Every artist has a different perspective on what it means to be successful. For some, it’s as straightforward as finishing that next project. For others, it might involve several elements including having a large fan base, merchandising certain intellectual property, or being recognized for the talents that are a product of years of training and experimentation.
If you want to be recognized as an artist, be praised for your efforts, and potentially make connections that support your artistic goals each and every day, you need to pay attention to the business of being an artist. That means you need to be ready to market yourself.
Identify Your Art to Identify Your Audience
A lot of artists are quick to say, “I don’t create genre art. It’s not horror or sci-fi. It’s just art. I don’t care about the labels.” If you’re just starting out, you can’t afford to ignore the labels. The labels are what are going to give you a sense of direction.
If your work is a dark mess of hairy, scary monsters, recognize it for what it is. That will help you create a starting point. Remember, you can’t market to everyone. It’s not that simple. Some people (in fact, a large number of people) don’t like hairy, scary monsters, so you have to narrow your focus until you find those people that do and will be receptive to and support your vision.
Get Your Art Out There
Once you’ve determine the kind of art that you do and the type of audience you need to connect with, it’s time to get your art out there. Here are some options:
- Portfolio Site – a professionally built or template-driven website that showcases your work and should be themed to the kind of art you create
- Online Art Community – a website that will provide you a digital gallery space (often for free) and categorize your work with other artists in your genre whose fans will most likely respond to what you’re doing
- Online Forum/Art Forum – a website where artists and fans can share, create, and discuss art/genre topics
- Local Art Shows – solo or group opportunities to showcase your artwork with other artists in your genre or around a common theme
- Genre Conventions – large gatherings with state-wide/national attendance where your art can be displayed and sold directly to those in your audience
Be an Active Participant
To paraphrase renowned painter, Chet Zar, being an artist is 50% creating and 50% self-promotion. You need to network with other artists, engage your fans, and stay visible for potential clients. You can’t promote yourself if you’re hiding away in the studio each and every day. Reach out to other artists. Join in on discussions that are related to your artistic interests. Find ways to support your fans.
If you’re a part-time artist with a full-time job, juggling your 50/50 art career can be a challenge. It might take a bit of rigorous scheduling, but if you’re driven to be a success, you’ll find the time in your day.
The easiest way to be an active participant is to take advantage of the numerous social networking platforms available. Social networking connects you to your peers, your fans, and those potential commissions, art shows, and career building opportunities. With advances in technology, you can manage many social networks from a single software interface, cutting down on the time you spend away from your projects.
Be a Professional
Everything you do – from the way you communicate online to how you handle your commission/freelance deadlines – speaks to your level of professionalism. And that can have a serious impact on how many opportunities come your way, as many people simply don’t want to work with or spend their money supporting artists who are rude, insensitive, untrustworthy, flaky, and/or have outrageous egos.
Unless you’re creating art privately for yourself or giving your art away for free, there’s a business side to being an artist that you simply can’t ignore. If you do, you risk ruining your reputation, driving off potential fans, and putting a larger sense of success into a tailspin.
You can be yourself and still be professional. It just takes a little filtering (a lot if you like to spread your opinion across the Internet in broad strokes of colorful language) and some personal awareness.
As with many recommendations available on Grimvisions, the information here should be considered a starting point for your own research into and exploration of self-promotion. If you’re seriously interested in making a career out of your art, take a closer look at the business side of being an artist by acquiring resources online, at a library/bookseller, or through the Small Business Administration.
King Unicorn is a guest blogger here at Grimvisions. You can see more of his work at: http://www.kingunicorn.com
