Questions for Freelancers

This is the most common question I get asked by freelance artists of all levels, and it’s an important one.  I wish I could tell you that I have it all figured out, but the truth is that I struggle with this every single day. 

The best answer I’ve found is:  “More!”

The good news is that over the years of researching pricing and improving my portfolio and connections, I’ve been able to work up a fair pricing structure that really helps my family, the industry, and (I think) my clients as well.  Overtime, you’ll figure out a groove that works for you.

Here are some tips:

  1. Calculate your living costs and figure out a minimum price that makes sense for you and your family.

    The best place to start is to make sure that you are charging a sustainable, living wage.  If you charge $50 per illustration, but it takes you two days to finish an illustration, then obviously you’ve set yourself up for failure. 

    Add up your monthly costs and divide them by the number of hours you have available to work.  Now you have your minimum hourly rate, and can easily figure out your minimum project fee.

    Once you find your minimum price, NEVER quote below that, because anything less than that rate would be theft!  This number represents the absolute minimum that you need just to survive, so really, you should try to never even get near it.

    NOTE:  Don’t be afraid to use your situation to your advantage. I’ve got two hell-spawn living in my house and a wife which are quite expensive.  If you are flying solo, you can (and should) out-bid me every time.  I live in a relatively low-cost area in Pennsylvania, USA, so I can (and do) charge less than someone working and living in Los Angeles or New York City.  Don’t be ashamed to compete – it’s just business!  But just don’t compete against yourself!
  2. Minimum rate for your industry – I recommend that you NEVER charge less than $150 for a custom anything.

    Consider this a minimum moral value.  If you charge too little for an illustration, even if you can afford to do so, you may be devaluing the integrity of your illustration, and maybe the value of illustration in general.

    In my opinion, I don’t think any custom illustration for any client who is hoping to profit from your illustration should go for less than $150, no matter what your skill level, and no matter what your experience.  If you are having trouble meeting this minimum amount, you may need to go back and refine your portfolio.  Instead, get a job elsewhere while you work on building a portfolio of work you really enjoy.  The jobs that are paying you less than $150 most likely won’t end up in your portfolio anyway, and become a self-perpetuating, never-ending cycle of sadness (dramatic, right?).

    There is a great article written by the freelance artist Daarken about why a minimum rate for the industry might be important to fight for (he uses $100 as an example)
    https://daarken.com/blog/tag/freelance-rates/
  3. Research Freelance Illustration pricing – Constantly research what others in your category are charging, and keep track in a spreadsheet or other document.

    Whenever I stumble upon information about prices, I hoard it away in a massive spreadsheet I have that breaks down each category (t-shirt design, logo design, etc) and lists the lowest prices all the way to the highest prices I’ve heard of.  Over the years, I now have a really good idea of the range that others are charging, as well as benchmarks to aspire to.

    Some great resources for pricing information:

    1. Graphic Artists Guild Handbook:  https://www.graphicartistsguild.org/handbook
      (these prices can often be quite high, because they are taken from surveys of mostly illustrators working in the top tiers, but they are great to learn what’s possible).
    2. Association of Illustrators:
      http://www.theaoi.com/
      If you join the association (for an annual fee), you can email their group of experts anytime you need help structuring a quote, and they will respond in just a couple of hours with very specific suggestions.  This alone was worth the membership fee, because after asking for help on a dozen projects, I really got a great feel for how to price effectively.
    3. Bidding sites:
      Guru.com, Elance.com, Freelancer.com, Fiverr (hurl)
      Depending on where you are in your career, you may need to use sites like these (but please, please don’t use Fiverr, there’s just no excuse!).  Even if you don’t use them, it’s helpful to see what people are charging at the absolute bottom.
    4. Other Illustrators:
      There’s no shame of asking other illustrators for help – but don’t ask “what do you charge?” unless you know them personally.  Instead, give the artist details about the project, tell them what you were thinking of charging, and ask for their input.

      Three years ago, I started doing this, and quickly found that I was drastically under-charging, and quickly made efforts to change that.
    5. Art Podcasts:
      There is a ton of free, in-depth, insider information being spewed out on art podcasts.  I have learned so much this way.  Here are some of my favorites:

      1. Adventures In Design
        http://www.aidpodcast.com/
      2. Big Illustration Party Time
        http://illustrationparty.tumblr.com/
      3. Chris Oatley
        https://chrisoatley.com/category/podcasts/
      4. Will Terry on YouTube (Not a podcast, but a super-helpful YouTube channel run by a renown children’s book illustrator.  Do everything he says!)
        https://www.youtube.com/user/willterryart
  • Research the client before giving a quote:One of the first things I do when a client asks for a quote, is to do a little research on who they are.  It’s important to size up the client, and play the budget-guessing game that goes back to when humans were trading sea-shells.
  • How does their website look?  If it looks like they had a sizeable budget to build a professional looking site, chances are, they have a large budget for you too.  If their site still has blinking text on a black background, I wouldn’t shoot for the moon.
  • Do they have a large following?  An established company will have thousands of followers on social media, and thus might have a largerbudget.  So definitely check them out on social media (and follow them too!). However, most new start-ups won’t have a large following built up yet, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t have a budget.
  • Can they communicate clearly?  This may seem petty, but I’ve found over time that when I get a quote request that is fraught with grammar and spelling errors, that there is direct correlation to the size of their budget.  Makes sense – if they can’t communicate clearly, it’s going to be hard for them to run a business well.

Who have they worked with? If you recognize illustrators they’ve worked with in the past as well known, top-tier illustrators, then you can guess that they are not afraid to pay high prices for quality work.

So now that you’re established, and you’re charging far above your minimum rate (allowing you to put money away for savings), you can begin steadily raising your rate.

Freelancers don’t get cost-of-living raises, so we have to take care of that ourselves.  Like everything else.

If you charge a client $500 for a logo design, and it turns out great, next time a similar client asks for a price, raise it a little.  Perhaps $525?  Does that sound unfair?  It shouldn’t.  After all, they are now asking for a quote from a more experienced illustrator, and the cost should reflect that.

Gradually repeat this until you’ve found you hit a wall (too many rejections from clients asking for quotes), and slow down a little until your portfolio and client acquisition rate improve again.

Before you know it, a year will go by and you have doubled your rate, and you’ll wonder how you could ever have charged so little in the first place.

NOTE:  It’s harder to raise your rate on existing clients.  I often keep the price same for existing clients, and make my price increases on new business. However, if I haven’t worked with an existing client in a long time (usually more than a year), I kindly explain the rate increase. It’s typically not a problem, because the quality of my work had also grown, and clients who are satisfied with working with you usually dread the idea of having to start all over again and find a new artist.

NOTE:  If you’ve been charging the same price for a product for over a year, it’s time to raise your prices, even if by just a little bit.  Otherwise, inflation is kicking your butt.

My prices vary from project to project based on a lot of different factors.  Before you give a quote, make sure you have all the information first.  I’ve gotten myself into trouble giving a quote on a project I thought was small, only to find out it was a monster.

Here are the questions I ask when approached by a new client:

  1.  Can you tell me a little more about your business?
    (I ask this to get clues about the size of their business, and their budget).
  1.  What level of usage rights do you need to purchase?
    (The more uses they want to get out of the illustration, the more you should charge. If they want to buy all the rights, make sure you charge even more.  I typically charge 50% more if the client wants a full rights buyout).
  1. Duration of License?
    (The longer they want to use the image for, the more you should charge).
  1.  Area of Use or Territory.
    (I think this question is becoming irrelevant now that the internet has made everything global, in my opinion).  I usually give worldwide rights.
  1.  Can you describe your idea and what you would like me to create?
    (I get so many quote requests that just ask “what do you charge?” or “I want a t-shirt – how much?”  Try to get an idea of what you will be drawing first before giving a quote, so you can estimate how much time it will take, and quote accordingly.  You may also decide you don’t want the job, once you hear what it is they want.
  1.  What (roughly) is your budget for this project?
    (few clients answer this question, but when they do, it’s always helpful.  If they come back with something that is way below your rates, then you know that it’s not worth your time fighting.  Sometimes the budget will come back much higher than you would have quoted.  Even a range is helpful).
  1.  When do you need this artwork finished?
    (the deadline is also very important.  Charge more for a rush job).
  1.  How did you hear about me?
    (I keep track of where my referrals are coming from – it really helps me figure out where to focus my marketing.  Plus, if they tell you the referral came from another client, you may have a good starting point on price).

  1. Is there possible exposure in it for you?

I know, I hate that word too.  But if the client has huge name recognition and an enormous following, I’d be willing to be (a little) more flexible on my pricing.  However, be careful with how much you capitulate.  Exposure doesn’t pay the bills.

BUT make sure that the exposure is written into your contract!  If you are really giving them a discount, you have to make sure the client holds their end of the bargain.  Make the discount contingent on them making a social media post about you, putting your name on all instances of the artwork, and/or allowing you to advertise on their website.


  1.  Will this project actually lead to more work?

I might be more willing to compromise with clients on price if the client will have a lot of recurring work.  In the long run, you really save a lot of time (money) by working with the same client again and again.

The hard part is developing the psychic abilities to determine which jobs will actually develop into recurring work – because in reality, it is a rare occurrence, especially when working with a start-up business, who still has stars in their eyes and may not know the challenges ahead of them that will change their business plan.

NOTE:  If the client asks for a lower price because they say they will have more work for you, don’t take their word for it.  Instead, I offer them bulk pricing.  For example, I’ll give them a break in cost if they pay the deposits for three projects up front (for example).  This way, they are committing to you, and you are rewarding them for it.

While it’s not a written rule, I typically charge 10% less for bulk pricing.

  1. Will this project look good in my portfolio?
    If it’s something I really want to do, and I think it will turn out awesome, I will sometimes lower my price to meet the client’s budget.  Especially if it fills a hole in my portfolio that I think will attract new clients.

    But make sure you’re not doing this too often.  If you take this project for a low price, and all it leads to is more low-price work, then you’re going to get stuck in a trap.
  2. When is the deadline?

If they don’t want to pay your full price, they shouldn’t expect to be on the same schedule as the clients who are paying your full rate.  I’ve taken projects at a lower rate, with the understanding (in writing) that I would only work on it in between other projects.

This is something I’ve been working on for years, and unfortunately, I don’t have a very simple and easy answer. 

Work and time!
I think the important thing to remember is that it takes a lot of time.  Each year I do this, I make more connections with clients, and get referrals or repeat customers, so my pool grows larger and larger each year.  I’m all the sudden at a really comfortable stage where I have enough repeat and referral clients that I don’t need as many new clients as I did before.  This means that I can choose which new projects to take – which means I can charge higher prices and the work I produce is better, because it’s usually something I enjoy, and I have more time to spend on the artwork.  However, it was not always this way.

Diversify Your Portfolio
The best practical advice I can give is to build a portfolio that appeals to as many markets as possible, while still maintaining a focus.  I have so many different types of projects on my desk at one time (album covers, t-shirt designs, book covers, packaging designs, logo designs, and even children’s books) that if one area starts getting slow or under-priced, it doesn’t affect my total workflow.

If your entire portfolio is filled with album covers, potential clients will assume that’s all you do, or want to do, and won’t bother contacting you with something else.  It’s important to remember that clients aren’t artists, and can’t visualize the way we can.  If you think your artwork would look great on a beer label – don’t assume that your client will agree… show them!

Market Yourself Everywhere!
Another piece of practical advice is to put your artwork in as many different types of places as possible.  I put my work on online portfolio sites, on social media, on my website, in newsletters, and (just recently) postcards in the mail.  I do so many things that I couldn’t tell you exactly which ones work better than others – I just know that doing all of them works in aggregate, so I just keep doing it.  However, don’t underestimate the substantial amount of time all this marketing can take.

Find Your Niche
There are some markets that are just over-saturated with artists, and what happens very quickly is that the prices plummet because the competition is so fierce.  It’s my opinion that album covers and band art in general is one of those markets.  It’s okay to compete in these markets, but it might not be a good idea to rely on them entirely.  Search out markets that need artwork, but don’t have a mob of artists hanging out backstage.

If you find a niche that you make a great product in, you’ll quickly be known for it in that community, and it’s much easier to rise to the top.

Work For Yourself
If things are really looking bleak, I highly recommend taking time to create your BEST artwork just for yourself.  Do something that you really love, and that you know you will excel at, while also keeping it from getting too specific (so that it will appeal to many people).

If you do a few great pieces of artwork, and mock it up on a product, people will pay attention.  Most clients that I’ve met don’t care so much who you’ve worked for – it’s all about the quality of the artwork.  A lot of the most popular pieces in my portfolio were things that I created for myself. 

Early in my career, I made the mistake of freelancing in the dark underworld of freelancing on the very bottom.  I did a lot of crappy projects for even crappier pay.  NONE of that stuff is in my portfolio now, and most of it just led to more crappy work.  What I should have been doing was creating a beautiful portfolio and getting better.  I feel that I could have skipped the whole bottom-feeder stage.

I did not – I studied Advertising and Marketing actually.  But I took a lot of art classes in High School and College, and have taken countless online classes, and watched probably a million hours of YouTube tutorials.

There are times when I regret not going to art school.  But I still was able to arrive at the point I wanted to without art school, and without the debt.

If you are in the middle of making this tough decision, make sure you talk to a lot of art school graduates to get their feedback, and make sure to research the heck out of the school.  Some art schools out there are nothing more than drop-out factories.

I get asked this question a lot about whether it’s ethical, profitable, and/or strategic to create fan art instead of original concepts.

There’s so much I could say about this, but in general, I try to avoid doing fan art, unless it’s a really clever (even if just to me) parody and a unique interpretation of the concept using my style.

There are legal and ethical questions involved to be sure that make me feel a little uncomfortable when engaging in fan art.  And to be honest, I’ve never had an interest in treading ground already travelled.  Does that mean I never do fan art?  Definitely not.  But I just don’t make it the foundation of my portfolio.

In my experience, fan art will get you fans (which are wonderful), but creating original work and concepts will get you clients, and the clients ultimately are the ones that pay the bills in my situation.  Also, from a financial standpoint, it’s much easier (because it’s legal!) to resell or repurpose original artwork than artwork based on someone else’s property.

That being said, it’s hard to deny that there is always a fandom boost you get from creating artwork based on a brand that everyone is already familiar with.  It’s much more challenging to get people excited about a concept they aren’t familiar with – so prepare for a fight!

And lastly, I’ve unfortunately had countless artists and companies steal my artwork, so I have a bit of a perspective on what it feels like to be on the other side.

Technical Questions

I built the website in WordPress with a theme by Kriesi (http://www.kriesi.at/) called Enfold.

I strongly recommend WordPress, because it’s fairly easy to update, and has great SEO.

I also strongly recommend paying for a high-quality theme (mine was only $55), that has a lot of support, rather than trying to get a free one to work.  You’ll spend so much time trying to get a crummy theme to do what you want, it’s just worth using a free one.

Most of the artwork that I do is digital.  I used to draw and ink on paper, scan the artwork in, and color it in Adobe Photoshop.  But when I finally purchased a Wacom Cintiq about five years ago, I switched to a nearly 100% digital workflow.  I sometimes enjoy drawing on paper more than working digitally, but I find working digitally a necessity as a freelancer because it’s faster, revisions are easier, and producing a print-ready file is easier.

Tools I use:

  1. Wacom Cintiq 24HD – I could go on and on about how amazing this tool is.  And I do (in this review I wrote):  https://www.flylanddesigns.com/wacom-cintiq-24hd-reivew/

    It is the closest thing to drawing on paper that I’ve ever experienced, and it made working digitally so much more enjoyable (when compared to working with a traditional wacom tablet).
  2. Wacom Companion 1 – This is a smaller wacom tablet (13 inches) that is also a full Windows PC.  I purchased this for working when I travel, and in the evenings on the couch.  I love it, but if you can’t have both, I strongly recommed the Cintiq 24HD over the Companion – simply because of the larger drawing area.  Also, even though the Wacom Companion is a kick-butt machine, the processing power doesn’t come close to my Mac, so I usually default to that.
  3. iMac 2012
    My main go-to machine.  I spend more time with this than my wife.  Until I got this machine, I thought mac people were arrogant and annoying.  Now I’m a Mac guy, and I will tell you that in the most arrogant and annoying way possible.  Basically, for me, it just comes down to dependability.  

The Mac vs. PC battle is epic, and frankly, a little tiring.  I use both platforms, and they both have their strengths.  But if you have the money, go for a Mac.  Here’s why:

  • Why I prefer Mac:
  1. Dependability – It just works all the time.  Freelancing is such a time-sensitive business, and if I have to spend a day fixing computer issues, then I’m losing income.  I’ve been using this machine since 2012, and I honestly have not had one serious issue.
  2. OSX – I’ve grown to love the Mac operating system because it just takes care of itself in a way that Windows doesn’t.  I’ve found that anything that saves me time is incredibly valuable.
  3. Monitor and Color Matching – The Mac monitors I find display colors very accurately out-of-the-box. It’s really important that when you send clients your finished artwork that it prints in the same colors that you were seeing.  Color matching is a long and boring and complicated conversation, so I won’t get into that.  But I do think that the Mac does a much better job of accurately displaying colors than any PC I”ve ever used.

I use a machine that was top of the line in 2012 – but it still holds up great.

SPECS:

  • iMac 27” 2012
  • 3.1 GHZ i5
  • 16GB RAM
  • AMD Radeon HD 6970M 1024 MB

1TB SD Flash Hard Drive
If you can afford it, go for the Solid State hard drive.  The speed it adds is incredible – much more of a boost than adding RAM.  I had one installed in 2015, and it was like getting a whole new machine.

  • Adobe Photoshop CC – Even Manga Studio can’t replace Photoshop.  I use it for all kinds of things (type layout, web design, coloring, making Nicolas Cage memes).

    I was skeptical at first about the Creative Cloud (essentially Photoshop is now a subscription service), however, I’ve been very pleased with it.  And at only $10 per month, I definitely get my money’s worth from it.

    NOTE:  There are a few alternatives popping up now, such as Affinity Photo, and Pixlr – but in my opinion, none of them can match the versatility of Photoshop.
  • Adobe Illustrator – Some artists make this program sing – I am not one of those artists.  I despise Adobe Illustrator and hate every second I have to use it.  But I do have to use it from time to time.  But if you want to be a professional illustrator, you’re going to need to know how to work with vectors, and Adobe Illustrator is the best vector editing program out there.

I often draw on paper whenever I can for practice and exploration, and am trying to bring traditonal art back into my workflow when I can.

Pencils —

I like Koh-i-noor pencils, because they have a nice hard lead that lasts a really long time, and can be sharpened with a razor blade without breaking.
http://www.koh-i-noor.cz/en/shop/aquarell-graphite-pencil-8800-2b-12-pcs-in-set?rc=11Software –

Prismacolor Col-erase pencils are great for drawing in a color that can be later removed in the computer.  For example, I draw in a light blue, ink over top in black, and then once I scan in the drawing, I remove all the blue lines in Photoshop by using the Hue/Saturation adjustment.  No erasing!
http://www.prismacolor.com/products/colored-pencils/col-erase


Pens —

The Pentel Pocket Brush Pen is THE best brush pen I’ve ever used.  It feels just like drawing with a sable brush, but with the portability and convenience of never having to dip in a bottle of ink.  Plus – it’s refillable!  And reasonably priced too.
http://www.amazon.com/Pentel-Pocket-Brush-Refills-GFKP3BPA/dp/B002LJRKN8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439601583&sr=8-1&keywords=pentel+pocket+brush+pen

Faber-Castel PITT Artist Brush Pens are great because they have a strong felt tip that can get a little bit of line variation if you press harder or softer.  They come in packs of a bunch of different sizes.  Get the pack, you’ll need all the sizes.
http://www.amazon.com/Faber-Castel-Artist-Brush-Basic-6-Pack/dp/B0014ZU668

Nib pens (hunt 104 nib) – These take a lot of practice, and I don’t use them as much as I used to.  But they are usually what most comic book artists use to ink (when inking traditionally).
Brush —

When inking on paper, when I’m not using the Pentel Brush pen, I also like using the Winsor & Newton Series 7 Sable brush (size 2 usually).  Excellent quality brush that lasts a long time, and keeps a strong point.  It’s great for drawing thick to thin lines.
http://www.amazon.com/Winsor-Newton-Kolinsky-Pointed-Brushes/dp/B0013E68TO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439601688&sr=8-1&keywords=windsor+and+newton+series+7+size+2

Ink —

Speedball Superblack India Ink – I used to mix two different inks together to get a really dark ink that flowed nicely, until I found this poduct from Speedball.  It’s the blackest, smoothest ink I’ve used.
http://www.amazon.com/Speedball-2-Ounce-India-Super-Black/dp/B0007ZJ8TM

Paper –

I use thick Bristol board paper with a smooth surface.

The size is often different depending on what printer the client is going with, but I most often set up art at 13 inches by 19 inches.  I’ve been doing this for many years, and it seems that no two T-Shirt print shops use the same exact screen size.  

But I always send the final artwork at full size at 300 dpi.  However, when I’m inking, I usually up the resolution to 600 dpi – for some reason, this seems to make the inking more accurate.  But of course, it results at a huge file size, so I always shrink it back to 300 dpi before coloring it.

Many T-Shirt printers actually only need the document at full size, but at 200 or even 150 dpi.  However, I like to err on the side of caution and give them something bigger than what they need.

I do my own color separations if it’s a limited number of colors, like 1-3 – which is far less complicated

Of all the artwork I do, I’d say it’s a 30/30/30 % split between DTG (direct-to-garment), Limited color Silk-Screening (which I separate myself), and Full-color silk-screening (in which case the manufacturer does the separations).

I find that the bigger the client, the more often they prefer to do their own separations, which is fantastic for me, because color separation can be a headache.

I have never used a separation program, but I know some shops use them, or do all their separations in Photoshop.

I also will sometimes hire someone to separate the colors for me if I’m in a jam – a typical rate for separation is anywhere between $15-$25 per color.

Most of the bigger companies I’ve worked with prefer to do their own separations, because the recognize that separation is an art in itself, and only a specialist can really nail it.  They have special knowledge of the inks and colors that I don’t, since I don’t do any silk-screening myself.

I usually send the artwork in two versions.  I send a layered PSD file, and also a PNG file with all the layers (except for the background) flattened.  That way they can choose which way they want to go.

However, most small businesses will want me to separate the colors myself, because they are on tighter budgets, or work with smaller shops who don’t know how to separate colors.  In this case, I usually create the artwork with each color on a separate layer.  This is time-consuming, and not quite intuitive, but you start to learn how to do it over time and it becomes more manageable.  It makes it tricky to do certain types of effects using this method however.

Fan Questions

So you want to get my artwork tattooed on your beautiful body?  Wow, man, THANK YOU!  What a flattering statement.

Before you do, I kindly ask that you pay a small licensing fee of $35.

PURCHASE THAT LICENSE HERE:
https://www.flylanddesigns.com/product/tattoo-license-package/

I support my entire family (most of which are cool people) with my illustration business, and every little bit helps.  This is a pizza and beer night for us (pizza for them, beer for me).

Here’s what you get:

  • Written Permission: An emailed permission statement to show your tattoo artist (most reputable tattoo artists won’t even tattoo the artwork without a release from the original artist).
  • High-Res File: A high-res digital file of the image – this will produce a MUCH better quality tattoo than if you are just referencing a low-res online version.
  • Black and White Lineart file (when available): I will also send a black and white line-art version (if one exists), which will really help your tattoo artist accurately reproduce the artwork.

Some tips for getting the best result:

Guys, let’s face it, we’ve all seen some really bad tattoos.  Here’s how to avoid that:


These recommendations were lifted from the very talented artist Chris Ryniak:

  • Choose the right Tattoo Artist:
    Ask for testimonials and recommendations.  Study their portfolio and make sure that they are really great at producing high-contrast, detailed linework.  Make sure that they’re coloring style loosely resembles the artwork that you are interested in.
  • Please credit me as the original artist:
    When posting photos online, please tag me, andBut more importantly, that kind of marketing often leads to more work for me.  And if you help make me famous, then someday you can sell your skin on eBay and make a killing!
  • Send me a photo!
    Send me a snapshot of the tattoo.  I absolutely love seeing how it turned out, it’s awesome ego-food.