Start A Custom Illustrating Business - Business Ideas

Pat Walls

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Updated: September 15th, 2022

Start A Custom Illustrating Business

Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.

Many businesses use stock illustrations or images in their commercials. While stock illustrations provide a cheaper option, the visuals aren’t part of the product, so the brand message is diluted.

In a business world where more than 70% of social media and B2B marketers use visuals in their promotions, creating custom illustrations is highly on demand.

Ideally, custom illustration is an essential visual strategy helping businesses use clever, compelling visual content to effectively communicate with the target audience.

With major social media platforms dependent on visuals to create impressions, starting a custom illustrating business can be an opportunity to build a profitable business. Custom illustrations are a visual representation of any text and are considered art for beautifying elements.

To kickstart your custom illustration business, pursue a fine arts certification, where you will learn computer graphics, drawing, and painting skills. Then, identify your style, create a portfolio, then focus on building a client base.

Starting a custom illustrating business requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.

If you're interested in how to sell custom illustrating, or selling custom illustrating online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.

Key Stats

market size

$12.7B

starting costs

$10.9K

gross margin

65%

time to build

210 days

Startup Costs

	Min Startup Costs	Max Startup Costs
Office Space Expenses	$0	$7,000
Equipment & Supply Expenses	$66	$700
Inventory Expenses	$50	$9,750
Software Expenses	$12	$575
Advertising & Marketing Costs	$0	$3,000
Website Costs	$13	$215
Specific Industry Expenses	$0	$500
Total Startup Costs	$141	$21,740

See all startup costs ➜

Successful Businesses

Business	URL	Rank
Free Logo Maker	designfreelogoonline.com	26,641
Humaaans	humaaans.com	83,299
Black Illustrations	blackillustrations.com	210,722
dR Design Resources	dr-designresources.blogspot.com	580,793
Plastic Resource	plasticresource.com	708,832
LogoBee	logobee.com	715,762
Custom Maps	cccarto.com	739,914
LOGO Design Australia	logoinn.com.au	1,024,427
Vox illustration	voxillustration.com	1,258,323
OnePicOneBook	onepiconebook.com	1,334,700
Custom Logo, Branding & Website Design Services	theautumnrabbit.com	1,416,004

See all businesses ➜

Pros & Cons

Pros	Description
Flexibility	You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.
Ability to start your business from home	It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning!
Rewarding work	Starting a custom illustrating business can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.
Scalable	With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.
Meaningful business connections	You never know who you will meet as a custom illustrating business. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity!
Quick build time	The average time it takes to build your product is quick - typically around 7 months. This will allow you to bring your product to market faster.

See all pros ➜

Cons	Description
Crowded Space	Competition is high when it comes to your custom illustrating business, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.
Low margins	The gross margins for your custom illustrating business are typically around 65%, which can make it more challenging to incur new expenses and maintain profitability.
Work can be inconsistent	As a custom illustrating business, the amount of work assigned to you and schedule tends to be more inconsistent, which may make your income less stable. It's important to set boundaries and budget accordingly based on the amount of work you plan to have.
Lack of benefits	With a custom illustrating business, you are typically self-employed and responsible for finding your own insurance, which can be quite costly and time-consuming.
Taxes	As a custom illustrating business, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.
No safety net	Typically, as a custom illustrating business, you do not receive a consistent pay-check and instead earn money based on your transactions each month. During the slow periods, you typically take away less since the job is based on commission. It's important to budget accordingly for the slow times.

See all cons ➜

Key Stats

Startup Costs

Successful Businesses

26,641

83,299

210,722

580,793

708,832

715,762

739,914

1,024,427

1,258,323

1,334,700

1,416,004

Pros & Cons