Any artists on here sold any of their work?

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Laddo
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05 Jun 2013, 9:06 am

I was wondering if anyone here is making or has made a living off of their art.

I've recently got back into drawing and discovered that I'm still pretty good at it. I'm really keen on the idea of making a bit of money from my art, as illustrating is something I really and truly love to do and a lot of the more traditional jobs for someone my age (working in a supermarket, waiting tables etc.) can be a bit difficult for me to handle.

So, any artists making money from their talent out there?


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MakaylaTheAspie
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05 Jun 2013, 11:48 am

I don't commercially sell any drawings or anything, but in the past I have sold a few drawings from around $10-$30. I sent all the money to my school's board of administration, though, toward the art program.


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Zodai
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05 Jun 2013, 1:41 pm

I plan to be an author for my career, so I'll likely have sold a large amount of books by the time you're reading this, 15 years into the future.

But currently, haven't published anything yet - still in high school XD.


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thechameleon
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05 Jun 2013, 2:49 pm

Laddo wrote:
I was wondering if anyone here is making or has made a living off of their art.
So, any artists making money from their talent out there?


The Arts are some of the hardest things to actually make a living off of. Even professionals with great talent usually need a day-job to support themselves.

Most the people I know are actually artists and only one of them supports herself with it. Most of them opt for commissions (Your idea + their abilities = personalised art.) but don't have a large enough 'fanbase' to actually make decent money. The one who supports herself with her art is a fairly popular artist on DeviantArt and does $10 commissions and upwards depending on complexity.
I'd suggest you have fun making a bunch of your own stuff and advertising it on social media sites, you may be able to get commissions if people like your work.



Laddo
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05 Jun 2013, 3:28 pm

Hmm, yeah I did think that I would probably need some other form of supporting myself financially. I'm working on getting a website up with my art and would love to be able to sell some of my work, even if its only a few copies.

It's still worth trying though, even if I do have to work somewhere else to keep the bills paid!


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xbinkus
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06 Jun 2013, 2:58 pm

I only recently got into acrylic painting as part of my therapy. I didn't intend to sell any of it, but I was offered money for one of my first paintings and that was pretty exciting. Since I'm already self employed and paints/canvas is expensive, I decided to see if anyone else wanted to buy my art and put some on Etsy.

I've had a small selection on for a couple months; so far I've gotten one job out of it. It certainly won't pay the bills any time soon but it helps cover the costs of art supplies and give me a little extra spending money. I could probably try a little harder, but making Etsy listings is simple and cheap, and honestly, I'm still a little unsure in my ability and the quality of my art so getting it out there and self-promoting is difficult for me.



Laddo
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07 Jun 2013, 6:40 am

Thanks xbinkus. I've never heard of Etsy before, I will have to check it out.


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pcgoblin
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07 Jun 2013, 4:23 pm

Back in the late 70s and early 80s, I painted constantly. Oil painting was my life. I woke up and started to paint. I got home from school and painted. The only time I didn't paint was when I could not afford material.
To answer the question, I've sold art work, but not to make a living. Mostly because someone insisted on paying me. I mostly gave my work to friends, or traded it for Skippy peanut butter, Welches grape jelly, and bread. I could never price my work because I grew up with very little money, and I felt art catered to the wealthy. I also could not believe my work was worth much because I knew people who were better than I and if I were not the best, how could I expect to sell it? I also do not like to haggle. My career in Art was doomed. :lol:

I love the smell of oil paint in the morning.