Artists and illustrators can monetize follower requests by packaging recurring DM asks—such as commissions, critiques, process questions, Personalized Videos, and tips—into fixed-price offers. Set the deliverable, turnaround, and revision limit in advance, collect payment upfront, and decline unsuitable requests before work begins. Custom Work lets you offer clearly scoped commissions and services: you set the price, the scope and the delivery time, and followers submit a brief and pay before you start.
If you draw, paint, or illustrate online, followers may already ask, “Can you draw my OC?”, “Can you review my portfolio?”, or “Can you make a birthday video for my friend?” Each request can become a defined offer with the price, scope, and delivery time written down before anyone pays.
On Brillay, followers pay upfront as guests, with no follower account needed. Each request is one time, no membership. You set the price and delivery window, then complete the deliverable on your own time. For a technique question or critique delivered as a written answer, there is no live call, no scheduling.
Personal payment transfers can expose the name and address associated with an account. Brillay puts the priced offer, written scope, request, and payment on your creator page instead.
Brillay gives the people already asking you a way to pay. Turn on the offers that match your work, publish them on one creator page, and share that page wherever followers already find you. Creators of any audience size can use the same request-and-payment structure. Creators in 41 countries can get paid; followers pay by card from anywhere.
No monthly fee, you only pay a small platform fee when you get paid. 8% platform fee when a follower pays for work, 5% platform fee on tips and goals. Card processing is separate.
Source: Brillay Pricing.
Brillay product details come from Brillay’s own How It Works and Pricing pages. Copyright statements come from the U.S. Copyright Office and Title 17 of the U.S. Code, and payment-processing rates come from Stripe’s published pricing page. Dollar amounts in the example table are hypothetical illustrations rather than market data. This is general information rather than legal advice.
What do followers of artists and illustrators ask for?
Common requests include original commissions, art critiques, technique advice, custom videos, one-time tips, support for a named project, and professional inquiries from brands. Start with the words followers already use:
- “Can you draw or paint this for me?” An original character, portrait, character concept, pose, emote, or custom scene.
- “Can you review my art?” Feedback on a portfolio, composition, character design, or individual piece.
- “How do you use this technique?” A question about brushes, software, color, rendering, anatomy, or workflow.
- “Can you congratulate my friend?” A custom birthday, encouragement, or celebration video.
- “I love your work—here’s a tip.” A one-time thank-you with nothing owed back.
- “Can I support your next print run or art book?” A contribution toward one named creative goal.
- “Are you available for a campaign?” A brand inquiry that specifies the budget, timeline, and deliverables.
The aim is to give work people already request a clear format. Commissions and critiques need a defined deliverable. Questions need one written answer. Videos need an occasion and delivery window. Goals need a named target. Tips give supporters a way to say thank you.
Which Brillay offer fits each type of request?
Match the format to what the follower expects. Custom Work covers defined commissions and critiques, while the other offers cover written questions, custom videos, support, goals, and brand inquiries.
| What a follower wants | Brillay offer | Why it fits |
|---|---|---|
| A finished OC, portrait, character piece, or custom scene | Custom Work | The price, scope, delivery time, and defined deliverable are written down before payment. |
| A portfolio, character-design, or individual-piece critique | Custom Work | The critique becomes its own defined review or feedback deliverable. |
| An answer about technique, software, brushes, or workflow | Paid Questions | The follower pays your set price for one private question and receives one written reply. |
| A birthday, congratulations, or encouragement message | Personalized Videos | The follower requests one custom video that you record and deliver through Brillay. |
| A one-time contribution with nothing owed in return | Tips | The supporter sends a one-time thank-you amount. |
| Support for a tablet, print run, art book, or convention table | Goals | Supporters contribute toward one named target with a progress bar, no all-or-nothing cutoff, and nothing to ship. |
| A professional campaign or sponsored-art inquiry | Brand Collaboration Inquiries | A “Work with Me” form collects the brand’s budget, timeline, and deliverables in a separate brand inbox. |
Artists can use these offers across a wide range of work and request moments:
- Illustration and visual assets: When someone asks for an OC commission, portrait, emote, cover, icon, map, or character sheet.
- Design, photo, and motion: When someone needs a thumbnail, layout, simple motion asset, photo critique, or visual review.
- Writing, editing, and publishing: When an art book, zine, or comic needs copy, lettering, feedback, or a publishing review.
- Music, voice, and audio: When a release needs cover art, a visualizer, promotional assets, or creative feedback.
- Education and coaching deliverables: When a follower asks for a portfolio critique, technique explanation, or focused written feedback.
- Business and creator growth: When someone requests a profile review, visual-brand audit, media-kit asset, or channel graphic.
- Tech and maker help: When a follower needs a workflow review, software guidance, UI asset, or visual feedback for a game or app.
- Fashion, beauty, and personal presentation: When someone asks for a look illustration, styling board, beauty visual, or presentation feedback.
How can artists create clearly scoped starter offers?
Start with the two or three requests you receive most often. Write each one as a specific outcome, then state the follower details you need, scope, format, rights, and delivery time.
- Character commission: Define the number of characters, crop, rendering level, background complexity, dimensions, file type, delivery time, and usage rights.
- Art critique: State whether the follower receives written notes, an annotated image, or another defined feedback deliverable. Limit the scope to a specified piece or portfolio.
- Process question: Offer one private question and one written reply. State the topics you cover and the reply window you set.
- Personalized shoutout: Define the occasion and the details the follower should provide. Set a delivery window for the custom video.
- Goal: Name the tablet, print run, art book, materials, or other project the contributions will support.
The three ranges below are hypothetical examples written for this article to show a pricing structure. They illustrate possible offer structures rather than market rates, survey results, industry benchmarks, earnings claims, or Brillay price recommendations. You can set and change the price of each offer yourself.
| Offer | Hypothetical starter range (illustrative only) | Example scope |
|---|---|---|
| Simple character commission | $50–$150 | One character, a limited or simple background, and one defined final asset |
| Focused art critique | $25–$75 | Feedback on one piece, with the response format stated in advance |
| Personalized shoutout | $15–$40 | One short custom video based on details supplied by the follower |
Charge more when a request requires more characters, a complex environment, extensive rendering, faster delivery, source files, or commercial usage rights. A materially different concept or additional asset can become a separate order with its own price and delivery time.
For a time-based method, estimate the working hours, multiply by your target hourly revenue, and account for taxes, complexity, and licensing. For deeper pricing guidance, see pricing services without undervaluing your time and how much to charge for a mini audit or feedback.
How do Brillay fees affect an artist’s listed price?
Work backward from the amount the project needs to generate. Your listed price can reflect your working time, project complexity, taxes, Brillay's small platform fee on paid work, card processing, and any commercial rights included in the scope.
According to the Stripe Pricing page, Stripe’s standard United States online card rate is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful transaction, plus 1.5% for international cards and 1% for currency conversion.
Apply the published card-processing rate to your planned listed price before deciding whether that price supports the time and rights involved. The hypothetical starter ranges above illustrate offer structure rather than recommended prices or payout guarantees.
How can artists prevent scope creep?
Put the boundaries in the listing before the follower orders. A strong commission description covers:
- Number of characters
- Bust, half-body, or full-body composition
- Sketch, flat color, or full render
- Background complexity
- File format and dimensions
- Personal or commercial use
- The defined final asset
- Delivery time window
- Pricing for an additional concept or asset
The follower should understand exactly what a commission payment covers. If the request changes from one portrait to a two-character scene, or from personal use to commercial packaging, quote that expanded work as a separate order.
For Paid Questions, state that the request includes one private question and one written reply within the window you set. This gives followers a clear way to ask about brushes, software, composition, portfolios, or technique while giving you control over the topic, price, and response time.
Clear scope also makes acceptance decisions easier. Review the references, intended use, and requested rights before starting, then complete the deliverable described in the offer.
How should artists handle copyright, commercial use, and fan art?
The U.S. Copyright Office’s text of Title 17 states that copyright initially vests in the author under 17 U.S.C. § 201(a), a copyright ownership transfer requires a written instrument signed by the owner under § 204(a), and an individual illustrator’s work receives a term lasting for the author’s life plus 70 years under § 302(a).
According to U.S. Copyright Office Circular 30, a commissioned illustration qualifies as a work made for hire when it falls within one of the nine categories of specially ordered or commissioned works listed in 17 U.S.C. § 101 and both parties sign a written agreement stating that status.
State the rights included in the commission price, such as personal posting, printing for personal use, or a specified commercial licence. If the follower needs broader rights, describe that licence separately.
According to the U.S. Copyright Office fee schedule, registering a finished illustration costs $45 through the electronic Single Application—one work, a single author who is the sole claimant, and a work created outside a work-for-hire arrangement—and $65 through the electronic Standard Application.
Under 17 U.S.C. § 412, statutory damages and attorney’s fees depend in part on registration timing, and the provision includes a three-month period after first publication for a published work, according to the U.S. Copyright Office’s text of Title 17.
According to the U.S. Copyright Office’s text of Title 17, statutory damages for copyright infringement run from $750 to $30,000 per work at the court’s discretion, and a court may raise the award to as much as $150,000 per work when infringement is proved willful under 17 U.S.C. § 504(c).
When a request involves an existing franchise, character, logo, or celebrity likeness, settle the relevant permissions and intended use before accepting the commission. Payment alone establishes neither ownership nor permission to commercialize third-party intellectual property.
Example clauses you can paste into a Brillay listing
These are sample wordings to adapt in your own offer description rather than legal advice. Fill the blanks with your own numbers. An actual transfer of copyright still requires a signed written instrument under 17 U.S.C. § 204(a).
- Personal-use licence: “This price grants personal use. You may print the piece for yourself and post it on personal social accounts with credit. Resale, merchandise, packaging, advertising, paid promotion, and brand use require a separate commercial licence.”
- Commercial licence add-on: “Commercial licence: +$___. Grants a non-exclusive right to use the finished image for ___ (named product or channel) for ___ (term). Copyright stays with me; the licence covers the usage stated here.”
- Portfolio display permission: “I may show the finished piece, work-in-progress images, and process video in my portfolio and on social media. Private commissions are available at a separately quoted price.”
- Source-file option: “The standard delivery is a flattened PNG at 3000 px on the long edge plus a 300 DPI print file. Layered PSD/CLIP source files are available for an additional $___.”
- Character and third-party IP: “By ordering, you confirm that you own the character or have the owner’s permission. I accept commercial requests involving third-party characters, logos, or likenesses when the required permissions are documented.”
- Delivery boundary: “This price covers the asset and concept described above. A new concept or additional asset can be ordered separately.”
Where does Brillay fit alongside conventions, prints, and existing commissions?
Brillay adds a one-time request-and-payment option beside convention tables, print shops, existing commission channels, and memberships. An artist can direct a follower to one page where the request, written scope, delivery time, and payment happen together as a guest.
A convention table or a print shop needs work made and stocked before anyone can buy; a commission listing needs only the price, scope and delivery window you could write today.
If you already use Patreon, Brillay can add a one-time option beside the membership. On Ko-fi and Buy Me a Coffee a commission usually begins as a conversation, with the render level and the price settled in messages first; on Brillay those sit on the listing, so what reaches you is already a paid, scoped order. Linktree and Stan organize links or storefront items; what an illustrator actually needs organized is the brief — what the piece is, what it costs, and when it lands. An artist's bio link should land on the commission brief itself, where the follower describes the piece they want and pays as a guest, with no account to create first.
Cameo and Topmate use marketplace structures that creators apply to. Brillay is your own page and works for creators of any size. Calendly and Zoom organize live calls; Paid Questions give followers a written answer instead of another call. Nothing to apply for, and no ranking deciding whether a follower sees your commissions or another artist's first.
An illustrator with 300 followers and one with 300,000 can each publish offers based on their own work, price, and delivery time. For more context on combining direct commissions with other income channels, see how illustrators get paid.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I charge for an art commission?
Base the price on complexity, working time, scope, usage rights, taxes, and card processing. A flat-color bust can have a different price from a full-body render with a detailed background. Write down what the follower receives, estimate the time required, and price commercial usage separately when relevant.
Do I need a big following to accept paid commissions?
Creators of any audience size can publish paid offers. A clear commission or critique listing is tied to a defined deliverable, price, and delivery time rather than an audience threshold.
What keeps a commission within its original scope?
Write the character count, composition, render level, background, file format, usage rights, final asset, and delivery window into the offer. Price a materially different concept, added character, expanded usage licence, or extra asset as a separate order.
Can I use Brillay alongside commissions on other platforms?
Yes. Brillay can sit alongside convention sales, print shops, memberships, and other commission channels. It gives direct follower requests a visible price, delivery time, payment step, and submission flow on one creator page.
Set up your first commission or critique offer and put one link in your bio where followers can pay for what they're already asking for. Create your free Brillay page and start turning DM requests into priced offers.
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