Freelance Illustration Explained

 

If you’ve studied illustration, or you’re teaching yourself, you might be wondering… what now? How do people actually turn this into a career?

 

The creative skills are only part of the puzzle. They’re essential, but you also have to understand the business side. After all, a freelance illustrator is a business person. You trade your creative skills for money.

 

So in this video, I’m going to give you a beginner-friendly overview of how freelance illustration works: how illustrators find projects and clients, what clients expect, and what you need to know to make money doing what you love.

 

A freelancer is someone who gets paid to do work for clients, one project at a time. You’re paid for your time, your talent, and your craft.

 

You’re the boss, you’re the worker, you’re the sales and marketing team, you’re the bookkeeper, and you’re the decision maker.

 

It’s a lot to learn. You can outsource some of it, which we’ll get into later, but for now, let’s assume you’re doing it all yourself.

 

You’re self-employed, and you pay taxes on what you earn. The structure is simple: it’s just you. Aside from taxes, you keep what you earn.

 

Illustrators work with lots of different clients, mostly on one-off projects. That means you have to be constantly seeking out new clients. You can call them leads or prospects, but the reality is there are many clients willing to pay for illustration, and most of them don’t know you exist.

 

So you have to introduce yourself and let them know you’re good at what you do.

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How illustrators find clients

 

This is your marketing hat, and it can be boiled down into five areas.

 

1) Warm outreach

 

Emailing, calling, or messaging people you already know. Your network.

 

Early on, you might not have much of a network, but it grows over time.

 

2) Cold outreach

 

Emailing or messaging clients who don’t know you.

 

Most illustrators do this. Most could do more of it. It’s slow and hard, and you don’t get many replies or encouragement along the way, but it’s an important part of building a career.

 

Both warm and cold outreach are one-to-one: you’re contacting one person at a time.

 

The next three are one-to-many: they can be seen by lots of people at once.

 

3) Advertising

 

Boosting posts, running Instagram ads, Google ads, things like that.

 

Advertising is usually impractical for new illustrators because it costs money and it’s a skill in itself. Most people lose money before they make money.

 

4) Being on platforms that already have clients

 

This is where you put your portfolio on a website that already attracts clients.

 

Directories and portfolio platforms like Workbook and Directory of Illustration do this. You pay to appear on them, and you borrow the credibility of the platform.

 

Illustration agencies work similarly. They’re hubs of portfolios, and clients browse them to find artists. Agencies take a cut of your fee, and they only make money if you make money, so it can be a win-win.

 

5) Making content

 

Social media, blogs, YouTube, anything where you share your work or talk about your work publicly.

 

It takes time, but it’s free, and anything you post has the potential to be discovered by hundreds or thousands of people. It should be part of your marketing, but it’s not the whole story.

 

If you want a deeper breakdown of those five areas, I have another video that goes into more detail.

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The reality: work comes in waves

 

One thing beginners aren’t always prepared for is that freelance illustration work comes in waves.

 

You might have a couple of busy months, then a quiet month or two where nothing happens. It can be scary, but it’s normal.

 

Quiet periods are when you double down on outreach, update your portfolio, and work on personal projects that attract future clients. They’re also why it’s important to manage your money well, so you’ve got something to fall back on.

 

I’ve also put together a short illustration career quiz. The link is in the description. It only takes a couple of minutes, and it’ll give you a sense of where you’re at and what to focus on next.

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How freelance projects typically work

 

A client will email you to see if you’re available. They’ll send a brief and a deadline.

 

They may tell you their budget, or they may ask you to quote.

 

Different clients have different budgets.

 

Editorial clients (magazines, newspapers, blogs) tend to have lower budgets and faster turnaround. That can make editorial a good place for newer illustrators to start.

 

Higher-paying areas like advertising, packaging, and branding are less likely to take a chance on new artists. There’s more money on the line, higher visibility, and longer usage, so clients want to be confident you can deliver.

 

You work your way up to those jobs by building skill, proving reliability, and developing a reputation.

 

So: you get the brief, agree a fee, sign a contract, then get to work.

 

If you need help with contracts, I recommend joining the Association of Illustrators (the UK’s professional body for illustration). They have resources and a template commissioning agreement you can use with clients.

 

If you need help with pricing, I have a full course on that, and I’ve also made a free pricing calculator. Links are in the description.

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Process and feedback rounds

 

Clients usually want to see work in stages, so they can give feedback.

 

Typically, that’s around three rounds: sketch, colour rough, final artwork. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

 

You should agree how many rounds of feedback are included in the price at the start. Some clients can get carried away, and you don’t want a project doubling in workload without doubling in fee.

 

If you agree three rounds and the client asks for six, you should charge for the extra time. That’s fair and normal, but you can only do it if the terms are clear from the start.

 

That said, don’t be unreasonable. One small tweak at the end isn’t a big deal. But a major change late in the process is real extra work, and you should be paid for it.

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Payment basics

 

Most clients pay a flat fee for a commissioned project.

 

When the work is done, you send an invoice. Payment terms vary: 30, 45, 60 days, sometimes longer. Check your contract so you can plan your cashflow.

 

For longer projects over a few months, staged payments are smart. Invoice part of the fee each month.

 

For larger budgets, for example anything over $5,000, consider negotiating a deposit. Something like 15 to 30% up front, then the remainder on delivery.

 

Deposits and staged payments reduce your risk and help you stay stable.

 

Another way illustrators make money is licensing existing work. If a client wants to use an image you’ve already created, they pay for usage rights. The fee is usually lower than a new commission, but it’s efficient income.

 

In publishing, you may be paid a flat fee, but often it’s an advance plus royalties.

 

For example: $9,000 advance plus 5% royalties. Payments are often split into thirds: at the start, after sketches, and on final delivery.

 

Try to avoid final payment being tied to publication date, because publication can be delayed by months.

 

Royalties are only paid once sales exceed the advance amount. They’re not guaranteed, and they’re typically only meaningful if a book really takes off.

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Licensing and copyright

 

Ideally, when you make an illustration for a client, you license it to them for a specific purpose, for a specific amount of time.

 

After that, the illustration is yours to re-license, and over your career you can build up an archive of work that earns income more than once.

 

That only works if you retain rights.

 

Some clients want to buy the rights outright, meaning they want you to assign copyright. If they own it forever, and you can’t reuse it, the price should be high. You might not even be allowed to show it in your portfolio.

 

I won’t go deep into copyright here, because I have a dedicated video that explains it properly.

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Your portfolio still matters

 

To get work, you need a portfolio that attracts clients.

 

Clients have to look at your portfolio and immediately imagine how your style could solve their problem.

 

For beginners, I recommend applying your style to a wide range of subjects and project types. It gives you more chances to appeal to different industries while you build momentum.

 

If your portfolio only shows book covers, that might work for publishers, but it won’t appeal to a food brand, a tech company, or a coffee roaster.

 

Later on, you might specialise. That often happens naturally based on what you enjoy and what the market responds to.

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Conclusion

 

That’s the big picture of how freelance illustration works. I’ve only scratched the surface, but I hope it helps.

 

It’s a mix of creativity and business, and you need both to make it sustainable.

 

Don’t worry if it feels like a lot. Nobody masters this at the start. Most illustrators figure it out as they go.

 

If you want to go deeper on any of these topics — finding clients, pricing, contracts, copyright, social media, building a portfolio — I’ve got dedicated videos on all of it.

 

Leave a comment if there’s something specific you want help with, and I’ll point you in the right direction.

 

I’ll put a playlist up here with some great intro videos.

 

And if you’re serious about building a career as an illustrator, hit subscribe so you don’t miss the next video.

 

See you next time.