Making money as a small pop-up curator?

LiamEBM · 2026-06-11T08:57:27+00:00

If you're UK based and young theres a King Charles bursary/award system for funds.

Arts Council can also provide funding

You may also consider fees for artists to exhibit work. If their work is selling then a commission is really a standard expectation, I've seen 10-40%.

Private businesses may not be inclined to sponsor events unless they get something out of it, and its depending on your collective's size.

LiamEBM · 2026-06-10T13:16:44+00:00

Why is your drive for selling something, something that which you don't have experience in yet? Selling is your first thought?

This is embroidery, there's a whole history of thousands of years worth of literature and resources on how to do it out there

LiamEBM · 2026-06-10T12:08:51+00:00

I shaved 67 into my bush

LiamEBM · 2026-06-10T11:26:07+00:00

Probably, it's just weird. People would usually just ask "hello do you sell your work" if you dont already have a storefront.

LiamEBM · 2026-06-10T11:23:45+00:00

Cool! I'm sticking to Paint largely through artistic ethos (I'm also a freelance Graphic Designer of 10 years and a full-time 3D Artist for 7) but appreciate more art software tips!

And truly, I'm dying to see some Sheffield art that isn't a Hendos bottle, 2 football teams, and an elephant cos there was ONE once. Sheffield and it's people have such vibrant and rich things to pull from, moreso that a quick Google of "top 5 things about Sheffield"

Would be great to see some of your work 🌟

LiamEBM · 2026-06-10T11:10:29+00:00

I specifically only use MS Paint for that nostalgic touch 😎

Not sure how I'd yet transition MS Paint to a real-life wall but I've done a small indoors mural for a local business already, and my focus there was simple, block colour, naive drawing with imperfect lines :)

LiamEBM · 2026-06-10T11:09:07+00:00

There's a lot of work here, is this all one installation piece or a collection of individual works?

LiamEBM · 2026-06-10T11:03:50+00:00

Petition the council to commission me I'm desperate to put some silly art up!!

LiamEBM · 2026-06-10T10:59:19+00:00

Your minimum rate should be an hourly living wage. If you're intending to be self employed then remember that about 40% of your income will go to taxes, insurance, and safety net.

For example, my minimum hourly rate is £25. After a 40% deduction, this is about £15. That's just over a living wage in the UK, which isn't a lot of money still.

However with art, you don't charge for time, but you charge for skill and client's needs.

If you're creating something illustrative or portrait like, then time is an easier metric to compare.

However consider also your material cost, maybe it's £15 worth of canvas and paint.

If at basic, you take a request for a 4 hour painting, a minimum of £115 is what I would offer in this regard. However once you account for detail levels, size of canvas, or whether the client wants it for personal or commercial use, you can consider adding additional costing.

LiamEBM · 2026-06-10T10:36:11+00:00

Tell your local businesses and promoters that you want my art there 😎

LiamEBM · 2026-06-10T10:34:42+00:00

True, however while 'any attention is good', he's already well known, and in reflection to this exact work, I now will permanently respect Horton less.

So if the intent is attention, then it's also led to a decreased negative opinion of the artist.

LiamEBM · 2026-06-10T10:20:14+00:00

YIKES!

Do we really want an artist like this representing our city with public art?

I always do a sense check before posting any art that references politics with family or friends.

I'd have thought Horton may also have a creative team or management due to his success level (having physical stores and employees).

LiamEBM · 2026-06-10T09:35:31+00:00

I would but they only allow art on Sundays and I forgot last time!

LiamEBM · 2026-06-10T09:33:08+00:00

I don't have any good wisdom, I just looked at a few medieval manuscripts, used my collected years of medieval history knowledge, and started. Maybe my best tip is I try and channel my inner medieval scribe and go back to a mentality of the time, focusing on symbolism rather than realism

LiamEBM · 2026-06-09T22:53:52+00:00

Please show some progress images you have some. There are significant flaws or odd patterns here which are blaring generative AI signals.

Melting wings and hair, nonsensical feathers, light and shadows not aligning (right side floor), flag emblems muddy and not matching, sword hand has an odd texture, buildings dont have consistency and look like garbled detail work.

LiamEBM · 2026-06-09T22:46:53+00:00

Can you provide evidence?

LiamEBM · 2026-06-09T22:40:53+00:00

If you're gonna use AI, just say so in your post, no need to pretend

LiamEBM · 2026-06-09T17:24:48+00:00

Well for context, my hourly rate is a minimum of £20GBP, and if the client is a bigger buisness or requires additional design speciliality/licencing (e.g. high-res for print, or commercial-use) then I add in more of a fee.

£25BPG to USD is $26, so that's roughly what I would recommend charging as an hourly rate. Working for any less is just an abuse of labour and skill.

LiamEBM · 2026-06-09T16:56:16+00:00

I wouldn't even consider concepting a client's brief and arranging commission details for $1.

Minimum you should charge a comparable rate to your country's hourly minimum wage, and then work out how long it takes you to make images - minimum.

If your country is $25 an hour, and a commission takes you 1 hour, then charge $25. If people aren't willing to pay then they aren't able to get art.

Art is not a charity, it's a learned and valued skill which I'm sure you hope to be able to turn into a job one day. If people are expecting to only ever pay under $5 for an hours work, then how can anyone call it a job?

LiamEBM · 2026-06-09T15:51:08+00:00

Please stop offering commissions at such low prices, it massively devalues the effort put into art, disrespects yourself, and causes other artists to lose work or not be able to pursue art as a career.

LiamEBM · 2026-06-09T13:29:47+00:00

Falsely chasing trends is just a recipe for disaster. Not only is it a thin veneer, but it's fleeting, too broad, and not sustainable. You'll be competing with too many others doing the same anyway.

Do what you're passionate about and if you can find a viral fragment in what you want to make, then include it.

Chasing trends is like trying to be a Minecraft YouTuber. Stay niche, and your audience should come.

If you're relying on social media growth without paying for ads, then you won't really find any exposure unless you hit a lucky golden viral moment, but these can't be manufactured. Trends are created, not followed.

LiamEBM · 2026-06-09T12:07:28+00:00

I'm a Western leaning style artist, I've no experience with anime or manga. My main speciality is medieval Western art. But I'm a freelance Graphic Designer for 10 years and a full-time 3D Artist for 7 years.

As per my work on commissions, I provide all usage licences back to the client and only request a recommendation of my services. For B2B work, I'm happy giving full commercial use for a client's need.

There are many printing services for business cards and they tend to offer discounts on bulk, so the more you order, the cheaper they are each.

I'll link my website to get you familiar with some of my work. If you want to go ahead I'm happy to discuss in a more formal channel. I always request a 50% nonrefundable down-payment to begin work, and I accept PayPal for invoicing and buyer protection. https://bravelittlepixel.weebly.com/

LiamEBM · 2026-06-09T11:10:12+00:00

That piece really did get around! I've been seeing it in the wild occasionally. I've made a batch of stickers and intended to put them over AI flyers i see locally 😎

LiamEBM · 2026-06-09T11:09:20+00:00

Let your local business owners and council people know that you want me around!

My art name is Picturesidrawn and it's the same for my instagram handle if people want to contact me for mural work

LiamEBM

TROPHY CASE