In order to sell your artwork, you first have to know what style of artwork you are making. In a previous article, I covered in depth the three primary styles of illustrated art- the realistic, the ideal, and the cartoon. Perhaps you are skilled in all three forms of illustration, but most artists concentrate in one of these areas and make that their specialty and trademark.
It’s important to know which style you are using because each of these three styles has an entirely different market. I’ll break the markets for these styles down individually, starting with entry-level positions for each and working up to the highest-paying careers available for each.
Realistic Style
Realism doesn’t have to mean highly detailed, so much as it has to appear very close to reality. Some realistic artists specialize in a single area, such as human figures. Many of them start and end at an entry-level job that by lack of income is relegated to a hobby.
I’m referring to artists who draw portraits, and you’ll most often find them in parks, plying their craft for a few dollars a shot. While this is a great way to get some practice in and possibly get noticed, it’s nearly impossible to make a living doing this, both because of heavy competition and a lack of demand for portraits.
If you’re willing to open up your specialty and learn more than human figures, you may find a profitable career with a publishing company as an illustrator of books and magazines. Depending on what you end up illustrating, you will probably find the job requires a massive number of illustrations, many of which will not be used, but for which you will be paid reasonably well.
The highest level of pay for realistic art lies in a career in advertising. The highest-paid advertising artists have a keen eye for design and catching the interest of consumers with attractive and intriguing illustrations that are about more than capturing realism.
Ideal Style
A great way to enter the field of career art with an ideal style is to sell your work to local businesses or to take your work online. Ideal style art in the modern market is often reserved for comic book style illustration and larger than life characters.
You may find, as I have, that comic shops and hobby shops are the most likely places to find quick work, particularly new shops in need of a good sign or advertising flyers. Like the portrait job, however, this kind of work rarely pays the bills, but it may be a good way to get noticed.
The next step up is to find a comic book publisher with which to work, but many of them will not accept submissions. They want you to make a name for yourself first, which is why establishing your artwork online is important. Use forums, social sites, and blogs to show off your artwork and hopefully get noticed by the right people.
There’s a place in advertising for talented ideal artists too. Advertising campaigns like the Coca-Cola Santa Claus ones are done in an ideal style.
Cartoon Style
Cartoon style can refer to any style of drawing that is very far removed from reality, even to the point of being abstract. This can be cartoon characters or abstract T-shirt designs. Once again, starting into business for yourself is the obvious first step. Depending on what your style is like, you can begin with caricatures that you sell online or in public areas. Or you can design logos and illustrations and market them to clothing manufacturers.
If you can create varied and visually interesting original characters you may find a career in media illustration, whether it be in video games or animation. Traditional illustrators will have to produce a mass of concept artwork for a video game at the beginning of its production cycle. But working on a film or other animation will keep you occupied for the duration of the project, as you will likely have to make constant tweaks to your work to synch with voice work and sound effects.
Whatever style you draw, be aware there are a number of opportunities available to you. No matter what you like to draw, there is some company or consumer looking for someone talented to illustrate it. With a little searching and a lot of hard work, you’ll likely find that match.