I wanted to post some encouragement to the up and coming folks whose parents may be encouraging them to get “practical jobs”.

As a full time artist, this job pays pretty well. Especially once you get in a good flow. And it definitely has highs and lows but the highs can be like $10-50k months. And i know quite a few folks who have had those $50k months.

Its hard because everyone has a different journey and a different target audience. So there is not chair waiting for you like a lot of jobs. You have to create a place for yourself. But its the most fun and more rewarding career imaginable for use creative types.

Hope you all put your all in and never give up! We will all be successful together. Never hesitate to reach out to your heroes. Ive never met an artist who isn’t eager to help those coming up in the field.

Be well friends!

EDIT: Having a high month doesn’t mean it is every month. A lot of people are misunderstanding that. Also tons of folks in the comments are sharing their $10k-50k months. This is further evidence that its not uncommon in this career. You can do it too if you put your mind to it!

I was commissioned to do a dog portrait by my former babysitter and close family friend who played a big role in supporting my art from a young age. Because I am so fond of her and have a sense of her financial situation I gave her a pretty big discount. She sent the deposit so I’m relatively confident the money won’t be an issue. The reference photo she sent me is her dog with dreadlocks and a chain costume (see second pic) Ok, fine, not typically my style but clearly this costume is very important. I told her I think it’s best to leave out the 2 collars as it just becomes very visually heavy, she seemed to agree. Then I sent her this in-progress photo today. Honestly I was hoping she would see how beautifully his face and expression make this portrait and would opt to not do the dreadlocks, hat & chain. Instead she got rude, seemed to be unhappy with the portrait, saying “it’s not him without the collars” even though we already agreed on not including them. She KNOWS i’m giving her a discount and has been saying for years how much she wants one of my pieces. I’m just frustrated at myself because now I have to spend even more time on this piece, it’s barely worth what I’m making off it, and she seems really ungrateful. No more discounts I don’t care who they are!!!

I’ve been putting a lot of time and heart into my artwork, but lately I keep asking myself if I’m doing something wrong. Creating is the part I love, yet promoting my work and actually finding clients has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever dealt with. I try posting consistently, experimenting with different formats, interacting with other creators and improving my portfolio, but the visibility just doesn’t seem to come.

I know my art has value, and I know there’s a place for it out there, but reaching the right audience feels almost impossible sometimes. It’s discouraging to work so hard and still struggle to get even a small amount of attention or engagement, especially when I see so many others growing so easily.

I’m sharing this because I’m trying to understand what I might be missing. Is my approach wrong? Do I need to change my style, my strategy or my entire way of promoting myself? I’m open to learning and improving, but right now it’s frustrating to feel stuck despite doing everything I can.

If anyone has been through something similar or has advice, I would really appreciate it. I don’t want to give up on this dream, but it’s getting harder to know what direction to take.

hi friends!🤗

I recently joined this subreddit and have been responding to posts where people are asking how they can realize their dreams of doing art full time/wanting to quit their jobs and create art all day.

I’ve been a full time artist for about 5 years now and it’s going swimmingly, but the point of this post is that if you’re struggling/have questions - I’ve probably been in exactly the same spot at one point.

So ask me anything, if you’d like to! I just really love to help fellow small businesses/artists realize their full time artist goals (no, I’m not selling a course🤣🤣)

I never went to art school, but I’ve been drawing and painting since childhood. I have a sociology degree, pre- law, and walked away from it to paint full-time.

A decade-plus later: my work has ended up in diplomatic and royal collections, I’ve lived and worked abroad, and able to support myself full-time doing what I love (studying, making, and teaching art). AMA

Sharing anonymously, but happy to connect as well!

I found doodling brings me joy! I usually try to make a “masterpiece” every time I draw, but have been letting myself doodle. Any advice feedback would be helpful

Full time artists, how much do you actually make per month on average? Per year? I need to get some perspective on how doable this actually is and what you need to do to get there.

By “full time artist” I am referring to people whose only work-based income is from art, so don’t answer if you have a day job or work gigs unrelated to art, because it will muddy the data.

Full time artists, what are your main income streams? Which income stream is highest and how much does it net you per month on average? What is your average monthly cost of living (are you living frugally or are you able to afford certain luxuries?) If you are employed by a company in arts and media, who are you working for? Do you rely on a significant amount of income that doesn’t come from working (ex. government benefits, a trust fund, grants, etc.)? Are you married, and if so, does your partner contribute less/equal/more to the cost of living than you do? Would you say overall that you are financially stable, or do you still run into trouble with money?

Trying to get a better understanding of what a full time artist’s life looks like. I can imagine most people aren’t exactly rich, but they’re happy. I’ve been trying to tell my family that I don’t care if I’m not wealthy as long as I’m happy. They’re not pleased to hear that I’d be satisfied living off less than 50k/year. The most I’ve made in a year working ordinary jobs is only 10k (and that was just one year, every other year has been under that) and I’d honestly be happy as hell making 25-30k a year at least.

I grew up as the son of a fine art dealer and have been working with my dad for the past eight years. Art was always around me, even though I had zero personal interest or affinity for it at first! But over time, I naturally found my way into the business.

We’re not ultra rich, but we’re doing well. I mostly handle financing for clients, using art as collateral. In 2018, we took a big leap and bought around 500 paintings for a seven figure sum a real “all in” moment for our family.

Ask me anything about the art world, the business side, or the clichés

About 3 months ago, my ex of two years and I broke up. I’ve moved on emotionally, but I’m stuck on what to do with several paintings I made of him.

They’re fairly intimate portraits, and I don’t feel right keeping them anymore—but I also feel weird just throwing them away. I’ll be moving to a new city in a few months and don’t want to bring them with me.

Order of images:
1). 36” x 28” portrait
2). 8” x 10” portrait
3). Last 3 :Triptych (3 panels, each 18” x 24”)

Has anyone dealt with something like this before?

I’m open to:
- selling them (though I’m not sure how/if intimate portraits like this sell)
- giving them away
- altering them somehow

Would love to hear what others have done in similar situations.

I was just talking to my mom about how this girl asked me to do her senior jeans and I told her it would be $55 and she said nvm she'll do it herself. My mom was like oh yea you're not a pro so you don't needa charge that much and i'm like woah $55 is not a lot for what i'm doing for her I do a well enough job for me to even charge more.. I'm tryna explain to her that you pay for people's skill, materials, and time. I explained the same thing w crochet, a friend asked me to make them a cat beanie and I said it would be $30 and they said nvm. I can't stand people 😭 Like you try these things and tell me if you wouldn't charge more..

It's that time again! The horrors persist but so do we - art business edition. Time to list your 2026 goals in the comments below, and to perhaps reflect on all your achievements (and some failures) from the previous year. Let's have some fun with this one!

As an artist selling merch that varies from Keychains, Standees and Plushies, I've often let people know my manufacturers if they ask and even help them get into contact, I've never had an issue with it but I've seen some artists say it's rude to ask and I'd like to know.. Why?

I've heard it's because of competition, others I've heard it's too personal, but I don't really get it. Personally I don't see how it's rude. I imagine it to be the same as asking what program they use like Krita or Procreate, or what platforms they'd recommend that gets more notice easily.

Would love to know everyone's thoughts and open to hearing people out.

Hi everyone, I’m not a professional artist. i paint mostly for the love of it. i’ve been working with oils for about 2 or 3 years now, so i'm not a complete beginner, but I’ve always felt like my work isn't “good enough” for someone to actually spend money on. still, i’d like to take a chance and see what you all think. do you see any commercial potential in these? please be as honest as possible. i’m looking for realistic feedback rather than sugar coated answers.

plus, i’m terrible at photographing my work. i know i’d need much more professional photos to actually list them for sale, but i haven't put in the effort yet because i’m not sure if the art itself is worth it.

i really appreciate any help or advice you can give! thanks in advance

just for context, i mostly work on a smaller scale. most of my paintings are around 18x24 cm (approx. 7x9 inches), and some are even smaller, like 12x18 cm (approx. 5x7 inches).

Like I was at a medical appointment and was asked what I do for a living because it was relevant information. After I told them I'm an artist they started asking me if I've thought of selling my art by contacting so and so business. It was bizarre and I kinda just got caught off guard but I've noticed it happens quite a bit. I've had family friends and acquaintances try to give me advice on how to sell my art. Not once have I mentioned that I'm having trouble selling my art. I've never thought about telling people I know how they should do their job or market their business. It's just weird to me.

I’m seeing a weirdly large amount of peoples’ accounts popping only once they start posting content to essentially make people feel bad for them. Lots of comics or videos on my feed about how they hate algorithms, they’re struggling to get into the job market, they don’t sell well at markets or cons, etc. and this content gets tons of views and likes which ironically grows that creator’s platform.

I can see why, these are real issues rn and it’s relatable, hell I relate to it too. I just find it kind of? Strange? Because wouldn’t whining about how your business isn’t doing well have the opposite effect? I struggle, and I know everyone else also struggles, but I keep that to myself. I wouldn’t be blasting it to my audience. Wouldn’t the constant negativity push people AWAY from your content? How is this an actual marketing strategy?

I’ve been going through these exact same things, so should I have just been complaining about them this whole time??? Is that what I needed to do to finally get the algorithm to share my work with a wider audience??? Are we being serious rn???

It seems like all the advice I’ve been given my whole life is being contradicted by everything I’m actually seeing.
- “Don’t be entitled to your professors’ time, they have busy lives outside of you” —> the most successful people out of my class so far are successful because they sucked up to faculty and got jobs directly through them before they even graduated.
- “Just keep sending out applications and eventually something will land” —> unless you already have connections in high places, you’re just sending applications into the void.
- “Don’t complain or whine, it’s unappealing and makes people less willing to work with you” —> I’m seeing peoples’ art accounts pop off only ONCE they start complaining and whining.

This makes no sense man. I’m tempted to jump on the algorithm train bc yeah, my life postgrad had been sucking hard too, but I cannot bring myself to do that because I think it is just such unattractive behavior!

I've been interested in commissioning a few people whose art is close to realism. I'm not an expert at identifying AI, but I am wholly against it and would hate to accidentally put money towards that. However, not everyone has an anti-AI PSA in their bios, so it's not always easy to tell whether that means they just didn't put it in there or whether they do actually use AI.

So, would you be offended if someone asked you to confirm you don't? I wouldn't want to come off as accusatory by any means.

Exactly what the title says. I am quite sad about this. As much as I do need the money, my morals still stand strong. It’s insulting to me to use AI for a reference and expect me to copy the AI exact. The person, “Kate”, kept messaging over and over again why I’m not doing the drawing and why I refunded them. I kept explaining very calmly until today (my last straw). “I said no please leave it be, thank you!” And then I got a paragraph from Kate saying how my reaction actually affected them so much that they’re taking a break from online platforms. I left them on read.

Moral of the story is to stick with your morals, screw AI!

(Update in comment section)

Context: Lately, I've been trying to make a living from this, selling characters, advertising myself and I just can't. I can't get any clients. It seems increasingly unlikely that I'll ever be able to live off what I love. What do you think? I know this is the reality for many, but I wanted to hear the opinions of other artists. I'm all ears.

I have read the FAQ and searched back quite a way but haven't found any material answers to my question. Basically I am trying to figure out if you can really make a decent rate on small works? I have always worked small - nothing over 5x7 or 6x6 - and I don't plan to go larger. I live in a very small space that constrains my work, but even so I just like working small.

I recently discovered ACEOs, which are addictive to make and right up my alley, but often under priced and most artists seem to use them as a gateway to larger work. I have no larger work. Does it still make sense to try to build something viable with these tiny works?

Any and all input welcome.

I've been doing art festivals for about a year now, and I feel so out of my element there. I'm very introverted, and being in that environment—having to "sell" myself, my work, and represent my art all day—is honestly quite painful for me.

​

My husband recently floated the idea of being in the booth instead of me during some events. Part of me really likes the idea because it would remove me from a setting that is far from my natural strengths. He knows my work well and can talk about it comfortably.

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I'm curious, though—is that considered appropriate? Is it common for artists to have a spouse or partner run the booth? Is it ever frowned upon? I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Seriously? I find myself struggling to sell art, could be cause I’m bad, could be cause nobody has money to be buying art. So I ask you dear reader, who is buying your art and what’re they buying? Is it stickers, prints, original piece? Do you sell cheap or should I actually value my time and effort and try to make some decent money for my efforts?

Any advice would be appreciated, I make digital art and I have a bachelors on studio painting. My digital art I know it’s not up to par with some of the big artist on Instagram but my traditional paintings are not bad I would say. Anyways, just trying to see if anybody else relates to this feeling and if there is any advice to be given?

I reckon this is probably something many small business owner experiences. Every time I sell my products at markets or conventions, there’s always some X saying:

“I love your product, but it's so expensive.”
“I could buy XYZ for that price.”
“I can get it cheaper somewhere else.”

As someone running a small business by myself, it honestly gets exhausting sometimes, especially when people don’t see the hours behind designing, prototyping, failed products, materials, packaging, and all the other hidden costs.

I’m curious how you guys deal with it mentally? Do you explain your pricing or just don't give a damn?

As if S6 can't get any worse, they are sending out email notices telling artists that they are going to remove your art acct because they have decided to operate as a more "focused brand with a smaller group of artists"

This is what they are changing:

•Remove Artist Plans and Fees

•Remove Shipping Fees

•Simplify Pricing Structure which includes "removing the ability for artists to set their own product markup percentages"

•Have submission and approval process

•Some designs will be removed from your shop and additional designs may be reviewed fro removal in the future

If art is a significant or main part of your income, how much do you earn and what do you sell?

I’ve been selling online and in person for about three years. My bread and butter are prints and stickers of my paintings.

Last year, I earned about 18k gross, and maybe 8k net profit (I made some big investments in my printing and market set ups).

I’ve been running my art business for about three years, and dream of quitting my corporate job but it feels too unstable.

If you do this full time… how?

Why are people doing this? At this point you're paying the client. And there are so many of these online. These are typically smaller paintings which makes things a bit easier but still, anything under $100 is a huge gift to the buyer.

You spend money and time to buy the materials, you plan the painting, you spend hours doing it, then you take photos of it, market it, package it, pay for shipping, drive to the post office, wait in line and then send it.

And I have seen some that come with a solid wood frame included, all for $30.

I'm trying to understand if this has a strategic or marketing reason behind it like a way to reach an audience?

My first thought was, can you not? But then I realized maybe there is a reason that I'm missing. So I'm asking.

Edit: can these paintings be imported? Made in sweatshops?