OndineDraws
New Member
I feel like adding my two cents to this, just because I've been having such a struggle with earning any commissions at all no matter what price I put on it or how professional I can be about it. The ONLY sucess I have had with commissions in the last couple months was when I started selling more cartoony art for a cheaper price.
I'll tell you I fully believe it was too cheap. I have advocated for the advice given in this post for a long time. I really believe if every artist who sells commissions stuck to a standard THE MARKET WOULDNT BE THIS WAY. But you just can't control this many people and what they do so you have to play the game.
There are actually two games.
1st one people go to, is shout into the wind (any available forum and social media)...
If you're shouting in the right direction, you'll find a lot of people who want to buy art. If you are someone who wants to buy art, it is ever so easy for you to get. the market is saturated to the gills in cheap commissions and emergency funds, for every buyer there has to be like 20 artists at least.... There are a few who want to buy art ethically, but they are few and far between.
2nd is building your follower base and gaining popularity through social media. This TAKES A LONG TIME. really long time. a degradingly emotionally breaking long time. Even with a couple thousand followers, if you aren't targeting -people who buy art- you won't sell to your followers either. tip, don't interact with a lot of other artists, only people who are art enthusiasts. Otherwise, you will end up with a lot of people who only want inspiration from you and are definitely not thinking about buying from you.
So, I will say that playing the shout into the wind game will get you some results quick but not enough to live on. I got a handful of commissioners when I lowered my prices unfortunately, they left as soon as they came and I still don't know why more haven't come tbh. The streak had me thinking, yes I'm drawing all day but have been doing it anyway for months on end so I'm ok with it, and with how fast the turnover was I *could* make rent. But then they stopped as soon as I raised the price even a couple dollars.
I dunno... Just want to scream. Tbh forums like this actually offer better wages than places like Upwork or Fiver. Basically, if you're a freelancer for anything (not just art) It is apparently totally ok to be paid under minimum wage. I believe the system was designed this way for a reason, and it's all for repressing personal freedom. It's kind of a shit show....
I Mean if you find something that works, GO WITH IT. There are actually no rules or standards out here in the freelancer world, so good luck kid.
Artists I know who are able to make a living go to cons and sell their art in person, they are also great places to network and build a following that might actually want to buy commissions from you. You need to have a job to start in this because it's a lot of money to drop, but it can turn into something that can support you with time.
I'll tell you I fully believe it was too cheap. I have advocated for the advice given in this post for a long time. I really believe if every artist who sells commissions stuck to a standard THE MARKET WOULDNT BE THIS WAY. But you just can't control this many people and what they do so you have to play the game.
There are actually two games.
1st one people go to, is shout into the wind (any available forum and social media)...
If you're shouting in the right direction, you'll find a lot of people who want to buy art. If you are someone who wants to buy art, it is ever so easy for you to get. the market is saturated to the gills in cheap commissions and emergency funds, for every buyer there has to be like 20 artists at least.... There are a few who want to buy art ethically, but they are few and far between.
2nd is building your follower base and gaining popularity through social media. This TAKES A LONG TIME. really long time. a degradingly emotionally breaking long time. Even with a couple thousand followers, if you aren't targeting -people who buy art- you won't sell to your followers either. tip, don't interact with a lot of other artists, only people who are art enthusiasts. Otherwise, you will end up with a lot of people who only want inspiration from you and are definitely not thinking about buying from you.
So, I will say that playing the shout into the wind game will get you some results quick but not enough to live on. I got a handful of commissioners when I lowered my prices unfortunately, they left as soon as they came and I still don't know why more haven't come tbh. The streak had me thinking, yes I'm drawing all day but have been doing it anyway for months on end so I'm ok with it, and with how fast the turnover was I *could* make rent. But then they stopped as soon as I raised the price even a couple dollars.
I dunno... Just want to scream. Tbh forums like this actually offer better wages than places like Upwork or Fiver. Basically, if you're a freelancer for anything (not just art) It is apparently totally ok to be paid under minimum wage. I believe the system was designed this way for a reason, and it's all for repressing personal freedom. It's kind of a shit show....
I Mean if you find something that works, GO WITH IT. There are actually no rules or standards out here in the freelancer world, so good luck kid.
Artists I know who are able to make a living go to cons and sell their art in person, they are also great places to network and build a following that might actually want to buy commissions from you. You need to have a job to start in this because it's a lot of money to drop, but it can turn into something that can support you with time.
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