Thread 7749715

Why do many artists choose not to monetize their own artwork?

Should artwork be free or pay-walled?

>>7749715 (OP)
The only reason I don't monetize mine is because it wouldn't make any money either way.

>>7749718
This.
80% of the ones that dont is because they cant, not because they dont want to.

>>7749715 (OP)
they probably don’t know how or think making money online is some difficult hurdle

>>7749715 (OP)
>Should artwork be free or pay-walled?
It should have been pay-walled, but because so many artists release their work for free, it's essentially ruined that possible market.
People would pay to look at great art prior via galleries or books or what have you, so why did artists think to diminish the value of their work by showing their work for free on the internet? Fucking stupid retards.
More stupid than diminish the value of their work, they diminish the value of their skills by making tutorials and guides for drawing and giving them away for free.

And now we are born into this destroyed hollowed husk of an environment these idiots created, and they wonder why artists aren't valued... THEY'RE the reason artists aren't valued!

I don't make money with my artwork anymore but I still lock it behind a paywall just to torture people.

>>7749715 (OP)
I would . but I think I'd have an easier time selling used toilet paper

>>7749718
Yeh it's a fucking hassle to receive money. If paypal or whatever doesn't just steal everything, you'll run into problems with the tax agency. So the $100 some dude paid you means $10 in your pocket, barely covering the redbulls you drank while drawing.

>>7749788

learn to write your taxes off

>>7749715 (OP)
I don't even know how to monetize my stuff desu.

>>7749715 (OP)
some of my art is free, and some is not. i think thats how most ppl do it.

people pay for my merch, commissions, etc. and i have free art for anyone to enjoy which i post online. i also do some street art and paint murals in my city, which youll see for free even if you wanna pay for them

>>7749715 (OP)
for me it's simple, I don't monetize my shit because I don't want to be a slave to having to draw to feed myself. It's a thing I do as a hobby and I don't want to worry about whether or not people are gonna like what I make and stressing out about keeping up with current trends to stay relevant and maintaining a patreon. A job with a hourly wage is more stable in general but is limited in earnings potential compared to drawing which can be less stable because its heavily based on supply and demand and has a higher skill level requirement, but has much higher income potential if you can manage to capture and audience and maintain it. Generally I feel like if I did it a a job I would certainly come to resent doing it. especially because I like drawing what ever the fuck I want when ever the fuck I goddamn well see fit without any care in the world.

>>7749788
Just drknk coffee dude

>>7749739
>ewwww market ruined!!! you're diminishing your value!!!!
shut the fuck up kike, not everything needs to be sold. trying to paywall your shit doesn't work 9 out of 10 times, especially when you can have an actual job and not tie a noose around your neck dodging corporate bullshit so you can sustain yourself doing useless shit.

>>7750072
This doesn't make sense. Anon, your posts don't make any sense... Why are you dodging corporate bullshit? What's stopping you?

>>7749788
Get paid in monero and just don't pay taxes.

>>7749715 (OP)
It comes down to how they value their piece of art and how others see it, like OP pic

sure they can upload that pic of Sakura sitting like that for free but surely, others would want to see the other version of said pic but with her legs spread a bit, and the artist would do the neccesary means of paywalling that other version of said Sakura pic because the artist knows they'll do anything to see her in that other pose

It comes down to how you market your work, if you can't provide any value to your work, then you can't market it and make profit out of it

>>7749715 (OP)
I was thinking of paywalling my work but I'm not very hopeful it would make me any money. I basically would make poster-like images of popular manga/anime, post a mid quality version of it online, but also offer a high quality, print-ready version for sale in case people want to use it to make posters or t-shirts. But that would be very niche and I also would have to be *really* good at drawing.

>>7749715 (OP)
God, I really need to get around to watching CCS. I wanna draw Sakura so badly, but I don't actually know a whole lot about her outside how badly I want to slam my hips into hers.

>>7750422
She's just a sweet girl. Go watch the show now and fall in love woth her as she roller blades to school. And keep an eye out for that teacher, he wants to court one of his students and it's cute.

>>7750427
>he wants to court one of his students and it's cute.
Webm related made me believe the reverse was the case.

>>7749715 (OP)
HOEEEEEEEEEEE?????????

>>7750429
>gets written off in the new season
COWARDS

>>7750430
I LOVE THIS LITTLE SOUND SHE MAKES! It's so cute. I'll never forget it.

>>7750429
It goes both ways for sure.

>>7750422
Pretty much this >>7750427. Watch the OP and you'll already have a good idea of how she is like. A cute, sweet girl with a pure heart.

>>7750422
you'll find out the hard way what the show is all about, just watch the current remake version, avoid the 90s version, it will do irredeemable to you and your mental state

you've been warned

>>7749715 (OP)
Making profit from fanart is an attention grabbing infringement of copyright and a lot of artists mainly draw that and don't want to operate under the risk of getting sued or having their lives raped by payment processors or DMCAs. Most original artists sell or monetise their work from my experience

>>7749715 (OP)
I make art for the love of the craft and desires to create. Why dilute it with greed and worthless material gain? You can make money doing anything if that's all you want. The value i feel from art is priceless.

>>7750309
I'd do anything to take a whiff of that heavenly place

>>7750600
That place is for Sakura and Yukito only.

>>7749715 (OP)
Most are unable to monetize their works.

limiting exposure to culture for the privileged few with money to waste doesn't sit right with me.
art is for everyone.

well, at least when this ai bubble bursts. can't risk posting my work in this hostile atmosphere.

>>7750437
Ignore this faggot holy shit
Who tells someone to watch the CCS remake instead of the godlike original
Kill yourself faggot

>>7749715 (OP)
Because they can't. Next question.

>>7749739
This is the only comment that I agree with.

>>7749987
pretty much

>>7749715 (OP)
my work would need more skill and refinement to be marketable / a product
so I just draw for fun

>>7749715 (OP)
during the renaissance, specifically between 1452 and 1519, you can pic names like rafael sanzio, donatello, sandro boticelly, da vinci, ghirlandaio and tiziano and above all of them, michaelangelo. now, in this period most of the art was made for commissions, you can barely find pieces made just because they wanted to.

Have you ever think how many artists were just assistants or how many didn't even had "skill" for that? now, just do the math, do you really think that every artist is meant to make it? even if they have appeal in their craft, this doesn't mean they can make money from it, many will quit before making a cent.

>>7750736
This whole AI just shows how selfish and entitled consumers really are. It taught me that art is NOT for everyone after all and it shouldn't be taken for granted.

>>7749715 (OP)
>Should artwork be free or pay-walled?
You know that the boring answer is, "it depends". With so much saturation of artists and art online, you have to at least release some free art for the public to view. If you want to have a large following, then you also have to release some art for free.

>>7750739
that anon is telling to watch remarke so he doesnt become a hardcore lolicon i think

I draw for fun
https://files.catbox.moe/covgov.png

>>7750619
ts gived me boiner

>>7749715 (OP)
desu you don't need to be an artist to monetize either. There are so many accounts made in 2024-2025 based off of tracing AI gens. I'm also of the mind that art should be free to inspire others but after this whole slop shift and how disgusting consooming normies have become ive changed my stance on art in general. It really shouldn't be open for everyone

>>7751543
Tracing AI gen for commissions is going to be the future. Instantly boosts the quality of the work while drastically reducing the time. The competition for freelance commissions is going to get fierce as prices drop.

>>7751615
in that future commissions are worthless so i'm not sure this is even worth exploring

>>7751615
>Tracing AI gen for commissions is going to be the future. Instantly boosts the quality of the work while drastically reducing the time. The competition for freelance commissions is going to get fierce as prices drop.

>that fucking faggot that uses AI and bansankan prompts to trace his faggot fetish

i hate him so much, hes not the only one, its so common that its actually funny, these people need to be sued until they end up in the streets, it's basically stealing shit thats not yours

>>7749715 (OP)
Maybe they're third worlders that can't transact globally.

>>7750972
They quit, then they're just pussies. Lmao

>>7749715 (OP)
As an AI artist, I do not monetize my artwork and I think that artists who do are only interested in easy money and don't have real passion for creating art and sharing it with the world.

HE DOES IT FOR F R E E?

But seriously, notice how conservative douchebags are only a problem for your pornmaking if you try to make money off it. That means they're out there gooning to unpaid porn while acting like moralfags.

>>7751854
What if I'm trying to get money for my passion projects? Voice actresses don't come cheap you know. And I don't want my work to be sub-par.

I don't monetize my work because it's shit, simple as.
If some dude came up tomorrow and gave me 30$ to draw his OC having armit sex with a morbidly obese and somehow pregnant Shadow the Hedgehog I'd do it.

I'd try to upsell it into a 100$ job with 3 sequential drawings and dialogue first but it's not a moral thing.

>>7749715 (OP)
buy an ad Agra

>>7752289
You don't need to be good to get that commission.

>>7752289
even if you don't mind , handling online money from e-strangers is shit period. the sea and br shitters can have this one

>>7750072
>trying to paywall your shit doesn't work 9 out of 10 times
The argument is that artists themselves caused that, dipshit.

>>7749715 (OP)
Art should be pay walled but there's so much good free shit and it's so easy to find even the pay walled stuff for free that it's better to just post it free to develop an audience. Then grift money off them in some other way.

>>7749739
shalom

>>7753106
Comrade

>>7749715 (OP)
Why would I take money for stuff I draw for myself? If someone wants me to draw stuff for them sure, I'd take money for it, but if it's stuff I drew cause I wanted to, then I'm only posting it cause I want others to see it. Paywalling wouldn't make sense for me

>>7753284
But nobody will see it, instead it will be scrapped and used to train AI to spew out more slop.

>>7753501
>But nobody will see it
Sure, if you say so. 20k people that saw one of my recent posts on twitter would disagree
>instead it will be scrapped and used to train AI to spew out more slop
Ok, and? What does that change for me? Every convo on 4chan is also scraped and used as data, so you gonna stop posting here?

>>7753575
>20k people on Twitter.

And only 2000 of them where real and the rest were bots. Ask yourself this question: why would casuals be on Twitter if they aren't too, drawing or prompting themselves.

>what does that change.

It will change in 5 years from now. Every website will charge you premium+plus with your content. and give you a 60 days notice to pay up or fuck off their platform. You'll get replaced and have to work retail, then you'll get shot by an illegal immigrant.

>>7753610
What are you even talking about?
Also, why are you assuming I need some website to make a living? Art is just a hobby for me, I don't need it for income.

>>7749715 (OP)
It's not fun to do it for the money, burnout will catch up to you

>>7751790
>stealing shit thats not yours
AI is like you. It's just a tool.

>>7753616
Anon stop larping. You sound too defensive to for any of your claims to be true.

>>7749715 (OP)

artists shouldn't paywall their art, but should charge for commissions. anything more is jewish.

>>7754782
if you say so

>>7754835
It's not worth doing commissions for the low pay. Remember these are the same clients who complain about $80 videogames.

>>7754835
Fuck no, might as well be working in customer service.

>>7755597

customer service jobs are the only jobs that AI should be taking honestly

>>7755635
think about what you just said for more than 2 seconds and you will realize why this is a bad idea

>>7755474

draw furry art. i spent $500 on a single character illustration, and i'm quite happy with it. people are willing to pay more for art than they are willing to pay for corpo AAA-slop. a multi-billion dollar company charging millions of people $80 just doesn't make sense when you consider economy of scale.

paywalling doesn't work, people will just pirate your patreon account anyway (i do it all the time).

>>7752750
This. Commissions are almost always a side venture for most successful artist unless they are working solely with companies.

>>7754662
it's a production tool, sissy cuck

>>7755635

good luck never getting medical care if you need it

>>7755839
pymc (post your medical care)

I have always consumed art for free so my art will remain free because of that reason

>>7749715 (OP)
Because they want exposure.
Until they try to pay the rent with it and realize it's not a legal tender