Taking Stock of the Situation
Welcome to another honest blog post – where I discuss what’s really happening with my artistic career, rather than sugar-coat the situation in order to appear more professional and successful!
My goal is simple – go from being a part-time to full-time artist. But is that possible this year?
We’re now well over the halfway point in 2025 – the year is speeding by. So have I actually made progress towards my goal? It feels like the right time to take stock: to look at what I’ve done, where I’m currently at, and where I need to go next. If you’re also chasing a creative career, or just curious about how mine is going, I hope this gives some insight into the reality behind the art.
Let’s start with this Website!
I consider this site to be my central hub. I direct people here when they ask about my art, commissions or after having bought my art or products at events.
It’s had over 4000 active users after 7 months this year. I’m happy it’s getting at least some traffic. Although I would discount at least 500 of the visitors – especially from countries like India and China, since they seemingly only visit in order to then try selling me some SEO package, or steal my content.
I’ve posted on my Blog thrice this year. There aren’t enough readers to warrant posting more than 3 – 4 times per year. Plus, right now, and each 1500+ word blog post like this, still takes a large chunk of a day to write and post with a few accompanying images. I’m concentrating more on Youtube instead– using it as my current social media / content creating platform of choice.
The shop was recently updated with 16 new listings. I’m giving producing and selling stickers a try. Although, I must admit, sales of my products online have been extremely low this year. It’s tough times trying to sell art or luxury items to customers here in the UK when so many are struggling to pay bills right now.
I often think about replacing my website with a whole new design, making it more focused around my shop. Selling is more important to me right now, compared to taking commissions or using it as a portfolio / online business card. I’ve been considering this for, maybe, 3 or 4 years! But I’m just not convinced it’ll make much of a difference so far as generating sales goes. I’d continue to sit on the idea until I think the time is right to act.
I’m making my own game!
Since no one was hiring me to work on their projects this year, I decided to continue with my own. A two-player fantasy card game, Total Blast.
- I gave it more play tests
- Refined the Rule Book
- Received several price quotes to manufacture and ship the game from China
- Finished off the 8 remaining art cards, which all needed polishing and then colouring
- Attempted to promote on social media (I’ll discuss this more later)
- Gave it its own YouTube channel along with several promo videos
- Added it to the Board Game Geek Database
It looks great! And so much fun to play! But, finding people interested in signing up for updates about the game is proving extremely difficult. How do I spread the word that this is a good thing I’m trying to build and drum up interest? I tried posting about it on a few Facebook Groups and Sub-Reddits, but they mostly got deleted off the bat and considered spam.
Other than paid ads, I don’t have a clue how to generate interest or even get eyeballs on the project. Until I get a few hundred sign-ups, I can’t guarantee I’ll fund the game once it goes live on Kickstarter. Very Frustrating!
And so, progress with Total Blast has kind of come to a standstill. There are still a few little bits here and there to tweak, but everything hinges on knowing there will be customers interested in pre-orders.
Complete and Utter Social Media Burn Out
I posted on 30 occasions. Each time being a development update for Total Blast. The result- it seemed like a pointless exercise. It felt like each post was barely getting noticed, pulling between 0 and half a dozen engagements (like/comments/shares) per post. Not great, considering the fact my combined social media following is well over 65,000 people!
To break this down:
Instagam: 33.9K followers
Facebook Page: 2k followers
Facebook Profile: 3.3K friends
Pinterest: 6.9K followers
Tumblr: 4.8K followers
Linkedin: 4.3K connections
X: 10.1K followers
After a month of daily posting on all my socials, guess how many I converted into Total Blast mailing list subscribers? Zero!
I appreciate most people follow me for the artwork, and me posting about a card game I’m working on each day may not necessarily be their cup of tea. But still – the levels of engagement my posts receive just makes posting feel like a pointless endeavour. I feel like I’m done with social media posting. Certainly, on my current social platforms, if discussing or promoting Total Blast. In the future I might:
- Just post glossy, finished character art on my socials. Perhaps That will to generate interest Development sketches, photos and notices aren’t cutting it.
- For Total Blast, create entirely new social accounts and start from the ground up.
I’ve posted to my existing accounts several thousand times over the years, and it feels like it would be a shame to give up on that. But it certainly seems like I’m not connecting with an audience who is genuinely interested in my projects and artistic endeavours.
It’s crazy to think just how much time was poured into social media posting, replying and commenting, when instead I could have been creating art or simply doing something else.
It just felt like this was something I had to do if I ever wanted to build an audience and potentially end up making a full-time living from my art. Maybe I still just wasn’t using the platforms the ‘right’ way? Or perhaps I should have waited until my artwork and products were better before attempting to show them to the world?
Growing My Own YouTube Channel
Platforms like Instagram seemed to be failing me, and in the face of an AI take-over, I felt as though I now needed to prove to the world that I’m a human.
And so, I continued uploading videos to YouTube. I’ve been consistent, posting up a new video at least once per week.
39 videos created this year so far, plus a few shorts.
The quality is getting better, and while I’m never going to be perfect in front of a camera, I’m actually proud of a lot of the content I’ve created for the channel: be it my own personal rants about struggles to make it as an artist, or tips to help fellow creatives. Perhaps It feels like such an achievement because I know just how much effort it is for me to be front-facing and put myself online? As a neurotic introvert, it’s not easy to say the least!
I have a goal of reaching 1000 subscribers.
Although ideally, I want them to be active, dedicated subscribers. Unlike the 65,000 I mentioned earlier on other social platforms, which have seemingly all deserted.
1000 subs (along with increased watch hours) also means I can monetize the channel, and YouTube will then give me half the money they’re making via the ads being attached to my videos.
To be honest, I thought it would be easier to build an audience than it’s currently proving. I feel like my content is good enough to warrant at least 4-figure views, but breaking double digits is often just not happening!
I don’t expect a million views on a video, but I’m waiting for my bit of luck to strike. For my 1 video to “blow up” or at least gain the attention it deserves. I’m committed to continuing with it. But in the mean time, I’m finding it very challenging to pour hours into creating content, knowing that its target audience is highly unlikely to ever know it exists.
I’m Still Selling my Art and Taking Orders
Approx. 150 orders have been fulfilled for Art prints, T-shirts and so on. Great that I’m able to get some orders in despite my social media efforts proving to be more effort than they’re worth.
Worryingly, orders are down around a shocking 75% from 2022-2023, and I think that’s mostly due to the rise of AI art.
I’ll continue to take orders, since I have the art prints here and ready to go. And I’m using print-on -demand services to fulfil shirt orders as and when, so that I don’t need to keep an inventory.
I kind of enjoy packing orders too. It’s a welcome break from the screen; to roll a print, pop it into a postage tube along with a flyer and attach the postage label! Sometimes you just need to low-cognitive overhead job to give you some respite! And, of course, it’s always very fulfilling to know a customer bought your art. Out of all the artwork in the world, they choose yours! That’s pretty damn cool.
Selling at Comic Cons
I’ve attended just one con so far this year (MCM London in May), and will possibly do another two. The bigger shows here in the UK are just about worth visiting. Smaller shows aren’t really worth it any more since I have no idea if I’ll even make any money or break even.
With over 40 shows under my belt, it’s got to a point now where they feel more like hard work. I’ll never forget the first few times attending large comic cons- it felt magical and exciting! I would be buzzing every time someone wanted to chat or make a purchase. I still enjoy some of the interactions I have with customers. Although many positive feelings are now somewhat replaced with apprehension, as to how many sales would have dropped this year over last, based on current trends.
One thing I did was to create a bunch of stickers. 16 designs, based on designs I already use on Art Prints and Tees. I found a good supplier in China, and they certainly sold better than my How to Draw Manga books. I’m glad I tested them out. Of course, selling a few stickers here and there is never going to earn me enough to consider myself a full-time artist, but as a side project, it’s worth having them to sell in addition to my other products.
Job Applications… And Rejections!
I brushed up my CV, and created a new mini portfolio PDF. It included just 10 of my best works with a little extra info. I sent it to several companies and agencies who were looking for an artist with my skill set. And I waited…
I didn’t result in anything. No interviews. No replies. Actually, there was one reply- to my application. It was from an agency that specifically asked to work with me. They replied just to tell me that they don’t want to work with me!
I became despondent and took a break from applying.
Creating New Art… Or Not!
Other than finishing off the Total Blast character artworks I mentioned earlier, I haven’t created a single new artwork all year!
I’m supposed to be an artist!
The ideas are starting to build up and overflow since I haven’t created anything new and original. I’m keen to work on some new things. But I thought it was better to instead push my existing content out into the world, and do the YouTube thing.
My thinking – if I create artwork, but without an audience aware of its existence, then what’s the point? I’m talking from a professional point of view. Actualising ideas is great, but that can’t happen until the bills are paid. I can’t pay the bills until I sell my art and merch, and I can’t sell my art until I’ve built an audience, or have access to interested customers.
What Next?
I have to admit, I feel a little uncertain. Part of me wants to double down – keep creating, keep posting, keep pushing. Another part wonders if it’s time to change direction and simply take a break from pursuing art full-time.
I know I need to start making new artwork again, if only to reconnect with what made me love art in the first place. And I still believe in Total Blast – even though I’ve hit a wall when it comes to getting eyeballs on it.
I’m not giving up.
But I’m also trying to figure out how to work smarter, not just harder. That might mean experimenting with new strategies, rethinking how I use my platforms, or even taking a temporary step back from certain things that clearly aren’t working. One thing’s certain — I’ll keep sharing the process. The wins, the failures, the “not sure if this even matters” moments. And if you’re on a similar journey, I hope we can keep figuring it out together.
RSS – Posts