Different Art Markets and What to Expect

[ocelotish]

Well, I'm finally planning on taking commissions now that I've done something I might be willing to pay for, but for me subject matter isn't really an issue. I really don't care what I draw as long I am paid to draw it, which puts me in kind of a unique situation.

Where do I market myself?

Because there isn't an obvious answer I thought I'd ask you guys about the different markets and compile an info post that way (which will hopefully be of use to others too). Where do you go to sell superheroes? What about Disney style? Do you need to have your own character and a huge portfolio? Do people care about backgrounds? Are cheesecake shots a vital part of your gallery? Is there a common scamming M.O.? Do customers assume they have rights to that sort of image? That's the sort of information I'm interested in.

Just to make it easy here's a form that might help you organize your thoughts/include questions you might not have considered, but feel free to comment however you like.
Type of work:
What sells:
Price ranges:
Sites to use/advertise on:
Need to know info:
What to watch out for:
How people view artists:
Any additional comments:

Edit: For clarification, I'm talking mainly about individual commissions. Corporate commissions are also interesting (just a different kettle of fish), but feel free to discuss that too.

Edit 2: There's some great advice in the replies, but just to steer things back on target, I'm also interested the more niche specific information. How is the anime market different than the furry market, different than the superhero market, etc. It's less "How do I do commission basics," more "Where is this market centered (in terms of websites), what do they look for, do they only like digital, etc." Very genre specific info.

Comments

[teekchan.livejournal.com]

I think most people have said all the basics, so I'll add in my two cents.

Cheap sells. You'll more than likely make more money selling cheap things. $5 chibis or sketch, or $10 line arts, stuff like that.

When I first joined FA I offered $10 per character colored sketches. I built up a little fanbase from that, and did $5 IAs. The IAs has additional options so the images would range from $5 to $20. I made up a huge fanbase with those over the year, and it just went from there.

I suggest cheap IAs. I improved a whole lot over 100 images and I made good money doing so. Just make sure to keep them cheap and easy so you don't get overwhelmed. And you'll build a regular fanbase as well, who will more than likely purchase more commissions.

[edenpilgrim.livejournal.com]

It's only idea to sell yourself so cheap if you can crack out those chibis and icons very quickly. If you can do three five dollar chibis in an hour you're good, but if those chibis take you more than an hour to complete then you are actually hurting yourself.

Proportionality is a good thing to consider when endeavoring in anything.

[sekhmet.livejournal.com]

This!

[edenpilgrim.livejournal.com]

a good idea*

[teekchan.livejournal.com]

I make about 20-30 dollars an hour on my IAs, so it works for me. If you can't draw fast well... then you can't really use that option.