Small artist here and new follower, I really admire your work and I love your cr fanarts! How did you manage to become a professional, starting off as a fanartist?
Hi there! Thanks so much for enjoying my work.
This question is pretty hard to answer, I suppose? But I'll try. So, first of all I think this has to be broken down into two parts:
Becoming a Professional
Professional, for me specifically means earning a significant, if not all your income through your work as an artist. I do the latter, this is full-time, babey. I was always passionate about art but it was around 2022, after finishing all my formal education and a 4 year stint in graphic design, that I felt ready to take the plunge.
This came after years of preparation. Around 2017/18 I started doing commissions, really actively posting online, making connections with other artists (so important!!) and most importantly: working really hard on my art. This meant doing tons of art after a 9-5 (this was nearly 10 years ago, I was younger then lmao) churning out just so much that I had no choice than to get better.
Would I recommend that exact approach? Maybe not. Please be kind to yourself.
Starting off as a Fanartist
My first big fandom was actually The Adventure Zone (at its end tbh 2016-2017) and only from there I fell into Critical Role. At the start of that time I was unemployed and had literally nothing better to do than draw. And draw I did.
CR in the time of Campaign 2 was lightning in a bottle when it came to fanartists and the culture around it. The art reel was still on the episodes, Twitter was huge, fandom was active and thriving. I hit the ground running. When I got my first job offer from CR, I moved heaven and earth to deliver the best work possible. And did so every time they asked me back. I hold myself to a very high standard and I was lucky to leave a good impression, I guess. Because I have the joy and honour to be brought back on every so often to this day. Through that I found other work, private clients and an audience who likes my art for its own sake -- I'm eternally grateful :))
So it will sound bleak now when I say: The environment has changed SO much. The internet as a whole has changed and much of it will never be the same again. I had so much luck. Did I work hard? No doubt, I did. But I think I was in the right place, in the right time.
Cool, so now what??
I don't want to sound like a huge pessimist, but this ask finds me at a time where I am honestly thinking about the future of my career because things have gotten so hard. Social media is becoming less and less viable for creatives, so many of my friends and peers are out of jobs and all of us are fighting tooth and nail to make ends meet.
I apologise if that ended up being lecture-ish and a bit sad. I know so many people still hope for this to be their career, to be recognised and seen and PAID!!!! for their hard work. I hope this future can still be real for many people. Hell, including me. I love my job, it's rough but I don't really want to give it up.
My take-away from all this is:
Do it with your whole heart
Do it with friends (that's other artists, they aren't actually your competition even if it may seem so at the start. They are your strongest allies.)
And maybe keep doing it for yourself (sometimes making a hobby into work is hell. I've regretted it, that's for sure.)
I hope you continue to love and make art. No matter how or why. We need it now more than we ever did, honestly.
