>be me >love drawing since childhood >ending up making

Whom are you quoting?

>>3011586
myself

You're in the exact spot I'm in, though I haven't graduated yet. The thing is, if you aren't extremely prolific, technically skilled, or have a lot of friends/associates or all three, then art is mostly only going to be a hobby. Networking is extremely important, and I know I'm shit at it so I've come to grips with the notion that I'll never make a living from my art. That's just how it is. Schmooze or lose.

>>3011595
This is while keeping in mind that art (drawing) has been the only thing that I do even moderately well. I fuck up everything else I do. Whatever I guess.

>>3011578
Everyone who's always told they're great and have talent and will go places, ends up plateauing and stalling because nobody ever told them they needed to keep trying.

You're shit anon, you need to keep improving or you'll never sell shit.

>>3011595
i guess i will be soon back working at some kitchen again, destroying my back some more and cutting and burning my hands everyday for some minimum loan

>>3011601
"improving" does not = sales. You can become as technically proficient as you think you need, but being a salesman is leagues more important.

>>3011601
so after almost 30 years of "improving" how much longer do you think it it will take me to sell my first drawing/painting/illustration/whatever, another 30 years?

>>3011578
>>3011595
Sounds like you two made the mistake of trusting in the education system
We all grew up believing that education = job
and it does for some careers but art is certainly not one of them
You're more of a freelance plumber than an office jobber

Don't lose faith, the fact that it is the way it is makes it good in a way
It's not held down by all the strict regulations and procedures that regular jobs have. You can scmooze your way through everything and don't need to sign loads of documents to do so.

Get a job unrelated to art and work on your art both your skills and your networking until you can switch over to art full time

>>3011613
The only thing I could tell you is to try. Given that I haven't seen you work, the only advice that you could get from this place is to literally stand on the corner and try to sell.

>>3011618
did unrelated shitty jobs the last two years, but can´t manage to do art after coming home from work, because i only get the really hard jobs where i´m just fucked after. oh and i got a psychic disorder which doesn´t make it more easy

>>3011622
so how long did it take you to get "successful"?
i can post some work of me if you like

>Be me
>Dropped out of STEM course to go to a illustration course
>One of the top students
>Just got a major freelance job
>Decent following online, get comissions now and then
>Still depressed as shit and want to die, anxiety has been getting worse. Medication does not help
>Art is my vehicle to escape from the disgust i feel for myself
>Joy in succesd is short lived and improvement is superficial

The pain never ends

>>3011578
Tell me how to learn how to draw OP, I'm discouraged. My drawings look like shit

>>3011636
I never said I was successful. I'm >>3011595

The reason I mentioned showing your stuff is so that others can asses what your audience might be.

>>3011618
I did to a certain degree. But the most retarded thing about it is that I've be skeptical about the whole situation. I haven't lost faith, it's just that sectioning off such a large part of yourself is pretty risky. It can easily get forgotten. So I'm going to keep making art, just not with money in mind. Maybe it'll be worth something when I'm 60 or dead; that's all I can hope.

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>>3011647
this was one of 7 pieces from my diploma
(hermann hesse steppenwolf illustrations)

>>3011653
Who have you tried selling to, and have tried selling without mentioning Steppenwolf? Also, what price?

>>3011657
this piece was for sale at the diploma art show which was attended by a few hundered people also quite a few people from local artscene. there was no pricing on it, but i would have sold it for about 2000 euros, but nobody asked for it anyway, so... also i applied for hundreds of jobs in illustration and similiar things, contacted agencies to represent me, book sellers, art competions etc, all what you can think of. all with no success at all

>>3011665
You fucked yourself by not having a price tag. Is there a reason you posted this one and not others?

>>3011685
you think it would have sold with a price tag?
its my favorite one from the 7 pieces

>>3011689
Probably. It isn't revolting. I could see it being purchased as a part of a contemporary art collection. Since the show was related to school, there is usually a buyer for most things if it is impressive enough (ie subject matter, technique and never underestimate size. Bigg = more impressive to normies). You just have to create a charming air around yourself. You sell yourself as much as your art. My problem is that I don't sell myself well at all when it comes to my art.

>>3011689
Have you tried talking with any smaller, local art galleries/ fine arts museums. I'm interning at a fine art museum now, and they buy some stupid shit. You just have to come off as interesting. With your style, I would try more for the fine art route than illustration. If you really want to do illustration, then make a comic or something.

>>3011698
i´m not a native english speaker, do mean "revolting" like disgusting or like revolutionary?
the size of the piece is 42 cm x 59 cm, technique is a mix of airbrush acrylics and other stuff

>>3011703
i´m right now painting n a series of larger oil paintings and some watercolors, and will try my luck again when i´m finished with them. of course i tried with the smaller galleries, the big ones i don´t even think of trying. I personly want to go more in fine art direction, but would be happy with some illustration job, too

>>3011708
I mean that it isn't ugly.

>>3011709
What did the smaller galleries tell you? Also, have you tried joining an artists' association, like a watercolorists guild or painting group? Anything that lets you exhibit along side other, possibly more experienced, artists would be a boon in your favor. They usually have yearly/monthly dues, but being surrounded by people that have been exactly where you have can do a lot of good.

>>3011713
i never got like real feedback, only excuses like "we don´t take any new artist" etc

>>3011717
Have you tried joining an artists' association, like a watercolorists guild or painting group? Anything that lets you exhibit along side other, possibly more experienced, artists would be a boon in your favor. They usually have yearly/monthly dues, but being surrounded by people that have been exactly where you have can do a lot of good.

>>3011729
i was thinking about it, but the ones i know of are quite expensive (for me) and i got a friend who joined one and he had a bad experience with it

>>3011733
Just try it. You aren't your friend. Don't sabotage yourself.

>>3011742
yeah maybe i should try that, thanks for the advice

>>3011595
The key to being an illustrator is hustling. Nobody is going to hire you, if they don't know you exist. Marketing yourself is your job, unless you get an agent. If you're that talented, start contacting agents who handle illustrators, and see of any of them think they can sell you.

Get an agent.
Have a solid portfolio website.
Have a solid PDF version to send out.
If you can afford it, a couple of printed versions.

Start calling and emailing the kinds of clients you want to work for. Start a database of who you've contacted, if they called back, and the results. Ask them what they look for when they hire/buy art.

If you want a full time job, same - hustle and apply everywhere.

Join professional organizations - the Society Of Illustrators for sure, and The Graphic Artists Guild second. (their legal reference and contract templates alone are worth the cost of the membership)

Enter professional contests, like for the big graphics websites, like CGSociety.

It's all hustle. You gotta get off your ass, and run an office for yourself. That's why most fail, they can't do it, or don't want to.

>>3011613
You haven't sold anything in 30 years? Have you even tried? I was selling stuff locally before I graduated.

You're either not that good, or your work is too specialized, or you haven't tried. Who have you tried to sell to?

>>3011689
Yes. Something untagged with a price at a show means it's sold, or not for sale.

>>3011761
the almost 30 years i meant is the time i´m drawing (and improving) and my age

>>3011762
there where no price tags on any of the works showed on the exibition also from the other arists

>>3011760
did and still doing all the stuff you are saying except joining an organization.

>>3011653
I'm not critiquing this painting because that's not why you started this thread, but I think you need to start asking yourself some serious questions about what you are offering to potential customers, and what those customers typically buy and the level of competition in that field. Would they be buying your art for the technique, for the aesthetics, for the message, or for the person who made it? Does your current work fine-tuned to provide value in one of those areas?

Know your employer. Once you figure that out, then you worry about marketing and networking. That way you won't waste any effort.

>>3011771
I think we're either being trolled, or there's something missing here. If that's your work you posted, you have a sellable style. I could see selling work for book covers, things like that, even editorial art for magazines - like Playboy, GQ, ect.

How do you send your work? Just a bunch of jpegs attached to an email? A Deviant page? Or do you have a portfolio that's set up professionally, clearly labeled, with quality scans/photos of the work? Is it all nude? Because that turns a lot of people off, that labels you as an erotic artist, and that will get most doors slammed in your face.

Honestly, I think you need to join a professional society and arrange a portfolio review. Or you're trolling us.

>>3011792
i´m not trolling.
and of course i got a professional (pdf and printable) portfolio, i studied illustration/graphic design for over 3 and a half years, so i know how to do all this stuff.

>>3011578
I really like your dog illustration. Is it for sale?
I have just the spot for it on my kitchen wall :)

>>3011598
If you tell yourself that you fail at everything else in life. Then that is what will happen. Change your thought process and you will see success.

>>3011641
Watch some Tony Robbins it can cure your ailments.

>>3012433
do you mean the photo in the first post, or the picture above your post?

>>3011765
Oh, so you're one of those people who came to this world equipped with crayons. "Yeah, I've only been drawing since I was born." You and every other kid on Deviantart.

>>3011578
this is not your fucking blog.
GTFO

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>>3012500
all kids draw when they are young, some just stop when they get older some don`t

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>>3012504

>>3012500
>when salty anons realize they're never gunna make it because they were busy playing minecraft when they were kids instead of drawing

haha kys cunt.

Op, have you ever taken any business courses? I see a lot of art graduates lack business knowledge when it's the number one thing you need besides the art part.

>>3011800
In school?

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>>3011808
Cute paws

>>3012574
i did not take any business courses, but i know all the basic stuff

>>3012628
yeah in art school

>>3011586
new fag never seen green text story before

>>3012514
You have not been improving since the day you were born

Grow up, if you haven't been practising seriously you're not going anywhere

>>3012651
not since the day i was born but not much time after, do you take everything so literaly?

>>3011760
this is one of my biggest problems so far, I have no art circle, no contacts. and that's because i'm way too serious and impersonal whenever I talk with people over the internet. For some people making friendships and networks is as natural as breathing, for me it feels like an uphill battle even when it seems like things are going well (I keep worrying in the back of my mind about becoming repetitive, not knowing what to say next or plain boring).

>>3011578
maybe it's the subject matter, OP

Watch Futur channel, they are mainly about graphic design but also creative bussiness in general. Watch those videos and apply yourself.

>>3011578
> be me
> go to school for art, drop out halfway through because of bullshit and extreme anxiety
> consider going back, to a different school, but dont because I'm already ruined by the few loans I have
> I have no interests or other skills, and no aspirations

My family doesn't talk to me and I couldn't even get *them* to show interest in my work. They haven't supported me since I was a child. The only friend I have is my roommate, but they just give me uselessly hopeful "Try try again! Never give up!" mantras. They got a vet tech degree and never used the damn thing, nobody will hire them because they have no experience.

I know when to throw in the towel, desu. I'm probably killing myself at some point in the next couple years.

>>3015457
You literally may as well kill yourself instead of going to art school. Go get the book "Classic Human Anatomy" by V. Winslow instead and work on that

>>3015457
>My family doesn't talk to me and I couldn't even get *them* to show interest in my work.

Why not, are you a furry or something?

>>3011653
I'll be honest.

you're trash.

I sold two paintings, for 300 and 275. I feel happy.

>>3011665
>2000 euros
D-do people actually pay that much for paintings by literallywhos?

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>>3011609
This

Is insane how /ic/ likes to pose themselves as smug smart cunts but can't understand to be successful business wise is more about knowing how to deal with people and selling yourself than having some solid art skills

There is a lot of people with high skill being paid fucking shit to draw ( animators on japan for example ) meanwhile there is people out there making an audience of people who loves them, to throw money at them, and their skill level is average at best

>>3011578
Big fish, small pond

>>3015457
>> consider going back, to a different school, but dont because I'm already ruined by the few loans I have
How much in loans? Private or federal? ~30k is pretty bad if you didn't even get a bachelor's out of it, but not life ruining if they're federal loans and you're eligible for income based repayment.

If you can't even get through art school, maybe a hands-on trade that's in demand will be your thing.

>>3016447
Nah, closer to half that and I think theyre private loans, idk

The school's financial aid people were shit and weren't very clear about it. It was one of those scam schools, a high school teacher talked me into it.

But it's going to take me over ten years to pay, either way, and I have debt collectors after me for 600 I owe to the school over something. I don't make nearly enough to pay any of this, can't seem to find a better paying job, and I lost my health insurance earlier this year so I need to figure out what to do about that nonsense on top of this.

The only income based plans I was offered when I was working on getting my first payment in for the loans were around 150 a month, well above what I can afford.

If Im being honest, Im probably going to stay with retail. Literally nothing interests me anymore and I was being serious about the suicide thing, there's not a big point to any of it

>>3015657
No, they just haven't paid me any mind since I was a kid and my dad was still alive. Now that he's gone, they aren't obligated to even look in my direction. Maybe I'm just shit.

>>3016774
15k is nothing to kill yourself over, anon. If you're not homeless and you've got a stable job (even if it's a shit job), that's a not a hopeless position. If you're not living like a scrooge already, figure out your expenses down to the penny and budget. If you feel like you're already living miserly, double check if you're efficient with your cash and figure out a system to work towards getting that debt off your back.

If you're too tired for art after work, then get up earlier to do it. Even if it's just getting up half an hour, it's better than 0. Also, make sure your own room is as clean and tidy as you can manage, that's an unnecessary distraction when you're trying to figure things out.

>>3011641
Try and excersise, go outside, and eat healthy

>>3011653
Is most of your artwork in this style? I think that's the reason m8, normies probably don't find it appealing. Maybe you should try something else for a while and see if that works

>>3011606
Dont tell me you didn't know this would happen before you decided to major in this.

>>3016774
file for bankruptcy if you need to anon.
>debt collectors after me for 600
you can pay that off in one or two paychecks working minimum wage if you're smart with your money.
>cant seem to find a better paying job
you probably walk past better paying jobs every day. you just arent really trying to find a better paying job.
sounds like youve got some depression and anxiety. it's hard to get out of but there are plenty of people out there that can help you. what you dont want to do is close yourself off and stay inside your head for too long. go out and talk and meet people.
and keep drawing.