How to Sell Commissions on DeviantArt

Last Updated: August 10, 2021 References

Deviantart is a great place for artists of all skill levels to make some money. Here are the steps to a flawless commission, one of the best ways to make money.

Steps

1
Decide what you will sell. Pick something that you can actually do and that you would want to buy. Don't assume that your bad drawings will sell for five bucks a piece just because you made them.^{[1]
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2
Wait a little while. A three week old account selling commissions might be a little suspicious.^{[2]
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3
Post some art. Make sure to display everything that you are going to sell with plenty of examples.^{[3]
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4
Create a set of rules. This is a list of things that you will do, won't do, and other rules for people to follow.^{[4]
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5
Decide how much you want to sell your art for. Your prices should start low, but grow with your popularity. You can sell it for real money through PayPal, or Deviantart points. Here's a calculator to tell you how much your points are actually worth:^{[5]
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6
When you finally get someone who wants to buy a commission from you, get as much information from the person as possible. You don't want to make mistakes.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I deliver the commission to the person requesting it?

Community Answer

Send a link to the image in a note. If they don't want you to post the image, send a link of the picture from your stash.
Question

How old do I have to be to host commissions (using points)?

Community Answer

DA usually requires you to be 13+ years to start a page. I'd recommend starting commissions around 16 years of age.
Question

How do I make a page for commissions?

Community Answer

Click "Edit page". You will see widgets. Click the "+" and add a commission widget.

Warnings

Don't give someone a discount because they claim that they could get your product cheaper.

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At least one person will flame you because your prices are too high no matter what.

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If someone asks for samples of your art and claims that the stuff in your gallery isn't good enough, do not give them free art; 9 out of 10 times it's a scam.

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Don't spend your payment until you've finished the commission, so that if you can't finish it, you can give the a refund and keep your reputation.

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