Do You NEED to Find Your Art Niche? (Art Generalists vs Specialists) || SPEEDPAINT + COMMENTARY

[@TheobaldLeonhart]

Another nitpick, but a really weird one The full saying is "a jack of all trades, master of none. Is better than a master of one" Basically, it's better to be able to do multiple things, instead of only mastering one thing But a lot of people only know the incomplete version, because that's what's been said most often Similar ones I know, are - The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb, vs blood is thicker than water - Curiosity killed the cat, but knowledge brought it back

[@windraizou]

"The customer is always right, in matter of taste" is also a well-known butchered one that lets customers walk all over retail workers. just buy your shitty-looking curtains and leave, please

[@NicmationS_YT]

I was about to say this

[@panda.with.a.pencil]

I've also heard "curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back" so that's another way to say it too! and totally jumpted to comments to see if any one else finished the jack of all trades quote lol

[@NicmationS_YT]

@@panda.with.a.pencil Same here

[@pyro8632]

Though I prefer the revised version, I've never seen any evidence from 'blood of the covenant' being the original version.

[@Theabsoloutelygreatmagician]

Tbh it’s kinda off topic but it always annoys me when people compliment my stupid little chibis I draw for jokes instead of things I actually put time in. EuGH. But I agree with this, it’s important to find the right communities !

[@IAARPOTI]

She awares of us worrying about her without squarespace sponsor. Lol.

[@JordanS-ww4eu]

If I could sponsor her I would 😊😊😊😊😊

[@kaedesakura9274]

I didn't plan this but having a special interest sure helps huh

[@LeoiCaangWan]

One thing to note about larger companies hiring specialists is something known as the 'bus factor' basically; 'how screwed would you be if one of your team members gets hit by a bus.' You want some redundancy in case someone needs to be covered for.

[@theeliblog4559]

I wish people understood this 😭 I’m a furry/animal artist and no i don’t want to draw landscapes or human portraits. People need to find artists that do what they want of, or else it’s a hassle for everyone involved.

[@tami7992]

Did you try to put a Do and Don't list into your commission sheet? If not that may be the reason

[@asahitora]

I think my ADHD, going absolutely insane with every fandom I trip to as well as being interested in many different skill sets in art, I just might remain a generalist for forever. Though it doesn’t matter as much, because I don’t really plan to use it professionally or to gain a huge following. If someone sees my art, they see it and if they enjoy it all the better. But I tried to stopped completely committing to build my audience as the way I approached it so far has been detrimental to my mental health in various aspects. But those are only my experiences.

[@thetinyartist7745]

That's funny. I have AuDHD and for years Ive been trying away from bright colors cutesy and animal stuff. I can draw other things well but Im not past drawing soft fantasy worlds with characters with animal traits or animals no matter even if I do do other art classes. I could learn it all but I still love and draw what I've enjoyed since I began to draw at 9. It could be the media I consumed early on (Pokemon, Digimon, studio Ghibli, animatics) I have the opposite thing I love too many things at once. Lol list is ever-growing Funny what the neruospicy does, (PS I cannot build an audience with my niche don't worry you're not the only one :D)

[@maplechei]

ur just like me fr

[@asahitora]

@@maplechei Hey a mutual xD

[@asahitora]

@@thetinyartist7745 I still believe I have auDHD too, because according to my psychiatrist I do have symptoms on the autistic spectrum too and she only didn’t want to diagnose me because she didn’t want to invalidate the specialist who said, I don’t have autism. I do still draw everything I draw in anime style and the one thing that ties it all together is that it all is related to fantasy to some degree. But my fandoms range from anime to cartoon to real tv shows, also Hazbin hotel recently ruined my style, because my brain is completely rotten with Alastor, but yeah XD I didn’t know the term neurospicy yet…. I like it.

[@Axiasart]

Twin 😂

[@RubinaBlue]

hot take: i think you can be both a generalist and a specialist, maybe this is because i have a lot of experience but id say im good at standing out when it comes to drawing anything, not just people (I've learned how to translate my style pretty well so that helps me a lot)

[@CRT_sRGB]

Hmm... Duchess, if I may, it would perhaps be wise to have 75% to 90% of your videos sponsored by Squarespace, with the remaining 10% to 25% sponsored by others. This way your regular audience will not be alarmed by the notion that you are planning to abandon your "Sponsored by Squarespace" niche. After all, that niche is the very reason most of them started watching you in the first place. (Just kidding, Celestia! This was a good video. Please keep 'em coming!)

[@FluttershyLeet]

😂

[@Fickle_Mistress1624]

Who cares about sponsorships?

[@NoiseDay]

Watching this as a certified not-artist got me thinking about the crafting KZbinrs I follow. For example, Moriah Elizabeth has a couple identifiable niches- fixing/repainting squishies and designing characters themed after animals and foods (mainly fruit). While she got her viewers from squishies, she can explore beyond that niche by tapping into her established style and themes. She has dabbled in and gotten more comfortable with fabric painting, clay sculpting, and even has an occasional baking video. But these all tie together to align with a cohesive visual brand. Another example: Evan and Katelyn are known for their resin projects. They even have a theme song specifically for when they use resin in a video. However, they frequently use a variety of other materials. Their brand isn't really resin, but experimentation and utilizing technology. These channels fall under a niche of crafting, but they don't let themselves get trapped into an even smaller niche.

[@NoiseDay]

I guess this just tells me that I need to pick a craft with a variety of facets that fulfill my diverse interest needs, like doll customizing or game design.

[@doglord4847]

“Jack of all trades, master on none, often times better than the master of one”

[@MALICEM12]

"I don't fear the man that practiced a million kicks one time, I fear the man who practiced one kick a million times" -Bruce Lee

[@eili_enie]

i am generalist artist professionally, but i am trying to forge my niche inside my obsessions and comfort zone. and because i know fundamentals and can draw pretty nice i can explore what i actually like and not being bound by skill issue

[@kimuracchi]

Sharing my two-cents on this topic as a professional 2d game artist: I work for a small game studio where your niche isn't really required for this position. I do character design, background, UI, frame-by-frame animation, etc, in varying art styles. One thing that my manager praised me is my versatility to adapt on different types of art styles and tasks. Which sounds great don't get me wrong, but also affected how I produce personal art on my free-time (inconsistent art syles, most specifically, and not posting as much because there's a ton of different stuff I wanted to do). If there's one thing I am thankful for being versatile is that I now know what I'm good at and what I really wanted to do. Before I went pro, I thought character design was my thing. Then they gave me a character design task where I realized....I'm not really that good at it--but I am good at character illustrations! Doing UI wasn't even an option for me back then but surprisingly, I worked wonders doing it. Background--yep, still not the best at it. I also found my love for doing animation which I knew I was interested in but now I'm actively pursuing during my free time. Back then when I do personal/hobby art, all I did was fanart doing character portraits in a specific art style. Currently, I still do fanart but I'm now doing character illustrations and animation in (what I hope so) a much improved art style (I took various art styles that I love from the work I did and mushed them all together). I wholeheartedly agree with you on the last part of the video: If you still don't know whether to be an art generalist or specialist, there's no harm in being a generalist first to know whether you want to be a specialist. Right now I like being a generalist because I get to explore different stuff and because of that, I now know which niche I'd go for when I just wanna draw for fun and relaxation. 'Cause I 10000% agree that making your hobby a job isn't all sunshine and rainbows. BONUS: I no know which commission types I can confidently offer that won't make me go insane.

[@PeriluneStar]

Cool to hear from a professional, you've got good advice! I'm curious, what games have you worked on?

[@kimuracchi]

@@PeriluneStar Thanks! The job we do is outsourced so unfortunately I don't think I can say the titles, sorry! I guess if I were to be a bit specific, it's mostly 2D mobile games for big and small game dev/publishing studios

[@SweetlyDarkArt]

This is one of those topics I love discussing with other artists.

[@synthellaart1587]

My ADHD says "Try and do EVERYTHING" but I also am just a hobbyist, so it doesn't matter.

[@Axiasart]

Same for me but I’m trying to be professional 😂😅

[@devinsauls9137]

Babe wake up! Duchess Celestia uploaded a video 😊

[@asahitora]

I’m here!

[@guelphdeliverygirl]

Im up

[@jeminix2]

I feel like it really honestly depends on what you want to do, and if you have the confidence to do it. If you want to just BE in, say, the animation industry, but not necessarily focus on one thing, and just be able to be flexible, versatile, and have the security of more job offers, having multiple skills and not specializing in one is helpful. If you want to stand out as an individual artist or pursue only one specific area in a field, you may have more luck specializing and building a reputation for excelling in that area. It's silly to say, but I think for people who don't know which one they want to be, they should try both. Start with being a generalist, and see if anything sticks. They can always end up finding something they prefer to specialize in, or find out they enjoy the versatility of remaining a generalist. Their own artistic journey can point them in the right direction.

[@zinzolin14]

I suppose my niche would be called "overly detailed fantasy character, creature and prop designs and concept art", which is very much the kind of work I wanna do professional. I do wanna get really good at this one thing, but as an artist always in search of growth and improvement I wanna be proficient at drawing backgrounds and illustrations as well. I'm open to changing niches as I continue my art journey. Being the best artist I can is my main mission in life.

[@sticklypi]

For me at least, I want to get very good at my style before trying to learn to draw in other styles. I was good at realism with pencil and painting before now trying digital art (slight chibi style). I like taking my time to learn a new thing one at a time.

[@robinfox4440]

To me it feels a little bit like choosing a musical instrument. I picked violin, and even within that there are specializations. There are fiddlers and classical musicians. Within that there are Celtic fiddlers of various stripes, and then there are Baroque specialist classical violinists and virtuosic modern players. It's insane how deep the rabbit hole can go on any one given skill.

[@BeyondUn]

As a novice professional artist without an online presence, basically just starting out. I appreciate your perspective and wisdom @DuchessCelestia, thank you.

[@ElvisRocking1]

I just like drawing interesting backgrounds with a single character in it and a few animals. I guess thats my niche. Everything else i am not really interested in, i like telling stories through visual queues.

[@ElvisRocking1]

Now, this does mean i have to get good at backgrounds, the figure and composition. But thats a challenge im willing to take. I just love backgrounds.

[@doop4wow540]

Ill say it since no one did. Love the Kagamine Rin art was really good

[@Wonderhoy-er]

Kagamine Rin is literally my favorite Vocaloid

[@Sweettpea33]

Watching this reinforced the fact that I’m a specialist 😭😭. It was never on purpose either, I never cared about finding a niche I just knew I wanted to draw people with a focus on the fashion and emotion. The main thing I look for before starting a piece is literally the most insane/extravagant outfit on Pinterest and what kind of story I can make out of it. I have little interest in other things to be honest but now that you said something I would like to do a couple flower studies 🤔

[@Toadstool22]

Hooray new video (no more doom scrolling for now!)

[@lunarsaber368]

I'm not too sure where I fall between being a generalist and being a specialist. I post (and draw for me) primarily fanart, of pretty much anything I'm interested in and have also taken suggestions from the (very few) subscribers I have. When I'm not drawing fanart, I usually prefer drawing women. Though, especially recently, I've been trying to broaden my art to improve my skills in drawing men (which fanart has helped quite a bit with), animals, backgrounds, and pretty much anything I can think of that I like or find useful to draw. I've also been experimenting with animation recently and have been enjoying the one that I'm doing! I do feel as though I should work a bit more with character design because that's what I'm looking at jobwise when I'm able to do that. I just know that I'm happy where I am and probably won't be sticking to a niche any time soon because I like being able to draw whatever I want while making it look decent!

[@akiraohalloran]

I'd say, just draw what you want (within reason of course). It doesn't matter if you lose followers for moving away from a niche or honing in on a niche, at the end of the day, it's your happiness that matters.

[@jeweldrawsgames2556]

I think a way to bypass this issue from a marketing standpoint for Generalist freelancers and other artists is likely to organize different pages with specific different types of art you do, for example I keep all my illustration work to one page, while putting adoptable designs on another one

[@AdorableFennec]

OMG DUCHESS CELESTIA POSTED

[@chibibble]

I’ve been slowly building up two very different niches. The first is the one is a comic that I’ve been drawing for 5 years and writing for 10. My heart and soul is in this work, and I think I’ll be working on it for the rest of my life to be honest. The problem is that it’s basically impossible to market without getting extremely lucky. The second niche involves my day job. I’m a full-time Violin Luthier. Because of my knowledge and experience in the field, I’ve come up with a relatively unique kind of painting. Essentially, I put down layers of various dyed Violin varnish onto a white Violin’s top or back. The medium is kind of a pain to work with, as it acts like a combination of water color, oils, and dry-erase marker, but I enjoy it nonetheless. I’m still in the testing and experimentation phase, so I’ve yet to start advertising it, but I know there’s a market out there thanks to my coworker. During the lockdown in 2020, they used acrylic paint on a few broken Violins, and they display them around the shop as decoration. A *lot* of people ask if they can either purchase them or commission my coworker to make one for them, but they’re so busy with playing at gigs, composing, and teaching at lessons that they’ve said no every time. So even if I don’t make much of an audience online, I can at least advertise locally and likely make a side income. Plus with the way that I paint them, they’d still be usable instruments if someone wanted to have them strung up. Win-win!

[@humanfingers]

GAHHHH I LOVE VIOLINMAKING 😭😭😭😭I’ve always wanted to study it and I have made a few cigar box fiddles myself but one day I want to be an apprentice to a luthier and make, like, actual instruments and stuff. It seems so freaking cool aaaaaaa

[@chibibble]

@@humanfingers It really is a fascinating subject! The lowest bar to entry would probably be apprenticing, but a select few colleges actually have programs for Violin making and repair. The one I attended (in the US) was the Minnesota State College Technical in Red Wing, MN. The repair course is only a year, and it’ll easily get you started in the field. Depending on how many people apply for it, they also offer a Violin construction course (it can be done alongside the repair course, but the workload is already quite strenuous, so I recommend doing that as a separate year). Since it’s a community college, the tuition is relatively cheap compared to other courses, so if want an idea of wha the field is like, definitely consider it!

[@humanfingers]

@@chibibble Thanks!

[@SpyroAndMrKatFan]

I started uploading on the internet at like age 12, most of it was Legend of Spyro fan ocs and art. I've always had a very complicated relationship with my art since my family discouraged me from it, and I was a perfectionist, never satisfied with anything I made, and always being frustrated and sad with anything I made. I became pretty good at drawing dragons, but My perfectionism made me really slow at making art, and since I was more focused on technical ability, my art never told a story. I eventually became disintereted in dragons. I started drawing ponies. I became pretty good at them, with my own unique style, but I never uploaded my sketches, and most of my art I did at school. The few illustrations i uploaded never got more then like 20 views. Then I got to secondary school and met a friend who drew anime. She got me into attack on titan, and I started learning to draw humans. I had multiple interests at once, my OCs still being dragons, but now also ponies, and humans. I stopped uploading art because a lot of it was me learning to draw humans, which I was too shamed to post. Then I became obsessed with Dragon age. I got better at drawing humans. And after secondary school, I made a twitter account exclusively for dragon age art. I tried the grind, I pushed myself to draw more and post often, at the detriment of the quality of my art. The community came with its own drama. Which characters you can draw, which ones you cannot because they're "bad". My favourite character was a not liked small character. And then I lost housing, lost access to my drawing tools and my pc, and had to scramble to stay afloat. When I got stable enough, i realized that I might actually be a furry. So I made another twitter for that, and drew only furry. And while I made some friends and mutuals I like and still follow, I ended up pivoting again to a niche game. I now have two furaffinities, four instagrams, four twitter accounts, and no name to speak of. I've been posting my art online since like 2010 and a lot of the people I was friends with back then now have full art careers while I'm still a nobody, struggling with mental health and retail jobs. I finally realized I cannot just make a name based on one interest because they keep shifting. And my art is no longer a priority, my mental health and discovering who I am beneath my trauma personality is.

[@sleepy_cloud2501]

Thank you so much for bringing that up! People always ask what kind of creative job I want to have but I have no idea. I love drawing but also painting, all kinds of fiber arts, sculpting,… And I know that if I build my whole brand on only one of them right from the start it’s just going to be limiting

[@thepuzzlemaster64]

Would drawing in vectors be its own niche? Like, I'm able to pull off some freaking magic with Inkscape that allows me to do some pretty detailed (and sometime realistic) drawings only using vectors (plus most of the time the file-size is less than 1MB). Apart from that, I'm a pure generalist. I'll use just about anything, and draw just about everything I like whenever I want. I can be drawing anime on a DS, or funky rabbits in 3D. I don't care about the industry nor the money, at the end of the day I just want recognition and to have fun doing something I like I think my programming knowledge helps-out a ton too. If something doesn't work the way I want it, I can most-likely tweak a ton of settings on my PC to make it work better, or (my favourite way) force it to do whatever I want through a custom script. There's truly no stopping me.

[@darkwaterseraphim]

A perspective from someone in an unrelated but similarly high-competition field: style and niche can be super, super important. But sometimes what gets you the job are the associated skills. I straddle being niche and a generalist in my field. What often secures me new positions are the other skills I bring to the table: organization, attention to detail, good communication, and always knowing what the next task is. I recommend anyone going into high-competition fields explore skills that are desirable for subsections of said field. For example, in animation, they may really need artists who are good at programming and flowcharts, regardless of if you're niche or generalist. But illustration jobs may need niche jobs that are good at art history and project management while generalist jobs need a lot of organization and attention to detail. Knowing what skills benefit a niche versus generalist artist may help you choose. And help you focus on those skills sooner rather than flounder, wondering what you can do to stand out. I'd also recommend exploring these skills before writing them off entirely. Yes, math and finances can be really boring. But maybe you watch a few youtube videos and, you know, it's not so terrible after all. You never know what additional skills will end up being something you like or even love outside of your professional career. This advice can certainly be applied to more personal applications, but I don't feel qualified to talk on it at this time. Also, I sort of got around the total pigeonholing of niches in my professional career by establishing myself from the get-go with two separate but related niches. It makes me slightly more versatile while also showing clear expertise. I agree though - it would be difficult to pivot totally away from either niche without going full generalist. I might be able to add something closely related to one, the other, or both. But going outside of them entirely has been a struggle.

[@FluttershyLeet]

Cool video as always

[@momob4276]

Good video, and I appreciate that you mentioned the pros and cons of both. I've been a professional self-employed artist for over a decade by honing in on a niche. But the niche isn't too niche where it'll be irrelevant or I'd get less clients any time soon (Kind of like with fandoms,) but I pride myself as an artist who can draw anything if needed. Personally, I started as a generalist, and only once I slowly transitioned into a specialist was when I able to achieve my dream of quitting my 9 -5 and being a full-time self-employed artist. I've never wanted to work for a company so the specialist angle worker perfect for my goals.

[@asdfghjkl33998able]

This actually helped a lot, also I came to the same conclusion that trying out a lot of things before settling on a niche is a good idea, also the size of the niche matters as well. Really helpful video ❤❤

[@soleilmole]

I needed to see this video today cause I feel like I fall into the generalist category because I really enjoy making traditional and digital art and I’ve seen so much growth in the past years with my art but I have a couple issues brewing inside me where II want to go into concept art/character design route career wise but I don’t want to abandon my other creative pursuits and then get bored doing one thing At the end of the day I love making art because it’s a way for me to escape my reality and tell stories I want to hear. I hope somewhere down the line I find people who understand my niche

[@katarinadreams6955]

I have a love for character design but I don't want to leave my characters in a blank space so I want to work on backgrounds. it's a bit of a pain to try and draw architectural structures. I also hope that my art will improve once I'm able to make the transition to digital

[@sometimessomee3535]

unrelated but i loved the speedpaint in today's video it turned out amazing

[@holy.diever]

Ive drawn nothing but sparkledog/cartoon animal art since i was 5. I am still drawing that stuff,,, more species than dogs now but dogs are still most of my art haha... still mostly four legged not physically anthro (think lion king type of anthro) I learned to draw humans and other random things but never stuck. (In fact i hate drawing humans i find it boring and lame. More neutral on classic anthros) I knew my niche since i was a kid and still can never see myself straying from it in any meaningful way

[@holy.diever]

Having autism helps this lol....

[@ElvisRocking1]

Hey, thats really really cool. Its good that you found your niche. I myself hate drawing humans, they are really just secondary to my backgrounds. Keep doing you.

[@holy.diever]

@ElvisRocking1 haha yeah. People always said id "grow out of it" with drawing cartoon animals but nope. Still doing it and will probably continue to when im 90 lol

[@MoonMoon-zz3lq]

This is really interesting to me bcos I was planning to start doing commission work soon, but I’ve been planning on marketing myself as a Jack of all trades but with an additional specialty in mimicking art styles from games, manga and shows. (I.e. I can draw ur my little pony OCs in canon art style, I can draw danganronpa oc sprites, I can draw in the Genshin impact art style etc.) I was wondering how that would impact my client base, so this is really helpful!!! Thank you ❤

[@WedgyBlue]

I am actually Countryballs Artist Major in Philippines 🇵🇭

[@flickerwizz233]

I think I've found the art niche that I'd be happy to commit to, but the problem is that it's not fully sfw and most social media platforms hate that shit and I wouldn't want my family to find it lol.

[@niicespiice]

i BET this applies to youtube too! which is why i'm struggling because i want to have one thing as a niche, but i take a long time on it so it makes it seem like my niche is streaming >.

[@VOlDNOVA]

I haven't found anything I would like to stick with permanently, and it makes it easier for me to just jump around between interests for not having any audience

[@owlsgurl]

Do i feel llike digital artist more so anime but I'm inspired by classic Disney plus early 2010s. I really enjoyed thr the video

[@noah1880]

I don't choose what I do, the dopamine does, and the dopamine hasn't allowed me to love anything but this one ship for two years so I guess I'm stuck w them XD

[@FrootDeMoN]

Everytime any youtuber talks about squarespace i immediately think they're talking about skillshare idk why lol

[@TheCherryClown]

💅

[@Wonderhoy-er]

This is so random yet so funny for literally no reason whatsoever lol

[@hafizmazuki2443]

I found my art calling yesterday. I decided to draw warhammer 40k universe especially from sisters of battle ☺

[@maplechei]

dangan saved my art career

[@cylland5060]

I don't really care about finding a niche, but often I will obsess over one topic and draw exclusively that then move one to another thing, so I guess I am a niche generalist?

[@technotoister]

i think my art niche might be drawing with nonehuman characters

[@taylorbechstein1681]

Im very niche- i created an AU combining dragons/magic with american history😅 I excell in drawing dragons but thats pretty much it- i can draw other things well, but it takes twice as long if not more. Im trying to expand my skills because i feel like it will be more important to be flexible in the industry But for clients, id rather be known as a dragon artist😂

[@elisaelisaross]

I will say what everybody is thinking but nobody dares to day: I want to get good in everything! I want to be the master of all! (Wish me good luck)

[@Flagnightstar]

0:55 untitled goose game reference?

[@hafizmazuki2443]

I found it in drawing warhammer 40k ☺

[@TheobaldLeonhart]

Please read the Besstars manga, instead of watching the anime (Sorry, just. Really don't like cgi anime)

[@raralightning]

My nieche is animals. I suck at human characters and more skilled nd comfortable drawing animals and animal characters then humans. I always practise humans but they dont well...pop the way my animal characters do.

[@bunydotcom]

this is a great video :D ive been drawing in my niche for roughly 4 and a half years now and its honestly one of the best choices ive ever made for my art !! (i do cutesy anime styled character art with pastel colors) its helped me find my art style and become truly happy with my art; before i drew a little bit of everything and i always felt somewhat unsatisfied,, but once i decided "ok this is the direction i want to go with my art" ive never looked back !! its also helped me grow on social media exponentially, before i had a set niche i was stuck around 300 followers on instagram but after sticking with my niche for a while i have over 16k !! i think when choosing a niche its important to choose something u deeply love (rather than a passing trend or temporary interest like mentioned in the video) and to choose something that is simultaneously narrow enough that it allows your audience/employers to know what to expect from you while also being broad enough to allow yourself creative freedom and room to learn and improve at the same time !! (which can also help avoid burnout) at least that has worked very well for me so far :D i wish anyone reading this luck on your creative journey, whether that leads you to an artistic niche or not !! 💕