Work & career

I often get asked whether it is possible to make a living off of art, usually from people who are on the fence about pursuing it. It is definitely possible! Me and many others have done it and continue to do it. However, it’s not a guarantee, and can be complicated depending on what you do, where you live, and what your options are. For me, having an online following and living in The Netherlands, which is relatively easygoing for freelancers, has made things a lot easier. One thing I can recommend is to diversify your income and be ready to switch gears when the industry changes – which it often does. Choosing art as a career is a highly personal decision – definitely do your research before getting started!

Commissions are paid requests to draw something or someone, usually for personal use. It’s usually the starting point for many artists’s careers and it’s definitely how I started out as a teenage artist! I began with low-priced commissions and gradually raised the price as the demand for my artwork grew. But looking at it through the lens of a professional artist, I think many artists charge too little for their work. Due to the wide availability of cheap commissions, many people have come to expect and even demand these very low prices. If you decide to offer commissions, don’t let anyone convince you that your price is too high – this happens a lot and you’re better off ignoring them and moving on! The best way to approach your pricing is to estimate how many hours would go into each piece, and to figure out how much money you feel an hour of your time is worth, and then do the math. For the rest, I would advise you to:

• Agree on the deadline in advance, and stick to it.
• Ask for your payment in advance. You can also ask for half upfront and the other half later on – but a full advance payment is also reasonable!
• Agree on what your payment will be if the commission is cancelled halfway through the process, because this happens sometimes.
• Show your client the rough sketch and a rough color version before proceeding to the next step, to ensure that the client is happy with where the image is going.
• Establish with your client how many modifications can be made to the artwork based on the client’s feedback, in order to avoid a situation in which you might have to completely re-do your image.
• Be dependable and communicate well with your client. Keep them up to date on the progress!

This is an extremely tough question because the industry is always changing. In the past, I’ve depended a lot on my online following to find work, but algorithms are becoming increasingly restrictive and this is not always a reasonable strategy anymore. Sometimes there’s a lot of work to be found, and sometimes work dries up. There’s a lot of fluctuation and it’s not always your fault if you can’t find work.

I definitely recommend getting your work out there as much as you can – both online and in real life. Attending art events like LightBox Expo, Playgrounds or local comic cons can be a great way to make face-to-face connections. If you can, get your portfolio reviewed by professionals in the field so that you know how to optimize your portfolio for a specific type of job. When showing your art to others, show them a mix of finished and rough work: this way, others can get a sense of how you draw but also how you think and develop your ideas. Finally, joining a discord community with other artists can be a great way to find connections amongst your peers. Basically, do anything that can help you create genuine connections with people in the industry!

There’s no one rule that determines how you should price your work! It’s totally up to you what you want to charge, so it’s important to look at your own specific situation first. The most important thing is that you need to be able to make a living off of your work, which is more complicated than it sounds! Don’t just factor in your bills, but also the cost of the materials you make art with, and the cost of your art education – costs that make it possible for you to create. You should also factor in your expertise as an artist. Charging purely what you need to survive means that you will not be able to grow and evolve your business. Sometimes this is a short term solution to pay bills, but it shouldn’t be a long term approach for your career. Also, consider that you’re not always being paid for your time: You will also be doing unpaid work in the form of updating social media, answering e-mails, managing finances, etc. Make sure your fee also covers the unpaid hours in which you manage your business!

When negotiating your fee, keep in mind that you can always bargain downwards, but clients are very unlikely to accept a higher fee after you’ve suggested a lower one. Also, don’t let yourself be fooled by clients who suggest your work is worth less than what you ask. Many of them are just using manipulation tactics to get you to lower your price, so don’t take it personally. Also, never work for ‘exposure’! I get the most exposure from my own personal illustrations and sketches, so if you’re considering doing free or low-paid work because you want to expand your portfolio, consider a personal project rather than unpaid work. The results will be way better!

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you’re not alone – it’s a lot to consider! It took me a long time to find my confidence in this area, so be patient with yourself and take it step by step. Good luck!

Have you had your art stolen? Welcome to the club! I’ve had my work ‘stolen’ (that is to say: my copyright breached) numerous times. I had my work printed on clothing, phone cases, book covers, and more – all without my permission. The standard course of action is to file a DMCA takedown form. If that doesn’t work, a cease-and-desist letter from a lawyer usually does the trick. This is what I recommend doing if your copyright has been breached. There’s unfortunately no way to fully prevent your art being used without your permission, except for one thing: Never showing your art to anyone. That means your work will never gain any kind of positive exposure, so I don’t recommend that! There’s also positive benefits to showing your work, so try to weigh the negatives against the positives when things like this happen.

More recently, my work has been uploaded to databases to be used for generative AI under the guise of “fair use.” Although some see this as a legal gray area, I think it’s a blatant breach of my copyright. To learn more about my opinions on generative AI, check out this post.