3 Ways to Get Paid as an Illustrator Other Than From Sales, Commissions, and Being an Art Vendor
It can be a wonderful feeling when you get opportunities to be an art vendor, to get online sales, and to receive art commission requests as an illustrator. You are on your way to becoming a full-fledged illustrator, so be proud of your efforts and the accomplishments you have achieved so far!
There are other paid opportunities as an illustrator that I want to share from personal experience that I have gotten besides from sales, being a vendor, or working on art commissions. I will be upfront and say that these were ACTIVE opportunities and by no means a passive way to get paid. Also, these may come through the form of requests or something you need to seek after. Additionally, these may require the same level of work and effort as the above three, if not more, depending on your skill and comfort level. Ok now that we are done with housekeeping stuff, let’s finally get into it!
Design Contests/Competitions
The first I will talk about is the time I got paid $1,000 USD for one digital art illustration that was done in 8.5”x11” size. I was one of ten winners for an online art design contest that was hosted by a major clothing brand and each of us received a full amount of $1,000. The design competition involved the judges selecting the top 100 for round 2 and a period for online voting after as well.
When I heard the news that I won, I was really shocked. I submitted this design when I was only two years in as an illustrator and I had about less than 400 Instagram followers at the time. There were many talented artists who submitted illustrations, so the competition was pretty high. I was also still learning how to digitally draw and it likely took at least 40 hours to finish it.
My submitted illustration is below:
I am sharing my illustration to show you that anything is possible. Design is incredibly subjective and you never know whether someone thinks something is a winning design or not. All you can control is what you can make and what you choose to put out there. If you already believe that your design isn’t a winner, then you have already made the choice for the judges and others, which, in all honesty, is not yours to decide.
So, take a chance on yourself, do the work, and see what happens! While I don’t know what actually leveraged me to win, I think both originality in the design and a strong concept statement behind the art can make the entire design compelling and relatable.
Blog Collaborations
A second, paid opportunity I have gotten was when I was paid $75 to write a blog post with a website link for their client. They were looking for someone with an arts and crafts background, so I wrote a blog post on how to create and package stickers from scratch. This still relates to being an illustrator since I like to share insights, tips, and resources regarding my experiences and my processes as an illustrator through blogging and tutorials.
She found me by doing a simple Google search for craft & art related blogs and when she came across mine, she thought it would be a great fit. This goes to show to make sure you have a website and you have helpful, quality content to be found – this will help Google rank you higher in their search algorithm. I talk more about this in the blog, “3 Ways to Build a Spectacular Online Presence With Your Art.” I also created a YouTube video on this and you can watch it below.
If you have extra time and are into writing blogs, especially in arts and crafts or in demand and popular topics, then consider building a blog to gain more eyeballs to your content other than through social media. I was able to get this opportunity with under 30 published blog posts at the time, so if you are able to write about quality, relatable topics, then you have the potential to get a similar opportunity as well. While opportunities like these are not guaranteed, I do believe blogging can be a good investment in the long run and can allow your website to be more searchable, which can help lead to sales and other unique opportunities.
Book Reading Events For a Published Children’s Book
A third opportunity was doing a book reading at a library for a local school. To give context, I published a children’s book in December 2023, which was co-authored with a friend and I also did the illustrations for the book. In a book reading event, you can get paid to do a book reading and/or get paid for selling copies of your published children’s book. Parents of students can opt in to pay for the book or a signed copy of the book, where the price of the signed book can be slightly higher.
In this instance, I was paid by selling copies of my book (signed and unsigned) and, so far, I was able to sell over 25 books from one event. If you have the opportunity do a book reading event from a book you created, the audience reach can be significant because you are reaching your ideal audience through a well-established network.
These three are just a few examples of the different ways to get paid as a creative. Some opportunities require risk and others can be through requests. Both do require you to take a chance on yourself and to do the hard work (e.g. entering a design competition, blogging, or publishing a book).
The opportunity to get paid for something does not come out of simple whim, especially if you are still establishing yourself as a professional creative or artist. Once you become more established, then more opportunities for collaborations and passive income can occur. I do believe that starting small and gaining experience can prepare you for the bigger collaborations or opportunities later on.
As a bonus, I would like to share a couple more potential paid opportunities I have encountered:
I was reached out by a growing woman-owned business to collaborate and get commissions for coaching calls
Seeking a grant opportunity to develop an artistic installation at a local park
Truthfully, I find these opportunities fun and unique, as some of these require me to use different skills other than simply creating art (e.g. writing and public speaking). Sometimes, it’s a nice break to do something different, especially if you are a multi-passionate person.
Keep a look out for art contests and grants and stay focused in being strategic about how you want to show up and create - you just never know who is watching and what opportunities might arise from your fruitful labor! Good luck on your endeavors!
Happy creating,
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If you are looking to build a strong online presence with your art, you are in the right place! Here at ChubCatArt you will find resources that will help you stand out and be seen in your art journey. Take the leap and let’s get creative together! Read more.
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