Turn your drawings, designs, and style into paid custom artwork — commissions, character art, emotes, covers, merch designs, and more — and build a real income stream from your art.
Note for members: Use this module as your art business playbook: pick your style and niche, set up your portfolio and offers, start taking commissions, and slowly raise your prices and demand.
Custom art in this module means making art on demand for other people.
Character art (OCs, avatars, vtuber models/refs, RPG characters, etc.)
Profile pictures, banners, stream overlays, emotes
Cover art (YouTube thumbnails, podcast covers, book covers)
Merch designs (simple t-shirt art, stickers, prints)
Branding-style art for creators (channel art, mascot, icons)
In a world where everyone's online
People want unique profile pictures, banners, and visuals.
Content creators want to stand out with their own style and mascots.
RPG/gaming communities love seeing their characters brought to life.
Small brands want art that feels human, not generic.
Not everyone can draw.
Many people would rather pay an artist than fight with design tools.
Your style — even if it's not "perfect" — is something nobody else has.
e.g., $X for bust, $Y for half-body, $Z for full-body
Prints, sticker sheets, clipart, brush packs, backgrounds, etc.
Follow these six stages to build your custom art business from zero to $10K+
You don't need to do everything. Choose 1–2 main focuses, such as:
You can evolve later, but clarity helps people know what to expect.
Pick at least 5–10 artworks that represent what you want to sell:
If you want to draw characters → show characters
If you want to make emotes → show multiple emotes
If you want to do cover art → make sample covers
Create practice "commissions" with your own characters or redesign generic prompts
Create a simple commission info page (Can be a link, Notion, Google Doc, or mini site) including:
Types of art, examples for each
Base prices, extras (complexity, extra characters, commercial use, rush)
Allowed themes and things you're not comfortable with (keep this clear)
How they request, payment method, delivery format and timeline
Number of revisions, usage rights (personal vs commercial), refund policy
This protects you and gives clients confidence that you're organized.
At the start, price in a way that:
Feels fair for your current speed and skill
Isn't so low that you burn out instantly
Leaves room to raise prices as demand grows
$X
Bust / headshot
$Y
Half-body
$Z
Full-body
Track how long each piece actually takes you. Adjust pricing accordingly.
Focus on doing great work for early clients to build word-of-mouth.
As you complete more commissions:
As demand grows and your speed/quality improve
Over time, your $10K+ can be a mix of:
Dozens of commissions • Higher-priced pieces for loyal clients • Digital products that sell over and over • Occasional bigger projects
Folders for:
Spreadsheet or Notion:
Client name, piece type, price, status (paid/WIP/delivered)
Mistake:
Saying yes to everything and burning out.
Fix:
Clearly list what you will and won't draw; it's okay to say no.
Mistake:
Unclear about price, deadlines, and revisions.
Fix:
Have your process written out and confirm details before starting.
Mistake:
Staying at low rates even as your work improves and demand grows.
Fix:
Raise your prices in small steps as your queue fills and your art levels up.
Mistake:
Changing things forever for the same price.
Fix:
Include a set number of revisions; charge for major changes beyond that.
Mistake:
Clients assuming commercial rights for free.
Fix:
Specify personal vs commercial use and price accordingly.
Mistake:
Being invisible online and wondering why nobody asks.
Fix:
Share WIPs, finished pieces, process clips, and commission updates consistently.
Use this as a 7-day starter plan to launch your custom art business
(characters, emotes, covers, mascots, etc.)
That represent that focus
With:
Actions:
Where art is relevant. Let them know you're taking a few slots.
(e.g., 3–5) at your starter prices.
Visual concepts to inspire your art business branding and portfolio
A "commission sheet" style graphic with different art types (bust, half-body, full-body) shown.
AI prompt: "Commission sheet style illustration with examples of bust, half-body, and full-body character art in a cohesive style, labeled with simple text, 16:9 ratio"
A before/after of a sketch turning into a polished colored illustration.
AI prompt: "Split illustration of a rough character sketch on the left transforming into a polished full-color artwork on the right, modern digital art style, 16:9 ratio"
A row of avatars/emotes with different expressions.
AI prompt: "Row of digital emotes or icons with different facial expressions in a cute, colorful style, 4:3 ratio illustration"
Custom art lets you turn your skills and style into something people are genuinely excited to pay for. You're not just delivering pixels — you're giving people characters, identities, and visuals they feel connected to.
Use this module to tighten your style, build a portfolio, create clear commission rules, and open paid slots. As you do more work, you'll improve, raise your prices, and can start adding digital products on top.
Combined with other methods in this course (branding, social media, digital products, etc.), custom art can become a powerful part of your path to $10K and beyond.
Your Style Is unique and valuable
Growth Path From first commission to $10K+
Start Now Action beats perfection
To Aim for $10K+ with Custom Art
(Ambitious stretch goal, not a guarantee)
This 90-day plan is designed to build skill, portfolio, clients, and systems. Most people won't jump to $10K/month instantly — the goal is to create a real art business that can reach $10K+ total and grow from there.
Goal: Define your focus, build portfolio pieces, and open for basic commissions.
Goal by end of Month 1: You've done at least a few paid commissions, even small ones.
Goal: Get more consistent commissions, refine your workflow, and start raising your rates.
By end of Month 2: Multiple commissions done • Portfolio and prices improved • Thinking beyond one-off commissions
Goal: Act like a serious art business: clearer niche, higher value offers, and multiple income streams.
By Day 90:
You've established a real art business with a clear specialty, growing prices, repeat clients, and multiple income streams ready to scale to $10K+ and beyond.