#freelancing is hard

[fly-sky-high-arts]

I do want to talk about sharing art online from the perspective of a hobby freelancer but before that I'll just toss this tidbit I mentioned on my main

Reblogs are not numbers. Reblogs are meant to share and pass on artwork that someone may like. NO ONE is forced to reblog anything BUT it is a core of engagement in a space like tumblr. Engagement is what brings in interest after all and it's one piece of what makes it important for freelance artists here.

When you look at the numbers and the notes, we need to stop viewing them and comparing them with likes (me included) or total in general. It doesn't help.

Artists do self rebloging to both show or remind folks they've done some work as well as to nudge people to reblog their stuff. Tags are nice and comments in them are a nice way to engage too but passing on the work, especially to help someone to get noticed, is a good way to just work the site as intended.

It will always be about luck because we can't guess who wants to engage with what online. You also can't blame yourselves for this. Don't use the internet mentality of "content" (eugh!) and "flopping" and go about it that way. People find stuff I drew years back and find ways to engage with it now. It's really about luck.

There are things that can help but I'll go about it in another post.

One more thing. Don't be shy about "shilling". Advertise your open commissions, your patreons or ko-fis. I promise it has nothing to do with how big of an artist you are. Remember that you're doing that within your own zone so "bothering" followers is hardly the case, it's your house. Make a tag for it if it helps your mind. I say as someone with social anxiety.

#sky rambles #sorry I know this topic has been everywhere but it made me have so much on my mind #I also vibe on Savvy's streams when I can and artists chatting there make a lot of good points and HELPFUL tips! #so I end up thinking about stuff like this a lot #freelancing is hard #it's also not a job that's sustainable where I live #but also because I can't pace my work differently because I will hate it then #and I don't want to hate working what I enjoy doing #and numbers can really add to that because it turns into 'content' mentality #(i swear i am becoming allergic to that word it physically makes me recoil every time) #it's about finding what works for you EVEN IF IT'S BUSINESS #you NEED to pace yourself HOW IT WORKS FOR YOU and not what brings more money #as unfortunate as that may sound #otherwise you will burnout fast and hate every bit of it

[qierxing]

i knew the minute i want to open commissions on the side here i would get busy (ㆆ_ㆆ)

#floating thoughts #working on stuff when i have the free time! promise #adulting is getting real now #freelancing is hard

[barbdraw]

I hate looking for a job. I always feel underqualified and super insecure.

Not like that really matters that much, since the few times I actually tought I was good for it, ended up with me being rejected.

#sad boy hours ? #i guess im just venting a bit #freelancing is hard #idk what im doing #i mean i do have a job right now but the payment compared to the work is not great #maybe im just not good at it

[ilovetextingandscones]

you know what's hell? proofreading POWER POINT PRESENTATIONS

#thank goodness they pay well #as in they pay me for proofreading what others are offering for translation #welcome to my life #freelancing is hard

[zem-zem-zoom]

Sam and max but i beamed their fur off (i like them)

#max is filipino and sam is black/mexican and italian if yr curious #sam and max #freelance police #freelance husbands #zemboart #sam & max #max was actually so hard to design it was ridiculous. meanwhile sam tooj me 2 seconds whats up with that

[swift-kwikster]

A comic about Sam and Max being trans guys, taking place at Sam's old job as a stewardess before he transitioned. Being that it's Sam & Max, weird ridiculous hijinks ensure.

So... After two years of working on this on and off, it's finished! I had posted pages as I was making them on here before but those posts are no longer on my blog- I actually redid most of the pages with new jokes and panels, and fixed a lot. I'm really proud of how far this has come. :)

Please reblog if you can if you like it, so more can see it! It'd mean so much! Thank you. <3

#sam and max #sam & max #sam and max freelance police #sam & max freelance police #i cant believe its done #im posting this at 6 am and i know im gonna come back and be like 'DAMNIT I CANT BELIEVE THIS MISTAKE IS LEFT HERE' #but ah well!! #seriously please share if you can ;_; #when i felt like making the last page again i wanted to come back with the full comic mostly revamped #i hope those who liked it before are still here and like it still haha #thank you to everyone who has been so nice about my art and this story in particular - i learnt so much in how to make comics better becaus #of making this #there's some extra jokes that are hard to see in the background ill explain in a later post! #if theres trigger warnings i should add lemme know

[maximillian-666]

they 🩷

#sam is so fucking hard to draw #freelance husbands #sam and max freelance police

[sirwolficus]

hello sam and max community

#there was gonna be a drawing of king max in there too but the spacing was too tight #HOLY SHIT I HATE DRAWING GUNS #theyre so fucking hard #my art #sam and max #sam & max #freelance police #sam and max freelance police #sam & max freelance police #sam and max freelance husbands #get the ship tags in there too why not #freelance husbands #sam and max fanart

[gaycrittercentral]

SMOOCH SMOCH SMOCK SMONCH SKORCH AMORCH SMROHCBHDNDHSH

teehee filled up the whole bottom of a page with just smoochin, thought y’all might wanna see. Also I have a day off tomorrow so I can finally draw requests and stuff jfhkdhsjhdgs

#they’re the worst. oh how I love them #but dear GOD why are they so hard to draw like this. stop having convex heads NOW !!! #sam and max #sam and max freelance police #freelance husbands #my art

[checanty]

Fish Wife (personal work)

Prints | Instagram | Portfolio

#merfolk #mermaid #creepy art #horror art #I started this one as a demo for my Creepy Workshop last month #I've worked on so little personal art this year I'm really happy I got to squeeze one more piece into 2023 #because starting now I'm drowing in freelance work again #which is good of course #I know this has been a really hard year for a lot of my fellow freelance artists #so I'm grateful things have been going well for me #but I'd love to have a little more time for personal work in the future

[squiddcakes]

Did a rendering study in preperation for the holiday contest :] Reference + aftermath below:

#skunkape announced their holiday contest earlier yesterday and I started stimming so hard you KNOW Im entering that thing #Im really excited to see what everyone does for it I just wanna see more Sam and Max art <:] #art #digital art #rendering study #sam and max #sam and max freelance police

[corndog-patrol]

Detective Dog 🐕

#this angle was a bit of a headache rip #sam is hard to draw in general #sam and max #sam and max freelance police #my art

[froggytimemachineinternet]

Damn crew.

Huxley is the big one. The fur on him is soft

Gavins the one with the candy swirl

Damien is the tiny one with blue bowtie

Laskos the one with the red bowtie

Freelancers the one with the candy cane

Thanks for coming to my Ted talk

#redacted d.a.m.n #redacted damn crew #redacted lasko #redacted audio #redacted asmr #redacted huxley #redacted gavin #redacted damien #redacted freelancer #that was some serious tagging man. i was typing furisouly #who knew spelling redactee was so hard?

[peachy-keenss]

We can make it if we tried! Just the two of us! You n I

#to the surprise of no one #i am a Sam and max fan #Oughhhh poored my heart into this for no reason I heart them a whole bunch #sam and max #snm #freelance husbands #Freelance police #my art #ibispaintx #artists on tumblr #peachy’s art #Kablooie version wasn’t supposed to go this hard #ah well let’s hope this gets notes

[zem-zem-zoom]

* puts this in your hand and walks away *

#zemboart #sam & max #sam and max #freelance husbands #freelance police #im trying so hard to get better at drawing sam #i did not use a ref for the office and it shows but whocares

[diabolicrecreation]

More Sam and Max! Might be the last bulk of posts for a bit since I’m gonna be busy again soonish but it’s really been a blast drawing them again. [Below is an extra drawing from a part of Hit the Road]

#sam and max #Sam and Max Freelance Police #freelance police #max freelance police #sam freelance police #sam and max fanart #sam and max hit the road #hit the road #why is drawing sam so hard