Are You My Next Client? The Artist Is In!
Are you looking for some custom art? I might be the right fit for your project. In the world of commissions and custom artwork, illustration, and graphic design, things can look very different from artist to artist. Here, I want to illuminate what my process looks like and let you know the kinds of things we can potentially collaborate on. For my process, I’ll be using a recent case study from a customer that came to me recently needing a design for a tee shirt.
Project: Design a tee shirt for a plant shop that says "love plants, love each other"
First, I gather as much as I can from the client about their project, and build a quote. Whether this is a one of a kind personal project, or needs a commercial or distribution license will affect pricing.
Sometimes a client knows exactly what they want; they just need an artist to make it real. Other times a client will have one idea but no visual inspiration and leaves more to the artist to discover. Most times it's something in the middle, a client has some ideas and feelings for the project but still needs a little help creatively speaking.
Once I know what the client already has mapped out, I then go on to create an inspirational board of images. I provide a link to a Pinterest board for your project. For this tee shirt design, I gathered some ideas based on what was brought up by my client.
I deliver the Pinterest link along with an invoice for a deposit on the project. The deposit is usually a small amount of the final cost paid upfront. Most deposits will be 20-30% of the final quote. After my client saw the Pinterest board, I deleted some items that they didn't like so I could work with the inspiration that was left.
Once the deposit was paid, I began work on the draft sketches.
For this project I created two draft sketches, or two drafts. I had one in full color(about 6 color swatches total), and one in a single color. Most projects will have about 2-3 draft sketches, then move forward on one of those to expand into various full drafts.
My client liked the single color but wanted to see a full draft of the plants splayed in a heart shape and see what it looked like with the text in color but not the rest.
They liked the original draft sketch the best, so I worked on cleaning up my lines, creating a full draft. Then turning the illustration into a vector (requested by the shirt printing company). I sent them the final image in white, and green. I did one more check in with the client to make sure everything looked up to their standard and needs. Once they sign off (approve) the design, I send the final invoice for the remaining amount of the project. Longer term projects may be paid in installments, but most projects are just one deposit and one final invoice.
In the end, my client decided to go with white design on green shirts and I think it looks very light and fun.
So if you have an idea boiling up in the back of your mind that you want to make real, or maybe you have a small batch of products you want to design--I’d be honored to create a quote for you.
I can create the designs and artwork for the following items, but I can also help with manufacturing if you don’t have a printer or manufacturer you’d like to use. I am able to facilitate small batch orders (<5-100 items).
Graphic Design like logos, web banners or other website assets, presentation decks, infographics, digital assets. Print Design like pamphlets, stationary, business cards, event posters, art posters. Apparel Designs like tee shirt or sweatshirt designs. Custom illustrations like portraits, blank coloring pages, or paint by numbers from a photo. Other product designs like stickers or mugs.
I hope that this has illustrated this illustrator's process in a way that is clear and encouraging to others to seek out your next custom project. I may not be an AI generator, but I put in the work as a designer and as a project manager to make sure my clients are pleased with their items. I would be delighted to work on a project for you or perhaps you can refer Studio Dodge to your boss or great aunt. You can point them to this blog, and you can always email me on my website or directly at dani@studiododge.com if you have any questions. I promise I won’t bite.
Ciao for now,
Dani