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I need advice... supporting yourself on your art? Very upset
9 years ago
TL;DR: If you support yourself with only your art or craft, how do you do it? What are your struggles and triumphs?
Hey guys,
Slightly less happy journal than normal. I just… need to type this out I suppose and I wish to ask for advice. Everyone struggles with direction ad stagnation from time to time in their lives, but mine has almost been predetermined by family events. I have two older brothers. Both of which my parents tend to deem as being failures.
I am the 3rd child and was the ‘final hope’ if you like. That I would do well in highschool, and that I would go on through university/college doing some degree and go on to some high paying job.
The highschool bit was fine. I did very well and did more than my brothers ever did. Towards the end of year 12 I started to freak out a little as everyone does. What do I want to do as a career for the rest of my life? I don’t know- I have no idea- bloody hell I’ve only existed for seventeen years at this point. Out of desperation I choose a games design course. I like art and I like games, how could this go wrong?
I hated it.
I hated it so much I never want to go back to Uni. I loved the people I was with but being in a school environment again brought be so much stress and anxiety- drawing back on the pressure my parents put on me to do well.
I took a leave of absence hoping my fears would settle and I might be able to return to that course. Two years later I am as strongly against it as when I began.
My parents have tried hard to push me into some sort of other course- anything else. Dad wants me to be a nurse for some godforsaken reason- I am by far not the kind of person suited for that job or anything close to it.
Because of lack of experience from a young age I have struggled in getting any form of work. I used to have a casual job as a waitress for a little while. I did a few shifts but then they just stopped asking me back. So yes, I need to get some sort of work simply to have on my resume—I understand that. But it’s the age old problem. Can’t get a job without experience, can’t get experience without a job.
Even people with experience are going through hell trying to get work these days.
Though I will keep searching for another job of some kind be it retail or whatever, all this has led me to look at something I truly enjoy. I love fursuit making and I know I’m good at it. If I believe in my abilities and work harder than I ever have before, surely I can progress 8Bit-Works into a small business I can support myself with?
My parents certainly don’t think so.
And that’s almost what’s hardest. They supported me immensely with my initial foray into costume craft- why not now? When I really need their reassurance that I can do this- they turn around and snap at me- “Fursuit making isn’t a real job.” “You’ll never be successful enough to support yourself with this.” “It’s just a hobby.”
“Do something with your life.”
I can see the disappointment in my mother’s eyes. She has said to me “so you’re going to be just like your brothers, right?” Alluding to their ‘failure’ in life.
Yeah, I guess I am going to be like them. Only in that I don’t want to go back to university unless it’s for a small business degree. Which again they also don’t seem to believe in.
All this being said my parents aren't horrible people. They insist they say all these things for my own good and I truly do believe they only snap at me because they don't want me to struggle further on in life when I don't have them to help me. Though I understand that...It's difficult to make them understand me.
I’ve told myself I can’t let them get me down. My close friends and boyfriend have helped me so much, comforted me and told me to ignore them- That the ‘starving artist’ stereotype doesn’t have to be real.
But it’s gotten to the point where I severely doubt myself and by work.
I’m scared is the most honest response.
No, I don’t know if I can do this but I want to try… I look at other makers-
phoenixnest 
ruffleddesigns 
autumnfallings 
skyprofursuits 
lazylupe 
lobitaworks 
thatsfurredup and so many, many more—I want to be like them. Why can’t I be like them? If they can do it surely so can I.I used to be so lazy…. But a swift figurative kick in the butt from
paramedicoyote cured that. I began working so much harder, and I’ve come to realise so much about myself and how easy I have had life.I want to get better.
I want to do more.
I want to get a ‘proper job’ as well.
I want my parents to not see me as a failure.
But most of all I want to grow 8Bit-Works to a point where I can support myself.
….do you think I can?
Please tell me
And please, if you support yourself off of your art or your craft, please let me know how you do it and your struggles but most of all your triumphs. I know it must be hard- but if my heart is in this I need to know of the reality as well as the fantasy.
To thank you for reading this;; it truly does mean a lot.
And thank you to
paramedicoyote 
dorchette 
riorioriorio 
eagleironic and all of my irl friends for supporting me with so much love. I wouldn’t be here without you guys.And of course all of you guys, my watchers- you mean so much to me and your comments always cheer me on <3
That’s enough of a vent for one day I think..
Back to work.
Mildly off topic, a great way to get "resume padding" is volunteer work. It's a great way to gain professional recommendations and references if for whatever reason you decide/forced back into a day job.
But that idea by no means discounts my belief in you! You got this.
I'll start looking into where I can do some volunteer work
Best of luck. <3
Congratulations on graduating! That's amazing~ I hope you get to go as far in the world as you want to
Thank you <3
I'm not sure if I'd be able to do suit making as a full time thing at this exact moment of in time as it's something that still needs to gain some traction which takes time and improvement; hence working full-time and taking on studies in clothing production and cinemagraphic SPFX to further this knowledge and support myself while learning.
Despite all this, I'm not going to let what others say crush the reality of this becoming something and as a friend I'd say neither should you hun.
Be stupidly organised. Have a commission queue? That's great but it can also rot and be ignored. Make a schedule, get a calendar and plan out your work days, your days off and how much you must get done each day. Make sure your clients can see this. The pressure will help push you to work harder.
Save money while you can. I had ample savings going into this but due to buying lots of supplies and trying to build my mini business I'm at a loss after my first year. That said, thanks to my savings, I'm not in trouble and can take my lessons into the new year.
Don't expect a miracle. You're struggling now? When you go full time the expectations of yourself will play on your mind. Push on. It'll pay off.
Be professional and have a social media presence EVERYWHERE! Are there furries on that site? Well then you need to be there too! Also don't rely on FA for business transactions. Have an active and interactive website you can control when this ship sinks. It always sinks.
Do it for you. Your parents are being parents and they love you, but they're also guilting and manipulating you. Any parent who openly makes their child feel like a failure is not doing their job right. You're an adult, your life is yours even if it is a starving artist life.
Make a budget, learn what business skills you can (accountants are often good to talk to) and just go for it. It's not going to always be fun and you'll have to learn and develop but without that first shitty year like mine, it'll be that much harder to move forward.
Good luck.
Thank you so much, I'll definitely take all this into account as I try and move forward. I'll do my best!
Some personal thoughts and tips if you want them from a fellow self-employed crafter:
Making for a living is an absolute grind. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You have to wear so many hats - financial, creative, marketing, customer service - but if you work hard and enjoy the process enough that you don't miss a few luxuries (like free time? What is that) then absolutely go for it. It doesn't seem like you have a lot to lose from where you are now anyway! If you decide it's not the life for you, then start looking for more standard work.
Fursuits are tough to make a living from, they often take longer than what they pay and if you're starting out, it can be difficult to live payment to payment. Try making some smaller items to fill in the gaps. Pattern standard items like tails and paws then open an online store selling pre-made items.
Spend time building your brand! Show people what you're working on. Build interest in your work as well as the end product. Market the shit out of your shop, your social media accounts. Update everything at least twice a week so your accounts don't stagnate. Get in people's faces!
Learn your craft. Practice, make ten noses in a row, make fifty. Make eyes that look feminine, then some that are masculine. Use references. Learn new things, experiment!
Customer service is key but make sure you have clear guidelines to fall back on. If you're too nice, people will take advantage. Firm but fair, business face and business head.
Communicate with your commissioners, but don't let email (or social media) become your life!
Find jobs you can do on your night off. Watch TV while cutting out fur parts, or do some handsewing. Learn to leave your 'lazy' tasks for those times you just CBF. Use your time wisely and group tasks if you can instead of switching from fur to glue to foam and back again. It makes a mess and wastes time in between.
Learn how to use digital marketing tools and social media targeting to reach your peeps. Take a small business management course online or at least learn how to manage your finances. Don't avoid your taxes!
Believe you can make it work, keep your chin up and your head down through the shitty times. Work your butt off and be proud of what you do. You have mad skills and seem to genuinely want to make a go of it.
So go!
Make!
Be awesome!
I believe in youuuuuuuu!
I've gotten so much support and so many kind words from others who are in the same boat and I think I'm ready to take the plunge and fully commit to this- with or without my parents' approval.
Aussie aussie aussie <3 I will absolutely note you if I need help again, thank you~!
1) you are the controller of your own life. Only you can comment on your progress. Trust me! I felt pushed into uni to please my parents, I became very sick and hated myself when I graduated and didn't get a high paying job - instead of seeing it as a reality of the job market, I saw it as a reflection of myself and that I'd disappointed my parents.
2) Spend time finding yourself in your work, your distinct art style or suit style (super cute btw) and build your brand ^_^ it looks and feels more like you're running a business then! (I'd be more than happy to help, as I'm currently working on this step myself).
3) Appreciate where you are and what you can do, sure we can always do better but we always learn. Read things like this: https://twitter.com/graylish/status.....31526231408640
4) Take time for yourself, even if it's only for a long hot bath or a short walk once a week, somewhere where you can take a deep breath and think "hey I'm doing well and improving!"
Be you, be happy and positive and if you ever want an outside person to kick you up the butt to keep going, or just to vent at, drop me a note - croc's got your back ^^
I will definitely keep you in mind if I need to chat ^^
Even the most successful fursuit makers aren't living well in the overall scheme of things, they can support themselves on it but they can only do so in an area where cost of living is low, Most of them are also not living alone but with a significant other, or family member or friend to help support them. In this sense they fursuit as a business is hard as there is a lot of skill involved but not a high pay out.
I am an older fur and also think you should keep fursuit building as a hobby, or as a part time job with another source of income.
About jobs, jobs these days are not about experience (unless you have tons) if you don't like most people, then getting a job is about networking. Its who you know not what you know is very true. Business want reliable non dramatic people and they prefer a person they know or is recommended to them than someone they don't know anything about. If you don't know what to "do" in uni you should think on a more broad scale of what you want to do when you get out of uni and there are two ways to look at this. Some people will tell you to "do something you love" this can be done (like fursuit building, any type of design, any art) but it will always be a challenge it will away be a struggle and it will extremely rarely make significant amounts of money compared to a business career. The other way to think of how to approach a job field is what can I do that I think i'd be good at, might not enjoy but will make a good amount of money so I can thoroughly enjoy the time i'm not at work.
If you go back to Uni and you aren't interested in a STEM(Science, technology, engineering and math) field then I highly recommend a generic degree like "business" or "accounting" which will set you up for a large range of jobs going out of Uni. I also want to highly stress if you do go back to Uni the most important part of Uni or College is networking its not the classes or the grades in the end the degree and the networking is whats going to get you a job. Go to all the optional seminars, join your major's club, go to meet and greets, and do internships every year you can. Those are the things that will get you the job going out of Uni and thats really the end goal.
If you don't want to go back to Uni but want a decent job go to temp agencies. Many corporate offices do temps to hire, and its a good way to get your foot in the door. Office jobs (and they aren't all call centers or data entry) are generally better paying than retail jobs and have more upward movement.
You can also try to network within the people you already know if your family works for a company maybe you get in at a entry level job and work your way up.
I learned a lot of this the hardway, I got a design degree that I don't use because the industry was so cutthroat on entry level positions. there where more graduates with degrees than there were new jobs, I didn't network in college couldn't find a job for over a year, ended up stuck in a retail job for a few years struggling to support myself. I years later got an office job being refereed by a friend of mine and its been the best thing that's happened to me, is it an inserting job? No its boring but its good money which has aloud me to get a house, a dog, a cat, many nice things and enough income to pay for my own health problems, purchase fursuits etc.
If you do go the way of fursuit building as a career then just know there are a lot of things to consider, paying your own taxes, affording your own healthcare (This is extremely expensive for small businesses in USA). And even if you manage to price your fursuits high enough with a demand that will support that price you probably wont be able to support yourself living alone, which means you will be dependent on some sort of other income share for living space weather thats a roommate, a significant other or a family member. To my knowledge there aren't any fursuit builders who live and support themselves solely off there business without any outside help. That being said I think its a wonderful side source of income if you really enjoy doing it. There is no reason you have to kill the dream of doing it on the side while pursing a more lucrative career choice.
Sorry if this is close to your parents opinion but as someone who has struggled through there 20s I like to see more people succeed where I did not. Best of luck in what ever you end up doing!
Australia is different to america in that cost of living might be a little higher but healthcare is free if not 90% free unless your procedures/medicine is cosmetic or etc.
It's good to hear from someone who does think along the same lines as my parents- because it helps me understand my parents more, the realities of trying to peruse this, and just helps me overall get a better picture of what my future could look like.
If I did go back and do any sort of course, it would definitely be something to do with business/small business management. I absolutely cannot see myself doing any STEM subjects or the like.
I've never really seen any 'temp' agencies around here.. I'm not sure if they're under a different name but they seem like a good thing to go for. There is probably a lot of competition though- which is my main problem with entry level positions. There's usually someone with a better resume and unfortunately I don't know anyone to get me in. Not even my parents really know anyone who could get me a job.
Taxes, bills and all that scare me but they are things I need to accept, understand, and get on top of if I truly want to make this happen. I can't rely on others my whole life, even if I know they've offered to support me.
Thank you so much again, while the negatives scare me I need to be aware of them!