How do illustrators actually make money?

Andrijana Hasan
Dec 26, 2025
5 min read

This is one of those questions most of us ask at the very beginning.

And usually, it doesn’t come alone. It comes with a whole pile of assumptions about how much illustrators earn, how easy (or hard) it is, and what the “right” path should look like.

So we start guessing.

Comparing.

Researching.

Counting numbers that aren’t even ours.

Trying things.

Failing.

Giving up.

Getting lost.

Learning.

And honestly, all of that is part of the process.

✸ I wasn’t an exception either

If I go back in time, before illustrating my first book, I was already making my own products and selling them online and at markets.

That was my starting point. Another illustrator might have started in a completely different way. But sooner or later, most of us end up in the same place —juggling on multiple fronts at once.

✸ Today it looks easier (but it’s also more confusing)

Today, things might seem easier because we have access to so much information.

We can look at illustrators we admire, follow their paths, and naively assume that if we do the same things, we’ll get the same results.

What we usually see, though, is only the nicest part of the story.

The messy reality is often missing. The years of trial and error are compressed into a few Instagram posts. And it’s very easy to get a completely wrong impression of how someone actually got where they are.

Until you start doing it yourself.

✸ At the beginning, everything feels like one big tangled knot

At the beginning, it usually feels chaotic. Like a big, tangled ball of yarn that you’re slowly trying to untangle — one thread at a time.

If today we look at well-established illustrators, we’ll often notice something interesting: most of them have one primary way of working that brings the largest part of their income, and a few additional streams on the side with some passion projects.

Some of them are also very good at reusing and repurposing their work in smart ways.

That often means that one project doesn’t live in just one place. The same illustration might exist as a book spread, a print in a shop, content for social media, or part of a live stream where the whole process is shared.

Some illustrators document their work while they’re creating it — streaming, recording, or turning the process into additional content. Others reuse one illustration across different formats, creating several income streams from a single piece of work.

Not by doing more — but by thinking more strategically about what they’re already making.

So let’s take a look at the different ways illustrators can earn money today.

✸ Books

Many illustrators choose to work on books across different formats and age groups: picture books, children’s books, novels, textbooks, school reading, graphic novels, magazines, or comics.

From the outside, this path often looks magical. From the inside, it usually means:

long projects
a lot of patience
and sustained focus over time

For many illustrators, books are an important part of their career — but rarely the only one.

✸ Commercial illustration

This usually includes collaborations with brands, agencies, or larger companies.

Illustrations can be used for:

advertising and promotional materials
packaging
merchandise
campaigns and visual identities

These projects often come with clearer budgets and deadlines, but also require strong communication and adaptability.

✸ Gaming and animation

This type of work often involves:

character design
background illustration
storyboards
props and assets

It’s a very specific field that often requires teamwork and working within existing systems and pipelines.

✸ Licensing and surface design

Illustrations and patterns are often licensed, especially in industries like textiles.

This path usually becomes more relevant once you’ve developed:

a consistent body of work
a recognizable visual language

It can take time, but it’s one of the ways illustration can gain a longer life beyond a single project.

✸ Online shops and self-initiated products

Many illustrators create and sell their own products: art prints, stickers, notebooks, bookmarks, pins, keychains, toys, and digital products.

This path offers a lot of creative freedom, but it also means becoming:

a product creator
a marketer
customer support
and logistics manager

All at once.

✸ Markets, conventions, and events

Markets and conventions are places where illustrators showcase and sell their work in person.

They can be great for:

direct feedback
community
visibility

I’ll talk more about this in a post dedicated entirely to that topic.

✸ Streaming, platforms, and education

Some illustrators share their process and daily work through platforms like YouTube or Twitch — creating live sessions, documenting projects, or simply letting people peek

behind the scenes of their everyday work.

Others focus on educational content: online courses, resources, talks, guest lectures, presentations, and workshops through platforms like Patreon, Ko-fi, Domestika, Skillshare, or through schools, libraries, and festivals.

That being said, this is the part you usually don’t see behind the scenes.

What often looks spontaneous or effortless actually involves:

weeks of planning and writing scripts
juggling and managing more than one project at the same time
hours of recording and editing videos
creating presentations, tutorials, and worksheets
traveling to other cities — or even other countries

It’s still creative work. Just a different kind of creative work.

✸ So many options — and that’s both beautiful and overwhelming

As you can see, illustration is beautiful precisely because of its wide range of applications.

However, that same variety can easily leave us feeling lost.

We start comparing ourselves too early. We try to do everything at once, without a plan.

We overload ourselves with deadlines, expectations, budgeting, client chasing, and sleepless nights.

And that’s usually when we unlock that ninja character — fighting on too many fronts at once, instead of choosing our battles.

"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost." - The Fellowship of the Ring (The Riddle of Strider).

✸ Why this matters for everything that comes next

All these options can feel overwhelming — but they’re not random.

The way you earn money slowly starts shaping everything else.

It influences:

the kind of clients you attract
the portfolio you build
the skills you focus on
and, over time, the kind of illustrator you become

Even when you don’t consciously plan it.

If you mostly work on long projects, your patience grows. If you do a lot of commercial work, your communication skills sharpen. If you sell your own products, you start thinking differently about value, time, and sustainability.

None of these paths is better or worse —they’re just different directions

that slowly pulls you somewhere.

That’s why this question isn’t only about money. It’s about alignment.

✸ Making mistakes is part of learning

It’s okay to make mistakes. There’s no other way to learn certain things.

It’s also okay to doubt yourself — doubts often signal that something needs to be reconsidered.

Over time, you start noticing:

what drains you
what gives you energy
what fits you
and what doesn’t

Those are the moments when you start trading with yourself, slowly refining the ingredients that make your work — and your career — feel more balanced and meaningful.

✸Now, what is the conclusion?

There are many options.

Allow yourself to play, explore, try things, make mistakes, move on, and sometimes come back. You don’t need a perfect plan right away. You don’t need to stick to the first idea you had.

You’re at the beginning.

Let yourself discover who you are as an artist, your sensitivity, your creativity, and where you feel you contribute the most.

That will change as you grow — and that’s exactly how it should be.

Through experience, you’ll learn:

what fulfills you
what feels lighter
what kind of clients you want to attract
and who you enjoy working with

✸ What’s coming next?

In the next post, we’ll talk about what it really means to work as a freelance illustrator — the good parts, the hard parts, and why it’s not for everyone (and that’s okay).

If this feels messy and unclear, you’re probably on the right path.