My Chronic Illness Killed My Illustration Career - How I Am Rebooting My Art Career

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Don't sweat the sale. Every artist does thar one in a while. Plus if you are changing your style or offerings it won't bear on future prices. Good luck!

[@LeeAngold]

Aww, thank you!

[@MadyRoseArt]

Thank you for sharing this video! It was so informative to hear your thought process and reasoning for what your business plans and goals will be. An illustration career is super tough and for one reason or another, there will be times like this when an illustrator has to really take time to consider what they are doing that's working, what they want to do, and from that what is the best way to continue forward. I feel like I'm constantly having these same conversations with myself and it was so validating to hear you having it too.

[@susannebecker6027]

If I can give you an honest tip: if you are serious about building a career as a freelance artist, then stop sharing these very private and personal problems with the public. It may feel good, you may also receive positive and reinforcing feedback. But that comes from your KZbin fans and not from potential clients and customers. Your KZbin followers see a friend who needs encouraging words. Potential customers and clients see a weak woman who is struggling enough with her own problems, so they would rather look for someone else who can put all their strength into the commissioned work. If you want to be taken seriously as an artist and illustrator, you have to appear professional and not constantly reveal your weakest sides. I'm sorry if this sounds rude and mean to you, but it's really meant as a well-intentioned tip to help you become more successful as an artist!

[@LeeAngold]

Hi! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. That is the advice/view which I took the first time around (and in my previous career) and I am making a very conscious choice and effort to do different now. I have lived my life telling myself that acknowledging my disabilities, my pain, my past slipups is a sign of weakness. That's what my worst impulses still tell me. It is not. Asking for help is a difficult, humbling and ultimately admirable skill. Overcoming illness and disability is a show of strength, even and especially if it takes asking for the support of your community. Sharing my most peraonal struggles publicly is the opposite of comfortable or reassuring. It is a painful, difficult move I am deliberately choosing to make. Shutting myself off, refusing to share my struggles, pretending everything was OK when it was not is a big part of what led to me dropping off the map entirely when I could no longer maintain the illusion of everything is wonderful. By taking the hard step of being honest about the hurdles I face behind the scenes, I am protecting myself and my business. The next time my health takes a massive nosedive (when, not if) the fact this is out in the open will make it much more possible to cope and still work in some capacity. Finally, the value of art, unlike most other products, is tied up in feeling a connection to the creator and their story. This is my story.