Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to airbrush for a living

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Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to airb... - 4/2/2008 3:41:43 PM

aragoncustoms

Posts: 109
Joined: 3/31/2008
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Well I hope you didn't think I was gonna post some ;)

I have been an "artist" I suppose, just about all my life. I have always loved to draw and basically create, as long as I can remember.

I never went to college or anything and I got kicked out of high school almost every year I was in it so that leaves very little academics in my resume to help me find a "career" other than something related to art, not that I ever really wanted to.

I have only been airbrushing for about 5 or so years seriously but I played around with it for about 12-14 years. I have no "job" right now besides painting which has fortunately (For the time being at least) been going fairly well, surprisingly. I would have tried to paint a long time ago but everyone in my life besides my close friends always told me I would never be able to do it yada yada.

My father however has been painting since the 70's and doing great. It should have been obvious to me that I can make it if he has been. So I have just recently started taking it VERY seriously, I mean like, I think about painting when I lie in bed, when I am dreaming and when I am painting lol, I see all these great artsits who inspire me and I want to be able to look at my artwork and say "Ya know, my artwork just might be better than theirs". It is the only thing I have ever been good at and the only thing I ever would consider doing for a living.

I see these artists like Patrick guyton, Mike learn, Mike lavalee, "redhouse", "organic image" etc etc who are doing big things, seemingly doing great doing this and I really aspire to be like them in a sense. So, does anyone have any input or inspiration for all of us who really want to do this as much more than just a hobby?

Thanks, sorry for the long read.

Post #: 1

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/2/2008 9:15:07 PM

Tom Davison

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Joined: 4/22/2005
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Are you looking to work on hard surface or t-shirts?

(in reply to aragoncustoms)

Post #: 2

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/2/2008 9:15:47 PM

aragoncustoms

Posts: 109
Joined: 3/31/2008
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uh, everything lol.

(in reply to Tom Davison)

Post #: 3

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/2/2008 10:21:10 PM

Tom Davison

Posts: 483
Joined: 4/22/2005
Status: offline

The professional artists you listed all worked for years to learn the craft and establish a reputation in the hard surface field. While the internet can help you learn how to do hard surface work, it is also encouraging thousands of other aspiring artists at the same time.

So now, there are all these aspiring artists in every locality, all competing for the same jobs and driving the prices down (except for the established pros, whose reputation may be enough to allow them to command top prices). Others are very good but the customers don't know where to find them, and many other artists are just starting to learn how. It is a long steep haul to aquire the skills necessary to take a job from start to finish.

On the other hand, you can hone your skills doing t-shirts and make money at the same time. Set up in a flea market, make money while practicing doing t-shirts, and at the same time, expose yourself to people who may be considering having hard surface work done, but don't know where to go for it. T-shirts have no respect in the airbrush community, but everyone has done them at one time or another, and the $$ per hour can easily be higher, with virtually no expenses (buy a shirt for a buck and sell it for $25....$200 an hour). Try getting that kind of markup on a cycle!!

(in reply to aragoncustoms)

Post #: 4

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/2/2008 10:31:36 PM

aragoncustoms

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Joined: 3/31/2008
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Yea my friend is asking me to do a bunch of comic related shirts that are selling at these conventions for a lot I guess and he thinks I can do better than a lot of the artists there so I am working on a few shirts right now actually. We'll see what happens, as long as I am painting, I don't really care what it is I paint, unless its like literal dog ****. Even then..........

(in reply to Tom Davison)

Post #: 5

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/2/2008 11:44:01 PM

Xplicit

Posts: 160
Joined: 8/16/2006
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t shirts is the bread and butter of most airbrush artist money making abilities... reason being...its tough to come out of the gates and start painting bikes and cars....with zero experience in that area... one of the wys to break into it is to get intoa t shirt shop or as mention...set up your own...occasionally a curious mind will stop by and ask about having a helmet or bike painted...maybe a tailgate...these are the jobs to really start easing into bigger money jobs... i worked in a t shirt shop for about a year and half and it was the best thing i could have done for myself as an artist... Constant feedback from other artist, yo get to watch how other more experienced artist paint, not to mention if gives you the excuse to have the airbrush in your hand all day....i eat sleep and drink airbrushing but...now that i dont work 40hours a week airbrushing, it becomes more of a chore to pick up the tool and paint. Who wants to be gone for 10 hours a day busting their ass...come home and do a workout...take care of the fam, eat...and then go out and paint and expect your best work to come forward... its tough..

so my advise is get into a place where you can paint, or at least have the reason to be holding the airbrush for 40 hours a week...as mentioned...it hones your abilities and gives you tons of experience and your foot in the door...as far as being the next Mike Learn or Craig Fraiser....welcome to the club lol...it aint easy out there... but you gotta start somewhere

Myke

(in reply to aragoncustoms)

Post #: 6

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/3/2008 1:22:49 AM

darshanaholic

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Joined: 11/4/2007
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good read aragon, true that!!

Tom- you got a really good point, and I can honestly say that your insight on this topic has inspired me to move in that direction. Ive gottne a couple invites now to festivals and town fairs, and Ive decided to swallow my fear of public performance (lol but kinda seriously) and just do it. I didnt know that tshirt airbrushers dont get any respect, thats kinda wack. Full on freehand custom designs every ten minutes? whats not to respect? Im sorry, but Id take the pace of an auto painter over a tshirt painter anyday, add to that the retail/ customer service aspect, and I can see why there is a divide in the two polars of this field. It appeals to me tho, I cant wait to get out there and start taking orders. My girlie is a little artsy herself, but more than anything she is a super organized, very personable exhighscale restaurant waitress who can stand her ground and deal with the hardest most obnoxious customers, and Ive been bouncing around in customer service jobs my whole life, so I think the only issue will be my technical abilities. But then again, you look around you and it isnt hard to find confidence with the amount of "who gives a sh*t" attitude that alot of tshirt guys have (or any "custom" painter for that matter). I dont want to be the "next" noone, and I definitely dont want to contribute to the other end of the spectrum and drag prices down, but I would be lyin if I didnt say that I have a unique gameplan, and I think I might be able to pull off some things that werent possible a few years ago.... but, hey, everyone dreams different dreams when they stare at that bedroom ceiling, eh?

look what you started aragon :) what end of the "industry" is your dad in? do you work together? count your blessing brother, having access to any knowledge like that is priceless, and on top of that, sharing a passion with a family member is worth more than the knowledge. take advantage of it, and thanks for the thread. good thinkin material. the worlds a HUGE place, and there are top notch artists out there who never look for the fame or the sponsorships, and alot of times there work is hiding in a garage or on a wall, adn never makes it even to the internet, but the artist is fulfilled and the work is steady... everyone can have their piece of the pie IF they can open up their mouths wide enough!!

(in reply to Xplicit)

Post #: 7

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/3/2008 1:32:41 AM

aragoncustoms

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Joined: 3/31/2008
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true true man.

I basically have no option but to paint for the rest of my life, but I am also fine with that.

My dad has been painting hit rods and bikes since the early 70's in the bay area then we moved to northern california after I was born. I grew up watchiin him do it so, hopefully his knowledge and everything he has exposed me to will help me in the long run, I think it already has, I didn't learn **** on my own besides honing my artistic ability really. He tought me everythign about paint, doing business, prepping etc etc. I think that would make him proud too, if I were to carry on this whole art thing, hell my daughter is only 3 and in my opinion potentially talented too. I'm only 26 so I hope I have enough time to ........... just create very memorable high quality artwork that people admire and use to improve their abilities and express themselves in unique ways.....I think that is the best way to put it.

(in reply to darshanaholic)

Post #: 8

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/3/2008 3:05:24 AM

darshanaholic

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youre 26 Im 25 your daughters 3 my boy is 2.5, your dads a painter mines a tattooist hmmm? just wish my old man actually took the time to pass anything down, but thats a different subject... but what you said about the simplicity of your career goals is like you said "the best way to put it", not trying to be nothing but busy, and I cant help but to improve, high quality is part of the bloodline

I think life is simpler now, just need to push past the mystery, thats my biggest problem. I live in a very rural area where paintjobs are about as good as the tattoos, practically scratched in and so half assed they make me sick, BUT at the same time, it just means that I get to set the standard. Its just time to start looking at this as more than art, and more like an income, a professional service, or a product based retail business, whatever, but not as a "skill level", ya know...

where you from man?

(in reply to aragoncustoms)

Post #: 9

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/3/2008 7:20:28 AM

KathyL

Posts: 1970
Joined: 9/30/2006
From: Indiana, USA
Status: offline

Paint whatever you want and push yourself. Go where YOU want to go...you can do it. BE PATIENT. It takes much time to develop skills and MORE TIME to gain a following for your work. Hand out your business cards all the time. Use them for notes cards..."ooops sorry, I don't have any paper, let me write it on the back of my card..." They will always take a peek if you list your website then they tell their friends.
You don't have to paint anything and everything but you should focus on what you like the best. That way you'll be happy and won't feel stuck doing something you may not really dig. Listen to your instincts... Everyone will tell you, "you should do this, or I would do that"...blaze your own trail.

Who does the custom paint on your website? If it's you, I would say your on the right track if that where you want to be.

(in reply to darshanaholic)

Post #: 10

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/3/2008 9:18:41 AM

WebSlinger

Posts: 90
Joined: 2/18/2006
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Aragon,
Allow me to put another twist on the posts already made. I spent my entire life punching clocks and working for someone else. I've done everything from milking cows to running a division of a chemical plant for General Electric. All the time always drawing, painting or creating in some fashion. I am 45 now, 20 years I spent at GE, in those 20 years if I had a dollar for every time someone told me "your too talented to be here you should be...." I would be a rich man today. Here is the reason I mention that... If you are like myself, you notice art. When you walk down the street, riding in your car, turning pages in a magazine.... you see art and you look at it with a creative eye that the average person doesn't have. You look at composition, contrast, color.... why??? because you are an artist! You look at things and say ,"very nice job", or you say, " I could have done a much better job than that"! The difference between the guy doing the shoddy work that I felt I could do better than was that he was being paid to do it and I wasn't. People who are artistic and creative tend not to be the best businessmen. That half@#$ artist put himself somewhere to make it happen... I didn't. (I went to work.) Until you become a solid NAME, with zenlike celebrity status celebrity clients aren't seeking you out.... the mundane job of marketing is necessary. You are the living embodiment of your art and you have to sell yourself. The t-shirts is a geat idea and I agree with all the posts prior. The point I want to add is to financialy support yourself with your talent and ability takes the added step of making it happen. All the talent in the world won't help if you don't get it out there. Make connectios everywhere you go and look for opportunities for your work to be incoorporated into anything. Be bold and believe in your ability. The best representation of your art is you!
GE sold my plant and as of Oct. 07, I found myself out of my $90, a year job, with a wife and four kids, mortgage, car... and I have done what I should have done years ago. I took my skills and abilities and set out on my own. Just like yourself.... no job with allot riding on it. That second point is what is making it happen for me, I have no choice, I have to make it. When I have people asking for a large portfolio of accomplished art to show I simply reply, "I have been an artist all my life and have only begun my business in January. I garuntee you will be pleased with my work. You can wait until I have a gallery and portfolio to view but at that time you will probably not be able to afford me!" I just signed on two bikes for $1100each.

Good Luck,
Paul

_____________________________

Wise men learn more from fools than fools learn from wise men!

(in reply to KathyL)

Post #: 11

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/3/2008 10:31:46 AM

aragoncustoms

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Joined: 3/31/2008
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I live in lake county california, northern ca.

You got a good way of lookin at it.

(in reply to darshanaholic)

Post #: 12

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/3/2008 10:34:40 AM

aragoncustoms

Posts: 109
Joined: 3/31/2008
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thank you thank you, the art is me and my fathers, I do all the airbrush and some of the flames and he does the pinstriping and graphics etc.

Your absolutley right abotu doing what YOU wanna do too.

I was always looked upon as a weirdo for drawing skulls and demons and **** when I was in grade school but now, ****, the best artists I see, paint the same kinda ****!!! Whats that tell me.....

(in reply to KathyL)

Post #: 13

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/3/2008 10:38:20 AM

aragoncustoms

Posts: 109
Joined: 3/31/2008
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true paul totally man, thats awesome, keep it up man!

Its nice to hear what people like myself haev to say, I was begininning to think there wasn't any lol.

(in reply to aragoncustoms)

Post #: 14

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/3/2008 11:30:09 AM

Tom Davison

Posts: 483
Joined: 4/22/2005
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While there are hundreds of t-shirt artists with considerable skill, the public doesn't know the difference. The customer will buy way less than perfect work and leave with a big smile. Hence, you make money while practicing.

Why? because you are allowing him or her to their express their personality via a removeable tattoo. We're not in the art business. We are in the t-shirt business (and I've been in it since the days when we were the only t-shirt business there was). So grab a piece of the billion dollar t-shirt pie. We succeed because we are literally the most visible outlet where the public can still buy a one-off shirt exactly how they want.

We have an online community devoted to this segment of the market and we get down to explaining the very basics of what it takes to get out in the front of the public and do this. www.westcoastairbrush.com

(in reply to aragoncustoms)

Post #: 15

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/3/2008 11:43:21 AM

Tom Davison

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Joined: 4/22/2005
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Oh, yeah, let it be known that there is a new term for describing what we do in the t-shirt field.

The other half of the biz is already known as hard surface work. That's not only because it's painted on a hard surface, but also because its hard to learn, hard to market, and hard to establish a reputation that will allow the artist to command the prices that his work is really worth.

Think about doing t-shirts and enter the realm of easy surface painting. Did I mention that it's much easier if only because the t-shirt absorbs the excess paint until you learn perfect control. No spiderwebbing!!

(in reply to Tom Davison)

Post #: 16

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/3/2008 11:48:28 AM

aragoncustoms

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what i have noticed that I like abotu shirts is that I can get even finer detail because i can touch teh surface.

(in reply to Tom Davison)

Post #: 17

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/3/2008 11:54:09 AM

p_lew33

Posts: 143
Joined: 9/18/2007
Status: offline

T-shirts, fine art, autos, motorcycles, MURALS, and any other surface that can be painted are all opportunities for an aspiring artist. The fact that more and more people are trying their hand at this field just means that people recognize that a person can indeed make a living with this stuff. You have to pay your dues in any field and being an artist is no exception. I've taken on jobs in the past that simply make me laugh. Think "painting a 10'x8' mural for 200 bucks!! The deal is.....the more work I did the more word of mouth advertising I received. I used vistaprint.com for my marketing materials (brochures, bizz cards, magnets, the works). I have a degree in graphic design (no web design though....I graduated before that time) so I could make them look exactly as I wanted and they came out perfect! Some of my postcards I sent out either had a 15% coupon for new home owners for a mural or they had a referral bonus program for customers. Both of these tactics brought me about a 5% response that first year. I sent out 2,000 postcards (cost me around 500 dollars) and had around 100 jobs from them. The marketing material was paid for during that first job! The snowball effect of word of mouth is what is keeping me busy (more than I can handle right now). The point is....you have to put yourself out there.....work your tail off promoting yourself and above all practice your craft.....time equals money in this profession. People want quality work and you want to minimize the time per job so you can turn a buck. Practice is the only way to get you there.....it will also boost your confidence.

I almost forgot to mention my most powerful marketing tool/buddy......my webpage. I haven't updated it in almost 6 months (it's being redesigned/updated). I'm currently just using godaddy.com for my domain name (50 bucks for 3 years) and phanfare.com for my site (about the same cost as godaddy). It allows me to post as many pics of my work as I want with comments....a big drawback is that I can't have a "shopping cart" to sell items using phanfare.

Anyways....that was long winded and my lunch is up!!!

GOOD LUCK....JUMP RIGHT IN.

(in reply to WebSlinger)

Post #: 18

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/3/2008 12:05:27 PM

p_lew33

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Joined: 9/18/2007
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here is the link to my page:

www.peytonlewisdesigns.com

remember.....needs some major updating. The only recent work on her is the portrait section. Enjoy.

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Post #: 19

RE: Tips advice and comments for artsits who aspire to ... - 4/3/2008 12:28:16 PM

Tom Davison

Posts: 483
Joined: 4/22/2005
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I'll try to put this in perspective. We have an artist who was just starting to airbrush less than a year ago. He now owns and operates his own regional enclosed mall storefront t-shirt shop and is busy all of the time and very successful.

The hard surface equivelant to that would be going from zero to being Mike Lavalee in less than a year. Just way easier with easy surface painting.

(in reply to p_lew33)

Post #: 20