Answering Art Business Questions

[SLCMedia]

Hey there!

I'm Timeenforceranubis (Userpage of Timeenforceranubis -- Fur Affinity [dot] net).

I run She's Lost Control Media (Userpage of SLCMedia -- Fur Affinity [dot] net), which is a small business planning consultancy for fandom artists.

What that means is I help artists in fandom spaces plan and manage the business part of what they do better so they can focus more on their art, have a better time with it, and make more money in the long run.

I'm kind of a business nerd and I love answering business questions (Part of why I started my company), so here's the deal: Ask me any questions you have about the business of art! I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability.

A note about pricing questions, since I might as well get out in front of this:
Feel free to ask me what you should be charging, but bear in mind that pricing is a complex problem and that simply telling you what to charge won't likely solve whatever underlying problems might be behind your pricing.

My company offers one-on-one consulting for artists who are serious about getting their prices exactly where they should be. I won't upsell you on that here, but that service is available for those who want it and details can be found on SLC Media's FA page.

 

[SLCMedia]

Here's one quick general suggestion, since I've seen some people wondering how to get more commissions:

Buy ad space on FA.

The small 300 x 90 ads you see at the top-right of the site are $25/month at their most expensive. Then from there, set the price of your cheapest reasonable service/product at at least $25. That way, not only will you have new eyes seeing your art daily (And we're talking close to 100 new people daily. I can post the numbers if people want), the ad will pay for itself if it lands you just one extra client that month.

 

[Katriel]

For a traditional artist, what is a good approach to get higher-quality digital files for prints (or clients) in an affordable manner?

Getting it done by another professional costs a fair amount per picture (perhaps more than the picture!); scanners tend to eat certain colors.

While I've been tempted by digital camera setups, my phone camera is rather good quality for the size of paintings I work on. What kind of setup would help me best leverage it (given I lack natural sunlight, generally)? Is GIMP a sufficient tool to repair photo distortion?

 

[SLCMedia]

For a traditional artist, what is a good approach to get higher-quality digital files for prints (or clients) in an affordable manner?

Getting it done by another professional costs a fair amount per picture (perhaps more than the picture!); scanners tend to eat certain colors.

While I've been tempted by digital camera setups, my phone camera is rather good quality for the size of paintings I work on. What kind of setup would help me best leverage it (given I lack natural sunlight, generally)? Is GIMP a sufficient tool to repair photo distortion?

I know for general purpose image manipulation, I only ever used GIMP when I didn't have a better alternative. As soon as I got access to Photoshop, I never used GIMP again, which isn't to say that GIMP can't do what you need it to do, but that, in my personal experience, Photoshop is the superior tool if you have access to it.

For a digital camera setup, naturally, you want a tripod and you want either a remote or to be able to put your camera on a timer. Also, look for what're called "natural spectrum" or "full spectrum" light bulbs. They approximate sunlight for more natural colors. And then translucent material to put over your lamps and act as a diffuser. Though generally I'd recommend scanning if you're able.

As far as high-quality scans go, I asked an artist friend of mine how he handles it. He'll scan a piece in parts and then reconstruct the complete piece in Photoshop, using a soft brush to smooth out whatever distortion that causes.

 

[DragonAtaxia]

While I've been tempted by digital camera setups, my phone camera is rather good quality for the size of paintings I work on. What kind of setup would help me best leverage it (given I lack natural sunlight, generally)? Is GIMP a sufficient tool to repair photo distortion?

You may also try Polarr online photoeditor or something like that. It is rather simple and doesn't require installation, maybe it will help (especially with wrong colors).

Ask me any questions you have about the business of art!

Hello! I have some! And very much interested in your point of view.
1) I'm working here on FA as an artist for about 4 years, but I never bought ads. The reasons are: "oh, I need that $25 right now", "not today", "I'm too la.. busy for making a gif", "I haven't done my previous commissions yet" and others. The thing is I even dunno what should I focus on while making an ad, which pics and phrases use etc. Or just "Hey there, I do some art!" would be okay too?
2) Slow artists/long queue - to be or not to be? How long is reasonable for making a regular commission?

 

[SLCMedia]

Hello! I have some! And very much interested in your point of view.
1) I'm working here on FA as an artist for about 4 years, but I never bought ads. The reasons are: "oh, I need that $25 right now", "not today", "I'm too la.. busy for making a gif", "I haven't done my previous commissions yet" and others. The thing is I even dunno what should I focus on while making an ad, which pics and phrases use etc. Or just "Hey there, I do some art!" would be okay too?
2) Slow artists/long queue - to be or not to be? How long is reasonable for making a regular commission?

1) Play to your strengths. Your artwork will speak for itself, provided you're choosing your best work. Then you're gonna want to mention that you do commissions, NSFW work, and any other services you offer. It doesn't necessarily have to be super elaborate, but it certainly helps if it stands out from other ads and grabs people's attention. Make a note of what catches your eye and makes you stare at an ad for a little bit longer than you otherwise would've, and then see how you can incorporate those elements into your ad.

2) I don't see anything wrong with a slow turnaround time or a long queue as long as it's made very clear to a client how long their commission can be expected to take. I can, however, forsee a long queue becoming an issue that severely limits the number of clients you're able to take on in a given stretch of time, which ultimately limits how much money you're able to make. You could potentially make up for that by raising your prices, but at the same time fewer potential clients are gonna be willing to pay more for artwork that takes longer.

Personally, I think two months is a pretty reasonable wait between when the deal is made and when the piece is delivered, but every artist is different, and if I want a particular artist's work, I'd be willing to work with whatever their estimate is for how long the piece will take (Provided they make it clear how long that'll be right off the bat).

 

[MikeTheBrownFox]

Question!
I have commissions open but I have been having frustrations to get even one to sell anything, despite my many efforts. What am I doing wrong and how do I really market my commissions? If all else fails, should I reduce my prices until I finally find one commissioner?

Some things to note: I only have $5 USD on my PayPal so I can't afford to buy FA advertisements, I'm on multiple websites besides FA, and I have a Ko-fi page set up and I have still yet to receive one donation.

 

[SLCMedia]

Question!
I have commissions open but I have been having frustrations to get even one to sell anything, despite my many efforts. What am I doing wrong and how do I really market my commissions? If all else fails, should I reduce my prices until I finally find one commissioner?

Some things to note: I only have $5 USD on my PayPal so I can't afford to buy FA advertisements, I'm on multiple websites besides FA, and I have a Ko-fi page set up and I have still yet to receive one donation.

The painful, frustrating answer is that non-paid marketing is mostly both a grind and a slow burn and you have to get creative in order to stand out. The good news is you have an audience, particularly on Twitter. What you might start trying to do is focus on where you can get the most engagement. See where people are responding most often to your art and focus on those platforms. Then see where you're getting the least responses and ease up on those platforms, at least until you're better established.

For example, if you've got, say, 500 Twitter followers, 150 DA watchers, 100 Instagram followers, and 50 FA watchers, you might actually focus more on Twitter and DA, where you can devote more time and energy to really engaging on those platforms and building a reputation there, while letting Instagram and FA become more secondary. Meanwhile, you also want to play around with some other platforms, perhaps with smaller, more concentrated audiences, so you potentially grow yourself a more dedicated audience.

What's very important to point out, however, is that there's no scenario in which this doesn't take a lot of time and effort.

If you know you're going to be okay financially doing it, then reducing your prices for a bit just to get some cashflow going might be a good strategy, but it's important to set yourself up for success beforehand, because if the problem isn't your prices, you end up still not getting any clients because reducing your prices didn't attack the core problem, which lies more in the advertising, marketing, and networking aspect. Naturally, continue improving your art, and as your art improves, it'll appeal to more people. Look for small content creators in other sectors (Youtube, Twitch, etc.) that need art for their personal brand and offer to draw for them. Preferably for pay, but if they have a decent-sized audience that's engaged with their content and if they agree to credit you directly, it could work in your favor.

Oh, and a little positivity goes a long way, and negativity, especially about your business's performance and especially publicly where your audience can see it, is like a big step backward for both your own motivation and your potential clientele's perception of you as an artist and a businessperson.

 

[Glossolalia]

Thank you for doing this!

I'm planning on opening up commissions soon, and I'm going to start simple- flat colour chibis and headshots only. This is my first time selling my art in any manner, so I don't even know where to start asking questions. Could you look over my TOS and let me know if there's anything I should change or add?

Flat colour chibis and headshots, hand inked and digitally coloured: $7

Payment accepted through PayPal only. On completion of drawing I will send you a thumbnail image. I will send you the full-sized image once payment is received.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, you can expect your drawing to be completed between 1 and 7 days.

Redraws and refunds are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Chibis and headshots are $7 each except in cases of exceptional detail (unusually elaborate hairstyles/markings/accessories, etc.) I will give you a new quote beforehand if a design element will affect the price.

No shading or gradients. If your design includes a gradient, I will adapt it into separate segments of flat colour.

My chibi designs are simplified, stylized versions of characters. While I take their body type into consideration, the proportions will be very different from a regular semi-realistic drawing. Markings may also be simplified in the chibification process. Please let me know if there are any design aspects that absolutely must remain unchanged, and I will let you know if this will affect the price.

A semi-realistic reference is ideal, but I can work off of any image of your character. A rough ms paint doodle + description is preferable to a written description alone.

 

[LaughingFox]

Question: And I apologize up front this maybe more legal than business. I’d like to offer to put an image of someone’s sona in resin as a pendant, keychain, what have you. I can’t draw so it would be from a copy of an existing image. However I absolutely DO NOT want to step on any artists with this! When someone does a commission are they giving the buyer permission to use it as they like? Also what are some of the ethics here? Like I said I don’t want to screw over artists. I made a couple for a friend for free and they turned out well. Just wondering what the logistics of offering this as a service is. TIA.

 

[OmgACorgi]

Hi, I'm an artist with some experience doing commissions, so far I have comments on point, I'd like to know what strategies you recommend to advertise art, the ad is a good suggestion, but what else you'd recommend? I don't mind stuff that takes some time, since I have understood that commissions usually take time to be a viable source of income.

 

[SLCMedia]

Thank you for doing this!

I'm planning on opening up commissions soon, and I'm going to start simple- flat colour chibis and headshots only. This is my first time selling my art in any manner, so I don't even know where to start asking questions. Could you look over my TOS and let me know if there's anything I should change or add?

Flat colour chibis and headshots, hand inked and digitally coloured: $7

Payment accepted through PayPal only. On completion of drawing I will send you a thumbnail image. I will send you the full-sized image once payment is received.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, you can expect your drawing to be completed between 1 and 7 days.

Redraws and refunds are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Chibis and headshots are $7 each except in cases of exceptional detail (unusually elaborate hairstyles/markings/accessories, etc.) I will give you a new quote beforehand if a design element will affect the price.

No shading or gradients. If your design includes a gradient, I will adapt it into separate segments of flat colour.

My chibi designs are simplified, stylized versions of characters. While I take their body type into consideration, the proportions will be very different from a regular semi-realistic drawing. Markings may also be simplified in the chibification process. Please let me know if there are any design aspects that absolutely must remain unchanged, and I will let you know if this will affect the price.

A semi-realistic reference is ideal, but I can work off of any image of your character. A rough ms paint doodle + description is preferable to a written description alone.

You covered pretty much everything, I'd say. You might add a clause about what rights both you and your client have with regard to how artwork you draw for them is used, but other than that, I'd say you're good.

--------

Question: And I apologize up front this maybe more legal than business. I’d like to offer to put an image of someone’s sona in resin as a pendant, keychain, what have you. I can’t draw so it would be from a copy of an existing image. However I absolutely DO NOT want to step on any artists with this! When someone does a commission are they giving the buyer permission to use it as they like? Also what are some of the ethics here? Like I said I don’t want to screw over artists. I made a couple for a friend for free and they turned out well. Just wondering what the logistics of offering this as a service is. TIA.

It depends on the artist. Some artists do, some don't, and some charge extra for use of a commission piece that way. That's why I mentioned to Glossolalia just now that they might want to specify their rights and their client's rights, since otherwise it's unclear.

Ethically speaking, it could go either way. Specifically going against an artist's wishes, if they choose to specify rights in that way for their commission work, is more ethically black-and-white as a bad call. Using commission art that way when rights are unspecified is more morally-grey, but I'd say it's generally safe to assume that regular commissions are meant to be used for personal (I.E. non-commercial) use only.

--------

Hi, I'm an artist with some experience doing commissions, so far I have comments on point, I'd like to know what strategies you recommend to advertise art, the ad is a good suggestion, but what else you'd recommend? I don't mind stuff that takes some time, since I have understood that commissions usually take time to be a viable source of income.

One thing I'd recommend doing is partnering with a content creator in a space you're passionate about and making art for their personal brand in exchange for them advertising your art services. Be careful, though, that you don't get taken advantage of doing that.

Also recommended is to pay very close to art trends on social media and jump on as many of those as possible as they're ongoing, as more people will see your art and your art style and potentially become followers off of that.

 

[Dezigre]

So do you help with commission prices after all or all the possible fields? Let me also ask!
My question may sound as a very complex one to answer but i will appreciate any answer anyway! Thanks so much in advance!
Ever since i started doing art in 2015 i knew for sure this was just a hobby. I never drew traditional (at least well enough to be proud) and even now i dont do traditional art at all. But i was proud with each and every of my digital artwork and i have been using the same tablet every day, even now. I improved a lot during those 4 years even though i never attended art school or any art lesson at all. I have always been completely self-taught
www.furaffinity.net: [Personal] Because He Differs by Dezigre
The beginning of this year came very exciting and difficult to me - i had to realize that would love to have an art career but i knew absolutely nothing. Thats when i asked my great watchers what are those art careers, what can i possibly do? I loved 3D animation from what i heard but i can not study it myself and i have no money to. Found concept art as a great opportunity and i am impoving for it still. I was searching for job offering in companies like Weta digital, Pixomondo or DreamWorks just to know what can i possibly do but i still feel like i havent found.
I endlessly love designing magical animal creatures, plan their individual moves in animation and everything related to animals. But the only study i can ever afford is my own or online lessons that are pretty cheap. Where sould i go from now, what sould i do? Is there a full list of all art jobs somewhere?
Thank you!

 

[Glossolalia]

Not sure if you're still checking this thread, but just in case-

What's the best way to go about transitioning into doing NSFW art? I started building my portfolio not too long ago, and I went in with the idea that I'd only do SFW art to start with, and then maybe start offering examples of NSFW commissions when my skills improved and I decided whether or not I was comfortable with it. But I've started to wonder if that might be harder than it sounds- the tone of my work is moving toward a pretty cutesy, wholesome feel. If I build a following off of this kind of work, will people feel alienated if one day I start adding NSFW art as well? Would it be better to start adding it now, while I'm still finding my demographic? I realize there's also the option of creating a separate account, but that feels like starting over- plus I'd like to have one cohesive identity within the fandom, if possible.
Thanks!

 

[SLCMedia]

So do you help with commission prices after all or all the possible fields? Let me also ask!
My question may sound as a very complex one to answer but i will appreciate any answer anyway! Thanks so much in advance!
Ever since i started doing art in 2015 i knew for sure this was just a hobby. I never drew traditional (at least well enough to be proud) and even now i dont do traditional art at all. But i was proud with each and every of my digital artwork and i have been using the same tablet every day, even now. I improved a lot during those 4 years even though i never attended art school or any art lesson at all. I have always been completely self-taught
www.furaffinity.net: [Personal] Because He Differs by Dezigre
The beginning of this year came very exciting and difficult to me - i had to realize that would love to have an art career but i knew absolutely nothing. Thats when i asked my great watchers what are those art careers, what can i possibly do? I loved 3D animation from what i heard but i can not study it myself and i have no money to. Found concept art as a great opportunity and i am impoving for it still. I was searching for job offering in companies like Weta digital, Pixomondo or DreamWorks just to know what can i possibly do but i still feel like i havent found.
I endlessly love designing magical animal creatures, plan their individual moves in animation and everything related to animals. But the only study i can ever afford is my own or online lessons that are pretty cheap. Where sould i go from now, what sould i do? Is there a full list of all art jobs somewhere?
Thank you!

We do help with commission prices, but figuring out what to charge is a much more complex issue than just asking what your prices should be. Properly figuring out prices involves figuring out expenses, workflow, product selection, and other factors that differ widely from artist to artist, which is why that's a service we charge for.

If I were in your shoes, I'd look to get on-board with indie game studios or other similar smaller operations. Larger companies are more likely to require a degree, regardless of actual skill. If you're able to get work experience for small companies, you can build a portfolio of professional work and have more leverage when you're ready to look into working for larger companies.

Not sure if you're still checking this thread, but just in case-

What's the best way to go about transitioning into doing NSFW art? I started building my portfolio not too long ago, and I went in with the idea that I'd only do SFW art to start with, and then maybe start offering examples of NSFW commissions when my skills improved and I decided whether or not I was comfortable with it. But I've started to wonder if that might be harder than it sounds- the tone of my work is moving toward a pretty cutesy, wholesome feel. If I build a following off of this kind of work, will people feel alienated if one day I start adding NSFW art as well? Would it be better to start adding it now, while I'm still finding my demographic? I realize there's also the option of creating a separate account, but that feels like starting over- plus I'd like to have one cohesive identity within the fandom, if possible.
Thanks!

How you handle the transition depends on how much you think your existing audience will be put-off by seeing NSFW content in their new submissions feed, and even then, the ones who really don't want to see NSFW content probably have it filtered anyway, so I don't think you have much to worry about. Also, I've seen plenty of cutesy artists who do NSFW work, so that's not a big deal, in my opinion. I will say, however, that it's better to do it sooner rather than later, so the following you do cultivate will be a following of people who like both your SFW and NSFW art. As far as the transition itself, I'd post a journal entry letting your followers know that you plan on dipping into NSFW content, just to gauge the reaction of your existing followers. After that, it's just a matter of posting the art whenever you're ready to.

 

[Glossolalia]

How you handle the transition depends on how much you think your existing audience will be put-off by seeing NSFW content in their new submissions feed, and even then, the ones who really don't want to see NSFW content probably have it filtered anyway, so I don't think you have much to worry about. Also, I've seen plenty of cutesy artists who do NSFW work, so that's not a big deal, in my opinion. I will say, however, that it's better to do it sooner rather than later, so the following you do cultivate will be a following of people who like both your SFW and NSFW art. As far as the transition itself, I'd post a journal entry letting your followers know that you plan on dipping into NSFW content, just to gauge the reaction of your existing followers. After that, it's just a matter of posting the art whenever you're ready to.

That's helpful and reassuring, thanks for the advice!

 

[SLCMedia]

Jumping this back up with another general suggestion:

I've mentioned PayPal invoices on the forum before, but I recently found out about invoice-generator.com, which lets anyone create an invoice that customers can pay easily.

The reason I suggest artists doing business use invoices (Rather than, for example, having their customer input their email into paypal, etc.) is because it takes all of the burden off of the customer and makes things much clearer and easier to work through. Part of what you want to be doing, especially in the payment process, is making it so the customer has to make fewer actions and decisions to complete the transaction.

 

[PercyD]

Jumping this back up with another general suggestion:

I've mentioned PayPal invoices on the forum before, but I recently found out about invoice-generator.com, which lets anyone create an invoice that customers can pay easily.

The reason I suggest artists doing business use invoices (Rather than, for example, having their customer input their email into paypal, etc.) is because it takes all of the burden off of the customer and makes things much clearer and easier to work through. Part of what you want to be doing, especially in the payment process, is making it so the customer has to make fewer actions and decisions to complete the transaction.

I just was creating a few invoices with like, word. If only I had seen this yesterday!

 

[Brush Strokes]

It was recommended to me to come here and ask a question regarding how to gain followers. I've only skimmed a few messages posted here, so I'm not sure if this question has already been answered. However, perhaps my situation is unique in some way. I have a decent following on DA (800+) and I attribute that to being able to post my work in groups that have similar themes. But I'm having trouble everywhere else. Twitter, Instagram, and Newgrounds are all well below that number as none have broken out of double digits. My question is why. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I've looked at good times to post, but might not be using the right tags. With how fast things seem to go, I feel like whatever I post is only up for maybe 10 minutes before it's pushed out of the "new posts" on whatever medium I use. I question the quality of my work as a possible reason for low views and followers, but maybe that's not the case? I'd like to expand, but my efforts to do so have been very slow. Perhaps there's something I missed. Any help would be appreciate it.

Just in case my work is the problem, here's a link to my FA page

Userpage of Raffles18 -- Fur Affinity [dot] net

 

[PercyD]

It was recommended to me to come here and ask a question regarding how to gain followers. I've only skimmed a few messages posted here, so I'm not sure if this question has already been answered. However, perhaps my situation is unique in some way. I have a decent following on DA (800+) and I attribute that to being able to post my work in groups that have similar themes. But I'm having trouble everywhere else. Twitter, Instagram, and Newgrounds are all well below that number as none have broken out of double digits. My question is why. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I've looked at good times to post, but might not be using the right tags. With how fast things seem to go, I feel like whatever I post is only up for maybe 10 minutes before it's pushed out of the "new posts" on whatever medium I use. I question the quality of my work as a possible reason for low views and followers, but maybe that's not the case? I'd like to expand, but my efforts to do so have been very slow. Perhaps there's something I missed. Any help would be appreciate it.

Just in case my work is the problem, here's a link to my FA page

Userpage of Raffles18 -- Fur Affinity [dot] net

Question before I answer-
What sort of goals are you looking for? And why? Starting with why you want to reach a goal usually can unearth how you should go about a thing.

 

[Brush Strokes]

Question before I answer-
What sort of goals are you looking for? And why? Starting with why you want to reach a goal usually can unearth how you should go about a thing.

I'd say my ultimate goal is to have my art sustain me financially. I've been pursuing this goal from two sides. I do a bit of freelance graphic work. Company logos, tattoos, T-shirt designs, animations, etc. The work isn't always steady so I work part time at a local store to help pay bills. I've looked at other strategies for freelancers and even things like Patreon. For that however, it was suggested that I reach a core following of at least 1000 followers. By doing that I'd have a steady means of having people share my work around. I don't know if that number is still valid though as it's something I learned maybe 2 years ago. It could be higher, lower, or not even matter. So I guess my first goal would be to reach a following large enough to justify creating a Patreon or Ko-fi account. But I also have been trying to find a job actually in art like a graphic or character designer. I've been going through the proper channels for that already using sites like Linked-in and making business cards. However, rarely do the two subjects of art I draw ever really meet. I have a dedicated portfolio site where the art is less about fanart and more design and illustration. A few pics that are on my DA and FA pages can be found there just from a design point of view, but largely logos, splash art, and designs are found there.

So yeah, trying to make my art a primary source of income. I've seen so many others do it that I can't help but follow this passion. I've had just enough success with freelance to keep me inspired, but inspiration doesn't feed me so balance of art and anything else is always in flux. I want to tip the scales in favor of art even if I'm working on two platforms to do it. Working with a production team to make a comic or artpack to sell, get enough followers for a Patreon, get hired by a design company, whatever it takes.

 

[PercyD]

I'd say my ultimate goal is to have my art sustain me financially. I've been pursuing this goal from two sides. I do a bit of freelance graphic work. Company logos, tattoos, T-shirt designs, animations, etc. The work isn't always steady so I work part time at a local store to help pay bills. I've looked at other strategies for freelancers and even things like Patreon. For that however, it was suggested that I reach a core following of at least 1000 followers. By doing that I'd have a steady means of having people share my work around. I don't know if that number is still valid though as it's something I learned maybe 2 years ago. It could be higher, lower, or not even matter. So I guess my first goal would be to reach a following large enough to justify creating a Patreon or Ko-fi account. But I also have been trying to find a job actually in art like a graphic or character designer. I've been going through the proper channels for that already using sites like Linked-in and making business cards. However, rarely do the two subjects of art I draw ever really meet. I have a dedicated portfolio site where the art is less about fanart and more design and illustration. A few pics that are on my DA and FA pages can be found there just from a design point of view, but largely logos, splash art, and designs are found there.

So yeah, trying to make my art a primary source of income. I've seen so many others do it that I can't help but follow this passion. I've had just enough success with freelance to keep me inspired, but inspiration doesn't feed me so balance of art and anything else is always in flux. I want to tip the scales in favor of art even if I'm working on two platforms to do it. Working with a production team to make a comic or artpack to sell, get enough followers for a Patreon, get hired by a design company, whatever it takes.

I would say that making art your primary source of income has nothing to do with your follower count. To do that you would have to:

1. Find high paying clients that want to support you
2. Build relationships in the community to get those high paying clients

So I guess the next question I'd ask is how many regular paying clients do you have?

 

[Brush Strokes]

I would say that making art your primary source of income has nothing to do with your follower count. To do that you would have to:

1. Find high paying clients that want to support you
2. Build relationships in the community to get those high paying clients

So I guess the next question I'd ask is how many regular paying clients do you have?

As of right now I'd say maybe 3. There are a few familiar faces that consistently pop up during my auctions, but that's about it. I kind of already assumed that finding high paying clients was a must, but other than simply posting my work, I'm not sure how to find or build any sort of relationship. I've messaged other artists in the past wondering what was the secret to their success and usually I just get back a version of "I just post stuff" So I figured my stuff wasn't good enough or I'm just very unlucky.

 

[Pomorek]

Any suggestions, how to leverage having an unusual style/approach to art? I'm using 3D graphics to achieve rather realistic looks. It's something that very few other artists do - but it also doesn't have a lot of popularity. In fact I'm under an impression that most people's preferred & sought-after style is much more cartoony than what I'm making (link to gallery can be found in my profile).

Now, I realize that best thing to do would probably be a "test drive" with attempting to offer commissions, the YCH kind being the most manageable for starters. But so far I haven't been in a position to do so. And here in this uniquely business-focused tread, I'm simply curious about your perspective.

 

[PercyD]

As of right now I'd say maybe 3. There are a few familiar faces that consistently pop up during my auctions, but that's about it. I kind of already assumed that finding high paying clients was a must, but other than simply posting my work, I'm not sure how to find or build any sort of relationship. I've messaged other artists in the past wondering what was the secret to their success and usually I just get back a version of "I just post stuff" So I figured my stuff wasn't good enough or I'm just very unlucky.

No, it's relationship building. I reach back out to past commissioners to check on them, see how they are doing. The forums are a great place to check in on non-artists.

You can also follow your potential commissioners and comment on their stuff. Just be a good bro. c: