For several years now, my sole income has been earned doing freelance illustrations and commissions (plus the ever so occasional sale in my shop). Pouring all my energy into advertising my illustration services to the masses on forums and social media, and providing people with cute family portraits, music covers, website content, or whatever else someone might need illustrated.
But as the years have gone on it's become really clear to me that this just isn't going to be a sustainable income for someone who draws really slowly, and it leaves very little time or creative energy for personal art or "brand" development.
So, in the last year I've been making the gradual transition away from seeking out commissions or freelance work *gasp*, and I've begun devoting more of my time into my own personal artistic goals.
(Now this isn't to say that full-time freelance or commissions isn't a viable career choice, but for me personally it just hasn't been making me happy or creatively fulfilled, or bringing in enough money for the amount of time a drawing takes me.)
For the next phase in my artistic career I'm focusing on a few new priorities:
Sharing my creative journey with others
Following my creative whims
Creating a more sustainable streams of income using my skills.
To kick things off with these new goals I actually decided to start a youtube channel! So if you are into artsy youtube content, check it out because I am trying to curate some chill art-pal vibes over there ♥
During this creative energy shift I have also decided to follow my passion and dedicate more of my time to creating things for my shop!
In the past I've always kept my shop in the background of my mind, updating it stagnantly and doing little to no advertising because I knew I didn't have the time or resources to run it full-time. But no more!
I am planning to update my shop with a bunch of fun new stuff in the
coming weeks!
With a combination of digital and physical products I'm aiming to create multiple revenue streams for myself and have the flexibility to create artwork that I am excited about! I have a big launch planned with a bunch of new digital downloadables, an avenue I have never tried before but am really excited about!
I've been holed up illustrating a bunch of fun designs that people will be able to download and use as stickers or clip art!
Sneak peak of an upcoming sticker set + digital download I've been working on:
To all of the other creative entrepreneurs out there, just remember to check in with yourself, take note of what is working and what isn't. Learn when to say no, and don't be afraid to try something new!
Journal Prompt:
Take a moment to reflect on your goals.
1. What are some of the things you want to achieve in the next few years?
2. What are you currently doing that will lead you toward these goals?
3. What do you think you could be doing more of?
*bonus question*
4. What are the things you are grateful for in your life right now?
Pro tip: I always recommend ending on a note of gratefulness when journaling about the things you desire in life because it's a good reminder that while there are things out there we might really want, it's so uplifting to appreciate where we are now and remember just how far we've come since wee little babyhood.
Sketchbook Prompt:
Vegetable patch
P.S. If you're interested in updates/launch dates about all the new things I'm working on definitely subscribe to my mailing list below!