What Are Commissions in Art? Rules, Prices and Who Owns The Work.

One of the common ways to make money as an artist is by working on commissions for others. But what are commissions in art, rules, prices, contracts, etc? Let’s find out!

Commissions in art is the act of requesting an artist’s service for the creation of an artwork by private individuals, government or business.

Another use for commissions in art refers to a percentage cut that an art gallery or an agency takes in exchange for their services.

For example,

• When a person, let’s call them Diana, comes to you and requests a painting of their dog, they will pay you a commission price in exchange for your service.
• If you work with an agency, and they find Diana and then give you the job, you pay them a commission % of the fee for finding the job.
• And if you just painted a beautiful dog and then showcased it in an art gallery, and Diana buys it – you pay a commission % to the gallery for hosting and selling your piece.

See what I mean?

What Do You Call Someone Who Commissions Art?

There are many names for the person who commissions art, but the most common are client, patron, and benefactor.

A client is a person who uses the professional services of a person or a company.

Patron is a supporter of the arts who pays for commissions with money, gifts and other endorsements.

A benefactor is someone who gives money or help to a person or a cause.

In the 21st century, we are often referring to them as clients. Especially if an artist is working for the agency and a client is commissioning a work.

The “patron” became a popular website where anyone can support an artist for a small fee – and now you know where the name came from.

And benefactors have always been the people that commission public artworks and then donate them to the city as a gift for the public.

How Do Commissions Work In Art?

Throughout history, commissioning an artwork has been very common for government and wealthy people. Common uses for art were the depiction of wealth, propaganda and redemption of sins.

A great example of propaganda artwork is a lithographic Soviet poster “Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge” by artist Lazar Markovich Lissitzky. The red symbolizes Bolsheviks who are defeating their opponents, the White Movement, during the Russian Civil War.

And my favorite commission for redeeming sins is the Scrovegni Arena Chapel. This wealthy family was known for the sin of usury – lending money at exhorting interest (pretty much what banks do).

They didn’t want to go to hell, so they commissioned Giotto to turn this private home chapel into an extravagantly rich and detailed work of art.

Commissioning art used to be very expensive, time-consuming and only available for the wealthy.

Now art commissions are more accessible than ever!

With the discovery of the Internet and a variety of websites that allow artists and Patrons to find each other in a matter of a few clicks.

What Does Taking Commissions Mean?

Taking commissions simply means that an artist is open to job opportunities and can offer their services in exchange for a monetary value.

Sometimes, getting commissioned happens randomly. By luck, someone found your art and fell in love with your skills, they will contact you and request a job done.

Other times, if you are a more established artist you might be working with an agency that will find jobs for you.

Artists make money in a variety of different ways, and only some rely on commissions alone.

If you do get lucky and someone reaches out – make sure to do your best if you are open for commissions. Because chances are, they will be showing off the piece of art you created for them, and their friends might be interesting in commissioning you as well.

When you are ready to take things in your own hands, think about creating your own portfolio website (I break down how to do it in the linked article).

And on that portfolio website, have a breakdown of fees you charge for your commissioned work, or simply state that you are open for commissions.

Art Commissions Rules and Etiquette

For the patron/client:

If you are thinking of commissioning an artwork, and it’s your first time – there are a couple of things you should keep in mind.

1. If you found an artist you love, but there isn’t any information about the status of them taking commissions – simply reach out! More often than not, the artist will get back to you with all of the information you need to know.
2. In the reach-out email, be respectful and thorugh – provide as much information about your ideas as you can, and ask questions. There is only one shot at the first impression! And as a patron, you will be working closely with the artist on the final result.
3. Prepare for a contract. Artists who know what they are doing will send you over a contract by which you are legally bonded. But don’t be scared off by the big word – it’s only done to protect both you and the artist from the unexpected things in life.

For the artist:

When you are ready to dive deep in the world of commissioned art, be prepared to follow some rules and etiquette:

1. Be a good person.
   1. The patron will hire you once for your skills, but hire you again and recommend you to their friends for your character and professionalism.
   2. Treat them with respect and don’t lie. If you know you can’t create what they are looking for, let them know ahead of the time that it’s simply not a good fit.
2. Inform and explain.
   1. Often patrons don’t know what they want themselves and will have a hard time explaining it, so make sure you are both very clear on the idea and the deliverables.
   2. Tell them about your process, how long everything takes and lay out a concrete plan for the creation of the work. For example, Step 1: thumbnail sketches; Step 2: color explorations; Step 3: Final Work.
   3. If a client thinks they can get as many revisions as they want, make sure to communicate to them that it’s not the case. Words like “I don’t know why, but I don’t like it” isn’t a good enough reason. So in the contract, write exactly how many revisions are included in the price and how much each additional one costs.
3. Write/Review the Contract Carefully.
   1. Yes, you need a contract. And no, it’s not a big scary word! Contract is a protection for you, in case the patron decides not to pay or asks you for work you didn’t agree on. And it’s a protection for them, in case you decide to take their money and not deliver.
   2. Write down every possible little detail in the contract: idea, media, dimensions, timeline, killing fee, revisions fee, downpayment, due dates for payments, rights and delivery.
4. Don’t rush.
   1. Don’t start working on the commission until the contract is signed. You might as well lose a lot of time and the client will back out.
   2. Have an approval process for each stage that you outlines in the contract. Meaning, after you submit the sketches, let them come back with feedback before deciding on the colors, etc.
   3. A huge mistake some artists make is to accept a commission and finish it in one go without communicating with the patron. They might dislike the whole thing! This can be easily prevented by having strong communication, listening to feedback and working on the piece together.
5. You are awesome.
   1. If the project doesn’t interest you even a little bit – don’t do it. Save yourself the time of misery, and find a different piece to work on!
   2. If the patron is rude or gives off a bad vibe, think about whether or not you would like to sign a contract with them. If you already did, remember that they are not your boss and professionally stand up for yourself.
   3. If the patron decides they “hate” your work – remind them of the contract and the revisions. If you have a detailed contract and approval process there is no reason for this to happen!

Art Commissions Prices

Now onto the HUGE topic – how do I price my art?

The answer – it depends.

But I know that this answer won’t satisfy you, so here is a breakdown of the ways to think about when trying to figure out what to price your art:

Quality of art and recognition

“…in the art world, reputation plays an important role in determining price.”

Beckert, Jens, and Jörg Rössel. “THE PRICE OF ART: Uncertainty and Reputation in the Art Field.” European Societies, vol. 15, no. 2, 2013, pp. 178-195.

It’s true!

If you have a huge social following or reputation as an artist in the “real world” , your fee will be very different from someone who is considered an unknown artist (despite your skills).

And the same goes for your art skills. Someone who has been practicing full-time for the past century vs someone who started drawing 2 months ago will also charge different prices.

So it can definitely vary from $10 – thousands of dollars per art commission.

Pricing by Time Required + Skill

This is my least favorite way of figuring out how much to charge for a commission – but it’s something many beginner artists use.

It’s very simple, really. You take your skill level and create an hourly rate for yourself based on that. Then you guess how much time the work will take you and give a fee.

For example, if you just started drawing a few months ago, then your skill level is probably at 1 out of 10. The minimum wage in US is $7.25/hour so that’s what you will probably charge. And you estimate that the commission will take you 4 hours.

4 hours x $7.25 = $29.

Let’s round it up to a nice $30 and that’s the fee you charge!

And if you think your skill level is at about $20, then you charge 4 x $20= $80 for the same work.

But what about the time it took you to learn your skill? What about how much money you need to make to pay rent? These things are not calculated in here, and therefore not my favorite technique.

Fee Based on Spending Money

I like this technique of calculation because it urges you to come up with a real plan!

In the heart of it, you are trying to predict the amount of money you spend yearly and the amount of work you will be receiving.

For example, every year you need $40,000 to live your life, pay rent, eat, transport, buy supplies, medication, etc. So your goal is to make that amount!

Now you need to predict the number of commissions you will be getting this year and divide the number to figure out the price you need to charge.

It takes time to make a full-time income with commission alone if you’ve never done them before, so I would suggest trying to divide a part-time salary at first and change that number as you move up this career.

Who is the client?

Knowing who the client is, will also allow you to create different price brackets.

If a successful company approaches you to create an illustration of a child VS a mom – the price will vary.

For example, my art friend creates beautiful anime-style illustrations. When some lady approached him for a personal commission, he charged her $250 for a one-character full-color piece.

A few months later, he was approached by a semi-successful singer’s team (not disclosing due to privacy infringement). They asked him to create 3 full-color illustrations with a character on each – and he charged them $5,000.

If he asked them for $750, they would’ve probably said “OK!” without disclosing their true budget. But they could’ve also said “No, thank you” assuming he has no idea what he is doing.

See what I mean?

Who Owns Commissioned Art?

And the final question I wanted to address on this topic is on the rights.

If you are asking yourself this question right now, then you haven’t read the rules section carefully!

Who owns the commissioned art depends on the licensing rights you give the client inside the contract Licensing Agreement.

Whether you decide to keep all rights, share some or transfer them completely is up to you and the patron.

Tip: when transferring your rights completely to the client – ask for more money, like way more.

And that’s all in commissions in art!

I hope you enjoyed this article and let me know in the comments what was the biggest takeaway that you learned?

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