To sell art commissions through your own website, replace the "add to basket" flow with a quote-to-order process: publish clear commission tiers, take a brief, send a formal quote, collect a deposit up front, work to agreed milestones and deadlines, then deliver the finished piece as a licensed digital file or a shipped original. Commissions are a service, not a stock product — and once you treat them that way, running them from a proper website is far calmer than juggling enquiries across Instagram DMs, email and a spreadsheet.
This guide walks through the full journey: what makes commission work different, how to package it, how to price and take deposits, how to manage briefs and timelines, and how to deliver and get paid without chasing anyone.
Why commissions need a different setup
Most e-commerce is built around a fixed catalogue: a product exists, it has a price, the customer buys it, you post it. Commissions break almost every part of that model. The work doesn't exist yet. The price depends on size, complexity, usage rights and turnaround. Delivery might be weeks away. And a lot of the value is in the conversation before any money changes hands.
That's why trying to force commissions into a normal "buy now" button usually goes wrong. You either underprice yourself with a flat rate that doesn't match the actual job, or you scare people off with a scary number before you've understood what they need. The answer is a quote-to-order flow: the customer tells you what they want, you respond with a tailored price, and only then do they pay. Dirora's Interactive Quotation System and Quote-to-Order Conversion is built for exactly this — a customer submits a request, you turn it into a formal quote, and when they accept, it converts straight into an order you can invoice and track. No copy-pasting figures between apps.
Decide what you're actually offering
"I do commissions" is not an offer — it's an invitation to be asked for anything. Before you sell a single piece, define your menu. The clearer your boundaries, the fewer awkward negotiations you'll have later.
Types. Character portraits, pet portraits, couples/family illustration, album or book covers, brand mascots, tattoo designs, wedding stationery. Pick the two or three you genuinely want more of.
Tiers. Offer clear levels — say a bust, half-body and full-body, or sketch, flat-colour and fully rendered. Tiers let people self-select a budget and give you a natural upsell path.
Deliverables. State exactly what the buyer receives: file format and resolution, whether they get a print-ready version, how many characters or revisions are included, and whether the original physical piece is posted or not.
Usage. Personal use and commercial use are very different products. A pet portrait for someone's wall is not the same job as a logo a business will put on packaging — and it shouldn't be the same price.
You can list each tier as a product on your store using Product Personalisation fields, so the buyer chooses size, subject and add-ons up front. That gives you enough detail to quote accurately without ten back-and-forth messages.
Price commissions so the work is worth doing
The most common mistake new commission artists make is pricing by gut feeling and quietly working for a couple of pounds an hour. Build your prices from the ground up instead:
Know your hourly figure. Decide what your time is worth, then estimate how long each tier honestly takes — including sketching, revisions, admin and file prep, not just the "fun" rendering hours.
Add materials and costs. For traditional work, factor in paper, paint, framing and postage. For digital, factor in your platform and software costs and any print partner fees.
Price usage separately. Charge a licence fee on top for commercial rights. The more prominent and long-lived the use, the higher it should be.
Build in a rush surcharge. Tight deadlines cost more. Say so openly and it stops being a favour.
Because commissions take weeks and involve real time investment, never start unpaid. Take a deposit — commonly 30–50% up front — before you touch the work, with the balance due at delivery. For larger pieces, break payment into milestones: deposit to secure the slot, a payment at the approved sketch stage, and the balance on final delivery. This protects you from the client who vanishes after you've done the hard part. With Dirora you can issue these as separate invoices against the order using Automated Order Invoicing, and payments run through Stripe (cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna and Clearpay) or PayPal, with payouts typically landing in two to seven days.
One thing worth checking before you pick where to sell: platform costs eat into bespoke work just like anything else. Dirora charges no transaction fees on any plan, and the only cut it takes — a small platform fee — falls as you grow, from 1.5% on the free Starter plan to 0.75% on Pro, 0.25% on Business and 0% on Enterprise. On a £400 commission, that difference is real money. If you want the full breakdown of what different platforms actually skim, our guide to what percentage e-commerce platforms take lays it out.
Run the brief properly
A good brief prevents ninety percent of commission disputes. Ask for everything you need before you quote, not after you've started:
Reference images — photos of the pet, person or subject, plus examples of the style and mood they're after.
The exact deliverable: size, format, and where it will be used.
Deadline, including any hard date (a birthday, a wedding, a product launch).
Budget, if they have one — it saves everyone time.
Capture all of this in a structured request form rather than a freeform message, so nothing gets lost. Then put the agreed scope in writing before work begins: what's included, how many revisions come with the price, what counts as a new brief (and a new charge), and the delivery date. A short written agreement is not being difficult — it's the thing you'll both be grateful for if a misunderstanding appears.
Manage timelines and scope creep
Under-promise on turnaround. If a piece realistically takes three weeks, quote four. Build in checkpoints — share a rough sketch early and get sign-off before you commit to full rendering, because changing a pose at the sketch stage costs minutes, but at the finished stage it can cost days.
Define your revision policy clearly: for example, "two rounds of minor revisions included; further changes or a change of concept are charged at my hourly rate." This is the single best defence against scope creep, where a "quick tweak" quietly becomes a second painting. Keep the client updated at each milestone so they never feel they're waiting in silence — most commission complaints are really communication complaints.
Deliver and protect your work
How you deliver depends on what you're selling:
Digital pieces. Deliver the finished files securely rather than emailing large attachments. Dirora's Digital Content & Licensing gives you secure file delivery with download limits and licence terms attached, so the buyer receives exactly the files and rights they paid for — and you keep control of the master. It's the same system sellers use to sell digital art online.
Physical originals. If you're posting a canvas or an inked original, package it properly and price postage and protective materials into the job. Our shipping strategy guide covers doing this without losing your margin to couriers.
Both. Many artists deliver a high-res digital file on completion and post the physical original separately. Offering a print-ready file also opens the door to selling art prints of your commissioned work later — with the client's permission.
On rights: unless you explicitly transfer copyright, you retain it, and the client receives only the licence you've granted. Keep a watermarked preview for anything shown publicly before final payment, and be clear in writing about whether they can use the image commercially, resell it, or claim it as their own design.
Market your commission slots
Commissions sell on trust and portfolio, so your marketing is really just showing the work well. A dedicated website beats living in social media DMs because it gives you a permanent, searchable home you own — and it looks like a business, which lets you charge like one. Compare the trade-offs in our post on whether to sell on Etsy or your own website.
Show process, not just results. Sketch-to-final timelapses and work-in-progress shots build enormous trust with prospective clients.
Open and close slots deliberately. "Commissions open — 3 slots" creates genuine scarcity and stops you overbooking. Use a newsletter signup so people can be notified the moment you reopen; our email marketing guide shows how to build that list.
Get found in search. Terms like "custom pet portrait UK" have real intent behind them. Basic SEO for your store and clear page copy help the right people find you.
Collect testimonials. Happy commission clients are your best sales pitch — display their reviews prominently.
Commissions are also a natural gateway to a wider services offer. If you want to broaden beyond bespoke art into workshops or design retainers, the same quote-and-deposit approach applies — see our guide on how to sell services online.
The legal and tax basics
Keep records of every commission as income. In the UK you'll need to report self-employment earnings to HMRC once you pass the trading allowance, and register for VAT only if your turnover crosses the threshold. Write your terms — deposits, revisions, cancellation and refund policy — into a short agreement each client accepts before you start, and hold onto your copyright unless you're being paid specifically to transfer it. This is general information rather than legal or tax advice, so check GOV.UK or a professional for your own situation.
Get the structure right — clear tiers, a proper quote-to-order flow, deposits and milestones, a written brief and honest timelines — and commissions stop feeling like chaos and start feeling like a business. When you're ready to build the home for it, our getting started guide walks through setting up your store, and writing pages that convert enquiries into paid slots starts with our product descriptions guide.
Frequently asked questions
Should I take a deposit for art commissions?
Yes. Because commissions involve hours of bespoke work before delivery, always take a deposit — commonly 30–50% — before you start, with the balance due on completion. For larger pieces, split payment into milestones tied to the sketch approval and final delivery so you're never doing the hardest work unpaid.
How do I price an art commission?
Build the price up from your hourly rate multiplied by the honest number of hours the piece takes (including admin and revisions), plus materials and postage, plus a separate licence fee if the client wants commercial usage rights. Add a surcharge for rush deadlines. Pricing by gut feeling almost always leaves you working for far too little.
Do I keep the copyright to a commissioned piece?
Unless you explicitly agree to transfer copyright in writing, you retain it as the artist, and the client receives only the licence you grant them. Personal-use and commercial-use licences are different products and should be priced differently. Always put the rights you're granting in your written agreement.
Is it better to sell commissions from my own website or from social media?
Your own website. Selling through DMs means enquiries get lost, you have no formal quotes or deposits, and you don't own the audience. A website with a quote-to-order flow, secure payments and file delivery makes you look like a business and lets you charge accordingly, while keeping every brief and order in one place.
How do I stop clients asking for endless revisions?
State your revision policy up front — for example, two rounds of minor changes included, with further changes or a change of concept charged at your hourly rate. Get sign-off at the sketch stage before final rendering, since changes are cheap early and expensive late. A clear scope in writing is the best defence against scope creep.