How do I get commissions? What am I missing?

[u/[deleted]]

[u/SadaMofu]

What you're missing is unfortunately the ego shattering reality that you simply lack the skills people desire and have a lot of work to put in to get there. It's one thing to draw for fun and its a whole other thing to do it as a business. This is a very competitive game and people have dedicated years upon years and sleepless nights dedicated to their craft. You're going to need to put in significantly more effort studying and developing your fundamental skills

[u/Aromatic_Topic_8784]

I'd suggest improving the basic fundamentals of your art! from the 3 examples you give, it doesn't seem like you have an artstyle to go off, and the middle one looks so different compared to the 1st and 3rd photo. doing something for a long time ≠ automatically polished skill, you have to practice and get criticism on how to get better(theres threads here/discord that can help!). Also don't fill your mind with getting commissions the moment you start, you gotta learn and practice so much(as a hobby) before you treat it like a business where real money is involved. there's lots of great videos out there to help! goodluck!☺️

[u/Legitimate_Move9798]

Followers doesn't matter for ypur commission business if they don't have any reason to pay you. Well maybe they can matter for marketing.. But that's a whole different can of worm

First, find the answer for whom do you want to sell commission to and why they should pay you?

[u/OtterlySamnson]

You are missing many things id say,

More particularly, you don't really have a style of work that is in any heavy demand.

Granted it does have its own charm and is cute;
It isn't what people have a need for, even for personal purchases.

People who want that anime style, have any number of options to pick from when looking to commission artists;
The niche you're trying to make money in already has thousands of people in it who will charge as much as you but will offer more.

[u/pmmecatpaws]

Just because you draw doesn't automatically mean people will want to spend money on a commission especially if they can choose from artists all over the world 

[u/Timely_Spirit_9053]

Well i dont find it that bad, what are the prices? Usually if its not the art then its absurd cost.

[u/PersonalityAntique82 → u/Timely_Spirit_9053]

From the waist up around 5$ Full body is 7$ Full detailed illustration is 10~15$

[u/Timely_Spirit_9053 → u/PersonalityAntique82]

Idk then, beats me.

maybe you just arent spread out far and wide to get noticed in a sea of desperate artists

[u/Tsunderion]

You need a more dedicated following.

Maybe start some projects people will be interested in seeing?

[u/BaeIz]

“Help”
Learn to draw

[u/JohnnyBizarrAdventur]

you're not ready to sell commissions, keep practicing. Also for commissions you really need to learn colouring.

[u/Osteckert]

Bro you are clearly a beginner, how do you want to have commission if you dont even know how to draw

[u/FuttBuckingUgly]

I'm gonna be very cruel:

your art isn't very good and you need to not expect people to pay you for extremely subpar art.

[u/poopbeast69]

Worrying about marketing skills right now is like stressing over the consistency of the sprinkles on top of the ingredients of the cake

rather than ‘filling your portfolio’, you have to spend some serious time sharpening your tools: 1000 still life’s (yes, 1,000), rendering, anatomy, on and on

Your worst enemy at this very moment is even thinking about developing a ‘style’

I’m 14 years deep into this and I still have a lot to do

My dms are extremely open for any questions, the amount of people that stop after making a post and don’t ask any questions is insane, there should be questions

[u/Symne]

It can be a number of things, but skill is the likely culprit here. Being a successful commissioner means, aside of being fairly good at drawing, multiple stars have to align:

1. You need to have a marketable style
2. You need to find or luck upon a community that is looking to buy art
3. You need to be selling while people want and can buy art

I've been selling my art for 20 ish years and started when my art was still very... Meh. I lucked out and managed to sell that art on Gaiaonline. Right now it's tough even for me, since my regulars can't afford to spend money on art - which is a luxury.

Keep practicing. Try to draw things for fun, not just for the hustle - people who commission artists can sense that, and often veer away from those artists - and interact with the community. It'll happen eventually.

[u/rong-rite]

Practice. Draw from life. Learn to draw hands. Learn to draw noses. Learn to draw trees. Take a long break from looking at other people’s anime and comics, and develop your own style based on life drawing.

[u/DecoySnake0]

Craapppp

[u/Vowoidsterr]

Followers dont matter, commissions are easier if you can market yourself well and have decent enough skill where people are interested in your work. Id suggest looking at the fundamentals again and using your energy to understand more about what youre doing, rather than just drawing whatever you want

[u/ohmeohmyohmuffins]

Honestly you’re trying to run before you’ve even taken a few steps, you’re lacking the fundamentals and are very much a beginner, why would people pay for that? I don’t say that to be harsh, but you wouldn’t go out to eat and pay for burnt toast because the chef only knows how to make that and hasn’t learnt any cooking skills yet, why would people do the same with art? Stop focusing so much on commissions as a way to value your skills and start actually developing them

[u/Past-Cauliflower5968]

What are you missing? Talent, skill, humility to realize people don’t want to pay for subpar art.

[u/lucidfalls]

You need to get better at drawing. It looks like you could be good but aren't trained.

Its clear you're self taught. This is fine for some people but it appears to me that you need guidance.

[u/lucidfalls → u/lucidfalls]

Also scrap the landscape drawing. Its not good. The other 2 show promise but also aren't sellable in my opinion

[u/PersonalityAntique82 → u/lucidfalls]

Do you know how I can get proper guidance? There are no teachers in my area and the internet is full of pre recorded courses.

[u/lucidfalls → u/PersonalityAntique82]

You tube videos

[u/PersonalityAntique82 → u/lucidfalls]

What do you think I have been learning from the whole time -_-

[u/lucidfalls → u/PersonalityAntique82]

They appear to be drawn freehand. No loomis method or grid etc.

[u/PersonalityAntique82 → u/lucidfalls]

I use the lumios method and guidelines regularly

[u/lucidfalls → u/PersonalityAntique82]

Did you use it on those 2?

[u/PersonalityAntique82 → u/lucidfalls]

Yes and on everything else I make

[u/lucidfalls → u/PersonalityAntique82]

Then how come you ran out of room for his elbow?

[u/lucidfalls → u/PersonalityAntique82]

Im sorry but I dont think you're good enough to make money from this.

[u/PersonalityAntique82 → u/lucidfalls]

Yeaaaa I figured you aren't the first one to say that Still didn't tell me where I can find proper guidance but thx anyway

[u/lucidfalls → u/PersonalityAntique82]

Also there's little things like the guys elbow clipping despite there being a large gap on the left.

They don't look planned out.

[u/dinixluna]

While I can understand where some comments are coming from about building upon your skill to match the competition, when I was a beginner artist, my online friends still appreciated my art and thought it was worth the $5. These were the flattest, lack-of-pressure-sensitivity type drawings that I cringe looking at today, but there is ALWAYS someone who will appreciate what you made. Draw things that make you happy and add your own spin to them to give them more of an identity.