If you’re holding down a full-time or part-time job, but you’re skilled at art as a pastime, it’s natural to think how you might use your talents to your advantage – without fully switching careers. Perhaps having your own business someday in regard to your art, or making your art your mainstream income, is a goal you have, but for now, you’re simply looking for extra side-hustle cash to make for designs you’ve already come up with. If that’s the case, read on for some inspiration on how to use your hobby art for income.
Check-in With Friends or Family Members
When you’re a skilled artist, people should be willing to pay for your designs. This could be to display as their own wall art or maybe use for a personal business endeavor they’re doing. If you have friends or family members who might be in need of your services, it’s always best to check in. One of your friends might need a logo design for their new business idea, or maybe a family member is looking for a personalized gift for someone and loves your style of art to get it printed – and can pay you for your services! Also, we suggest trying custom print on demand products.
Sell Your Own Merchandise Online
If you know you have time for your artistic creations, and you’ve already created many designs anyway, why not look at selling them online as merchandise? You don’t need to have a huge new business to do this – all you need is a Print on Demand service for items like hoodies, totes, and mugs, and a space to sell your wares online, such as a small shop or maybe just through social media. You can easily do this around your existing employment.
Have a Freelance Design Gig
You have the option to look for opportunities to create designs for clients by going freelance – even if it’s something you do very casually and only take on the jobs you have time for around your other employment commitments. There might be short-term projects out there available to you, such as businesses looking for design assistance on a one-time basis.
Create Tutorial Videos or Classes
If you’re extremely skilled, then aspiring artists will no doubt be looking for tips and tutorials on how to build their skills. If you can develop a name and online profile for yourself, you could unveil paid subscriptions or paid private tutorials for art students you want to take on. This could be in the form of video one-to-one sessions or simply videos you create and send to clients.
It’s important to note that with the rise of YouTube, a lot of people would be looking for free tools and tips they can get online these days, and you may not make a lot of money from paid classes if other artists out there are offering them for free. You could, therefore, create your own YouTube channel and look to earn a little money off your following if you gain enough traction.