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Hardships
2 years ago
So, over the weekend I have finally officially lost my job permanently. Some might have heard I had to "quit" for a short time to take care of a family emergency. Well it had been worked out with my employers that I could come back when I was prepared, but when I finally try to come back as all savings were exhausted, they had replaced my position and won't hire me anymore. Really, its been a problem I began to expect since COVID began, so I'm not so much shocked but at the same time I'm not prepared for this change in income. For my family, I have been the primary income for a long time and all other income is in the form of Social Security of family members. It will be just enough to cover our rent for the future but not enough for extra expenses like utilities and groceries. I know this is going to make things very hard for me for a while.
But maybe for my audience here there is some upside to it. Anyone who has commissioned me knows I can take a very long time to get a work done and I don't reply very fast, sometimes months could go by before I have any progress to show. That's because of my job was to be "on call" 24/7 even the weekends, and I could not anticipate when my days would be more free or less free. So drawing was something I have little time for, between my family and my work. But now, I have no such distractions. And more than before I need to make the money from this career until I can find a new job. I want to try to begin working on artworks every single day like a full time job, and with that I hope I can begin producing artwork much faster. We will have to see if its possible, but I need to be hopeful.
Due to this I also will need to increase my prices again, might be even quite drastically. I have looked more and more at other artist prices and see them charge much more than me for the same styles of work (Fullbodies, shaded, colored, and such) I always thought "Well they are more popular and more consistent so that's why" but I can't use that excuse to keep my prices low any more. I will say I am very willing to work on finding affordable options, but mainly I will need to increase everything to be sustainable as income for the future.
I still have commissions yet to be finished. I plan to try to finish them all within the Spring and Summer season. That way, I will be prepared to take new works on in the Fall around September. I don't know if I can make it, but I will try. I've been very blessed so far with a gracious and patient customer base and I don't know how much I could thank everyone who has supported me so far. I hope that I can make this work out, because I really need to. And I would love to be a better artist for everyone who has been kind to me and enjoys what I make. Thank you all.
But maybe for my audience here there is some upside to it. Anyone who has commissioned me knows I can take a very long time to get a work done and I don't reply very fast, sometimes months could go by before I have any progress to show. That's because of my job was to be "on call" 24/7 even the weekends, and I could not anticipate when my days would be more free or less free. So drawing was something I have little time for, between my family and my work. But now, I have no such distractions. And more than before I need to make the money from this career until I can find a new job. I want to try to begin working on artworks every single day like a full time job, and with that I hope I can begin producing artwork much faster. We will have to see if its possible, but I need to be hopeful.
Due to this I also will need to increase my prices again, might be even quite drastically. I have looked more and more at other artist prices and see them charge much more than me for the same styles of work (Fullbodies, shaded, colored, and such) I always thought "Well they are more popular and more consistent so that's why" but I can't use that excuse to keep my prices low any more. I will say I am very willing to work on finding affordable options, but mainly I will need to increase everything to be sustainable as income for the future.
I still have commissions yet to be finished. I plan to try to finish them all within the Spring and Summer season. That way, I will be prepared to take new works on in the Fall around September. I don't know if I can make it, but I will try. I've been very blessed so far with a gracious and patient customer base and I don't know how much I could thank everyone who has supported me so far. I hope that I can make this work out, because I really need to. And I would love to be a better artist for everyone who has been kind to me and enjoys what I make. Thank you all.
You have a lot of fans. I'm really happy to see when artists raise their rates because it's important for respecting oneself to feel value in one's work.
If I may make a suggestion, a technique that I've seen give a lot of insight into artist pricing is offering a few no-limit/no-AB YCH auctions which will help you figure out a good ballpark for future pricing in general.
Keep your chin up, ears up, tail up. Just remember in a few months, a year, a few years down the line things will end up better!
I do hope that you can supplement your income with art as you figure out your prices. One trick I've used that had helped a number of artists is to go to online communities and poll what people would be willing to pay, and then step a tier above that.
Alot are saying I should somehow find how people might be willing to pay for my work, so I think I will look into that somehow. Thank you.
I thought about a Patreon before, but I don't know how to really make a business out of it. I'm not sure what I could offer or how to provide a worth it experience to the subscribers. I don't understand what people are giving through their Patreons when they only have artwork to sell.
As for your prices, from all I can say you definitely got what it takes to keep up with the higher tiers of feral artists. I at least count you as one. So adapting your prices accordingly seems just fair!
It is not your fault for them to replace you like that, and unfortunately it happens a lot. Don't put any blame on yourself there. You needed to care for your family, that's noble.
I've seen your art for a long time, and thought for a while you've undercharged yourself. I'm glad you're going to be pricing more of what you deserve, and never feel guilty for that, please. Artists deserve to make a living wage. Art is a luxury, and it being a full-time job requires a lot of commitment that we should be compensated for especially as we pay for everything out of pocket.
I am however going to give a probably more unpopular statement here but since you've never done art as a full-time job I want you to be prepared. Turning a hobby into a full-time job, especially when it's based out of desperation can lead to incredible burnout and a resentment of what was once your relaxing and fun hobby. It is very common, and I myself suffer from it. I do not want to dissuade you from doing art full time, but just to give a warning because I hate seeing artists go through this. Take breaks for yourself, you're important! And never feel bad for putting yourself first when it comes to your artwork <3
I will say this, increasing your prices will still have many many fans wanting art from you and the quality and style of your artwork is definitely worth it.
I wish you the absolute best of luck with this new journey and plans you have for yourself and look forward to hearing from you again.