Hello! I’m very out of touch with the furry community but I do know that there’s an ungodly amount of furry art that is created every day, and that number is continuing to increase. I’ve already got a career and my clumsy paws can barely draw a stick figure, so I’ve often wondered how artists can dedicate such time and skill to making such an immense amount of art. Many artists I see create a new piece of art every few days, and some have hundreds if not thousands of art pieces total.

  • Do most artists draw art without expecting any money?

  • Do most artists do it as a side hustle in addition to a regular job? Is that exhausting?

  • What sort of “salary” could one reasonably expect from being dedicated to full-time drawing [furry] art?

  • If it’s meant to be your only source of income, how does your job security feel?

  • Is it required to “get lucky”/“get noticed” in order to make any real amount of money?

  • Is it fun, or does it become “work”?

  • Any other interesting topics that I don’t know enough about to ask?

  • @l_b_iEnglish
    3•8 months ago

    It would be an interesting survey for sure. I am not an artists, but I will give my intuitions for the results I would expect. As a note, I mostly watch commissioners as I usually like a theme more than a style.

    • I would expect no money, at least at start. Think about it like athletes and sports, most do it for fun, a few do it for some money, and only a small amount make it as a living.
    • For those that try to do it full time, I see a lot of burn out. I have seen many try to do a drawing a day, sometimes as patreon rewards. This usually doesn’t lat more than a year before burnout. I’ve seen both transitioning to art as full time, usually after a patreon threshold, as well as moving art to a side hustle after getting a more traditional job for a more sustainable income.
    • Based on rough math, I have seen about $30 k - $115 k, although the higher end is usually game related. https://www.patreon.com/ruaidri , https://www.patreon.com/fek , https://www.patreon.com/caroo . Both ruaidri and caroo do commissions and other project as well. I usually see the transition to art full time after a sustainable income is achieved, not before.
    • See previous
    • I would assume networking is a big part of this. Trades with big artists, pushes on social media, presence at cons…
    • No real intuition, but I would assume if its doing commissions, its work, if its opening a patreon to continue working on personal projects, its not.

    This is all just based on intuition and looking at it as a skill field like any other.