[sobble]

Figured someone here might have tips on how to be more active and engaging, I'd like to take more commissions to earn a little extra money while I search for a job and move into the dorms.

That being said the only currency I'm interested in is USD, but I'm not too familiar with websites which allow for these transactions. I've tried a bit of advertising on DA, but wondered if anyone here might have some pearls of wisdom to share ;-)

[Foxghost]

Unfortunately I'm in the same boat, but I've heard through the grapevine that some good places to put up commission are furaffinity and different aminos.
Plus uhhh when I get a paycheck next I totally would love to commission you because yes.

[sobble]

Unfortunately I'm in the same boat, but I've heard through the grapevine that some good places to put up commission are furaffinity and different aminos.
Plus uhhh when I get a paycheck next I totally would love to commission you because yes.

u are!! an angel!!
I'll have to check fur affinity out, but I'll be honest in saying the amino layout wayyy overwhelmed me and made me a little anxious oopsies

[sweet tooth]

1. have confidence. dont say things like "this is so bad" when posting art online, because then potential customers will see that and their view on your art will be lowered. dont be too confident, dont act like your art is god, but if youre proud of a drawing definatley say it!!! even if its not good but you just like it!!

2. be active. you dont have to post once a day, i dont think i could ever do that (im mentally ill (not as in depression/anxiety/what people normally have, i have some very very bad mental illnesses so theres no way i can post once a day) im also physically ill and im very social so im often out of the house and dont have my computer with me

3. dont post political opinions, at least, not on your art accounts. most websites now allow you to have multiple accounts, keep anything controversial off there. politics are very heated right now and with callout posts for sick people keep coming out, you dont want some people feeling uncomfortable talking to you. of course, its fine to say things like "no racists/terfs/etc" ESPECIALLY if youre a group affected by those, but things like dysphoria discourse, asexual discourse, etc, isnt nearly as big of a deal/wide spread. those more niche debates may also push people away, as they dont know what those are and are scared they might be one. also, just dont do hate/controversial artworks, not unless you post it on a private account or something. art styles, though can be similar, have slight details that make them distinguishable from others, and if potential customers see that they'll know its you.

4. relating to that, try to not link your personal and art accounts too closely together. if you say something dumb or controversial, then its still going to be associated with your art

5. dont be too focused on getting commissions. people will think its annoying if you post your commission/pateron link on every post. also, unless youre some super popular/cheap artist, you're gonna get stressed from a lack of commissions. however, taking on too many commissions can also be way too stressful. it can slow down how long it takes you to do one. slow updates make people very nervous and they may request a refund/post a buyers beware/etc. if you know youre gonna take awhile, warn the commissioner beforehand, and make sure they're prepared to wait a bit

6. branch out, use a ton of sites. imo amino makes a lot of money for you but only if you charge cheap, but i still get most of mine from there.

7. think about if commissions are right for you. yeah, you make some nice extra cash, but is the stress/effort/work/time worth it for you? is dealing with people well a good trait of yours? are you patient? are you nice and polite? do you have a quick temper? do you respond quickly to others? can you remember to give updates and make sure everyones in the know? do you often get scared of denying someone and ghost them? these are just a few things you need in order to be able to sell commissions online well. some of these you will learn by doing this, but as someone who doesnt have anxiety, i dont have a lot of issues with these. dont get intimidated by this though; once you get into the hang of things and get a rhythm, you learn how to spot someone who might be trouble and plan accordingly

8. CRITIQUE!!! allow and ask for art critique ALL THE TIME. your opinion and view of your art is very skewed. you hold yourself to high and low standards. you dont "know all the issues with your art". i thought i was pretty good a couple years ago, but now i can tell its not great. not bad, but not great. i didnt do thicker lines very well, the eyes are too large, they eye shading makes the eyes look flat (compared to an otherwise round style), the pose is pretty stagnant, the shading itself is kinda shaky, and the anatomy is just really off. all of this (hopefully) cleared out because of all the CRITIQUE i got. in only a couple years i improved a ton. its not luck or talent, just a lot of help and understanding how to draw more

these are just a few things i can think of, theres probably more, if i remember more i'll post another reply

[sobble]

1. have confidence. dont say things like "this is so bad" when posting art online, because then potential customers will see that and their view on your art will be lowered. dont be too confident, dont act like your art is god, but if youre proud of a drawing definatley say it!!! even if its not good but you just like it!!

2. be active. you dont have to post once a day, i dont think i could ever do that (im mentally ill (not as in depression/anxiety/what people normally have, i have some very very bad mental illnesses so theres no way i can post once a day) im also physically ill and im very social so im often out of the house and dont have my computer with me

3. dont post political opinions, at least, not on your art accounts. most websites now allow you to have multiple accounts, keep anything controversial off there. politics are very heated right now and with callout posts for sick people keep coming out, you dont want some people feeling uncomfortable talking to you. of course, its fine to say things like "no racists/terfs/etc" ESPECIALLY if youre a group affected by those, but things like dysphoria discourse, asexual discourse, etc, isnt nearly as big of a deal/wide spread. those more niche debates may also push people away, as they dont know what those are and are scared they might be one. also, just dont do hate/controversial artworks, not unless you post it on a private account or something. art styles, though can be similar, have slight details that make them distinguishable from others, and if potential customers see that they'll know its you.

4. relating to that, try to not link your personal and art accounts too closely together. if you say something dumb or controversial, then its still going to be associated with your art

5. dont be too focused on getting commissions. people will think its annoying if you post your commission/pateron link on every post. also, unless youre some super popular/cheap artist, you're gonna get stressed from a lack of commissions. however, taking on too many commissions can also be way too stressful. it can slow down how long it takes you to do one. slow updates make people very nervous and they may request a refund/post a buyers beware/etc. if you know youre gonna take awhile, warn the commissioner beforehand, and make sure they're prepared to wait a bit

6. branch out, use a ton of sites. imo amino makes a lot of money for you but only if you charge cheap, but i still get most of mine from there.

7. think about if commissions are right for you. yeah, you make some nice extra cash, but is the stress/effort/work/time worth it for you? is dealing with people well a good trait of yours? are you patient? are you nice and polite? do you have a quick temper? do you respond quickly to others? can you remember to give updates and make sure everyones in the know? do you often get scared of denying someone and ghost them? these are just a few things you need in order to be able to sell commissions online well. some of these you will learn by doing this, but as someone who doesnt have anxiety, i dont have a lot of issues with these. dont get intimidated by this though; once you get into the hang of things and get a rhythm, you learn how to spot someone who might be trouble and plan accordingly

8. CRITIQUE!!! allow and ask for art critique ALL THE TIME. your opinion and view of your art is very skewed. you hold yourself to high and low standards. you dont "know all the issues with your art". i thought i was pretty good a couple years ago, but now i can tell its not great. not bad, but not great. i didnt do thicker lines very well, the eyes are too large, they eye shading makes the eyes look flat (compared to an otherwise round style), the pose is pretty stagnant, the shading itself is kinda shaky, and the anatomy is just really off. all of this (hopefully) cleared out because of all the CRITIQUE i got. in only a couple years i improved a ton. its not luck or talent, just a lot of help and understanding how to draw more

these are just a few things i can think of, theres probably more, if i remember more i'll post another reply

waaa I forgot to get to this earlier but all of this is rlly thoughtful! Thanku so much, I'll definitely keep all of this in mind <3