How my commission business exploded.
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@Amanda-Bancroft right! People love their pets, but you can only paint so many before your eyes get crossed. And I don’t feel like it’s moving my art in any direction. Sometimes it’s all about diversified income streams. And that’s good too!!!
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@Whitney-Simms I got swamped in dog portraits too, I had to actually start telling people I couldn't finish them by Christmas. I didn't even advertise but I've done a few for Christmas for probably the last 5: years or so so I guess this year people thought of it. Super cool. I'm actually making some decent income from them too which is a first lol
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LOL guess what I've been doing today. I'm glad to hear I'm not alone in this boat, @Whitney-Simms and @Coley!
vanessastoilova.com
instagram.com/vanessa.stoilova/Check out my Youtube channel for tips on how to start your career in illustration! www.youtube.com/c/ArtBusinesswithNess
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@NessIllustration omg, this is adorable! It's raining dog portraits lately ha Ha
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@NessIllustration thats adorable! So stinking cute. @Coley we should all start a club! Congrats on the work though. Yeah, once the last one is done I promised myself I’m not taking anymore this year. I hope I can stick to my guns. I have four to paint and four to start from scratch.
Coley- is yours just spreading by word of mouth? -
@Whitney-Simms mostly the people who commission me are friends or Facebook friends at least. I have been painting pets for maybe 6 years off and on and I post them on my Facebook when I'm done (usually). I have a Facebook art page as well but mostly I guess word of mouth/Facebook history over the years. Often I get commissioned when a pet passes away. The other day I passed on my condolences on a pet's passing and almost immediately they contacted me for a large commission. I wasn't trying to hit them up! I really felt sad about it. Anyhow I think people just know now that I do it and have it tucked away in their minds until they decide they're Ready. I'm sure yours will grow over the years too!
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@Coley The ones from when a pet passes away are REALLY hard to say no to aren't they..
vanessastoilova.com
instagram.com/vanessa.stoilova/Check out my Youtube channel for tips on how to start your career in illustration! www.youtube.com/c/ArtBusinesswithNess
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@NessIllustration yes and sometimes the photos they have aren't the best to work from either. But so far I've made it work. Struggling through one with a pretty pose now but a diffuse sort of lighting, I must say I think the stuff I've learned at SVS has helped me figure out how to adapt when the photo reference isn't enough!
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To join the dog-commission parade, I entered a very specific niche this year. I drew a LOT of images specifically for people's ... dog's Instagram accounts. The images ended up being used for general marketing or those IG story covers. One of my dog clients got a job with a tourist bureau, and I did art of the dog for the bureau.
Below was used for a the dog on the right (Teddy) attending the other dog's (Ollie's) birthday party, which was attended by a few pups who have big followings on Instagram.
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To everyone doing pets, what's your process? Digital or traditional? Mailed original or downloadable scans?
