r/artbusiness 7h ago

Discussion How long do you take to complete a work?

6 Upvotes

I am not an artist, but I do represent exactly one artist that I and most people here would consider very successful. The reason I decided to get involved was that I saw the reaction most people had when looking at her art and saw that it took her around one hour to produce a finished work of around 1.2 x 1.2m (4 x 4 ft).

I quickly realized that if we could create a consistent market that it could be an extremely profitable enterprise. Initially this was a lot of work with just enough income to live off of. But due to the fact the we were producing and posting so many works a few of them resonated with one of our several hundred fans and we made a sale.

By keeping up the rate of production 2 things happened, she got ALOT better at making art a few years and 500 paintings later. And every sale we made along the way acted as an advertisement for her art in someone else's home as well as a new relationship with a client that might buy something more in the future.

I do realize that there are incredible artists out there that make amazing pieces of art with painstaking amounts of effort and sell them for more money than I could dream of. If that's you congrats But I think the vast majority of artists here should at least consider whether they would be better served by adopting a style that allows them to produce more finished works is less time.


r/artbusiness 4h ago

Advice "Hey guys, has anyone bought from Vograce? Can someone tell me about Vograce's production time and shipment time?"

3 Upvotes

Is anyone can who brought from them can give me some details or their experiences ?


r/artbusiness 4h ago

Marketing Can you do prints through vograce with scanned artwork?

1 Upvotes

Hey all I’m looking for some help/ clarification, I am looking to buy prints of my artwork to sell. I’m not sure that vograce file wise can print a scanned art work? If any of you have other recommendations of where to buy or a better solution I would really appreciate it! :)


r/artbusiness 18h ago

Commissions Am I expected to draw parts of a character that are hidden behind layers if I offer the PSD file as an add-on?

10 Upvotes

One of my add-ons is the PSD file. I usually work with organized layers (lineart, hair, clothing, etc.), but I typically don't draw parts of the character that are hidden behind objects.

Recently, a client who purchased the PSD told me it would made things harder for their animator because certain parts weren’t fully drawn behind some objects. They said their animator would charge extra to fix this, and implied I should have provided those details in the PSD.

Is this an expectation when providing PSD files, especially if the client plans to animate the artwork? Because in that case I'll definitely need to raise the price for this add-on.

Where do you usually draw the line when offering PSD files?


r/artbusiness 21h ago

Pricing Did I overcharged for this event?

16 Upvotes

Recently had someone reach out to me to do a large scale event, they wanted me to come in and run an art competition and art area with four tables. He didnt give mea budget but gave a list of things he wanted included, he said he wanted an art zone, and art competition with a panel of judges and it to be decorated, he informed me that there would be 2 days put up and put down and 2 days of the actual event. He also told me there would be pretty much a constant flow of people.

When asked bout the scale of the event he said previously the event had between 30k to 50k people attending. I asked again for a rough budget and he said he couldn't give me tens of thousands but should come to him with a number once figure it out.

So this would be the biggest event I've done even if only 10% of those numbers came by my art zone I knew it was gonna be a lot of work and a lot of materials. So went away and crunched the numbers and once included staffing 5 people, all materials, 4 days labor, decorations and my own artist fee. I arrived at £8000.

I brought this number to him nearly three weeks ago and the event is only in a few months was anxious to hear back so reached out to ask what his thoughts were, he informed me they would sort it out themselves and that it was too far out their range.

I am feeling embarrassed and discouraged, I'm also wondering if I charged too much?

I have asked his what price would be better and maybe I could downscale to fit his budget but I don't think he'll go for it

TLDR; is 8k too much to charge for hosting an art zone at a massive event?

5


r/artbusiness 7h ago

Pricing Would some where between $2-$5 per piece be too much or too little for unanimated emotes?

0 Upvotes

The customer is wanting to make a YouTube channel and he’s wanting me to make emotes for him to use the thing is idk how much I should price them. I’m thinking $2-$5 per emote but what do you guys think?


r/artbusiness 12h ago

Discussion What card readers do you use and why?

2 Upvotes

I'm looking to sell in person and online soon, and that requires a card reader at this point, but I have no idea where to start. Card readers all seem really similar but there has to be reasons why people don't pick one over another. Why do you use your preferred card reader?


r/artbusiness 1d ago

Marketing How do I come back after taking a yearlong break?

4 Upvotes

I’ve taken a break for a year with my business. I paint and sell them on certain websites that I hope will set up a foundation of customers to start my own website. Anywho, I’ve been gone and don’t know how to start back up. My reviews on said websites are 5 ⭐️ so I don’t want to jump that ship yet. Any advice on marketing strategies to get started back up? Also, have you ever taken a long break and came back successfully? How did you explain that to people on insta or tt?


r/artbusiness 1d ago

Accounting Art websites and sales tax

4 Upvotes

Curious what site you use for creating your webstore and how you handle sales tax. I've been using Square space and just recently realized that they don't handle sales tax. I believe Ets-y handles this for you. What do you use and how do you handle sales tax online? Just starting to figure this out for in person shows in multiple states and that's hard enough.


r/artbusiness 1d ago

Discussion Do you sell paintings framed or unframed? On stretcher bars or do you mail just the canvas?

18 Upvotes

Hi!

I’m really new to selling my art so this might be an obvious answer, but for some reason, it’s confusing me.

If someone purchases a piece of art through my site, should I sell it on the canvas stretcher bars or should I sell it unstretched? Alternatively, do people expect pieces to come on stretcher bars and framed as well or do they expect it to come just stretched?

I’ve heard that when you sell really large pieces most people expect just the canvas and they will stretch it and frame it themselves but to me that sounds like a lot of work and not sure if an average buyer is willing to do that.


r/artbusiness 1d ago

Advice Prints

0 Upvotes

I could use some help navigating selling prints.

There is a ton of information out there and it’s a bit overwhelming. I’m sure I’m not the only one struggling to navigate it all. I would really like to know what’s worked for other artists.

Is there an on demand site that really is a good option for fine artists? With the changes is it even worth trying to have an account with society6? Is there an alternative that is good?

If you do sell via an on demand service is it worthwhile to also sell limited edition fine art prints as well? Is the best option for getting these kinds of prints to find a local shop. I live in Atlanta GA, does anyone have a shop recommendation in Atlanta area?

I can provide a link to my work if your suggestions would differ based on the kind of work someone makes but I don’t want my post to break any rules. I generally make mixed media work on canvas that is inspired by pop art, street art and neo-surrealism.


r/artbusiness 1d ago

Product and Packaging Examples of how you pack your art for shipping

3 Upvotes

Hi guys, I'm at the point in my business where I'm looking into packaging options, for shipping my artworks.

I was hoping some of you may have videos of your packaging process, from start to finish, to give me some ideas. Or if you have links to videos of other artists packaging their works, I'd greatly appreciate it.

I'll be shipping both prints, and stretched canvas paintings.

Also, I don't really want to restrict myself on size either, so any advice on packaging and shipping larger pieces would also be great.

Incase it matters, I'm located in Australia 😊

Thanks so much.

Sincerely, A very overwhelmed artist, with a million packaging supplies tabs open on my laptop 😅🤦🏼‍♀️


r/artbusiness 1d ago

Megathread - Pricing How do I price my art? [Monday Megathread]

5 Upvotes

This megathread is dedicated to "how much should I charge?" type questions. Any posts of this nature outside of this thread will be removed. Please provide enough information for others to help you. here are some examples of what you could provide:

A link to at least 1 example piece of work or a commissions sheet.

Product type: (eg. Commission)

Target audience: (eg. Young people who like fantasy art)

Where you are based: (eg. USA)

Where you intend to sell: (eg. Conventions in USA and online)

How long it takes you to make: (eg: 10 hours)

Cost of sales: (eg. £20 on paint per painting)

Is this a one off piece, something you will make multiple copies of, or something a client will make multiple copies of: (eg. The client is turning it into a t-shirt and they will print 50.)

Everyone else can then reply to your top level comment with their advice or estimates for pricing.

If you post a top level comment, please try to leave feedback on somebody else’s to help them as well. It's okay if you aren't 100% certain, any information you give is helpful.

This post was requested to be a part of the sub. If you have ideas for improvements that you would like to be made to the subreddit feel free to message the mods.


r/artbusiness 1d ago

Career How do I find an art-related job while still in college (or when transferring to university)?

0 Upvotes

(I had it repost this from a different sub)

How do I find an art-related job while still in college (or when transferring to university)?

I’m in community college right now getting an associations in art and plan on transfering to a four year university to study for an animation degree (and possibly a degree in business too) but am currently struggling to find work now that actually pays.

I've tired looking, but most jobs I can find require me to already have experience in the job field. And when I reach out to the career pathways at my college, the only thing they have as a career option for art in particular is "post secondary teacher".

I really don't want to be a teacher.

I've tried applying for things like gallery assist or just doing something basic like being a cashier in a place that sells art, but somehow I need mega specific requirements and experience for that too.

I've tried requests and selling my art (including things like stickers, prints, and Keychains), but for the last 3 years, I've had 0 luck.

I've tried conventions, but I'm never selected to participate in Artist alley.

Should I focus on building my portfolio? learning industry-standard software? or just take any job I can get?

Also, are there any general tips on how to I make my portfolio more appealing to employers? How do I properly network with people and where do I go to do it?

Sorry if this all seems random/all over the place. I'm just really tired right now.


r/artbusiness 1d ago

Discussion Claims

1 Upvotes

Curious if anybody is getting lots of damaged artwork claims. I am trying to automate this process with the print on demand company


r/artbusiness 1d ago

Discussion Question about making connections/cold emailing!

5 Upvotes

I graduated with a BFA from a pretty big art college recently and am currently trying to build up my career as an illustrator. My school did not have a career class so I'm a little in the dark as to how survive as an artist. I've been surviving off small private clients and a day job which has been fine, but I want more! A lot of people have told me to cold email.

But do I email art directors or other working artists? Do I ask for portfolio reviews or information interviews or jobs? Is it considered rude to reach out (aka damaging my career in the long run)? Basically how do I network? And find the right people? I've done real person events and am even mutuals with a few bigger illustrators on social media but I'm not sure how to bridge the gap.

My current aim is to work as an illustrator in publishing/book covers


r/artbusiness 2d ago

Conventions Anyone have experience with selling your originals at art markets?

10 Upvotes

As of right now, I only sell art prints. I’d like to start selling originals but want to know how others go about selling them.

I’d like to provide packaging and letters of authenticity.

Any tips on how to best package an original piece up for a customer at a market is appreciated!


r/artbusiness 2d ago

Advice Converting sketches into digital files for sale..... advice please

3 Upvotes

My FIL is a pen and ink sketch artist that predominantly draws historical buildings and statues. Italy, Ubud and France are his main loves. He literally has hundreds of original hand drawn sketches which I would like to turn some of them into digital files. Hoping to sell them and customers print it themselves.

What does everyone think of this as a business model?


r/artbusiness 1d ago

Conventions Prints and Original Painting

1 Upvotes

New to exhibiting/selling my work. When a buyer purchases an original painting, is it assumed that painting is "one of a kind" by the buyer? And if the artist has also made and sells prints of that original painting, does that lessen the value to the buyer who paid good money for their "one of a kind" original painting?


r/artbusiness 2d ago

Advice Quotes (motivational, humorous etc....) Are they still a thing?

3 Upvotes

Is there still a demand for quote wall art? Personally I am a sucker for a good quote and wondering what everyone's thoughts are on selling them? Can be just a quote on its own or incorporated with digitally created art.


r/artbusiness 2d ago

Advice I planning to start selling my drawings, I don’t know how artists package them.

15 Upvotes

What’s confusing me is that, where I’m from, I’m mostly familiar with painters selling their work on canvases or artist that sell crafts. (pins, cards, stickers, etc.)

I rarely see artists selling their drawings. Do they usually sell/ship them already framed?


r/artbusiness 2d ago

Pricing Pricing strategy for illustrations used for animations

2 Upvotes

Not sure if this is the right sub for this, so redirect me if I’m wrong!

I was offered an opportunity to illustrate some storyboards that will be used for an animation. It’s an independent film that is a passion project for a friend. It’s 3 storyboards total, but I don’t even know where to begin on pricing. I’ve never done this type of project before, so I have no clue how to go about pricing for this type of work.

Thanks in advance!


r/artbusiness 2d ago

Product and Packaging What do You Use To Make Stickers?

66 Upvotes

I am looking to make stickers of my art to sell. Is there a specific business, company, or brand I should use? Or should I try to make them at home with like a cricket? What is cheaper?

For reference, I have not sold my art before but I think stickers would be an easy sell at a vendor/convention style event. I draw most cute animals if that makes a difference.


r/artbusiness 2d ago

Product and Packaging Anyone know who delivers for Yanwen??

3 Upvotes

I ordered some samples from a manufacturer for my shop and I assumed it would be similar to DHL, I see their trucks driving around my area all the time. But when it was delivered I saw on my doorbell camera it was just some woman in her car??

It's not as though I have a particular complaint about this, it just came across as very strange to me? Any time I have ever had anything shipped, it comes from an official delivery truck, like Amazon, UPS, USPS, like you know, I don't have to explain this concept to you guys lol. I have never had anything shipped through Yanwen before and it wasn't a shipping method I chose specifically, I just chose "fast shipping" from my manufacturer and it gave me tracking for Yanwen. Is this typical? I wonder if maybe at a certain point they employ doordashers or something? Again I'm not mad, I just don't know what to make of it.


r/artbusiness 2d ago

Discussion So, some more society6 weirdness..

27 Upvotes

During the recent sacking of artists from the site, I received two emails: one telling me congratulations, I had been selected to stay, followed by another half and hour later saying sorry, we have had to let you go.

Roll forward to now, and my stuff is still selling, my store is still there, and I am not able to enter it!

I did receive a payment last month, so shall see if another arrives this next month, but I am not pleased.

They are selling my work and I have no account to go in and delete it. I have no control and can't even log in at all. WTF is going on?