Heyyy guys, I was wondering if anyone knew or had ideas.

My family is tight on money (as in practically non-existent) and I wanted to know how would I advertize myself to make money doing some stuff, I know I won't make it rich but even a few dollars for gas for the car is better than nothing at this point. I could do like tee-shirt design or company logos or something like that but I have no clue how I'd go about advertizing! I know the common answers like "get facebook" but I get one and then I still am a little guppy in a sea of sharks and whales. D:

I'd also like to try and sell prints of my drawings but idk how to do that either, I can't have a deviant art because my mother doesn't want people to steal my work.

Any ideas would be most helpful!


~ God Bless ~

~ Moko

Mokonafan, I'm not an expert about you want, I'd love to help you. But I can say that there are two golden rules, the first one; You have to believe in your potential in art the most. The second one is: be different from others outcomes at least give your outcomes something especial yours. Something as your personal mark.
Anyway, you could show partially some ideas (not the principal ones) so as people have curiosity about you and get their attention. My best wishes,

Well, I'm told it's easy to tell I drew something, idk how that is possible even if I try to NOT look like it's me people can still tell.
I'm hoping that's a good thing. xD

Get noticed at Dribble.

Hmmmm, that looks helpful.

(Edit: Now sure how I'd pay them since we don't have a bank account...D:)

(ideas still welcomed if others got ideas)

Try http://Fiverr.com , there are people that make a living on it. Just watermark all your stuff on DeviantArt and you shouldn't have a problem.

Moko, When you have some time read this designers story about gaining experience and getting noticed.

i to have wanted to make money off my art work. i think i'm pretty good as an artist but broke to. right now i have no clue what to do or where to even start. I have been told my work is good. i'm willing do what it takes. i'm like you, i don't think i'll get rich from my work but i just would like to get paid for at least 1 piece of work. I'm never gonna stop with my art if it never happens, cause it's my passion. i wish you luck cause you are good. i like your work. all artist here have made me better. all i will say is stay after it.

Making money off your art is not easy.

You need to put together a portfolio with your best artwork so people can get a feeling for your style and capabilities. DeviantArt is a decent place for this but you can do this any way you want, such as making your own simple website with a list of your images.

Exposure-wise DeviantArt is generally a good start, which is one of the largest online galleries on the web. if anything it is a good place to get a following. You can sell art from there, but at least in my experience I can say this is not something that will make you rich (at least not with the style of art that I do) - I have some 600 watchers and over 100000+ page views on there and that is clearly not enough for any sort of critical mass. I'm sure there are other online art venues you could look at.

You can do online comics. It is probably very difficult to make money off though, unless you are very consistent (I suspect years) and have very good content. Most comic work is very work-intensive too. Also, many who do make online comics don't earn their money as much from the comic itself (although you can sell subscriptions on some comic sites) but on separate merchandice, mugs, t-shirts, signed prints and things like that.

I know some offer commission rates online. For this you need to be good at human/character/anatomy drawing since the majority of such commissions seems to be from roleplayers or other gamers who wants you to draw their particular character or design. Yourself being a member of a roleplaying community is a good way to get a client base for stuff like this. A sub-consideration of this is the antrophomorphic animal scene (furries etc) which is huge; so if you are good (and interested) in that style of art you could get commissios of that type. I would guess erotic artwork is also a huge scene if you are willing to go down that route.

Beyond that I think you are starting to head into professional level territory - artwork for games, commercials, websites and the like. Website artwork might be something one could get into, but then you are more heading into design than pure art. And somewhere down that line you are starting to have to compete with people having actual art and design degrees.
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Griatch

Cracked.com are always running contest for T-shirt designs. I think they pay 400-500 dollars for winning designs, not sure how often there are winners though. Cracked.com is a comedy/humour site and for the most part is an okay place, some might be offended by some of the content though.

You can always open a store on sites like cafepress or spreadshirt. They're free to open and you make a percentage on anything that sells. You can set your own prices on the items. You own your designs and those places do not look kindly upon people who attempt to copyright infringe upon the work of others. I've pulled in over $100.00 this month from one cafepress store I run and another $67.00 from another one. I have about a dozen set up and I offer to do custom work. All told it makes me around $500.00 a month on average. It's not a fortune but it's money I didn't have and it costs me nothing other than time.

Great idea Mike.
I know next to nothing about this method so I did a quick search.
Would you consider this info accurate,
How To Start Your Own T-shirt Shop
and about this opinion of CafePress?
The Reasons Why Cafepress Sucks

I'd say it's pretty accurate. I've not had the issues with cafepress that others claim to have had but I would definitely recommend redbubble for a true artist. Their print quality is far superior to the average 200 DPI screen process. I believe they use dye sublimation which is top of the line quality.

DA may be a good way to gain exposure, but I think the problem with selling art there is that you're primarily interacting with other artists.

>> I can't have a deviant art because my mother doesn't want people to steal my work.

There's always the chance someone will grab your image and claim it as their own, unless you don't upload anything at all. But then how are you going to sell anything?

There may be other good reasons to avoid DA, but I don't think this is one of them. The larger the audience you attract, the higher the chance of encountering someone who would steal your work. That probability is just a function of the size of your audience.

If you want to minimize the risk of someone pirating your work, don't upload anything worth stealing. Only upload low resolution (not big enough to sell as a print). Maybe look into copyright registration.

There's always the chance some kid will steal your work just for fun, which is sad, but unavoidable.

What a Treasure Trove of information!

@ Merrak: I told my mother that but she seems to think I'm the best thing since Iced tea and Sliced bread, you'd think I'm Da Vinci. LOL

Always stamp your samples.

For quick cash, try selling prints at local markets, like the farmers markets. Even street side.

For freelance work. Initially a portfolio like the models etc, only stamp your artwork to prevent unwanted usage.
Executable slide shows are accepted by many via Email and personal presentations can also be put forward using digital devices such as laptops, tablets and even digital photo frames.
It is accepted that digital art is prone to theft and as such the initial presentation is merely an indication of your talents.

You must be SPECIFIC and have a clear understanding of what your client is expecting and what you are planning on creating. By writing it all down in advance, there are no surprises later. Write down all details that will be included in the art.

goo.gl/HBR5JL