People who do custom drawing. How to turn artistic drawing into a profitable business

My story of earning money began during my student days, when, like many students, I experienced a huge lack of two things: time and money.

Finding a permanent well-paid job at that moment was a utopia, since, firstly, no one wanted to employ a student without experience, and secondly, it was simply impossible to work according to a clear schedule due to the scattered classes at the institute.

But we had to come up with a way to make money. Unlike most other poor students, I had a talent for drawing from birth, which, by the way, developed as I studied at the art department architectural university. I decided to paint portraits to order.

First steps

“To start doing something, just start,” that’s what my mother told me all my life. And I started doing what I know how to do, namely, drawing portraits, without really understanding how exactly I would start making money from it. I drew in every free moment, just to hone my skills first. At first it didn’t work out very well, to put it mildly, but pretty quickly my drawings began to resemble real portraits, the people in them looked similar, and most importantly, attractive. Friends began to like my portraits, and while I was painting them, I simply gave them my portraits for advertising. And then, lo and behold, a friend of a friend once approached me with a request to draw a small portrait of his girlfriend for money for her birthday, as a gift. This was my first order. She charged a purely symbolic price for the work - 150 rubles. Later, other friends of friends came up or called in the same way, and the price was still the same symbolic as for their own.

Search for clients

Quite quickly, I realized that my circle of contacts was dwindling, I didn’t have enough orders from my own people, and the income from them was minimal, so I needed to look for clients. I posted an ad on various city forums, attaching photographs of previous works, setting a price of 400 rubles for a portrait in A4 pencil from a photograph, and 1000 rubles for an A2 portrait on canvas. A reasonable question immediately arose - what to “catch” with, if there are so many good ones around? professional artists. In order to break into any field, you need some kind of “trick”. I decided that my advantage as an artist would be a record high speed of work. Firstly, it attracts clients who, for some reason, need an urgent portrait. Secondly, it is convenient, as it allows you to earn more by completing more orders per week. And thirdly, by constantly drawing portraits of friends, I have already reached a level of skill that allows me to really quickly make a high-quality drawing. As expected, orders poured in.

Formation of a stable client base

“To keep a client, you need to give him what he wants,” wrote one motivational book by Dale Carnegie. This is very words of wisdom, which I applied in my activities. If a client wanted to get a portrait the very next day, I did it, even at the cost of my own lack of sleep and absences from college. If they wanted the wrinkled grandmother in the portrait to look young and impressive, that’s how I painted her, with a minimum of wrinkles and without three extra chins. When they said: “It should be the same as in the photo, just make it in a national shirt,” I made a portrait in a national shirt. In other words, she tried to fulfill every whim of the client. As a result, I received a lot of gratitude, and a stable client base, because satisfied people recommended me to their friends.

Results.

Working according to the principle described above, I managed to get on my feet on my own, and already from the third month of such work my monthly earnings were approximately 12,000 rubles, but I must say, I worked a lot. The first two months were spent promoting the business, although it also brought me quite impressive money, as for my student time. Later, having already graduated from college, and getting a job, first as just a salesman, and a year later computer graphic to one small printing agency, I didn’t leave my part-time job working on portraits, and in fact, I’m still doing this, gradually raising prices as my professionalism grows. By the way, getting a job helped to significantly expand my client base through new acquaintances. It’s true, I don’t paint much now, only in the evenings and for my own pleasure, because my monthly earnings from portraits range from 8 to 10 thousand rubles, but I think this is not bad for a part-time job.

When looking for a business idea to create their own small business, women often begin to sort through their skills and talents. And rightly so! After all, what could be better than work that has become a favorite hobby.

Finding business ideas without investment is not as difficult as it seems. For example, women who know how to draw beautifully can start making money with only the bare minimum necessary tools. Here are some ideas that can be implemented:

1. Start working as a master of painting children at children's parties. Such a business with small investments(you will have to purchase special paints) may initially seem like a strange idea. But today, many parents, trying to surprise and please their child, hire artists, order children's rooms, etc. The idea is quite simple and non-standard, rarely implemented in small towns, but quickly attracts attention. At the right approach and a good marketing policy, you can occupy a worthy niche in this area.

2. Hand painted Christmas balls. Such work at home is suitable only for the very diligent, because the best orders that a craftswoman can receive are drawing logos and branded greetings from large enterprises, the number of which can exceed a hundred copies.

3. Painting of glasses. Make beautiful and unique murals wedding glasses maybe even a girl who decided to build her own business in the village. A fairly simple technique and minimal costs will quickly pay for themselves if you establish sales through thematic groups V in social networks.

4. When the artist’s talent is developed much more than just making carbon drawings, you can create a business without investment, drawing portraits at home or on the street.

5. For those who don’t know how to withdraw at all straight lines or clear silhouettes, but can at least paint carefully, you can suggest implementing the idea with paintings by numbers. The essence is this: reproduction of a painting famous artist applied to the canvas in the form of outlines (like a children's coloring book), each fragment is numbered in accordance with the number of the paint that comes with the kit. All you have to do is apply the strokes and sell the finished result. The painting template itself is now offered by many handicraft stores.

As you can see, the ideas are easy to implement and do not require huge capital to get started. If you are not sure that the chosen option will find its buyer, start with a small batch of goods to test the waters. But do not forget that in any business advertising can play a huge role.

But also receive moral satisfaction from your work. People do not want to exchange their lives for money, but want to realize their inner potential. World-class artists make millions from their paintings. However, creating a masterpiece is difficult. Therefore, you can simply draw for clients for money. After all, a custom portrait is an excellent gift.

Creation of portraits to order

Many portrait artists successfully make money from their skills. But it is not necessary to go to Arbat and offer services - it is much more expedient to paint portraits to order right at home.

The portrait is a good gift and a sign of attention to a loved one, friend, colleague, boss or just an acquaintance. Everyone is pleased to receive a portrait from a photograph for their birthday, made by hand on canvas or digitally using computer programs. So, how to make money doing what you love and turn art into business?

Portrait from photograph to order: inexpensive and high quality

It’s always difficult to start, but you just need to take the first step and there will be more chances for development. True, first you need to hone your skills and learn how to really draw professionally. In the first months you will have to devote everything to this free time. If you work hard on your skills, a custom portrait will begin to come out more “alive.” Then you can start offering your services.

Search for clients

Ordering a portrait on canvas for a gift – rare case in everyone's life and there are usually few regular customers in such a business. To begin with, drawing a portrait to order inexpensively or without paying at all, in the form of advertising, is normal. If the quality of the work is decent, then you can ask the customer to post the resulting portrait and, perhaps, the clients themselves will decide to contact you.

You should not immediately name too high a price - at first you just need to establish yourself as a good craftsman.

Therefore, you don’t need to immediately ask for more than 150-250 rubles for paintings. The optimal price depends on the materials used and the complexity of the order. Therefore, a custom portrait made by hand on paper or canvas costs more, while conventional computer processing is much cheaper.

Of course, not everyone has many friends for internships and promotion, and you can’t ask much from them, so you will need to place ads on social networks, on various thematic ones, or even in newspapers. It is advisable to include a link to your portfolio and be sure to indicate the approximate cost of the portrait. So that later the price does not become a surprise for a potential customer. For calculations you can use a wide variety of .

It would also be nice to have a personal “trick”. This could be an unusual style, discounts, gifts, as soon as possible execution. After proper preparation, the appearance of clients will not be long in coming. Don't forget to make a schedule and write down when you promised to give the client finished work, otherwise there is a chance of being branded as an irresponsible person, which is unacceptable in any business.

Positive customer reviews are hard earned. An artist can make a custom portrait day and night, taking breaks only for lunch and sleep.

Often people think about a gift a couple of days before the celebration and ask to complete the order 24 hours in advance. But for urgency, you can issue the client a much more substantial bill.

Popular types of modern portraits

Choosing a painting style is one of the most important stages in the development of an artist-businessman who wants to paint a portrait to order.

You need to proceed from what you can do and what material you prefer to work with. Main styles:

1. Portrait in pencil- Perhaps the simplest type, which allows you to significantly improve your skills. Such works are always in price; any poor romantic would not mind giving his girlfriend an inexpensive pencil portrait - a trifle, but nice.
2. "Dry brush"– this can be a detailed oil portrait from a photograph. Such work takes the longest to order. The portrait can be black and white or color - it depends on the customer’s preferences.
3. Digital art portraits from photos to order became especially popular with the advent of computer programs that made it possible to create regular photography a real portrait printed on canvas. Then it is placed in a beautiful stretcher, which makes it even more attractive. But for making similar works requires special equipment and thorough knowledge Adobe Photoshop. All this requires a lot of effort, time, and, most importantly, investment. Digital grunge portraits are considered the most popular. Their distinctive features are vibrant, rich colors, blurry backgrounds and a certain unreality of faces. Portraits in pop art style to order are also popular.
4. Another type of digital portrait– imitation high painting. This is one of the most popular types of processing. You probably saw some friends in the portrait dressed as a general, a society lady, or a king. This technique usually involves subsequent printing and detailed drawing of the face. At the request of the client, imitation of paint strokes is possible.
5. Portraits on wood to order– requires skills in burning and working with wood.

Selecting materials and setting prices for work

Most professionals charge a lot of money for their work. This is a pencil portrait from a photograph to order for 3,000 rubles or an oil portrait to order, the price of which sometimes reaches 4,000 rubles. It may be worthwhile to calculate the cost more adequately.

Firstly, it needs to include the price for canvas or whatman paper. Choose only high-quality materials so as not to jeopardize your reputation. As you know, paints apply differently to surfaces of different quality. Many artists have a good reputation for using domestic canvases and paper.

Secondly, you need to determine the cost of 1 hour of work, for example, it will be 80-100 rubles (initially 50-70 rubles). Note the time spent on a particular order and include it in the final price. Usually, on average, a total of 10-15 hours are spent on a portrait. And on pencil drawing and even less. It is very important to know how to spend time and money.

Conclusion

You can earn good money from portraits, but at first the income will be about 12-15 thousand rubles or even less. But in the future, with increasing experience, it, as a rule, increases several times. At large quantities orders, you can put together a small team of artists and divide the profits among everyone.

The main thing in any business is a strong desire. There is nothing stopping you from learning how to paint portraits so masterfully that there will be no end to clients.

Hello, Yana)
Thank you a million for your advice, thoughts and wisdom!

So I have a question. Largely thanks to your posts and books.
Not long ago, I finally found an activity that was at the crossroads of whether I like it, it works out, I want to do it. And this activity turned out to be drawing.

Here I must say that by education and profession I have nothing to do with creativity. However, I have always been drawn to doing hand-made things, sculpting, painting, knitting. As a child, I loved art lessons, I liked to draw. But in such a way that she draws directly - then no. I tried it recently and was hooked.
And now the third month has begun, I try to draw every day, when I follow the textbook, when I copy, when I just draw all sorts of doodles - zentangles - mandalas. I understand that I want to develop in this. And somewhere in the depths of my soul, a small flame smolders - what if I manage to change my unloved job to something related to creativity.

And now, actually, the question. It is clear that first practice, basic things, study-study-study. And now it’s too early to talk about anything specific. But I have very little idea what’s next. Just draw, look at the work of others and go by experience? If you really set a goal to change your profession, then where should you start moving? What do people who can draw become? Stockers, designers, illustrators? What are the directions? There are probably a lot of them, but maybe you can at least outline some of the main points) Thank you!

There are all sorts of doodles here) (http://happy-real-life.livejournal.com/) the magazine does not need to be shown.

Hello!
It's never too early to ask yourself what exactly you want to do. Because the answer (partly) determines what is best for you to develop in yourself, what is worth working on.

There are really a lot of directions: illustration, drawing and selling originals, selling souvenirs with your pictures (and separate question, whether you want to make them yourself). Stocks, writing and illustrating books, graphic novels, illustrations for magazines. And if you like to draw ornaments, or something similar, then there is also the opportunity to draw patterns for fabrics, scarves, carpets, wallpaper, etc.

I propose to start by collecting the maximum possible applications for drawing.
Dear readers, write what I haven’t mentioned yet?

Then - look on the Internet for examples of everything mentioned, and listen to your feelings: what gives you the feeling “this is how I would like it” more.
You need to collect more of these directions, and then narrow the circle: what do you like more, and what do you like even more?

And here it is very important point- honesty! We like to watch many things from others, and we even feel some envy that someone has broken through with this. But when you look at the question honestly, it becomes clear that you don’t like doing this yourself. And the thought that I will do this every day for many years is rather depressing. These are the things we like in others. This is wonderful and useful, but it is not suitable for trying to live on it.

It is advisable to narrow the circle to several areas. Preferably no more than ten. And preferably very specifically formulated. For example: “Draw pictures for T-shirts and sell T-shirts with them, which will be printed by other services” or “draw originals and sell them, regularly exhibiting in galleries.”

As you go, studying samples of what other people are doing, try to read from their websites exactly where they are sold. Some are standing in the markets, others are licking the online store. Still others walk through galleries. Everyone has their own, and many people may really like some of it, or vice versa. You need to try all this on yourself. Could you imagine going to nice shops and offering your goods to a commission? Or write to publishing houses and editors and offer them your drawings? Or is it easier for you to just work on some store and hope that people will flock to it? strangers from some platform?

In general, when there are very few options left, you have to try. Because Only in practice does it become clear how much you really like the work. Well, in this phase it will become clear what skills you are missing, what you still need to learn, what to extract from materials and tools.

I wish you success in finding your dream! :-)

Not a single wall by itself will save you, his father once told him,
walking with him along the fortress walls of Winterfell.
- The wall is strong by the people who defend it.
.

Hello, reader!

§2. Freelance exchanges and sites with advertisements

I’m telling you: freelancing is distant work. A freelance photographer or freelance artist works remotely. You sit at home, in a cafe or on the beach, do your work and send the finished version to the customer via the Internet. The customer can be located anywhere on globe. You receive payment to your bank account, card, or e-wallet.

If you work through , then everything becomes much simpler. The same as in the case of photo banks. The exchange itself attracts new customers and takes care of interaction with them (receipt of payment, order delivery, etc.). The customer will not be able to “cheat” you or deceive you in any other way. Money for work comes to your account at the exchange, from there you can withdraw it to a bank or card.

On the Internet, for example, drawing portraits from photographs is very popular. A person sends you a photo, you paint a portrait, scan the drawing and send it to him via the Internet. Or you send the original portrait by mail or transport company.

They also often ask me to draw a picture for an article. For example, I often order such drawings. So if you good artist, then write to me at [email protected]. Or better yet, through personal messages on social networks (links to my accounts).

Customers live on freelance exchanges and classifieds sites. Both there and there you can both search for orders and publish offers about your services.

Here's the freelancing market.

Advertisement sites - .

§3. Website offering your services

We are creating a website on which we describe what we can do and how much we want for it. We indicate contacts. We get clients from the Internet and make money on their orders.

That is, we use the site as an advertising channel. To enhance the effect, we create a high-quality website and promote it. You can also attract potential customers to your website using online advertising services.

Instead of a website, you can create a page on social networks, a free blog, or use a website builder.

How to make a popular website -.

All the ways to create your website -.

Free blogging services are lurking.

Website builders with hosting are waiting for you (for money) and (relatively free).

§4. We create an information site

In this case, we describe on the site not our services, but our skills. And we make money on the site through advertising and affiliate programs. Let me explain.

You know how to take photographs, draw or otherwise create drawings, pictures and photographs. The Internet is full of people who want to learn how to take photographs, draw or create drawings, pictures and photographs in other ways. They are looking for information about this. You post this information on your website. Together with advertising (contextual, banner, direct) and/or with your affiliate links. The more visitors to your site, the more clicks on advertising (views, in the case of banner and direct ads) and clicks on your referral links, the more more money you earn.

It is clear that in this case you must be not just a photographer or artist, but a photographer or artist who also knows how to write coherently.

This option is good if you have enough orders, but no money. Such an information site will give you the opportunity to monetize your skills without interrupting your work. Share the secrets of your craft, and the site will provide you with passive income.

It’s worth starting with a combination of contextual advertising and affiliate programs. It’s better for her to continue.

Partnerships - from online stores with photo products or goods for artists, books about photography and drawing, and everything in that vein. In principle, you can attach different affiliate programs to the information site of a photographer or artist. For example, in an article with photographs of the ten most beautiful places In Thailand, a link to a service for booking airline tickets and hotels would fit well. It will also attract attention in a text with the ten most popular paintings Louvre. As you can see, the principle is simple and can be replicated widely and for a long time.

Our newsletter has repeatedly talked about accumulating wealth through affiliate programs. We were talking specifically about making money from online airline ticket booking services.

We discussed in great detail how to make money from affiliate programs of online bookstores.

We are talking about the principles of making money on affiliate programs via mailing lists. There are also several nuances and hidden points.

From the list of aggregators of affiliate programs and affiliate programs under different topics - .

Other ways to make money on the site -.

§5. We write and sell articles about photography and drawing

This is the case when you are not exactly such a photographer or artist, but rather an amateur or interested. And the first two options are not suitable for you due to a lack of skill, knowledge and skills.

And you go to article exchanges, look for orders there for articles on photography, drawing and the like, send an application to the customer, if he approves of you - write an article according to the given parameters (indicated by the customer), if it suits him, then to your account in the exchange payment arrives (agreed before placing the order), withdraw money (as a rule, money from the exchange is withdrawn to an electronic wallet, from which you can send it to your card, mobile phone or bank account).

Everything is simple.

I’ll tell you more about working as a copywriter (writing articles is copywriting).

The stock of articles is languishing in anticipation of brilliant copywriters.

I’ll show you how to create an electronic wallet in pictures.

§6. Newspapers, agencies and other exotics

Various online media (newspapers, magazines, online publications) sometimes require photographers and artists. Advertising agencies need them too. Web studios also use drawings with photographs (they create websites). Continue the list yourself.

Go to the website of a potential employer, look for contacts, get in touch, they hire you - you work, no - look for a job as a photographer or artist further.

With links to the websites of large newspapers and magazines -.

And news agencies - .

§7. On the road

There are hundreds of other ways for a photographer or artist to make money on the Internet. I have listed the most widespread and accessible ones. Go for it!

That's all about work for photographers and artists. In the next issue we'll talk about...

Congratulations to you, great health and wealth!