The Only 10 Things You Need to Start Your Illustration Business Today
I wasted a lot of money when I started my art business nine years ago. As a self-taught illustrator, I had no idea what to buy. I remember purchasing a daylight lamp, only to realize our home just needed better lighting. Some other bad purchases I made were many flat desks and chairs I couldn’t sit comfortably in for more than an hour. I also bought a desktop computer first, thinking that would be better than a laptop.
The good news is at least you can business expense these items. If you aren’t familiar with this concept, it means you can write off anything related to your business on taxes, so it’s taken out of your income and you owe less. This makes me feel less guilty about buying the illustration-related items I need. For more on this, you can partner with an accountant to learn about what you can and can’t write off.
As I look around my studio today, I realize I don’t actually need many items to do my job. I built this list assuming you already have some kind of art supplies you like to use. This might include pens, paints, a sketchbook, a paint palette, tracing paper, erasers, a water cup, etc.
I’m also assuming that, if you’re reading this post, you’re one of the fortunate people in this world with a smart phone. This is what I use to create photos and videos of my art. Also to post on social media.
A scanner is necessary because it’s the easiest way to get your art from paper to computer. As an illustrator, you’ll probably use this item daily. I recently talked about how buying a new art scanner changed my life. While you can use a regular scanner, having an art scanner will save you so much time in scanning and editing. And they aren’t even that expensive. A great, inexpensive scanner for beginner illustrators is this Canon one. Again, check out this article if you want to explore your options.
You need this. Period. Unless you’re an illustrator who does only digital work, you’ll be working with paper A LOT. You’ll need to make art in many different sizes (often according to client specs) and this will allow you to cut down your paper quickly. Once I started printing my art in-house, I used this item even more for cutting down my art prints. I use it every day, many times per day.
Drafting Table and Chair
A few years ago, I wouldn’t have considered a drafting table a must-have. For a long time, I fell for beautiful desks over functional ones. However, if you don’t want to destroy your back while creating, you’ll want comfort over beauty. While a nice desk setup sounds expensive, it actually isn’t bad. I prefer a drafting table with a side tray/flat surface for my water cup and palette. Also, a glass surface so it’s easy to clean. As far as a chair goes, go with super comfy and supportive. Also, I like a chair with no arms (or one where the arms go up) so it can fit under my table while I work.
Unfortunately, taking pictures and videos of your artwork is just part of the deal now. Artists must learn how to do this. Luckily, the quality of photos and videos on an iPhone are great. All you need is a mount, so you can secure your phone on a table or above your artwork. That way, you’re able to capture all the angles you need hands-free.
You may think I’m talking about the expensive art print variety, but I’m not. I’m talking about your run of the mill laserjet. For art prints, I actually recommend all beginner artists work through a vendor like Giclee Today until their business grows enough for it to make sense to invest in a giclee printer. So why a laserjet? The reasons are endless. Sometimes I’ll print inspirational images. Sometimes, I’ll print sketches on tracing paper. Sometimes I need to print invoices or contracts. You’ll be surprised by how much you use this item. I even use the scanner on my laserjet for scanning pencil sketches. That way, I can keep my art scanner clean for my final paintings.
If you’ll be doing any type of client work (and hopefully you will), they typically require a sketch for approval first. You’ll need to sketch on tracing paper and then work with a light box on the final art. That way, your final painting matches what was agreed upon exactly. Even when I’m not doing client work, I love using this method to create new prints for my shop. It’s a much cleaner way of working than painting over a sketch.
Hopefully this is something you already have. The more RAM and storage you can afford, the better. Your art files will be huge and Adobe Creative Suite will use tons of memory as you edit your artwork. It may be tempting to buy a desktop. I have both and I use my laptop 80% of the time. The desktop is a bit easier for editing, but I’m often working on-the-go or when traveling. Bottom line, I’d choose my laptop if I had to pick one. I’ve included a mouse because it’s much more comfortable than a trackpad when editing work.
As nice as it would be to not have to pay for expensive software every year, you really need this (even if you’re creating your artwork in a digital app like Procreate). Technically, you could survive with just Photoshop for editing your artwork. However, I use illustrator regularly for branding materials and for resizing my art prints. I also use Indesign quite a bit.
Your art files will be huge so you probably won’t be able to store all of them locally on your computer. Also, you should have every single print backed up somewhere just in case. I use Dropbox daily and I no intention of stopping.
As an artist, you really should have a website. This is the place where clients will be able to find you. Also where you can sell your work and share updates with your fans. To me, Squarespace is the easiest platform for creating a quick website that looks good. My site you’re looking at now was done is Squarespace. For what to include in your art website, check out this article.
That’s pretty much it! If I could name some other items that are handy but not necessary, they are archival storage boxes (I have one for each year of art), lined notepads, an Echo (for timers and music), mugs and bowls for storing supplies, and roller carts for supplies. Also, I couldn’t live without my pencil sharpener. I didn’t include this item because you might not need it depending on your medium of choice.
If you’re lucky enough to need to produce your own art prints in-house, you’ll need a postal scale, giclee printer, label printer, and shipping supplies. Again, I recommend starting with a drop shipping service before investing in all this.
I hope this list gives you the push you need to launch your dream career today! Remember, the only thing worse than not starting yesterday is not starting today.