There’s a stereotype in the art world that in order to be a successful artist, you must hitch your wagon to an all-star agent. I used to think this was true. I don’t anymore.

While I can see the perks of having an agent, I don’t have a need for one at this point in my career. Here’s why…

First, I love making my own hours. I love saying no to projects. I do it all the time. I would drive an art agent crazy, because they would bring in a project and I would say “thanks but no thanks.” I’m super selective about who I work with. To me, it’s either a hell yes, or a hell no. A lot of times, my reasons for saying no have nothing to do with the client, and everything to do with what else is going on in my life at the moment.

Second, I like working alone. I don’t need someone to touch base with daily or even weekly. This would remove a lot of flexibility from my schedule.

Lastly, my years of being a freelance designer taught me the negotiation and communication skills to navigate the client world on my own. When I left my corporate job 8 years ago to freelance, it was either sink or swim. And I figured out how to swim (after almost sinking many times).

While I know this isn’t all artists - many artists struggle with being assertive and asking for what they want. That also means putting your foot down and saying no when you don’t want something. Thinking you should take on a project isn’t a good enough reason to do it. And it can be tempting to have an agent to do our dirty work for us - whether it be contacting clients or negotiating pricing. If this why you think you need an agent, you’re selling yourself short. You can learn what it takes to represent yourself.

It’s pretty amazing that we have any client at our fingertips now, since the world is so digital. While I can see the perk of having an art agent prior to social media, it’s harder to make a case for it now. I see more and more artists online dropping their agents and representing themselves. And I’m all about it. So today, I’m sharing what I think you need to know to represent yourself in the art world.

Pursuing Clients

This is the part many artists hate, and I get it. These days, I don’t really chase down work. Mostly, I take on projects that come to my inbox. Don’t take this to mean I have a full roster of clients all the time. Much of my income comes from other things, and I like it that way. However, it wasn’t long ago that I was singing for my supper, filling my entire schedule with client work. And there’s no shame in the hustle of having to hunt down clients.

What I can say about pursuing clients is that the more you do it, the more comfortable you will be. Set a goal number of clients to contact per week, and expect to get all no’s. It’s nice to keep a list of your dream clients too, so you know who to focus on.

Whether you’re trying to collaborate with a magazine or brand, you typically want to go for the art director. In magazines, the art director is usually listed in the publication. For brands, you need to do more digging via social media or Linkedin. If you’re really looking to expand your client base, creating a premium LinkedIn account isn’t a bad idea. That way, you can message many potential clients.

In your message to the art director, first consider complimenting their brand or publication. And try to be genuine in this. Most people can sniff out BS. Then, include some work samples, a link to your site, and say you’d love to work with them.

Chances are, they won’t have any projects for you at the moment. Expect this response. The key is the follow up. Follow up every few months to see if anything has changed. Just don’t be annoying about it by messaging them too often.

Another tip I can give for finding clients is to tell everyone you know that you are looking for work. You’d be surprised at the connections you can make from your inner circle alone.

Pricing

Pricing can be easy and straightforward if you want it to be. We are taught by society to fear any talk around money. Money is just a resource - it flows in and it flows out. The sooner you let go of any insecurities you have around money, the easier it will be to negotiate. And never negotiate from a place of desperation. I try to think of money as the value the client places on my work. And that’s it.

When negotiating with a client, I want them to name a price first. I do this because I want to see if we are too far apart to settle. You may be willing to charge a little less if working with this client is a dream of yours. Just don’t charge too little. And keep in mind that if they are a big brand, they should have the budget to pay you fairly. In fact, if they are a big brand, they are more likely to respect you and work with you again if you ask for fair pay. Charging enough validates you as as artist.

Every artist should have an hourly rate in mind to help calculate project costs. Mine is $150/hour. If that sounds high, it’s because I include supplies in that price and every project takes longer than you think. If you’re a beginner artist, your rate may be $50/hour. I don’t think you should go any lower than that. The client doesn’t need to know your hourly rate, unless you will be doing on demand work for them. It’s just for your benefit.

When calculating how many hours a project will take, I overestimate that too, and make sure I leave plenty of room for edits. And client communications. My number of hours is based on the size of the illustration, and how much detail there will be. If it’s on a white background, I calculate less. If the spread is edge to edge, I calculate more.

Don’t be too stressed if you under or over estimate a project. Also, don’t blame the client and ask for more money, unless the scope of work changes. When I underestimate a project, I tell myself “it’s all good, and now I know how long this will take in the future. I will ask for more up front next time.” It can be helpful to keep notes of how long projects actually take you versus what you estimated. Just give yourself some grace to make mistakes and learn.

The second thing to negotiate into pricing is rights. Usually I try to keep the rights to my artwork - meaning I can still sell it in my shop, but the client owns the work exclusively for the way they intend to use it (ex. calendars, books, or fabric). Sometimes the client wants me to wait a few years before I can sell. That’s cool with me too. When keeping the rights, you can charge slightly less. If you are giving away the rights, charge more.

It can be helpful to have an excel spreadsheet ready with different prices for different sizes. That way, you aren’t panicking when a client asks for pricing.

Negotiating

It can be helpful to get a friend or family member in your corner when negotiating pricing with a client. They will always value you higher than you value yourself. My husband and mom are a huge help during this phase of a project. I always ask for their advice before I agree to any pricing.

As I mentioned, I try to get a client to name their price first. If the price is too low, I simply say that the project will take me longer and give a reason why. Then I ask if they can go higher. If they say no, I make suggestions on how we can cut costs, whether it be simplifying illustrations, making them smaller, or cutting back on the number of illustrations.

There is no shame in negotiating. Usually a client will try to work with you. If not, that could be a bad sign for what the future relationship holds.

The Contract

Once you agree on the pricing, the client will send a contract. Just read the whole thing, and make sure it includes everything you talked about. Usually, I don’t send a contract of my own, which is maybe an unpopular viewpoint. However, when I give the client an estimate via e-mail, I include a kill fee. As in, you will be charged 20% of the fee if the project is killed in the sketch phase. And 50% of the fee if the project is killed in the painting phase. Something like that. Kill fees should be tailored to the size and scope of the project. If the client agrees via e-mail to my pricing and kill fee terms, that’s good enough for me.

Maybe I should be sending contracts, but I haven’t had a reason to yet. I’m careful with who I partner with. I only work with clients who I believe have the budget to pay me, and luckily it’s worked out so far.

The Sketch Phase

Usually, clients want to see sketches first. This was tricky for me in the beginning, because I typically do a light, sloppy sketch under my paintings - not clear enough for any client to make sense of.

For client work, I now sketch darkly with pencil on tracing paper. Then, I scan in those sketches. Once I have the sketches done, I drop them into a pdf for the client to review and provide edits. If they have edits, I modify the sketches and re-scan.

This process takes a lot of stress out of creating, because the sketches are approved beforehand. By the time I get to the painting phase, I know what I need to do to get the project over the finish line.

Communications

To me, time is my most valuable resource. Because of this, I try to keep all communications digital - opting for e-mails over phone or zoom meetings. And I usually have no need to meet a client in person.

What I like about e-mail is that everything we discuss is documented. It covers the client as well as myself, because we can both look back on all conversations. I think many artists have the perception that client communications are a time suck they shouldn’t have to deal with. In my experience, they don’t actually take up that much time. Just make sure you add enough time to your estimate for these communications, and you won’t feel too salty.

The Final Work

Once I’m ready to start the final paintings, I set up my light box and sketches. I paint over them, scan, and edit my paintings via Photoshop. Once I’m done, I will drop them into the pdf deck in place of the sketches. Usually, the client will have a few changes to the final art. They’ll either involve digital retouching (like changing colors or removing something), or painting additional elements to add to the work.

I will keep sharing decks until the client is happy. They shouldn’t have too many changes in this phase, since the sketches were approved beforehand. The sketches are an insurance policy for you and the client that the project doesn’t get too out of hand. If they tack on extra tasks to the project, just make sure to charge accordingly based on your hourly rate.

Once we are good to go, I send an invoice. It functions as a receipt for the client. The invoice includes the client information, pricing breakdown, my information, and account routing numbers for direct deposit. I prefer being paid via direct deposit versus check, because it’s faster and there’s no chance of it getting lost in the mail.

It can be helpful to have an invoice template ready to go for future projects.

Following Up

Once you’ve established a good working relationship with a client, check in with them periodically to see if they have more work for you. That is, if you have the capacity to take on more work.

If someone were to ask me what the secret to being a good agent to yourself is, I’d say follow up. It’s all about checking in, and being top of mind when projects come around that you’d be a good fit for.