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Is art sustainable as a job/ income from at home worth wh...
3 years ago
Felt like posting this, but it will be shorter I think, I don't have much to say, I don't have much to say at all lately.:/ I've been thinking about things and I guess life in general, and my general utter lack of ideas on what to do. I mean that's the least of my issues on life, but doesn't everyone have issues :/
People say a job is anything you earn income with regardless of what it is. Being paid for art is no less a "job" than stocking shelves at walmarts.
Meanwhile other people, usually boomers, say I need to punch a 9-5 at a walmarts/stocking shelves to have "a real job".
Everyone has different opinions on what counts as a job. I do live in bumfuck Texas nowhere with mostly old people around me so everyone generally has very old fashioned ideas about work. Generally if you aren't punching a 9-5 then you're considered lazy.
Call me a crippling depressed lazy bastard, I still don't have a job yet. I don't know what I want to do for a job. Or more what works with me. My only ideas have been stocking shelves but my mother pointed out the other day I'm 5"3 and barely 100lbs and almost everyone hired at these stores are expected to lift heavy shit, which I can't do. It's possible they'd have me doing something else, but there is still the expectation of lifting heavy shit or dealing with cleaning chemicals, and I have asthma.
I'm still considering this even with those mentioned issues.
There's also the problem none of them where I live are flexible. You have to come in when they ask you too or you often end up fired. I don't have a car yet, and even if I did... Do I WANT to be called in at random times ANY TIME of the day? Sounds fucking shitty. But that's what EVERYONE deals with out here. I'm sure where I just live is shitty.
I'm not at risk of being kicked out of the house and there is no rush to move out, but I don't think any art "job" I have right now is sustainable to moving out sometime in the future. But then again where am I going to move? The city? I want a apartment in the city but the nearest city seems to only have apartments worthy of only Detroit, unless you want to shelve out 1000-4000$ monthly to live with the rich of Texas.
(Please do not suggest onlyfans or camgirl shit. I'm glad this works for some women but it's nothing I have interest in doing, it's not for me.)
So is art as a job sustainable? I have money. I could buy food or clothes or something, I am at no risk to being kicked out. Why does it still feel like I'm unemployed/"useless" by boomer standards? Is a job really anything you can get currency for, or do I need to punch a 9-5 stocking shelves to be considered a real adult?
I thought bout my sister, she works at the library part time basically stocking shelves... She's not fulfilled either in life(a,one her many other issues) She gets paid about as much as I do for art, sometimes less depending if she shows up for work.
She spends it all on video games.
Are we arguably not financially the same?
I've considered patreon, but I don't know how to manage something like that and I feel patreon is very niche.
Also why a patreon? I don't have to move out, I have enough money from commissions for things I need if I needed them, like food or clothes. I don't leave my house often if at all. I have no friends irl and nowhere to go anyways in bum fuck Texas. My friend is in a similar situation to me, but he is attending online art college.
He says he's going to complete art college and then get hired to do art for a living.
By who? I pointed this out to him and he seems to have his eggs in one basket figuratively, but his art is also better than mine so he may get hired.
I'd like to get hired by an actual company to do art but lmao who would even hire me, how and for what? I doubt capcom will hire and pay me to draw zombies for their video games.
I know Rome isn't built in a day but I'm tired of waking up at 3:00 in the morning and having the urge to "fix my life" so strong I can't think about anything else, and then it feels hopeless. I don't know what I want for life, money wise or anything else. Rome isn't built in a day but for me it feels like it's not being built at all.
I guess I should think about Things I want in life and why, maybe.
People say a job is anything you earn income with regardless of what it is. Being paid for art is no less a "job" than stocking shelves at walmarts.
Meanwhile other people, usually boomers, say I need to punch a 9-5 at a walmarts/stocking shelves to have "a real job".
Everyone has different opinions on what counts as a job. I do live in bumfuck Texas nowhere with mostly old people around me so everyone generally has very old fashioned ideas about work. Generally if you aren't punching a 9-5 then you're considered lazy.
Call me a crippling depressed lazy bastard, I still don't have a job yet. I don't know what I want to do for a job. Or more what works with me. My only ideas have been stocking shelves but my mother pointed out the other day I'm 5"3 and barely 100lbs and almost everyone hired at these stores are expected to lift heavy shit, which I can't do. It's possible they'd have me doing something else, but there is still the expectation of lifting heavy shit or dealing with cleaning chemicals, and I have asthma.
I'm still considering this even with those mentioned issues.
There's also the problem none of them where I live are flexible. You have to come in when they ask you too or you often end up fired. I don't have a car yet, and even if I did... Do I WANT to be called in at random times ANY TIME of the day? Sounds fucking shitty. But that's what EVERYONE deals with out here. I'm sure where I just live is shitty.
I'm not at risk of being kicked out of the house and there is no rush to move out, but I don't think any art "job" I have right now is sustainable to moving out sometime in the future. But then again where am I going to move? The city? I want a apartment in the city but the nearest city seems to only have apartments worthy of only Detroit, unless you want to shelve out 1000-4000$ monthly to live with the rich of Texas.
(Please do not suggest onlyfans or camgirl shit. I'm glad this works for some women but it's nothing I have interest in doing, it's not for me.)
So is art as a job sustainable? I have money. I could buy food or clothes or something, I am at no risk to being kicked out. Why does it still feel like I'm unemployed/"useless" by boomer standards? Is a job really anything you can get currency for, or do I need to punch a 9-5 stocking shelves to be considered a real adult?
I thought bout my sister, she works at the library part time basically stocking shelves... She's not fulfilled either in life(a,one her many other issues) She gets paid about as much as I do for art, sometimes less depending if she shows up for work.
She spends it all on video games.
Are we arguably not financially the same?
I've considered patreon, but I don't know how to manage something like that and I feel patreon is very niche.
Also why a patreon? I don't have to move out, I have enough money from commissions for things I need if I needed them, like food or clothes. I don't leave my house often if at all. I have no friends irl and nowhere to go anyways in bum fuck Texas. My friend is in a similar situation to me, but he is attending online art college.
He says he's going to complete art college and then get hired to do art for a living.
By who? I pointed this out to him and he seems to have his eggs in one basket figuratively, but his art is also better than mine so he may get hired.
I'd like to get hired by an actual company to do art but lmao who would even hire me, how and for what? I doubt capcom will hire and pay me to draw zombies for their video games.
I know Rome isn't built in a day but I'm tired of waking up at 3:00 in the morning and having the urge to "fix my life" so strong I can't think about anything else, and then it feels hopeless. I don't know what I want for life, money wise or anything else. Rome isn't built in a day but for me it feels like it's not being built at all.
I guess I should think about Things I want in life and why, maybe.
For sustainability, as long as you can afford all your basic needs such as food, water, housing etc. In my opinion I consider that sustainable. Boomers tend to be stuck in the past, if you don't do any sort of "traditional" job they'll criticize those choices. I'd say just do what you want to do and if you're able to cover your basic needs, that's already considered sustainable. Beyond that it's all up to you, I am terrible at giving advice but just trying my best.
I am interested in doing art as a full time job, but what I do on Furaffinity is freelance, and none of the art I draw is things I want to draw personally.
I'd like to be hired by some official company to do concept art for something, for example, but that chances of that happening are kinda nonexistent. Outside of indie video games, but I've heard a lot of those get concept art for free because 'exposure' :/ official companies usually hire established concept artists, or people far for professional and skilled and older than I am.
I don't think I'm going to be hired for official art.
What i do on FA feels more like a part time job than a real job to me.
I feel a bit like a burden financially. Even if I contributed to the water bills or electricity it's still "not my house". I just live here rent free as my family reminds me. So it doesn't feel like I'm doing anything/ worth anything on that end.
But that probably speaks more for my shitty family life/ their standards no being in the middle of Texas nowhere surrounded by boomers.
I want to have my own place one day, but that also opens up 100 other questions and things I don't know the answer too. There's no easy answer that works for everyone is my issue. I'm mostly tired of people telling me to "get a job" to which i ask what exactly I'm supposed to be doing for employment "I dunno". I feel boomers had it easier with jobs. I think I want some job that makes me get away from the house because I hate it here but at the same time I feel something at home right now would be better.
And then they ask what I want from life, I don't know what I want from life. Everyone says getting married and having kids is something I should do, and to get married/ have kids I'll need my own place, and to get my own place I need "to get a job" is all anyone out here tells me. Is that ALL there is to life?? I feel my problems overlap.
Your advice was good, thank you
I feel you also have to be established with a bigger following, and something niche for it to work. I've seen many older artists make a patreon and it works well, but they already have many followers.
I mainly draw only feral nsfw and fat-fetish related things. They're kinda two ends of a spectrum, I'd not be sure how to set a patreon around two separate topics, even if people were interested.
I might be interested in a patreon thing for just tips because of my inexperience with it, but I don't think that's what I'm thinking of as far as 'work' ;(
I don't think even my sisters part time three day a week job would either. I've been trying to think of temporary at home employment due to transportation atm being a issue, but I'm unsure what that be as I'm unqualified for most everything. I want something full time but I'm also unsure what that would be out here.