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Merry Christmas Jingle Bells Candy canes!

So, I submitted this article a couple of months ago to an article publishing website, and well, it didn't make it in. So, I figured I may as well post it on here for you all to enjoy instead! So, enjoy!
---
There are many artists out there who have never opened commissions. They want some extra spending money but they wonder “how do I start? How can I succeed?”. Some may be too afraid to open commissions because they believe that their art will not be good enough to draw in customers or that they won’t earn enough money to pay for what they are needing. These 10 tips should answer any questions you may have about moving to a more professional art world and give you a better chance at succeeding at what you do best. Also, I added some things about points so it isn't just about $$

1.Start small
Keep your prices small at first. Think of an amount that you’d be happy with getting but also that your customers will be fine paying. Think about how long it takes you to do each type of drawing. If a sketch takes you a few minutes, charge a dollar or two. If a painting takes several hours, charge over ten or even twenty. Don’t go too big with prices. Wait until your demand goes up to do that. Not many people would want to pay $20 for a sketch just starting out, so start off smaller than that. But remember not to make them too low either, because that isn’t fair to you. And, if you are planning on sending people your art via mail, charge extra. That way, you can make some profit. As with points, think about this: $1= 100 . Would you be happy getting 20 cents for a sketch in real life? If not, up it up to maybe 50 or more. Remember, start small, but keep it an amount you're happy with and that your customers are happy with too.

     2. Look at your quality
Look at the artwork you have made so far over the years or months. Is this professional looking? Is it neat? If not, do I have a way of making it neat? Do I have a scanner? Are my proportions accurate? Is this something that people would want? These are great questions to ask yourself before putting your art up for sale. If your art isn’t clean, neat and accurate, customers will get drawn away and will probably seek someone else to do the work instead. Look up tutorials about how the pros do what they do so that you yourself can know what a clean art piece will look like. If you said no to any of the above questions, start small, as said in #1. Then, as your work improves, gradually increase prices.

     3. Tools
Tools are very important as well and they vary depending on if you are a traditional or a digital artist. If you are a traditional artist, find out ways to neatly color with markers, colored pencils or whatever you are using. Prismacolor and Copic are very good brands when it comes to art making, but they are very pricey. Start off small with art supplies as well as prices, like use whatever you already have. If you draw digitally, think about what program you want to use. It can make all the difference for the outcome of your picture. Wacom tablets for digital artists are a very nice thing to have and are fairly easy to get accustomed to. Though, some artists use their mouse to draw as well. There are also many other tablets and programs you can get for yourself. Just research!

   4. Content
What do people like most from what I draw? Do they like the cartoons I make? Do they prefer the realistic pieces? Do they like anime or maybe a chibi style? Ask your friends or family members which pieces they prefer out of your art you have done. Take their advice and put up that type of art for sale. If they like what you’re drawing, other people may like it too and buy art from you. Be sure to use other styles later on too. But, start off with one style that you enjoy best and that comes naturally to you.

   5. Diversity
Keep your art diverse. This goes hand in hand with content in a way because you shouldn’t post the same kinds of things all the time. Do different things and different styles. Draw varieties of TV shows and use different techniques to color and shade. This will attract different people to your artwork, not just the same few people. For example, if you draw TV #1 art all the time, it will only attract TV show #1 fans. If you add let’s say TV show #2 to the mix, both TV show #1 and TV show #2 fans will be interested in your art you have to offer. So, you are fine drawing TV show #1 most of the time but if you draw TV show #2 occasionally, people from that TV show will be happy. Also, when a new movie or show comes out, draw fan art! It'll get people interested.

6. Sharing it out
If you open commissions, now you need an audience. There's a very high chance someone won't just stumble across your page. If you post your commissions on just one website, few people will see it. Advertising it on all of your social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, ect.) can attract more attention, depending on your follow count. The more followers you have on a certain site, the more of a chance you’ll have at someone commissioning you. Send out a brief tweet talking about your now open commissions or make a post explaining it on Instagram. Be fairly brief about it though. Since people tend to turn away from many many paragraphs of text, stick to a short option. That way, you will not lose attention. Also, make it interesting! Nothing is more boring than "Hi, I am drawing __ because __. Come check it out." Find ways to draw attention to your sentence(s).

    7. Payment
How do you want to get paid? There are different options out there that you can do, PayPal cash being one of them. People will pay you through there and then you can transfer your money out into your checking account or on a check so you can spend it. Or, you can keep it on PayPal and use it to do online shopping. Deviantart's points are another way. It’s not real currency, but you can transfer it to PayPal or a check if you wish to by using Deviantart's commission widget rather than the donation pool. Some people even ask for other payments like giftcards, art trades, and much more.

    8. Act Polite and Be Reasonable
No one likes a rude person. So be nice to anyone who considers buying art for you. If they say no, don’t get mad about it. More people may come! Getting mad about it not only irritates the customer, but this customer could tell his/her friends not to commission you for this very reason. And, be reasonable to people wanting to buy from you. Have a wide range of what you’ll draw for others. That way, a wider audience comes to you. If you stick with a small amount of art styles and themes, your audience will shrink and they will get tired of the same things and will ask for more.

    9. Examples of Your Art
Examples, examples, examples. It is so so important to show examples of your artwork. That way, people know what they’re getting. For example, if you are offering sketches for a few dollars, show people what your sketches look like. Then they can determine if they really want this item or not. Show examples of everything you have to offer, and I mean everything. Show more than one example as well. That way, people know what it will look like as a headshot, halfbody or fullbody. They may also get a feel of what your backgrounds look like too. However, don't show multiple examples. Limit yourself to 2-3 examples so that way, people won't get confused.

    10. Keep Trying and Don’t Give Up!
Selling can be very hard at first, but don’t give up! I think about giving up often, but if you don't try, you will never know if your art will/can succeed or not. It is even hard for me to sell my art, but you have to keep pushing yourself! Ask people’s opinions about how you can improve your commission business. Offer special deals, give discounts to friends, host giveaways to get people to see your art that way. Keep on trying and keep on doing what you love to do.

So, yeah, I hope this helped at least a little! Now, keep in mind, I am no where near a pro. I'm not the kind of person that makes hundreds a month with my art. I only make less than 100 for that matter. However, I kept pushing myself to keep on trying and now I have made about $300+ since March of this year. It may not seem like a lot in the span of 9 months, but it has helped me.

So, yep! If you all have any more questions, feel free to comment below! I'll be happy to answer!

~Trip

Skin by Urmie & UszatyArbuz

Points — Description
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border-radius:7px; -moz-border-radius:7px; -webkit-border-radius:7px; } body div#devskin13161163 .menu a:hover { background:rgb(169, 0, 0); background:rgba(169,0,0,.3); transition:all ease .5s; -moz-transition:all ease .5s; -webkit-transition:all ease .5s; -ms-transition:all ease .5s; -o-transition:all ease .5s; } body div#devskin13161163 .clear { clear:both; }

Merry Christmas Jingle Bells Candy canes!

So, I submitted this article a couple of months ago to an article publishing website, and well, it didn't make it in. So, I figured I may as well post it on here for you all to enjoy instead! So, enjoy!
---
There are many artists out there who have never opened commissions. They want some extra spending money but they wonder “how do I start? How can I succeed?”. Some may be too afraid to open commissions because they believe that their art will not be good enough to draw in customers or that they won’t earn enough money to pay for what they are needing. These 10 tips should answer any questions you may have about moving to a more professional art world and give you a better chance at succeeding at what you do best. Also, I added some things about points so it isn't just about $$

1.Start small
Keep your prices small at first. Think of an amount that you’d be happy with getting but also that your customers will be fine paying. Think about how long it takes you to do each type of drawing. If a sketch takes you a few minutes, charge a dollar or two. If a painting takes several hours, charge over ten or even twenty. Don’t go too big with prices. Wait until your demand goes up to do that. Not many people would want to pay $20 for a sketch just starting out, so start off smaller than that. But remember not to make them too low either, because that isn’t fair to you. And, if you are planning on sending people your art via mail, charge extra. That way, you can make some profit. As with points, think about this: $1= 100 . Would you be happy getting 20 cents for a sketch in real life? If not, up it up to maybe 50 or more. Remember, start small, but keep it an amount you're happy with and that your customers are happy with too.

     2. Look at your quality
Look at the artwork you have made so far over the years or months. Is this professional looking? Is it neat? If not, do I have a way of making it neat? Do I have a scanner? Are my proportions accurate? Is this something that people would want? These are great questions to ask yourself before putting your art up for sale. If your art isn’t clean, neat and accurate, customers will get drawn away and will probably seek someone else to do the work instead. Look up tutorials about how the pros do what they do so that you yourself can know what a clean art piece will look like. If you said no to any of the above questions, start small, as said in #1. Then, as your work improves, gradually increase prices.

     3. Tools
Tools are very important as well and they vary depending on if you are a traditional or a digital artist. If you are a traditional artist, find out ways to neatly color with markers, colored pencils or whatever you are using. Prismacolor and Copic are very good brands when it comes to art making, but they are very pricey. Start off small with art supplies as well as prices, like use whatever you already have. If you draw digitally, think about what program you want to use. It can make all the difference for the outcome of your picture. Wacom tablets for digital artists are a very nice thing to have and are fairly easy to get accustomed to. Though, some artists use their mouse to draw as well. There are also many other tablets and programs you can get for yourself. Just research!

   4. Content
What do people like most from what I draw? Do they like the cartoons I make? Do they prefer the realistic pieces? Do they like anime or maybe a chibi style? Ask your friends or family members which pieces they prefer out of your art you have done. Take their advice and put up that type of art for sale. If they like what you’re drawing, other people may like it too and buy art from you. Be sure to use other styles later on too. But, start off with one style that you enjoy best and that comes naturally to you.

   5. Diversity
Keep your art diverse. This goes hand in hand with content in a way because you shouldn’t post the same kinds of things all the time. Do different things and different styles. Draw varieties of TV shows and use different techniques to color and shade. This will attract different people to your artwork, not just the same few people. For example, if you draw TV #1 art all the time, it will only attract TV show #1 fans. If you add let’s say TV show #2 to the mix, both TV show #1 and TV show #2 fans will be interested in your art you have to offer. So, you are fine drawing TV show #1 most of the time but if you draw TV show #2 occasionally, people from that TV show will be happy. Also, when a new movie or show comes out, draw fan art! It'll get people interested.

6. Sharing it out
If you open commissions, now you need an audience. There's a very high chance someone won't just stumble across your page. If you post your commissions on just one website, few people will see it. Advertising it on all of your social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, ect.) can attract more attention, depending on your follow count. The more followers you have on a certain site, the more of a chance you’ll have at someone commissioning you. Send out a brief tweet talking about your now open commissions or make a post explaining it on Instagram. Be fairly brief about it though. Since people tend to turn away from many many paragraphs of text, stick to a short option. That way, you will not lose attention. Also, make it interesting! Nothing is more boring than "Hi, I am drawing __ because __. Come check it out." Find ways to draw attention to your sentence(s).

    7. Payment
How do you want to get paid? There are different options out there that you can do, PayPal cash being one of them. People will pay you through there and then you can transfer your money out into your checking account or on a check so you can spend it. Or, you can keep it on PayPal and use it to do online shopping. Deviantart's points are another way. It’s not real currency, but you can transfer it to PayPal or a check if you wish to by using Deviantart's commission widget rather than the donation pool. Some people even ask for other payments like giftcards, art trades, and much more.

    8. Act Polite and Be Reasonable
No one likes a rude person. So be nice to anyone who considers buying art for you. If they say no, don’t get mad about it. More people may come! Getting mad about it not only irritates the customer, but this customer could tell his/her friends not to commission you for this very reason. And, be reasonable to people wanting to buy from you. Have a wide range of what you’ll draw for others. That way, a wider audience comes to you. If you stick with a small amount of art styles and themes, your audience will shrink and they will get tired of the same things and will ask for more.

    9. Examples of Your Art
Examples, examples, examples. It is so so important to show examples of your artwork. That way, people know what they’re getting. For example, if you are offering sketches for a few dollars, show people what your sketches look like. Then they can determine if they really want this item or not. Show examples of everything you have to offer, and I mean everything. Show more than one example as well. That way, people know what it will look like as a headshot, halfbody or fullbody. They may also get a feel of what your backgrounds look like too. However, don't show multiple examples. Limit yourself to 2-3 examples so that way, people won't get confused.

    10. Keep Trying and Don’t Give Up!
Selling can be very hard at first, but don’t give up! I think about giving up often, but if you don't try, you will never know if your art will/can succeed or not. It is even hard for me to sell my art, but you have to keep pushing yourself! Ask people’s opinions about how you can improve your commission business. Offer special deals, give discounts to friends, host giveaways to get people to see your art that way. Keep on trying and keep on doing what you love to do.

So, yeah, I hope this helped at least a little! Now, keep in mind, I am no where near a pro. I'm not the kind of person that makes hundreds a month with my art. I only make less than 100 for that matter. However, I kept pushing myself to keep on trying and now I have made about $300+ since March of this year. It may not seem like a lot in the span of 9 months, but it has helped me.

So, yep! If you all have any more questions, feel free to comment below! I'll be happy to answer!

~Trip

Skin by Urmie & UszatyArbuz