/ic/ - Artwork/Critique

>>4245911
i have a similar question, is doing remote/from-house commission/freelance viable? i just need to make 18-20k USD a year to be comfy. what should i focus on developing? illustration skills? animation?

>>4245911
>those copy pasted figures
cringe

Tbh I'd hate to work in the "industry". Seems absolutely soul crushing. I just want to make art, but if that's the only skill you have, I guess there's not much choice.

>>4245930
>the "industry"
if you work in los angeles, a good position gets you maybe 45-50k a year. a pretty high position gets you 75k. if you are an art director, you can maybe get around 100k. a studio apartment in los angeles costs roughly 1.5k a year in a lower end area; you will also have to drive about an hour and a half to work everyday. gas can easily reach 4$ a gallon.

>>4245936
Not counting food, internet, electricity, water, plus likelihood of having to deal with petty crime at least once a year, plus Cali taxes, etc.

Yeah you're not gonna be sitting on 42k at the end of the year, and that's even assuming you actually know what you're talking about.

>>4245951
no, i mean you make 45-50k total (prior to taxes), not sitting on 40-50k. most people have to live with their parents or share a small apartment with like 5 people.

>>4245956
Aye, not worth it. Just go into cyber like everyone else.

>>4245936
How's the situation in Europe?

>>4245958
Drawing 8-12 hours everyday and getting paid for it sounds pretty good mate. You only have so much time left on this planet

>>4245958
>>4245960
this is why im trying to figure out how much i can make doing freelance remotely. you will be comfy as fuck in greece making 15-20k USD. as for studio jobs throughout europe, it's probably about as bad, but at least you wont be living in hellscape los angeles. la is worse than people think it is.

t. albanian that was born and raised in la

>>4245958
>Do what everyone else is doing instead of going your own way
cringe and bluepilled

>>4245962
>Drawing 8-12 hours everyday and getting paid for it sounds pretty good mate.
>You only have so much time left on this planet
Imagine spending your life slaving away for a poopy dicky animated comedy show that no one will ever remember.

>>4245936
You couldn't pay me enough to live in gommiefornia tbqh

>>4246048
Imagine spending your life not living by your principles and do what everybody else is doing. Imagine that money grants happiness and not the working process and results

>>4245960
Niggers everywhere.
That's what truly matters. Europe is a hellhole.

>>4246051
>You couldn't pay me enough to live in gommiefornia tbqh
honestly dude, there is probably a solid 15-20% chance ill kill myself before i leave here, and im leaving in about a year and a half only.

>gommiefornia
communist doesnt describe this place; its capitalism on steroids. everyone lives through the products they consume. there is no culture or anything, just product and consumption. the mass majority of younger people (35 and under) smoke excessive amounts of weed and usually also drink a lot, just to get through the day. everyone is miserable and are just trying to "dull their senses."

>>4246059
europe is x1000 times than america.

>>4246058
imagine thinking that working on some retarded show will bring happiness. hey, maybe youll land a big position working on Boss Baby 2!!!!

>>4246064
Who the fuck talks about shows? This thread is about concept art and illustration for movies and games. Even drawing comics is better than TV shows.

>>4246066
>This thread is about concept art and illustration for movies and games
LOOOOOOOOOOOOL. good luck getting either of those positions. those are some of the most sought after positions, along with character design. also, by the beyond slim chance you do land a position, have fun doing art for some gay mobile game.

>>4246059
Where is the problem

>>4246068
I'm working as a freelance illustrator. If you're good at something, you won't have to worry about getting payed. And now I need to go back to my drawings

>>4246074
do you work remotely?

Look at any movie or video game from the last 10 years.
It's all bland, uninspired garbage. And it's not because the artists working in games and movie industries are unimaginative or anything, if you thought you could wow everyone with your super unique imagination or something. They're actually the best in the world, if you look at their personal works.

It's just that working in the industry, you will do whatever the out of touch idiot boomer directors tell you to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYbYvImd7Bw
This is who you'll be working for. Some low IQ retard whose taste in art starts and ends on whatever's shared on instagram. I can't imagine a more torturous existence if care about art beyond making money.

>>4246076
based post

>>4246073
In Europe.

>>4245966
> that photo
Another lane will fix it.

>>4245911
I make my income solely through illustration, working from home. I don't want to share my work/identity since I'll be discussing financial figures. I earn about $45,000/yr ($3,500/mo) in the US. It's worth noting that the terms "illustrator" and "the industry" are vague terms that can refer to all sorts of different things. /ic/ in general focuses on concept/fantasy/sci-fi art, and tends to think that all professional illustration falls under that type of work. The world of professional art does not necessarily revolve around these fields. I could best describe myself as being a general freelance illustrator. I've done commissions ranging from covers for editorial gigs to branding for breweries, to selling shirts/prints, among many others.

>Do you like your work?
Generally speaking, yes. Sometimes gigs are monotonous and not very creative. Those are fine, but the more interesting projects usually revolve around trying to solve a problem.

>How is the pay?
Pay from commercial commissions varies greatly. Generally speaking, the larger the business, the more you can charge them. A custom quote should always be created per project - you should never has set prices that are the same for everyone.

>Do you regret not taking another route in your life?
Sometimes. The whole thing is much more entrepreneurial than I realized. It is a one-man-business. The hardest part is definitely keeping up with self promotion. Creating good work for your portfolio means nothing if you're not showing it to targeted & relevant potential clients. Emailing art directors your portfolio to be considered for freelance projects is the most basic thing you can do, and it generally sucks (but it works).

>How do you think art careers will change in the next 10 to 20 years?
I genuinely don't think it'll change much. The crux of most professional art has been the same for long time - you create your work, and then you find people who can use what you've got.

>>4246097
what are your work hours like?

>>4246097
Thank you for your honest answer. Finally a good response on this crab board

>>4246060
I call that shit hole gommiefornia only because of those ridiculous people that seems to only come from that place (or Canada), they always claim how capitalism is a broken system yet they are one of the biggest consumers out there funding the system as long as they approve of its manufactured narrative, it's sickening.

>a solid 15-20% chance ill kill myself before i leave here, and im leaving in about a year and a half only.

ouch anon, hang in there.

>>4246104
>they always claim how capitalism is a broken system yet they are one of the biggest consumers out there funding the system as long as they approve of its manufactured narrative
100% true. the fail to see the cognitive dissonance.

>ouch anon, hang in there.
im gonna try. i might try to go on vacation to greece and/or albania this summer. it'd be a huge breath of fresh air.

Fulltime illustrator here. I've done art for mostly everything - books, movies, video games, slot machines, board games, misc web stuff etc. Also have worked as a full time wagecuck illustrator and now am currently a freelance illustrator.

Here's my overall take on things: If you're living alone or young, being an illustrator is a cool job since you only have yourself to provide for. If you have a family or dependants, it sucks. Like others have said in this thread, there's no real career advancement apart from being an art director of sorts. There's only a few high paying art related jobs out there. If I had to re-roll like I'd pick a job that brings in the shekels first and foremost and then focus on anything art related as a hobby.

One piece of advice I would give to aspiring artists or those looking to work as an illustrator - work on your goddamn portfolio. You need a shitload of great stuff to look at before you get those call backs. Otherwise you're just another brick in the wall. Also learn to have thick skin about how good your art is. If its shit, don't defend it and do mental gymnastics. Fucking work harder and get better.

Only the top 3% or less get those glam jobs and patreon bucks. The rest will struggle and die.

>>4246076
>This is who you'll be working for. Some low IQ retard whose taste in art starts and ends on whatever's shared on instagram.

too fucking true, you get these subhuman idiots in every industry trying to "manage" you and tells you how to do your fucking job when all they have achieved in life is an empty BA in either marketing or management (both are equally worthless) and don't even know what the people actually churning out work is doing.

>>4245966
There's a special place in hell for the guys who designed the place.

>>4246091
Do you have some analog advices?

>>4245966

fucking hell.
so this is the place apparently responsible for ruining everything in the world huh?

looks like some kind of diseased pigs den zoomed out. what an absolutely disgusting looking place, and thats saying a lot from the kind of places I've seen over the years.

i almost feel nauseous looking at that image.

>>4246097
>>4246106
Do you consider it essential to live in an urban area or someplace like California in order to do the kind of work that you're doing? Everyone keeps telling me I need to move in order to be successful with art, but reading anons posts about how horrible California is makes me think that dealing with urban life isn't worth it.

>>4250536
if i had to live just 3 more years in california i would actually kill myself, and im not joking. a year and a half (how long im staying) is already horrible. try to find someway to not come to this hellscape.

>>4246106
I feel less shitty about getting this nursing degree now. I got a kid already and could not imagine the stress it would bring to depend on creativity to put food on the table.

Thanks anon

>>4245966
to think i used to want to live in a big city like that

>>4245914
Probably not the answer you're looking for, but I figured I'd chime in since no one else has. I work almost completely remotely (sometimes I pop into the office just because), as does the rest of my team. I am a graphic designer for a corporate company, which is less designing innovative logos and being more one of 20 people in a company of thousands who knows how to type text and place it pretty on Photoshop. It's not the most thrilling thing in the world, but I have a normal, defined schedule and the usual perks like PTO and insurance. My company has no complaints about employees freelancing on the side either.

>>4245966
>that's a pretty good photobash of a dystopian post apocalyptic wasteland
>it's reality

>>4245966
looks like someone flattened kowloon with a rolling pin

>>4250538
Do you live in Downtown? Because I can vouch that Downtown Los Angeles sucks. Surrounding cities aren't too bad but LA's shittiness is catching up.

>>4246074
>If you're good at something, you won't have to worry about getting payed

I CAN'T REACH ENDS MEET I'M FUCKING DYING I NEED WORK WE NEED WORK BECAUSE WE NEED TO LIVE NOT LIKE YOU WHO HAS ALL OF THEIR COMODITIES AT THEIR DISPOSAL I FUCKING NEED WATER ELECTRICITY FOOD AND A WARM BED AND I NEED TO KNOW HOW TO PAY FOR THEM MEANWHILE YOU'RE SLEEPING ON YOU MOM'S BASEMENT

LOOK AT BRIAN, YES, BRIAN FROM THIS BOARD, YOU PROBABLY KNOW HIM. HE PAINTS DECENTLY AND PAINTS A SHITTON SINCE A LOT OF TIME. HE CAN'T EVEN SELL ONE PAINTING, ONE. AND HAS LIKE 3 FOLLOWERS ON INSTAGRAM, THE FUCKER'S ALREADY DEAD, WE ALL ARE. NOT YOU, PROBABLY A 16 YEARS OLD JUST LEARNING HOW TO DO COMISSIONS

>>4251747
just work retail for a month or five fuck me

How are median salaries for concept artist and illustrators in the wild? I don’t trust these resources online, because they seem way too high

>>4246106
How much do you make monthly?

>>4246076
movies, yeah. vidya games i disagree unless youre only looking at mobile and AAA titles.
but if you look at people into vidya games thats what they want, shooty bang bang crew cut playable character extreeeemgraphx lookwhatmy2090cando stuff.

Fuck your stupid jobs in the "industry", if I went to sell my soul I better sell it for good price, hence why I draw the coom art or whatever retarded name niggers give it, it pays good, it is easy, clients are usually chill, and you can even have fun, I only do Freelance for retarded normies when I want, and I charge rhem fucking high because I fucking despise them, I do around 5k, not rich but hell I can sleep at night knowing i'm not wasting my time making rich other people.

>>4245936
I'm in SF and this is pretty accurate

Everything that isn't pizza pays 40k+ though.

concept artist in games. around $7100/mo before tax

>>4252756
America or Europe?

>>4252832

'merica

>>4252756
How old are u?

>>4252859

between the age of 24-28, no degree, studied for under a decade

>>4246086
Kek

>>4245911

I like my work, it's pretty fulfilling! I make low six figures doing design work for animation and I don't think I'd trade it for anything else. over a decade in, I'm still trying my best to hone excellent fundamentals and sock money away because I think between neural network tech like artbreeder and rapid 3d generation tools like Quixel, specialized design skillsets might be rapidly outpaced by tech, maybe within a decade and we will have to rely more and more on having a good eye to just curate AI generated content.

>>4252865
>between the age of 24-28. what the fuck kind of answer is that. had to check i didnt mistakenly go to reddit for a second there.

>>4255613
>redditor doesn't know how to greentext
do you people even try to lurk before making a fools out of yourselves

>>4255674
oh wow one simple mistake. literally kill yourself

>>4251747
I am gonna need a quck rundown on Brian. Never heard of him and I ve been here for years. phw

Any working concept artists and illustrators from europe here? All previous posts were about working in america. But how is the financial situation overseas?

>>4255746
I live in poland. situation si depressing desu

>>4255613
>>4255681

Why should I post exact age? i know how u crabs operate

>>4255699
>>4250199

>>4245936
>If you are born in one of the richest places in the world you'll make money
wow amazing, tell me more my burger friend

>>4246066
Shows also need concept artists and designers dummy

>>4255599
Don’t say stuff like that it’s too scary

>>4255746
Last time I worked in a studio I was making £39k/year. Nowadays I would probably be getting anywhere from £45-65k, depending on the studio.

But right now as a freelancer I'm getting £480/day. Working with US studios + a weak £ means I can more easily get away with asking for high rates.

>>4250536
No it's not essential. Like I said, work on your portfolio, make sure it's solid and versatile, apply for jobs and show off your work and don't be such a thin skinned neet.

>>4250545
Then you're in a good place to have realized this instead of being immature and fucking up you and your dependents lives in pursuit of muh art dreams.

>>4252423
Enough for my current situation but also never enough to make significant gains with savings.

I remember back in 2010s or so, everyone's idea of "making it" was becoming a concept artist for a video game studio and raking in tens of thousands for an illustration. Then the whole photobashing stink came to light, and then everyone realized that the whole concept art industry was incredibly oversaturated, and it was all in all a pretty shit job. Then the big names retired and moved on to selling courses instead, and concept art as a topic died down.
Nowadays, everyone's idea of "making it" seems to be making coombux on patreon. So, is the dream dead, then? Did the bubble pop?

Or is it that the whole "super photorealistic chromatic aberration" style fell out of fashion?
Tbh it's a bit disheartening because some of my favorite drawings / artists came from the productions of 90s video games, and those were done traditionally, bot nowadays it seems like you NEED to use photomanip to compete. And it's not like I think photobashing is morally abhorrent or anything, it's just that I draw because I enjoy drawing, not because I like using photomanip software.

To those of you who are trying to make it in the "industry", what are your thoughts? Would you rather be a production artist for a company, or an illustrator?

>>4258936
Making it is making big buxx from your personal work boi.

>>4257282
That's great anon. How did you get started? Cold calling/sending portfolios to studios or did you make connections through school or something?

>>4259006
I sent out a lot of portfolios at first but I wasn't ready and it didn't lead to anything. I got my first studio job about 6 months later after a recruiter contacted me about a position they were hiring for. I applied, and somehow got the job. Since then getting jobs has been a mix of industry friends/connections, and just being found on Artstation, Linkedin etc.

>>4258936
There are plenty of working concept artists who don't really use photobashing, myself included. That way of working is only really relevant on movies, vfx, big real world/realistic projects etc. Concept artists working on stylised games and movies aren't all sloppily photobashing concepts together from google images.

Concept art was never an ideal career to go into if you just "enjoy drawing", it's more about design and problem solving, worldbuilding etc.

>>4259094
>it's more about design and problem solving, worldbuilding etc.
It presents itself that way, but if you look at video game art books of video games vs the finished product, even the stuff that makes it into the game does not translate at all. Ultimately whatever one produces at concept stage will be limited by the available technology, gameplay constraints, marketing, and whatever 3D monkey down the line gets to model and texture the drawing. Concept art as a job only exists because of retarded art directors with aphantasia who have no clear vision of what they're trying to make. It's a pick and choose collage kind of workflow, similar to those shitty commissioners who tell you stuff like "just make 10 variants of the same thing, and I'll pick the one I like". In a way, the art director is "photobashing" the visuals of the product, except he's sourcing stuff from the art team rather than google images.

Making personal illustrations allows you to solve the same kind of problems of design, worldbuilding and visual story telling, without being limited to the scope of a product in a completely different art form. Concept artists are like those nameless craftsmen who make models for movie sets, it's hardly art any more.

>>4259151
Well limited by technology, gameplay constraints etc is exactly what I meant when I said problem solving anyway. And again, it depends on the studio/project. There are good art directors and bad. A good art director has a cohesive vision and the concept artists should be a part of that. Also every studio is different and uses their concept artists in their own way.

All I can tell you is that in my experience in this industry I have, sure, had my fair share of frustrations, but also there are really great teams and really great projects out there. The thing I'm on right now is fun af, for example. They literally hired me because they just want me to "do my thing" for them.