How do Digital Artists Make Money

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As indulging as the creative world of an artist may sound, making a living out of it really takes out the last bit of sweat. For any artist for that matter, in order to arrange for the minimum bit of decent living, the set-up procedure is a tedious one let alone competition in the open market.

Digital artists, on the other hand, have a lead in the game as the internet is increasingly becoming the centre stage for them to showcase their work. To make a living as a digital artist, there are various steps that could lead to a successful future in the realm of the creative world in general.

You can make a living as a digital artist with the tips provided in this article. Let’s get started.

Who is a Digital Artist
How to Get Started as a Digital Artist
Recommended Software For Digital Artists
How to Improve Your digital art Skills
How do Digital Artists Make Money?
How Freelance Artists Make Money
How to Make Money as an Artist on Instagram
How to Start a Business Selling Your Own Artwork
How Much Money do Digital Artists Make?
How do Digital Drawings Make Money?
How Much Should I Charge For my Digital Art?
How Much do Freelance Digital Artists Make?
Upload Drawings And Earn Money
How Much Does a Digital Artist Make UK?
How to Make Money With Art as a Teenager
How to Make Money Drawing Portraits
How to Sell Digital Art
Submit Artwork For Money
Sell Drawings Online For Money
What Qualification do You Need to be a Digital Artist?
How Can I Sell NFT Digital Art?
How do You Price Art For Beginners?
How Much is Mona Lisa Worth?

Who is a Digital Artist

A digital artist is someone who creates digital art for a living. That means art that uses software and hardware tools and is suitable for a range of commercial applications.

If you have a creative streak and you enjoy drawing and painting, this can be an extremely rewarding and low-stress method to earn money on an as-needed basis. What’s more, knowing how to create digital art is just one of the useful tools that can help you with a host of other business models and side hustles.

How to Get Started as a Digital Artist

To get started with digital art, you will need certain hardware and software. A lot of digital artists choose to use a graphics tablet from the likes of Wacom. This is a small slate that comes with a stylus and plugs into a desktop computer.

The idea is that you can now draw directly onto the tablet, and see your creations appear on the screen. This offers far greater control than would be possible with a mouse

Another option is to use a tablet, such as an iPad Pro, or a Surface Pro. This has many advantages, such as the ability to draw directly onto your artwork, and to take your creations with you.

iPads and Surface Pros are particularly well-regarded by digital artists owing to the sensitivity and minimal lag, and they are increasingly becoming the de-facto option. Which of these tools you ultimately pick may depend on the software you want to use (more on that in a moment).

Of course you could use a Samsung Galaxy Tab or a Note, but the software support is a little more limited. And the screen is rather cramped for the latter.

It is possible to use a number of tools with a mouse and keyboard, and in fact some software will be easier to use this way – so you should also invest in a good PC.

Raster vs vector art

Once you have the hardware sorted, the next step is the software. Knowing which program is right for you will depend on the type of art you want to create. That means you need to understand the difference between a raster file and a vector file.

A raster file is an bitmap image that has its pixels plotted like a map. This includes many of the file-types you are probably familiar with: JPG, GIF, and PNG for example. Each pixel is a point in a grid, meaning that it’s very simple to draw straight onto the image.

However, it also means that the image is difficult to edit without erasing whole sections. Likewise, if you zoom in on the picture, then those points become bigger, causing pixilation.

Raster images are common around the web because they are supported by most browsers and operating systems. However, they are not highly versatile.

A vector file, on the other hand, works more like a set of instructions. Vector art consists of lots of lines and curves, and the image saves details about all these instructions (move 30% across the image at an angle of 20 degrees, then curve at an angle) in order to reproduce the image as necessary.

This means that you can zoom in on the image and the quality will be preserved. The instructions are simply scaled to match the increased canvas. Likewise, you can remove individual strokes or change angles at any point without affecting the rest of the image.

Designers providing logos will need to offer vector files alongside their finalized raster images. A company needs to be able to reproduce its logo at any size, and needs to be able to edit it while keeping the same relative dimensions.

The same goes for many digital artist gigs: whether you are creating a print for an item of clothing, or an icon for a UI. Keep in mind vector software is typically less intuitive and flexible.

There are other files you might also find yourself working with. For example, you can give yourself an advantage by learning to create 3D models. This will allow you to add a 3D element to your images, to create different types of art, and even to create images to use as a reference.

Learning 3D isn’t strictly required for many types of gig, but it can really give you an edge over the competition so it comes highly recommended.

Recommended Software For Digital Artists

Procreate

If you own an iPad Pro and you want a tool that will help you to get started with digital art quickly and easily, download Procreate. It doesn’t cost a great deal (around $15), but it’s one of the most intuitive and powerful tools for creating amazing digital art.

Procreate is for raster files. It offers a huge array of interesting brushes, lots of customization options, and the option to work with massive canvases and tons of layers.

That latter point is especially important as it means you can experiment without damaging your work so far. It also means you can trace over work you’ve drawn with a paper and pen then scanned in.

Handy shortcuts (such as double finger tap to undo) make work even quicker, and the app will automatically save every single step allowing you to export a video of your artwork at the end. It’s a truly brilliant tool.

Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop is the primary option for a lot of digital artists. Not only does it provide a huge variety of brushes, powerful layer management, and support for a range of devices and tablets; but it also comes with all the filters, actions, and other features you probably associate with photo retouching.

Those with the skill can create some incredibly breathtaking artwork from start to finish, all inside of Photoshop. If you’re looking for a free alternative, then Gimp is good too, but it does lack a lot of digital-artist-centric features.

ArtRage

ArtRage is another bitmap graphics editor that works in a similar manner to Procreate. Unlike Procreate though, this one is cross-platform meaning that Windows users are invited to join in. It even works with Android and the Samsung S Pen.

It’s a very popular option among digital artists and is versatile to support a wide range of art styles, particularly water-color style paintings. ArtRage Lite is a more affordable option for those starting out.

Krita

Krita is another raster graphics editor that uses layers and brushes. It supports Windows, Linux, and macOS, but what makes this one really stand apart is that it is completely free and open source.

Adobe Illustrator

If you’re interested in creating vector images, then there is really is one tool that stands out above all the rest: Adobe Illustrator. Very much the industry standard, Illustrator has all the features you could need and most tutorials will be focused on this program. That said, you can still create vector art with a number of other tools, such as Inkscape.

Blender

Blender is just one of many 3D modelling programs that you can use to create 3D art. Blender is a good choice as it is open source and free, and you can download it from Steam!

Design Doll

Design Doll is a small program you can use to create reference poses for digital art. A lot artist have been using it lately and it really can help you to figure out awkward perspectives and angles. The tool also lets you export 3D models and flat PNG images, and the free version includes most features. It’s Windows only though.

How to Improve Your digital art Skills

To start digital art, our recommendation is to grab an iPad with a copy of Procreate, or a Surface Pro and Krita/Art Rage. From there, it’s predominantly a matter of practice and perseverance: even if your images look botched to begin with, keep at it and they’ll get better! Once you feel you’ve gotten the hang of raster tools, move on to vector art and 3D modeling.

You can accelerate your learning by taking a course, or checking out some of the free tutorials for specific software packages over at SkillShare.

Here are some courses that we recommend for digital artists from Udemy:

Complete Beginner’s Guide to Digital Art
The Beginners’ Guide to Digital Art With Procreate on iPad
Digital Painting in Photoshop: Create Amazing Concept Art
Illustrator CC 2019 MasterClass

You can also find a lot of tutorials on YouTube, as well as “speed paintings” that take you through the entire process of creating a piece of digital art (there are also plenty of real time videos).

These are great for picking up tips, and for seeing how the pros work. You can even find some big names on here, such as one of my favorite comic book artists, Jim Lee.

But perhaps you can already draw and now you want to know how to become a digital artist who gets paid for their work?

Answering that latter question is tricky, as it depends very much on the quality of the art and the type of client. UK site Glassdoor suggests that Digital Artists make roughly £23,030 per year. That’s about $29,691.

That’s not a whole lot, but if you are an in-demand artist with a massive following, who is able to find big clients and command a high rate, then this can all change.

Because digital art is scalable, editable, and has the potential to be near-perfect, it is in high demand for use everywhere: from comics, to book covers, to video games, to marketing materials, to technical pamphlets, to websites, and more.

You can find work as a digital artist through the usual online freelancing tools, or you can approach an agency or firm.

More important though, is to spend time creating your own portfolio of work. Develop your skills, find an art-style, and start sharing your work on Deviant Art, Tumblr, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Make your own blog, contribute to forums, and be active in the community. Ensure that people can trace your work back to you.

If you do all this successfully, then you might find that potential clients start to approach you. That’s when you can begin to charge the big bucks.

Finally, you can also make money from your digital art by using it in conjunction with other skills. Internet marketers and others looking to make money online often fail to recognize the potential value of these types of skills.

If you can create compelling art to promote an ebook, to help your website to stand out, or even to use as thumbnails in your videos, then you can better sell your “value proposition” and ensure that your products elicit an emotional response.

How Freelance Artists Make Money

Freelancing subjugates to all fields of work and the creative discipline of art and artistry is no exception.

Generally speaking, making a career based on art installations, selling works or media exposure to different opportunities may be difficult and hard to achieve given the fierce competition, especially for beginners.

Freelancing is a great way to reach out to potential clients and collaborators which paves the way to circumstantial success and income doing what they do.

For the novice lot, questions may arise inquiring about ways to make money as an artist, which is completely justifiable on every level. Talent and hard work pay off in the end of course, but let me break it to you — the tricks of the trade has its way of deciding your worth in the industry as a whole.

So for all those artists who want to freelance their work, let us explore the different ways and possibilities that could potentially lead to career growth and substantial income.

Freelance Websites

One of the best ways to connect with clients and collaborators, such websites provide ample exposure not only for the artist but for the buyers as well. By slowly expanding the network, one can land good job deals and possibilities through such websites.

The advantage is that social media platforms could be put to use in landing some great deals which in turn will make the artist gradually form a brand of their own. The old question of how to make money as an artist can now be put to rest through freelance websites like peopleperhour.com, upwork.com, hireanillustrator.com, guru.com among many others.

Selling Prints

In this world of digitalization, selling prints on the online platform has never been easier. Now, suppose an artist wants to sell their artwork but the dilemma and burden of shipping and delivery make them opt out of the very possibility. But worry no more.

There are websites that dedicate themselves to every post-sale responsibility and the artist can only concentrate on delivering the best of their talent without worrying about subsidiary involvements.

Not only is it cheap on the pocket, but it is completely hassle-free. Websites like DeviantArt, Zazzle, Etsy, inPrntand redbubble are some of the most well-known ones in this category.

Online Courses

This can be beneficial in two opposite ways where an artist can teach and impart wisdom to other budding artists through online courses which not only helps in circulating the good name but also helps the artist to practice and retain different methods of creative exposure through teaching.

The other way is to take online classes from various artists and collaborators from across the world which will help in the growth and knowledge build-up of an artist.

Donations

Donations may apparently seem like a downsizing idea when it comes to income but the payoffs are really worth it. Good donations help you expand your creative implementation without having to think about the financial investment.

But of course, to reach such a height, the artist must have good sources across the industry where potential customers and clients can reach out to him for personalized work. Websites like Patreon, Kickstarter and gumroad could break the deal for newbies.

Licensing

Over the course of time as artworks and content get higher, licensing them is the best way to earn out of unused work samples. Building a portfolio or a catalogue and getting them licensed will build a great earning opportunity every time an artist’s work is used or adapted by other agencies.

The struggling years of artists now have many solutions to reach out to that will produce substantial income and exposure. As digitalization expands more and more, the platform of creative independence is much more accessible for digital artists.

How do artists make money is no longer a matter of assumption as there are thousands of ways to put a justifiable worth on an art piece.

These opportunities are just waiting for you to put into use and to build a career in making beautiful art. So just go out into the parallel world of freelancing and explore the opportunities like never before.

How to Make Money as an Artist on Instagram

“I can post a painting and it will sell before the paint is dry,” explains Ashley Longshore, who sells her eccentric pop art for upwards of $30,000 straight off of Instagram.

And, she’s not the only one. Artist Chris Austin enjoys “flash sales” of his latest work, getting emails from eager buyers within minutes of posting on Instagram.

With these examples and more in mind, it’s safe to say Instagram has become the social media platform for artists. It’s launching careers, eliminating the need for big-name critics to call the shots, and helping artists connect with buyers across the globe willing to pay for their work.

It all comes down to getting more engaged followers. Because, the more popular your account is on Instagram, the more in demand your art will be. To help you get started, check out seven things you can improve on your Instagram account to attract more followers.

Post High-Quality Images

You wouldn’t dream of letting a piece out of your studio until you were satisfied with it, right? Well, you need that same attention to detail in your Instagram posts!

Your Instagram account is an extension of who you are both creatively and professionally. Blurry, poorly-lit images give off a bad creative vibe—pretty much saying you don’t understand design. And, who wants to buy art from an artist who doesn’t understand, or at least care about, good design?

A clean background and natural light are always a good option when it comes to capturing your artwork. Set your art up by the nearest window, and remember to tap on your phone screen to focus!

Keep Branding on Mind

Branding can be an elusive concept. But it basically means posting images about different things, but using the same style (both in aesthetics and in writing) for each image. Why bother?

It’s really a magical thing! In an instant, followers will understand who you are and what your art is all about, even with their short attention spans online.

Artist Sue Rapley has a beautiful account—light, colorful, natural, inviting. Buyers can instantly get a feel for her art and decide on the spot if they are interested in buying. If they are, they can already tell she’s a credible artist from her impressive feed, giving her an edge up when it comes to collecting.

As far as branding your images goes, the possibilities are endless! Whether you use a certain filter, hashtag, language, etc., find and stick to a style that represents you and your art so that your target customers are poised to buy.

Keep the Content Creative

In 2014, artist Ross Symons dedicated his entire year to origami, improving his craft and sharing it with the world on Instagram. He folded and posted a different origami figure every day, and in 18 months, he had increased his following from just 120 to over 100,000.

With White on Rice’s strong brand and incredible content, Ross was able to quit his 9-to-5 job and use Instagram as a platform for his own business. Isn’t that amazing?

This just goes to show, you can’t underestimate the power of posting really interesting content. When people are wowed by your work on Instagram, they follow you, share it, and get others to follow you, too. The door is then opened for you to sell more art and hear about other profitable opportunities.

Create Captivating Captions

Here’s a picture of my art you know nothing about and here is the price—something seems a bit off about that sort of caption, doesn’t it?

There’s no hook. No pizzazz. No story! It may be an incredible piece at first look, but there’s always more to it than meets the eye. Letting people in on your inspirations, process, and story behind the work can be the tipping point for customers to click emotionally and pull out the checkbook.

Of course, you can acknowledge when something is still for sale, but be creative about it. Ending with, “Excited to see where this piece finds a home!” does the trick without being too boring.

Use Your Hashtags Creatively

Hashtags are like maps in the land of Instagram. They make your posts discoverable for the people searching for art like yours, making them one of the biggest and best ways to grow your fanbase.

Which hashtags reign supreme? Well, it takes a little digging to find the answer.

Your first plan of action should be using the search feature in the app. After typing in keywords that relate to your art, other popular hashtags related to your search will pop up.

Next, find artists who boast a large following and seem to have a good handle on their hashtag game. Check out which ones they are using (and how many) and take notes.

Keep a list of the best ones you’ve found that you can pull from for different posts. Just be sure to match hashtags with what is going on in your image. #inthestudio won’t apply to every picture you post, and a mismatch can turn followers away.

Finally, do some testing of your own and track how many hashtags get you the most engagement. Take the time to get hashtags down and you’ll be on your way to more followers in no time.

Complete Your Bio

While small, your bio should be not underestimated in its importance. It’s the only place where followers can click on a link, and the whole point of your account is to sell your work!

You can change out the link depending on what you want to feature, but a link to your website is the perfect place to send fans who want to peruse and purchase more available art.

Paired with a short and sweet description dripping with personality, your Instagram account will be ready to go.

Post Regularly

Social media gurus at CoSchedule determined that posting one to two times a day on Instagram is the sweet spot. But no matter how many times you post, keep it regular! You need to stay fresh in people’s minds, not forgotten.

Connect Often

It is a social networking app after all. Befriending other artists and influencers on Instagram who might someday share your work with their followers can open a lot of doors and help you gain followers of your own. Like other artists’ and galleries’ images, share helpful comments, and don’t be afraid to connect your contact list.

Consider Sponsored Posts

Here’s yet another way to make money from your artist Instagram account that you might not have realized: when your following becomes big enough, companies might be willing to pay you to promote their products in your posts.

Of course, you need to truly love and believe in the quality of that paintbrush, clay, or watercolor paper, but it’s a great way to rake in some extra money for your Instagram efforts.

The bigger the Instagram fan base, the more interested buyers will be fighting over your art. Following these steps for getting more art fans on Instagram will help you turn the social media app into something profitable for your art business.

How to Start a Business Selling Your Own Artwork

Turning art or crafts into a business can be daunting at first, but you just need to approach it in steps. With a little persistence, eventually you may be able to turn your next masterpiece into your next rent check. Here’s our step-by-step guide to selling art.

Putting Your Art Online

If you want people to buy your art, you need to make it available. These days, the easiest way to accomplish that is by taking some high-quality photos and making yourself a website.

Once you have a solid website, you can start networking online and in person. You can use an e-commerce platform such as Shopify, BigCommerce, or Big Cartel, or you can make a more traditional website and handle transactions privately.

Putting Your Art Into the World

After creating your website, you can use that site to attempt to gain entry into art shows and galleries. Start off small. Look into local art galleries, coffee shops, music venues, restaurants, and other businesses that may be interested in displaying your art.

Put a small sign with your phone number and a price near each piece, and then wait. If nothing else, having your art out in the world adds legitimacy to your passion, and it gives you exposure.

Sell Art Commissions

Many artists prefer to follow their own path, but sometimes you need to make sacrifices to pay the bills. Offering art commissions is an excellent way to generate some income.

Make sure your clients know exactly what to expect so you don’t have to worry about disappointing them. Show them multiple examples of artwork you’ve already created, and only accept jobs that you know you can handle.

Deciding what to charge for commissions can be tough. You don’t want to undervalue your services, but charging too much can drive potential clients away. What you charge for your art determines what it’s worth to the buyer.

If you believe that your art is worth a certain figure, that’s what you should charge. You may end up negotiating, but at least the buyer will have a rough market value for the piece.

Hire a Professional Consultant

If you’re not confident in your ability to value your art, approach people about it, create it, or anything else, you can talk to an art consultant or agent. You may be able to gain valuable insight by paying for a few hours of their time, or you may find that paying a representative a percentage of each piece sold is worth it to you. Talking to the right person can also open doors if that person believes in your work.

Networking

In the art world, some of the most successful artists are just those who know how to network best. Networking isn’t just about being social; you need to be able to discuss your artistic vision, describe your artwork in detail, and generally sell yourself as an artist.

At first, art networking can be intimidating, but it gets easier as you do it more frequently. Be confident in yourself and your art. Be genuine, share your passion organically, and the rest will follow.

Build a Client Base

If you’re just getting started turning your art into a business, your client base is probably minimal. In these early stages, you may want to offer art commissions or even personal pieces at a discounted rate in exchange for advertisement.

Even if that simply means requesting that the customer gives you a referral if it comes up, it’s a step in the right direction.

Know Your Audience

If you create graffiti-inspired street art, you might not appeal to the fine art crowd. To market your art more effectively, you need to figure out where you and your work fit in. Talk to other art lovers, and ask how they would classify your work.

When people give feedback, pay attention. The better you know your own art, the better you can sell it. Like any industry, you need to identify your target demographics and market to them.

Use Social Media

Once you’ve identified your target market, consider marketing yourself through social media outlets. Sometimes all it takes is the right hashtag to get your name out there. You can also pay for sponsored ads on social media pages.

Many advertisement outlets such as Facebook let you hone in on your target audience, which can give you amazing exposure in all the right places.

Be Prepared to Sell

You never know when you might have an opportunity to make a sale. While you can sell your art at flea markets or craft fairs, opportunities sometimes happen out of nowhere.

Keep a few business cards on hand with your website address, and don’t be afraid to bring your art up in conversation. As an artist, you can use your passion to meet some fascinating people — many of whom may become customers.

How Much Money do Digital Artists Make?

The average Digital Artist salary in the United States is $57,375 as of April 27, 2021, but the salary range typically falls between $48,727 and $66,673. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession.

How do Digital Drawings Make Money?

There’s several ways you can make money selling digital art.

Commissions: Taking commissions from clients is one of the most known ways of generating income. Commissions are “custom orders” that you can offer to clients such as portraits, character designs, logos, promotional graphics, it’s endless.

It’s not very efficient as it takes time and constant communication with your clients but it’s a good way to earn some buck if you don’t have anything to sell, especially if you’re a professional (or not) being commissioned by a company or big studio, etc.

Freelancing: With freelancing, you can be drawing for everyday people while selling merch on the side with a part-time job, getting your art into galleries or it could be working for several companies on a contract (the professional stuff)…OR, you could be attending conventions and selling your work there as your full-time job.

Digital merch: This can range from a simple Twitter icon to phone and computer wallpapers, custom made digital brushes to digital art tutorials. You can basically sell it all, be it on your site or a host site such as Etsy and Shopify.

Physical merch: You can turn your digital merch into physical goods! Sell it, ship it, earn. It’s tough work unless you use sites like redbubble or the like that take care of manufacturing, shipping, and handling. For a cut of your profits, of course.

How Much Should I Charge For my Digital Art?

Attaching monetary value to your art is tricky. If you’re an artist who’s just starting, you might be concerned with your pricing being high or being too low. Experience isn’t the only factor in pricing your work. You’d also have to account for the time spent working on the art piece, on the materials used, and on the type of art.

Some artists charge on an hourly rate. Illustrators, graphic designers, and professional event photographers may all charge by the hour. Digital artists, in general, do the same.

A good place to start your price would be to compare how much other artists charge for artwork similar to yours. Since your product is digital, it would be easy to see how much similar art costs because it’s all online. You can view these on websites like DeviantArt and Etsy, where artists post their work.

Here are other factors you’ll have to consider before you decide on a price for your work:

Type of artwork – Flyer templates, social media graphics, web designs, and altered images through Photoshop vary in price. One type is harder to make than the other, or one type requires specific software that doesn’t come cheap. Art pieces needing specific equipment tend to always price higher.
Time spent on the artwork– art that took you longer to make should price higher than a piece you did within an hour. Like other artists, you can charge for your art on an hourly rate. One trick a user on DeviantArt suggests is to look for the hourly minimum wage in your area and multiply that by the time you spent working on your piece.

Your experience and expertise – despite the fact that you might be a beginner in marketing your digital art, if you’ve spent years in art school and have a master’s degree, your credentials may allow you to charge higher than the minimum. You spent years mastering your craft; you should be well-compensated for it.
Demand – high demand for your work means it has value to your clients or buyers. You should raise your prices slowly as you begin building your reputation. Once you’ve built a decent following, consumers wouldn’t mind the price as much because they’re more interested in the type and quality of digital art you produce.
Define your market – similar to comparing your art to others in the market, you should still review the market for your art. Consider who your prospective buyers are and if the prices increase or retain through the years.

All metrics considered, you can price your art this way: for a hyper-realistic digital portrait drawn on Adobe Illustrator Draw, which you spent six hours on, you could charge about $50 to $70. As a beginner with a bachelor’s degree in digital media, this is a fair starting price.

A key point to remember when pricing your art: never undercharge. It can be difficult to say no to friends and acquaintances haggling for a lower price on your artwork; but remember, you didn’t spend five years laboring in art school over the perfect brush technique just to charge a mere $25. Know your value as an artist. Whether it’s a commissioned portrait or an advertising layout for a major brand, price your art right.

How Much do Freelance Digital Artists Make?

The average annual pay for a Freelance Digital Artist in the United States is $61,876 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $29.75 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,190/week or $5,156/month.

While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $155,500 and as low as $18,000, the majority of Freelance Digital Artist salaries currently range between $33,500 (25th percentile) to $77,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $104,000 annually across the United States.

The average pay range for a Freelance Digital Artist varies greatly (by as much as $43,500), which suggests there may be many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, location and years of experience.

Upload Drawings And Earn Money

Once you’ve fine-tuned your drawings you can make some extra cash by selling on Creative Market, Etsy, or by building an online brand via Instagram. Let’s see how you can do that.

1. Creative Market

There are over 4,000+ hand-drawn products on Creative Market alone, which gives you an idea of the size of the market. One shop, WINS, doodles everything from house plants to festive party favors.

Opening a new shop on a site like Creative Market is simple. It’s a good idea to have a few samples of your work ready to go, and using the daily exercises from 28 to Make is a great jumping-off point. Every month, Creative Market has a discounted bundle of cool products that they handpick from across their platform, and this month is no different.

2. Sell Your Drawings on Etsy

The Etsy process is similar, just set up a shop and start thinking about how your library of daily drawings can become art prints. Hand-written quotes or favorite sayings tend to do really well. You can also capitalize on trends like this awesome Star Wars art (trend #1) that’s being sold as a coloring book for adults (trend #2). Take time to explore the marketplace and look at stuff you love, what’s trending, and market gaps your shop can fill.

3. Build Your Brand on Instagram

Finally, Instagram has increasingly become the space to build your portfolio and online following. It’s a great platform to interact with fans and ideally turn them into customers. Link to your contact information and online shop in your bio section to capture inbound requests. This is also a great platform to explore your creativity. Curious how your audience will respond to something new? Try it out on Instagram!

How Much Does a Digital Artist Make UK?

The average salary for a digital designer is £33,623 per year in United Kingdom.

We found at least five jobs related to the Digital Artist job category that pay more per year than a typical Digital Artist salary. Top examples of these roles include: Senior Environment Artist, COMP Artist, and Technical Artist.

Importantly, all of these jobs are paid between $30,679 (79.7%) and $51,119 (132.7%) more than the average Digital Artist salary of $38,515. If you’re qualified, getting hired for one of these related Digital Artist jobs may help you make more money than that of the average Digital Artist position.

How to Make Money With Art as a Teenager

It’s not going to be easy, but the good news is it’s possible for kids and teens to make money as an artist.

There are so many different types of artists out there, so all you have to do is find something you’re good at and you can get started. Most people think of painting when they think of professional artists, but you can also sell drawings, cartoons or comics, sculptures, carvings, mosaics, or anything else that you can create. If you can make it, you can sell it.

It’s hard to know exactly how much you will make as an artist because you have to consider; your cost of supplies, how long it takes to create a piece, and how much the piece is worth.

For example, you may spend two hours creating a small sculpture, but if you can only sell it for $2, you end up with less than $1/hour when you also include supplies. On the other hand, a medium-sized painting may take 10 hours but if you sell it for $100, then it’s $10/hour.

Selling artwork for money is a great way to profit from something that you enjoy, but it can also be a career if you’re willing to put in the work that it takes. If you think you want to pursue art as a career, then you should go ahead and get started as soon as possible. While some artists don’t make much money with what they create, others can make a living from it.

How Can I Get Started as an Artist?

Get your parents’ permission before you continue. You will be using different websites which could lead to you interacting with people online that you don’t know, so it’s important that your parents are aware of what you are doing.
Decide what you want to create. You want to find something that you can learn to do or are already good at and that will also be appealing enough to someone else that they’ll want to buy it. Drawing, painting, whatever it is that you’d like, make it a point to work in that area.
Buy supplies. This will vary greatly depending on what you’re going to be creating. In the beginning, you’ll want to use what you can afford, which means cheaper supplies. As you grow as an artist, you’ll also want to grow in your art supplies and find more professional and high-quality supplies to use. Amazon is a great place to find good deals on a wide variety of art supplies.
Practice, practice, practice! We can’t stress enough how important it is to practice your craft before you begin selling. Early paintings/drawing/sculptures can be given away as gifts to friends and family members, or you may want to keep them for yourself. To save money on supplies, canvases can even be painted over if needed.
Start selling to family and friends. Begin by posting your artwork on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Let your family and friends know what you’re doing so they can support you. Make sure to tell them it’s for sale in the update that you post.
Once you’re done reaching out to your personal connections, begin posting your art online. There are a number of websites where you can post your artwork so others can see it. Deviant Art is a great example of this. You can also set up an account with Fine Art America to start selling your artwork. There, you can sell the original as well as prints. The advantage of selling prints is that there’s no limit to how many you sell, but you don’t have to create a new painting every time.
Go to art and craft fairs. Find art and craft fairs in your area that you can go to. Many of these will cost money to rent a table or area, but some are free. When you’re first starting, you will want to attend the free ones to see how well you do before you begin spending money to make sure your art sells well. On the other hand, every fair has a different crowd attending, so you may find that you do extremely well at one fair and not as well at another.
Market your art. You should be including your information with every piece of artwork you sell so that every piece you sell becomes a marketing tool. Make sure everyone that buys something knows how they can contact you if they’re interested in more art in the future or if someone else becomes interested in one of your pieces. The bigger your audience, the more opportunities you’ll have to sell your artwork. Art channels are becoming popular on YouTube and create a great place for you to reach a wider audience. You can film yourself painting or completing your art and put music to it or even teach others the techniques that you’ve learned along the way.
Keep practicing. Even if you’re making money as an artist, you should never stop trying to improve your art, so make sure you’re practicing every day to keep getting better. You may also consider branching out and trying new types of media to work with to expand your abilities.

As you can see, there are a lot of things that you can do to become a teen artist. You don’t even have to follow through on all the steps if you want to keep it as a small side hobby with mainly family and friends or just want to attend a couple of art fairs every year. But, if you want to do really well, then there’s really no limit to what you can do!

How to Make Money Drawing Portraits

The answer is simple, people often ordering portraits of women. Very rarely people ordering portraits of old women and bearded old-age men with deep wrinkles. Such works are well-appreciated in the fine arts, art schools, and among the artists themselves, in reality, that you can earn a little, so these works can be displayed on your site in small numbers. Therefore you need to create good advertising on your site. Draw as many portraits of beautiful girls in dry brush, as you can.

Another way how to sell portraits online, you can also sell your portraits with celebrities by dry brush, sooner or later someone for a good price will buy a portrait of a famous person, that you have drawn

There is another method of how to make money by drawing, that is, selling portraits in any corporate parties. The method is also very simple, we know you are good at drawing portraits in pencil and charcoal, in this case it may be useful if you to draw quick sketch from life in 10 minutes each.

In some cases, at the request you can to draw by dry brush every for 1 hour at corporate parties. On your site you place information with sample sketches, video and wait for invitations from the organizers of any party, in such cases, you can earn money and also a certain popularity, which will help you in the future.

This is very important. If you wish often receive orders for drawing portraits, then on your site necessary to show the original photos from which you drew your portraits. It is also important, you will have a lot of work, if you will draw portraits, as possible with a good likeness.

How to Sell Digital Art

Let’s talk about how you can sell them!

1. Manually Selling

The very easiest thing you could do to sell your Digital Artwork would be to put a picture of it up on your website or social media and have a link to a PayPal payment then email the file to the customer.

This could be a little kerfuffly and hard to track but it is totally possible and if that is all you are capable of now, start there!

2. Selling On Etsy

They handle all the logins, payments, file delivery and even have marketing tools built in that help you get the word out about your products.

If you are even a wee bit able to use the computer, I recommend starting with Etsy. They are used to working with artists and have lots of great info about getting your shop up and running easily.

The big drawback to Etsy is that you are competing with lots of other sellers. The benefit is that lots of buyers know they can find great artwork to download on Etsy.

3. Shopify Store or Your Own Website

Last but not least you could set up a Shopify store or sell from your own website. If you are just beginning your selling trip, this is going to be the hardest and most time-consuming.

That said, if you already have a super popular website or social following and don’t want to have to split your profits with a sales site, building your own store could be the way to go.

Submit Artwork For Money

The following websites either accept your submissions or you may have to be an entrepreneur of sorts to get your drawings sold. Nonetheless, it’s a way to make cash.

1. Amber Lotus Publishing

According to the official website, Amber Lotus Publishing accepts artwork submissions primarily from April through July, but you’re welcome to submit year-round. Just let it be known that if you submit outside of this time frame, the response time is much longer.

If submitting, they ask that your artwork must be thematically based and relate to each other. They also ask that your submissions are compatible with their product line.

2. Caspari

Caspari doesn’t have certain guidelines if you’re interested in submitting your artwork. Rather, they will review your work to see if your style relates to their products.

To increase your odds of getting your work accepted, it’s recommended you at least browse the Caspari products to at least get an idea as to what they are all about.

3. Card Gnome

Card Gnome is unique in that they send out greeting cards automatically. They are said to be really and customized just for you. You just choose the occasions, get a card recommendation and have the card shipped out.

On the website, the cool thing is that you can sell your greeting card designs and earn 10% of the price of a card. You never have to pay any fees nor do you have to pay a setup charge.

Royalties are quite low per card sold, but if you can sell hundreds a month, it could add up.

4. Crown Point Graphics

According to the official website, the Crown Point Graphics company is always looking to buy or license art.

Right now, as I write this, they are looking for art in a variety of styles, from folk to watercolor and humor. You can view the full list as to what they are looking for today via their website.

If submitting, they do prefer a JPG or PDF, but they are happy to work with you if you have something else.

5. Great Arrow

Great Arrow Graphics is always on the lookout for new talent and designs to add to their card collections.

If you want to submit your greeting card artwork, all that they ask is that you follow the submission guidelines and deadlines, all of which can be found on their website.

6. NobleWorks

Yet another greeting card company, NobleWorks will take a look at your work to see if it’s something they are interested in.

According to the company description, they are said to be one of the leading humor card publishers, striving for funny and unique crafted cards.

7. Palm Press

Palm Press will accept your submissions all throughout the year.

If interested, they do ask that your work is fresh as well as conventional so that it aligns with their current look.

To learn about which categories they have to offer as well as how you can submit your original artwork, you can do so via their website.

Sell Drawings Online For Money

Let’s take a look at some of the best sites to sell artwork online so you can get money from that sale right into your pocket.

1. Etsy

You can’t talk about sites to sell artwork without mentioning Etsy. Launched in 2005, this mega-popular online marketplace has become the go-to spot for crafters, designers, painters and artists of all kinds to showcase their work, connect with potential customers and sell their art online.

Etsy’s popularity is both the biggest draw and the biggest challenge for artists. Its online marketplace gives you exposure to one of the largest audiences of craft and art enthusiasts on the internet. On the flip side, it also has one of the largest groups of artists trying to make a living off their work, which can make it hard to break through and get your art in front of the right people online.

2. Amazon

These days, people buy just about everything on Amazon—and that includes art.

Depending on the type of art you’re selling, the world’s largest online retailer has a variety of opportunities, including Amazon Handmade, which features homemade, crafted items. Plus there’s an entire section dedicated to fine art, featuring one-of-a-kind paintings, drawings, watercolors and photographs from partner artists.

3. FineArtAmerica

If you’re looking for versatility, consider FineArtAmerica, one of the world’s largest online art marketplaces. FineArtAmerica combines a more traditional gallery model with extensive print-on-demand offerings. Whether you want to sell your original artwork online or give people the option to have your art transformed into a T-shirt, an iPhone case, or a greeting card, they’ve got you covered.

4. Saatchi Art

If exposure is what you’re after, Saatchi Art might be the place for you. The online art gallery and marketplace has a huge audience. Their website gets approximately 12 million page views and 1.6 million visitors each month, and they have almost 500,000 followers on Facebook and over 650,000 on Instagram. Saatchi Art can also help you sell on a global scale. The platform has sold to collectors in over 80 countries around the world.

5. UGallery

If you’ve always dreamed of your art lining the walls of a high-end gallery, you might want to consider selling on UGallery. Its selection of paintings, illustrations, sculptures, prints and photos are carefully curated to appeal to the true art enthusiast. This online gallery/art market is also committed to showcasing new, exciting art.

So in order to keep things new and interesting, they only exhibit art from emerging and mid-level artists—and that art must be original and exclusive to the platform. Basically, UGallery is looking to recreate the experience of visiting and shopping at a high-end art gallery—just in the digital space instead of in a physical location.

6. Shopify

Sometimes, the best way to make a living off your artwork is to take things into your own hands—and that means selling it online yourself.

Shopify is an e-commerce platform that makes it easy to sell art online. With Shopify, you can easily build a beautiful, easy-to-navigate e-commerce website to showcase your work to potential buyers and drive revenue for your business. Shopify also comes equipped with a host of features (including website templates and a suite of marketing tools) that make it easy to get your shop up and running.

7. TurningArt

If you’ve ever walked down the halls of a large, upscale corporate building, chances are you’ve walked by at least a few paintings. And if you’ve ever envisioned your art lining those hallways, you’ll want to check out TurningArt. This service rents and sells art to commercial clients, as well as coordinates original commissions.

8. Society6

If you want to see your art plastered on a huge variety of products, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better partner than Society6. This print-on-demand powerhouse has one of the largest product assortments in the industry, enabling customers to explore your art through a huge variety of categories, including furniture, tech, home decor, wall art and apparel.

9. Zazzle

Zazzle is another major player in the print-on-demand world. Similar to Society6, Zazzle has a huge variety of products where you can feature your art. Currently, the platform has over 1,500 blank product types. But unlike Society6, Zazzle allows you to set your own royalty rate, which can help you earn more per sale.

As an artist, your top priority is to create. And with these sites to sell artwork, you can find new customers and drive revenue for your business—which will give you the financial stability you need to continue to do so. So all that’s left for you to do? Get out there, use one of these sites to sell artwork, and start dealing!

What Qualification do You Need to be a Digital Artist?

Digital or multimedia artists use technology to make their artwork come alive. In addition to traditional art techniques, such as drawing and sculpture, digital artists use computer software to create 3-D animation, interactive website graphics, or digitally enhanced photographs.

They may also develop storyboards for animation scenes and edit animation effects. Digital artists typically work in motion pictures, software publishing, and advertising firms.

Required Education

A bachelor’s degree in commercial or visual art is not always required to obtain a position as a digital artist; however, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a 4-year education in a relevant field of study is becoming the standard in the industry.

Programs typically include coursework in digital imaging, animation design, and digital illustration, as well as classical art techniques and training in the use of current computer software. Some programs may also for specializations in animation, interactive media, or game design.

Skills Required

In addition to artistic skills, digital artists must be adept in the use of computer design programs, such as Adobe InDesign and Photoshop or Dreamweaver. Depending on the field, marketing and Web design skills may also be helpful.

How Can I Sell NFT Digital Art?

NFT stands for “non-fungible token.” This kind of token is like Bitcoin, except while you can trade Bitcoin and have more of the same thing that represents real money at a varying market value, each NFT is unique.

You possess the token that says you own something, like an art piece, and you can trade it, but if you do, you’ll be getting an entirely different piece. To keep all the parts in place, there’s enforced (artificial, but isn’t everything?) scarcity.

It’s easy enough to wrap your head around the fact that a piece of art can be created and exist on a screen, be it your phone, computer, tablet, etc. Then, that piece of art can be seen, screen-shotted, and downloaded by anyone online.

But the deeper concept of NFT art is agreed-upon value and ownership; even if anyone can see, download, print out and hang up a piece of digital art, only a select few can actually own that exact piece. So NFTs are a form of digital asset, whose ownership is recorded on a blockchain.

Are you an artist or content creator of some kind, looking to make a buck (or potentially several million bucks) off of work that is otherwise not inherently monetizable? You could make your piece an NFT. Say you have a doodle you want to turn into an NFT, or a comic strip, or something like Nyan Cat, the animated cat with a Pop-Tart body and a rainbow trail, which just sold as an NFT for about $580,000.

The process differs from site to site, and some charge a fee (to cover the computational “gas” needed for the transaction on platforms like Ethereum). But you can start on platforms like Nifty Gateway, where you can apply to create a project to be sold as an NFT on their marketplace.

How do You Price Art For Beginners?

When you’re first starting out, it’s a good idea to make your work as affordable as you can while being able to make a small profit. Don’t charge so little that you don’t break even. Remember that galleries often take a 50 percent commission from sales, so you’ll have to take that into consideration.

Price Your Artwork with this Formula

1. Multiply the painting’s width by its length to arrive at the total size, in square inches. Then multiply that number by a set dollar amount that’s appropriate for your reputation. I currently use $6 per square inch for oil paintings. Then calculate your cost of canvas and framing, and then double that number. For example: A 16”-x-20” oil-on-linen landscape painting: 16” x 20” = 320 square inches. I price my oil paintings at $6 per square inch. 320 x 6 = $1,920.00, and I round this down to $1,900.
2. My frame, canvas and materials cost me $150.00 (I buy framing wholesale). I double this cost so that I’ll get it all back when the painting sells at the gallery. Otherwise, I’m subsidizing the collector by giving him or her the frame for free. $150 x 2 = $300.
3. Then put it all together: $1,900 + $300 = $2,200 (the retail price). When the painting sells from a gallery, my cut after the 50 percent commission is paid comes to $950 for the painting and $150 for the framing, for a total of $1,100.
For much larger pieces, I’ll bring the price per square inch down a notch … maybe a dollar or two lower so that I don’t price my work beyond what my reputation can sustain. Alternately, for smaller works, I’ll increase the dollar per square inch because small works take almost as much effort as larger works, and I need to be compensated for my expertise, even when the work is miniature.

How Much is Mona Lisa Worth?

Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was insured in 1962 and had an insurance value of $100 million. This sum equates to more than $867 million in 2021, adjusted for inflation.

The painting is so valuable that in 2014, a France 24 article by France 24s, a French state-owned international news channel, suggested that the Mona Lisa could be sold to pay off the country’s national debt!

However, it was pointed out that “the Mona Lisa and other such works of art that were in museums owned by public institutions are public property and cannot be otherwise.”

Finally

After examining all the information provided above, you can safely conclude that it is possible to make money as a digital artist. As you will also have noticed, a lot of efforts will be required to build a successful career as a digital artist. But you will find it to be a rewarding career.