#pivoting to furry art isnt enough you need to physically become a cat girl in mind body and spirit this economy

[bunabi]

hi any advice for a person who's trying to become a professional artist? everywhere I look in any art adjacent industry people are losing their jobs left and right,being underpaid or are freelancing while working a side job,I swear the only ppl doing well are the ai art bitches…I feel like I'm aboard a sinking ship 🥲🫠

I applied to multiple postings yesterday and honestly I don't know anymore 🫠

The illustrator + 2D generalist + concept artist hiring pools are pretty full right now with all the layoffs

Without connections or an insane online following idk how students and entry-level folks are supposed to make it anymore

Recommendations through positive word-of-mouth from my previous clients has been keeping me afloat so far + commissions + patreon, and I'm blessed with a super supportive parent; if I didn't have those things — and if I was able or willing to do a 9-to-5 office job— I would not be in a position to handle this

And honestly AI is a huge issue, don't get me wrong, but it plays a small part of why these creative industries are collapsing.

It's the unforgiving hours, the low pay, the burnout, the layoffs disrupting entire chains of communication, sudden project cancellations due to trend-chasing and investor expectations and internal politics, the looming uncertainty of the future. The unsustainable profit-first infrastructure is just finally buckling I fear.

Possible workaround: pop off as a fan artist and build a following large enough to subsist on subscriptions. Make a new draw-with-me tiktok every other day and/or stream for five to eight hours a day three times a week. I am in no way joking about this. It's a lot of work to get there but at least it yields consistent results. 🧍🏾‍♀️