Illustration & Business: A Primer on Portfolios & Pricing Your Art

Welcome to Illustration Business Boot Camp! This is a survey course, which means we’ll have a broad overview of the 10 most important practical, business-y things that are often not taught in art school.

We’ll tackle everything from the practical, day-to-day skills needed to run an art business, to the foundational ones needed to build it up, like portfolios, customer service, and finding your niche as a creator.

So many artists cringe when they hear the word business, and thinking of invoices, or professional industry standards, or marketing makes them want to run and hide their head under a pillow. But I’m here to tell you that it’s really not that bad, and that building a successful creative career is totally possible.

In this course, I’ll do my best to demystify even the tabooiest of art business subjects, so that afterwards you will have a solid, foundational overview of some of the most important aspects of running a successful art business. 

Course outline:

1. How to Tell When Your Portfolio is at a Pro Level
2. How to Identify Your Market & Niche
3. How to Price Art & Illustration
4. How to Make a Portfolio Website
5. Social Media Basics for Artists
6. Cold Pitching and Other Direct Self Promotion
7. Delivering Final Work to Clients (industry standards and professional practice)
8. How to Work with Commercial Clients 
9. How to Put Together and Understand a Contract
10. How to Invoice and Get Paid

There will also be lots of bonus content covering additional topics. Please keep in mind that we are taking on a lot in this class, so we will cover what I view as the most important, vital things to know for getting your art business established, but there will still be more to learn.

This course is specifically geared towards commercial art and illustration. It’s also best suited for people who have a solid grasp on their actual artistic skills and style.

So If you are still learning to draw or paint, or struggling to find your style, I’d recommend you switch to one of my other classes and focus on your technical skill first before putting too much energy into the business side. The Scientific Method for Artists is a great place to start if you're a beginner or still developing your style.

But if you’re at a more intermediate level, and have a fairly consistent, developing style and feel ready to start transitioning to working professionally, then let’s dive in!