Raise your hand if you’re an artist and you’ve had someone asking you why your picture costs that much. The fine art market is a scam, and the admission process does not pick by merit. Once, it would have been impossible for an artist to make a living without having their work presented in a gallery. But now times have changed, and with the advent of social media, being self-made is possible than ever.
Build a portfolio
Before people buy from you, they’ll want to know what you’re selling. You have to develop a portfolio that showcases your art style, the mediums you use, and the subjects you draw. You can add art from your high school days – posters, portraits, etc.
Don’t worry about the time and effort needed to create a comprehensive portfolio. If you only draw for commissions, you’re never going to get commissioned. People will only hire you when they see you’re an experienced artist.
Fan Art
Fanart is an effective way to get your name out as it combines people’s love of characters and worlds and your passion for art. By creating fan art, you immediately widen your audience and potentially make your fan base. Some artists have managed to sign contracts to do character designs for certain novels by putting out fan art and being recognized.
Have a specialty
It’s all well and good to know how to work with watercolors, gouache, oils, digital tablets, and acrylics. But customers are more likely to order from people who specialize in specific fields. For example, if a client wants a sketch, they will find an artist who specializes in pencil sketches.
Even if other artists can do sketches just as well as they do oils, a specialized artist is more likely to be picked simply because there’s an illusion of more credibility from the latter.
If you are good with more than one medium, I suggest you open two spate accounts and pages for those so that people can see both separately. It’s seen to be statistically more effective this way.
Do commissions
Once your page is set up, your art is on display, let people know you’re open to commissions. You can use Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok. These are getting more and popular among artists as they bring more clients. Ask your friends and family to repost your commission requests and spread the word about your place of study or work. You’re going to find commissions sooner or later.
How should you price your art?
Beginner artists tend to price their work low as they don’t have that much confidence in their work or their desirability among customers, given that they are new.While it’s famous advice not to downgrade yourself, it is not stupid to set your prices low when you are just beginning. People value experience more than talent.
You also don’t have to grade your work based on how expensive the process was. People don’t understand the process of art; they pay for the product. A pretty piece of art should rake in a pretty penny, regardless of how cheaply it was made.
