You might not know it, but the world of art is actually a pretty lucrative one. There are plenty of opportunities for those who can capture their imagination and channel it into a career. If you’re looking to make a living from your art, then this guide is for you. Below, visual artist Aryea Flohr shares his advice on how to approach your art from a business perspective.
The first and most important step toward making a living from your art is to find your unique selling point. This will help you focus your art on a niche market that will help you earn money from it. The second step is to get a side gig that allows you to test your mettle without disrupting your regular schedule. The third step is to combine your passion for your art with a skillset that can bring in money. The fourth step is to take the time necessary to hone those skills and perfect them before launching into the world of business. The fifth and final step is to be patient and calculate how much time, effort, and energy it will take for you to become successful. If all goes well, then you should have enough practice under your belt by then!
Finding Your Unique Selling Point (or USP)
Your USP is what sets your work apart from others. It’s the thing that makes you different. To find your USP, you can evaluate your art against what’s already on the market and see if there’s a gap in the market. If there is, then you might be able to fill it with something unique. For example, Aryea Flohr explains, if everyone else is selling paintings of animals, you could offer paintings of people instead.
Once you’ve found your niche, focus on making it better than anything else on the market and make sure that your art goes above and beyond expectations for that niche. This will help make sure that people turn to you when they need something different. The final step is to figure out how much money your art would bring in and do some cost/benefit analysis. See if it would be worth it for you monetarily to pursue this career path or not.
Side Gig
New York City artist Aryea Flohr recommends starting a side gig that allows you to test your mettle without disrupting your regular schedule. This can be anything from a blog or website, social media account, or even a side business you can start on the side. For example, if you’re a photographer, try starting up a photography blog or portfolio website. If you’re an illustrator, try posting work online and selling prints of it. That way, when you’re getting established on your main career path, you have something else to fall back on and make some extra money with.
Combine Your Passion with a Skillset
If you’re passionate about your art, then it will be easy for you to create new pieces on a regular basis. Not only that, but the dedication you put into your art will make it easier to find buyers as well. You might have a skill that can also help enhance your income. For example, if you have an eye for design and are skilled with Photoshop, then a career in graphic design would be perfect for you. If you love writing and have an eye for journalism, then there are plenty of opportunities in the world of publishing.
The key is to combine your passion with skills that allow you to earn money from your art without disrupting your regular schedule.
Conclusion
For those who love their art, it can be difficult to know how to make a living from it. But the path is there, and it’s not as difficult as it seems.
There is a lot of advice out there about how to make a living from your art, but the truth is that it depends on what type of art you’re doing. If you’re doing graphic design, you might find some success in web design. If you’re doing sculpture, you might find success in teaching. There is no “one-size-fits-all” answer, and what works for one artist may not work for another.
However, the most important thing is to find your unique selling point or USP and combine that with the skillset that you enjoy. It’s all about finding a niche and filling it with your passion.