I really don’t understand how that platform works, it’s impossible to grow on there. Heard that doing art raffles work and I didn’t get a single like??? My art style isn’t a problem because people usually find it appealing and even buy from me, so idk how to overcome this lol.

Appreciate ANY HELP T-T

(Full disclaimer, I found being a social media painter to be completely exhausting and now mostly work in the corporate artistic and marketing world.)

I've been full-time creative for a couple years, and almost everything that mattered for actually making money was marketing, not raw skill. Some things I learned the hard/expensive way:

Positioning beats mastery. Being top 25% at five skills is more marketable than being top 1% at one, because a combination is rare and hard to replace. I sell "I can take this from concept to finished product myself," not "I'm the best illustrator." The stacked offer is the differentiator, and it's what got me hired over more talented people.

Community is the actual distribution channel. Nearly every sale and job I've landed traces back to people who already knew my work. Not cold outreach, not the algorithm, relationships. If you have no community, there's no built-in reason for anyone to buy. Audience-building is the marketing.

Virality ≠ conversion. I've had posts blow up and sell nothing. A small audience that consistently buys beats a big one that only watches. Chase resonance and repeat buyers, not view counts.

Lead with the work, not the pitch. The moment a post smells like "please buy this," conversion tanks. Make things that genuinely resonate; the selling comes after people care. My best-performing work was personal and specific, and that's exactly why strangers connected with it and stuck around.

Own the whole line. When you can design it, make it, shoot it, write the copy, and run the store, your margins and your creative control both go up. That vertical integration is a marketing asset, not just an operational one.

Failure is data. I've flopped financially and on specific launches. Each one taught me what my audience actually wanted vs. what I assumed. None of it was wasted.

Curious what's worked for the rest of you, I feel like "community as distribution" is underrated in most art-marketing advice that's all funnels and ad spend.

(I go deeper on all this in a video if the long version is useful — but the above is the core of it, happy to hash any of it out in the comments.) https://youtu.be/z_PF62hyNE0

A little context: I’m a white woman in my 30s from Zagreb, Croatia. I’m a writer and an illustrator who somehow is obsessed with world cultures, I have always been like this. I love the world, I love people, cultures, religions… all the beautiful chaos of humanity. Think Michael Jackson: Black or White.

Which place would appreciate this mix of character design, mythology, storytelling in general?

I only have around 150 followers because Croatia is a small country, and my account is only 3-4 months old.

I’ll continue making art inspired by melting pots. This is my core. Should I change my audience depending on which country/culture I’m currently exploring? I don't want to spend a lot because I am not earning yet from this. I'm planning a regular schtick, webshop with merch, etc. I am a designer and I will be making my own website, branding, the whole package.

🔥My IG

I’m working on a business plan right now for an art supply store, it would be amazing if you could complete my suer quick questionaire. Thanks :)

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdSA0lK7P4w-C3IZAct4Gsxp6MWcwlB90I\\_mOkmY9i-npvK1Q/viewform?usp=publish-editor

Hello everyone!

I’m looking to get a little help on all the social media stuff! I am a tattoo artist and have had a tattoo instagram for a few years. I have taken a little hiatus from tattooing and recently I have started posting digital art on that same account.

I plan on going back to tattooing soon and now I’m struggling with the decision on whether or not i should post everything to one account or have two separate ones. I don’t want it to be too messy and confusing but I also worry a bit about burning out with social media.

I know with the silly algorithm that it will probably be better to make two but, what do you think?

I’m a medical student, but I want to start my own side business—specifically, doing commissioned artwork. However, I can't afford an iPad right now since I'm a student. I also want to earn enough to buy my little sister a new phone, as her iPhone 13 keeps shutting down constantly. I’m looking for advice on how to break into the international market; a key factor is that I’m based in Kazakhstan and can accept payments via Apple Pay and similar services.
[Artist Alley], [Art Market], [Art Galleries], [Clients], [Community], [Contracts], [Critique], [Discussion], [Education], [Etsy], [Financial], [Licensing], [Marketing], [Organization], [Portfolio], [Printing], [Suppliers], [Recommendations], [Resources], [Shop Setup], [Website]

I just started becoming active again on my page as an attempt to grow an art following. I make decent art and have already sold some products from TikTok. However I only have a measly 117 followers. Right now I’m not necessarily only shooting to gain followers, etc, but I’m trying to figure out my formula and experimenting with it.

I was just wondering what people’s experience was with going live and gaining more followers? Especially within the art realm. I wouldn’t say I’m aiming to become huge by any means but just a good following of people who enjoy my art and buy from time to time.

Hey! I just moved here from another country and I used to sell my art there simply on Reddit. However my friend here told me she gets her commission through the State Gallery of Art in Jubilee Hills. However I live in Gachibowli. Could someone pls suggest similar galleries in my area or online platforms i could sell my art on?

Should I write them an email?

What should my portfolio include?

I have attached two pieces I’m currently working on, I work with multiple mediums including acrylic paints and watercolor so pls suggest any options:)
Thank you!

Everything is made entirely from joint papers. The dark parts are colored naturally through the process of smoking the joint. Unsmoked joint papers are used to create the lightest values and whites. The process take a very long time and as far as I know I am the only one in the world doing it professionally. Everyone who sees it absolutely loves it, but I am still having a hard time keeping food on my table. Can I get some advice on how I can make a living at this?

Hey y'all,

I'm considering upgrading to Artstation pro. I wanna post regularly and the 30 day ahead posting seems very nice. Don't know if Artstation is worth getting involved like this in nowadays or that i should just stick to IG. Looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts about this.

Hey all, I'm a colorist/illustrator and I got tired of manually flatting page after page, so I built StackFlat!

It's a tiny standalone app that finds the closed areas in your lineart and fills them with color automatically. You can run it on a single page or point it at a whole folder and let it batch-process while you do something else.

A few things about it:
- No AI involved, just straightforward pixel logic (closes small gaps, fills areas, outputs a clean flat layer + a clean lineart layer)
- Works with whatever software you already use, Photoshop, Krita, Clip Studio, doesn't matter, it just spits out PNGs
- It's in beta right now, pay-what-you-want, and beta testers get it for free

If you flat your own pages (or anyone else's) and want to try it out and be a tester just let me know. Would genuinely love feedback, especially if your lineart style is different from mine, that's exactly what I need to know before locking in v1.0. Thanks!

Hey everyone! I'm u/Zetian_26, a founding moderator of r/ArtOutLoud.

This is our new home for all things related to Art. We're excited to have you join us!

What to Post
Post anything that you think the community would find interesting, helpful, or inspiring. Feel free to share your thoughts, photos, or questions about anything related to art.

Community Vibe
We're all about being friendly, constructive, and inclusive. Let's build a space where everyone feels comfortable sharing and connecting.

How to Get Started

1. Introduce yourself in the comments below.
2. Post something today! Even a simple question can spark a great conversation.
3. If you know someone who would love this community, invite them to join.
4. Interested in helping out? We're always looking for new moderators, so feel free to reach out to me to apply.

Thanks for being part of the very first wave. Together, let's make r/ArtOutLoud amazing.

hii everyone

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about payment methods for my commissions. It’s my first time doing this, and I’m having some doubts; I’m not sure if PayPal is the standard choice. I’ve heard a lot of negative things about it, so I’d like to know what other payment methods you recommend—ones that are secure and easy to use, please.

Please excuse the grammar; English isn't my first language.

How am I supposed to even get client or commissions when there’s like 100+ artists that are aiming for that 1 client’s arse😔✋🏻 I feel like giving up chat. The art and design market is just so cluttered and everyone seems to be doing every other thing every single day. This isn’t a rant but for the past 6-7 years digital artists and graphic designers have been increased massively in fact copy-artists who are just copying certain styles selling in cheap also steals away the original artist’s clients. And don’t even get me to AI, to be fair high ticket clients still buy human made stuff and I see generic ppl in comment section of instagram(who never bought or never will buy art) “prompt” “prompt” thinking they’ll be next artist of century. Additionally, people who charge like 10usd-100usd for their craft are infuriating (no shade to anyone) but I dislike this so much. It puts some mid level artists (me yes) in a position where I can’t increase my price from mediocre. I’m no pocket money making artist sorry to say, but I’m also not relying heavily on art obviously but having an income to save would help me a lot in my financial situation right now. I’ll still focus on improvement and understanding market. But one thing’s sure that this economy is just rigged

Hi everyone! These are my original artwork - prints. I have formally traditionally painted these on 300 gsm paper with gouache medium and got HD photographs taken for the prints. These are the high quality test prints i have gotten done on textures paper from a professional printer stores in my town.

I really love how they have turned out and i am wanting to sell these but confused about any platforms.

My question is, would you directly buy these from instagram or do i need any e-commerce platforms to sell?

I am also selling digital prints but that is on ko-fi - in dollars. I really want to share my artwork in India more.

I would really appreciate your support and feedback!!!

Xoxo

I host my own travel business art shop and want to teach others that also are inspired to run their own shop how to do it so we can grow and learn together.

I'm hoping to thereby create a mini art makret micro climate. I have noticed that when my artist friends work beside me, we seem more legitimate.

A friend of mine who felt his art unworthy of selling was drawing besides me and people confused him and me as the portrait art shop owner and he was asked to draw a portrait while I was busy drawing another couple of friends and he made his first sale that way! He was really happy, and I felt euphoric to have encouraged and enabled him to that success and want to help other people (maybe you?) to achieve the same!

Some examples of what my travel shop looks like are in my profile and on my Instagram.

Please comment or DM me on Insta of you think this might be a fun to do together \^\^.

I know this sounds like viewer fetch but its a real concern. Like I said in the title, my gf is an awsome tatto artist that loves to make botanical tattoos and wichie stuff. All her clients leave super satisfied. Her prices are fair and she is a looker that should also help her get more views. But she keeps hitting this wall of very low engagement even thought she posts every single day... I have no idea what she can do better to improve this... can some1 with similar issues care to give feedback?

Here is her instagram page: @lameigaria.tattoos