The art of working to a commission
ImagineFX|August 2023
Going it alone Tanya Combrinck talks to a trio of freelance artists about how they built their workflows and deal with client projects
Tanya Combrinck
The art of working to a commission

Producing work that realises someone else's creative vision is an art in itself. You'll need to juggle tasks like pricing, contracts, feedback and payment, and there's opportunity for miscommunication and other inefficiencies to throw a spanner in the works. Building a solid process that works for you and your clients is essential for making sure it all runs smoothly.

Syd Mills works full-time as a freelancer whose client work includes book covers, character art and illustrations for tabletop RPGs. Her first piece of advice for those taking on commissions is that you start out small; begin with just three or fewer clients to make sure that you don't become overwhelmed.

Before you get going, work out your timescales and pricing. "Figure out how long it takes you to complete a non-commissioned piece, and understand that it may take much longer while working with a client," she says. "Requests for major revisions, delays in feedback, and personal life events can break up a timeline you assume will be smooth."

When you've got a sense of how long it takes you to complete an image, use this to calculate your minimum charge for a project of a given length. "Build your pricing around the expectation that you deserve a living wage for what you do," says Syd. Take into account that you should be earning enough to build up some emergency funds, and remember to push your prices up in line with inflation.

"I always make sure I understand exactly what the client is looking for before I set a price," she says. "Rates depend on the specifics of the job, typically number of characters, cropping (whether it's a full or half body), the outfit or armour, any accessories, and environment. I repeat these exact five things to almost every prospective client I speak to so they know what information to provide."

Esta historia es de la edición August 2023 de ImagineFX.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición August 2023 de ImagineFX.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE IMAGINEFXVer todo
Jan Wessbecher
ImagineFX

Jan Wessbecher

Dominic Carter talks to the visual artist about creating his own comic and why sketchbooks are great for creative experiments

time-read
9 minutos  |
Christmas 2024
Kyounghwan Kim
ImagineFX

Kyounghwan Kim

The Korean character concept artist speaks to Dominic Carter about staying open to ideas and the value of drawing regularly

time-read
5 minutos  |
Christmas 2024
Slawek Fedorczuk
ImagineFX

Slawek Fedorczuk

Dominic Carter talks to the concept artist about what keeps him motivated and the advantages of using physical sketchbooks.

time-read
10 minutos  |
Christmas 2024
Raquel M. Varela
ImagineFX

Raquel M. Varela

Raquel is inspired by magic, fantasy and fairy tales. She loves designing female characters from distant worlds. \"My greatest reference is Loish's art, thanks to her I learned to draw the movement and fluidity I like to convey.\"

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024
Estrela Lourenço
ImagineFX

Estrela Lourenço

Estrela is a children's book author and illustrator. Her work is influenced by her background in character animation and storyboards for clients such as Cartoon Network, and she channels comic strips like Calvin and Hobbes.

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024
Daria Widermanska
ImagineFX

Daria Widermanska

Daria, also known as Anako, has been drawing for as long as she can remember. Inspired by Disney and classic anime, she loves creating new characters and often finds that a single sketch can spark a unique story.

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024
Allen Douglas
ImagineFX

Allen Douglas

Allen has been painting professionally since 1994 for the publishing and gaming industries. Inspired by folklore, he distorts the size, relationships and environments of animals, and calls his paintings 'unusual wildlife'.

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024
Thaddeus Robeck
ImagineFX

Thaddeus Robeck

Thaddeus has been drawing from the moment he could hold a pencil, but it was the 2020 lockdowns that gave him the time to focus on honing his skills.

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024
DRAW FASCINATING SYMBOLIC ARTWORK
ImagineFX

DRAW FASCINATING SYMBOLIC ARTWORK

Learn how JULIÁN DE LA MOTA creates a composition from his imagination with a focus on crafting figures, volumetric modelling, and light and shadow

time-read
5 minutos  |
November 2024
First Impressions
ImagineFX

First Impressions

The artist talks about his journey into the mythological world

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 2024