What are /r/Artists' favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Ohuhu markers are a fantastic affordable alternative to copic markers:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H1NV1RE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_dThaGbHCAT86S

They perform very similar to copics, the only draw backs is that they have slightly less ink, aren't refillable and aren't sold as individual markers. But as he uses them he can replace the colors with copics if he wants.

If you're able to find out what brand of watercolors and/or pencils she uses, and what colors she uses most often, that might be helpful.

If she's serious about pursuing a professional career as an artist, Art/Work is a really valuable reference for navigating the business side of the industry.

Who is her favorite artist? You may be able to find a nice catalog of their work on AbeBooks or Amazon.

The trick is a combination of the 2 mediums! Lay down a layer or two of gloss medium, let fully dry, then do a final seal with resin. For extra protection, add a UV-sealer between them.

NGL, one of the best sealers I've found for a brushstroke-free, high gloss finish without messing with resin is Rust-Oleum triple thick glaze. Obviously it won't give you a mirror-smooth finish like flooding it with a ⅛" resin, but will keep it sealed and glossy!

> People will ooh and ahh over my work, and ask if I sell my art - but they don't want to buy it themselves.

This is normal. Selling is a number game, for each 1 piece that you sell 100 people said that they were going to buy a piece. For each person that says that they are going to guy a piece, 100 people said that they like it.... and so on and on....

> They think I should set up an Etsy or some other online site filled with artists who actually went to art school and do this as their main source of income.

People from all walks of like tell everyone else what they shuold do. It's people's favorite sport.

> For me, this feels like stealing from the professionals,

uhmmm, whatever if you say so

> and if it was that good, the ones asking if I sold it would buy it or point me to someone that will.

Nope, not necessarily

> Another thing is, I make a lot of super dark paintings. Everyone is always asking me "Why is everything you make so dark?! Why can't you make something bright and cheerful?"

Again, people love to tell other people what they should or should not do.

> Because that's not how I'm feeling, Karen.

Exactly!

> I can't make something that's not me. It'll reflect in the quality because a) it'll feel like a lie and b) I'm an amateur, like I've said.

uhmmm, whatever if you say so

> I'm not claiming to be this awesome artist that my friends and family think I am. If they were artists too they'd see how poor my quality is. Anyhow, thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

uhmmm, whatever if you say so

Take a look at this book.

A few pointers:

• Most people don't know what to say when faced with art
• Most people are clueless when giving feedback
• Most people pigeonhole everyone else, so if they know you from a different walk of life, once they see your art, they don't know what to do with it.

Answer: this is a good book

It's more philosophical than anything but I'd highly recommend the book "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" if you're serious about art. It touches on engaging the under-utilized right hemisphere of the brain, which process spatial information, to create better art. A lady that works at RISD recommended it to me and I'm still starting out, but it gave me a good nudge in the right direction. I hope it does you good.

This is what you need

I've never had a problem with these doing something to inks or paints. But the ink needs to be good India ink, can't be some off brand.

If you are going to continue to draw with pencil and create pieces where mechanical fluidity is important, you definitely need one of these.

It will really help smooth out your curves, once you have one you won't want to draw without it.

Other than that, I'd say you are on a good start. Watch your uniformity with spaces between bolts, sizes of holes, etc. Take your time, there's no hurry. Keep drawing! :-)

I do a little bit of abstract work, this came out of my hand one day :D

For me consciousness is kinda bubbly, and bright, popping up slowly in the deep recesses of the mind <3

hey everyone! here's the stock image they traced over, they (obviously) didn't actually digitally paint this on their own.

Stock image!

Thank you very much!

Deviantart, it has a mix of 14 yr old doodles, random anthro stuff really incredible tallented artists. It's probably the bigges. Next, red bubble. A little more professional and sales oriented. Get on the usual, fb, pinterest, tumblr, etsy etc. And check out this list

http://www.moreofit.com/similar-to/deviantart.com/Top_10_Sites_Like_Deviantart/

About copies - if you're going to put your work ANYWHERE online I would highly suggest heavy watermarking that references your artist name and website (as long as you are SURE the website won't change). There's tooooons of copying online - if your work receives any reasonable attention there will be people trying to claim it as theirs.. You have to weigh the balance between actual loss for you vs some kid old being like "look what I made!!!" Is your work more of a novel concept that can easily be copied and exploited?

Millions of people search for 'paintings' online. So, as long as artists are descriptive of their works and are willing to upload/share their works (with the intention to sell), customers will find them. Most websites get the majority (90% of traffic) organically (i.e. without advertising). So, Advertising is not actually a problem as far as my numbers tell me. You're free to prove me otherwise by presenting a different set of numbers. =)

https://www.similarweb.com/website/amazon.com

(amazon.com search traffic 93.66% Organic and 6.34% Paid) i.e. Amazon didn't advertise to get that 93.66% of visitors from search. They came because they had the sellers list actual content. i.e. if I can convince to list their artworks, they will receive the search hits/views/sales.

The only key problem I see is that it's tough for artists to get started on selling/promoting their works online given that they're asked for money by existing e-stores sites in one way or another and existing e-commerce sites are not exactly built to showcase the art really well and doesn't promise clear sales.

Yes, I have had the similar frustrations. It was usually in relation to working on a computer game idea. I broke the cycle recently, since around September of last year, where I started to work on web comics and blogs with my own custom banners, on a new social media website called Minds.com, and my nervousness of showing my work started to disappear for two reasons.

First, The user base is fantastic and always inspire you to learn new things.

Second, their voting system can get very addictive. Everything you post that gets an up vote gives you 5 points to spend to boost any content you produce to the entire user base, up to spending 5000 points for 5000 views. If you're good at something you really grow.

Third, their blog software allows you to monetize your content to make money.

So it really motivates you to create smaller projects which you can do on at least two or three posts a week, and projects that take no longer than 3-6 weeks, like a web comic.

You can check out my profile here. https://www.minds.com/TheWhiteDnPurpleH

And you can join up here through this affiliate link. https://www.minds.com/register?referrer=TheWhiteDnPurpleH

You're such a good friend! The best way to get a quality pack of colored pencils is through a coupon at Michaels. Michaels ALWAYS has a 40% off coupon on one regular priced item (I've never seen their colored pencils on sale, they're one of those companies where like half the store is always "40% off"). But anyway, go to the coupon section on their website, I believe you'll have to type in your zip code, find that coupon, and you'll be able to hold it up on your phone at checkout. Worst case scenario, ask them about this coupon at check out, or if they have any others you don't know about (I did this one time and got an additional 20% of my total purchase, sale items or not. You may also have to sign up to be a member for these additional ones, but the 40% of a regular priced item one is always there for anyone I believe)

And then you can get them a really nice set of Prismacolor pencils! If you want to get her a little basket of goodies that I think any artists would enjoy I'd suggest kneeded erasers , and then a quality pencil sharpener. If she works in colored pencils I bet she'd love a high quality sharpener, I believe Prismacolor sells some too. Or if you see a a heftier, steel looking one in that section, even if it's hand held it's nice to have.

When it comes to art materials artists can be so choosey, particularly about canvases and brushes. And I bet she'd also just love a giftcard. I love Michaels and Amazon for low to medium quality products I need, but I'm sure you have a locally owned art store that has the higher quality, more specific materials. I would die of happiness if someone gave me a giftcard to mine.

If you have any more questions dm me! Hope it goes well!

Since you asked, this is my constructive criticisms:

• this is good
• you're doing something. Good
• keep on going. Don't ever stop.
• maybe you have a direction where you want to go, something like be a professional artist, maybe just casual artist; regardless.. keep on going

If you want an interesting book on creativity/art, this is it https://www.amazon.com/Ignore-Everybody-Other-Keys-Creativity/dp/159184259X

Loved it!

2 pieces of advice, make it 3:

1. Dont.Fucking.Stop.
2. Ignore the haters. Fuck them!
3. (optional) read this book: https://www.amazon.com/Ignore-Everybody-Other-Keys-Creativity/dp/159184259X

I would start with a Black Ink set, as far as color . . . do you have a BLICK Art store near you? If so you can go there and explore all of their offerings, from the thickness to the array of color, the look of the medium and the way you hold it . . . if not, this is a good start.

> Obviously being an artist, criticism is something we all take into consideration and it makes us better.

Sure. But there' criticism and there's garbage. Your "friends" gave you garbage, not criticism.

> s something we all take into consideration

Actually no. Not everyone.

> and it makes us better.

Are you sure?

> I kept telling myself that I need to quit and never try for drawing, painting, sculpting, etc. ever again.

Before you make that decision, I suggest you read the following 2 books, listed here in no particular order:

• https://www.amazon.com/Ignore-Everybody-Other-Keys-Creativity/dp/159184259X/
• https://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Winning-Creative-Battle/dp/1590710037

Check out Overview: A New Perspective of Earth.

I brought it to a gift exchange last week and kinda wish I’d kept it. It’s a collection of beautiful satellite photos that reveal a perspective from which our landscapes and human-made objects become abstract patterns.

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/039957865X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_u.3mAbWJS7RB4

Here’s their Instagram: http://instagram.com/dailyoverview

this book has good guidelines and some examples.