How to push my art shop/get more orders?

[Stella-Io]

I want tbt to buy high tier collectables like balloons and houses. I've actually saved up quite a bit but art would also get more tbt.

Some issues I find with my art shop is that
1 I lack many skills
2 I don't offer chibis cause drawing them frustrates me
3 I'm thinking my prices are a *bit* too high compared to other shops, but lowering my prices and going throu the effort to make art and get meager payment is kinda upsetting and off putting.
Idk I just hate taking the time to make a drawing and I feel like I get scraps. I'm not referring too my current prices as scrapes, I mean what happened with previous art shops. I lowered my prices well below what I thought they were worth, and the rare times I DID get any orders, I felt like I shouldn't have charged a low amount cause that amount isn't on par with how much effort I put into it.

Solutions-
1 I obviously need to do studies and practices to have better drawing skills
2 Ig I need to learn how to draw chibis since people really seem to like cutesy stuff. Not a fan myself but
3 I really don't wanna budge on prices, esp higher prices.

basically how do I get more orders? Like, do y'alls have any suggestions as to what gets people to order art? Is it the way I organize my shop, the rules? Do I need more cute styles? Do I just not do styles?
Also, my shop has been around for over 3 months. I've always kept it on the first page of the museum and bumped it frequently if I felt it got too low to other shops that weren't as active. I know this board is ded, but it's kinda off putting seeing as I've been going at this for months now with little success.

 

[BungoTheElf]

Your solutions sound about right. As a fellow artist I want to say don't force yourself to draw something you don't want to- art isn't fun if you don't enjoy what you're drawing especially if it's frustrating to even do, but if you really want the tbt then go for it. You know your audience here, which the majority is girls looking for cute art of their characters, it's just up to you to decide if you want to cater towards it, which yes will get you more orders. If drawing chibis frustrates you, you can always try to create your own base for a body and then draw over top of it so that the process doesn't frustrate you as much- you won't have to vary between creating a unique structure for every piece. I think it would help if you narrowed down your selections in your shop, both for practicing and orders- you don't need to have so many options, and it makes things easier for yourself in general and you'll be able to improve faster working on specific styles rather than a large selection. If you don't want to lower your prices then don't! Price your art as you see fair, if people like it they won't mind paying more.


The simple answer to getting more orders: keep studying and practicing, work on styles that appeal more to people here!

Best of luck with your shop!

 

[Stella-Io]

Your solutions sound about right. As a fellow artist I want to say don't force yourself to draw something you don't want to- art isn't fun if you don't enjoy what you're drawing especially if it's frustrating to even do, but if you really want the tbt then go for it. You know your audience here, which the majority is girls looking for cute art of their characters, it's just up to you to decide if you want to cater towards it, which yes will get you more orders. If drawing chibis frustrates you, you can always try to create your own base for a body and then draw over top of it so that the process doesn't frustrate you as much- you won't have to vary between creating a unique structure for every piece. I think it would help if you narrowed down your selections in your shop, both for practicing and orders- you don't need to have so many options, and it makes things easier for yourself in general and you'll be able to improve faster working on specific styles rather than a large selection. If you don't want to lower your prices then don't! Price your art as you see fair, if people like it they won't mind paying more.


The simple answer to getting more orders: keep studying and practicing, work on styles that appeal more to people here!

Best of luck with your shop!

Thank you for the advice! I think I'm def gonna go with the chibi base thing, I haven't in the past cause I felt it wasn't 'personal' enough.

The prices also have somewhat to do with how long it takes me to do each style, the lesser the price the less time it takes me.

I have thought about narrowing the styles since it seems like two are kinda similar and the other, while different, is def not for everyone.

 

[Sharksheep]

I think your prices are fair but I do think you have too many options which can make it harder for people to choose what they want especially if they are similar in price and can only afford one style.

The museum didn't really get a lot of attention during times outside of events when people want art for profile and signature contests or people have tbt to spend on art from selling the event collectibles. Like right now people are holding onto their tbt for the shop restocks and there's the egg hunt coming soon and those eggs get pretty pricy.

 

[Stella-Io]

I think your prices are fair but I do think you have too many options which can make it harder for people to choose what they want especially if they are similar in price and can only afford one style.

The museum didn't really get a lot of attention during times outside of events when people want art for profile and signature contests or people have tbt to spend on art from selling the event collectibles. Like right now people are holding onto their tbt for the shop restocks and there's the egg hunt coming soon and those eggs get pretty pricy.

Yeah that too, people holding their tbt for other things *cough myself included* which I also attributed to slow shop activity. It actually got zero attention for any of the contests, which I guess can be cause I didn't do any signature options, which people may need more than an avatar.

 

[jadetine]

I love the advice @BungoTheElf gave. It is hard on you if the mission is more about the tbt than the art. It saps the joy out of it-- and you clearly have artistic talent!
My two cents: knowing that I find drawing chibis boring and that my skills aren't as developed yet, I chose to try offering a shop with a unique spin that wasn't the usual basic headshot-bust-fullbody model. My doll shop offers customers a permanent display location to immortalize their characters. Each doll does typically start with a base, which might seem impersonal, but trust me-- the devil is in the details. The steps to personalize can be complex and meaningful!
As for marketing, the jackpot for me has been gaining interest somewhat outside of the Museum; whenever anyone features my work as an avatar or in signature, that's free advertising! I try to jump on any art trades I can, because there's usually high visibility there from other people trying to get a free art or art trade themselves. It doesn't make tbt right away, but exposure was more important for me at the time.

Also, I am totally in love with your ginkgo korok. <3 For those of us transitioning to digital, it really feels strange, huh? Paint and canvas is so good at conveying texture for "natural", less cartoony things.

 

[Stella-Io]

I love the advice @BungoTheElf gave. It is hard on you if the mission is more about the tbt than the art. It saps the joy out of it-- and you clearly have artistic talent!
My two cents: knowing that I find drawing chibis boring and that my skills aren't as developed yet, I chose to try offering a shop with a unique spin that wasn't the usual basic headshot-bust-fullbody model. My doll shop offers customers a permanent display location to immortalize their characters. Each doll does typically start with a base, which might seem impersonal, but trust me-- the devil is in the details. The steps to personalize can be complex and meaningful!
As for marketing, the jackpot for me has been gaining interest somewhat outside of the Museum; whenever anyone features my work as an avatar or in signature, that's free advertising! I try to jump on any art trades I can, because there's usually high visibility there from other people trying to get a free art or art trade themselves. It doesn't make tbt right away, but exposure was more important for me at the time.

Also, I am totally in love with your ginkgo korok. <3 For those of us transitioning to digital, it really feels strange, huh? Paint and canvas is so good at conveying texture for "natural", less cartoony things.

Thank you for the advice, and for saying I have artistic talent

I def like to pick at the details of drawings, so I can do that with anythin with base. And yeah I need to get on more art trades, or just start my own if I notice there isn't any goin on. I work full time so I've usually been putting off any art trades thinking it would take me a long time to do it. But depending on what I doing I can be quick.

And thanks for saying you like my ginkgo korok! That's one of my fav pieces. Also I agree, my traditional works aren't always cartoony, despite me drawing lots of fanart. Not seen in the thread or even my art blog, I drew alot of pencil shading realism like flowers and stuff. I'm still tryin to learn all the ins and outs of digital drawing software, so cartoony comes easy on digital.