# Commissions as the sole source of income?



## monochromatic-dragon (Aug 2, 2014)

To be brief:

If you are a professional freelance artist : yes

If you are any other artist : no

This is going to end up being kind of a rant, but I see far too often on FurAffinity people opening for "emergency commissions" or some such wording. No... just no. You need some sort of financial planning and stability. If your artwork is not high enough quality or doesn't generate enough interest because you don't know how to market yourself, please get another job. 

I don't know what it is that makes Average Joe Artists think that they can do it like the professionals can.


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## Nikolinni (Aug 2, 2014)

monochromatic-dragon said:


> To be brief:
> 
> If you are a professional freelance artist : yes
> 
> ...



There once was I writer whose name I forgot that when asked for advice to other aspiring writers he replied that they should have a job that they can support themselves with and then write off to the side. 

I concur with that statement, and same thing for artists. If you're living off commissions, you better be one of those pro freelance artists. If you ain't, then good luck pal.


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## Jabberwocky (Aug 2, 2014)

I can see it being as like an extra way to earn a budget but I kinda do agree that on commissions alone you won't really be able to do much.


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## monochromatic-dragon (Aug 2, 2014)

Jabberwocky said:


> I can see it being as like an extra way to earn a budget but I kinda do agree that on commissions alone you won't really be able to do much.



I you can make money off of selling art on the side, then thats great! A little extra spending (or saving) money is always a good thing. No-one should be expected to give away their skill and talent for free, after all. But expecting to make enough to live off of by selling commissions sounds difficult, and stressful, and not reliable at all.


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## Zenia (Aug 2, 2014)

I own my own business. Since I just bought it and it is pretty slow, I haven't made any money for myself (just enough to pay the shop rent and bills) in the first 7 months yet... so I've had to rely on commissions to pay my apartment rent and personal bills. I make just enough for that. I don't do "emergency commissions" though, and have always strived to do commissions at this pace. I work 7 days a week, at least 12 to 14 hours a day.


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## Jabberwocky (Aug 2, 2014)

monochromatic-dragon said:


> I you can make money off of selling art on the side, then thats great! A little extra spending (or saving) money is always a good thing. No-one should be expected to give away their skill and talent for free, after all. But expecting to make enough to live off of by selling commissions sounds difficult, and stressful, and not reliable at all.



tis true. I may not have moved out yet, but I am aware that commissions alone would not cover my living expenses even with a room mate. I admit it did cross my mind to make commissions my job but I got rid of that thinking quite fast.


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## ero-kimi (Aug 9, 2014)

It's _nearly_ impossible to generate revenue off of commissions alone to make enough for a living nowadays. Even professionals are suffering because anyone with access to a tablet and the ability to generate an audience can be considered "professional." And kudos to the ones who have that ability, I'm jealous because I can't. Usually you have to join a circle or create your own group of artists to gain any momentum in profit.


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## Ryuuza-art (Aug 11, 2014)

There are two sides to my business as far as I'm concerned. The comic illustration and conventions side is fun, but most definitely won't earn me a living as it's too unpredictable. The instructional design and animation contract part of it is my bread and butter (though still enjoyable). It's definitely possible to make enough money solely from commission work, but the people that do already have huge followings and certainly didn't start out that way.


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## Mac Jones (May 10, 2016)

I found a online site(Earn Honey) that you just surf as many pages as you want to, and am bringing in $20 a week. It isn't a lot but it's the fastest I have found so far.


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## Terror-Run (May 10, 2016)

From what I've seen it's not the people that actually have commissions as their income that usually have emergencies commissions. The most recent emergency journal I read (like 5min ago), it was that they live at home but one of the parents had been laid off or something. And otherwise it's usually to cover medical bills and other unexpected expenses. I am not saying your point is invalid or anything - if you do not earn enough on freelance work then you need to supplement the income, but for a lot of people the freelance work is the actual supplement and then when the regular 9-5 or the savings account don't have enough to cover an emergency they turn to the fandom for help.  

Personally I don't earn much of commissions, I might get one every 3 months or so, but this is my own fault for not advertising myself enough, not producing enough work and not streaming enough - and my 9-5 does not earn me enough for me to live comfortably to put it like that, but when that happens all you can really do is advertise yourself more, produce more artwork, run themed sales or something - calling it an emergency commissions is imho really guilt trippy. But that is my own little mini rant though   (also I found a place that will help me with about $100 a month because even with work I hit below the poverty line in my country - so I can pay all my bills and even get food with that little extra help ^^)


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## speedactyl (May 10, 2016)

Question now is which would worth more digital or craft work.


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## reptile logic (May 10, 2016)

I consider myself a hobbyist writer, with professional aspirations. The only difference between the two, the average number of book sales per month. All anyone can do is continue to improve ones preferred craft, keep putting it out there, and wait to see if the buying public shows interest and appreciation through purchases. That's great! That's beautiful! Wow! and other comments are wonderful to hear, but 'thanks' doesn't pay the rent. However, free work can be considered as an advertising expense if one can follow up with paid commissions. I for one love to spread the love around and wish I could afford to commission works for every character that I have developed. Someday, maybe.

As for me, I'm quite a ways from reaching the tipping point toward professional status. I have had the good fortune of talking to some pros in the publishing business. I can't speak for visual arts, but in literature even an eventual bestseller takes one to two years to build up sales momentum, with good exposure. I have a long ways to go yet.

Today this hobbyist writer is going to do a fence-repair gig, service a sport bike and I may be called to a concrete pour later this afternoon. All this while a story plot is stewing in my brain, dammit. I'm going to bang out some words before I have to go get my hands dirty.


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## redhusky (May 10, 2016)

It depends how good you are and what you draw. It's totally possible but like anything requires a lot of hard work and self discipline.


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## BayouBaby (May 11, 2016)

It's why Patreon has become so popular. Several artists are making over 2K a month on Patreon alone.


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## Caraid (May 17, 2016)

redhusky said:


> It depends how good you are and what you draw. It's totally possible but like anything requires a lot of hard work and self discipline.



This. It doesn't matter what your profession is, if you're good and you have the right attitude you will manage.

I'd also like to point out that if you need to work 7 days a week for 12 hours a day as an artist and you're still scraping the barrel, you should probably find work that pays better. That is no way to live.


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## AsheSkyler (May 18, 2016)

I know of one fairly famous artist who will not accept any commissions she is not allowed to make prints of because prints are where she gets the bulk of her income. Commissioned artwork income truly is hard to live on if that's your sole income.


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## Crestego (May 18, 2016)

I've got a buddy who's always wanted to do commissions for a living... and (when I do actually start doing art-stuff and get off my ass), it's a dream I wish to live too. However, such a dream could be like wanting to make a Youtube/Streaming channel (again on my list), but there's much more work to actually making a decent income from that than most would figure it to be. I'd think of it like moving out for the first time... just imagine what you'd need to spend to get to the point you want, then triple it; you're still out of money. XD  Hobbies CAN turn into careers, but only with enough patience, time, and getting to know the right people/advertising yourself well. I guess the best way to get to that point is educating yourself with how it all works, how people think, ext.

On a side note, I do believe in the saying "The product will speak for itself." If your work is good, it's bound to get noticed by SOMEONE, even if it is a niche market. If you have a hard time getting noticed (and you've advertised to some extent) you may want to re-look at your product/art and rethink if it really is up to par with what you AND what the consumers want.

Also I completely agree with your point... unless if it's a government job or a steady business, you can't fully rely on hobby-work to pay your bills; always have a backup plan.


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## Moderator-Gazelle (May 18, 2016)

Personally I always feel sad when I see an artist open "EMERGENCY COMMISSIONS" every other week. Makes me wonder about what life choices they've made and where they stand in terms of the home situation.


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## King-Monster (May 21, 2016)

I've only done 'emergency commissions' once. And that's only because I literally had nothing else to turn to, and even then that's lucky. It's not like I have a huge following, so it's not something I'd rely on, ever. 

Too many people make it a habit, though. Like, you can't rely on something as capricious as an internet crowd each and every time a financial bump in the road comes up. If people are seeking it to be a professional freelance thing, then yes, emergencies will happen. It's how they're handled that determines the level of professionalism. I guess it isn't a good look if someone announces 'emergency' too often. A crowd will start to think they're crying wolf after a while.

Now, there's no way to know every person's individual situation, but If you're gonna do it,  you need to be capable and ready to draw. There's no 'when you feel like it', or 'when you're feeling motivated'. That's not how any job works after all, and that's certainly no different with professional/freelance work.


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## Nancy Jones (Jun 16, 2016)

Thanks for this post. I've tried some of these and have found success. Personally, I make all my money through Earn Honey by playing games or watching videos or completing surveys . Here is the link : bit.ly: LoggedOut4 ...


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