I think it's more of this time of year, people are broke or there is a lot of holidays and other stuff they gotta spend stuff on.

Quite possibly оо

In the past at least 2 years, September, October and November were considered very profitable months for many precisely due to holidays (Halloween, Christmas, New Year). Can we assume that more attention is being paid to material gifts this year? Or is it too early for Halloween gifts? х)

I think Goomuin is right too been inflation, and such so who knows really.

That's for sure. Thank you very much for taking the time for me and telling me your thoughts! >^<

In many countries the cost of food, gas and electricity skyrocketed, which possibly explains that commissions and such just can't be afforded anymore :(

I was afraid of such a situation. About 2-3 months ago I asked about this, and the guys said that it got worse, but not critically. Apparently, it has become even more difficult for them now :с

I sincerely hope that this conflict (the same one) will end, and the countries will slowly begin to return to their usual life, not survival ._.

Yeah, in my country people who were fine suddenly can't pay the electricity bill anymore. It's certainly not that people don't want to buy art, it's that they can't. There are so many YCHs I want or so many great artists I wanna commission, but it's just not in the budget anymore...

I hope it all gets back to normal soon too :(

I understand and I am very sad to hear about such situations. I've heard that gas and electricity are very expensive in America and Europe, so I'm even afraid to imagine what is happening now. I hope that the situation will not worsen т-т


Please take care of yourself and first of all worry about your physical and mental health and safety. Thank you so much for your answer and your time!

it's probably the economy. Commissioning art is a luxury item and something you only get when you can afford it.

You're right about that :с

Then does it make sense, in your opinion, to make art of slightly worse quality, but more accessible, or is it better to go into fanarts and personal content in these months? х)

After reading what people are saying here I think I would be good to offer cheaper "sketch" commissions.

I looked at your gallery and your art is certainly worth what you charge for it. I know YCH's are very limiting, so if I had $150 i would go straight for a commission instead, the last YCH i got was just a couple weeks ago and it was $45.

I also understand that fur affinity changed tye rule to only allow 1 reminder post a day, maybe that has had an effect.

I do know that in an economic down turn it is the higher charging artists who will feel the pinch first. So offering cheaper alternatives is fine, but don't forget about your higher cost stuff too.

Probably just that time of year honestly. Where people are focusing on other things in their life that cost money.

I just try to limit myself so I don’t spend all my money on accident.

Well done for doing this. I'm trying to stick to the same position at the moment Х))

And thank you for your reply!

You’re welcome.

I’ve kinda already used my limit for the month sadly.
If I could, I would get something from you, even if something small.

Thank you so much for supporting me. You know that for me the most important thing in our relationship is your comfortable life and financial stability. Therefore, I myself would refuse the commission if I knew that you are very close to the budget border or are crossing it х)

Then maybe next month, but you don’t have to worry too much.
I’m not in a position where I’m hurting. I just like to save money, but I also like to spend. So I try to limit how much I spend.

I suspect it's the state of the economy in different countries. It's difficult to make ends meet here for sure (UK), so artwork with higher prices is something people can't afford right now unfortunately

Then in your opinion, what is the best way for artists to do - to reduce the quality and price for their work, or for now try to work for an influx of audience and personal projects? оо

It's a difficult one. I don't think you should feel pressured to work for less than a liveable wage, otherwise you're going to be worse off than the rest of us! Maybe offer some less detailed commissions that you are able to complete faster, like sketches / busts / icons? Hopefully then more people would be able to buy, given how little spare cash people have, and you'd be able to get through enough of them to keep yourself in a comfortable financial position?

Definitely doing some personal work to keep up your audience is a good idea - that way when someone does have some spending money available, your work is still fresh in their mind or showing up on their feed!

Have you considered a Patreon? I know Patreon take a % of the money you make, but using that to show WIPs of personal work or sketches or large pieces etc. might be another way to help support yourself? People might be able to afford a small monthly subscription fee to support you and your work more reliably and consistently than being able to commission full personal artwork at the moment?

I'm just throwing some ideas out really 😅 it's a rough time for so many people and it seems especially artists at the moment

I've design adopts and only sold a few does this mean I have to reduce prices?

Why did you come to this conclusion? оо

srry not good with my words. (Autism)

I think pricing your YCH commissions, that's up to you to decide trust yourself.
This year has been a struggle for every artist, I'm saving up for commision from different artists, is not going to happen because, prices going up and money issues.
I don't believe in polites, watching the news a lot it ruins my creativity when I'm trying to draw.

I'm trying to say is your art is great and always will be, I enjoy looking at other artist's work.

keep holding on to your dreams and never let go.

I’ll add to a lot of people here and say that even if I can well afford a decent-to-high quality standard of living in an expensive country, I might ONLY use my saved money for art if - price is really decent for what I want to get from my character, and it also satisfies me. What this means, is:

Since I know I’m only spending on that artpiece and it’ll only show my character in a certain way, I will be very selective about the style of the ych and how my character is portrayed. (but then that’s down to the person).
This also means, I don’t go on a crazy streak of buying high quality art from people any frequently (there’s still some people who do that regardless of types of income). So since I dont pretend to and am unable to getting newer, different displays of my character in new commissions, I will settle for one thing only and it better depict my character really really well. :)

Many people must be having that thinking but even then, are not actively considering buying anything — and it’s just a matter of finding the buyer you’re looking for in the community right now.

Or I could give your ych to some of these people that I know a little better here in FA. Yeah! :)

Thank you very much for the informative answer!

I myself also support this view of buying art/other luxury items. If selectivity in drawings is growing now, as people have become better at controlling their spending on it, does it make sense to focus on the commission rather than the yches? In commissions, the buyer has more power and more opportunities to portray his character in the most appropriate way for him oo

Absolutely! I love to help

I see people here are giving you many factual impressions, stats and figures so now you got a whole idea of what’s it like for each place people come from. It’s not very complicated just a worldwide money issue. Honestly. And yeah, IF we’re gonna go as far as considering buying furry art comissions a luxury item, then as a product/service, you change your thinking entirely about the delivery — you give the buyer more control! :) But I’ve seen every other high-volume artist profit off of YCH since you can sell them fast and in higher volume. You’d have to charge far more for individual commissions to account for detail and times — so the buyer goes high roller to say they got an exclusive tailored piece of this kickass artist etc. It’s prolly not worth it,

but then that means you gotta know what the people who actually buy ych/art from you actually WANT for their characters - that makes one think what makes you choose to make the ych templates you come up with atm. Is it what you think ppl gunna want for their characters? if yes/no, why? The more you know about each person you sell to the better

I had this conversation with Neon-Chan the other day.

In general, it seems that cost of living has gone up dramatically for people in the last few months. Some places it's electricity and such (summer months in a lot of places cause that), rent, food, etc. I know my rent went up $450/mo just a few months ago.

It's just a stressful time for everyone right now. Costs are going up, wages aren't, and of course people who work commission in something that most people would consider 'novelty' or 'luxury' are going to feel it even more.

Your work is great dear, I promise it isn't you or your friends right now. Life is just tough for a lot of us.

Wow, this rise in price sounds just awful. I knew she had changed, but not that much. I would limit all the extra expenses myself if I was put in front of such a fact О-о

And thank you very much for your kind words. I can only hope that the situation will not worsen, and the economy will quickly pass such a crisis :<

Its likely a combination of things. The cost of living has skyrocketed in many parts of the world along with the cost of fuel and weakening economies such as China's and America's. A lot of people have also been switching over to twitter I understand.

Here in Washington, U.S. the average rent was about $1500 or so a month last year and for the same apartment its now around $3000 to $3500. About $160 would do me fine for groceries for a full month, and now that lasts me about a week without buying and kind of junk food or treats. My monthly income is $3100, so things are tight for a lot of us here in the states.

I can't find any decent words to fully express my shock at such figures о-о

I'm surprised the art market didn't crash a few months ago, if things are that bad. And I sincerely regret that people found themselves in such a difficult situation :с

Thank you very much for telling us about this

Money value going down, prices of everything going up. Winter is coming.

It's not complicated. Economy is bad, so people have less money to spend of trivial/fun things.

Every day living prices have taken a increase with everywhere between 1-20% here. So I can only guess it´s the same in other countries.

Your work is amazing. Your art is amazing. Your YCHs are amazing. Your quality is top notch.

I just can't afford you.... You deserve everything that you ask and more. I'm just a poor wülfwyrm YwY

I'm noticing a lot of artists are posting YCHs that get absolutely no bids. In additional to IRL uncertainty/hardship that parts of the world are facing, I think after so many artists pushed YCH so hard for the last few years people are finally getting tired of them.

I know I unwatched a number of artists because 3/4 or more of everything they posted were multiple advertisements for the same YCH back to back with very little actual completed artworks.

yea moneys tight... cons and all.. we will buy commissions soon truust me

Honestly it got tiresome seeing reminders for YCHs, I know that they're important to get them sold, but it clogged up the feed and added a lot of stress. I just received a pay rise so I can afford to purchase a lot of commissions, but even recently I've been having a hard time covering expenses due to economy. I think it's possibly a mix of multiple things, but the overarching theme is stress and expense management. I think once we get into October more things might pick up, we'll see!