I started my commissions career about the same time as you and I remember you and I having a few conversations as we have so much in common. This was a great video. The one thing that I also did that helped my business was joining a local club of interest. For me it's dog agility. Back in 2010 I asked the owner of the club where I compete at if I could paint her dog... for free. I gifted her with a painting of her cancer stricken dog and she showed it to the entire club. As a result, I received several more commissions and to date I've painted over 150 of the dogs from this club alone. And, many of my clients are now getting puppies, which are future commissions. So I would suggest going where your interest is and becoming known as an artist there as well.
That's great advice Marianne. Definitely getting involved with clubs that have some link to your chosen subject matter can provide a flow of work on it's own. We have been social media friends for ages now! Always nice to see your work pop up :-)
Great video! Those are very practical and helpful ideas. I've spent the last 27 years as a full-time freelance illustrator, working for magazines and corporations worldwide. It's only been since 2017 that I've started doing commissioned portraits on the side. It's an entirely different world, in terms of working with a private individual vs a company. Pricing is tricky (your comments about that are spot-on), but I think a lot of people prefer to pay what the art is worth, especially after you're an established artist. I've paid for online ads for my portrait work and have gotten very little return from them. The best advertising for me has been word of mouth. Something that DOES work well, at least in my case, is politely asking your customers to post pics of their portraits on their social media. I've landed many commissions that way. Thanks Emma. Absolutely love your work!
Thank you Colin, those are some great extra tips there too! It's nice to hear other's experiences and I'm sure it must be useful to anyone starting out. Illustration is a tough world to survive in. Some of the hardest working artists are illustrators!
I worked as a professional Artist for so many years, years before the internet was invented! I learned that having only one aspect or one medium to work in was not enough. I did watercolor paintings, illustrations for newspapers and even children’s books and flyers. I spent years taking photos for anyone who would sit still! I am being silly a bit but I did everything from senior portraits to little league pictures. I believe that you have created some amazing ideas for starting an Art career. I believe that you stated the key point is believing in your self and just get out there! I know that there are so many wonderful ways to just show your art and that is the first step! Well past creating it, in the first place! Wonderful video Emma thank you for sharing your art journey with us.
That is very true! Being willing to change things up and be versatile helps. I did illustration for a while too and found that a little bit of lots of things got me going. It's a bit like fishing, just waiting to see what bites. Thankfully my pastel commissions and originals were what took off as that was where my heart lay.
Definitely did lots of the art fairs and market stalls. It always led to something else. Just being seen is the best advertising. Person to person counts for a lot!
Hello Emma. You nailed it. Patience is key. I've been drawing on and off for 35+ years. 3 years ago, with the support of friends and family, I decided to fully apply myself and follow my dream. Its been a slow but steady journey. Along the way I have met many good people. My circle of influences is much larger now. I think the key to success is remembering where you started. Feed your passion. Maintain your drive. Always be awesome. Especially in the face of adversity. I love your work. I look forward to your videos. Keep it coming
Thank you Brendon, great advice. I can't stress the patience thing enough as I see people just starting out getting frustrated after posting one ad and not getting any responses. There may be months of that before things start to move. It's the case with a lot of business start ups!
You are so gifted Emma! I refer a lot of people your way. I am so impressed with your art. Lovely! Simply lovely! 💚💜💙Thank you for doing this video too. 👏👏👏🙏
Thank you Emma, it is so freeing to give ourselves time to enjoy the process and build a portfolio in the quiet season and not to stress but to be patient when starting out.
That's something I try to stress to any of my students. Especially after going down so many different avenues in my own work. That time at the start when you're not busy is a gift! If you can survive it financially, it's the best time to grow as an artist before you get too busy for self development!
I can relate so much to what you are saying. I'm such a huge introvert and find it hard to promote my work and myself. You have clearly gained so much in confidence over the years, it's great to see and gives me hope.
Definitely didn't start out confident about it. Didn't even like anyone watching over my shoulder while I was working. But you really can train yourself if necessary and it gets easier with time. Introverts need time and space to recover though so plenty of down time too!
well we all know being a fulltime artist is hard.. and in the beginning it cant pay the bills alone. When you don't have any back ups and have huge responsibilities , you still need to work, hope my time will come that I can be fulltime. Im a singlemom and have a child to look after first
Thank you for this very informative and helpful video Emma. Do you have a video on the best way to protect your artwork in preparation for selling and delivering it?
So cuuuute the photos of you in the beginning! Thank you so much for all your pieces of advice! Have you tried to give paid lessons (in real life)? or 2- or 3-day "trainings"?
Thank you! I have given workshops in person but since moving to Spain I've worked more online with Patreon and TH-cam. It's hard to fit more in but I'd love to do some workshops again in the future.
I have been working on art for years and in recent years I have seen a growth over time. Do you recommend showing myself online, for example on instagram?
It certainly doesn't do any harm to put your work out on social media somewhere. Choose the platform where you don't mind spending some time anyway, and build a portfolio. While many won't take time to visit an external website, they might follow your work on these platforms.
Why would you go to a fair with no product to sell? If you’re trying to push pet portraits, you should have something to show your potential clients whether that’s to show them other works you’ve done in the past or paintings of other types of animals to show your style and/or to sell to make back your booth costs to make it worth your wild.
There is sense to it as the Patrons on that level get access to these videos as soon as they come out (along with other rewards on that level). Later most of them get released here on TH-cam, but the support on that level is what funds these time consuming videos. They also get to ask me to make specific videos based on their questions. The full collection is on Patreon for that level which is why they are locked on there. Hope that explains. I think I replied to a message from you about this also today.
I started my commissions career about the same time as you and I remember you and I having a few conversations as we have so much in common. This was a great video. The one thing that I also did that helped my business was joining a local club of interest. For me it's dog agility. Back in 2010 I asked the owner of the club where I compete at if I could paint her dog... for free. I gifted her with a painting of her cancer stricken dog and she showed it to the entire club. As a result, I received several more commissions and to date I've painted over 150 of the dogs from this club alone. And, many of my clients are now getting puppies, which are future commissions. So I would suggest going where your interest is and becoming known as an artist there as well.
That's great advice Marianne. Definitely getting involved with clubs that have some link to your chosen subject matter can provide a flow of work on it's own. We have been social media friends for ages now! Always nice to see your work pop up :-)
Great video! Those are very practical and helpful ideas. I've spent the last 27 years as a full-time freelance illustrator, working for magazines and corporations worldwide. It's only been since 2017 that I've started doing commissioned portraits on the side. It's an entirely different world, in terms of working with a private individual vs a company. Pricing is tricky (your comments about that are spot-on), but I think a lot of people prefer to pay what the art is worth, especially after you're an established artist. I've paid for online ads for my portrait work and have gotten very little return from them. The best advertising for me has been word of mouth. Something that DOES work well, at least in my case, is politely asking your customers to post pics of their portraits on their social media. I've landed many commissions that way. Thanks Emma. Absolutely love your work!
Thank you Colin, those are some great extra tips there too! It's nice to hear other's experiences and I'm sure it must be useful to anyone starting out. Illustration is a tough world to survive in. Some of the hardest working artists are illustrators!
I worked as a professional Artist for so many years, years before the internet was invented! I learned that having only one aspect or one medium to work in was not enough. I did watercolor paintings, illustrations for newspapers and even children’s books and flyers. I spent years taking photos for anyone who would sit still! I am being silly a bit but I did everything from senior portraits to little league pictures. I believe that you have created some amazing ideas for starting an Art career. I believe that you stated the key point is believing in your self and just get out there! I know that there are so many wonderful ways to just show your art and that is the first step! Well past creating it, in the first place! Wonderful video Emma thank you for sharing your art journey with us.
That is very true! Being willing to change things up and be versatile helps. I did illustration for a while too and found that a little bit of lots of things got me going. It's a bit like fishing, just waiting to see what bites. Thankfully my pastel commissions and originals were what took off as that was where my heart lay.
It is really good to participate in art fairs; the exposure gets you invited to other venues! You are so kind to share your experiences; thanks. 🙏🏻
Definitely did lots of the art fairs and market stalls. It always led to something else. Just being seen is the best advertising. Person to person counts for a lot!
Hello Emma. You nailed it.
Patience is key. I've been drawing on and off for 35+ years. 3 years ago, with the support of friends and family, I decided to fully apply myself and follow my dream. Its been a slow but steady journey. Along the way I have met many good people. My circle of influences is much larger now. I think the key to success is remembering where you started. Feed your passion. Maintain your drive. Always be awesome. Especially in the face of adversity.
I love your work. I look forward to your videos. Keep it coming
Thank you Brendon, great advice. I can't stress the patience thing enough as I see people just starting out getting frustrated after posting one ad and not getting any responses. There may be months of that before things start to move. It's the case with a lot of business start ups!
Very helpful indeed. I love the friendly, accessible way you are giving good advice without looking down on people starting out. Thank you!
Thank you Michael, that's great feedback to receive!
You are so gifted Emma! I refer a lot of people your way. I am so impressed with your art. Lovely! Simply lovely! 💚💜💙Thank you for doing this video too. 👏👏👏🙏
Thank you! I really appreciate the recommendations :-)
Thank you so so helpful! Appreciate your tutorials
Excellent video, Emma!
Wonderful advice Emma. X
Thank you Emma, it is so freeing to give ourselves time to enjoy the process and build a portfolio in the quiet season and not to stress but to be patient when starting out.
That's something I try to stress to any of my students. Especially after going down so many different avenues in my own work. That time at the start when you're not busy is a gift! If you can survive it financially, it's the best time to grow as an artist before you get too busy for self development!
@@EmmaColbertArt thank you Emma
Thank you Emma that really helped me, I now have a list of to dos. I'm feeling more inspired as always when I what your tutorials Kim x
I can relate so much to what you are saying. I'm such a huge introvert and find it hard to promote my work and myself. You have clearly gained so much in confidence over the years, it's great to see and gives me hope.
Definitely didn't start out confident about it. Didn't even like anyone watching over my shoulder while I was working. But you really can train yourself if necessary and it gets easier with time. Introverts need time and space to recover though so plenty of down time too!
Thanks Emma for your candid and informative content😃
This is very helpful. I´ll get started marketing now, I have lots of paintings to use.
well we all know being a fulltime artist is hard.. and in the beginning it cant pay the bills alone. When you don't have any back ups and have huge responsibilities , you still need to work, hope my time will come that I can be fulltime. Im a singlemom and have a child to look after first
It's true, very few have an easy journey. You just have to keep going and be sensible about what else you need to do to pay the bills. Good luck!
Thank you for this very informative and helpful video Emma. Do you have a video on the best way to protect your artwork in preparation for selling and delivering it?
I have a video about packaging and storing pastels which might help
th-cam.com/video/Ef514VqXS-Y/w-d-xo.html
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻Thank you Emma🙏🏻🥰🥰🥰
Very informative
So cuuuute the photos of you in the beginning! Thank you so much for all your pieces of advice! Have you tried to give paid lessons (in real life)? or 2- or 3-day "trainings"?
Thank you! I have given workshops in person but since moving to Spain I've worked more online with Patreon and TH-cam. It's hard to fit more in but I'd love to do some workshops again in the future.
I have been working on art for years and in recent years I have seen a growth over time. Do you recommend showing myself online, for example on instagram?
It certainly doesn't do any harm to put your work out on social media somewhere. Choose the platform where you don't mind spending some time anyway, and build a portfolio. While many won't take time to visit an external website, they might follow your work on these platforms.
Why would you go to a fair with no product to sell? If you’re trying to push pet portraits, you should have something to show your potential clients whether that’s to show them other works you’ve done in the past or paintings of other types of animals to show your style and/or to sell to make back your booth costs to make it worth your wild.
Did you not watch the video? I even showed pictures of my first stall with framed examples of my work on display.
Odd how these "how to" videos are free on TH-cam but locked on your Patreon for the lower subscription levels. Makes no sense.
There is sense to it as the Patrons on that level get access to these videos as soon as they come out (along with other rewards on that level). Later most of them get released here on TH-cam, but the support on that level is what funds these time consuming videos. They also get to ask me to make specific videos based on their questions. The full collection is on Patreon for that level which is why they are locked on there. Hope that explains. I think I replied to a message from you about this also today.