Thread 7588751

If you're making money off your art, what is your plan B in case the money stops flowing? Be it due to AI or any other reason.

>>7588751 (OP)
I have a job and just use commission money towards groceries and shit so my actual income goes into savings/stuff i actually wanna buy.
Atp i might even stop doing commissions I don't really enjoy drawing for other people

>>7588751 (OP)
i was asked this question 4 years ago and ai still hasn't made a dent in my income.

why do so many people here larp that they make any substantial amount of money from art? I've seen your fuckers art, maybe 2% of you are actually very good, 20% are decent, and 78% are begtrash

>>7588751 (OP)
>>7588824
https://youtu.be/BsyHQgiem8c
The big secret is that general-purpose welfare funds artists, indiscriminately, no matter what kind of art they make, their message, stances or subject matter. It does so both directly (poor artists) and indirectly (people who fund artists instead of drinking/etc.)

No mainstream political camp will ever admit this despite it making them all seethe, because it would be political suicide and shift the general conversation around in ways that would benefit none of them.

It's done this for a century. You notice patterns over time with artist biographies, where they were sleeping in boarding houses or tenements or other such things, but rarely is it ever emphasized or admitted like in the Wham! Rap...

>>7588751 (OP)
It's called...
Wait for it...
A FUCKING JOB

>>7588824
i might not be very good, but ive managed to fool enough americans this year to pay my 3rd world bills, so that's a win in my book

>>7588947
Ever heard of uhh...
Wait for it...
People who WORK as an artist?

>>7589095
>People who WORK as an artist?
If you have nothing to fall back on and you're scared of ngmi-itis, you've failed already.
Even an artist bound for failure makes sure they have a security net for themselves.

>>7589216
Makes more sense to say
>If you have something to fall back on and you're scared of ngmi-itis, you've failed already.

>>7589216
I agree with you. That's why I'm making this thread. To see what other anons have come up with. I don't make any money from my art but I'm gonna try to. I was just wondering what I would do if that didn't work out. I don't want to be a wagie for eternity.

>>7589095
This has always been a pipe dream. Drawing as a hobby + real job. You can still have a Patreon and do commissions.

>>7589305
What if you hate wagieing so much and have so little attachment to home in your own country that you're willing to pack up and run off to a cheap country and grind and save and invest everything till you can retire?

>>7589305
Even if you're a turd worlder?

>>7588824
the majority of posters here don't post their actual art, pradesh. why the fuck would anyone out themselves like that, especially if they are good enough to have an income with their art? this place is for discussions and beginner critique/help.

>>7588824
i made like 350 dollars last week which is more than the minimum wage in my country

>>7588751 (OP)
I didn't quit my day job.

>>7588751 (OP)
get better? Change my market? Same thing as if you lose any other job?

>>7589546
In one week? Fuck. How many comissions you make a week?

>>7588751 (OP)
I need an actual job but fuck me, I'm physically incapable to hold a fucking job. Oh well, I guess I'll die.

If you can put stuff on tshirts and set up a store,you can peddle to your existing fan base.

>>7589715
It's an easy amount to pull off around 7-8k followers. That's like 2-4 comms. Plenty of space for personal art too.

>>7589868
That would be more than my current salary. Being a thirdie has it's pros I guess

>>7588763
People dont like AI, but that will change when it becomes impossible to tell, because then you will be competing no longer with jeets, but instead with botfarms that outnumber you 20:1

>>7591742
That won't happen. Diminishing returns already are hitting hard.

>>7589868
furry porn right

>>7588751 (OP)
Why are you trying to make money off of art? That defeats the whole point of art in the first place.


Get a stable, anchor job (electrical engineer, heart surgeon, nurse, plumber, business owner, etc.) and then just practice art in your free time in whatever way you desire.

>>7592094
I already have a stable job and I barely have time to do any of the things I like. If I could make money off my art as a thirdie I can quit my wagie job and get more time for myself *and* for making art.

>>7592103
>I barely have time to do any of the things I like
??? how many hours do you work a week?

>>7592108
9 hours a day. 5 days a week.

>>7588751 (OP)
>what is your plan B in case the money stops flowing?
I'd get back into contracting, manual labor, or anything really. It's nice having more than one skill and the ability to learn more.

>>7592094
>Get extremely competitive and difficult to get job like electrical engineer, heart surgeon or business owner so that you will make more money then you can spend but have no free time
???
Why would any hobbyist want to get into that lifestyle, people who get into the top 5% of society when it comes to jobs or wealth are usually people who dedicate their whole lives into making tons of money. I dont know if somebody with that much work and that much stress can reliably pursue art.

I don't have a Plan B, it distracts from Plan A.

>>7588751 (OP)
I work full time. It’s not a career driven job, but it’s in the medical/insurance field so we get a lot of great benefits. The benefits and my retirement is what’s keeping me here for now, till I’m able to make money off my art full time. It’s not a great job, but it’s a job that puts a roof over my head, and groceries in my fridge. I do commissions at night, and hang out on the weekends. Commission money is basically used towards fun stuff like going to art museums, checking out new restaurants in the city or just buying random stuff to make me happy.

I don’t have a plan B really, since art is basically my plan B/fun money. If I could though, I’d rather be working part time instead of full time so i could have more time for art and leisure time.

>>7591830
Gay furry porn, anon

>>7592103
>>7592113
same

Some anons said get a job. But if you're a wagie you arent making much art. And you're just going to be a 2nd rate hobby artist

>>7588751 (OP)
I already know how to use AI for both generating images from scratch as well as assisting my own art.
So far AI has had zero impact on my income.
Given how far AI has already come and how little room there is for improvement at this point, I doubt it will change.
But should I suddenly need AI, I already got it covered.

Nothing ever happens.

>>7588751 (OP)
There is no plan B because I have an actual career besides my art side hustle

>>7591742
It is already impossible for the average person to tell unless you're actively slopping yourself (you get real good at spotting slop once you've been doing it yourself). Yet it still hasn't put a dent on commission income. All I see of late is more artists going the AI assisted route. Like I said, if you've been slopping for a while you just know. Be it tracing, or using AI to give idea on how to shade, or proportionally detailed faceless male mobs when the artist mostly draw women.

>>7588751 (OP)
As an author, AI doesn't really threaten my livelihood.
So my plan B remains the same: no plan B. If one project fails, try again. Repeat until death, young or old.

>>7592749
You can, but you'll have to find companies that aren't underemployed that each employees had to work the jobs of 5 different people. Bloated companies can get away with this stuff but remember if you're not overworked there's a very good chance that you'll be on the chopping block when shit hits the fan

>>7588751 (OP)
I go back to my employment agency, get another office admin / data entry contract for them and do like 3-6 months of excel to replenish my savings so I can go back to making art.

>>7601030
Lol that kind of job is also at risk of bring replaced by AI

>>7600762
This. It's hilarious seeing someone get called out for lying about using AI or tracing AI and pea brains respond "b-but the hands look good!?" as if AI hasn't been perfect for over a year now.
You're also right about being able to tell if you make slop yourself. I've been using it since 2023 and when I call out AI users that are obvious to me, nodraws will be like I don't know...proof?
You're also right it's made no dent in my income either. Still making 5k a month.

>>7601760
I'm painfully aware lol
Even if I end stacking shelves in some supermarket into my 40s, I don't give a fuck as long as I can do art.
It's make art or die trying.

>>7600762
>using AI to give idea on how to shade, or proportionally detailed
This is what AI sucks at though. You're better off using a 3d model to "cheat." But using AI to make a background is a much better application.