Struggling artist thread

[OkayRelax]

as artists.. we struggle, we don't want to work a job we hate, we want to create. in the rhyme is the truth of this date, November 9th I post this thread to attempt to help those artist in use to help one another. if your a fellow artist who has spent life drained, burnt out, and feeling stuck, I implore you to rest, focus, and put a tad bit more energy into this, creating a support network, or sharing information on any resources and help you know of that will be beneficial to struggling artists on this forum and other places.

I post this not only to reach out for help for myself but for the hope that this thread can be a place for anyone else struggling to make ends meet with their talents. its shameful that its acceptable and easy for a man or women to be able to make their living with their skills as a mechanic or a chef, but not for a man or woman who is naturally talented. no. enlightened, blessed, even cursed, with the ability to create art, create pleasing color texture fluid solid CREATION, is not able to create for a living. I have felt so in the DUMP, in the trash, seeing folk able to create as their life line, as their income, but then some of use who are just as worthy, are not able to do the same. sure the world is unfair some will say. only spoken by those who benefit from the unfairness for sure. my old boss hated when I said that lol. telling. anyways im drunk and fiendish for creativity. HELP US. help you. help me. help you. lets create a fair art movement. call it the socialist art guild, the equity group for the arts. some other combination of buzz words.

my point is simply this. Create before we fall into dust, nourish those who create. I have always wished I was fortunate enough to create for a living, and spend my wealth on those who also create. it can be a reality, we just have to band together.

if you have any tips for anyone in a situation applicable to the schizophrenic monologue iv type-written, post below!!!!!

[hikatamika]

No tips from me as of now, but I have some experience… for better or for worse.

I'm trying to find out where I stand with art-as-a-way-to-support-my-existence! I'm in a bit of a burnout era after trying (and failing) to use sudden Social Media nano-celebrity recognizability to achieve it through patron support and physical/digital art/zine item sales. To the point where I almost wish I'd've stayed in the part-time+freelance+personal-projects trinity thing I had going on before that. At least I was financially safe, that way.

I think supporting oneself, wholly, or partially by one's art is certainly possible, but I can't help but feel like I've personally made some sort of mistake in trying to use Social Media as my vector of doing so. (As I go into at depth, on my website.) If I were to go for it again, I'd probably sell my art pieces, downloads, and physical goods to visitors of my website. If someone's there, they're already gracing me with much more focused attention than wanderers of the algorithm can offer.
I'd also make more use of IRL art tabling events, like art markets, art fairs, and zine fests. (Bigger tabling events like anime conventions are a bit out of my zone, as someone whose muse and creative drive are mostly in my original fictional characters.)

When art tabling IRL, you get to form a human connection to someone who's curious about your work. You also get to befriend the organizers of the event, and your fellow tabling artists… …so I hear from friends, anyway.
I should give it a go, someday.

Addendum: I feel like there's a lot of interesting smallWeb discourse (in the discussion sense, not the drama sense) over whether art should be given for free or for sale, especially online. I think in a world where everyone's needs were met, and they didn't have to live in financial fear, it'd be cool and awesome to share all my art for free with those who want to see it.
But Capitalism is rough and the Bills™ monster is constantly coming for me.

I feel like there's also a vibe of like, "get a good real job, so you can make your art with full freedom within the Negative Space within your schedule", but… I get so intimidated by time itself. I feel like, if you want to devote a lot of time to projects, they have to be  profitable so you can afford the time to make the art instead of having to spend that time working for someone else's, or some company's: grander goals and purpose.

[Monoki]

I’m not sure I have good advice, but I’ll post some of my musings.

I’ve honestly gotten to the point personally that I don’t really want to make art as a job anymore. Mostly because I find at this point it takes the fun out of creating things.

10 something odd years ago I wanted to go somewhere adjacent to animation. Moved closer to Los Angeles, networked, did some freelance here and there.
Made some friends and some enemies.

It’s a treadmill trying to get into that field. Plus there’s a sense in which the industry can get cliquey at times. A lot of people want the chance to make the next SpongeBob or Regular Show. No doubt I did.

Doing it for social media didn’t help much either. Creating became a job but without the pay.

There’s a freedom in not treating it as a job.