That’s why people are transitioning more to digital on demand products! They are more scalable and you don’t have to worry about physical inventory lol
Digital products are easily stolen. All your hard work could be taken by others to sell as their own. It is happening to many artists in different online marketplaces.
What I’ve learned so far being a fulltime artist for 2.5yrs is that THERE’S multiple ways to earn BUT not all will work the same for everyone. Some do great with physical products/commissions/commercial work/artfluencer/digital products/license, etc. It’s a different recipe/combination for each artist which is also understandable because it can be TOO MUCH when you try to manage different things at the same time by yourself! Gotta be honest with yourself and go for your STRENGTHS! 💪
Most businesses fail within 5 years. Of the businesses that succeed, they are the success stories. Only a handful of them become large-scale highly profitable companies. And most people have to work for the companies or the State.
Hiii!! I checked out your art and man you’re absolutely amazing! I would like to buy one 💕 I’m also a small business but I think if you keep trying to connect with your customers you’d make some sales! Polymer clay charms are really popular and yours are absolutely stunning so clean, Post a few studio vlogs or a video similar to this one and it’ll get people coming through! ❤
it just kinda feels like you’d hope people would keep buying your product at the same rate they were at the beginning and didn’t really plan on keeping your own business alive with creative innovation. comes off as a side hustle versus being a ‘small business’
This came at a scarily accurate time haha. I recently started up an Etsy shop and while I have had a few sales here and there, I really struggle to stay on top of the marketing & shop updates, and I feel I'm kinda deluding myself into thinking things will pay off in the long run. I don't want to give up yet as it hasn't even been open for a year, and I do have a lot of new product ideas that I'm really excited about so I'll keep on trying to give it a solid go. At least for a little while longer! I know there's so much more I could do to get my name out there (stay on top of reel/tiktok trends, start a YT channel, etc) but the thought of managing everything on top of the shop, artist alleys, social media and looking for illustration work really stresses me out :( We'll see how things go!
This makes me feel validated about having diverse intentory tbh. I think you had success, but relied on this one thing to keep your business afloat, which isn’t a bad thing, but it doesn’t seem to be a long term solution. I’m also glad I never put the complete effort into IG like others did. I wasn’t going to spend hours researching tags when I’d rather make art. I used to love IG but I rarely use it anymore! Another topic I’d like to mention about merch, if you’re going to do it, do it at home and start small first or get with other artists online and do group orders! I recently learned about this and am in two discord groups where artists run orders we can buy things from manufacturers, but as one massive order to save on shipping and MOQ. This way you can do smaller amounts and still get pins, washi, etc. I also use POD for my journals and that’s another great way to test what designs will sell too. POD eats a lot of profit, but I’m planning to get the designs that sell the best as physical items soon. Something else I want to do is to get into cons and markets, but that’s tough right now as everyone’s also trying too!
how did you find those group order servers? they seem like a good idea, especially since those MOQs can be intimidating 😥 good luck getting into cons and stuff!!
@@4tarobyteso you have to apply to them to get in, but there is the artists alley network and margalita pizza go. For AAN, applications open the beginning of each month and new members get accepted in. You need to have some type of portfolio or store front though.
Walt Disney’s first animation business failed in Kansas. In fact Disney would not hire any CEOs unless they had previously known personal failure. Use this experience. Keep going.
Nintendo wasn't even a gaming company first, and not even the second time. So many success stories. A streamer mentioned this and it's very inspiring: 'if you keep trying, you never fail' and it's kinda true!
You clearly gained a lot of knowledge about that side of the art biz, and knowledge is priceless. Everything has a shelf life, but I’m so glad you grabbed the opportunity while it was there!
Thanks Michelle for the video! Felt a lot of the things you said,,, !!!! Being an artist + having to do all the promo + shipping / stocking and just doing everything is.... tough
A lot of people are boycotting Etsy.. that also might not be helping at all! Etsy got really difficult for me to support afte the wave of Ai artists and also how expensive it is to buy something as an international fan... it overall sucks
I started my Etsy with just digital products and I didn't make it big with that at all like some people say they do or you will. I made sales, but nothing crazy no matter how much marketing I did. Digital products are also very niched, esp the ones I make/offer. I'm switching gears to physical products and print on demand, while moving all my digital products to my personal website. My personal website already brings in money & brand deals, and I have similar freebies to what I sold on Etsy that get hits all the time & grew my email newsletter with. I also work with websites for a living, so I can create and list website templates & themes to sell on it, as well as any other services. For a long time, I would just list my services on external sites, but I got burnt out from constantly creating websites for people that were websites I didn't want to make or feel inspired to. Idk how the whole template/theme sale will go at all, but I don't have to deal with fees at least and I am actually pretty inspired with some ideas I came up with. I know themes do sell on Etsy, but like I said I was getting sale here and there with digital products already and the fees on Etsy are insane. But I definitely want to take a stab at revamping my Etsy with only physical products, it's under a different name than my username, and a different style of art than what I currently share online which also excites me because I had imposter syndrome for the longest. Thankfully, I have 2 different IG accounts for each, so I can market both at the same time without the confusion, but but I'll list both websites on each place and name them appropriately. Ones digital goodies only the other, well you get my long ended message lol. A lot of people don't realize not everything is going to workout for everyone with a cut and paste plan. It's not cookie cutting out here. It's always going to be different.
Honestly, running a business takes work, dedication, etc. so I admire your hard work. I see you as a successful artist with everything else you have been working on.
Honestly this video might be exactly what I need to keep in the back of my mind for the future. Cureently my online sales aren't good at all but my reach keeps increasing, I have a billion ideas for other options but i'm trying to stick with the shop stuff for now!
Great insight! It's important for us to note that we can't all do everything, and to find out not only what you're good at, but what you enjoy so you don't start to hate it. I'm in the process of rebranding after not making things for a few years because of family stuff, and this is so important to remember.. I can't do it all! And it has to be enjoyable so I don't hate/regret going back into it. Gotta try all the things and see what sticks..
Ive been following your content for a while. I really looked up to you in regards of getting in the animation industry and selling my art! So this video is helping me a lot while I'm going through a mini identity crisis with my art not doing so well... along with AI taking over. I'm glad that I'm not alone
Excellent video- great lessons in becoming a small business-unfortunately, the more people involved in selling your products (publishers, pin makers, distributors) the less money you make -
as a new viewer that knows nothing bout your product. i would say that it's not that you failed, it's just that the brand is new. you just gotta stick around long enough. the art is good imo. it just takes time for ppl to recognize the character and have it resonate with them to buy your product.
My Etsy shop and kinda sorta my Spoonflower are also in the pooper right now. My Etsy was never to the same level as yours, but it was enough to comfortably live my already frugal lifestyle. I did great in 2020-the first half of 2021 because I had a few already popular medical designs. When IG changed their algorithm, that was the nail in the coffin. I also turned to painting and have prioritized that over digital art, and that didn't help since I only sell paintings in person and have been lazy about adding mini prints to my shop. The economy I feel like has tanked everyone. At least for me, business is down 80%. I have one stream of income that hasn't been as effected, but it's also the most time consuming and has the most negative impact on my physical and emotional health (art commissions.) I started doing everything else so I didn't have to rely on commissions as much, but here we are!
Thank you so much for showing your “failures.” As an artist, designer, youtuber and streamer, believe me, I’ve had more than my fair share. It’s nice to see even big creators have failures, or things they wish had gone better. Especially with AI, it can be really discouraging. Thank you for reminding us all it’s okay to not be perfect. ❤
I have worked for years on a new comic project and it's been really hard, also because I have a second full time job. I tried and did everything that was required. After all I received very bad reviews and my book had very low rate. Someone said my book is a total crap and wast of time. So I stopped my business and discountinued my comic. If I can get some positive from this experience, I think I've learned a lot from mistakes, and that you need courage to put yourself out there because people can be incredibly mean. The last important lesson I've learnt is that I would never say mean and nasty comments or reviews to another person, despite some mistakes they may have done, you never know what they are going through and if they are at the beginning of their career. It's good to leave criticism and advices but people don't realise what they do when they leave insults from the safety of a keyboard. There is a real person behind the other end of the business.
Selling original art is really hard. Im on the path of doing my own zine and advesting my characters etc and i hope i can soneday sell things with them etc, but as you said too, its not something ppl actively search, truly a challenge!
hey bish you have a wealth of knowledge , you're not just a artist , you're a personality. network with the other artists and start a podcast & do collabs.
Yeah, definitely figuring out what works for you as an artist goes a long way. It is nice that we are in a time where there are a lot of options, but also that you pretty much have to have more than one way of earning income as well (at least for most I tend to think.) Side question for you though, but I'm curious how difficult it was transitioning your storyboard skills to comic/graphic novel making? I know there would be some things from storyboarding that would be really useful when designing comics but I know some things you have to approach differently too. So I'm curious about how that learning curve was, especially when making Meesh: The Bad Demon and even your new 80s comic project. Did you have to look at graphic novel making books or ask some comic creator friends for input? Sorry this is long!
Yes totally! I think that there are so many great options now, but choosing to stick to what you are best at is the part most of us struggle with when we think we can do everything! In the meantime, transitioning to comics wasn't that hard because prior to attending school for animation to narrow down on storyboarding, I doodled and did a lot of comics for fun, inspired by manga and other comics I read. I would just try to reference the panel templates / arrangements other artists did. After storyboarding, there is just a lot of things you learn about keeping the flow of a visual story smooth which I continued to apply to my comics. So basically, a mixture of looking at comics that I like to use as reference, and applying some storyboarding tips along with it.
It's sad but true 😭👍 And thank you for the answer! Part of the reason I asked is because I'm trying to learn how to make comics and I overthink so much when it comes to how a person should think when approaching page design and pacing and all the technical fun stuff lol. So it's really insightful and appreciated to hear the perspective of someone who has that storyboarding background and how you go about your comic work. So again, thank you and much appreciated!! 😁👍
Maybe it is because the art (or lack-thereof) is boring. Lots of self-proclaimed small business and e-commerce gurus online have been heavily promoting that "anyone" can make, from a side-hustle on Etsy, Amazon, RedBubble, etc. or some other Marketplace platform, plenty of money and then some. (Apparently, Without ANY artistic talent or any clue or passion for being creative). They demonstrate in their videos, how to make use of what I call, "canned art", from places like Canva and a few others, and how to recombine bits and pieces, plus some text, in order to create a t-shirt, or some other product, There is nothing wrong with using those design helper platforms if you have no skills as an artist or graphic designer, and you need it for personal use (or maybe for a project at work), but you can't expect to make a fortune selling Print-On-Demand products using those tools either. When you look on Etsy or some other sales platforms, you can spot those designs right away because they are what I would call "uninspired". Not bad, but not something I'd spend money on, and when mostly "everyone" is using the SAME SOURCES FOR ALL THEIR ART AND GRAPHIC DESIGN, you guessed it. It all starts to look the same! I saw that happening a few years ago, after watching a few videos by a popular side-hustle guru or two, that suggested (and showed how-to), make coloring books and student activity books, to sell on Amazon as no-content and low-content books through their platform. And the end result showed up on Amazon, (and continues to), as cookie-cutter coloring and activity books re-using the same bits and pieces of art and graphics from mostly free sources. So many non-artists jumped on the bandwagon, looking to make a quick buck with the hack of using canned art, that it really de-valued the whole coloring book and journal concepts, except for some small companies and artist's that had been creating their own ORIGINAL ART content already. And they were the ones who did really well, making huge amounts of sales, BECAUSE their art was well-done AND original.
im starting a shop on etsy and i found a cute sanrio cups in store but its not on websites or anything will i still get a copyright strike? its just those that i didnt make the rest is what i made from home? please give me some tips! really need some
not about comparision, but you have built up much more of a following than I and yet you struggle to make enough sales. All the best to your declutting. I might do a charity give away for some of the things I'm no longer into making. How do you feel about print on demand of your comics?
@@mewTripled It did! I was just wondering since I’m a new subscriber, can you make a video of how you wrote your experience in a fictional way? In your comics. Because I’m interested in making comics, just with different topics.
5 orders a week would literally allow me to eat real food instead of ramen my items are mostly 10$ each seeing videos like this saying how that’s failing is so sad because it makes me feel like I should quit
ehh it just feels like you got better opportunities and realized you could make more on those...i personally enjoy packing orders and writing little notes for customers, and i think its disheartening to spread word of "not everyone is meant to sell their art on things" ?? I feel like people should sell or not sell depending on what they want to do...plus you have to really work at it. it comes across a bit like you got popular and got offered deals that appealed more to you/you could do less work etc
May I ask what is the difference in owing a business and being self employed? I feel like owning a small business means you have a license to sell at conventions and sell your own products? But with self employed it's similar but you do everything from content creation, social media managing, selling products, monetizing social media etc. Recently I took a survival skills for artists class, and my teacher have confirmed that you don't need a business lisense to file taxes or do self employed, you basically have to fill out taxes as solo propertier(?) I get confused really easily haha
No. Self-employed means you are doing business as “your name”. Owning a business means you are doing business as “your business name”. It’s a different process to set up paying tax depending on which way you go.
Interesting to see that this confusion is also existing in the English-speaking world lol In Germany being a business owner means you have to pay special taxes when you make a certain amount of profit. You can be self-employed. But not every self-employed person is a business owner, there are freelancers for example. Those provide a service and don't have to pay the business taxes, but not every kind of job is eligible to count as freelancer, some must have a business, especially when you're selling goods
Are you in the US? That is correct, your SS# is also a business ID if you are the sole proprietor/employee. A very important thing to know is you have to pay taxes for the next year quarterly (so you pay estimated taxes ahead of time, four times a year). Or you will have to pay a late fee (ask how I know 🙄). A good accountant is worth their weight in salt and can give business advice. Another important thing to be aware of, anything that you did not create (such as a character from a show, book, etc) is subject to copyright infringement. Even saying something is *inspired* by like, Harry Potter for example, is also subject to copyright infringement. If you make a baby yoda doll, and call it baby frog, guess what, copyright infringement. Those big boys do NOT screw around, they WILL sue you. I’ve heard of many people being financially ruined from using sports logos, Disney imagery, etc. “Don’t mess with the mouse.” If you draw a character from a show, it qualifies as fan art, which is not illegal until it put up for sale. Best to avoid any infringement whatsoever.
What audience you want? As soon i saw the name of the company it was distasteful. And not everyone into " demon " themes. You truly are talented tho! If you want organic traffic you have to lean towards ppl into lower energies. Good luck.
She probably wants the audience who’s into demon themes. Not everything has to cater to people who aren’t into the demon theme. It’s ok to have something that caters to the people who are.
I hear what you're saying, but hear me out.... The thumbnail would've looked funny as hell if you had a cigarette in your mouth, and I can't stop laughing at that mental image ☠️☠️☠️
there is no formula, you just have to post same style content regularly (a few times a week) for years. That's it. No magical day or hour or hashtags will help to make it faster.
As someone who has a small cosmetic business I feel this as well! I barely get any sales and I have had my business since 2017 but I have been taking it seriously this year and I can feel the struggle 🥲. I have a full time job and I have a IMVU shop as well as a hobby and even that hobby makes more money than my dream cosmetic brand 🥲
thank you so much for this video! it helped me maintain my expectations for my book and i guess i never realized the downfall comes when you stop promoting your products🥹🥹
being an artist is so damn humbling
too true 🙌🏼
The artist struggle of wanting to do your own thing creatively but also having to make a consumable product and surviving in this economy
That’s why people are transitioning more to digital on demand products! They are more scalable and you don’t have to worry about physical inventory lol
So true! Yeah I'm thinking about leaning more into digital content that could be educational too!
Digital products are easily stolen. All your hard work could be taken by others to sell as their own. It is happening to many artists in different online marketplaces.
@@molamolalaaa2968yeah, especially from drop-shippers 😢
What I’ve learned so far being a fulltime artist for 2.5yrs is that THERE’S multiple ways to earn BUT not all will work the same for everyone. Some do great with physical products/commissions/commercial work/artfluencer/digital products/license, etc.
It’s a different recipe/combination for each artist which is also understandable because it can be TOO MUCH when you try to manage different things at the same time by yourself! Gotta be honest with yourself and go for your STRENGTHS! 💪
Yeah I totally agree! Every artist will have a different concoction of what makes up their income :)
I make 3-5k a month selling sticker sheets alone. I'm going to start including note pads and washi tape. Baby steps
ur an inspiration! i love stationery and thats all I want to sell.
Dang that’s amazing! I hope to get to that level one day.
@@roseaphile thank you! do it, just draw cute stuff and share it!!
@@artbyinky you absolutely can, just have fun with it!!
@@modoodles I am trying! Sticker sheets take me the longest to make cuz my dang cricut likes to act up when I make them lol.
Most businesses fail within 5 years. Of the businesses that succeed, they are the success stories. Only a handful of them become large-scale highly profitable companies. And most people have to work for the companies or the State.
"you cant do everything" is so important. Learning that truth myself.
My small business has only had one sale and isn’t getting any more…it’s discouraging but I want to keep trying :)
Hiii!! I checked out your art and man you’re absolutely amazing! I would like to buy one 💕 I’m also a small business but I think if you keep trying to connect with your customers you’d make some sales! Polymer clay charms are really popular and yours are absolutely stunning so clean, Post a few studio vlogs or a video similar to this one and it’ll get people coming through! ❤
it just kinda feels like you’d hope people would keep buying your product at the same rate they were at the beginning and didn’t really plan on keeping your own business alive with creative innovation. comes off as a side hustle versus being a ‘small business’
This came at a scarily accurate time haha. I recently started up an Etsy shop and while I have had a few sales here and there, I really struggle to stay on top of the marketing & shop updates, and I feel I'm kinda deluding myself into thinking things will pay off in the long run. I don't want to give up yet as it hasn't even been open for a year, and I do have a lot of new product ideas that I'm really excited about so I'll keep on trying to give it a solid go. At least for a little while longer!
I know there's so much more I could do to get my name out there (stay on top of reel/tiktok trends, start a YT channel, etc) but the thought of managing everything on top of the shop, artist alleys, social media and looking for illustration work really stresses me out :( We'll see how things go!
This makes me feel validated about having diverse intentory tbh. I think you had success, but relied on this one thing to keep your business afloat, which isn’t a bad thing, but it doesn’t seem to be a long term solution.
I’m also glad I never put the complete effort into IG like others did. I wasn’t going to spend hours researching tags when I’d rather make art. I used to love IG but I rarely use it anymore!
Another topic I’d like to mention about merch, if you’re going to do it, do it at home and start small first or get with other artists online and do group orders! I recently learned about this and am in two discord groups where artists run orders we can buy things from manufacturers, but as one massive order to save on shipping and MOQ. This way you can do smaller amounts and still get pins, washi, etc. I also use POD for my journals and that’s another great way to test what designs will sell too. POD eats a lot of profit, but I’m planning to get the designs that sell the best as physical items soon.
Something else I want to do is to get into cons and markets, but that’s tough right now as everyone’s also trying too!
how did you find those group order servers? they seem like a good idea, especially since those MOQs can be intimidating 😥
good luck getting into cons and stuff!!
@@4tarobyteso you have to apply to them to get in, but there is the artists alley network and margalita pizza go.
For AAN, applications open the beginning of each month and new members get accepted in. You need to have some type of portfolio or store front though.
@@4tarobyte there’s two I know of on discord called the artist alley network and the margalita pizza group order.
Walt Disney’s first animation business failed in Kansas. In fact Disney would not hire any CEOs unless they had previously known personal failure. Use this experience. Keep going.
Nintendo wasn't even a gaming company first, and not even the second time. So many success stories.
A streamer mentioned this and it's very inspiring: 'if you keep trying, you never fail' and it's kinda true!
You clearly gained a lot of knowledge about that side of the art biz, and knowledge is priceless. Everything has a shelf life, but I’m so glad you grabbed the opportunity while it was there!
Thanks Michelle for the video! Felt a lot of the things you said,,, !!!! Being an artist + having to do all the promo + shipping / stocking and just doing everything is.... tough
A lot of people are boycotting Etsy.. that also might not be helping at all! Etsy got really difficult for me to support afte the wave of Ai artists and also how expensive it is to buy something as an international fan... it overall sucks
I love MewTripled because of how transparent she is. You always seem to be answering the questions I have in the back of my mind!
I started my Etsy with just digital products and I didn't make it big with that at all like some people say they do or you will. I made sales, but nothing crazy no matter how much marketing I did. Digital products are also very niched, esp the ones I make/offer. I'm switching gears to physical products and print on demand, while moving all my digital products to my personal website. My personal website already brings in money & brand deals, and I have similar freebies to what I sold on Etsy that get hits all the time & grew my email newsletter with. I also work with websites for a living, so I can create and list website templates & themes to sell on it, as well as any other services. For a long time, I would just list my services on external sites, but I got burnt out from constantly creating websites for people that were websites I didn't want to make or feel inspired to. Idk how the whole template/theme sale will go at all, but I don't have to deal with fees at least and I am actually pretty inspired with some ideas I came up with. I know themes do sell on Etsy, but like I said I was getting sale here and there with digital products already and the fees on Etsy are insane. But I definitely want to take a stab at revamping my Etsy with only physical products, it's under a different name than my username, and a different style of art than what I currently share online which also excites me because I had imposter syndrome for the longest. Thankfully, I have 2 different IG accounts for each, so I can market both at the same time without the confusion, but but I'll list both websites on each place and name them appropriately. Ones digital goodies only the other, well you get my long ended message lol. A lot of people don't realize not everything is going to workout for everyone with a cut and paste plan. It's not cookie cutting out here. It's always going to be different.
Honestly, running a business takes work, dedication, etc. so I admire your hard work. I see you as a successful artist with everything else you have been working on.
I wouldn't call that failing. You just lost interest in it and focused on other things
This was super helpful, thank you for sharing!! It's so true that artists can not do EVERYTHING and it is not sustainable
Honestly this video might be exactly what I need to keep in the back of my mind for the future. Cureently my online sales aren't good at all but my reach keeps increasing, I have a billion ideas for other options but i'm trying to stick with the shop stuff for now!
Aww wishing you the best!! But that's still great you're not giving up! :D
Thank you for being transparent & sharing book bolt!
🥺 You didnt fail you did wonderful. I see this as a huge success for you in a hard time for artist.
Great insight! It's important for us to note that we can't all do everything, and to find out not only what you're good at, but what you enjoy so you don't start to hate it. I'm in the process of rebranding after not making things for a few years because of family stuff, and this is so important to remember.. I can't do it all! And it has to be enjoyable so I don't hate/regret going back into it. Gotta try all the things and see what sticks..
This is the most natural advertising for book bolt.
Its really hard to sell on Etsy now, so many people and so many people underselling their stuff :/
Well that and ai/reselling garbage too.
yeah that too sadly :/
I’m trying to sell my stuff even at a loss and it won’t sell
Ive been following your content for a while. I really looked up to you in regards of getting in the animation industry and selling my art! So this video is helping me a lot while I'm going through a mini identity crisis with my art not doing so well... along with AI taking over. I'm glad that I'm not alone
as someone who has looked up to you since my teenage years its actually insane knowing this omg D: being an artist is HARD
Your products are so cute. I've never heard your comic but I'll check it out now
Excellent video- great lessons in becoming a small business-unfortunately, the more people involved in selling your products (publishers, pin makers, distributors) the less money you make -
I’d like to buy things but the shipping cost is almost 20$ for me…
Funny timing. I just brought two books from you on esty. I hope you keep dropping more comics in the future. 0:28 yup that’s me lol
You’re real for this. Too many people making videos trying to make a course on their Etsy selling 😅
This and the money they make is from selling the courses not the 10k/monthly on Etsy that they promote.
Keep it up, things will turn around 👍
as a new viewer that knows nothing bout your product. i would say that it's not that you failed, it's just that the brand is new.
you just gotta stick around long enough. the art is good imo.
it just takes time for ppl to recognize the character and have it resonate with them to buy your product.
This was so helpful, thank you!!
My Etsy shop and kinda sorta my Spoonflower are also in the pooper right now. My Etsy was never to the same level as yours, but it was enough to comfortably live my already frugal lifestyle. I did great in 2020-the first half of 2021 because I had a few already popular medical designs. When IG changed their algorithm, that was the nail in the coffin. I also turned to painting and have prioritized that over digital art, and that didn't help since I only sell paintings in person and have been lazy about adding mini prints to my shop. The economy I feel like has tanked everyone. At least for me, business is down 80%. I have one stream of income that hasn't been as effected, but it's also the most time consuming and has the most negative impact on my physical and emotional health (art commissions.) I started doing everything else so I didn't have to rely on commissions as much, but here we are!
thank you for your honesty, its a fascinating video ☺☺
It's a recession.
Thank you so much for showing your “failures.” As an artist, designer, youtuber and streamer, believe me, I’ve had more than my fair share. It’s nice to see even big creators have failures, or things they wish had gone better. Especially with AI, it can be really discouraging. Thank you for reminding us all it’s okay to not be perfect. ❤
I have worked for years on a new comic project and it's been really hard, also because I have a second full time job. I tried and did everything that was required.
After all I received very bad reviews and my book had very low rate. Someone said my book is a total crap and wast of time. So I stopped my business and discountinued my comic.
If I can get some positive from this experience, I think I've learned a lot from mistakes, and that you need courage to put yourself out there because people can be incredibly mean.
The last important lesson I've learnt is that I would never say mean and nasty comments or reviews to another person, despite some mistakes they may have done, you never know what they are going through and if they are at the beginning of their career. It's good to leave criticism and advices but people don't realise what they do when they leave insults from the safety of a keyboard. There is a real person behind the other end of the business.
thank you for sharing your experience
Selling original art is really hard. Im on the path of doing my own zine and advesting my characters etc and i hope i can soneday sell things with them etc, but as you said too, its not something ppl actively search, truly a challenge!
Thanks for sharing!
I've been following you for years and I had no idea you had an Etsy.... I am a fraud.
haha dw about it, like I said, it was hard to promote it every single time when I had 5 other things to promote as well x'D
Love your videos!! And great advice!!
I still have your bad bish pin! It’s my favorite 😊
Thank youu for doing this vid.
hey bish you have a wealth of knowledge , you're not just a artist , you're a personality. network with the other artists and start a podcast & do collabs.
Jesus, this was informative!
im so glad!
I was gonna buy some things but I felt awkward having something called “succubishes” in my house lol
I tried my small art business back in 2021 greeting cards but I give up. It not easy.:(
Economy is also kicking my ass as a board artist
Yeah, definitely figuring out what works for you as an artist goes a long way. It is nice that we are in a time where there are a lot of options, but also that you pretty much have to have more than one way of earning income as well (at least for most I tend to think.)
Side question for you though, but I'm curious how difficult it was transitioning your storyboard skills to comic/graphic novel making? I know there would be some things from storyboarding that would be really useful when designing comics but I know some things you have to approach differently too. So I'm curious about how that learning curve was, especially when making Meesh: The Bad Demon and even your new 80s comic project. Did you have to look at graphic novel making books or ask some comic creator friends for input? Sorry this is long!
Yes totally! I think that there are so many great options now, but choosing to stick to what you are best at is the part most of us struggle with when we think we can do everything!
In the meantime, transitioning to comics wasn't that hard because prior to attending school for animation to narrow down on storyboarding, I doodled and did a lot of comics for fun, inspired by manga and other comics I read. I would just try to reference the panel templates / arrangements other artists did. After storyboarding, there is just a lot of things you learn about keeping the flow of a visual story smooth which I continued to apply to my comics. So basically, a mixture of looking at comics that I like to use as reference, and applying some storyboarding tips along with it.
It's sad but true 😭👍
And thank you for the answer! Part of the reason I asked is because I'm trying to learn how to make comics and I overthink so much when it comes to how a person should think when approaching page design and pacing and all the technical fun stuff lol. So it's really insightful and appreciated to hear the perspective of someone who has that storyboarding background and how you go about your comic work. So again, thank you and much appreciated!! 😁👍
Oof bummer 😔, ya got solutions other than Etsy (not as optimistic in economical sense) to solve this?
aww thanks! yep, I'm leaning more into publishing books and being an online creator :D hopefully it all goes well.
I think she can always sell fan art commissions. And patreon can bring in money
@@mewTripledawesome 😎
@@mewTripled cool
Thank you for talking about this so frankly. I think we should normalize "moving on" from business projects like this.
I just think T-Shirt, stickers are just boring......because too much people are doing these......
Maybe it is because the art (or lack-thereof) is boring.
Lots of self-proclaimed small business and e-commerce gurus online have been heavily promoting that "anyone" can make, from a side-hustle on Etsy, Amazon, RedBubble, etc. or some other Marketplace platform, plenty of money and then some. (Apparently, Without ANY artistic talent or any clue or passion for being creative).
They demonstrate in their videos, how to make use of what I call, "canned art", from places like Canva and a few others, and how to recombine bits and pieces, plus some text, in order to create a t-shirt, or some other product,
There is nothing wrong with using those design helper platforms if you have no skills as an artist or graphic designer, and you need it for personal use (or maybe for a project at work), but you can't expect to make a fortune selling Print-On-Demand products using those tools either.
When you look on Etsy or some other sales platforms, you can spot those designs right away because they are what I would call "uninspired".
Not bad, but not something I'd spend money on, and when mostly "everyone" is using the SAME SOURCES FOR ALL THEIR ART AND GRAPHIC DESIGN, you guessed it.
It all starts to look the same!
I saw that happening a few years ago, after watching a few videos by a popular side-hustle guru or two, that suggested (and showed how-to), make coloring books and student activity books, to sell on Amazon as no-content and low-content books through their platform.
And the end result showed up on Amazon, (and continues to), as cookie-cutter coloring and activity books re-using the same bits and pieces of art and graphics from mostly free sources.
So many non-artists jumped on the bandwagon, looking to make a quick buck with the hack of using canned art, that it really de-valued the whole coloring book and journal concepts, except for some small companies and artist's that had been creating their own ORIGINAL ART content already.
And they were the ones who did really well, making huge amounts of sales, BECAUSE their art was well-done AND original.
Stickers are great though because people collect them and theyre affordable for people who buy them
@@Jordan-db2og I also find stickers to be very compact for storage.
Oh wow you worked on Oni!
Ive heard most of a persons sales happen in the begining.
im starting a shop on etsy and i found a cute sanrio cups in store but its not on websites or anything will i still get a copyright strike? its just those that i didnt make the rest is what i made from home? please give me some tips! really need some
Nope you won’t! It’s kind of like drop shipping your allowed to ❤
My art business is thriving
I get one sale a month 😂😅
Omgggg thats your the succubus girll ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh
pov: you are watching stage 5 of the artist to furry commission taker pipeline
not about comparision, but you have built up much more of a following than I and yet you struggle to make enough sales. All the best to your declutting. I might do a charity give away for some of the things I'm no longer into making.
How do you feel about print on demand of your comics?
This video was really eye opening! I learned a lot.
glad sharing my experience helped!
@@mewTripled It did! I was just wondering since I’m a new subscriber, can you make a video of how you wrote your experience in a fictional way? In your comics. Because I’m interested in making comics, just with different topics.
Poor mew mew 😢
Hello 👋
6:35 she's taylor swift!!!
5 orders a week would literally allow me to eat real food instead of ramen my items are mostly 10$ each seeing videos like this saying how that’s failing is so sad because it makes me feel like I should quit
its not really failing when the person in question doesn't give a shit about their own success
ehh it just feels like you got better opportunities and realized you could make more on those...i personally enjoy packing orders and writing little notes for customers, and i think its disheartening to spread word of "not everyone is meant to sell their art on things" ?? I feel like people should sell or not sell depending on what they want to do...plus you have to really work at it. it comes across a bit like you got popular and got offered deals that appealed more to you/you could do less work etc
i think that's just their way to make "i don't have any interest or passion in selling merch" sound more substantial
May I ask what is the difference in owing a business and being self employed? I feel like owning a small business means you have a license to sell at conventions and sell your own products? But with self employed it's similar but you do everything from content creation, social media managing, selling products, monetizing social media etc. Recently I took a survival skills for artists class, and my teacher have confirmed that you don't need a business lisense to file taxes or do self employed, you basically have to fill out taxes as solo propertier(?)
I get confused really easily haha
No. Self-employed means you are doing business as “your name”. Owning a business means you are doing business as “your business name”. It’s a different process to set up paying tax depending on which way you go.
Interesting to see that this confusion is also existing in the English-speaking world lol In Germany being a business owner means you have to pay special taxes when you make a certain amount of profit. You can be self-employed. But not every self-employed person is a business owner, there are freelancers for example. Those provide a service and don't have to pay the business taxes, but not every kind of job is eligible to count as freelancer, some must have a business, especially when you're selling goods
Are you in the US? That is correct, your SS# is also a business ID if you are the sole proprietor/employee. A very important thing to know is you have to pay taxes for the next year quarterly (so you pay estimated taxes ahead of time, four times a year). Or you will have to pay a late fee (ask how I know 🙄). A good accountant is worth their weight in salt and can give business advice.
Another important thing to be aware of, anything that you did not create (such as a character from a show, book, etc) is subject to copyright infringement. Even saying something is *inspired* by like, Harry Potter for example, is also subject to copyright infringement. If you make a baby yoda doll, and call it baby frog, guess what, copyright infringement. Those big boys do NOT screw around, they WILL sue you. I’ve heard of many people being financially ruined from using sports logos, Disney imagery, etc. “Don’t mess with the mouse.” If you draw a character from a show, it qualifies as fan art, which is not illegal until it put up for sale. Best to avoid any infringement whatsoever.
Cursed yourself selling demon stuff disguised as cutesy 😢
TH-cam sponsorship rates are really high right now. It's a shame that direct support from fans isn't more viable
What audience you want? As soon i saw the name of the company it was distasteful. And not everyone into " demon " themes. You truly are talented tho! If you want organic traffic you have to lean towards ppl into lower energies. Good luck.
She probably wants the audience who’s into demon themes. Not everything has to cater to people who aren’t into the demon theme. It’s ok to have something that caters to the people who are.
@@theactingfantasyMaybe that is why she is unknown artist? I don't know who is she????😂
@@laradavenport903there are thousands of artists youve never heard of who dont make demon art lmao
I hear what you're saying, but hear me out....
The thumbnail would've looked funny as hell if you had a cigarette in your mouth, and I can't stop laughing at that mental image ☠️☠️☠️
What a complainer.....omg, maybe you need to redirect your energy into creativity instead whatever this is....advice or just wah!?!
Just my opinion... Maybe don't rely on a demon based character.
It maybe a good video but I dunno why... her eye and her lash are like staring me, It kinda got me creepy and stopped watching...
🥹🥹 amazing a book deals!! So happy for you!!
Can you show us how you built a following on Instagram for your comic? How regularly did u post? Etc
there is no formula, you just have to post same style content regularly (a few times a week) for years. That's it. No magical day or hour or hashtags will help to make it faster.
Thanks for the info!
As someone who has a small cosmetic business I feel this as well! I barely get any sales and I have had my business since 2017 but I have been taking it seriously this year and I can feel the struggle 🥲. I have a full time job and I have a IMVU shop as well as a hobby and even that hobby makes more money than my dream cosmetic brand 🥲
thank you so much for this video! it helped me maintain my expectations for my book and i guess i never realized the downfall comes when you stop promoting your products🥹🥹