Turn Your Art Hobby into a Career

You are talented artistically. So what do you do with it? There is no reason for your artwork to be a hobby while you labor over jobs that you hate. Here are some ideas you can use to turn your art hobby into a career.

Make Portrait Art Your Career:
If you are talented at drawing faces, you can make portrait art your career. These days few people are willing to sit for a portrait, so you will want to create portraits from photographs. One particular portrait artist I know taught herself using drawing books and lots of practice. She started out doing pencil portraits solely, and once she had an excellent mastery of pencil portraiture, she began branching out into other mediums. She even illustrates books now. Another portrait artist I know does pastel portraits that are less time consuming to make, so they are less expensive for the customer. She does require her subjects “sit” for a photo, which she will take herself. After all, you cannot get a perfect portrait without the perfect pose. The internet and in baby magazines are a great place to start advertising.

Make Art Illustrating Your Career:
An art illustrator can choose from a vast pool of careers choices. Greeting card companies are always looking for artwork. Book publishers and writers need their work illustrated. The fastest way to break into the market is to illustrate your first book without charging up front. You would request commissioned payments instead. If your work is good, more work will come. You will also want to submit samples of your artwork to publishers and independent writers.