i lately been thinking about how i can do better with art commissions. i have done at least two so far but they were both two months ago. is there some things i can do to make them more recognised by people?
I think I remember an older thread of yours where you asked for some advice regarding growing as an artist, as well as getting started with art commissions in general and where to price your art. I’m glad to hear about you being successful with two commissions, and I’m happy to chip in again with some more advice this time around.
Step 1: If you want more customers and people following your art, the first suggestion I can make is that you should think about what sort of theme your artwork has, and what you like to do as an artist.
To put it bluntly, if you struggle to name things that separate you apart from other artists, then you will struggle to gather an audience of people who will regularly look out for your art. The days where you could become popular just by being a decent artist who posts often, or being someone who is willing to draw risqué images (or both) are over, and has been for a long time. It’s now necessary to have something to set you apart, and something people will remember you for.
You don’t need to become the best artist with perfect anatomy and perspective, detailed shading and lighting, you just need to include concepts in your art that aren’t generic. If you have any niche interests that aren’t insanely obscure, try including them in your art somehow. I can’t speak for everyone, but for the artists who I follow, there’s usually a reason as well as something that I will associate with their art that I like that is different from others that I have seen. When I’m browsing for art (SFW or not) I normally just skip over anything that is generic like having a pony just be standing in a basic pose even if the art itself is decent simply because I’ve seen things like that literally thousands of times. Even on days where I specifically look for NSFW art, I will still usually skip over anything that is extremely generic without clicking on the image or leaving an upvote/favourite.
As for your art specifically, the only pieces that I would maybe take a second look at if I was browsing at random pics would be your Maud piece as well as Pinkie, but I’ve already talked about the Pinkie one before. If your art isn’t memorable, people won’t have a reason to consider you as an artist for their commission ideas because your art won’t stick in their minds.
Step 2: Make a dedicated commission sheet for yourself in order to present yourself as an artist who takes pride in their work, and share your commission sheet on more places than just Derpibooru if possible.
There’s more to art commissions than just what prices artists offer and the art itself. You need to look at yourself from a potentially interested customer’s point of view, and the commission process doesn’t start from when the money is paid and the drawing begins, it starts from as soon as a person is interested. The only difference is that if a customer approaches you, they’re probably already interested, but if you approach someone else who’s looking for a commission on a forum for example, then they won’t be interested from the start and you will have to pitch your art to them. If a customer approaches you, it just means that your art has pitched itself and has done the talking for you.
Because you’re unable to know if a customer is interested until they tell you, it’s extremely important to have a good commission sheet design with your best example(s) put forward, and that your art in general is eye-catching, unique and interesting because otherwise, you will not get many interested customers at all. A commission sheet is also an opportunity to demonstrate that you have a good eye for graphic design which will make potential customers take you much more seriously. I haven’t come across a “bad” artist with a “good” commission sheet yet because an artist who has the skills and effort to put into making a presentable commission sheet that both looks good and is easy to understand will very likely have the skills and effort to put into making a good piece of art. Making a good commission sheet that can work as a stand-alone entity with little to no context needed from Derpibooru when (from what I’ve seen) most people seem to not bother or make sheets that have bad colour choices that makes it hard to read, or try to cram too much information that is hard to take in or make bad layout choices, it can only work in your favour. There’s nothing wrong with a basic sheet that is functional and easy to understand, but since art is about making things that are visually pleasing, consider taking the time to make your sheet visually pleasing too.
With that being said, make sure that the description of your commission listing or anywhere you post your commission sheet is checked for spelling errors and mistakes, because if you want more clients and higher quality clients, you need to have a professional attitude to your art and how you market it. With a dedicated sheet, you’re able to share your commission info on Discord servers for example where a link to your Derpibooru page would not be practical nor eye-catching (remember what I said about your art needing to pitch itself!).
As long as your art continues to evolve and improve, and as long as your commission sheet doesn’t look like a 4 year old made it that hurts the eyes, and as long as you have reasonable prices for your current skill level and portfolio, you should be fine.
Step 3: Skip the Patreon account (for now), make a Discord server and a Ko-Fi account instead along with a Twitter account if you wish.
Patreon is not something you should use as a tool to help you gain more followers. In fact, if you’re obnoxious about the way you handle a Patreon account, it will just have the opposite effect and make you lose followers. Patreon is a platform for people who are already interested in what you do choose to support you with a recurring monthly payment, and in order for it to be viable, then you need to deliver something of value that would be worth paying every month for, especially for higher tier pledge amounts.
If you want to set something up to receive any donations people want to send, I would recommend going with Paypal.me or Ko-Fi for one-off donations instead, as making a Patreon at this point would be pointless. Instead, focus on building a platform for a community to grow first instead of trying to monetise a community that is virtually non-existent currently. That’s why I recommend a Discord server to help bring any fans you do have together in one place and posting your art on multiple websites to get the most exposure possible.
Step 4: Continue to make high quality art with unique concepts, or art that puts a considerable spin on a cliché concept.
Your art is pretty good for the type that is relatively simplistic in nature but currently you don’t have much of your work uploaded onto the site. You don’t need to wait until you have hundreds of images under your artist tag, but at the moment you have just under 10 images uploaded. Unless your art is quite detailed and/or out of the ordinary in a tasteful way, 10 images isn’t enough to draw in any sort of crowd. Just keep uploading good art, and fans of your art will follow, and how quickly they will follow depends on how long it takes you to find your niche.
