what kind of money can be made through art?

[wyvern smasher]

i'm completely clueless about this

if this is in the wrong area please move this topic

[pofo]

What kind of money?
I'd say pocket money for most of us. A decent living for a few. And a great deal for that one in many millions who combines great talent (in the right field) with great business sense.
That is, if you mean what kind of money an artist can make. If you're talking about dealing in other people's art, then it's enough to have the great business sense I guess.

[McGarnacle]

what pofo said

just remember that if you enjoy art now as a hobby yet want to pursue it in a career you probably won't get as much artistic freedom and therefore enjoyment out of the job. and i mean job.

[wyvern smasher]

oh ok

[Jigo]

One of my friends used to make 45 grand a year working at a small (kinda shitty) video game studio, doing modelling and animation. I don't know how it is for concept art, but I know that its like the new cool thing to do, so there's more competition to get a job than ever. :/

Kazimir Malevich's Black Square cost 1mil USD the last time it was sold. So if your lucky you may get rich. But most likely by the time the painting becomes worth anything you will be already dead.

[Kunbo87]

Check out this article, I think it may answer some of your questions:

Courtesy Changing Course.com http://www.changingcourse.com/artlicensing.htm

What is Exactly Is Art Licensing?

Maybe I should back up and explain exactly what art licensing is. Or better yet, I’ll let art licensing expert Michael Woodward explain it. Michael describes art licensing as “the business of leasing a copyrighted or trademarked art work by means of contractual agreement (a license), for a specified product, promotion, or service for a specific time period, in an agreed upon territory, for an agreed upon fee or royalty.” Walk through your local Target or Sears and start observing the images on various products. Everything with a design on it was created by an artist – the vast majority of whom are independent and have licensed their art to the manufacturer.

How Much Money Can You Earn By Licensing Your Art?

How much you earn varies depending on where your art appears and on how many items are sold. The royalty for images appearing on T-shirts ranges from 8-10%, posters range from 7-10%, mugs pay a 5% royalty, and royalties on limited editions will net you between 10-15% of sales. Product sales from Bonnie’s first licensing agreement were $800,000 of which Bonnie earned 10% or $80,000. Over the past 30 years, artist, licensing guru, and course developer Michael Woodward has licensed over $600 million in retail goods. You do the math.
Michael sent me the complete The Licensing Course to review, and I was genuinely impressed. The course includes a 200+ page manual, a DVD of an 80-minute seminar presented to hundreds of artists and crafts people wanting to learn about marketing and promoting their work, and an invaluable guide called Art Licensing 101: Selling Reproductive Rights to Your Artwork for Profit.

A Success Story

When she was young, Mary too was told that being an artist was not a realistic way to make a living. Not one to be easily discouraged, Mary says, “I believed in myself and now I’m living my dream.” Is she ever!
In 1977, Mary’s dream was to illustrate children’s books. So she mustered up her courage and headed to New York to show her portfolio to some publishers. When one art director suggested she try her hand at illustrating greeting cards, Mary says she was “kind of crushed.” But she took his advice, and a few months later, made her first licensing deal by selling three card designs for $150 and signed a short-term contract with another greeting card company.

The list of Mary’s successes since then is impressive indeed. She saw her original dream of illustrating children’s books come true when, in 2001, her debut book The Night Before Christmas spent 11 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list and then went on to become an animated film. She also launched a national decorating and lifestyle magazine called Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion and Mary Engelbreit Studios now has licensing contracts with dozens of manufacturers, who have produced more than 6,500 products. Sales total nearly $100 million annually.

[gold_tangerine]

As fine art is basically lost as a near-impossible market, I'll give you some stats on graphic designers and illustrators, who actually have the possibility of making a living from their careers.

Illustrators Outlook Government economists expect job growth for illustrators to be as fast as the average for all careers through 2014. Computer graphics programs make it possible for publishers to create their own illustrations, which will result in fewer opportunities for illustrators. Medical illustrators are an exception; as there are so few of them, demand for their services will continue to grow. Compensation Illustrators (grouped in with painters and sculptors) earned an average yearly salary of $47,100 in 2006, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But many illustrators work on a freelance or part-time basis, so incomes vary widely.

depends on what type you want to be...plus connections and relevant education. Oh, and hard work. :(

Graphic designers Outlook Government economists expect job growth for designers to be as fast as the average for all careers through 2014. One reason is the rapidly expanding Internet and DVD and video markets. However, this is a very popular career choice, so expect a lot of competition for jobs. Compensation The average yearly income of graphic designers was $43,830 in 2006, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. By industry, the breakdown is as follows: * Specialized design services: $47,400 * Newspaper, book, and other publishing: $37,770 * Advertising: $45,590 * Printing: $37,200 * Computer systems design: $50,070

http://www.collegeboard.com/csearch/...eers/profiles/

[wyvern smasher]

so basically art is really used to help sell another product, rather than being sold by it self. that makes sense

thing is i'm not sure what i want to do now ive left school. of course i'm also good at other subjects so i probably should consider them first maybe, i dunno

[meerkat]

Originally Posted by wyvern smasher so basically art is really used to help sell another product, rather than being sold by it self. that makes sense

Its the same case for almost everything.

thing is i'm not sure what i want to do now ive left school. of course i'm also good at other subjects so i probably should consider them first maybe, i dunno

I dont want to give a negative impact on this or anything, but deciding to have a career that has anything to do with art is not something that should be made in such a short time. Because its a very bumpy and adventurous sort of thing, hell you could just be a lawyer and live a normal life.

Ill tell you from personal experience, it's something Ive been wanting to do at a very young age. Even though I say that Im not talented or even good. I just feel I can make simple things work out well. But I know that I could never do aynthing else for a living.

[Shou]

$10-40/h based on experience and location. Art jobs pay extremely different based on which city youre in.

[RobotCat]

The contemporary fine arts market is the biggest it has ever been. However, the style of drawing you're looking to do probably will not cut it there.

But yeah, unless you absolutely love drawing, do something else for a living and just draw in your free time.

[jt4470]

Yes, most artists don't make a lot of money (even the awesome Jim Lee only makes $30 grand a year on average).

So yea, expect to get another job, with art on the side, unless you absolutely love it.

[DawnUnruh]

what kind of money can be made through art?
i'm completely clueless about this

PLEASE NOTE THESE ARE GENERICS IN CALIFORNIA (Pay varies by state)

Concept/2d artist/gaming studio/animation studio
A starting concept artists pay will generally be 45,000-55,000 a yr.starting pay.
A concept artist working for 5 yrs plus and has at least a couple shipped titles will be worth 60-75,000 pay/yr.

A comic book illustrator will make more money selling their pages on ebay than they will have made drawing/inking/painting the page. The original illustrator typically gets to keep and sell 60%-70% of the comic pages they draw, they will typically recieve 250.00 USD for one page (good comic books)

I do however have a friend who works for dreamworks, he is a lead animator and pulls in roughly 175,000 dollars a year. Mind you an animators starting pay can generally start at 30,000 to 40,000 dollars a year. But dreamworks is a "dream" company to work for... just like pixar.

Storyboard artist/ film

Independant good films should pay between 1200 and 2500 per week.

Low budget films you will generally get a promise that if it gets big youll get a "cut" or they will genrally pay 800.00 for an entire film.

A general illustrator (book, card, etc) (this is IF he/she can find a job) should typically make 20 bucks plus an hour if they are good (and new to the field). This is contractual work based information.

The moral of the story is. Your not in this for the money, your in this for the love of what you do.

[jt4470]

Originally Posted by DawnUnruh The moral of the story is. Your not in this for the money, your in this for the love of what you do.

And really, that's what it's all about. Unfortunately, the majority of people I know hate what they do, but have to do it for money.