Custom artwork: a guide for pros
What customers ask, how to win the job, and what to put on your profile.
Offering custom artwork
Clients commission original pieces that mean something to them. Your sketch stage, your progress photos and your clear ownership terms are what win commissions and referrals.
What customers ask
- Can you paint my pet or my home in your style?
- How many sketches will I see?
- Can I get progress photos?
- Who owns the piece and can I make prints?
- How long will the work take?
How to win the job
- On the first call, ask for the subject, the size, the location of the piece, the style and any reference photos.
- Show finished commissions from several angles, with the client's permission, including close-ups of the surface.
- Send a sketch or color study for approval before you start the final work, and say how many revisions are included.
- Share progress photos at set stages, so the client sees the piece come together.
- Put the medium, the size, the revisions, the frame and the ownership terms in the quote.
- Give the client care and hanging steps with the finished piece.
What to put on your profile
- Photos of finished commissions and original pieces, shown with consent
- A list of your services, such as portraits, murals, illustrations and custom paintings
- The mediums you work in and the surfaces you use
- Your sketch and progress photo process, described in plain words
- Your business registration and any local permit that applies to a public mural
Follow-up that helps the customer
- Offer a second piece that matches the first, such as a companion painting
- Suggest a framing or conservation plan for the finished work
- Offer a yearly check-in for clients who keep pieces on display
Licenses and permits
A license is often not required for custom artwork, but rules differ by state and city. Keep your business registration, any local business license your city requires, and any permit needed for public murals, and list your registrations on your profile.
Questions
Do I need a license to paint commissions?
A license is often not required for custom artwork, but rules differ by state and city. Check your local city or county rules for business licensing and keep your registration current.
How do I handle a client who wants a change after the final work starts?
Pause the work, explain what the change involves, and agree on the revised plan and any added time in writing before you continue.
Should I keep the rights to my artwork?
Decide and write it in the agreement. Say whether you keep the copyright, whether the client may make prints, and whether you may show the piece in your portfolio.
About this guide
This national guide is written and checked by infinibell. Rules and conditions differ by place, so local pros are credited on guides for the cities they serve, not on national ones.
Edit history
- Oct 29, 2026: Drafted by infinibell to our content guidelines.
More tailoring, crafts and styling guides for pros
Start here
About this guide
Get custom artwork requests
Customers pick you by name. Signup is free, and you pay only for leads you accept.
Join as a pro