Now that you’ve heard it all before, do you understand that money doesn’t buy happiness? Do you understand that money is the root of all evil? Do you understand that cash rolls everything around me?
As an artist, if you’re not bringing in enough to support yourself, it can be very hard to focus on your art. If you’re not financially stable, you may find yourself spending too much time worrying about money.
Being a full-time artist is only possible if your financial situation allows for it. These five points are essential.
The first thing you should do if you want to make a living as an artist is figure out what kind of art you want to make, and then figure out how to get that art to the people who will pay you the most for it. Or in other words: The first step is to provide outstanding value to your patrons.
A good way to keep track of your projects is by categorizing them into “buckets.” For example, if you’re running a YouTube channel or an Instagram, write that down. From there, determine which projects are more important than others. In order to be a full-time artist, you must have your commitment buckets listed out. It’s all too common for artists to say things like “I have so many ideas. I don’t know where to start.” If you do anything art-related, you need to figure out exactly how much time you’re spending on each task and how much time you’re spending on all of your tasks.
My friend was telling me about this cool comic book character he was developing, but he wasn’t sure how to make it look like an Invincible comic. It’s gonna take me some time to learn how to draw in that style so I can draw the book and I’m like why don’t you just hire an artist to draw in that style for you? Somebody has already developed that skill.
If you’re worried about the responsibilities that come with your new job, I’m here to remind you of all the times I’ve had new expenses and increased my income to account for it.
To be a full-time artist, you must have a monthly budget and a monthly production quota. These two things go hand in hand. Your monthly budget is how much money you spend every month. And your monthly quota is how much money you need.
Before you start putting money into savings, you should look at every subscription that you have, list them all out in a document, and see how much each one of those subscriptions costs you. Next, you should get an app to help track your expenses.
Stable expenses are the same amount every month; for example, let’s say you’re subscribed to Netflix. Unstable expenses vary every month; for example, groceries. Tasks and commitments depend on how much time you spend on them. If you’re just trying to make enough money to barely keep your head above water, there will be a period of time where you’re under water and you get saltwater in your mouth.
Last tip for today is to find the highest authority figure you can find in your field. Keep climbing until you land at the peak, and then keep working your way up.
It is a jungle out there for artists who want to sell their work or products. You don’t know which opportunities are good and which ones are scams. Some people have been in this jungle for a long time and they know how to survive.
To have success in anything, you start by finding someone who has the result that you want and just paying them for their time and advice.
You can apply information that is known about creators and the things that they know to be successful with social media to your own art-world practice. If you want to learn a new art medium like watercolor, find a master watercolor artist and pay.
If you’re trying to figure things out yourself, you’ll almost surely get stuck at some point. It’s important to align yourself with people who have been there and done that. The best mentors are experts in the areas you want to grow in, so ask around for referrals.
I really wish I had invested in mentors a lot earlier in my art career. That’s why I put it on this list. I feel it’s one of the most important things, but that’s going to wrap it up for our list today.
