Axel

[i](As requested)[/i] Everyone always asks me just how much money I make as a professional artist. The thing is, it always depends. Should you be picked up by a company, you will be paid a set wage. However, since I am now freelance it is much different. Each job is different and therefore the quoted price is different. There are always different factors that need to be added up. For example: [list] [*]Number of commissions [*]Size of comission(s) [*]Materials used [*]Time spent [*]Medium used [/list] These are all important in giving a fair and accurate quote. My answer to the question of how much I make? 'Never enough.' The truth of the matter is that you can never make it a main occupation when you begin. You do not have a stable customer base and the art world is always changing. What is popular one month could be out the next. Do not go into it with any misconceptions. You will not be an instant millionaire. [b]Will I Need Qualifications?[/b] Yes and no. For a job at a studio or a company they will generally require qualifications. Unless you know someone in the company, it can be quite difficult to get in. For freelance work, it's not needed. Though clients will prefer to see that you have qualifications over not having any. Every little helps, after all. [b]What Qualifications Do I need/Should I Get?[/b] It all depends on what you want to do. It always helps to study fine art and art history. Design is always a good option as well. Some find that places offer an illustration course and if this is the sort of work you are interested in, by all means go for it. Technical drawing is not needed, but it can open up more opportunities. [b]How Do I Make Money Then?[/b] Ah. Yes. Let's get down to business. Firstly, you will need to have a game plan. What soret of art are you producing? Who would you say is your best target audience? How much are you spending on supplies? And what are your future goals? I will now post a list of basics that will hopefully help you get started. [b]Portfolio[/b] This is one of the most important things for an artist just starting out. It would be best to have an online and offline portfolion. And online portfolio can be on an art site, but it looks much better when on your own site. You can use the readily availible site builders out there to create a stylish site in minutes. (I recommend wix.com) The site should be simple, easy to read and understand and have clear directions to your portfolio gallery. You should also have a contact page and an about page. Be sure to list any relevant info on your about page. (IE: Qualifications, age, history with art etc.) An offline portfolio should be a folder that you can carry with you when you need it. It should have a mixture of various types of work. If you do digital art, print out examples. Sketches should also be added to give an idea of the stages of your artwork as it takes shape. Should you be a painter, print out shots of your work, rather than toting the canvas in the folder. It would damage too easily. Another option is to purchase USB memory sticks. Only small, cheap ones are needed. There is no need to go overboard on cost. Then you can upload an array of art on that and hand it to potential clients, or gallery owners. (This is not required, but it can't hurt.) [b]Costing[/b] The best way of going about pricing your commissions is to provide personal quotes. However, if you would prefer set prices, I would recommend using a percentage system. Work out how much your art supplies cost, for example, and create a percentage based on that + hours spent. You can also create an hourly rate, but I do not recommend this for starters. [b]Protect Your Work[/b] Remember to keep your work safe. Never hand over the finished product until payment has been received. Should you need to show examples, make sure to watermark them if didgital and send photos of traditionally created art. This way, your client can't scarper with the finished product and skip out on paying. This also applies to all portfolio shots. Watermark and sign them whenever possible. [b]Base Of Operations[/b] You can choose to either trade via email (Which you can do via your website), sell finished work or commissions on sites such as Ebay and Etsy, or you can create a shopping cart section on your site. (For offline info, see 'Advertising') [b]Art Type[/b] It's a very common thing for creative people to have their fingers in too many pies. Sometimes you can't resist giving a new idea a chance and it can lead to heaps of unfinished projects. This is why you need to stick to your guns. Choose the art type you want to be selling and stick to it. When you are more secure and have a good customer base, THEN you can try your hand at other types of art (IE: Sculpture, jewellery, etc.) Stick to what you are best at. [b]Advertising[/b] You can never advertise too much! Get yourself online and set yourself up on sites. Add yourself to artist listings and art related business sites. Another good way of getting known is to have a business card. You can find places who print them out for reasonable prices and they are of a decent enough quality. (For UK people, I recommend Vistaprint. For US try Zazzle.com!) One way of getting into the swing of things is to vist local galleries and art shops. Hand over your cards at as many places as you can. Visit shops that you feel may have a customer base that would be interested in purchasing art. Get talking to people. Gather interest. Also, I highly recommend signing up for sites such as LinkedIn. That way you can network with people who may be able to help you. (You can find me here: [url="http://uk.linkedin.com/in/meltycat"]http://uk.linkedin.com/in/meltycat[/url]) Another site would be Skillpages.com. This is a site where people post jobs and people can apply for them. Some are paid and some are unpaid, but it looks GREAT on the old CV. You can also add these to your portfolio information. Another way of getting noticed is to offer other sites and artists an affiliates program where you post a link to their site on yours and vise-versa. This can often help more than you may think. Should the artist be quite well-known, then your link will be seen by all of them. And it is a form of endorsement. It may sound really stingy, but never pay for something you can get for free! Advertising is one of them. While paid advertising can be good, free listings can also be just as effective! I hope this has helped some. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask in the comments.

Meh. Sort-of-recent photoshoot shots.

Found the whole vid on youtube. Some of it seemed a little forced, maybe it's my skeptic side. But, if it is genuine, all I can say is Westboro' would love both the parents. I am not one of these who is against spanking as a form of punishment, but belts are a little too far especially for how many times he used it. And, as I say, if that was genuine, then I would consider it abuse.

If you post anything online, you'll more than likely have it nicked at some point. Whether it's art, writing, or ideas, once it's out there people think it's fair game. Have you ever had any of your work stolen, or know someone who has? Being in the art industry, I know a lot who have had it happen. Some have been simple cases (Like finding someone using it on Facebook as profile pictures.), but others have actually found their work in stores being sold on t-shirts! I recently had to report someone for using one of my images and thankfully it was a simple process and the image was removed with next to no fuss. It's not the first time and it won't be the last. What do you think constitutes as art theft anyway? Where is the line drawn? (No pun intended.) Do you consider tracing art theft if it's posted as original work? What about the use of official images in things such as wallpapers? It's one of those things that makes you think as soon as you end up having to deal with it and I got curious.

Why not try listening to music and drawing what your feel? Or taking the song name and drawing that? Music has always been a super inspiration for me with my art. If I was to suggest something though (Not being lazy xD) I'd say try drawing Lord Yuna. (My sig and avatar.)

SOMEONE GIVE ME FOOD!

I don't get to go to many. We don't have a lot here in the UK. Most are in London too. [list] [*]Money - Especially if it's London. It's an expensive crudhole. [*]My medical bag - I always carry a medical bag with me. Bandages, plasters, distilled witch hazel, citirizine hydrochloride, paracetamol, cotton pads, Diocalm. [*]Cos-play - Clothing and accessories. [*]Liquids - Obviously, I can drink water, so I usually have some form of juice for quick sugar boosts. [*]Sweet snacks - As the doctor ordered, I have to keep biscuits with me. [*]Signing material - Just in case. I often get people asking for autographs. Grr. [*]Female items - Just in case. Not just for me, but in case other's get caught out too. [*]Business cards - Always good to shamelessly plug. [/list]

[center][attachment=15249:294787_216204005110618_100001630618275_602204_1059592756_n.jpg] Yeehaw. Don't blame me. Blame Jen's hen night. (Bachelorette Party to you American's. B) )[/center]

My favourites? [list] [*]BBQ Chicken [*]Spinach, ricotta, spicy chicken [*]Spicy beef, ham, bacon, garlic sausage, Swedish meatballs, pepperoni, chicken tikka [*]Quadruple cheese [/list]

I enjoy drawing fanart to 'stay loose', but generally I enjoy creating original work. As for paid commissions I tend to find that it's mostly original. I haven't actually had many requests for fanart. As for contracted work, it's always original concepts.

Me and Lee finally got our Bi-Orb. It took about 13 trips up and down a flight of stairs to fill it, but hey-ho. It was worth it. Bought two fish for it so far. Blue, our Siamese Fighter (Betta Splenden) and Shade the Ghost Knife. (Although, we seem to be calling him 'Knifey' a lot instead of his name.) Decided last night to start hand feeding with our Knife and he did it on first try. Adorable little sod.

[quote name='Grouchy Cat' timestamp='1307470228' post='707880'] [b]I ACED MY EXAMS TODAY!![/b] [b] [/b] Just sayin'. [/quote] Can I give you a congrats headbutt? <3

Went to scope out a wedding venue today in lovely Matlock Bath. Had a look round, pulled some faces, took advantage of free drinks and left quickly before the wedding for that day started. It was an ok day until I went into a book store and some fat [BEEPITY BEEP] decided that she didn't want to say 'excuse me' to get to a book I was stood in front of. Instead she thought it would be a good idea to go through me. THEN said 'CAN I GET ROUND YOU'? No please. Nothing. So, I voiced my opinion rather loudly and laughed that she'll probably die before me. Ahhh... Lifes little joys.

Seriously not enjoying these new happy pills. I have been having a whole range of side effects. B(

Can you feel... the love TONIGHTTT!? ...Something, something. Lion sex...

Art trades can be both fun and great for practice. [b] How does an art trade work?[/b] Simple. You post your terms (What you are willing to draw and what you will not draw.), how many trade slots you are willing to open up (IE: Three at a time.) and also (If you already have it in mind.) what you want from a trade, then people can request trades with you. Discuss what each of you want if you are unsure and draw your pictures. Sound fun? Post your terms and start trading today! ------------------------------------- [b]Axel's Terms[/b] I accept trades from anyone and accept any skill level, even doodles (You'll just get like for like.), so don't be scared to request a trade. [b]Won't Do:[/b] [b]Coloured work[/b] - Unless it's a commission, I dislike doing coloured work. So just be warned. c: Although I may tint the picture for you if you want. [b]Specific styles[/b] - I have my own style that I have adapted over the many, many years I have been doing art. I would like to keep it. [b]Hentai/Full frontal nudity[/b] - I will accept mild smut though. ;D [b]Will Do:[/b] [b]Sketches/Inked lineart[/b] [b]OC's[/b] [b]Fanart of any kind[/b] [b]Transformers/Robots[/b] [b]Smut[/b] [b]Furries[/b] [b]Animals/Monsters/Pokemon/Digimon[/b] [b]Short stories[/b] [b]Songs/Poems[/b] [b]What I Want:[/b] To be honest, I want anything based on any of the characters or fandoms I have in my gallery. I'm a sucker for romance, so pics of the couplings in it are very, VERY welcome. Examples: Gru x Rachel Ionia x Acid Storm Ionia x Perceptor Ionia x Yoketron Dr Tenma x Rachel Fireman Sam x Rachel [B]Open Slots[/B] [list][*]1 - EMPTY [*]2 - EMPTY [*]3 - EMPTY[/list]