5 Ways to Make Money as an Artist

It is much easier for artists to make a living from creating art today thanks to the ability to promote their work online. Artists can create their own websites, display their work at online galleries or use platforms like Etsy to sell from. There are pros and cons to all these methods but what’s important is that opportunities abound. Artists have to find the ways that suit them best to make money to keep them motivated with their career. Here are five ways artists can make money in 2023. 

1. Sell Art Tutorials and Courses

There are plenty of ideas to make money online. If you want to know how to make money as an artist online, one of the best ways is to create your own website. You can write blog posts for a specific audience and build trust with them. As your following grows and you get more traffic to your website, you can start to monetize it in various ways.

One of the best ways to make money from your website is to sell tutorials and art courses. This enables you to make passive income as you can sell them over and over again. If you build up a loyal following, your fans will be interested in purchasing your tutorials. They will want to know what materials you use, and you could place affiliate links to products you recommend.

2. Sell your Original Artwork

Consumers still tend to think of physical art as being more valuable than digital art. They appreciate displaying it in their homes and admiring it. They assume digital art takes less time to create and often associate it with mass production.

Today selling your original art is easier thanks to the many places to display it online. Some online galleries only sell the artwork of established artists and charge a high commission. Others cater more to new artists and charge lower commissions. Choosing to sell original artwork through an online gallery has a number of benefits, such as exposing your work to a wider audience and helping you to promote your work.

3. Sell Art Prints 

You can set up an Etsy shop and sell art prints using your digital designs. Etsy has a large customer base of buyers who are interested in buying art. It also has many guides and tools that help you to set up your shop and market your products. The costs of setting up and running an Etsy shop are relatively low.

It is possible to reproduce digital art without losing any quality. A print-on-demand company can produce art prints for you when a customer places an order. It will handle the packaging and shipping, which means you don’t have to keep inventory or worry about storage. You can choose to sell unlimited prints at a lower price or a limited number at a higher price.

4. Sell Physical Products 

You can also sell physical products that you create from your digital designs. Working with a print-on-demand company enables you to print your designs on t-shirts, home décor products, kitchenware, stationery and much more. Customers tend to buy physical products more than digital products, so it is worth your while to pursue this avenue if you want to make a living from your art.

5. Do Freelance Work

To pick up freelance work, you will need to create profiles on freelancing sites like Upwork and Freelancer. Upwork is an easy platform to use, and you can use it to find longer-term contracts. Fiverr is a good platform for graphic designers and those who create digital art. You can use Fiverr to create gigs for varying amounts and get paid. Freelance platforms usually take a percentage of your earnings.

Conclusion

You can make a living as an artist today, but you can’t afford to just create art and expect the money to roll in. It takes hard work and patience to see results. When you have the talent to create art, you need to expose it to as many people as possible if you want to attract buyers. Creating your own website, displaying it at an online gallery or setting up an Etsy shop are just some of your options.