Let me be super honest for a second:
I know exactly what it feels like to grind away at art in your spare time — building skills, collecting reference boards, studying anatomy until your brain leaks — all because one day you dream of making money from your art.

Yep. Been there. Lived there. Paid rent there.

For YEARS, I kept telling myself:
“If I just make a few more studies… if I do one more painting… if I get a liiittle bit better… THEN I’ll finally be ready to take commissions.”

Spoiler:
That magical moment where you suddenly “feel ready”?
Yeah. It never came.

Even when I knew my work was good, my brain still whispered:
“Not good enough. Not yet.”

So I didn’t take commissions.
And shockingly, I also didn’t make any money. Surprise.

It wasn’t until life drop-kicked me into a corner (fun!), and I had to take commissions to pay bills, that I actually started getting clients.

And that’s when I learned the real truth:

You don’t find out you’re ready before marketing yourself.
You find out you’re ready by marketing yourself.

Your art alone is not the only factor. Far from it. Commissions depend on multiple things — and quality is just one of them.

So let’s break this down in a way that’s honest, practical… and maybe hurts a little, but in a loving, “I want you to succeed” kind of way.

1. Are you actually willing to market yourself?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

You can have god-tier art — like, “Michelangelo reincarnated but also knows Procreate” level —
… but if no one sees it, you won’t get commissions.

Marketing is king.
Marketing is queen.
Marketing is the entire royal family.

There are a few lucky artists who magically get clients without trying.
Amazing for them.
The rest of us? We hustle.

Basic commissions marketing is really just:

1. Make sample art
2. Put it where your audience hangs out
3. Make it easy for people to contact you
   

That’s it.
If you skip marketing, everything else on this list might as well not exist.

Be honest with yourself: are you actually putting your art in front of the right people?
Or are you quietly posting and praying?

2. Do you know WHO you’re trying to sell to? (Your Target Audience)

This part is huge.

You can’t know whether your art is “good enough”…
until you know who you’re trying to impress.

Different audiences want different things:

• Some want cute chibi pet portraits
• Some want moody D&D characters
• Some want grimdark Warhammer-style scenes
• Some want soft anime girls with sparkly eyes and oversized sweaters
• Some want hyper-realistic oil-style illustrations for book covers
  

And each audience has its own:

✔ skill expectations
✔ price expectations
✔ style preferences
✔ internet hangout spots
✔ level of competition

If you don’t know who your people are, you’re basically throwing paintings into the void and hoping someone catches one.

3. Is your art at the minimum quality your audience expects?

Notice I didn’t say “Are you as good as the pros?”

Nope.

The REAL question is:

Does your work meet (or exceed) the lowest quality currently being hired by your audience?

Not the best.
Not the legends.
The minimum.

Don’t just compare yourself to your favorite artists — that’s how you go insane.
Compare yourself to the artists who are already getting paid in that niche.

Because — brace yourself —
there are artists with beginner-level work getting regular commissions AND there are insanely talented artists who make zero.

Why?

Because…

Marketing. Is. King.

If someone with “worse” art is getting paid, it means the bar is NOT as high as you think.

This isn’t discouraging.
This is proof that you can absolutely be good enough right now.

4. Is your portfolio saying “trust me, I can do this”?

Clients aren’t psychic.
They’re not going to guess what you can produce.

Your portfolio is where you prove it.

Bare minimum: 5 finished samples in the style your audience wants.

If you want to be hired for:

• D&D characters → 5 characters
• book covers → 5 covers
• splash art → 5 pieces
• cute pet icons → 5 icons
  

Not 1.
Not “a mix of random stuff.”
Not “here’s a sketch, do these count?”
No.

Clients need consistency.

I got my first jobs with 6 paintings on ArtStation — that’s it.

But they were all in the same style, same quality, same vibe.

5. Are you ready to communicate with clients? (A LOT)

Commissions aren’t just art.
They’re customer service, too.

You’ll deal with:

• emails
• DMs
• clarifying details
• sending updates
• revisions
• price questions
• “can you make the sword 3% shinier”
• “oops I forgot to tell you they actually have a dragon tail”
  

Some clients give you novels.
Some give you one sentence and expect miracles.

Most are fine.
Some are exhausting.
A tiny percentage will make you question reality.

This is normal.

If talking to humans drains you, you’ll need systems to keep yourself sane.

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6. Can you hit deadlines without falling apart?

Not every commission has a deadline — but many do.

You need to know:

• how long a piece takes you
• how many pieces you can do at once
• whether you can keep a schedule
  

If you’re not sure, time yourself on a portfolio piece.
Track:

✔ total hours
✔ total days
✔ distractions
✔ burnout

Clients forgive late pieces sometimes, but being “that artist who always misses deadlines” will chase away high-paying clients.

7. Can you produce art consistently?

This one’s not poetic, just practical:

Do you actually have time to take commissions?

Even a single piece takes hours of your life, and commissions take more mental energy because someone is counting on you.

If you only have 3 hours a week, that’s fine — just don’t take five commissions at once.

If your dream is to do commissions full-time, prepare for years of grinding before it feels stable.

It gets easier.
But the beginning is work.

8. Do you have a safety net for “low work” months?

This is the part nobody glamorizes on Instagram.

Commission income is not consistent, especially at the start.

You will have months where you’re drowning in work, and months where tumbleweed rolls through your inbox.

Many artists:

• live with parents while building their client base
• take commissions beside a day job
• have help from a partner
• lower their cost of living
• freelance part-time while studying
  

I personally lived cheaper for a while so I could afford slow months.

Smart, not shameful.

9. STOP relying on friends, family, or your own brain to decide if you’re “ready.”

Your friends love you.
Your family wants to hype you up.
Your artist pals might mean well.

But none of them represent your real audience.

Only your audience decides if you’re ready.

You can think you’re not ready — and still get commissions.
You can think you are ready — and get zero.

The only test that matters is this:

Put your work out there and see if strangers hire you.

One single inquiry is enough to tell you you’re on the right path.

Final Thoughts (aka: stop waiting for permission)

Opening commissions is scary.
You might worry no one will hire you.
Or that people will judge your art.
Or that you’ll embarrass yourself.

But here’s the truth:

Reading articles won’t magically give you confidence.
Putting your work out there will.

Figure out your audience.
Build a small portfolio.
Share it.
Talk to people. 

Market yourself.
Improve along the way.
Adjust your approach.
Get your first inquiry.

That’s how you know you’re ready —
because you decided to be ready.

With persistence, discipline, and the willingness to keep showing up,
you absolutely CAN make art commissions part of your life.

And honestly?
I’m rooting for you.