There are many opportunities for an artist to make money. If you want to make a full-time living as an artist, you need more than gallery representation or freelance clients. With the way the world is evolving, there are many ways you can make money as an artist.
As an artist, consider various ways to monetize your skill to achieve financial success. Provided you can evaluate your skillet and do what you are comfortable with, making money will come with ease. You do not have to force yourself and become a blogger if writing is not your thing; with YouTube channels, you can teach art from the comfort of your room.
We will present five tangible ways to make money as an artist. Whatever you decide to do, make sure it is an extension of your niche. This way, your effort will contribute to your overall goal. As long as you can think outside the box, you can make money as an artist. Here are five reliable ways:
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1. Teach Art
Provided you are not an introvert, teaching art is a cool way to make money. You can teach it online or face to face. As a result, determine which channel would be comfortable with:
Face to face teaching
Artists with interesting niches such as calligraphy, street photography, or astrophotography will not find it challenging to get clients. You can do this in your neighborhood or walk up to schools and colleges around you.
You can decide to offer a single day workshop to interested parties or form an art exhibition.
Online Teaching
If you want to reach a wider audience, online teaching is a better approach. Record several series of your lectures so that many people can access them for a token. This way, you keep earning for years to come. Platforms like Skillshare and Udemy can help you sell.
2. Create an Art Blog
For the introverts, an excellent approach to make money as an artist is by writing. While art is better explained with visuals than words, there are resources online that can teach you how to write. Besides, the blog does not have to be full of blocks of text. The idea you want to convey can be done using visuals. As a result, in teaching your readers the techniques involved in pencil drawing as an example, there will be many visuals displaying each step as it proceeds. It only needs to have little texts to explain the images.
The blog can center on tutorials, art supplies, interviews with top artists, etc. You can earn money by selling your piece on your blog, paid ads, affiliate marketing (reviewing art products). There is also the option to become an artist coach that will mentor many young ones or upcoming artists.
3. Apply for Competitions and Art Grants
There are communities, programs, and nonprofit organizations that support young and upcoming artists. They aim to promote culture, solve an issue, or get actual art pieces to use as decoration for a building. Keeping abreast of such grants and contests for artists online is a good idea. With online search restricted to your locality, you can find contests that you are eligible for. Social media is also an excellent platform to keep in touch with organizations offering such contests.
4. Write an eBook
For people who enjoy writing, creating an eBook is a perfect opportunity to earn. Even if you do not like writing, you can hire ghostwriters as long as you communicate your expectations, they will produce a masterpiece for you. Art is a broad field with many niches; this means there are many things to write about.
Simply teach people how to use a particular medium, the basics of pencil drawing, painting on a canvass, etc. The idea is endless, and as long as you give invaluable ideas, your knowledge will help people. If your book truly helps people, expect to earn commissions and royalty on it for life.
5. Sell Art on Instagram
Instagram is majorly about pictures and photographs, so it presents a perfect platform for artists to monetize their skills. Also, it allows you to connect directly with fans and people that might be interested in your deliveries.
However, you must know how to engage your followers. Harnessing the power of Instagram starts from having a popular account with many followers, art lovers in particular. With many art lovers following you, the probability of selling your piece is high.
A few tips that can help you on Instagram are:
- Make sure your bio is catchy and attractive.
- Your hashtags must be relevant.
- Use only high-quality pictures that reveal the real quality of your work.
- Post regularly, at least twice a week
Conclusion
Without a doubt, there are many ways you can make money as an artist. As long as you are willing to get out of your comfort zone and provide value, people are willing to pay for your skills. You might be an introvert or an extrovert. There are unique approaches to making money as an artist that will suit your individuality.