Jack Chen ⋅ Kerhonkson, NY Pronetik ⋅ 18 years experience

Hi Coren: Here are a few other ideas. First, start an Instagram account and post your portfolio there. Be sure to add lots of key words. Second, also post photos of you at work creating your paintings so people can see that your works are paintings and not photos. This is a free way of having an online portfolio and presence. Third, search for art blogs and magazine websites that write about other painters who create photo-realistic paintings. Send them a link to your website after you have uploaded your portfolio. Fourth, paint people or scenarios that are well known to add to your portfolio. For example, the photo of President Obama and his cabinet watching the Bin Laden raid is a well known photo image. If you paint that photo, you are less likely to be sued for copyright but people can then truly see the quality of your work. Good luck!

Julia Scott ⋅ Spring, TX Chemical Manufacturing Industry- Retired ⋅ 35 years experience

Hi Coren,

While I am not an artist. I'm an EBAY frequent flyer. I've purchaed original jewelry and artworks (some custom) on EBAY before- and never from a dealer. I always buy from the artist directly. I figure if an artist has representation then EBAY isn't their only source of sales.

At any rate, you can post the pieces as you complete them- FOR FREE. If you render drawings (or whatever), consider doing pieces that are customized for the customer- perhaps of people's pets, their house, or the people themselves. Anything really. Not to say you shouldn't include some of scenes that you really like- you never know what will strike a preson's fancy. but do send samples of the custom pieces that you are offering to do.

There are also crowd-funding sites but you'll want to have a business plan.

All the best- Julie

Jeffrey Duck ⋅ Deltona, FL Deploy Tech Services ⋅ 30 years experience

For some additional income, you could consider adding your artwork to sites such as iStockPhoto.com (and don't let the term 'photo' disway you). There are a handful of successful sites that people like me use to license photos and graphics for websites, print ads, etc. I know of a photographer who uses them. It's far from a primary source of income but he gets to do what he enjoys and it does supplement his primary income. Search for 'stock images' to find some good sites.

I don't know about hand drawn art so I don't have any ideas of how to get your stuff digitized but I assume there are services that do that or a photographer you can partner with.

Before putting any of your work online yourself, you may want to be sure you're up to speed with understanding metadata. I put a lot of technical artwork online and don't put anything up until I've added data to make it easier to track and identify.

Good luck!

Seth Lynch ⋅ Plano, TX Hewlett Packard ⋅ 15 years experience

Coren,
Lots of good options in all of the posts. I have one more route you can also try out.

A lot of the crowd funding sites today really let people build their talents and hobbies into a funded business.
Check out sites like KickStarter (www.kickstarter.com). You can explain your business plan to a large online audience and ask them for money to use to start your business in exchange for either equity in your new company or an initial product you are producing in limited quantity just for the initial 'investors'.

Take a loot at what others on the site are offering. My suggestion for you would be to offer a limited edition, signed copy of an original piece of artwork. Cover the costs of the reproduction, shipping, etc plus add in an amount to help kick start your new business.

That will help get your artwork exposed to others who might know people that need your service or will partner with you to add to their portfolio of services.

Craig Coffey ⋅ Chesterfield, VA Afton Chemical ⋅ 20 years experience

One service that I have seen in the art area that can be used to create a business is home or office sketches. Realtors, home builders, home owners, and small business will pay an artist for a sketch of their home or business.

Check out these sites for some ideas along this business line:

http://www.giftofportraits.com/Pencil-Drawings.html
http://giveamasterpiece.com/house-sketches.shtml
http://www.zazzle.com/office_building_sketch_business_card-240490310214886191

Hope this helps!

Craig

Peter Billard ⋅ Glastonbury, CT Peter Billard Photographer ⋅ 34 years experience

Coren,
In addition to the other excellent answers, I suggest develop a portfolio of your work, if you haven't done so already. Keep copies of every piece of artwork you do. Whatever media you use, have a way to easily scan or photograph them. Keep a file of digital copies ready to email as a sampling of your work. When I first started out and had no real job samples, I created a small body of work of the type I planned to pursue. I showed that and used it to get real jobs. You might gang up 5-6 images together into a single collage in Photoshop, keep it relatively small, and have that to accompany all your queries with prospective clients or customers. Always include a copyright notice, year, and your name with your work. Also: consider that there's commercial art and there's fine art. They don't need to be mutually exclusive. You may progress down the commercial side, enjoy some recognition, and discover that there's a fine art aspect to it as well. If you're good, command a good price. Don't sell yourself and your talent short. Become a good haggler and negotiator. Talk up the value of your artwork. A pair of Nike sneakers are priced competitively among retailers because they all sell the same model. You have one-of-a-kind work that's not mass produced. However, not every client and every job will find your work suitable to their tastes or needs. You win some and you lose some–you don't catch every fish in the lake when you go fishing, you just need to get your limit. Remember, our culture has an insatiable appetite for new, young, talented, and undiscovered musicians, actors, comics, authors, and artists. You might as well be one of them! Best wishes, Peter B.

Ming Lai ⋅ Alhambra, CA Humanist Films, LLC ⋅ 20 years experience

Hi Coren!

I work in the film and advertising industries.

One area that you might consider is freelancing for a company like Famous Frames that reps artists who create storyboards, comp art, illustration, animatics, etc.

http://www.famousframes.com

Your hyper-realistic drawings might be well-suited for this profession.

I have a couple of friends who are artists/illustrators/painters and create their own fine art. To help make a living, they freelance for companies like Famous Frames.

To work for these types of companies, you need a portfolio, website, social media, etc.

Typically, the people we hire through these companies are not only skilled artists, but they also need to be fast and professional.

Having your own unique drawing/artistic style in addition to being able to adopt different styles for each particular project is very helpful.

Also, having a modern aesthetic is very beneficial.

Hope this is helpful. Good luck in your career!

Best wishes,
Ming

Charles Coley ⋅ Blowing Rock, NC ⋅ 40 years experience

Good evening, Coren!

Go to CEOtovet.org. Develop a business plan. Think through what you want to do!

I have a son that is a furniture designer that draws everyday. He's very successful. I have a sister that developed the "Gifted Children's Program" at the Corcaron Gallery in Washington. She's a great artist. Art is a gift! Use it! Live it!

One can develop great businesses in art. Be happy to talk with you.

Good luck!,
Charles

Mark Isaacs ⋅ Shelbyville, KY Lexington (KY) Fire Dept ⋅ 18 years experience

Tattoos...people that want tattoos want their vision on paper first. Tattoo artist need to draw out the tattoo before actually filling in the appliqué ... Your G I bill may pay for the appropriate schooling.

Sean OShea ⋅ Palos Heights, IL BMC Software Inc. ⋅ 25 years experience

Hi Coren.
First, thank you for your service!
I have a good friend whose parents have a business doing hyper realistic drawing and they have agreed to provide you with advice. They have asked for--- 1. A few days so they can think about the topics they might bring up that would be helpful to you.
2. your phone number so they can call you (maybe one evening next week).
3. A couple of evening days / times that would be good for you to talk.
4. Samples of your work (if possible) sent to them prior to the discussion. This will help them gain an understanding of exactly what type(s) of visuals you're talking about. You can route the contact info and available time(s) directly to them via email using the address I'll send you privately. Does that work? Please let me know how you would like to proceed. Regards, Sean

Ron Yu ⋅ Cupertino, CA Denodo Technologies ⋅ 30 years experience

Hi Coren - I agree with the previous answers. No matter what the business is you're trying to start - understand the landscape - that means - see who your competition is and understand who your target market is. Once you get that high-level understanding, you also need to know what the market price is for selling in that space. For example, I don't know if you want to sell your skills for the pure art like an art gallery (where the price per piece may be high but the sales cycle could be very long/slow) or you want to out source your skills to a corporate customer or end consumers for example portrait work. Once you grasp what your target / objective is, then come up with a go to market plan. That would involve, how do I reach my end customer, how do I find potential clients, how do I market to my target to generate leads/business. You'll have to do a sanity check as well, if you pick a market and you sell each work for $100, how many would you need to sell to make a living and feed yourself? At the start, you may need to hold a "regular" job and get this business started on the side. Once you've done your research and decided on a target customer/market, feel free to contact me for more specific go to market strategy. Good Luck!

Ron

Bill Felice ⋅ Springfield, PA SWCA Environmental Consultants ⋅ 25 years experience

Hi Coren,

A good start might be to get a table at a local street fairs, craft, art or music festival, etc. and bring some of your items to sell. I live in the Philly area and we often buy original crafts we find at events such as these. If you do items "to order" I'd suggest having a website ready and bring along business cards. Best of luck! Bill

Brian Richardson ⋅ Columbus, IN U.S. Army, Sergeant ⋅ 8 years served

Hi Coren,
As with any business, you need to solve a problem or fill a need. Finding the people that will be passionate about what you offer is the problem.

Look in your industry. How do people that do what you do sell? Where do they sell? How do they interact with their customers? Not that you want to be like all the others (you don't) but understanding how things are being done in your industry is important.

Can you start by finding a local merchant that your drawings might be a good complimentary fit in their store? Offer them a percentage of your sales as an incentive. Doing that can start to give you an idea of if you have the potential for a business, as opposed to a hobby. http://vetlaunched.com/hobby-job-business/

There are a ton of other skills needed to run your business...other than the actual artistic parts. You should start to read about start ups. http://vetlaunched.com/books/

You shouldn't want to be an expert in every part of a business. But being familiar with what has to be done is important.

I would be happy to discuss more details if you are interested. Please feel free to message me here or thru my site. Good luck.

Brian Richardson
www.VetLaunched.com