<sup>hello! i sell my paintings and i don't have an agent or anything really, just an etsy site. you have to promote yourself by talking to different artists, getting a blog maybe, and just being optimistic and a little bit confident!

and i don't think everybody can draw everything. some people are especially good at portraits but don't like doing landscapes and, the other way round, too!
i think its most important to practice lots and enjoy what you're making!</sup>

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shop, blog

Oooh, thanks for the tips, I am practising more and more so definitely on that, just need to get more confident and 'out there' I guess!

I'm a professional artist and gallery owner. It started pretty simply - I've never had an agent, but I've had a lot of exhibitions in museums and other galleries. But it took a longtime to make a name for myself. I wrote a DA news article once about getting into the business: [link]
I believe that just about anyone can draw or paint with good training nad the right tools. When I first started on portraiture, they often looked only a bit like the subject, but I started noticing things in people - the way the colours in the eyes have a dark ring around them, the way there's always a line in the area above the eye...things like that. The more I painted, the better I got. ^^

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My animal paintings: [link]

My website: [link]

Hiya!

So, I don't have an agent and most professional artists I know don't either. It's pretty well known that an agent will never work as hard for you as you will work for yourself. Being a freelance illustrator is about finding that equilibrium between business and art. It's not easy!!! But possible.

Also, most artist's can't draw EVERYTHING. There are those select freaks who are just incredible and I'm not sure, but maybe they can. But the rest of us, the ones who practice for hours and hours to improve, we can't draw everything. I went to the ConceptArt.org convention in Seattle and many of the top artist's there talked about being specialized. Most artist's choose two out of four areas within the concept world. For example, being good at just drawing characters isn't going to get you anywhere. BUT, if you are good at characters AND animal/creature design, BLAM! Success.

Find what you are good at. Most of us love drawing characters. But try to stretch yourself a little. Draw environments, animal/creatures, or industrial design (planes, train, automobiles!...and weapons, etc.).

Keep drawing! EVERYDAY.

Hey,

Thanks so much for your comments...always good to have other people's point of view...and it's always morale boosting too!

I'm gonna do it, I am! I keep trying to draw every day...maybe I'll try twice a day!

Thanks again.

That's the spirit.