How to Start a Illustration Business

Part 1 - How to start an Illustration business - Background

Illustrators provide their artistic talents to a range of clients, including advertising agencies, publishers, stock image services, web content providers, and other businesses.

As a freelance illustrator, you can take your skills in a number of directions. You might work for advertising agencies, stock image houses, magazine or book publishers, record labels, greeting card companies, digital properties, merchandisers, or other businesses. Some illustrators serve such narrow specialty niches as courtroom sketch artists, or niches in fashion, medicine, or technology. Or you might primarily work in fine art to be sold to customers directly or through galleries or agents.

You may also be interested in additional side hustle ideas.

Our guide is in 3 parts:

• Part 1 - How to start an Illustration business - Background
• Part 2 - Our planner tool to see if this idea is the right fit for you
• Part 3 - Action plan to get started

What are the costs involved in opening a illustration business?

The good news is that you’ll probably not need a studio or employees at first. Your overhead will be rather low. However, since a great deal of illustration work today is done digitally, you’ll need to invest in technology. Here’s how your main startup costs might break down.

• Hardware — $2,000 or higher. This includes a computer, a printer, a scanner, and a digital camera. You might already have some of this equipment, and some might be unnecessary to how you do business, but the investment will most like fall in this price range.

• Software — $1,000 or less. Again, your needs will depend on the work you take on, but some of the general must-haves of illustration can be found in the Adobe Creative Cloud bundle for around $600 a year.

• Art supplies — $500 or less. These are the non-digital tools of your trade, and can include brushes, markers, paint, canvas, or whatever other materials you use.

• Marketing — A few hundred dollars and up. This covers your website and portfolio, as well as promotional mailings and social media.

What are the ongoing expenses for a illustration business?

Once you’ve stocked up on your hardware, software, and supplies, your ongoing expenses will be few. You might spend a few hundred dollars on self-promotion or on transportation costs to get to appointments if you’re meeting clients in person.

Other than that, your only costs are likely to be whatever you’ll need to live on until your revenue grows to the point where you can support yourself. This is a good argument for starting your business slowly, maintaining a full-time job and moonlighting to serve a few clients until your business grows to the point where you can operate without an outside paycheck.

Who is the target market?

Anyone who has a need for and an interest in your art. This might be commercial clients from your chosen areas of expertise or consumers who admire your artistic talents.

How does a illustration business make money?

You’ll charge a fee for your business that’s often based on your estimation of hours to complete the job. Some clients will let you quote an hourly rate, but most will want to hear a flat fee.

How much can you charge customers?

 There are so many different types of jobs for illustrators — ranging from animation storyboards and book covers to wine labels and print ads — that it would be difficult to flatly state what you should charge. But here are a couple of factors to keep in mind:

• Commercial illustrators tend to charge between $25 – $100 an hour, based on talent, experience, client roster, and what the market will bear.

• Large corporate clients can afford to pay more than startup merchandisers working from their spare room. What this means is that your job estimate will often depend on what you think your client can afford and is willing to pay for the job. But whatever that amount is, take an honest appraisal of the fee in terms of the time the project will consume, and see if the hourly rate makes it worthwhile. (Sometimes the potential for additional business from that client, entry into a new field of specialty or cash flow needs offset misgivings about a disappointing rate.)

Consider joining The Graphic Artists Guild. The annual cost of membership is between $75 and $200 depending on your circumstances, but it includes a free copy of “The Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing and Ethical Guidelines.” In addition to the valuable pricing guidance for a range of projects you’ll find in the handbook, the organization offers additional business guidance and advice.

How much profit can a illustration business make?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has a category called Fine Artists, including Painters, Sculptors and Illustrators, and lists a mean annual wage of $57,410 for that category. BLS also lists Graphic Designers, a related field, at an annual mean wage of almost $48,000. Of course, your earnings will only be limited by the reputation you attain, the clients you attract and the work you put out.

How can you make your business more profitable?

Consider specializing in leading-edge fields. For instance, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists annual salaries at a median rate of $65,300 and rising to as high as about $116,000 for work in such fields as computer games, movies, music videos, and commercials. Do research to find the specialties and subspecialties where the pay is most attractive and find a way to secure those assignments.

Day-to-Day and Growth

What happens during a typical day at a illustration business?

Your typical workday will include a range of activities that include practicing your art and maintaining good client relationships. Here’s how a typical day might look.

• Sending out marketing materials and placing calls to obtain new business

• Phone, email or in-person meetings with clients to get assignments and go over project details, budgets and deadlines, or revision needs

• Working on your billable assignments

• Networking with others in your field and maintaining your professional social media presence

• Investigating new software and technologies and buying supplies to stay current and ready for your next assignments

• Invoicing clients and keeping your business afloat

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful illustration business?

Stay adaptable — and keep learning. The technology, the tools and the opportunities are constantly changing. The career you undertake today will look nothing like what you’ll be doing in 20 years. That’s the good news! Stay curious and you’ll be able to choose from multiple paths to career success.

What is the growth potential for a illustration business?

That depends on the direction you take your business. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics gives Graphic Designers — a related field — an outlook of one percent growth rate between 2014-2024. But opportunities are expanding in various digital multimedia fields, including storyboards for animation and other Silicon Valley assignments. Another example of a rising field is book jacket covers for independently published ebooks (though rates aren’t high).

What are some insider tips for jump starting a illustration business?

Get significant work experience before you go off on your own. This will not only show you how to find clients and complete jobs successfully, but it will help you build your portfolio for when you’re ready to go solo.

Also, consider networking if there are other independent illustrators in your area. You might join or form a cooperative to share such costs as studio space, website and promotion. 

How and when to build a team

Chances are, you won’t have a team — or the unnecessary cost of employees. But you might collaborate with other artists, photographers, or others serving your client base in order to expand your services and raise your rates.

Part 2 - Is an Illustration business the right fit for you?

Part 3 - Action plan to launch your Illustration business in 90 days