Are you thinking about how to get commissioned for your art?
Maybe you want to start doing pet portraits, or you have already had a commission before. Do you want to make it a regular thing?
Whatever your thoughts are, below are four tips I have used from the beginning of my commission career to the present day. This has been my experience so far.
SAY YES
Say yes, meaning to whatever it is that the other person wants you to paint. This may seem obvious but I believe most artists have their own comfort zone on what they want to paint. I know I did at first and there are also certain things I just don’t enjoy painting. There are so many potential areas of art you could be missing out on because you’re limiting your options. Don’t be lazy! Are you really going to turn a challenge down for your own comfort level? You want to challenge yourself, learn, and continue to grow as an artist.
If you want commissions you need to know that it's not about you. It's about the other person and their needs. Usually, the painting will be sentimental to them in some way. A beloved pet or a portrait of a loved one, a special place they visited.
Sometimes people just want a certain theme or mood for their house. You can learn how to paint certain things and get commissions at the same time. Your style will develop during this process. Saying yes is the first step for actually getting the job and building relationships with people. For every happy customer you receive, the more experience you gain. Then the more people will see what you can do for them.
This is how I have started out and learned what I like and don’t like, but the important thing is that I gave it my all and got the experience I needed by grabbing what came at me.
FIND STYLE
Don’t overthink, this is how you get stuck. This is the way I think writers get writer's block. It’s the same thing for artists. Overthinking leads to thinking things need to be perfect and this is how you get stuck.
Regardless of what others do or say, there’s no correct way to paint something as long as you are happy with it. There are so many different artists in our world and the way they paint is unique to them.
My first time painting commissions for people I didn’t have a lot of experience under me, I was good but only at what I wanted to do. If you haven’t painted something before it is scary. I pretty much tortured myself (in my head) trying to paint what I thought the other person would want.
Let me explain...
The way I paint stars may look totally different than the way another artist paints them. My water may not look realistic at all, but it's an interpretation of it. I had forgotten an important thing. The very reason why anyone would want a commission from me in the first place. They saw what I did and they like it. Your style is already something they love. Don’t spend too much time comparing yourself to other artists and how they do it. Paint what you feel and try to let that come out as freely as it can.
How boring would it be if all artists went about painting in the same way?
I’m gonna guess anyone reading this knows Van Gogh's Starry Night. The way he painted the sky and stars? It wasn’t what you might call a realistic version, but everyone can recognize it like a sky.
He used such a unique way of painting it. I believe this is why so many people love and remember this very famous painting.
If you have a look at my painting below, you will see this is not very realistic water in any way but you can tell it's my version of water and something I felt good about while painting.
You can learn your own style by painting what feels right to you. What makes you smile and feel good when you are creating it. You know that calm water that kind of ripples over each other slowly and when the sunlight hits it just right. That's what I was going for, calm. It's a bit abstract but this is part of my own unique style I have developed.
Don’t be afraid. This goes back to our comfort zone. Step out, explore, and try something different. I guarantee you will learn new ways of painting and have something to be proud of in the end.
The important thing to remember: if you don’t feel happy with the end result, then the customer won’t either. The more you love your creation, the more they will love it.
When you start getting a few commissions you're really proud of, other people will see that work and want something similar. Now that you have done it, it becomes easier in so many ways. Style, color, your process, and time. Your confidence will continue to grow.
Here is my very first paying art commission. It was a very big one with three different paintings all beach themed. Just putting it out there, I had never painted an ocean or water before. The entire process was a challenge, to say the least. But I am very happy with how it turned out and I am glad I said yes and chose to take it on. This opened up a huge window of opportunity for me.
DO FREE GIVEAWAYS
Ok, this tip might frighten some people but hear me out.
People love free things, I know I do. I’m not saying to paint something that takes you weeks to create and give it to someone for free, but giveaways can help you get more commissions and also followers, and fans around town.
Let's say you have a painting your very happy with. You could easily get a print made up that won’t cost you much.
Create a post on whichever social media platform you are using and offer some sort of fun giveaway in exchange for something else. Whatever it is you are looking for, maybe that's more shares, more likes, comments, whatever you choose.
An example might be: "FREE PRINT GIVEAWAY, I am looking to reach a goal of 10 new subscribers in two weeks. If I can make that goal, I will give away this print for free. Please share my post and comment DONE below. I will pick a winner from the comments at random in two weeks."
This is a very fun way for people to engage with you and for them to share your artwork. I personally find this to be very exciting for me to offer. Plus it's a game and fun challenge for me.
Just be sure to be clear on the rules here.
I have done this a few times and it never disappoints. Even in the beginning when I didn’t have much work to show. Just going the extra mile and giving something to someone you know, as a genuine act of kindness, will most likely end up with them happy, and they will talk about it to others. Then people know what you can do, where before they might not have known you could have created something so great.
Whenever I make a good amount of money from my art and I have more than enough to keep me going to the next project, I feel strongly the need to give some of it back. It's not a lot, but it goes a long way. I make a contest for a free painting that the winner wants me to paint (within my artistic strengths), and I ask them to comment something on the post. I get a lot of engagement and I’m very excited to make something for someone and surprise them. I do it old-school style and draw a name out of a hat after a certain amount of hours and make a video announcing the winner.
Initially, this idea is mostly for myself and the joy of giving back. Not everyone has to do this and more importantly, if you are not comfortable, don’t. It has to come from a genuinely good place - from within you. And I’m sure you will know when you feel ready to do that. But something great almost always happens after the winner has been announced. More people will message looking for their own commissions they want. Just from doing something nice, it all comes back.
You can make prints from your original artwork so easily these days. There are many companies out there that do a great job. You can even buy your own printer just for artwork and do it yourself at home.
Or you can outsource as I do. I use the company Giclee for art prints and canvas prints made from my originals. Their work is incredible, they do a lot of work with artists, and ship straight to your customer's door. They are very nice people and have always done a great job for me.
CONSISTENCY
You will gain confidence and knowledge with consistency. Keep pushing and putting the effort in and watch it pay off. Like anything in life, the more you work at something, the greater you become.
Even though you might naturally have a talent for creating art, there’s always more to gain. There's always another step to becoming that much better.
This is all part of it, getting through to the other side. Don’t give up. You cannot fail this way.
Make sure you show up for yourself. If you are not making time to create for yourself and grow as an artist, then your just not gonna get anywhere.
Set up times for your art. If you work an 8 hour day, then get up an extra hour early so you can practice. This may sound tiring, but how important is your art to you?
Do you want to be an expert at Netflix shows, or do you want to be able to say you have a piece of art to show for yourself? The choice is yours.
I look at it like this. I have this talent that makes me feel great and I absolutely love doing it. So I owe lit to myself to honor that feeling and push myself. I choose to give that to myself.
The more you do, the more you learn, the better you become.
I believe you learn as you go, by doing not watching. You can read and watch all the techniques out there, but until you get your hands messy and make mistakes, you won’t learn to use them. Every time I paint I learn something new. I learn I won’t do that next time because it was harder or I discovered a technique I played around with and that made it easier. Here is proof of how consistency pays off. This is a painting of cockatoos I painted the first year I got serious about painting.
Then, only a year later of consistent painting, here is the same type of bird.
It's a big improvement for sure. Just keep painting.
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