I'm still not convinced that it's possible to make a decent living as a concept artist or illustrator. I know there's people that do, as there is people who fail miserably. But let's try to focus on the broad strokes of this 'career'...
is it realistic to expect to live a lower middle class life doing this? I remember reading that Dave Rapoza is rich as fuck. Kind of don't buy it. Whit Brachna owns 2 houses? Kind of don't buy it either. On the outside everyone is super happy and successful and doing amazing, but once you talk to these artists 1on1 they give off the vibe that they really are NOT doing too well, despite working their asses off for clients who make millions with their work. And the artists know this, but can't afford to ask for reasonable rates because compition is just so insane. Then there's people 'quitting' the pursuit of art as a career which to me is incredibly demoralizing... Everyone and their mom are selling tutorials and gumroads and spamming fb with self promotion. It all feels so fake it till you make to me.
Even Mullins seemed to very carefully try to tell people 'better go do something else with your lives guys' in the recent events/interviews.
Then however there was one anon who posted a screenshot of his e-banking where apparently he had a client pay thousands of € for a single gig. That gives me hope...
But still overall my future financial prospects as an aspiring pro artist look REALLY bleak (to me). Please tell me it's not that bad guys...
>I'm still not convinced that it's possible to make a decent living
>I know there's people that do
answered your own question now fuck off.
>is it realistic to expect to live a lower middle class
depends where you live duh
>>2352322
> I remember reading that Dave Rapoza is rich as fuck. Kind of don't buy it. Whit Brachna owns 2 houses? Kind of don't buy it either. On the outside everyone is super happy and successful and doing amazing,
Why would they lie about how much they make just to encourage thousands of aspiring artists to compete for their jobs if they have trouble making a decent living? Are you stupid or something? If things go bad for you, you try to discourage other people from becoming potential competition.
> but once you talk to these artists 1on1 they give off the vibe that they really are NOT doing too well
How many of these artists have you talked to 1 on 1? My guess is, the "vibe" you are getting is just them being annoyed with your stupid as fuck question. "How much money do you make???" is basically on the same level as "what brushes are you using??!!?".
>>2352322
You can draw for fun and still find yourself a respectable career that makes money. Drawing as a career choice is hella dumb.
>>2352374
>art is not a career
ok.
>>2352374
it is also dumb to use the word "hella" in 2016...
>>2352374
What if it's the thing that you're best at? What do you do when you're at the point where your creativity looks like the only thing you're good for?
>>2352455
Art is not about making money, but about being happy. Do not throw all your cards in betting on an art career. Go find a good job and draw for fun as a hobby.
>>2352466
But you can't get good at art if you do it as a hobby.
>>2352451
be careful not to cut yourself on that edge anon.
Live in a third world country like me, friend. I make as much as a burger flipper in the usa but because of the devaluation of the coin, I make as much as my engineer friend, even tough I'm pretty low in the industry. God bless america.
>>2352466
>Go find a good job and draw for fun as a hobby
What if you don't want to do anything else but make art?
>>2352466
Why do hobbyist faggots like you refuse to accept that the way you approach art is simply not the same as how professional artists do? Art is a profession like any other if you choose to approach it that way.
If you like to do art only recreationally and paint happy clouds alongside Bob Ross on your weekends, that's perfectly fine, but can you please stop being such an arrogant retard to assume that everyone has such lowly set goals for their artistic journey?
If you have a passion for art, you will want to get good at it and once you get good, you can easily make a living with it.
>>2352484
Even if you're good it doesn't mean you're going to make it. Art is very personal; don't expect to make money from it.
>>2352473
Art is reflective of the individual. If all you do is draw all day and watch anime your art is probably really boring regardless of how technically impressive it is. Go outside, go travel, read some history, and don't be so worried about making your "art" a career.
>>2352419
hella is a verbal tick you get from growing up in northern California
It is not a 20xx thing
>>2352650
>tick
tic*
>>2352451
have fun regretting giving up on your dream for the rest of your life (:
>>2352322
Some game studios employ illustrators full time. That said i'm sure such positions are competitive as fuck.
>>2352619
either troll or gonefullretard.jpg
>>2352476
Nigga, is you a mexibro too?
>>2352322
It's good to be realistic but it really depends on your determination. Not just your passion for your art but how you deal with life. Not just being creative but also be smart too. Get real and do shit. Many people make plans for art but they consisently fail to practice, thats why they fail alot and self discipline is fuckin important
If you aren't still convinced, still comparing yourself (money) and not doing arts 101% effort everyday as a professional should, then I suggest you find different course or mundane job while make your art as a hobby, bro
>>2352322
I live alone, in a small house, with no debt, and no intentions of changing my austere lifestyle. I was able to make it because of this, if not I would be in /gd/ for sure. Early years in the industry are rough, man.
As you acquire experience you can live quite well, but if you want to make the big bux this is not your profession.
>>2352322
Christ, if you want money get a fucking day job.
Artists starve more likely than not, that's a fact of life.
Don't pursue art for monetary gain, because if you do, you'll die destitute and poor.
Art is about passion, it's about getting better at your craft, and then pushing yourself further, even when others urge you to be complacent.
Don't cheapen your talent by selling it short, if you truly love what you do, your art will be truly priceless.
>>2353004
I'm going to have to agree with that one anon, at least when it comes to art in america. exploitation over artists seems to be a common thing, auction houses jacking up prices for art.
>>2354109
Can you elaborate? Or at least specify where 'big bucks' start?
https://www.patreon.com/sakimichan?ty=h
Stop complaining. There a million ways to make money as an artist the problem is 99% of artists are fucking retarded when it comes to business. It's not all about sitting in your coner and drawing like you would want it to be. You have to be smart and learn how to approach this market differently. The way I see it, you're wasting your time trying to approach these big companies. The easiest path is to find your audience and peddle to them like your financial stability depended on it. If you want to make money at art you have to build a following which will require a lot of work. And to build a following you'll have to find a way to approach the industry in a way no artist has yet
>>2355539
>'Stop complaining'
>'Reinvent the weel'
>posts sakimichan as example
did we really need a second thread about the same thing?
>>2345678
You can make a middle-class living on art, but you need to be realistic.
When you hear that so-and-so artist with 10 years professional experience makes 110k a year, check where they live. It's probably California or NYC.
>>2355328
>Art is about passion, it's about getting better at your craft, and then pushing yourself further, even when others urge you to be complacent.
^ this a million times over
judging by how many of these fucking stupid threads there are on /ic/ most of you should really forget about art and get an office job because you have no fucking work ethic whatsoever.
>>2352322
My annual income as freelance illustrator:
2011: <$200
2012: $900
2013: $2500
2014: $8000
2015: $4800
However, I don't work very hard at it and have mediocre skills.
>>2355736
Post you work? I'm curious about what the benchmark to make a living is, considering I've lived of 25k pretty comfortably in the past, I'm pretty intrested
>>2355745
ugh, okayyy
http://christianfrederiksen.com/
>>2355746
Your website is kind of a mess navigation wise holy shit.
What's your day job?
>>2355788
Is it? What would you fix?
I work part time at an art supply store.
>>2352627
boring or not doesnt matter if you target the right crowd, i have a friend who is the most creatively bankrupt person i've ever met and he made thousands of dollars selling prints/pieces and doing commisions with photo realism as a side gig in high school.
>>2355821
how the fuck do i achieve this?? that sounds so fucking sweet desu.
I dunno, I have made a decent amount this year and I'm not even out of art school yet. Freelance pays a lot.
desu, people who say you can't make money of art are just people who have either given up, or doesn't have enough experience as an artist. Telling other people it's impossible because you or other people failed is just dumb, don't drag people down with you.
>>2352627
Well, shit.
>>2355980
>thinks the 800$ he worked 200 hours for are a decent amount
>>2355921
Well he has an instagram with 15k followers and thats about it,everytime he makes a new piece he links to his online shop and advertises his availability for commisioning(he just tells people to email if interested). I feel like this only works because untrained normal fags are easily impressed by photo realism,his execution and mechanical skills are basically impeccable but he couldnt save his life to draw something original
>>2356274
is it possible to make an instagram without providing a phone number? because my main one is being used for my private life. fucking modern day web services that restrict your usage so heavily i swear fuck all of them.
>>2352322
Like every other thing in the planet: you can git good amount of sheckels if you don't have children or a bitch asking you for fancy items.
Made enough money last year to buy a tablet monitor ($500), which in turn made me fast enough to make about $150 between mid December to now.
I'm passionate about art too, but passion doesn't make money. Drawing pretty girls and dicks do. Luckily for me, I would be doing this shit even if I wasn't getting paid for it.
>>2356617
Oh, and on average I make about $10 an hour from my commissioned works (which is the same as how much I make after taxes on my day job, except I have to deal with 100x more people who are 100x more infuriating)
>>2356595
Not sure, i dont use instagram. The same can be done on tumblr or DA or pinterest and stuff so its not like you NEED instagram,its just a place where pictures are better delievered for some
>>2356632
>merc_wip.jpg
Sure! :)
>>2356639
ugggggggghhhhhhh, don't b a fag bro
>>2356646
Most of my stuff is Furshit Anyway and I don't feel like starting a riot.
You don't have to be all that great if you're getting into doing work for them, ESPECIALLY if you're willing to do kink stuff. Standards fall pretty low there. That being said, half of my work has just been vanilla hot girl pinups and gay boy booty with the occasional vore or micro in between.
Icons have probably been the best for me in general. It's something everyone needs and they're super easy to make so I can personally get away with making them cheap. Plus since they're using them on the site, it's free advertising.
Pic related, Something I did in 2014
>>2356662
I was mostly curious because $10/h is shit and even an average artist should charge more.
>>2356699
and mothers of 3 should make $15 an hour working in WacDonalds
how do i go from this to OPs pic?
>>2356778
nooo moron. this is what you noobs don't understand. self employment salary is not comparable to employment salary.
10/h in employment money is about 25/h in selfemployment money.
10/h selfemployment money is fucking nothing. you LITERALLY make more money sitting on the street waving a cup at people.
that's why even when doing bottom of the barrel porn comissions if you are not hitting 20-25 per hour you are SO wasting your time and should just go work ANYWHERE part time instead.
>>2356778
how is that comparable? if you are requested for a commission you are in demand. if you say 20/h and go "hah! no way." good luck finding someone else if you have deadlines.
>>2356778
>flipping burgers
>utilizing a skill that takes years, if not decades develop
Commit sudoku
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWXYoD7wfOs
>>2356874
Clearly you have no idea what the fuck you're talking about just like every other cuck on /ic/. I bet you shout LOOMIS in the draw thread.
>>2357052
kids these days i swear
>>2357052
>>2357067
His explanation may have been awkward, but what he's saying is true enough with regards to jobs with no guaranteed income. If a client wants hand-made custom shit they're going to pay for it and they're going to pay out the ass if it's any good. If you work as an artist for $10 an hour you're the fucking cuck.
>>2356992
Hm okay, I was worried there for a sec. Thought maybe I had to overhaul the the thing, or that it was displaying incorrectly on different browsers.
How is having my portfolio as the homepage of my portfolio website misleading?
>>2356879
>People draw for free
Wow... Are they billionare's sons or something?
>>2355539
>sakimichan
Sakimichan is a girl. Female "artists" don't have to try "if" they don't want. Some thirsty assholes will come along and throw money at them regardless of talent or what have you.
Add smut art to the mix and they get even more dosh from horny losers with extra dough to throw away.
>>2357665
If you search the archives, long ago there was a porn thread where it transpired that most of the female hentai artists that use ic had received so much negative backlash from admitting to being female that it wasted so much time that it wasn't worth it
They were heavily targeted by customers that 'lead them on' for commissions as a way to talk to them, were stalked, endlessly messaged for pics, people wouldn't believe they were girls if they didn't post pics and would accuse them of being liars trying to exploit the poor men of the internet by pretending, or just had really intense hate campaigns launched on them if they wouldn't play those games etc etc
Of course it was agreed that if you were down to cam or take pics anyway then drawing smut on the side was a great business model, but most in the thread did not want to
seriously, not even trying to argue with you, but it was interesting so go look it up
>>2357206
I may just be retarded but I expect to be taken to a portfolio when I click on "Portfolio" instead of staying on the same page
