Here at Design by Humans, we work with 15,000+ artists all over the world, and all of them have their own ways to do well on our site and as an artist in general. There are a lot of different ideas about what makes art good and what makes it popular, which are not always the same thing. Check out Sean McCabe, Hand Lettering Artist & Type Designer, and his video on good vs popular work. And for all you artists and aspiring artists, check out what our DBH artists have to say about being an artists and making good art that they are proud of and that people like. "The best advice I ever got was to be and accept what makes you different. Even if it takes longer to be noticed it pays off. With this advice I always try to follow my own intuition and chart my own creative course." -thomcat23
"Finish what you have started, no matter what." -mickeyns
"Your imagination is the limit!" -Vidarson77
"The best advice I have ever received would have to be to slow down. I think as an artist, people tend to move from one piece to the next without enjoying what they have already created. In that we can find inspiration, reminding ourselves why we have become artists. So, next time, feel free to take your time." -ieIndigoEast
"'It's not your baby. Rip it up and do it again.' In other words, get a tough skin and be prepared to revise stuff" -DoOomcat
"No matter how good you are you are never too good for more lessons... I had a lot of pride in being self taught, but I got 1000 percent better any time I took lessons or was in school" -biotwist
"The best piece of advice I have been given was 'love the process.' Not just the end result of what you make, but how you make it and why. I spent a lot of time in my earlier years trying to be very good at a painterly, semi-realistic art style I hated doing and it was burning me out because I thought it was the best thing to be good at. When I accepted it wasn't for me and discovered I was more of a cartoonist, making art entirely changed for me. I'm far more satisfied and productive, and people have commented that they can see a sense of joy in my more recent work." -MothMonarch
"Don't be a crowd pleaser, be a you pleaser." -wotto
"'Grab that net & catch that beautiful butterfly.' It reminds me to not be afraid in striving for success professionally as an artist. The quote reminds me that reaching high-expectations takes a certain amount of risk, otherwise you're just spinning your wheels. Inactivity turns one's goals into pipe-dreams, rather than something tangible." -Jasdogg
"Draw, practice and most importantly, finish your drawing. Even if you're not satisfied with what you are doing, just keep going, try even something new and finish it. Maybe in the end it won't work, BUT maybe in the end it's going to be your best artwork yet!" -MareveDesign
"The best advice I ever got was to 'compete with myself and no one else'. That way, I'm always exploring and working hard, giving myself chances to make mistakes and grow." -GabrielaTorres
"The best advice I could give would be from wisdom gained through a long career of doing everything the hard way. There is no reason for you to do it the hard way unless you are like I was and don't think you need to listen to others experience.... I would suggest learning, at minimum, some very sound and proven business foundations and marketing. This will enable you to actually do art and live at the same time'¦.Learning this young can be the difference between becoming an artist in demand by top paying clients, or being a burger jockey at McDonalds demanding that you really are an artist to all your buds'¦.You will soon realize that putting in the effort up front by learning and planning will actually be like depositing into your future creativity account.... If I can help even one artist avoid the "hard way", my past will have a little more value to it." -eturnl