Photo by Kevin Dooley.

A reader posted a comment on Alex Eckman-Lawn’s awesome post and slideshow, From Sketch to Finish—The Journey of an Album Cover, and I thought I’d answer it in a blog post. So here goes. Here’s the question:

Hi, My name is David, and I was wondering, how can I get into selling my artwork as CD covers?

Here’s my answer:

Hi David,

Not speaking for Alex [the author of the blog post you commented on] here … but I’d start by getting to know local bands who are making CDs and letting them know you’re an illustrator (or artist, or whatever you call yourself). Put up a simple WordPress portfolio of your work and make your contact methods clear. Basically just network, which is easy in this case since you can focus on bands/music that you like, right? Go out to shows and get to know folks in bands and their friends.

Be really good about calling back and follow-through, and be careful what you promise. For example, don’t just agree to do the art for an album cover for $100 without being clear about whether they can request revisions, and if so how many (I have learned the hard way to be very clear about this). It takes a little time but take that time to figure out the specifics of what you want to offer, pricing, workflow, etc.

And above all do good work and be a pleasant guy to work with. Unless you’re some sort of legendary, sought-out artist, no one will want to work with you if you’re difficult or unpredictable.

In a nutshell, that’s how I’d start. Paying attention to the above stuff will start turning you into a professional. I hope that helps!