{"id":1827,"date":"2026-10-05T16:38:33","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T16:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.goquibble.com\/?p=1827"},"modified":"2026-10-05T17:02:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T17:02:58","slug":"how-to-commission-an-illustrator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.goquibble.com\/how-to-commission-an-illustrator\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Great Art Without Losing Your Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFor some authors, how to commission an illustrator is something they only start figuring out after they\u2019ve already found an artist, agreed on a price and, occasionally, wandered into a situation they really wish they\u2019d handled differently.

As artwork becomes a bigger part of the Quibble experience, I\u2019ve found myself thinking more and more about the relationship between authors and artists - and about how surprisingly little guidance there is for authors doing this for the first time.

I remember commissioning a cover artist myself years ago. In my case, it was thankfully a smooth experience. I found someone whose work I loved, we agreed on what we were doing, the process went well, and I ended up very happy with the result.

But that isn\u2019t always how it goes. Usually, it starts with a picture in your head. You have a character. You know roughly what they look like. You find an artist whose work makes you think, Yep. That\u2019s it. <\/em>And then you realize you have absolutely no idea what you\u2019re supposed to say next to stay out of trouble and get what you want for the right price.

How much does this cost? What exactly do I ask for? How many revisions are normal? Who owns the artwork? Do I pay upfront? What if the artist disappears into the mist?<\/em>

Commissioning an illustrator doesn\u2019t need to be complicated. But there is a process, and understanding it before you start can save you money, time and a considerable amount of head-scratching.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\n\t\t\tFirst, Decide What You Actually Need\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBefore looking for artists, figure out what you\u2019re actually commissioning. That sounds obvious and simple enough, but many authors already struggle with this one. 

Are you looking for a character portrait? A full scene? A map? A creature design? Ten illustrations for a series? A handful of visual assets you can use throughout your story?

Don\u2019t only ask, \u201cWhat artwork do I need?<\/em>\u201d Ask: \u201cWhat parts of my world would become more interesting if readers could see them?<\/em>\u201d If you\u2019ve published your story on Quibble, you\u2019ll be surprised by how much visibility having more artwork will bring to your book compared to stories with none at all.<\/u><\/strong><\/a>

Maybe your protagonist has a distinctive appearance that readers would love to see. Maybe there\u2019s a city you\u2019ve spent fifty pages building in your head. Maybe your magic system has symbols, objects and creatures that would be far more memorable visually. Learn more about fantasy character art here.<\/u><\/strong><\/a>

You don\u2019t have to commission all of it at once. In fact, you shouldn\u2019t. But thinking about the story as a growing visual world changes what you\u2019re looking for in an artist. You\u2019re not necessarily hiring someone to make one nice picture. You may be looking for someone who can help you develop a visual language that readers can keep discovering as they move through the story.

That\u2019s particularly interesting on Quibble, where visual material can sit alongside the story rather than disappearing into a folder on your laptop.

So, before you open fifty portfolio tabs, write down:

\u27a4 What you want illustrated
\u27a4 Which parts of the story or world they belong to
\u27a4 How many pieces you need nowWhere you\u2019ll use them
\u27a4 Roughly when you need them
\u27a4 Any important technical requirements
\u27a4 Your approximate budget

You don\u2019t need to have every detail figured out. You just need enough of a picture that another person can understand the job - and enough of an idea of where you\u2019re going that the artist can help you get there.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\n\t\t\tWhere to Find an Artist Whose Work Fits\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNow comes the fun bit: falling down an enormous internet rabbit hole. There are plenty of places to look.

\u2060<\/u><\/strong>Illustrators.com<\/u><\/strong><\/a> is specifically focused on illustration and has resources for finding and commissioning professional illustrators. 

\u2060<\/u><\/strong>Reedsy<\/u><\/strong><\/a> is particularly useful for authors because you can browse publishing professionals by service and genre, including book illustrators.

\u2060<\/u><\/strong>Upwork<\/u><\/strong><\/a> is a broader freelance marketplace with a large pool of illustrators and other creative professionals.

And \u2060<\/u><\/strong>Behance<\/u><\/strong><\/a> is useful when you want to browse portfolios and find artists whose visual style immediately clicks with what you\u2019re trying to build. 

You can also find artists directly through our Quibble Discord community<\/u><\/strong><\/a>.<\/u><\/strong> We have a growing group of artists and creators there, and we do our best to vet people who offer their services to authors. That said, we\u2019re a community, not an art agency, so we can\u2019t guarantee an artist\u2019s work, availability or transaction. As a result, Quibble takes no commission from commissions arranged between authors and artists in the community.

Please always do your own due diligence, agree on terms clearly, and don\u2019t send money blindly. Wherever you look, find artists whose existing work already resembles what you\u2019re trying to achieve.

Portfolio first. Personality second. Price third. Obviously price matters, but you\u2019re potentially choosing someone who will help shape how readers see your world. If you\u2019re building a long-running story on Quibble, for example, you may eventually want the same artist working on characters, locations, creatures, objects and other pieces of the world. Consistency starts becoming valuable very quickly.

It\u2019s also worth contacting more than one artist. Your first choice may be booked, unavailable for your timeline, outside your budget, or simply not interested in the project.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\n\t\t\tIllustration Pricing\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThere is no universal price for an illustration. That\u2019s because you\u2019re not really buying \u201ca picture.\u201d You\u2019re commissioning a piece of creative work whose cost depends on things like complexity, experience, timeline, number of deliverables and usage rights.

A single character portrait and a fully rendered battle scene are not remotely the same job. And neither is a one-off image and an ongoing visual collaboration for a story.

If you know you want to build out your world over time, tell the artist that upfront. You don\u2019t necessarily need to commission twenty illustrations today. But giving them the bigger picture can help both of you think about consistency, future work and how the visual identity of the story should develop.

The same applies to where the artwork will live. If you\u2019re creating visual material specifically for the upcoming Quibble reading experience, you may want readers to encounter character art, maps, locations or objects as they move through the story - not simply use the images as promotional assets elsewhere.

Some illustrators charge hourly. Others quote per project or per illustration. This is why comparing quotes purely by the final number can be misleading. Instead, look at what the number actually includes.

Does it include sketches? Colour? Backgrounds? Source files? Revisions? Commercial usage? Rush delivery? A $300 illustration and a $600 illustration might be two completely different packages. Just ask. Seriously. Ask.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\n\t\t\tAgree on Payment, Revisions and Deadlines\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBefore work starts, please agree on the boring stuff. Get the payment schedule in writing. Clarify the deadline. Agree on how many revision rounds are included and what happens if you need additional changes. Also establish when you\u2019ll provide feedback and how quickly the artist can expect a response. 

And be specific with feedback. \u201cMake it pop more\u201d<\/em> is not feedback. \u201cCan we make the expression more suspicious and move the sword higher so the silhouette feels less static?\u201d<\/em> is feedback. The more concrete you can be, the easier it is for the artist to act on what you\u2019re saying.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\n\t\t\tGive the Artist Room to Do Their Job\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThere is a strange temptation, especially when you\u2019re deeply attached to your fictional characters, to micromanage the person you\u2019ve hired to visualize them.

My advice: Try not to. Instead, try to just communicate the character and the world. The artist\u2019s job is to interpret that information and turn it into an image. The best artists will know how.  If you\u2019ve hired someone because you love their work, give them enough room to bring their own judgment into the process.

You hired an artist. Let them be one.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\n\t\t\tBuild an Ongoing Relationship With Your Artist\n\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIf you like working with an artist, keep working with them. This becomes particularly valuable when you\u2019re building a series. A recurring artist learns your characters. They learn the visual rules of your world. They understand your references, your taste and the weird little details that matter to you.

The work gets easier. More importantly, it becomes more consistent. That can matter enormously when your story starts accumulating visual material: character portraits, locations, creatures, important objects, faction symbols, maps and scenes.

You are no longer commissioning isolated pictures. You\u2019re gradually developing a visual language for the story. And soon you'll be able to put it on full display on Quibble! \n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n
\n