An art commission page with a clear price sheet, terms and a way to pay
Clients commission an artist when they can see exactly what they'll get and what it costs. Show an example for each tier, list prices and extras, state your terms in plain words, and give a request form that asks for the details you'd otherwise chase. Take payment through a checkout link from your own provider, upfront or in two parts as your terms say.
The commission sheet
The commission sheet is the heart of the page. Many artists post it as a single image on social media, which is hard to read on a phone and impossible for search engines or screen readers to read at all. On a commission sheet website, put the same information in text with an example image beside each option.
| Tier | What's included | Show |
|---|---|---|
| Sketch | Clean line sketch, one character, no colour | Two finished examples |
| Flat colour | Lines and flat colours, simple background | Two or three examples |
| Full render | Shading, lighting, detailed background | Your strongest pieces |
| Extras | Additional character, complex outfit, commercial use | Listed with their add-on price |
Write prices as plain figures with the currency named, and say what changes them. Size, number of characters, background complexity and commercial use are the usual drivers. State a turnaround range, such as two to four weeks from payment, and whether rush jobs exist.
Terms that prevent most disputes
- What you will and won't draw. Be specific; it saves awkward refusals later.
- Payment. Full payment upfront, or half to start and half before the final file. Say which.
- Revisions. How many are included at the sketch stage, and that changes after colour cost extra.
- Refunds. What happens if you cancel, and what happens if the client does after work has started.
- Usage rights. Personal use only unless agreed; whether the client can print it, use it on stream or sell it.
- Your rights. Whether you can post the piece in your portfolio and when.
- Delivery. File format, resolution, and how it's sent.
Put the terms on their own page and link to them beside the form. Ask clients to confirm they've read them in their request.
The request form
The built-in contact form asks for name, email and a message, which works if you list your questions above it. A proper art commission form with separate fields is better, because every request then arrives in the same shape. That's a custom form tied to a site function, with up to 30 plain-text fields: tier, number of characters, background, intended use, deadline, a description, and links to references. If the tier and extras are entered as numbers (a tier number, a count of extra characters), a small formula can work out an estimate and show it on the thank-you page with your message about what happens next. It's calculated when the client sends the form, not live as they type.
Requests are saved in your dashboard, sealed at rest, and can be emailed to you. If you'd like them in a list you can sort by status, send each one to a Notion database, an Airtable base or a Discord channel through a connector.
Taking payment
A site has one payment link per account, so every buy button opens the same checkout. Make that a product list at your own provider, such as Stripe Payment Links, PayPal or Gumroad, with each tier as an option, or keep the page's buttons pointing at the request form and send the client a checkout link from your provider once you've agreed the price. Only send the payment link after you've accepted the request, so nobody pays for something you'd turn down. Payment links covers how buttons work.
Open, closed and waiting lists
Put the status at the very top: "Commissions open: 4 slots" or "Commissions closed until March". When you close, ask for a change in a sentence or edit the line in the visual editor, and replace the form with a newsletter sign-up so people can hear when you reopen. Update the slot count by hand; nothing counts down automatically.
Building it and its limits
Describe it: "a commissions page for my character illustration with three tiers, extras, terms, a request form and a gallery". Upload your artwork to the build so the examples are yours. Playful (Fredoka) and Brutalist (Archivo) suit most illustration styles; Luxury (Jost) suits fine-art portraiture. If you also want a full portfolio, see the visual artist website page.
- No file uploads on forms; use links for references and send finished files by your own method.
- No automatic slot counter or queue tracker on the page.
- Payments happen at your provider; Anticode doesn't hold money or issue refunds.
Questions people ask
Should I take full payment upfront?
Many artists do for small pieces and take half upfront for larger ones. Whichever you choose, put it in the terms and only send a payment link once you've accepted the job.
Can clients attach reference images?
Not as uploads. Ask for links to images or a shared folder in a form field.
Can I show a commission queue?
Yes, as a short list you update by hand, using first names or handles with the client's permission.