want to give and bullet points of what you’ll cover, and pitch your idea! Perhaps there’s an AIGA event or local designer meet up that would be a perfect fit? Once you have some speaking engagements under your belt, you can more easily pursue bigger opportunities because you’ll be able to share examples and reviews from your previous presentations.
Some of our favorite conferences to consider speaking at include The Kernference (put on by us at Goodtype!), Crop, Creative Works, Typism Summit, Creative South, and Adobe MAX.
How to Write a Book as an Artist
Writing a book is a big commitment, but it can be really rewarding, both professionally and financially. There are two ways you can get your book into the world—by self-publishing or by working with a publisher.
Self Publishing An Art Book
When you’re self-publishing an art book, you have a lot of freedom because you have no one to answer to (except the audience you’re writing for, obviously). You can make whatever choices you think are best! However, you’re also responsible for editing, printing, marketing, and shipping. You can get help from contractors with those things, but you’re responsible for making sure it all comes together. You’re also financially responsible for funding the creation of the book, which can be a lot of money. You may want to consider a pre-sale or Kickstarter campaign to help with funding. On the flip side, you’re able to make a LOT bigger profit from self-publishing than you can with a publisher!
Creating an art book with a publisher
If you want to work with a publisher, you can either pitch your book to them yourself by submitting directly, or you can try to get a book agent to help you do the pitching. A book agent can really help you get to the front of the line with publishers that are difficult to reach, and they can also help you perfect your pitch. However, they’ll naturally need to get paid for their work, so they’ll take a percentage of the deal you end up landing.
When you pitch your book, whether it’s with an agent’s help or without, you’ll need to create a pitch deck that outlines why you want to make the book, what the book will include, who it’s for, and includes a few sample spreads. Many people think you have to write the entire book before you send it to a publisher, but that’s really not the case!
There’s honestly a LOT that goes into writing a book, which is why we created an entire online summit about it, called Artist to Author. Click here to get immediate access to the replays featuring over 30 artists, authors, publishers, agents, lawyers, and more!
6. Create art via murals, installations & product customizations
Brands are increasingly looking to artists to create “wow factor” moments for their customers and employees through experiences and installations. From large-scale murals designed to attract Instagram photos to live hand-painted customization of products to custom in-store displays, artists are really getting up close and personal with consumers.
Murals, installations, and live art all require artists to do some on-the-spot creating. For some, this can be thrilling, and for others...terrifying. While it’s always important to go into any of these kinds of projects with a plan in mind, creating in front of people in real-time or with a deadline can still be a lot of pressure.
Creating Murals
Muralists typically create large-scale art pieces on walls, both indoors and outdoors. They will create a design and plan for the mural first. Once the design is approved, the artist will transfer the design to the physical space via a method like projection, pouncing, or gridding. Depending on the size of the piece, artists may need to use scaffolding or lift equipment, as well as installation materials such as paints, rollers, tarps, tape, etc. When pricing murals, it’s important for the artist to consider all those extra material costs in addition to time, labor, and marketing value of the art they’re creating.
LIve ARt & PRoduct customization
One of the most up-and-coming examples of live art is in-store customization of products. Brands like Coach, Vans, and Away are bringing in artists to paint custom monograms or illustrations on their customers’ purchases. In most cases, artists pre-determine a few style or color options that the customer can choose from so that they have a bit of control in this on-the-spot interaction.
Art installations
Installations at company parties, conferences, retail stores, etc… are becoming increasingly popular in the age of social media. Artists work with all sorts of materials to create eye-catching 3D designs, from paper to fabric to wood....or anything else they can imagine and get their clients to sign off on. Artists may be able to assemble some or all of the installation pieces beforehand, but often there’s at least some element of attaching, hanging, or finagling to be done on-site in the final space.
7. Collaborate with brands and promote their products
If you have access to an audience that a brand wants to reach, they may want to pay you to help them advertise. Strategic partnerships and collaborations can be an excellent option for artists as you can get paid while still bringing value to your fans.
One way artists partner with brands is through sponsored social media posts. An art supply brand, for example, may ask you to create an artwork using their pens, or a publisher may ask you to share a glimpse inside a book they’re currently promoting. In this circumstance, artists usually get a flat fee per post. Another way to partner with a brand is to become an affiliate. This means that you’ll share a trackable link or promo code for one of their products or services, and then you’ll get a percentage of the sales that you sent their way.
The higher your engagement, the better chance you have at landing a brand partnership deal. A large following is great, but an engaged following is even better. Make sure you don’t jump at just any deal—you want to respect the followers you already have and make sure you don’t spam them with content they don’t want! As long as you do your due diligence, vet every potential partner carefully, and make sure you’re serving up recommendations and content you can really stand by, everyone wins!
Want to learn more about how to make money as an artist, designer, illustrator, or letterer?
Goodtype has all the resources you need!
The Art Licensing Blueprint - Learn how to get started making passive income with art licensing
Price with Purpose - Learn how to price your art with 35+ real case studies
The Contract Kit - Download contract templates created by a lawyer for creatives
