White poster board with crudely painted green rectangle and dollar sign

Top 5 Art-Based Side Hustle Sites for Creative Students

Looking to make some extra money by selling your artwork? These five websites are great platforms for artistic students who want to get paid for their craft.

Are you starting to think about ways to make money? You’re not alone! Many high school and college students are in the same boat, trying to find a way to save up some cash. As a creatively inclined student pursuing the arts, I know the idea of a classic 9-to-5 job can seem dull. That’s why I’ve pulled together five of the best art-related side hustles out there to give you some ideas of where to start. Check out these great sites that can help you get paid for doing what you love.

1. Etsy

Etsy is a popular online selling platform famous for its niche products. It’s the perfect way to start your own business without having to worry about the legal side of it. With Etsy’s simple setup tools, you can easily sell anything you want—from handmade zines to digital art prints—to millions of Etsy users around the globe. You get to stay completely in charge of your brand, pricing, and customer communication. Plus, you get to keep 95% of every sale you make on Etsy.

Related: Part–Time Jobs and Money–Making Ideas for Students

2. Alamy

Do you love photography? If so, Alamy is the perfect side hustle for you! This stock photography agency works with well-known companies like Netflix, Penguin Random House, and Pixar to sell their contributors’ original photos. It’s easy to sign up and there are no contracts. Plus, students with Alamy get to keep 100% of the profit from sales of their photos, helping empower the next generation of artists.

3. Redbubble

The popularity of Redbubble has recently spiked due to widespread social media exposure. I’m not usually one for trends, but this one is worth the hype! With Redbubble, you can upload one artwork to be printed on a ton of products (like stickers, T-shirts, and tote bags) all at once. Then sit back and relax while Redbubble takes care of selling and shipping your products. This online marketplace has a set fee for each product, but you have the freedom to choose your own profit percentage by increasing your prices.

Related: 9 of the Best College Jobs for Artistic Students

4. Fiverr

Fiverr started out as a freelancing website that allowed users to hire artists for custom projects at a maximum price of $5. But now sellers have much more control over pricing their gigs. On Fiverr, you can design logos, write short stories, paint portraits, touch up photos for influencers—the possibilities are endless! Selling on this e-commerce website requires a lot of responsibility (you’ll be held to strict deadlines and will have to actively communicate with buyers to complete orders), but it’s great experience for the art industry. You take home 80% of your sales on Fiverr.

5. Printful

Unlike the other options on this list, Printful doesn’t actually sell anything for you. It’s a print-on-demand service with hundreds of quality products and no order minimums. Printful easily syncs with many online retailers like Etsy and Shopify so you can sell your designs without having to print or ship the products yourself. You pay Printful a flat price for its services and then have total control over how much you charge your customers. Printful even offers mockup tools, tips, and tutorials to help you start and grow your business.

Related: What We Learned From Student Entrepreneurs in the Time of COVID-19

Selling your art can be a daunting task, but I hope these five side hustle ideas have made it a little less scary. Online options like these are perfect for making a little money on the side so you can get back to what matters: bringing life to your creativity. Now get out there and start earning!

Looking for colleges that can nurture your artistic talent? Check out our lists of schools with great Visual Arts programs across the country.

Like what you’re reading?

Join the CollegeXpress community! Create a free account and we’ll notify you about new articles, scholarship deadlines, and more.

Join Now

Tags:

About Hailey Myers

Hailey Myers is a homeschooled high school student from California. She's been drawn to literature and creative activities from a young age and is ecstatic to share what she knows with fellow students. 

 

Join our community of
over 5 million students!

CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit.

Join CollegeXpress

College Quick Connect

Swipe right to request information.
Swipe left if you're not interested.

New York University—Shanghai Campus

Shanghai, China


Hannah Nelsen

Hannah Nelsen

High School Class of 2022

CollegeXpress has helped me look at colleges that fit my interests by taking my profile and matching it to colleges that have the programs I'm looking for. It has the ability to connect me to colleges so I can be contacted by them and look at them more in-depth to find what's right for me. Additionally, the scholarship database is super beneficial for getting scholarships for college. Not only does it help lift the financial burden of college but it shows all the opportunities available. Overall, CollegeXpress has been very helpful to me.

Tariq Adam Khatib

Tariq Adam Khatib

High School Class of 2022

CollegeXpress helped me a lot. I am a Tanzania boy who finished my high school studies in Tanzania. I never knew I could get an opportunity to get a scholarship to study abroad. I am happy that now I know how to find the school to study abroad through CollegeXpress.

Ariyane

Ariyane

High School Class of 2021

CollegeXpress really helped me by letting me know the colleges ratings and placements. They gave me accurate information on my colleges tuition rates and acceptance. They even let me know the ration between students and faculty and the diversity of the college. Overall they told me everything I needed and things I didnt even think I needed to know about my college and other colleges I applied for.

Makiyah Murray

Makiyah Murray

High School Class of 2021

The college application process has been a stressful one, but CollegeXpress has eased some of that stress with its readily available college resources. At the beginning of the process, I frequently used the college search feature, and now that I’m almost done applying, I’ve started using the scholarship search. Both of these resources have made it easier to find relevant information.

Kamal

Kamal

Student, University of the People

I registered with CollegeXpress and filled all my necessary and relevant information as well as the course I wished to study. A few days later, an email was sent to me with a list of schools offering the course; amongst them was the University of the People, the school I got admitted to.