2 answers
Saphire
Student
Poughkeepsie, New York
1
Question
Updated
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How will I make income?
How will I make my first income, and how long am I working for?
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2 answers
Liam Rielly
Data Center Technician
195
Answers
Manassas, Virginia
Updated
Liam’s Answer
To answer your question blatantly, you will likely make your first income doing retail or food service. I am not saying this as it is going to be your career, but the first bit of money you will make will be an easily obtainable job at an established business that will cover your living expenses. Its how I got started, its how most people got started.
To make your first money as an artist, you will likely be selling your art on consignment. I am kind of grasping for a good answer for this because art is such a wide field of employment, I am thinking you as someone making a picture or item that will then sell per unit. The truth is it can be anything from you selling something you made per item, or you can design entire concepts and sell the rights to that, kind of like a fashion designer.
You may end up doing artwork for the established business you are working for. You may be asked to design menus, billboards, ads, pamphlets, or signage for your place of work. I have seen big box stores, retailers, restaurants, coffee shops, and bars ask their employees with artistic skills to help make their establishment look better. Likely this won't be YOUR artwork on display in the establishment, but if you get paid your per hour wage to spend a day painting a sign, that might not be too bad!
You may end up teaching art in some capacity. I find that "teaching art" is a vast field and can almost be anything. You may decide this is the path for you and that you really enjoy demonstrating to others how to create for themselves. Art therapy is a field I hear about on and off and has definitely grown since I first heard of it.
No matter where you end up, make sure you know how to keep up with your personal finances. If you do end up with an job creating and selling art on a per item basis or collaborating with a business establishment, you will likely need to keep track of your own finances. Make sure you have some stability in your finances so you can start small and grow from that point. Be willing to change how you work (or your medium) so that you can be consistent making money and grow into newer fields.
To make your first money as an artist, you will likely be selling your art on consignment. I am kind of grasping for a good answer for this because art is such a wide field of employment, I am thinking you as someone making a picture or item that will then sell per unit. The truth is it can be anything from you selling something you made per item, or you can design entire concepts and sell the rights to that, kind of like a fashion designer.
You may end up doing artwork for the established business you are working for. You may be asked to design menus, billboards, ads, pamphlets, or signage for your place of work. I have seen big box stores, retailers, restaurants, coffee shops, and bars ask their employees with artistic skills to help make their establishment look better. Likely this won't be YOUR artwork on display in the establishment, but if you get paid your per hour wage to spend a day painting a sign, that might not be too bad!
You may end up teaching art in some capacity. I find that "teaching art" is a vast field and can almost be anything. You may decide this is the path for you and that you really enjoy demonstrating to others how to create for themselves. Art therapy is a field I hear about on and off and has definitely grown since I first heard of it.
No matter where you end up, make sure you know how to keep up with your personal finances. If you do end up with an job creating and selling art on a per item basis or collaborating with a business establishment, you will likely need to keep track of your own finances. Make sure you have some stability in your finances so you can start small and grow from that point. Be willing to change how you work (or your medium) so that you can be consistent making money and grow into newer fields.
Melanie Guralnick, CCM
Retired, Volunteer
15
Answers
Bermuda Dunes, CA
Updated
Melanie’s Answer
Liam gave you superb advice! My only addition would be that it's important to use the 30% ratio for housing, which you would scale to any city you live in. You should only spend 30% of your income on rent/housing to leave you enough to spend on living and saving. This is the standard of affordability benchmark that was established by the Housing and Urban Development of our government. Some of the higher paying jobs are going to be in more expensive cities to live in, but perhaps you can start with roommates to get established if that's really where you want to be. Being an artist can be very rewarding, but it's not as fun if you're not saving for a rainy day fund and retirement.