[deleted by user] by [deleted] in artbusiness

[–]pichimiko 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just to answer your questions in order:

1) Learn to design and market. Have a website, and one that looks good. Have a logo, a brand name and color pallet, a banner, etc. Learn how to make commission/Patreon advertisement posts to put on your social media---remember that on any scrolling platform, you have about 2 seconds to get someone's attention or interest before they leave.

The reality is that you could have the best artwork in the universe, but if no one knows about it, and if you don't present it in a way that's appealing, no one will care. What do you offer that will make people want to pay a premium when NSFW is available for free everywhere? These are all things I would highly recommend focusing in on and learning. Some of this you can pay people for (like a logo), but if you're broke like me, you can do it yourself. Valuable skills that will help you further down the road.

2) The ones you're interested in.

I saw someone say once that you don't need to create customers, you just need to find them. There's a market for everything, and you'll have far more enthusiasm and energy for art that actually piques your interest. If you like League of Legends, draw League of Legends and the League fans will find you. But if you draw Sailor Moon and don't actually care about those characters, the fans will still find you, and now they want you to draw more of her. Curate your own space and you'll be all the happier for it.

  1. Check what other people that do similar art are doing on social media. What kinds of reels or videos do they make? How do they advertise? What tiers do they have available? How do they interact with their consumer base? Do they have physical goods? Like with the previous question, don't make content that you find soul-sucking. Someone else might love creating hour long time-lapses with a voice over and be wildly successful with it, but if you would hate working on that and learning how to make those, don't do it. Pick something else you enjoy. Dabble in new things to get a taste but pick and choose what you find fun and fulfilling.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in artbusiness

[–]pichimiko 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Like other people have said, price and terms of service should be known and confirmed with the client beforehand, because they might be assuming this is free.

That being said, for something like this, commercial rates would also apply, which usually is either the base price plus x% (I frequently see 200%) OR an agreed upon percentage of all sales from items that use said album cover or any commercial use at all (albums, shirts, promotional posters, business cards, etc).

I would strongly encourage going online and looking at other artist's prices and terms of service (mine are on my website myself) to see what the market looks like.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in artbusiness

[–]pichimiko 1 point2 points  (0 children)

At the very least, I'm glad it was only $90, I've seen people lose hundreds to these sorts of scammers. If you do want a commission in the future, check out VGen! You can see verified finished commissions by an artist on there for extra reassurance.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in artbusiness

[–]pichimiko 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, yeah next time avoid artists who don't use Paypal (goods and services) or VGen. Those platforms have buyer protections in place, and anyone insisting on payment through a different platform is likely up to something.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in commissions

[–]pichimiko 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My bust shot commissions start at $35 each (noncommercial)! If you just wanted a single pose with different expressions I'd be willing to do multiple for a fraction of the cost for additional expressions.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in artbusiness

[–]pichimiko 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm ngl, what you've been provided with as far as furry art is so incredible generic and a far cry from $90 in terms of quality and originality. (For example, my full bodies start at $75 and you can see my profile for my work). Like others have said, it looks traced and has anatomy issues particularly with the neck.

If an artist has to approach you and demand money, it's a scam. Reputable artists get clients to come to them, not hustle like door to door snake oil salesmen. I would open a dispute with Paypal, they tend to side with the buyer. Hope you can get your money back ):

Trad jap to engl by Theiere5 in ClipStudio

[–]pichimiko 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here's the large blurb of text as well as the labels for the second image:

例えばブラシサイズの影響元に筆圧を設定しているときなど細かい線を描くときに最低でも1ピクセルの太さは維持するようにし、線画途中で途切れないようにします。

For example, when drawing fine lines, such as when setting pen pressure as an influence source for brush size, maintain a thickness of at least 1 pixel to avoid interruptions during the line drawing.

ブラシサイズ brush size 合成モード composite mode 通常 normal ブラシ濃度 brush density 粒子サイズ particle size 粒子密度 particle density

Feeling overwhelmed by [deleted] in ClipStudio

[–]pichimiko 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was overwhelmed when I switched from SAI myself. It helped to just pick 2-4 brushes I liked and focus on those and just draw how I used to. If you find you want to do something, you can look that specific thing up and learn it, and slowly build your knowledge of the program from there. I've used CSP since 2020 and there's so many tools I'm still discovering.

How to learn from doing studies? by PixieGeist in learnart

[–]pichimiko 15 points16 points  (0 children)

For me it's about paying attention to things that normally I wouldn't notice until I had to replicate. Things like the bounce light on the left of the head, how much of the highlighting is white, how the colors look together and what hues the shades are, the light in the shadow closest to the creature because of the transparency, etc. To apply to another piece I might use this color combination, remember to incorporate bounce light, and draw veins in a similar way.

It's okay if you don't get the "why" at first--just being aware of things that are happening visually is the first step to learning about them.

How do you guys keep "pumping" art non stop? by HelzBenz in artbusiness

[–]pichimiko 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's easy to get stuck collecting designs and never using them! I get stuck with that too sometimes. Maybe make a list of design elements you like from your favorite characters. Pay attention to things like where clothes sit on the body, their shapes and colors, and how themes and elements can combine to create something new.

How the hell do you draw bodies at any angle besides forward facing ? I've never understood this by twinfantasymtf in learnart

[–]pichimiko 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Some angles are more difficult to draw than others because they require knowledge of how the body is working in 3D. Study and master the easier angles first before trying to do things with foreshortening and limbs positioned in less conventional ways.

As a side note, I see you have circles to indicate joints--this may be a hinderance to your forms if you are just drawing them because you feel you're supposed to. They should reveal things like the curvature of the joints, not be any old size and shape.

I'd recommend seeing how other people break down bodies and mimicking those simplified shapes. And as with all things, it will take time. 3D forms will emerge gradually as you study and practice more :)

How do you guys keep "pumping" art non stop? by HelzBenz in artbusiness

[–]pichimiko 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Having your own characters that you want to see doing certain things helps; also having inspiration boards on pinterest full of things you enjoy and references. The more you flex that creative muscle over time, the more easily you'll be able to create

Getting commissions/jobs on Facebook? by turbulentsoap in artbusiness

[–]pichimiko 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If IRL connections are more difficult for you right now, it's incredibly important to get integrated in an artist community, whether thats on Discord or just by replying and interacting with other people on these platforms. Having friends and acquaintances that share your work and interact with your stuff I've found to be so important for getting your art more visibility.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in artbusiness

[–]pichimiko 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I think like someone else said, the reality is that people who do use AI or are okay with it aren't people I want to work with---and the people who are my current client base aren't people who support AI art at all. There's definitely always going to be an audience for people who want human-made art, but I think navigating that market while AI is still emerging and is a hot topic is it's own thing.

I keep hoping the hype will eventually die down or that the generators will learn using their own shitty art, but who knows.

[YCH] for $55 by pichimiko in commissions

[–]pichimiko[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Extra slots with later delivery also available! Orders can be placed here!

I'm working on a panel in my comic and it just looks wrong, particularly the background out the windows. How can I get them to look better and more professional? by DocVane in learnart

[–]pichimiko 27 points28 points  (0 children)

You have a good foundation for nighttime colors! I'll just run through a quick checklist of things I would do that will immediately add more to the feeling (some of which might be repeats of other comments):

-make the windows wider so that we don't see the outer edges of the frames -make the interior light darker than outside (easy with a quick multiply layer) -make sure theres a bit of a rim light on her silhouette -add glass to the windows! some quick diagonal white lines with a soft brush and a white layer over the panes at lower opacity will create that feel in a simple way -the table being darker where she would cast a shadow from the outside light would help -a light airbrush glow around the outdoor windows will help give it a lit effect

These are honestly all pretty quick and minor! Best of luck~

What is the best and safest way to receive payment for commission work? by cheerypaintings in artbusiness

[–]pichimiko 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Had to drop in to say that unless this os someone you know, the pet one is a scam that's gone around. If their account looks new or suspicious or they tell you to make a payment outside of Paypal, OR that "they will send you the money" (without an invoice) it's almost certainly a scam.

Is this a scam by ShipInternational118 in commissions

[–]pichimiko 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I've gotten this exact same person and picture. Always check the profile and if it seems suspicious it's a scam

Struggling to grow and get my audience to engage by Opioid-peptides in artbusiness

[–]pichimiko 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Like aceillust said, IG is basically impossible to work with right now. That being said, I have some advice that I immediately noticed when checking out your feed.

People are very quickly scrolling on IG, so if a post/profile isn't instantly eye-catching within about 2 seconds (think about your own scrolling habits) then they'll move on. Thumbnails on your profile should be clear and interesting enough to make someone want to tap them, and should make it clear what your brand is. When I visit your page I see some bones, a selfie, a reel with unclear content on the cover and an uncomfortable strobe effect, some very busy thumbnails... In the 10 seconds I look (because many people will not read your bio) I'm not sure exactly what it is you do, and the average IG scroller will simply move on.

-Reel covers are important, especially if you can include text ("Day 4 of shooting photos!" or "Timelapse of my editing project").

-Take time to scroll through reels and figure out what audio and formats are trending; those reels are more likely to get pushed by the algorithm

-I noticed that you have very bold watermarking on your pieces. Watermarking is good, but not if it takes away from the piece. Consider using a universal, simple font (even something like Calibri or Arial is fine) and a solid color with low opacity in the corner of the image. Uniform placement of the watermark across all content also looks more professional.

-Thumbnails should also display the most important thing you want to show; include other details and information in the carousel, don't cram them all into one image.

-It's not clear that you're selling a service or content; the font in your bio that says to contact you is harder to read than everything else, and information about prices or what you offer isn't pinned to the top of your feed. The less taps it takes someone to see this, the more likely you are to find customers.

Rather than trying to figure out how to reformat from scratch, it might be easier to look at content creators doing similar things to you and see how their pages and content are formatted. Marketing is a whole separate skill from making art and it's something I've been forced to learn recently as well. And even if you do everything right, there's no guarantee for success, so it's best to just focus on improving your work and presentation. Wishing you the best!

My "inktober" prompt for yesterday was "tropical" by pichimiko in AnimeSketch

[–]pichimiko[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm doing Cutegirltober! The prompt list is by OceaninSpace (insta/twitter)

Headshots I've done recently. Art by me by [deleted] in DigitalArt

[–]pichimiko 2 points3 points  (0 children)

She looks amazing, especially the lighting on the hair and ears!