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Some advice for up-and-coming artists!
11 years ago
Alioth FoxPlease read my terms of service before approaching me for a commission!Commission status, prices, and offerings can be found here. Okay, so I was chatting with a buddy the other day, and he was thinking of starting to take commissions - basically, trying to break into the freelance art world. He knows that I do art here on FA as a moderately-successful side-job, and he was asking how I got started, and what advice I could give him. And I thought I would share some of those tips with all of you, if any of you happen to be considering getting into doing art.
Tip #1: Don't rush in!
You're not going to make money when you're first starting. Period. You've got to network before you get a serious art business going. Hang out in the community. Get to know people. Start off with refining your skill by working on personal art (for yourself) and gift art for friends you've made (remember, though, don't post pictures of others' characters, even friends, without their permission!). Each piece of art you upload puts you on the front page of FA, even if only for a few minutes - the goal in the beginning is not to make money, but to be seen. For you to successfully market yourself as an artist, you have to build a watcher base, and when you're first starting, you do that any way you can - by drawing your fursona, by drawing your friends's fursonas (if they're okay with it). Anything to keep yourself on that front page as often as possible.
Tip #2: When you're first starting, requests and trades are your best friends!
Remember how I just said your initial goal is not to make money but to be seen? Yeah, requests and art trades are the best possible way to do that. Now you have to have something to offer before people will notice you even for requests, which is why personal art of your fursona is so important when you're first beginning. But once you've got at least a little bit of a watcher base, post a journal saying you'll take requests. Don't worry - this is a network of furries. We're not shy ;) If you're offering something for free, people will take it :) When you're starting, requests are kind of a win-win: you get a chance to learn how to work according to someone else's specifications (and you get yet another piece of art to post to get yourself noticed), and your requester gets free art. On the downside of that, people who are getting art for free don't tend to complain too much about its quality (or lack of), but that's why it's important to remember the next very harsh truth:
Tip #3: People are not likely to pay good money for bad art, and saying "That's not bad art, it's just my style" will not change that.
Every artist has a unique style. Every artist refines his/her skill through a different set of techniques, and that process is what makes each artist distinct. However, and this is a harsh lesson for some people, some art is just plain bad. If you're barely drawing more than stick figures, you're not going to find success as an artist. If you're writing story commissions and don't know the difference between "your" and "you're" or "to" and "too", then learn the difference instead of getting mad when people point out your bad grammar. If you're putting an insane amount of detail into the fetishy part of the piece while ignoring the rest of the drawing, then it's a bad drawing. Period. And you may be able to get away with that in requests, but people won't pay money for it. And dismissing it as "Stop criticizing my art! That's just my style!" isn't going to change that. You may not like it. You might tell yourself that it's "just your style" to make yourself feel better. But that doesn't change the fact that people aren't going to pay you for it. If you can't handle harsh criticism, then becoming an artist is about the most stressful life choice you could possibly make. The art world is not a kind place to folks who blame mistakes on their style. Yeah, it may be "your style," but if your goal is to sell art and no one's buying, then "your style" isn't working. Fix it instead of complaining about it.
Tip #4: Price your art so that it sells, even if you're selling yourself short.
Okay, so you've gotten so many requests that you're now thinking, "Okay. People are coming to me for art. Let's open up for commissions." And bingo, you get that first commission - probably from a friend who's willing to help you get started. Now, before you see dollar signs in your eyes, remember one very important thing: art has no "fair value." It is worth what people will pay for it. It takes me, on average, about three hours to do a two-character drawing. I charge $25 for that type of drawing. That works out to about $8.30 per hour - just barely above minimum wage, and that's with no supply cost (I have a Wacom tablet and do all my work digitally, so I don't have to buy paint/pencils/etc.). Would I like to make more than that? Of course. But I don't have enough people commissioning me for that to be realistic. You have to work your way up, and above all, be patient. It's easy to look at popular artists who make $100+ per commission, but they had to start out small too. If people aren't buying your art, drop your price. If you've got more work than you can handle, raise your price next time.
Tip #5: Stay organized, be professional, follow the rules, and communicate with your commissioners.
When you open up for commissions, you are going into business. Yes, it can be a friendly business, and yes, you will make friends, but always remember that it is a business. There will always be a service/client relationship. The friendlier and more professional you are, the more likely you are to see repeat commissioners. If people have a good experience with you (beyond merely getting a good finished product), they will be more likely to come back to you when they want art again. Keep a record of your commissions so that you can store contact information and such. Do not rely on FurAffinity as a sole means of communication! FA, SoFurry, Weasyl, etc. - all of these sites are great, but they can go down at any time. Your safest bet is to establish an e-mail relationship with your client. Set up an e-mail just for furry purposes. Some clients may not want to give you an e-mail address - you should be wary of them because they may skip out on paying you. If they're not willing to give you an e-mail contact option, don't accept their commission. And remember, do not, EVER, take an adult commission from a minor! It is YOUR responsibility to verify your client's age, and if you're doing adult work, then you need to get - in an e-mail - a written statement verifying that the client is over 18. This is the furry world - pornography is often part of the game here. But drawing porn for a minor is a good way to get yourself banned from the site - and, depending on where you live, you could get yourself in serious (as in, felony that will follow you for the rest of your life) legal trouble. Lastly, If you stay on top of record-keeping, you'll have a pretty good idea on how to manage yourself in terms of workload and time management.
Well, that's the best advice I have for those of you starting up! I hope you found it helpful :)
Tip #1: Don't rush in!
You're not going to make money when you're first starting. Period. You've got to network before you get a serious art business going. Hang out in the community. Get to know people. Start off with refining your skill by working on personal art (for yourself) and gift art for friends you've made (remember, though, don't post pictures of others' characters, even friends, without their permission!). Each piece of art you upload puts you on the front page of FA, even if only for a few minutes - the goal in the beginning is not to make money, but to be seen. For you to successfully market yourself as an artist, you have to build a watcher base, and when you're first starting, you do that any way you can - by drawing your fursona, by drawing your friends's fursonas (if they're okay with it). Anything to keep yourself on that front page as often as possible.
Tip #2: When you're first starting, requests and trades are your best friends!
Remember how I just said your initial goal is not to make money but to be seen? Yeah, requests and art trades are the best possible way to do that. Now you have to have something to offer before people will notice you even for requests, which is why personal art of your fursona is so important when you're first beginning. But once you've got at least a little bit of a watcher base, post a journal saying you'll take requests. Don't worry - this is a network of furries. We're not shy ;) If you're offering something for free, people will take it :) When you're starting, requests are kind of a win-win: you get a chance to learn how to work according to someone else's specifications (and you get yet another piece of art to post to get yourself noticed), and your requester gets free art. On the downside of that, people who are getting art for free don't tend to complain too much about its quality (or lack of), but that's why it's important to remember the next very harsh truth:
Tip #3: People are not likely to pay good money for bad art, and saying "That's not bad art, it's just my style" will not change that.
Every artist has a unique style. Every artist refines his/her skill through a different set of techniques, and that process is what makes each artist distinct. However, and this is a harsh lesson for some people, some art is just plain bad. If you're barely drawing more than stick figures, you're not going to find success as an artist. If you're writing story commissions and don't know the difference between "your" and "you're" or "to" and "too", then learn the difference instead of getting mad when people point out your bad grammar. If you're putting an insane amount of detail into the fetishy part of the piece while ignoring the rest of the drawing, then it's a bad drawing. Period. And you may be able to get away with that in requests, but people won't pay money for it. And dismissing it as "Stop criticizing my art! That's just my style!" isn't going to change that. You may not like it. You might tell yourself that it's "just your style" to make yourself feel better. But that doesn't change the fact that people aren't going to pay you for it. If you can't handle harsh criticism, then becoming an artist is about the most stressful life choice you could possibly make. The art world is not a kind place to folks who blame mistakes on their style. Yeah, it may be "your style," but if your goal is to sell art and no one's buying, then "your style" isn't working. Fix it instead of complaining about it.
Tip #4: Price your art so that it sells, even if you're selling yourself short.
Okay, so you've gotten so many requests that you're now thinking, "Okay. People are coming to me for art. Let's open up for commissions." And bingo, you get that first commission - probably from a friend who's willing to help you get started. Now, before you see dollar signs in your eyes, remember one very important thing: art has no "fair value." It is worth what people will pay for it. It takes me, on average, about three hours to do a two-character drawing. I charge $25 for that type of drawing. That works out to about $8.30 per hour - just barely above minimum wage, and that's with no supply cost (I have a Wacom tablet and do all my work digitally, so I don't have to buy paint/pencils/etc.). Would I like to make more than that? Of course. But I don't have enough people commissioning me for that to be realistic. You have to work your way up, and above all, be patient. It's easy to look at popular artists who make $100+ per commission, but they had to start out small too. If people aren't buying your art, drop your price. If you've got more work than you can handle, raise your price next time.
Tip #5: Stay organized, be professional, follow the rules, and communicate with your commissioners.
When you open up for commissions, you are going into business. Yes, it can be a friendly business, and yes, you will make friends, but always remember that it is a business. There will always be a service/client relationship. The friendlier and more professional you are, the more likely you are to see repeat commissioners. If people have a good experience with you (beyond merely getting a good finished product), they will be more likely to come back to you when they want art again. Keep a record of your commissions so that you can store contact information and such. Do not rely on FurAffinity as a sole means of communication! FA, SoFurry, Weasyl, etc. - all of these sites are great, but they can go down at any time. Your safest bet is to establish an e-mail relationship with your client. Set up an e-mail just for furry purposes. Some clients may not want to give you an e-mail address - you should be wary of them because they may skip out on paying you. If they're not willing to give you an e-mail contact option, don't accept their commission. And remember, do not, EVER, take an adult commission from a minor! It is YOUR responsibility to verify your client's age, and if you're doing adult work, then you need to get - in an e-mail - a written statement verifying that the client is over 18. This is the furry world - pornography is often part of the game here. But drawing porn for a minor is a good way to get yourself banned from the site - and, depending on where you live, you could get yourself in serious (as in, felony that will follow you for the rest of your life) legal trouble. Lastly, If you stay on top of record-keeping, you'll have a pretty good idea on how to manage yourself in terms of workload and time management.
Well, that's the best advice I have for those of you starting up! I hope you found it helpful :)
But I think you a lot of good things, Ali, that not all artists do. You communicate really well and offer sketches to be viewed first, and you also allow for a lot of changes along the way.
I understand that not every artist can do this due to time constraints (and some don't need to because they get so much business without needing to do it), but I always appreciate it because I never have to worry about the pic looking different than what I envisioned because there was some difference in interpretation of the description.