Creating Graphics for Commissions and How Clients Perceive Them
To preface: You do not have to follow all of my advice. I don't know everything. This is just based on my experiences as an artist and as someone who commissions a lot of art. I am listing everything I think about when creating my own graphics, and also when commissioning others, and I wanted to be as thorough as possible. This guide is mainly for people offering commissions to individuals, as portfolios being sent to companies and businesses will have different requirements. Be creative and experiment with what works best for you and what you intend to use your portfolio for.
When you open commissions, you'll want to promote yourself. How else will customers find you, and how else will they know what you're offering? There is a sea of artists out there promoting their work, and you want to do everything you can to not only leave a good impression, but stand out.
I have commissioned many artists before, and as a customer, there are certain things that turn me off from working with someone. I want to list the common mistakes I see, what you can do to improve them, and provide resources to make creating your first commission graphics as easy as possible. But... before we start,
What do I mean by commission graphics?
There are no official titles for these works, or at least not any that I'm using. When I say "commission graphics", I am referring to any graphics you use to promote your works in your social media posts, as well as the location and presentation of information related to your commissions (pricing, your portfolio, terms of service, contact information, etc.) You can include information in a mix of photo graphics, and text in your post description. Here are some examples below:
This is my promotional graphic. It shows a few examples of my art, basic information on the top, that it's commissions I'm offering, and my username. I attach this as my first image on posts advertising my commissions on places like Tumblr, Reddit, Discord, and Bluesky. Having one picture with several examples can catch the eye of viewers, and intrigue them with multiple examples, as opposed to hoping they'll swipe through all the pictures you attached. It's like the book cover of your work or the thumbnail to your Youtube video.
The next set of photos was put together in one post, with each page giving different information. It was my first commission infographic.
Picture 1: This shows the bust/half/full body cutoff points, the coloring options, and what each of them cost. I picked this as my first photo because it shows the prices, and the best example I had of my art at the time. I could have created a title graphic like I showed above, but I made this post for Tumblr which will always show all of the photos as you scroll down, as opposed to Reddit in which you have to swipe through each photo individually.
Picture 2: Next, I had a few examples of my art, and what those might cost. I included a third picture with more examples (including what full body drawings look like), but I think you get the idea here.
Picture 3: My previous examples were more linework based, so I included an additional graphic of my paintings, and estimates of the prices.
Picture 4: I finished the post with basic terms of service. I put additional information in the text of the post itself.
The Post Description: I included a link to more examples of my art if customers wanted to see more. My NSFW examples are listed separately, so people feel more comfortable reblogging the initial post, and I said how I want to be contacted. I ended it with a fruity little thank you to be polite.
What are the common mistakes artists make in their graphics?
When creating these graphics, you have to be an artist, a graphic designer, and a marketing businessperson. This can be very difficult at first, especially if you exclusively do hand-drawn illustrations. As a result, there's a few common mistakes that can turn away or confuse customers. These are some that I notice:
1. The post lacks visual clarity.
You want your post/graphic to be as neat and readable as possible. This means using an easy to read, medium/large sized font. I don't recommend hand-writing your information unless you have very nice handwriting. Often, these pictures are being seen on a phone screen or at a thumbnail view, so avoid making photos/text too small, especially your artwork examples. Don't put too much text, as the more text there is, the harder everything is to see and the smaller the text has to be to fit it all. Everything should be easy to understand at a quick glance.
I attached two photos of my first commission graphics from 2022 as an example. (Ignore how the art is bad and I'm grossly undercharging.) They're simple, in an easy to read font, provide examples of what I mean by "half body" and "colored", and list the price. Even at a small thumbnail, you can read it. Not my best work, and not particularly interesting to look at, but it serves the purpose fine. It's better to be simple and readable than complicated and confusing.
2. Not enough information/Too vague.
There's certain bits of information I need as a customer, whether it be in your graphic, or in your post description. These are the minimum of the type of information I look for:
Prices per bust/half/full body, and prices per different coloring options (INCLUDE THE CURRENCY THE PRICES ARE IN)
What is a bust and what is a half body? Where are the cut off points? Do busts include hands? (I've seen hands cost extra on busts before.)
What different coloring options are offered, and what are the differences between them?
What services do you offer, and how much do they cost? (drawings, comic pages, animations, paintings, etc.)
Any additional costs or things that affect pricing? (i.e backgrounds, complex designs, props.)
How much does it cost to get additional characters?
Do you offer NSFW?
Is there anything you will not draw? (i.e animals, mechs, NSFW, gore, etc.)
What are your terms of service? (i.e art is personal use only, no NFT usage, do you offer refunds, and will you make changes if asked?)
How do you take payment? (Common options are paypal, ko-fi, venmo, and cashapp.)
Are there any additional quirks of your art process right now I should know of? (I have that my coloring style is currently experimental, so customers know in advance there might be some style changes with the coloring unless they specify a certain piece they want it to look like.)
How should I contact you? (Through DMs, email, discord, filling out a form, etc.)
The underlined points are things I would include directly in your photo graphic (they benefit from being shown visually as opposed to just typed out), and everything else are things you can include in either the graphic, the description of your post, or a page on a portfolio website. Do not be afraid to make multiple infographic images, instead of trying to cram everything into one image. If you don't have answers to every single one of these questions, think about these things first before opening commissions.
It's better to have this all planned out in advance, and when you have very clear rules and pricing, it shows confidence and builds more trust with the customer. When I see an artist who's got "pay what you want", "prices are negotiable" and little to no information provided, it makes me doubt their experience and that they'll be able to do my commission well or finish it at all. You also avoid future issues when you spell everything out beforehand. If you show that a half body commission ends at the waist, and you finish the commission and send it to the customer, when they complain "why didn't you draw the thighs too?", you can point back to your guide, showing them they got what you said they would. It's like a contract, when you spell things out, there's less confusion and misunderstandings later down the line.
You want to explain this information in simple, clear language so the reader understands it. If English is not your first language, or you aren't good with words, try looking at other artists' commission pages and see how they word these things.
3. Needs more art examples.
When I commission art, I want to see multiple examples, and would rather see TOO MANY examples than TOO FEW. If you only have 1-2 finished pieces to show, you should probably work on finishing more before you take on the responsibility of commissions.
For pieces, you want to show several examples of bust/half/full bodies, different coloring options, and a variety of characters. For character variety, include both men and women, different face types, and several poses. If your art is only skinny white men, then I assume you can ONLY draw skinny white men, and if I intend to commission a character who doesn't look like that, I'm not considering you as an option. The work you put in your portfolio is generally the work you'll get, and what you show me is all I know of your skill.
You want to demonstrate that you are capable of doing a variety of characters, if you want to get a variety of work and cast a broader net for who will commission you. Also, the more good work I see from you, the more I trust your consistency and quality. When artists only attach one example, I think to myself, "is that all they can do?" and "do they not have any other good pieces?".
For what to include as examples, this is generally what I aim for at a minimum:
- 2 Busts (1 sketch, 1 colored)
- 2 Half Body (1 sketch, 1 colored)
- 2 Full Body (1 sketch, 1 colored)
Additional tips:
You can mix these up a bit (i.e 3 half body and 1 full body instead), but it's nice to have at least one example of each.
If you offer both flat coloring, and shaded coloring, make sure both are shown. Generally, I like to have an example of the same drawing at the sketch, flats, and shaded stages to show customers so they know what the differences between them are (the first example I attached in this post is what I'm referring to.)
Try to have each example be in different poses and with many different types of characters.
If you're including additional services (backgrounds, furries, NSFW, comic pages, sketch pages, paintings, character designs, reference pages, chibis, icons, etc.), provide examples of what those will look like.
Additionally, while you want to show different types of characters, I would recommend keeping the style fairly consistent between all of your examples. If I commission you for a certain style, I want to know you'll deliver on that. If there's going to be some discrepancies, try to include something about that in your terms of service. (I have that my coloring style is experimental while doing colored pieces, and this is included in the terms of my work so they know in advance and can specify if they want the coloring style to look like a certain piece.) Include previous commissions you've done once you've started doing them, so people can see what your finished commissions look like.
Link any additional social medias you have, so if clients want more examples, they can look there.
Your portfolio will be judged by the worst piece in it. While you do want more examples, make sure they're good examples of your work and represent the quality that the customer can expect to get. BUT be careful with what you show. If you've only ever done ONE painting before, and can't consistently replicate that, don't include it. Everything you show should be pieces you can reliably provide to a client if asked. Try to have mostly recent works. Your examples are supposed to represent what you can currently create, as opposed to what you could do 3 years ago, and generally your more recent works will be better anyways. Replace your older examples when you have newer, better works. If all of the work on your portfolio is outdated, it's time to work on new pieces.
Include prices for your examples, so I have an idea of how much my idea might cost if I were to commission you. This is a convenience for the client looking at your page, and visualizes for them how much their money will get.
4. Inconsistent subjects.
Generally, you want to strike a cord with one or two specific audiences, and provide quality work in those areas. If you make a post saying you're open for commissions, and you show me humans, animals, landscapes, typography, animation, and robots, in several different mediums and styles, you're spreading yourself too thin. It's hard for most artists to produce good drawings of all these different topics, usually you specialize in one or two, at least for a while. Focus on advertising your strengths (perhaps you're very good at drawing pet portraits and family photos), and improving at those, as opposed to showing everyone you're just okay at a lot of things. This way, you can dedicate to marketing yourself well to one or two markets, instead of dipping your toes in a bunch of them, AND you're only competing within those markets, as opposed to with everyone. Specializing can be great, especially if you're known for being good at something, people will come to you for that thing, and let other people know you're really good at that thing too. Over time, you can expand out to other subjects, but try to keep it simple to start.
5. Too many choices.
Have you ever been to a restaurant, and you see a million things on the menu, and you get so overwhelmed you don't know what to get? That can be the case with services offered too. I've seen some commission pages where they're offering like 5 different styles (i.e cartoony, anime, pixel art, realism, and comic book), like 6 coloring options, and a variety of other services. It can be distracting and confusing. Try sticking to one or two styles, and a few coloring styles (usually I go with sketch/flat/shaded/painted, and all of my coloring in those styles are consistent). And again, when you limit yourself to just a few styles, you spend more time developing and mastering those, instead of just being okay at a bunch of things.
There are plenty of other little things that people do, but these are the main things I notice. Overall, aim for clarity, and avoid confusion.
How do I create a portfolio website?
You've created the graphic to promote your commissions, but you want to provide lots of examples and information. Putting them all in a social media post can be cumbersome, and it's more convenient to link people to a website if they want more information. I also like how easy it is to edit a website, as opposed to having to edit your photo graphic if you want to change prices or include new examples.
The tips I've provided thus far apply to both websites and just posting on social media, however, there are additional issues that can arise in web design.
1. Where do I create my website?
If you're just starting out, and don't intend to send this to big companies, I would use a website like carrd.co (this is what I use). Its free option gives you the basic tools to create your portfolio, and if you're new to commissions, you don't need to spend the money to get all the additional fancy features and custom domain. I've also seen people use wix and neocities, and you can always create a public Google Doc if you really don't want to try anything else.
2. How should I organize it?
Keep your website simple. I keep a majority of my information and examples on one page, as more clicks = more annoying = more likely to lose the client's interest. Make it as easy as possible to find your information, and don't make me have to go back and forth between pages to see everything. The only page I have separate from my commissions page is my terms of service page, as the average person skims through that anyways and I don't want to have paragraphs of information breaking up the flow of the page. My website has a home page, which has my art name, and links to my commissions, information about me, and all of my social medias. When you are sending people your website or are linking it on social media, link directly to your commission page as opposed to your home page so people go right where they need to be.
You can find my commission page here (NSFW + gore warning) (The following information is based on what my carrd looks like at the time of writing this, but I may change it eventually. This advice still stands though.)
Here is the information I show on mine, and what order I put it in:
All payment information.
I include the prices, their currency, where I take payments, additional costs, and a link to my terms of service. I want my customers to know what everything will cost upfront, so they don't waste their time going through a ton of examples only to realize they can't afford it.
What I will and will not draw.
I have what I will draw, what I won't draw, and things I will draw but are out of my comfort zone in terms of skill.
Examples of my bust/half/full body arts.
These are organized by coloring type. I have my sketch examples together, then my colored examples. Underneath, I have two slideshows (I bought carrd premium to do this but you can just put more photos, I just prefer to keep things organized) of additional examples if people want to see more. The thumbnail of both is the same drawing, with one as the sketch version and the other as the colored version so people can see the differences. A majority of these examples have what I would estimate their costs to be and if they include additional costs (i.e additional characters, props, etc.) so the customer can see specifics of how I do pricing and what constitutes an additional cost.
Illustration examples.
These are things I consider to be more involved than my regular examples, as they include paintings or more elaborate graphic elements. I specify what that means, what it includes, and how it might affect pricing.
My NSFW works
This is my NSFW works, and also shows my more gory and "raunchy" drawings. I put these near the bottom so people who want to commission me for something SFW don't have to feel uncomfortable going through the other stuff to get there. Everything underneath here is NSFW in some way.
Additional services
I offer comics and sketch pages, so I have examples here, as well as their prices. At the bottom, I have a link back to my home page and my about page, which you can do by creating a footer.
You want the visual style to be simple. You can add some extra personality if you want to it, but make sure it is easy on the eyes. Avoid bright colors, messy fonts, and small text. Use high quality example images, and try not to have long paragraphs and break them up into smaller chunks when you can.
I created everything, now what?
After a few hours, or days, or weeks, you've finally created enough work to fill out your portfolio, and your graphics and website are looking compelling. What are you to do after that? Unfortunately, as artists, we all have to become comfortable with advertising and marketing our work. People need to know you exist to be able to commission you, and finding customers is often the hardest part of the commissioning process.
There are ways, however, to put yourself out there. It can all be a bit luck based, or at least it feels that way, but attempting at all will get you farther than nothing. Here are some suggestions for ways you can promote your work:
1. Posting consistently onto social media (Instagram, Bluesky, Tumblr, Facebook etc.)
2. Posting in appropriate Reddit forms (i.e putting your fan art in that media's subreddit, putting your studies in art related subreddits.)
3. Advertising in Discord servers (in places that allow this.)
4. Creating fan art for works you enjoy, and posting them in places where fans will see your work.
5. Doing a free giveaway to get more followers and eyes on your work.
6. Collaborate with other artists through art trades or zines (if you both post your work, both of your audiences will see it.)
7. Do relevant trends that interest you (such as Inktober or Mermay, as people will be checking those tags during those months.)
8. Check Reddit's commission and art based forms to see job postings you could apply for.
9. Participate in art promotion tag games (these are common on Bluesky.)
10. If all else fails, ask friends or family if they would be interested in commissions (be careful with this, you don't wanna bother them too much, but I ask friends sometimes!)
I would recommend trying a variety of these, and do them consistently. It takes time to find commissions, but with consistent posting, you will eventually find an audience.
In the meantime, develop your skills and keep updating your portfolio. I wish you all the best, and good luck!
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If you'd like more to chew on, I have a post here discussing things to take into consideration when pricing your commissions.
