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Art as a career- a stable, fulfilling career that makes you a comfortable income- is so much more than just drawing the prettiest pictures you can. The pretty pictures aren't the whole deal. You're running a business. You have to learn some business.
You can be creating beautiful, wonderful works of art, but if you're not getting them in front of the eyes of the people who want and need that art as a product, you're not going to make anything from it. That's why social media following is disingenuous.
Having 100 followers may not seem like much, but having 100 followers who consist of people who need your product and want to hire you means 100 potential employers and at least 100 potential jobs. 10k followers who can't afford your work or don't need it translates into nothing.
If you want to make Twitter into an income stream, you've got to know who needs to see your work. Which companies? Which art directors? Who needs your work? Who do you want to work for? Have you followed them? Are you interacting with them? Are you asking questions?
Cultivating a professional relationship with the people you respect and want to work with and for isn't as hard as it seems, and constantly re-evaluating where you are and who you're connecting with is essential for a business to grow. It's not about quantity. It's about quality.
If you want your art to be a product- start thinking of it as a product. Where does it go? Who does it sit well with? Who lines up with your ideals and ideas? You should be constantly, constantly asking yourself these questions. Who are you excited about, and why?
I fell into TTRPGs mostly by accident, but I realised it was one of the places I wanted my work to be, and one of the places there was demand it. Now, I actively cultivate good professional relationships (and friendships!) with the writers whose work and direction excites me.
Cultivating those relationships doesn't need to feel sleazy or manipulative. Just talk to folks. Ask questions. Find out what they like. Be nice. Find common ground. Be someone they like interacting with.
Also important: when you've figured out where you want your work to go, sit it alongside some examples of people who are doing well in that industry and ask yourself sincerely and objectively- is my work ready to live alongside my peers? Don't be overly harsh, but try to be fair.
If the honest answer is "I think so!" then great! Go for it! Double check your portfolio and start sending it out!
But if the answer is "no, not really", then don't immediately take that as a defeat. Art is a journey we're all on. What do you need to work on in the meantime?
But if the answer is "no, not really", then don't immediately take that as a defeat. Art is a journey we're all on. What do you need to work on in the meantime?
Are your fundamentals a bit rusty? Are your compositions a bit lacking? Do you need to tailor your work to that area more? Don't use the answers as a stick to beat yourself with- use them to create a game plan. What do you need to study? What work do you need to make?
I always, always feel better when I use my critical eye to make a plan of attack for improvement instead of being sad about it. You can ask a friend you trust and respect to give you pointers on improvement too! Use it as fuel to fire up your engine and get where you want to go.
Art is hard. Art as a career is hard. Asking yourself these questions and being brutally honest about the answers is difficult and can be disappointing. But every single artist, big to small, has at some point had to do the same. It's part of the process.
Learning to self analyse not just as an artist but as a business is an essential skill, and the sooner you learn it, the sooner it'll propel you along instead of dragging you down. "Not right now" does not mean never. It just means "keep pushing. You're heading the right way."
