What will you need to make money on drawings on the Internet?

Before you learn how to make money from illustrations on the Internet, you need to find out what tools and programs you may need for this process:

• Computer program

Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop are two of the most popular and affordable programs with which you can make a drawing from scratch. It is the formats of these programs that various services for the sale of images accept (we will talk about this in more detail below).

• Digital pen (optional)

A modern tool that appeared on the consumer market not so long ago. Included with such a pen is usually a scanner module that can be applied to a regular sheet of A4 format. After the artist creates a drawing on paper for her, he will digitize it. Thus, it is possible to create a complete copy of the usual image.

• Graphics tablet (optional)

This tool is also designed to translate information recorded on a PC. There are two elements in the kit. The first is a pen, the second is a flat tablet (due to its high sensitivity, it can respond to pressing the pen and even to its approach). Some companies attach a special mouse to the kit.

Draw a sketch on paper, scan (respectively, you need a scanner) or take a photo and upload the image to the editor. In the future, when you start making good money, you will be able to draw pictures on a graphics tablet, where you can immediately make sketches in computer graphics. By the way, if the sketch is successful and bright, then it can be sold as a ready-made graphic.

In addition to technical and specialized requirements, of course, to make money on illustrations, a home artist needs:

• Creative thinking;
• Great imagination;
• Great desire to work and earn;
• Striving for improvement.

First profit

After the donated drawing, there were several people who wanted to buy a portrait for money, or even not quite a portrait, but something more unusual. So, for example, a guy asked me to draw him a robot.

By the way, it is very convenient to draw a portrait from a photo, because the photo is permanent, the person does not change the position, as it can be when drawing from nature, besides, you can work when it is convenient and focus only on the terms of the customer.

Of course, the first orders were between acquaintances, but this gave a good experience and a small profit. When the first wave of orders passed, I realized that I needed to do more advertising and target people I didn't know (after all, I had redrawn everyone I knew). To do this, I promised to get the job done quickly (all this on the page in the social network) and sat down to draw as soon as someone applied.

I want to say that publicity is very important here. When some recommend you to others, everything rolls like a snowball, and after a while the orders come by themselves.

Fulfill one-time orders

Sometimes companies hire designers or artists for one-time tasks: draw stickers, design a logo, make a couple of illustrations or paint a wall in a cafe. There are also orders not from businessmen, but from people who, for example, need postcards or business cards.
Some freelance artists find regular customers and earn only on freelancing. Others take orders from time to time in addition to their main job.
Unlike work in the state, here you can choose orders. For example, do not invent brochures, but take on creative tasks.
Now I work as a freelancer: I draw logos and portraits, design VKontakte groups, make prints for T-shirts and art for computer games. Once he even made postcards for the wedding.
I find customers on the GameDev website. I registered, created a resume in the "Vacancies" section, and now they write to me with proposals. I also have word of mouth: I am contacted by friends of acquaintances.

Unique queries are rarely posted on sites with vacancies; they should be searched on independent websites and social media.

• Independent sites. On fl, Freelance, Kwork sites, you can respond to customer offers or post a portfolio and offer services. Downside – you need to get a rating first so that customers can trust you. Sometimes you have to fulfill cheap orders for this.
• Groups and channels with vacancies. In Telegram there are a lot of offers for freelancers, for example, on the channels Workzavr, CG Freelance, Freelance Tavern, There are also groups on Vkontakte: Order a design, Looking for a freelancer, Freelance.

10 Ways to Find Remote Work

Such offers are posted on channels with vacancies, sometimes projects have long-term advantages. Different tasks, the ability to choose orders, more creative tasks. Can be combined with the main work.
Disadvantages. There is no stability: then there are many orders, then none. To work officially, you will have to open an individual entrepreneur or become self-employed. Fewer career prospects.

Ways artists find clients

It is necessary to analyze the three most relevant ways of finding customers, they still work effectively and deserve special attention.

1. Microstock

To register on one of the microstocks, you must first pass the test.

Shutterstock is considered the largest microstock. With it, you can upload photos, illustrations and vector graphics. During the main exam, one of the ten submitted papers must be accepted by the commission.

Experienced users will be able to take advantage of the bonus program, the number of works sold determines the amount of deductions.

This microstock is considered a great starting point for a beginner. Verification of all images is carried out in the shortest possible time, there is no separation of the work of a beginner and a professional. The minimum amount of cash withdrawal is $ 35, but this is possible only after a couple of months from the beginning of use.

iTunes is the oldest microstock. It is capable of taking photographs and vectors. Collaborate with Getty Images, the largest professional photo bank.

It is considered a good starting point for beginners. The site does not analyze sales statistics qualitatively enough.

Fotolia works as a microstock that integrates with Adobe. The advantage is the absence of an examination stage. The minimum withdrawal amount is $50. Almost the most profitable microstock.

Freelance Exchanges

Freelance exchanges are the most profitable way to make money for a designer, developer, as well as for a person who is fond of computer graphics. It will be quite difficult for a beginner at first, since almost all projects require initial investments (from 700 rubles for the purchase of a premium account).

The most popular independent exchanges:

Freelance.com.
Jumlancers.
99 designs.
MyWay logo.
We work remotely.
Free throw.
Veyter.
Work-Zilla and so on
Use of social networks
You can also earn money by creating comics and social media illustrations. Vkontakte is the best option in these areas, it allows you to effectively attract new customers.

Instagram can be a good option for posting your own work as it will grab attention with its distinctive images. You can share not only your work, but also photo reviews from clients about completed tasks.

What determines the amount of earnings
Authors have different incomes. Beginning artists receive from 10 to 30 dollars, drawing 6-8 hours a day. But the salary of experienced authors reaches 100 or more dollars for one work.

In addition to experience, the earnings of a professional Internet artist depend on the following factors:

• Complexity. Because the image with the elaboration of details a priori is more expensive than a banal schematic image with a minimum of nuances.
• The type of illustration. Because characters in games or movies and brochures are paid more than illustrations in books and magazines.
• Volume. It's simple: the more you work, the higher the earnings.
• Exigency. Because customers are willing to pay 50 to 100 percent of the cost.
• Portfolio level. Because on the Internet, you will find customers faster if you show them a large number of ready-made illustrations. But here's a tip for you: fill your portfolio with the best projects after the sale.
• Knowledge of foreign languages. Because customers from Western countries generously pay in dollars, euros and other currencies worth more than the ruble.

3. Create pattern designs

Patterns are a fairly popular trend in illustration. They are used for the design of fabrics, wrapping paper, stationery, etc.

You can sell your work on Patternbank.com. This is a huge online database of patterns and fabric designs created by designers from all over the world. The main specialization of PatternBank is patterns for textiles. They can be used for the design of clothes, home textiles, accessories, shoes. PatternBank's clients include brands such as MARKS & SPENCER, NIKE, GAP, NEXT and many others.

To become a design provider at PatternBank, you need to pass something like an exam: upload 4-6 of your designs for review. If your projects are of high quality and fashionable, you will be invited to the team. After that, you will be able to sell your patterns under license. Under the terms of the resource itself, if you have placed designs for sale, you do not have the right to sell them anywhere else. That is, you create exclusive templates for PatternBank.

This strict rule is compensated by a fairly high level of payment in the case of buying a design. With each sale, the author receives 50% of the transaction amount. And how much it is in rubles / dollars / euros will depend on the license under which the design is sold. It's standard and exclusive. An exclusive license means that a seal can only be sold once on the site. After purchase, it is simply removed from the site. An exclusive print costs 300 euros, that is, if you buy it, you will earn 150 euros. And for a standard print worth 50 euros, you will receive 25 euros from each purchase. There are other subtleties of working with this service, but the essence is clear.

You can also sell patterns on various photophones, on ETSY.COM and at the "Fair of Masters"; not so long ago, the function of selling digital goods appeared there.

Art Courses

If you are good at drawing and want to share your skills, you can organize art courses. You can conduct drawing classes both in your city: individually or in groups, or online. To do this, you will need to develop a course program, shoot and edit all the videos. The work is carried out on a large scale, but the result is quite profitable. Now people do not save money for self-development and are ready to pay for knowledge and skills.

Even within the framework of an ordinary business, you can be creative. For example, artist Natalya Nikolaeva came up with an unusual drawing course for adults. The process of creating paintings is accompanied by lectures by sommeliers. Each session is a themed tasting. For example, when working on a landscape with champagne, you can take a sip of sparkling wine for inspiration.

Other specializations for making money on drawing on the Internet
The extremely broad profession of the illustrator includes many branches, each of which attracts its own clients in need of artists.

Fashion illustrator
It is a person who creates the appearance of garments for their subsequent manufacture. In fact, this is a profession that is in great demand on the market, so you can’t do without orders here. You will be able to participate in the main events of the fashion world, because fashion illustrators are often invited to shows to perform sketches.

Every piece of clothing, from the cotton T-shirt on the market to the expensive Dolce&Gabbana jacket, started with a sketch and an idea. This is what the designer creates.

We have a separate article about the fashion illustrator profession.

book illustrator
Visualization of book images also requires people who can draw them. Illustrations are needed both for the cover of the publication and for the illustrations inside the book. You can work with children's books. Earnings can be 4,000-6,000 per month.

There are also professions such as interior designer and web designer.

Where did it lead me
Having started at some point with simple and unattractive drawings, I acquired good skills and a stable income.

With a drawing background, you can find many options for different side jobs:

In addition to portraits, there are sketches for tattoos, they are also interesting.
A good fantasy will serve as a tool for creating funny cartoons.
And if you shoot the process of creating a work, you can earn money by watching it on the Internet, because such videos are often popular.
See also: How to make money on your hobby? The wood carver speaks.

Many of us have seen artists painting portraits on the street, and why not? All roads are open!

Let's calculate the income

According to the final result, I can say that the main costs are the time of training and improvement, and I do not take into account the purchase of paper and pencils, erasers, sharpeners.

At the initial stage, the portrait cost 25 dollars (for a novice artist), after a while the final price was set at 50 dollars.

If we consider that on average in the second month I painted one portrait a day, then we get an amount equal to 150 dollars (and this is far from the limit), despite the fact that the work was done in my free time from school and took 2-3 hours a day.

You can increase the cost, but leave it adequate to your capabilities. Sometimes there were two orders a day, and sometimes none.

To sell your creativity, you must be open and not miss opportunities to advertise your activities.

How much can you earn

Photography and drawing is a field of activity in which the author himself chooses what income he wants to have and what is needed for this.

Income directly depends on the chosen direction of earnings, the time that the photographer and artist spend on work, the set of skills, experience, technical equipment and ways of selling their images.

Where the illustrations are used and who buys them

How much do they pay for illustrations on the Internet
The cost of an illustration depends on the time that a specialist spends on work. Experienced illustrators roughly understand how many hours it will take them to complete a particular order, and multiply their hourly cost by this time.

If you are a beginner and do not yet know how much your work costs, you can focus on the prices below:

Type of work Price in dollars
Simple black and white or color illustration (outline) from 10 dollars.
Illustration for news or articles on the site from 30-50 dollars.
Header or footer of the site from 50 dollars.

The table shows approximate prices for different illustrations. The cost of a particular work depends on many factors and may differ from that indicated in the article. Let's see what affects the cost of images and how much you can earn in this area.

How to make money on photo stocks
Don't expect stock photography to generate big commissions, treat it like a side business. There are several legal ways to earn more with minimal costs:

Use the same content in different ways. For example, the icons you draw can be sold individually and in sets, which already increases sales due to the amount of materials loaded into the warehouse. In this case, for some tasks, it will be enough to change the color or font to get a new file.
In the process of work, the designer or illustrator has a lot of draft options that can be quickly finalized and put into storage. Over time, seemingly unnecessary images will begin to bring a steady income.
When you're done developing your site, go through the drafts and see what you can easily improve and stock.
Always carry a camera with you and take pictures whenever possible. Don't spend too many resources on creating images or it's not worth it.
The main secret of success is the creation of high-quality, in-demand content. Analyze the accounts of successful authors and see what they have in common. What topics do they post images to, what are the names of the files, and what keywords do they use. By the way, keywords are a great way to get your image higher in the search results. Take a couple more minutes and use the WordStat service to check what people are searching for and how they formulate the search phrase. This will help you choose a more popular image name.
Sometimes it’s worth going against logic and betting not on popular topics, but on the most unique ones. Without exception, all photobanks are full of apples, cucumbers, textures and trees, but try to find a high-quality photo of a helicopter that fits the angle.
Don't be afraid to experiment. If most of the images on your chosen theme are in the same style, sometimes it's better to do something completely different. In this case, your image is sure to find a buyer who needs this particular light, angle or style.
Some photobanks offer better conditions if your work is presented only on their resource. This point can be discussed with the administration and agree on a higher percentage of the sale. If you are refused, just place your work in all photobanks: the rules do not prohibit this.

4 – Placement of master classes on creating illustrations and drawings on YouTube

If you have a sufficient level in drawing, and also know how to give lessons in an interesting and competent way, you can easily earn money by creating your own master class and helping beginners master the skill. There are many options here: to lead groups in social networks, create your own blog or sell articles on the topic of drawing. You can still, for example, give private lessons via Skype or live. The topics of your lessons can be very diverse.

The most convenient way to master any skill today is to watch training videos on YouTube. The artist records a video with the process of creating a picture or explains some moments of the drawing technique. The video is then placed on your channel. The more content, the more viewers and views, which will bring the author income from advertising.

How to sell illustrations on stocks and photo banks?

Stocks and drains are special sites where illustrators can add their work for sale, and buyers can look for suitable images and purchase them. Photo banks usually sell more expensive images and focus on selling images with exclusive rights. In stock images, images are cheaper, but their uniqueness is less (thousands of people can buy an image).

How to start earning on promotions and photo banks:

1. You must register on the sites as an author and upload your work there. You must be the author of illustrations, the sale of works by other artists is not allowed. Examples of stock and photo banks: Shutterstock.com, Depositphotos.com.
2. Photo banks often ask new authors to show examples of their work. You should be prepared to upload some good quality illustrations to work on the site.
3. List the illustrations that are in demand. To do this, follow the trends and seasonality. For example, before the New Year holidays, the demand for drawings related to this holiday increases. Before you start working on a drawing, think about who and for what purposes you can buy it. The wider the circle of potential buyers, the more money the illustration can bring you.

4. Use the right titles and keywords for your work to make it easier for potential clients to find and buy your drawings.

How an Artist Can Find Clients

Every creative person, of course, can come up with their own ways to attract customers, but why reinvent the wheel? We will talk about three "classic" methods that have long and on an ongoing basis attracted customers.

Microstocks
Registration on the most popular and largest microstock sites usually requires passing an exam. We will talk about those that can bring the most profit.

Shutterstock is the largest stock image site. You can upload photos, drawings and illustrations, as well as vector images. The registration exam is simple: you must upload ten of your papers, and if even one is accepted, you are accepted!

The longer you are a user of the site, the more bonuses you can get, because the more your images are sold, the more percentage of your sale you will receive.

For those who use microstock for the first time, this site will be a real find. Image browsing is very fast, and newcomers feel free to submit their work on par with veteran contributors. The minimum amount that can be withdrawn from the site is $35, and it can be withdrawn only three months after registration.

IStock is the oldest and most powerful microstock site. You can upload more than just illustrations, drawings and vectors. Photos are accepted with great joy, because the site is part of the Getty Images company, and this is the largest bank of professional photos.

The site can give a good start to artists who start earning on microstocks. The site has one drawback: it will be possible to withdraw funds only when 100 dollars accumulate in the account. In addition, the site's sales statistics can only be updated once a month, so you won't be able to keep track of how many times your image has been bought.

Fotolia is a site that recently became a stock product from Adobe. This integration allows users who actively use the company's products, such as Photoshop or Illustrator, to access the site without verification or registration.

There are a lot of buyers for these promotions, and although the site's main focus is photography, illustrations and images are also in high demand.

The minimum withdrawal amount is quite average - only $50, while there are no restrictions on the withdrawal time - if the funds accumulate in the account during the week, they can be withdrawn immediately. This site has been repeatedly voted one of the top five most profitable image sites by experienced contributors.

Freelance sites
Freelancing job sites are one of the most lucrative ways to make money, especially for those who are interested in design and computer graphics. Unfortunately, every year the competition increases and it becomes more and more difficult for beginners to get a decent order. If you want to earn extra money on a simple task for which you have time, then you can look for something interesting among the main tasks. If you want to earn a lot of money and work on large scale projects, you will need to spend a small amount to purchase a Premium account. The minimum cost of such an account is 15 dollars.

The most popular sites for freelancers:

Freelance.ru is a site with a rating structure and many opportunities to express yourself. Placing a portfolio directly on the site, a virtual manager and much more that will help you quickly find interesting orders.

Fl.ru is a site that helps freelancers and clients find each other. The contractor creates his own page, adds a portfolio and responds to projects of interest to him. The simplest.

Freelance is a sign-up site that is a good social network for clients and artists. Here you can find not only a part-time job, but also a permanent job. The only negative is that there is a limit on the number of responses, only 20 per month.

Work-Zilla is a site with a unique artificial intelligence system that independently selects performers for clients based on the freelancer's portfolio and information, as well as client requests. To register, you need to pass a test, on which the initial qualification depends, and pay for a subscription. Thus, the site fights against unfair competition.

Kwork is a full-fledged freelance exchange where you can sell not only your services and skills, but also ready-made works; to do this, the site has a store section. In addition, the performer himself regulates the amount of work that he can perform. For edits that were not initially agreed, the customer will have to pay extra.

In addition, almost every one of these sites has the opportunity to participate in competitions organized by companies, and the prizes are grants, publications and interesting proposals for cooperation. Working on freelance sites allows you to earn both those who use the programs and those who prefer traditionalism.

Social Networking

Encouraging your creativity and betting on social networks is suitable for those who want to develop their business of selling paintings or portraits and those who create comics and want to make money on them. To date, the best social network, which has everything you need for work and development, is Vkontakte. Here you can create a group or community that will become a purely visual platform, a personal store, and maybe combine these tasks.

If you want to focus on visual content, Instagram is a great fit. Initially, it was conceived to place images, but today there you can not only organize a portfolio, but also write to customers, make a price list, share feedback from satisfied customers.

Profitable themes and a platform for selling works

I must say that the main factors determining the financial success of the artist's illustrations are the subject of the works, as well as the competent choice of the site on which these works will be placed.

It is clear that the demand is formed by the public's interest in a particular event, subject, character. But what is the public interest? What information has the highest viewing rates?

That's right, it's news. Stupid headlines, emotional intensity, forecasts of the likelihood of wars, economic collapse, natural disasters. Scandals, gossip and rumors that have their heroes.

Just the heroes of this news and will become the main characters of your drawings. These are world-famous personalities: statesmen, politicians, artists, athletes...

Images of such people are in great demand! And this demand grows to incredible proportions when there is a stir around them in the media space.

Choosing the site through which you will sell your work is also extremely important. And the main selection criteria should be the presence of high attendance of potential customers and specialization.

In terms of attendance, the picture is as follows: in terms of attendance, photobanks are completely superior to other Internet sites. The leader in popularity, the amount of content and sales here is the photo bank Shutterstock (Shutterstock.com).

To start earning by selling your work on Shutterstock, you need to register on the site. The site is multilingual, but there is no Russian language there.

During the registration process, you will need to enter the last name and first name, as in the passport or driver's license, address and upload a scan of the passport (photo page). Another service will ask you to confirm the relevance of your letter.

After successfully registering on the site, you must pass an exam on the quality of your content. To do this, you will need to upload 10 images and wait for their verification by the site administration.

Images must be at least 4 megapixels in size. The quality is maximum. If at least one image is approved by the administration, the exam will be considered successfully passed.

After that, you can safely put up images for sale.

Microstocks for beginner illustrators: 6 ways to make money
I have my own list of interesting stoker bloggers (and not-so-bloggers) whom I regularly read/see/listen to and communicate with. I studied its useful life in terms of earnings and came to very interesting conclusions.

I will not give links to your blogs and portfolio, as I recently got into an unpleasant situation. I wrote a GOOD honest review about one of them and he got mad at me. He did not like that he made a very small remark about the quality of the video recording.

Method 1. Earnings by selling pictures
It is interesting that I have before my eyes examples of people who really earn money by drawing.

I know performers who entered the exchange in 2018 and are already withdrawing money monthly. Do they have a download schedule, are they based on a specific or non-specific topic, are they interested in "does this really work?"

They have similar qualities and a certain scenario of behavior on microstocks:

Interestingly, all these stockists are professional artists. They have an education, experience in the field of design or teaching painting and drawing.
They usually only work with Shutterstock. Rarely does anyone try to work briefly with other activities. But it usually ends up with the conclusion “too much time wasted loading the work. It is better to spend this time drawing new images.
They draw a lot (up to 100 pictures per month), post regularly.
It doesn't matter if they draw in vector or raster. It turns out both in those and in others.
Method 2. Find regular customers

Imagine being able to do the same!

• the client sees your work in action and finds your contacts in some unknown way. I suspect by searching Google Images or Pinterest. Do you also post your work there?
• saw another feature from some authors on Shutterstock. In the field of information about themselves, they write their nickname on Instagram (just a nickname and without a "dog"), or simply make the nickname on Shatterstock and Instagram the same.
• you can search for clients in a variety of ways and use Shutterstock as your portfolio. Clients sometimes choose finished works and acquire exclusive rights directly from the author.