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Hello, was just curious if anyone here might be an artist who has sold their art online before.

I'm thinking of doing it myself but I'm unsure what it will require.

Here's the general quality of my sketches.


Do I need to improve first or will sketches just not sell?

Is it best to try selling art on Ebay or should I try commissions on art sites?

Thanks for any advice you can give me!

You may want to try posting your stuff to websites like deviantart.com or patreon.com

Don't expect a lot of money until you get a name and reputation built up. Unfortunately most people don't tend to place much value with amateur art and even established artists can have a hard time making ends meet selling their art. But don't give up, keep working on your stuff and constantly improving on your techniques and study your butt off because art is something you constantly have to train for if you want to make a living at it.

Your stuff may not sell at first and don't let that discourage you, work with what makes you happy and keep that passion alive. Many famous artists had a very hard start but they had a drive to keep going even when their art wasn't well received, but they kept at it and pushed themselves to do better and later ended up reshaping the art world. Look at each piece as a chance to practice and make something new and meaningful to you regardless of if it sells or not.

Please don't take this as a discouragement, it's just that it's very tough when you start out and there are times that people will be very unkind and critical. Just grit your teeth and push through it and you'll find your own niche and following. It's hard and most artists tend to doubt their work because of it (at times) just do what comes to you and what you're passionate about so that you find your own personal reward in it, doing work simply to satisfy the buyer will usually feel flat and uninspired.

I'll be willing to give you some firm feedback. I'll say in advance that I'm not going to sugarcoat anything, but I'll be doing this purely in the interest of advancing yourself.

First of all, your work is nothing that is going to command great prices, at least in the way it is presenting now. It looks like you are using a camera to capture these samples, and it really degrades what appears. The lighting is inconsistent and the details are lost. If you're going to be serious about this, you without a doubt need a better way of capturing your art into a digital format.

Next, and again, I'll be blunt here, but your quality needs some significant work to really fall into something that will be financially viable or attractive. Of the pieces you posted, the fourth is the best quality, and I can tell it took you the most time. If I can ask, how long did these pieces take for you to do, from start to finish?

Oh, probably should've said I didn't want to make this a main profession but a just a side project for a small amount of cash.

I'm under no illusions that my stuff is anything but amateur hour, I constantly go to art sites and know the level of professionalism you guys mean.

@stanman, don't worry about discouraging me, I really appreciate your honest opinion.

I know why the term "starving" artist exists.

@curran12, Good eye on photos, I take the photos with my camera phone(yes, amateur doesn't begin to describe me) and it usual takes me an hour to draw a character and several more for the background. Big drawings can take up to a week.(I like to take my time with the details)

So in conclusion, start posting on Deviantart with a better digital format device and constantly keep at it?

Do you think my current stuff would even be worth $2.00?

Thanks again!

I work with and am friends with a lot of commission artists, so I have something of a storehouse of information on how best to run them.

Since you've said this is mostly just a small hobby project, you do not need to worry -as- much about your rates. Though that said, if you're charging for art, you should keep in mind the costs and not sell at such a low rate that people rush in looking for a deal and put you in a position where you have 25-30 people who have all paid $2-5 for art, leaving you with nearly a week's worth of work in terms of hours for so little money that it isn't fulfilling.

The biggest advice I can give for someone starting out as a commissioned artist is to start small. Posting your art on deviantart/tumblr and getting it out there is going to be a good start. It is a good idea to seek out feedback on your technique. Don't rush to selling because if you do, your quality might not be at the same place and you'll end up discouraged when nobody wants to do business with you. So shore up your technique, ask questions and see what kind of feedback and advice you can get, then worry about selling it. Lucky for you, dA is loaded with very good tutorials, I did some searching for you and here are some nice examples:

http://www.deviantart.com/art/Scribbly-and-Ink-Tutorial-33116403
http://www.deviantart.com/art/Inking-Tutorial-546935392

After that, start with one commission. Just do one and see how long it takes, what the client thinks, what feedback you get and what quality of work you do. Adjust how you do work after that. I think by asking about prices, you are putting your cart before the house, and that is a surefire path to disappointment and frustration.

Work on your proportions and perspective.