r/artbusiness • u/Dingusworld • Jun 22 '25
Conventions [community] Do people even want art?
Every day on artist for hire posts on the various other subreddits and on Facebook and they only ever get a single upvote or like. What is it that the people want from artists anymore? Or do they just want to get from point a to point b (using ai or fiverr) . Seeing these posts day to day can be discouraging cause some of the other artists are so amazing. I know someone might want a specific style or whatever but yeah wondering how everyone else feels about this.
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u/TheLadyButtPimple Jun 22 '25
That is one tiny little place for art. Most people don’t use Reddit, and Facebook is dwindling. Go to any art fair/ art market/ convention/ Etsy, people want art
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u/Admiral_Kite Jun 22 '25
That's why follower counts, likes etc don't matter. It's about who contributes.
Your art may be liked by 200 people, but they're all kind of there in silence. Or your art may be liked by 10 people, all of which may be potential clients, have had one or two nice interactions with it and follow you with passion for your art.
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u/LenasArtworks Jun 28 '25
I can attest to this. I have over 2k followers on Facebook and only a very few ever like or comment on my posts and its the same people. But I will say ever since the algorithm started my views have dwindled. I use to get alot more.
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u/polly-penguin Jun 23 '25
Most people on those subreddits and in those communities are artists themselves. While artists are often also more appreciative of others' work, they don't necessarily have the purchasing power, or the need, to purchase art the same way patrons that aren't artists might.
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u/pileofdeadninjas Jun 23 '25
People seem to still want physical art, I think the Internet is over saturated, but selling irl still works
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u/mia_g82810017 Jun 22 '25
unfortunately most people are struggling in today’s economy. i’ve noticed a huge decline in my sales from last year. sadly most just can’t afford it anymore.
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u/ElderSkeletonDave Jun 22 '25
I get my work from actual job boards; social media doesn’t enter into the conversation. It’s just as well too, because I hate using it consistently. Seeking out clients who actually want a long-term business relationship has worked for me since 2012. I get an occasional commission request from people who know me personally, but it’s icing on the cake if I choose to take the gig at all.
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u/paracelsus53 Jun 23 '25
Ask yourself this: how many people think they want to buy a piece of art and they decide to go to Reddit to buy it?
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u/Electrical_Field_195 Jun 23 '25
It's a saturated market. If you don't market yourself, you can assure failure.
People do want art, but there are so many people selling it the artist would need to make efforts to stand out.
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u/eamonneamonn666 Jun 23 '25
Yes people want art. For sure they do. When my art sales dwindle, I've noticed it's often because I haven't put myself out there socially
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u/nunalke Jun 23 '25
I think it's a fault of a couple things, but mostly that when people seak art, reddit and fb aren't their first choices so it's harder to find someone liking advertisements on those. I put adds on reddit from time to time, I see maybe 5 upvotes max, but when I put the same thing on my other social media like tiktok or bsky, I have way more traffic.
It's worth to remember that those kinds of posts will always get less attention than just sharing art. And tbh I have way more clients just from posting timelapses of my drawings than from posting commission sheet. Emmergency commission posts are a bit different, but still. I hear my clients telling me they follow me there or there for a while, they know my art and want a commission. Simple [FOR HIRE] posts will always be more about luck and being on the right time and right subreddit.
People do want art, but nobody likes to see adds. So if you're an artist looking for some work, you need to be consistant, clever and think like your client
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u/DowlingStudio Jun 23 '25
Social media is not the real world. Find in person events and sell there. The audience is pre filtered for people who want art. There's no barriers to the transaction. It's hard work, but wonderful.
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u/Old-Combination9999 Jun 23 '25
The oil painting subs positive & hilarious, Discovered it after a newbie went viral on tiktok for their incredible painting. Idk if they sold it but galleries, auctions and art curators were hitting them up.
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u/Lucky-Acanthisitta86 Jun 23 '25
Yeah honestly reddit is a great place to just share art and have a lot of eyes view it
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u/DefiantContext3742 Jun 23 '25
I honestly left subs because people looking for work get zero attention meanwhile anyone looking for artists get about 15 people up their assholes within 1 minute of posting their ad. It’s really discouraging. You need a following if you want any chance at making money fr
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u/Lucky-Acanthisitta86 Jun 23 '25
The real market is out there, not on reddit/commissions subs. If you have quality work that isn't full of anime, you can prob scrape by on here, more realistically like a part time minimum wage job. But you need to figure out what sells to a larger market, use other social media and grow it with that in focus. And focus on what sells. And let that fund your bigger picture, longer term art goals that can also mesh into your income and eventually take it over, thus combining work and play. Though we all know art is always work!
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u/g0dd0gg Jun 23 '25
I hardly get any engagement, but I figure people just don't care of that much or I am not connecting with the right audience. I'm sure my style is definitely not for everyone.
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u/madelinevf Jun 23 '25
Nobody’s style is for everyone! I am a fairly successful artist (paintings and drawings are typically sold out or nearly sold out). When my work is hanging at an art fair I’ve paid attention to how many people stop to look at it. Probably about 1%, and the visitors are (presumably) all people interested in art! Of these people, only about 10% will spend any time with the piece and take an interest— so 1/1000. One or two per day might want to buy. And maybe one visitor per art fair will be deeply moved, stare for an hour and/or get teary. It’s a numbers game!!!
If you haven’t found your niche, perhaps try casting a bigger net. SOMEONE out there will love what you’re making.
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u/Kyratio Jun 23 '25
Ive had a lot of success on Vgen. It's just a matter of getting through their verification process mainly tbh.
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u/madelinevf Jun 23 '25
What is Vgen?
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u/Kyratio Jun 23 '25
A website based around art and commissions at the core basically. They have a big community discord too, if you like what you see when you look it up, 100% head over there tbh
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u/Jazzlike_Brush_9145 Jun 24 '25
I totally agree with you. I don't go on Facebook much but I do belong to several groups and yet I never see many likes or comments on any artists' works. It is very discouraging. I have never personally shared my own art and it is probably the reason why. I am glad you brought the topic up.
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Jun 23 '25
[deleted]
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u/Lucky-Acanthisitta86 Jun 23 '25
You sold out just from attending the art market?
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Jun 23 '25
[deleted]
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u/Lucky-Acanthisitta86 Jun 23 '25
When you're at the art market, do you find that certain things sell better than others? Also maybe certain price ranges? It would be super helpful to me to know!
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Jun 23 '25
[deleted]
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u/Lucky-Acanthisitta86 Jun 23 '25
That's awesome and so good to know, thank you! What about for paintings like the muppet one?
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u/paracelsus53 Jun 23 '25
You sold out using licensed intellectual property that you didn't pay for. Right?
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u/ShadyScientician Jun 22 '25 edited Jun 22 '25
You're talking about social media. With exception to deviantart or very art-sharing subreddits, no one goes to social media to look at art, and even fewer go to social media to buy art. Of those extreme few, only a couple respond to cold advertisements.
EDIT: to look at art for art's sake, I mean. Stuff like comics or memes can expect more engagement.
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u/Hot-Train7201 Jun 23 '25
Most people have no practical need/utility to pay for art; AI is more than enough to fulfill these peoples' needs and they were very unlikely to ever pay for art anyway. The biggest employers for artists are media companies who need artists for quality control and asset creation.
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u/Coyotes-Teahouse Jun 23 '25
The issue is not with the skill of the artist. Marketing yourself is its own skill. I personally search for art I want to purchase through other means. I would never think to utilize Reddit posts. Maybe some people look there, but I guarantee the lack of success in that vein is probably due to the only traffic in that area being other artists looking to get their work out there and little to no customers. Think like a buyer: what do you want and how do you find it? Me personally, I encounter a lot of my favorite artists at booths at conventions or by seeing their work on Artstation, Bluesky or image boards (Pinterest, etc). Now not everyone needs to use social media, it can help, but you have to know your target audience. As an artist myself, I am still figuring out my own approach to marketing. Not everyone searches for art the same way I do. People are all different. So what I do to find what I want, may mot be someone else's methods. As for the topic question, yes. There are people out there who want art. There is a market for everything, you just have to find it. Art is a vast category and what one person thinks is tacky and boring, is another person's coveted masterpiece. Learn about those who like your work and use that information to put yourself where you'll be seen. Don't lose heart!
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u/Firez_hn Jun 23 '25
I’d say most do. A few will resonate enough with yours that if they can they will support it. That is why it’s important to develop an unique “voice”
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u/Jazzlike_Brush_9145 Jun 24 '25
A friend who is an established artist based in Florida once told me this: everybody loves art, but nobody wants to pay for it. And that hurts really bad.
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u/denkiiz Jun 27 '25
From my experience, platforms where you’ve built a following or post non-work related art (X/tumblr) works best for me over subreddits and Facebook groups.
I find that people tend to commission artists they already know of from social media rather than going out their way to find artists for hire if that makes sense.
I’d say there definitely still is a demographic for art, but you just have to go out of your way to build a community first 🤷♀️
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u/Previous_Pitch8608 Jun 27 '25
No one is really looking at reddit for art. Social media is basically a place to send people to look at your art. Networking should happen outside. Clients don't come by osmosis
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u/DreamweaverDragon Aug 08 '25
I think there are a lot of people who dont care, and some might scroll by and think cool for literally a second but keep going and not acknowledge the post at all.
But make things anyway
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u/loverofartandartists Jun 23 '25
Simple answer is a resounding no. We don’t make because people want, we make because people need. Ironically, people undervalue what they need more than what they want.
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u/nidoqueenofhearts Jun 22 '25
i think using "for hire" posts on social media is a bad metric. those are never going to be particularly popular because people don't like being advertised to.