How to commission an artist without getting scammed

The ways people get burned

Almost every bad commission story is one of four. Someone paid in full to an account they found in their DMs and never heard back. The "artist" was showing stolen or AI-generated work and delivered something nothing like it. The artist was real but took the money and went quiet for months. Or the job drifted, nobody wrote down what was agreed, and the result wasn't what was asked for.

Warning signs before you pay

• They contacted you first, out of nowhere, after you posted that you were looking. Real artists do this sometimes; scammers do it constantly.
• The portfolio doesn't hang together. Wildly different styles, no sketches or works in progress, or pieces that turn up under someone else's name in a reverse image search.
• Payment only by bank transfer, gift card, or "friends and family" so it can't be disputed.
• No questions about your brief. A real illustrator asks about size, use and deadline before quoting.
• Pressure. "This price is only good today."

Agree these in writing

• The price, and exactly what it includes.
• How many sketch rounds, and what changes after that cost.
• When you'll see the first sketch, and when the final is due.
• What you may use the art for (a book, packaging, merch, prints) and what files you'll get.
• What happens if the date is missed.

Deposits, full payment, or held money

Paying an artist directly, you're trusting them with the money before anything exists. A 50% deposit halves the risk; it doesn't remove it. The safest arrangement is one where the money is held by a third party and only released to the artist once you've approved the final files. The artist knows the money is real, and you know it can't vanish.

How Sketchround handles it

• Checked artists. We review every illustrator's portfolio by hand before they can send a proposal. Hand-made work only.
• Held payment. You pay when you award the job. We hold it, and the illustrator is paid only when you approve the final files.
• On time, or your money back. Sketch 1 is due within a week of paying. The final is due by the agreed date plus a week's grace, and the time you spend reviewing sketches is added on. Miss either and you can cancel for a full refund, then pick another proposal from your brief.
• Everything in one place. Brief, proposal, messages, sketches and files live on one project page, so what was agreed is never in doubt.

Post a brief How it works & fees