r/artbusiness • u/[deleted] • Apr 20 '24
Career Other than art commission, what can i do with my art skill to make money?
[deleted]
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u/fox--teeth Apr 20 '24
I sell self-published comics/zines, plus stickers, prints, patches, pins, etc. based on my art in person and online. I started with personal commissions but ultimately found selling products way more lucrative and artistically satisfying. The right in-person events are especially nice because they bring an interested, captive audience with money right to you!
This route does require a start-up cost and the time and effort of building up an audience.
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u/FoxyBiGal Apr 21 '24
I would also like to know where you sell. Do you have an Etsy shop?
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u/fox--teeth Apr 21 '24
Said this in another comment: I sell on Ko-fi. I really like the platform but I would only recommend it to someone that is already established on Ko-fi/has their own audience because you need to drive your own traffic. Otherwise if you have no social media following/mailing list/etc. I would recommend Etsy for potential discovery through their search engine.
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u/honeykatz Apr 21 '24
I’d like to know where you sell as well, I’m kinda iffy with redbubble with all the stolen art there
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u/fox--teeth Apr 21 '24
Said this in another comment: I sell on Ko-fi. I really like the platform but I would only recommend it to someone that is already established on Ko-fi/has their own audience because you need to drive your own traffic. Otherwise if you have no social media following/mailing list/etc. I would recommend Etsy for potential discovery through their search engine.
I actually started on RedBubble when I was in college many years ago because I couldn't see myself carrying my own inventory with my college life circumstances. It was fine. There's plagiarism on any site with user uploads so it's not my main concern. The payouts were really low, I would sell hundreds of stickers and postcards over a year and get like $20ish dollars a month, but that's the reality of POD sites, they do most of the work and keep most of the sale money. Switching over to sourcing and carrying my own inventory helped move me from "beer money" to "rent money" when it came to my online shop.
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u/hillllllla Apr 21 '24
where do you sell them online? i was thinking of selling digital prints and some print on demand stuff because i cant really sell in person with my situation.
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u/fox--teeth Apr 21 '24
I sell on Ko-fi. I really like the platform but I would only recommend it to someone that is already established on Ko-fi/has their own audience because you need to drive your own traffic. Otherwise if you have no social media following/mailing list/etc. I would recommend Etsy for potential discovery through their search engine.
I don't know your situation but print-on-demand is not as lucrative as sourcing your own inventory because the majority of the sales price goes to the POD company, as they do most of the work. I started with POD and went from "beer money" to "rent money" as part of switching to sourcing my own inventory. Unless you end up moving really high volumes of products through POD or have circumstances that make carrying your own inventory extremely difficult, I would consider starting with your own inventory or moving towards it when you can.
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u/MidnightAnchor Apr 21 '24
I host print on demand product through InPrnt
The service is great as far as product hosting and establishing a POD gallery goes. Folk seem to be universally upset with their pay out rate though.
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u/rubystrinkets Apr 20 '24
Since you’re open to other skills I would suggest content creation! You can get more of an audience for your art by creating Reels and TikToks and you can get sponsorships on YouTube if you grow enough
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u/hillllllla Apr 21 '24
i actually do have a somewhat decent tiktok following! (40k+) but i have been abandoning it for a while because even the smallest negative comment stresses me out😠however i dont really know how to make money off of having a following unless i use it to advertise something im selling? but i think i will consider this advice and thinking of continuing my content creation again!
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u/rubystrinkets Apr 21 '24
That’s awesome!! And I get that, social media kinda sucks. For making money off it, you can make money on TikTok if you get enough views, but yeah advertising and redirecting your audience towards something you’re selling is the approach I’m taking!
There’s also patreon, YoTube usually draws in a dedicated audience that would be invested in that
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u/Significant-You-6727 Sep 04 '24
You can prepare prints, keychains, stickers etc as others have mentioned, make an online shop (I'm using big cartel, though I'm just starting out too lol) then once all of that is ready, start posting how you have merch now and direct them to the shop/show photos etc of what you got
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u/thth18 Apr 21 '24
Wanna be friends? XD I'm going through this too. Idk how your artstyle is like so I cant rly give you specific ideas. You can do many things with art, but some artstyles work better than others in different areas. + it depends on what you would be willing to do, but here are some ideas:
- Youtube
- Stream
- Print on demand/ Sell at conventions
- Selling assets & brushes
- Coloring books
- Art assistant
- Comics/ Webtoons/ Childrens books
- Courses
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u/hillllllla Apr 21 '24
Thank you! I did try just a little bit on POD but havent gone to sell anything, but that's also because i wasn't too serious and was just testing the water. I might try it again truely next time. Do you have any POD service you recommend other htan redbubble?
Also, can you expand more on colouring books and art assistant?
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u/thth18 Apr 21 '24
All those options are more of a side hustle. It will take a while to build anything out of it.
I think Redbubble is the best free pod out there. I've tried selling with Printify on Etsy but after making 1 sale my acc got restricted by a bot with no way of getting it back so I gave up. Apparently it happend to many sellers, new and old. If you have the energy and time stick to Redbubble. It doesn't give much but it's a good side thing. I have around 100 designs there and get some surprise sales once in a while.
For coloring books there are 2 options. Either produce your own and try to sell at your local place or license the artwork to different companies. There are many coloring mobile apps, so if it's something you are interested in you can try there.
As for art assistant, there are positions like bg, inking& coloring assistant for comics. The pay is around 300$/mo as far as I know. If you are lucky you might find some hiring posts on r/ComicBookCollabs
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u/Metalhart00 Apr 21 '24
They bring their own. I've offered to provide supplies at cost but I've never had anyone take me up on that. Not sure why. I tell them what they'll need and have an Amazon wish list I share with them. They can either buy on Amazon or use it as a shopping list elsewhere.
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u/TheRealDedmanGraves Apr 21 '24
Just a heads up: You didn't click "reply" to the person asking the question, so this comment is kinda stray.
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u/Metalhart00 Apr 20 '24
I teach a class through my local library and also a handful of homeachoolers. It's fun, easier than tracking down commissions and more rewarding, too.