University can be an expensive time, with tuition, housing, books, and other costs really adding up. For artistic students who want to earn some extra money with a creative side hustle, there are lots of great options out there. Sites like UK Writings provide opportunities to get paid for your writing talents. Whether you love painting, photography, graphic design, writing, or have another artistic talent, putting those skills to use in a freelance side job is a great way to make ends meet.
5 Creative Side Jobs for Artistic University Students
Freelance Graphic Design
Graphic design skills are highly valued in the freelance world. As a university student, you likely already have some experience with programs like Adobe Creative Suite from your arts classes. With a portfolio website showcasing some sample designs, you can start picking up graphic design gigs on freelance sites to earn some cash.
This can include anything from designing logos, business cards, posters, social media posts, graphics, and more for small businesses, authors, bloggers, entrepreneurs, and all kinds of clients. The great thing about freelance graphic design is you can do it on your own schedule, around your classes and other commitments.
Illustrating Children’s Books
Lots of talented artistic students have an innate ability for bringing children’s book characters and scenes to life with vibrant, whimsical illustrations. Authors often hire freelance illustrators to create the imagery that goes along with their children’s stories.
As a university student, you can start picking up these kinds of illustration gigs to make money with your artistic talents. Make sure you have a website, social media pages, or online portfolio showing sample illustrations in a kid-friendly style so authors can get a sense of your abilities. Once you build up some positive ratings and reviews, the illustrating gigs can really start rolling in.
Sell Your Photographs Online
In the age of camera phones and social media, quality photography is as important as ever for brands, bloggers, businesses, and more. As a photography-loving university student, you can sell your photos online to earn some extra cash. First, build up a diverse portfolio of high-quality photographs showcasing your unique perspective and style. Then, upload them to stock photo sites like Shutterstock, iStock, Adobe Stock or others where image buyers can license your photos for projects.
You earn a commission each time someone licenses your images. The more photos you have for sale, and the higher quality they are, the more passive income you can earn over time.
Freelance Writing Gigs
Strong writing skills are extremely valuable in the freelance world too. Creative university students can earn good money writing blogs, articles, social media posts, product descriptions, web content, e-books, and more for clients. Using freelance platforms like Fiverr and Upwork, you can search for freelance writing gigs that play to your strengths and interests.
The great thing about freelance writing is once you have some samples to show clients, you can do most of the work securely online, on your own schedule. Building up your portfolio and getting happy clients to leave you reviews helps you secure more steady work over time.
Leveraging Your Skills Online
The possibilities are truly endless when it comes to making money online as a creative university student. Whether you love painting pet portraits, editing Instagram photos, designing infographics, providing drawing or Photoshop tutorials on YouTube, recording meditative music, or have some other artistic skills – there are likely people and businesses willing to pay for your talents.
Get creative, build a portfolio, create gigs on freelance marketplaces, launch your own Fiverr service, start a YouTube channel, or explore options like Etsy to sell your original creations. By putting your unique skills out there, you can earn income doing something you love.
The key for artistic students is identifying what you uniquely have to offer, getting samples to show it off, and then finding the right platform to connect your skills with people willing to pay. Top essay writing services and other online platforms give university students more opportunities than ever to turn their talents into income streams. So get creative with it – you could develop a fulfilling side hustle that earns you money while also building an impressive portfolio to help launch your career after graduation.
