Make money with drawing:
First things to know

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Long ago I was very depressed about my drawing ability because I
thought drawing was a nice talent but I couldn’t figure out how to
make money with it. I left my art skills lingering for many years
because I saw drawing as a fun hobby that would never pay the bills…
and I had bills to pay. The idea of the “starving artist” was firmly
set in my mind.

All that has changed. I now understand that making money with drawing
is not as difficult as I once thought. There are many ways to make
money with drawing and you don’t have to work for Walt Disney, or some
other major studio, to make a living as an artist.

The purpose of this article is to let you in on 5 of the most basic
ideas I have come across since my visions of living on Ramen noodles
for the rest of my career. These 5 indispensible principles will make
or break you when it comes to making money with art.

1) An artist should find/have more than 1 source of income.

There is a Bible proverb which says a many should plant many crops
because he doesn’t know what will grow. In this same way an artist
should have more than 1 “art crop” to make money. An artist should
find many different projects and styles of projects to stay employed.
Do portraits, and caricatures, and murals, and whatever else you can
think of. Doing only 1 project or artistic style can make it tough to
make ends meet. By working on multiple style projects is it much
easier to generate income.

Make a list of all the ways you might be able to make money with your
current art skills.

2) Don’t be afraid to try something new… and prepare for it if you can.

Through my art career I have done many different projects. I remember
the first time I was asked to draw caricatures. I had never done it
before but I was invited to a school based on my drawing reputation.
The event would be held the next day. I accepted. As things turned
out, everyone loved it. I had the LONGEST line waiting for me and I
ended up staying an additional 2 hours. At the end I was thanked
profusely, asked to return the following year, and given a paycheck
for about $100 an hour- which was more than I was expecting at the
time. Since then I have drawn caricatures many times at other events.
 The point is that I was willing to try something new.

Don’t forget to add that “something new” to your list.

3) Don’t forget to socialize

If you want to make money with your art you need to be able to sell
your art. And to sell your art you need people to sell it to. Here
is where you should take advantage of your local groups such as the
Chamber of Commerce, the Better Business Bureau, the library, the
schools, the Senior Citizens Center, the Colleges, Home school groups,
churches, art galleries and other places where people gather together
regularly. By becoming involved with these agencies you provide
needed advertisements for your work. Every time I get involved with
these agencies I inevitably drum up work.

And when you get involved… make sure to ask them what they need (see
step 3) and think about your list.

4) Smile, and be generous

The most important part about making money from your drawing is to
smile, and always be generous with your work. Sometimes you can
generate work by giving away a sample for free. This is one aspect of
what it means to “over deliver”. To “over deliver” means to provide
more than what was asked for. When you complete a project, give an
extra copy when possible, or free matting or a discount on the next
purchase- or if they ask for 1 picture, give them 3- get carried away-
fall in love with the job. The point is to always provide the client
with more than what they ask for.

You can’t really add this to your list – but you sure will get a happy
client who will talk about the great job you did.

5) Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day… be patient… and practice.

Anything worth having always takes time and effort. If you don’t have
the skills… in which case I would suggest taking one of my online
classes (shameless plug), then start practicing. Even if you are the
next Art Guru, that doesn’t mean everyone else knows it yet. You have
to keep working and keep plugging away. And most importantly keep
practicing. Even when you are getting paid to do a job (which we all
really like), it’s really just practice for your next job. Keep
practicing. Practice, practice, practice.

And when you seem to get a good grip on a new art skill you’ve been
practicing, remember to add that to the list you started in step 1.

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