/ic/ - Artwork/Critique

>>4596272
That's a good question. That thread is from 2018, and back then I'd recommend doing that. These days, I'd still recommend doing it, but things have gotten tighter in the past 2 years and the risk of a takedown is higher than ever. More and more companies have come down on their IPs. Nintendo finally did a big purge on all these sites - despite being considered a "safe" IP to sell fan art of for many years. I'm seeing now in my Facebook groups that Sega is currently doing a purge. Some sites have started partnering up with franchises to safely sell fan work through these programs, while coming down hard on anything not apart of the partnership.

>>4596553
Anyone who's been in this game for a while knows that anything Valve related (Portal) and anything Winnie the Pooh is totally off limits. They are among many IPs that are very, very strict. There's really no way to know this without time & experience, but there are certain IPs you should totally avoid. Fox (Simpsons, etc.), Rockstar (GTA, RDR,etc.), Blizzard (Overwatch, Warcraft, etc.) are some examples.

>>4596594
Pop culture mashups, designs targeted towards certain keywords / niches, etc. Stylistically, they're mostly pretty simple. 1-4 flat colors, sometimes an illustration + text. >>4595061 says it best. It doesn't necessarily pay to make something really, really good. There's a balance to be struck between quantity and quality.


>>4596668
In part, yes.

>>4321128
2 major holes in this post:

First one is that OP is - for some bizarre reason - assuming you can't do both. OP thinks you can't work towards a freelance career while simultaneously working on your own personal projects and/or developing other income streams from your monetized art.

Second one is that OP seems to thing that the "digital art industry" is an actual industry in itself (it's not) - one that seems to exclusively revolve around "dragons" or "random orcs or knights", while "competing with chinese art gods for like the 60 max AAA jobs open in a year".

Make no mistake - OP is a moron.

>>4229210
When 2D, static digital art is presented in galleries, it is usually printed out as a high quality print. It's really not too different than photography in that regard. If the digital work is to be sold, it will usually be sold as a small-batch, limited edition print run.

>>4181851
>>4181862
This - in a sense - depends on what you want to do. Personal, private commissions are one thing, but for well-paying commercial freelance work, the general idea is:
1.) Develop a focused portfolio of work
2.) Research and identify clients that are relevant to your particular type / style of work. (ie. don't look up childrens book publishers if you're trying to do sci-fi/fantasy illustration
3.) Make contact with them (can be as simple as emailing the art director, or just by using a general contact for on their website. In person meetings create a strong link but it's not at all necessary to build contacts).
4.) Share your portfolio of work (ideally a professional, standalone, curated gallery on a portfolio website [rather than just a social media site]) and express your interest in working with them.

And that's it. Everything after that point is beyond your control, and you should move on to the next promo. If they like your work and could use you, then they might contact you later for commissioned illustration work, and you've successfully promoted your work. If they don't like your work, they'll either let you know they don't need any help, or just not respond at all (most likely scenario).

The way you can identify clients in step #2 is pretty simple: From this point on, keep an eye out for published work out in the world. If anything strikes you along the lines of "Man, I could do that!" or "I want to do similar stuff", then take note of the business that published that work. They hired that illustrator, and they might just hire you too for other projects. Go online and get their info.

I want to stress how your "pitch" in #3 does NOT have to be long. You are not a used car dealer. You do NOT have to go for a hard sell. All you have to do is be friendly, share your portfolio link, and express your interest in working with them. Your work will do the rest.

>>3945392
Europoors can't use google phone numbers

>>3904871
>>3904970
Happy to help!

Social still plays a role in trying to freelance and promote yourself directly to art commissioners for freelance opportunities.

> I guess some art directors could follow you but desu 99.99% of followers on eg. Instagram feels like random people
It doesn't matter that most people on Instagram are not in positions to commission you. Depending on what you, then art directors definitely have a presence on social media sites, and there is nothing wrong with connecting with them via those channels. However, I think this should all be supplementary to your own direct efforts.

For example, lets say you want to work for a certain publication / business. I like to do editorial, so we'll use a major national newspaper to illustrate my point. I found the account of their art director who posts their latest projects on IG, and I decide to follow them and periodically like or comment on some of their relevant posts (no personal posts - that's weird). If you have good work on your own Instagram, they may check you out and follow you. They may start regularly liking your work.

This is a positive result that can happen on social media, and it means that you are successfully now on that art directors radar. They know who you are, which is a huge, huge deal. Because you are now on their radar, you've strengthened the effectiveness of your inevitable promotional email that you'll send them. Now when you make that first contact, they have prior exposure to your work and you should have an easier time making that successful connection.

That right there is the value of exposure, and it's what makes social media a great supplementary tool to your own direct promotional efforts. It's a common sales technique: exposure first, then pitch. All of this can passively happen from the right people stumbling upon your work at the right time, but even if this isn't happening for you, then you should still try and directly create that connection.