Has anyone here had real success selling artwork in some way?
I know the basic “sell on Etsy or Redbubble” advice, but I’m curious as to real stories and accounts. My only experience with Etsy was fairly negative, so I’d rather find something more suited to illustrator type artists. Since I struggle with anxiety, selling artwork in person through a gallery or cafe is totally daunting. I live in a small town and don’t feel ready to step into the real-world art galleries quite yet.
Another question I had was if digital was more lucrative than traditional drawing when selling online? I’m basically just trying to find a niche I could fill while hopefully making a little extra money.
AARA I’m sorry i don’t no to much about selling painting.
But I use to make baby news papers and sell them on ebay.
It wasn’t to bad.
Selling digital my be easier than in person. I use to sell
sell recipes and other things like that on ebay. It was
digital. Till they change the selling format.
You could try going to a street market or a flea market on the weekends and set up a booth to showcase your work. You may also want to check local museums to see if you could enter any art shows.
@bonnie.squires I honestly never thought of eBay for art. I’ve sold some old cameras and film equipment there before, and it wasn’t bad at all. I’ll look into that, thank you!
@bjlee The flea market idea sounds very interesting. Sadly I think the only time they happen in town is when I’m at work. I think looking into the weekend festivals and celebrations is worth a try though!
I don’t do any artwork anymore. But I’ve got quite a story that might be useful.
Back when Halo was popular I would make drawings featuring scenes and characters from the game. I tried selling them for $20 each. But no one would buy them. One girl took notice and asked for a drawing, I guess it turned out to be for her Dad. I did so, made exactly $0. The Dad put it in his office in a frame. Husband office had a lot of people. People asked where to get them and she ended up coming back to me and asked if she could buy a few more for her friends and Dad’s coworkers.
During a school fundraiser, after I left the city, she ended up selling a few drawings of master chief that she had as extra. Lots of people ended up buying them. She got permission by asking my brother to ask me.
The lesson from here is:
You can’t make money from drawings/art instantly without being noticed. Who are you and why should I buy from you?
It’s stupid how this works but I’ve noticed it.
Give out art for free. But be smart about it. Give out to someone with a lot of friends (That are into art) or even subscribers for free. It’ll likely get noticed by someone. It might take a few tries but I bet someone will buy something. When that happens keep going and making art. Most importantly, focus on the art when that happens and not the money. Provide the best art you can and even more people will notice. As my favorite entrepreneur says: “Micro speed, macro patience.” - Gary Vee
SOLOMAN you reminded me of some thing a friend did
she would make small painting and than hold a contest
and send it to the winner of the contest. She did get sales
this way.
I had another friend Jason who passed away. He was disabled
and he used his mouth to paint and had a dazzle I think it is store.
My you could look into some thing like that to.
All so if your town holds an arts and craft fair go buy a table or booth
there and get your art work out that way. The last place I was at they
didn’t charge to set up a table it was a farmers market/arts and craft.
I would recommend fivrr and zazzle. I think these sites should be what you are looking for as far as the type of art you make and helping with your anxiety.
I do try to sell online, but learning the business side of things and especially how to use social media and algorhythms so you can show up in google searches help. Try Pinterest and all that. Artist can be considered a dime a dozen. If you are exceptionally good at it, I don’t believe in giving it away for free because nobody takes the business seriously.
Has anyone here had real success selling artwork in some way?
I know the basic “sell on Etsy or Redbubble” advice, but I’m curious as to real stories and accounts. My only experience with Etsy was fairly negative, so I’d rather find something more suited to illustrator type artists. Since I struggle with anxiety, selling artwork in person through a gallery or cafe is totally daunting. I live in a small town and don’t feel ready to step into the real-world art galleries quite yet.
Another question I had was if digital was more lucrative than traditional drawing when selling online? I’m basically just trying to find a niche I could fill while hopefully making a little extra money.
If you’re not ready to sell in-person, I would recommend testing the waters by selling digital illustrations online. It may be a bit too niche, but a new video-game-centric site called Gameflip has a marketplace for illustrators to sell their video-game-related artwork. You can do commissions for other people’s Twitch channels and online profiles.
The community is still young, but it may be a good way for you to find your niche.
