# Struggling artist.



## RoaringFlameCat (Oct 3, 2018)

**EDIT Here's that link to my gallery that I, like a derp, forgot to put. 
Userpage of Roaring-Flame-Cat -- Fur Affinity [dot] net

I've been in this fandom for 8 years and I've never had a break. I've reinvented myself more times than once in an attempt to bring in commissions, and I'm going to own up to the fact of when I first started that I didn't handle some things well, but I have NEVER changed my name and gone into hiding or been afraid to give a refund. But I've never had any "artist beware" kind of crazy drama, and I have no idea what I'm doing wrong that makes moving art for me like pulling teeth. I feel like there's this black mark on my name and I can't even see it.

Is it my traditional only art? Sure I can do digital, but my digital art is super unpolished and I don't think it ever looks good. Digital you can add any bell or whistle to really make art amazing, and I've never ever had the money/time to invest in a computer/photoshop. I also don't see the point when art doesn't move anyway.

Is it that there's not enough porn in my galleries? Is it even an issue? I know that there are PLENTY of artists who make ends meat selling sfw only. (Userpage of Cheddarpup -- Fur Affinity [dot] net is a good example of this.) I have no issue making porn, I have no issue with my anatomy, and again nothing moves. I try free art to get some buzz, but the buzz dies and no one comes back to buy. I've tried every avenue to self promote, Facebook, Twitter, and it's always the same cricket chirps.

I know this isn't something that can be solved by you folks who have no idea who I am, let alone my struggles but has anyone else had issues like mine? Are there things that you've done that have improved your success?


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## TabbyTomCat (Oct 3, 2018)

There are lot of furry artists of various skill and talent levels. Only the best are meant to succeed on the market.

If your art does not sell, consider switching from commercial to hobby artist. You can enjoy it more doing that just for fun at your free time.


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## Judge Spear (Oct 3, 2018)

cherif said:


> You could help by linking some of your own pictures. I dug around anyway, and I hate to break it to you: your pictures are neither very good nor interesting.



^
The rest of this was douchey and corny, but this part here is kind of a hard pill you're gonna have to swallow, OP.
Most artists in the community who get anywhere have worked substantially on their art both in quality and finding an appeal for their work. And let me emphasize *work* on their art. They use photo reference, they get inspired by accomplished artists with mutual interests, they follow video tutorials, they may have taken classes be they online or formally, they study consistently and give honest scrutiny to their own flaws knowing _they're_ the ones at fault for not getting the viewership they want. They work to figure out what needs to be changed. At the end of the day, it is what is. If you aren't pulling in the numbers you _think_ you deserve, then it's time to ask if your work actually deserves it.
Get to work on improving. You don't have to do draw ultra realism or give shit some pretentious meaning, but you need to figure out something and that comes from honest working. It'll come naturally.
You've got a cartoony thing going. I suggest you look into how to push that with interesting simple shapes that flow into something pleasing to the eye, strong compositions, striking palettes, and fun expression.


I will tell you this though...
You only linked an FA which has in tiny font a link to IG . If you're posting work there, let me tell you something, that is a TERRIBLE avenue for furry art if you are not already obscenely established/marketable. I mean...stay there. It's not a detriment. But you may want to use a side Twitter or Tumblr in this current fast paced meta of online arting. FA and similar gallery sites are nice to have, but are much slower options for viewership. I don't care if people wanna cry about how much they hate Twitter or how much better X site is. It is what it is. Go where the crowd is. This is one of the best concrete pieces of advice I can give you that isn't "get better".


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## Fallowfox (Oct 3, 2018)

There are no guarantees, even if you are a very competent artist, that you will enjoy commercial success. 
(I can't review your content for now because I'm on a slow internet connection). 

If you enjoy art, I want to encourage you to value the happiness it brings you first and foremost, ahead of any frustration with commercialising your work.


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## RoaringFlameCat (Oct 3, 2018)

cherif said:


> Oh and would it make you feel better if I'd lie to you that anyone can be an artist?
> Because making cash and popular appeal, that's all that matters.
> The world is so overused by scoundrels, it's lost its meaning.
> And it's true, the picture you deem in high regard are probably garbage too, made by the same tired, misled idiots. There is no shame in acknowledging that.
> ...








I have no idea how to respond to you other than to say: I don't need your pity.


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## RoaringFlameCat (Oct 3, 2018)

XoPachi said:


> ^
> The rest of this was douchey and corny, but this part here is kind of a hard pill you're gonna have to swallow, OP.
> Most artists in the community who get anywhere have worked substantially on their art both in quality and finding an appeal for their work. And let me emphasize *work* on their art. They use photo reference, they get inspired by accomplished artists with mutual interests, they follow video tutorials, they may have taken classes be they online or formally, they study consistently and give honest scrutiny to their own flaws knowing _they're_ the ones at fault for not getting the viewership they want. They work to figure out what needs to be changed. At the end of the day, it is what is. If you aren't pulling in the numbers you _think_ you deserve, then it's time to ask if your work actually deserves it.
> Get to work on improving. You don't have to do draw ultra realism or give shit some pretentious meaning, but you need to figure out something and that comes from honest working. It'll come naturally.
> ...



I understand that entirely. My issue is I don't even receive feedback so it's like I don't even know how to go about improving. Sure that guys comment where he's being a dick or whatever is gone, but I'd rather someone be honest with me than to be like I love your art. You learn more through failure than through success. That's another reason why I'm trying to get people to be honest with me. And I'll be honest I don't use these forums often. I've never found success here in marketing myself. So yeah my links are a little hard to find, but I never imagined anyone would actually discover me through here, versus twitter or any of the other social medias. I am working actively to be more present online so I am moving forward.


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## Judge Spear (Oct 3, 2018)

RoaringFlameCat said:


> I understand that entirely. My issue is I don't even receive feedback so it's like I don't even know how to go about improving. Sure that guys comment where he's being a dick or whatever is gone, but I'd rather someone be honest with me than to be like I love your art. You learn more through failure than through success. That's another reason why I'm trying to get people to be honest with me. And I'll be honest I don't use these forums often. I've never found success here in marketing myself. So yeah my links are a little hard to find, but I never imagined anyone would actually discover me through here, versus twitter or any of the other social medias. I am working actively to be more present online so I am moving forward.



Yeah, that's the struggle getting feedback. Honest feedback. Even with a small dedicated audience, you can't really just ask for it openly either. They'll usually just say you're doing perfect. Especially furries, I feel.



RoaringFlameCat said:


> Sure that guys comment where he's being a dick or whatever *is gone*


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## Fallowfox (Oct 3, 2018)

I'll give your art as best a review I can when I'm in an area where I can actually open a web page with enough data to load it.


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## LadyLyreBird (Oct 3, 2018)

Unfortunately, art in general is just really hard to market. It's really all about networking, getting to be friends with people who will spread your work to their friends and so on. Having actual good artwork is only a surprisingly tiny slice of having a good art career.


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## Fallowfox (Oct 4, 2018)

So I've had an opportunity to visit your page. You have 13k favourites!!! Wow. 

Have you tried buying advert space on the fur affinity ad-banners to see whether this improves interest in the commissions you offer? 
Some artists use streams as a way to drum up interest. (I see lots of adopts and commission adverts in your scraps, but I haven't found streams)

Given a lot of your work is repetitive, you might want to put only the best-received examples of each topic in your main gallery, and put the duplicates in scraps, so that prospective buyers can browse through a representative cross section of your art more easily.


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## zenmaldita (Oct 4, 2018)

Fallowfox said:


> You have 13k favourites!!! Wow.


is it this one? Userpage of Roaring-Flame-Cat -- Fur Affinity [dot] net
cos I see 1.8k faves and 13k page visits ^^;;;

um anyways...
@RoaringFlameCat , lets see what we can do to help you out


> I've been in this fandom for 8 years and I've never had a break. I've reinvented myself more times than once in an attempt to bring in commissions


You say 8 years but the amount of work in your gallery doesn't say 8 years... Forgive me, pls. link me your gallery if I found the wrong page.



> Is it my traditional only art? Sure I can do digital, but my digital art is super unpolished and I don't think it ever looks good. Digital you can add any bell or whistle to really make art amazing, and I've never ever had the money/time to invest in a computer/photoshop. I also don't see the point when art doesn't move anyway.


try paint tool SAI. It's entirely free and light. You can draw better there than photoshop anyways, as PS is a heavy editing program. There are cheap drawing tablets in the market, not wacom but just as good. A little google search should point you in the right direction.



> Is it that there's not enough porn in my galleries? Is it even an issue? I know that there are PLENTY of artists who make ends meat selling sfw only. (Userpage of Cheddarpup -- Fur Affinity [dot] net is a good example of this.) I have no issue making porn, I have no issue with my anatomy, and again nothing moves. I try free art to get some buzz, but the buzz dies and no one comes back to buy. I've tried every avenue to self promote, Facebook, Twitter, and it's always the same cricket chirps.


You dont need to make porn. Don't do it out of desperation either, it will show in your work. Do it if you enjoy it, not because you have to.
I've tried advertising on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr too but no bite. Best thing that worked for me is to just keep updating my FA gallery and commenting on and faving other other artists' works. Remember the community. Everyone loves good comments. You'll also make friends along the way, who will also help lift you up in your art career.



> I know this isn't something that can be solved by you folks who have no idea who I am, let alone my struggles but has anyone else had issues like mine? Are there things that you've done that have improved your success?


From what I see in that gallery, you need a ton of work and improvement. It's nothing hideous, but it's also very bland. You say you've reinvented yourself but according to that gallery and scraps, it's more of the same thing. Push yourself out of your comfort zone and learn new things. There are lots of free tutorials on the internet. I've collected some here: forums.furaffinity.net: Artist Info Exchange

But I think you'll find this one most useful! theetheringtonbrothers.blogspot.com: The Etherington Brothers: The FULL SET of 100 ONE HUNDRED How to THINK when you DRAW tutorials! #LEARNUARY day TWO (part one)!

Art isn't really about talent, it's more about the time and work you put into it. You'll get there as long as you keep at it.


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## fralea (Oct 5, 2018)

I love traditional art, just popping in. Not everyone prefers digital, but you would have to find a market of followers who do like traditional. Not me but other people I've seen do prefer if they can get the originals sent in the mail to them as well so you might wanna look into that.

Though if you are doing SFW only and trad only it will narrow your market twice. A small market can be potentially good if you find a nice niche or bad if you can't get enough interest going, so keep that in mind.

Also paint tool sai is not free (unless they changed it?) but a free trial -- but there are totally free programs like krita and firealpaca. Just don't want you to be disappointed if you look it up.


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## PercyD (Oct 5, 2018)

Do you have a link to your gallery?


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## Fallowfox (Oct 5, 2018)

@zenmaldita I clicked the link to chedderpup's gallery, because I mistakenly thought it was the OP's gallery. S:


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## Alv (Oct 5, 2018)

Your art looks good! Unfortunately i have no idea how a furry should market things. Targeting the furry fandom at all is only going to give you limited success, since many furries are young and don't have much money. Further, FAF is at least a, I don't know, 50% porn based community? XD


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## tarotrickster (Oct 5, 2018)

I took a look at your gallery, and while I do think you have a nice style, I do think you have lots of room to grow in terms of technical skill and draftsmanship. That may be keeping you from getting commissions you like. While I do think there's a space for traditional work, it may be good to diversify to digital as well (when you can afford it). Learning digital tools will also help your traditional art skills (and vice versa).

I think eating your vegetables (lots of life-drawing, anatomy studies, master studies) would be very helpful for you. Studying lighting, rendering materials, etc would also be good since that's something your gallery lacks.  You're still a beginner/intermediate level and that's okay. However, I think it may be putting the cart before the horse to expect commissions to come in when you're still working on the basics. 

Hope that's not too harsh, but I don't want to mislead you! If I were you I'd start a life drawing sketchbook and save up for life drawing classes or go to a session in your area! You can learn so much from the world around you, and that definitely helped me improve my art. 

Good luck!


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## Fiorabeast (Oct 6, 2018)

Honestly... Do you have a price sheet anywhere for us to look at? Because I visited your FA page (that @zenmaldita pointed out, which I'm assuming is yours also) and I don't see a price sheet for your art? Like, how much do you charge for your traditional work for a portrait or a head shot? Full Body? A full illustration? Something as simple as an icon? Do you charge postal for sending the original traditional art to the US and/or International also?

And, while your art isn't bad, it doesn't show what other things you can draw besides heads only (which isn't a bad thing as you can make money doing portrait-only work if you wanted). Do you know what you specialize in and can you describe your art and your style for us? For example, I market myself as an 'anime artist' a lot because knowing that there are some people out there that like that style, I make sure to tell them that that is what I specialize in mostly.

Also, for free digital programs I personally recommend Fire Alpaca and/or Medibang Paint (the latter is what I use a lot, the icon being an example of it) as it's free to use and a bit easier for beginning digital artists to play around with.


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## C-artsy (Oct 10, 2018)

There's no manual to success with art, I'm afraid. I'm a full-time professional artist, but I do not do work on FA at all. I used to, but not in several years. In an art saturated market like FA, you HAVE to stand out. If you're being swallowed up, you need to broaden your horizons. I haven't seen your art so I'll just tell what I do.

I am mainly traditional. Painting, drawing, 3D sculpture. Sometimes digital illustration. My sculptures are unique - I have developed a style over 11 years that is different from everyone else's. I do IRL gallery shows at community art places, festivals, and get commissions. My main places to advertise are Facebook and Instagram. I also write and illustrate books for kids. I don't just one thing. I do many things. My scope is broad, my audience is broad. 

Think long and hard on where you want to go with your art. Being a full-time artist IS NOT EASY. You are not only an artist, but a business manager, marketer, money manager... an there's no manual on how to do it right. All I can really say is keep trying. If FA isn't working, if your style isn't working, try something else. Something will stick.


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## RoaringFlameCat (Oct 17, 2018)

Hey everyone, OP here. Thanks everyone for taking the time to help me out. It's a bit daunting for me to respond to everyone, but thank you all again! I really appreciate it.


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## Tavoriel (Oct 23, 2018)

I've been getting into selling adoptables (these! Adoptables by Tavoriel on DeviantArt ).  I advertise through 'clubs' on deviantart (like this one: All-Adopt-Adoptable DeviantArt Gallery there are lots of clubs for adoptables).  I make a ton of characters and figure a big selection boosts the odds of someone liking one of them (I've made a lot more than I've sold, but they do sell).  I try and present them in a fun, visually appealing way, and I come up with some suggested traits for each character to really present them as a character, more than just an image.  It's a really saturated market, but the worst that can happen if a design doesn't sell is that you get a new character lol.  And then whenever I need to advertise commissions, the adoptable sheets are great examples of characters to show off.  And it's more practice drawing anyway, and it's an excuse to draw instead of mindlessly look at the internet, and it's pure fun to sit down and make creative designs.

You could make this guy www.furaffinity.net: Hey pretty lady by Roaring-Flame-Cat some brothers and sisters, draw them idk all chasing after the same butterfly in a conga line (gotta stand out from adoptable sheets where it's all the same lineart with different coloring), and slap a price tag on each one.  I'm not the best at offering critique about negatives, and I wish you all the best with improving your art, but I can honestly say I really like the vibe that little guy gives off, I think a batch of adoptables with that kind of vibe would look really appealing and fun.

Idk if that helps but good luck!


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## Kopatropa (Oct 29, 2018)

Life plays favorites. Some of us will never become well known no matter how hard we try.

If you still wanna achieve the unachievable, network 24/7. People are asocial these days though, so good luck with that.

If all else fails, give up so the pain goes away.


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## Ratchetjak (Nov 2, 2018)

XoPachi said:


> ^
> The rest of this was douchey and corny, but this part here is kind of a hard pill you're gonna have to swallow, OP.
> Most artists in the community who get anywhere have worked substantially on their art both in quality and finding an appeal for their work. And let me emphasize *work* on their art. They use photo reference, they get inspired by accomplished artists with mutual interests, they follow video tutorials, they may have taken classes be they online or formally, they study consistently and give honest scrutiny to their own flaws knowing _they're_ the ones at fault for not getting the viewership they want. They work to figure out what needs to be changed. At the end of the day, it is what is. If you aren't pulling in the numbers you _think_ you deserve, then it's time to ask if your work actually deserves it.
> Get to work on improving. You don't have to do draw ultra realism or give shit some pretentious meaning, but you need to figure out something and that comes from honest working. It'll come naturally.
> ...



I'm not really sure about Twitter or Tumblr. I've tried using those sites to show my work and they hardly get any notice compared to FA or even DA (thanks to groups) but that's just my experience of course lol


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