Nuki News #61: Artie Asks Artists - Retrospective

So it’s been a year since I sent out a questionnaire to 12 artists who make commissioned art for a living. You can check out all the posts in that series through the ‘Advice’ tag, but you can also check out the first post here:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/39351636

I summarized all the answers I got from those 12 artists into 12 points, and took those and combined some down to 8 Nuki News posts. I’m here today to look back on them and see where I stand and where I still need to improve or found I neglected. First, lemme condense it even further, from 8 to 5 points:

1. Consistency is Key - Good is Good enough, don’t stress over the details, just produce work regularly. This helps will building demand for your work and awareness of it. Make a Schedule to stay on track!

2. Your Mind Matters - How you perceive the world around you and take in situations, good or bad, will be what drives your success or sends you to the dumpster. Have no regrets and take mental breaks!

3. Keep it Fresh - Work on things you love, it doesn’t have to be art either. Change things up too, as inspiration can come from new things and trying out different approaches or activities.

4. Healthy Habits - Make time daily for physical exercise and studying/reading about various topics so your muscles and brain are kept in good shape!

5. Find Friends - A furry artist needs friends to surround themselves with. Be kind, collaborate, and be a hand in making welcoming spaces. Work on dropping bad social habits(gossiping, etc)

How am I doing regarding these 5 points? Mostly well, I think.

1. I’ve definitely been making art and posting consistently! I like how my art is coming along. There’s always a want to take some time to study or practice drawing and anatomy, and on my off time I do it here n there. It hasn’t been the most consistent but I’m very pleased with my output, even if I don’t post 100% every other day(due to just forgetting and not wanting to post at a bad time so the algorithm ignores it.).

2. I have been meditating regularly, and by golly it’s helped. I stress about things less and have less anxious feelings over-all compared to years before. I still slip up of course and feel have pangs of anxiousness, desperation, or stress. But even during my low points of the years(I get summer time sadness, so mid-late July through August I get bouts of depression) I am so far able to keep my head on straight. Doing art full time likely has helped my overall mood though, I won’t lie.

3. Admittedly have been keepin some things same-y, at least as far as business goes. Nothing new up my sleeves there other than possibly getting into YChs or in-stream sketch comms. But when I’m doing personal stuff, I’ve designed a character or two, and made original story drawings for myself. I don’t have the motivation to do that all the time so I don’t try to force it.

4.I’m proud to say I’ve been exercising an average of 25 days per month for 5 months straight now, it’s not much(10-ish minutes per day) but the consistent physical work outs have helped a lot. However, I straight up have *not* been reading this year. I really should find something to read and take notes on, especially since I’ve been stalling myself on other business ventures.

5. This year I’ve been streaming more consistently, about twice a week, and it’s ended up creating a wonderfully wholesome and endearingly sweet environment of goofballs. Happy to have kind of formed a community in my streams to hang out, I’ve already made a number of pals through streaming like this. It’s awesome.

So basically, my takeaways on this advice is- I need to read a book, consider trying another type of art format to liven things up, and work on meditation more to keep myself in check especially during tough periods.

I’m real grateful to the artists who took the time to give me their insight even a year later. It’s something I can always go back to if I ever feel lost. Someday I might be a help to other artists looking to do this for a living too; who knows, where will I be in 2025? Just knowing I’ve gotten this far thanks to considering their advice and putting in the work is assuring and fills me with confidence. I know if I told myself in July of last year, I’d be beaming with pride because I’d know I made the right decision.

But I know it’s not all sugar n rainbows- I still have to put in more work and expand my comfort zone if I want to find more stability and success in my career and give back to future furry artists and the community as a whole.

Oh, crap, I’ll end the post here, it’s getting a bit long, haha. Thanks for reading and sticking with me by the way! If you have any thoughts or questions for me feel free to comment below!