You get a job, you get a job, I'll work out a career!

 Well, January was one hell of a way to start the year, it was time to lock down the exact ways I could make an income doing what I love. Now If you probably thinking storyboarding could be an obvious and with that you are right, however during my times of study I have come across many ways to make money doing art, even if the amateur skills I felt held me back from committing yet, maybe it’s the inner perfectionist in me that doesn’t want to go public until I'm “good enough”, but I have spent a lot of time since the day I picked up that chalk. Studying, exploring, and experimenting with all different forms of Art. I need to make a more stable line of commission work and not just under the digital-table work for a buddy here and there.

    During my watercolor studies, I found out a real money maker doing commission work comes out when you begin adding color. Well, you see this hyper-realistic eight-hour plus rendering job for just portraits goes for about $15 which is a penny's worth of work. However, just adding watercolor at just amateur level work turns into $150. That was a huge motivator as even 50 a day would be better than what I currently make! So was fine art watercolor the way to go? I thought. It’s possible but it’s better off to explore more options than just settling for that first worm. As once the money comes in, I will feel locked in whatever fate I chose. Even though there is now a drying time that needs to be included in the cost. You can have multiple water colorings drying at once and technically increase overall production.

Also Hair Dryers Rule!

    If we go back even a little further than when I learned of color. Character Design. Knight Zhang and Marc Brunet have made fantastic careers but are also social media Active compared to my introverted off-grid minimalist mindset. Something I am gonna have to get over eventually I am told if I ever “make it”.  Of course, there also were in the industry itself with full-time employment which as the parent in charge of homeschooling I would have to keep it remote. Speaking of commission work I was finding amateur level work going for $20 for just a simple front view design with expression, and intermediate artists making a single full-body at $125. Professional level artwork was making $700-800for just a front and back view. Now, remember knight zhang gave full-on character pitch decks showing off theme, story, personality, and full turnarounds. With that level of dedication to just lay out any design of the presentation of your characters, she could make 2k+ per commission easily. With a short turnover in completion and delivery. 

    So is this a route I should take? Well for one I love creating and designing my characters, as I did so during my Roleplay days. Well, my current limitation is just my medium. I don’t have any digital art talents or tools, which seems to be the majority of the paid commission work. Closest I have is a phone and bulb rubber stylus and it sucks. The best bet is to wait until I can flesh my characters out with digital color, then maybe come back to this as an option. IT honestly Seems worth the obsession I would have if locked in both in money, time, and Passion.

    “But what about storyboarding!” I continue to hear within my head. Yes, some mentors within this field mention and cover how to use traditional mediums to deliver high-quality storyboards. Which puts it back into a realm of possibilities, especially if I'm not responsible for the overall storytelling as I just need to transfer the script to the storyboard, and it’s an easy way to get in on some post-credits action, right? We will probably be face timing future clients to build real professional networks. Studios are a good place to apply if you're looking for a full-time employment option. So that is a thought to keep in mind if the dynamics of my family life ever change in a more favorable time. I hear Florida is nice and I already lived in Cali back in the Marine days. Commission wise… once again using digital media and intermediate can sell a page of 24 frames for around $300. Amateurs make about $15 to $60 a page worth of frames. Seems some commissions are paid by the frames themselves making about $5-$10 each, which could rack up on longer projects. Overall pricing on storyboards is all over the place. I believe once I get a proper computer I can load up Toon Boom, Adobe CC, or storyboard pro, and show what I learned through those certification courses on LinkedinLearning. Maybe I’ll fall in love with it, if not worst case I’ll have an animation of the three-story Ideas I mentioned a while back.

    Outside of gig commissions and applying for full-time industry work I needed to begin thinking outside of the box. Looking back during that time I picked up the chalk and began relearning the fundamentals. I guess I could always teach! (Doubtful, but optimistic). Even if it’s just one or two basic fundamental courses covering primitives and perspective. It could be a way to make a “Passive income” if that is even a thing… Oh, snap passive incomes! An idea is to sell the artwork itself online, not as a one-time thing but as a recurring purchase from multiple copies. It’s like the commission work of studios and basic illustration but being paid as long as there is internet traffic coming through I could make…sales.  

    I guess after a month of figuring out what and how to lock down a stable income outside of gig work commissions. I decided the best route was to get these illustrations onto products and create digital assets all without a dedicated computer.