UPDATE: This post is highly controversial – in fact, almost none of the reader of TAA like it, and I can certainly understand why! As an artist, you’ve worked hard for your training, and you have a passion to create. Certainly you hope that alone is valued at more than $5! I hope so too. I included this post because I thought it would generate good discussion, and I was right. Unfortunately, I failed to communicate that I think selling your art for $5 is not a great idea, and I don’t think that any artist should do it for very long. See this post on What is the Value of Your Art?
Today’s guest post is from, an artist, actress, and performer. While I don’t think Fiverr is a great place to sell your masterpieces, I think beginning artists who haven’t sold much yet could potentially use Fiverr to grow an audience base. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments.
By now, many people have heard about, used, or sold services on Fiverr.com. Fiverr.com is essentially a place where people can buy or sell services, products (called “gigs”) online for $5. As you complete more “gigs” as a seller, and receive good feedback from buyers on your account overtime, there are ways Fiverr allows you to eventually sell your items for more than $5 as well.
I became successful as a seller on Fiverr pretty quickly. I’m an artist and a trained actor, and I happen to be very comfortable recording videos on camera, which I discovered was quite a “hot” skill to have on Fiverr. So, I created a gig where I record video testimonials and tutorials for people, businesses and products. And thus far I’ve received tons of orders.
As I began searching other sellers gigs, I found many other artists that were selling gigs and art on Fiverr. Of course at first I found a bunch of graphic designers, photographers, video editors…etc and others who could create digital forms of art.
However, this Christmas I discovered quite a few gigs by artists who weren’t solely selling digital art.
Here’s what happened: I had taken a picture on my iPhone that I wanted to print out and give as a gift to my friends, but I wanted to do something unique with the photo.
To me (even though I would NEVER claim to be a photographer), the photograph was actually quite beautiful…it almost looked like a painting. And that’s when it dawned on me.
I logged in to Fiverr.com and searched for any gigs with the keyword “paint”. Lo and behold, I found a few artists who could actually paint the photo, and then send me a digital scan or copy of the painting. I ordered one of the gigs immediately and sent my photograph. (see below)
It was perfect, and my friends loved their christmas gift!
So… painters! You too can use Fiverr.com to sell YOUR art!
Example Fiverr Gigs to Inspire You
- I will paint your picture of anything you want and send you an HD scan copy of it for $5
- I will turn your photo to painting art, it will look like it was painted by an artist, from image to painting for $5
- I will wet or dry paint your picture and send you an HD scan copy for $5
- I will teach you how to start your own face painting business for $5
- I will do a miniature painting of your dog from a photo you send me for $5 I will paint a watercolor portrait on watercolor paper for $5
- I will put your face into a classic painting for $5
- I will draw an impressionist style oil painting from your image for $5
As you can see, you can get really creative with what you offer in your gigs. They can be as broad or as specific as you want or need them to be.
Extra tips:
Do make sure that whatever you claim you will do on Fiverr doesn’t take you five hours. It’s just not worth it. This is where I would break the order specifications down and do only one portrait or small painting per $5. Anything over that, and the buyer would need to purchase a gig extra (once you’re a higher “level” seller on Fiverr–a gig extra means you can charge more than $5) or just order multiple gigs from you.
The above tip also applies if you’re wanting to sell paintings you’ve already created. You can set a price for them and have people buy them by ordering multiple gigs.
If someone would like a portrait painted live, perhaps you could utilize Skype in order to paint them. This would obviously mean you would need to be comfortable with this buyers and contact them ahead of time to make sure you can set up a time.
There you have it! Painters can earn money on Fiverr.com! To your success and spirit.
Hi Cory
Yes, I was outraged. This is a terrible site for artists. It says to me that artists are so desperate that they’ll do anything for any kind of a sale, even if the proceeds are not even enough to buy a cup of coffee and a donut. It makes all artists look bad, look cheap, and feeds the perception that artwork is really not worth anything at all. It’s too bad for the truly skilled artists that are showing their stuff on the site. And it’s too bad for all of us that have worked hard to build our skills and businesses to have to be compared to this.
If art were a product like milk, or widgits, this site would be accused of “dumping” below-cost goods on the market.
So what is the value of art Maggie? I hear a lot of artists talk about how their art is worth so much, but when it gets down to brass tacks, how many artists are willing to stick to their guns and sell for what they’re worth?
Stick to their guns? What are you referring to? Cory, I think you are getting confused between “worth” and “value”. Two completely different things.
OD – I’m talking about so many artists I know who start out selling at one price, but when the collector asks them to lower their price, they do out of fear that they won’t sell their work. Happens all of the time.
Worth and value are indeed two different things – how would you define them?
Cory, I guess if you value your art as a cheap commodity, then that’s what its worth will be.
Really, I’m surprised that you’d mention this as any kind of alternative for an artist. Did you know that out of the paltry $5, this company takes a $1 fee? So now you’ve made $4.
Sorry Cory but I think this site is terrible for artists. $5 dollars? Are you kidding? It doesn’t matter how long it takes someone to do a work of art. Value is not measurable, it is purely perceptive! Especially in art.
I cant think of doing anything for $5? Thats not even minimum wage. Ok,… Maybe offering my opinion. That will be $5 dollars, please.
OD – I was hoping there would be some artists who would express some outrage. I’m glad to see artists valuing their work enough to recognize that $5 isn’t much for any amount of work.
That said, if you think of Fiverr as a potential lead source, it might be different, yes? What if you could get paid $5 to do a preliminary sketch for a larger commission? It might be worth experimentation – but perhaps not.
I do agree in to a very lesser extent, we all began somewhere not so? How often has a strugleing artist accepted peanuts for his work because he was desperate? Is this not perhaps worse. I am a successfull artist in South Africa not famous I may add neither selling what I consider good art as such but I sell what is in demand the old, antique washed out and stressed look!!!!! When cinverting your dollar back to our rand things look somewhat rosier too! I think that if this fiver spot can pay your bread and butter bill and float your good work by all means. EGO is unfortunately a problem for many artists. I want to try this site and draw quick sketch portraits with a difference who knows what window might open. Thank you vanesse
Great point Vanesse – those outside the US might find Fiverr to be a little more valuable.
No. I disagree. The sketch or the concept an artist is “the big idea” that is worth the most! Anybody who has any skill can paint or render, but fee can come up with a great concept or composition.
You ask another person, “what is the value of art?” Well that is the biggest red herring of a question. Art is not one thing. Its not just paint on a canvas. I”ll say it again. You can not measure “value”. Value is a PERCEPTION..
Id be happy to go into more on this topic you wrestle with on your blog.
Hi, Vijaykumar here, I would take this opportunity to thank you for checking out my site.
My innate passion for nature and its ambience has been instrumental in prompting me to bring out creative art work in sketching, drawing and painting.
“Creativity is imaginative and thoughtful child of good observation !!!”
I try to put forward moods and expressions in my observations, I come across in day to day life.
My work is dedicated to indian life and diversified indian cultures and its rich heritage, within indian shores .
I suppose the starving artist might prefer this to starving, maybe Van Go would have gone for it, but isn’t getting a day job better than this bottom feeding?
No one’s suggesting you make a living from Fiverr. I invited the author to share this as a possible lead source.
My outrage extends to thinking it may be time to stop my membership. Even your suggestion of $5 for a preliminary sketch is appalling. time to say goodbye?
I was really excited when I saw this article about Fiverr- it seems like the site could lead to many amazing connections and possibilities.
What especially struck me was people posting “needs” on the site. These are all potential patrons! They may just want something really fast that costs $5 now, but what if once you do that tiny commission for them, they like your work so much that they want to commission larger projects.
I think it is very close-minded to immediately label Fiverr as not being worthy of an artist’s time. When people are open to possibilities, more opportunities flow in.
Thank you for the article!
Finally i get someone who reasoned it out like me
Am from Rwanda and i wanted to try out fiverr but only after conq research.
Am reading all these comments and its like i already know Fiverr.
Anyway, is there any other suggestion for selling art online??
Hi Cory and all!
I agree that for someone who is still working on putting a high enough price on their art, this is counter-intuitive. However it’s a great point you make that the value is in reaching more people – something I am working on this year. I’ve had a big brainstorm and am thinking of even adapting the idea for in-person markets. I think it might be a unexpected generator of interest and momentum.
Thanks!
Meg x o
The $5 offer for a scanned image of a drawing is actually not that bad… IF you view it as a learning experience. I mean, a lot of artists draw just to draw in order to sharpen their skills… so what is so wrong with doing that while also making a few bucks?
Obviously I don’t think an artist would want to get into the game of spending hours or weeks on a drawing / painting that only results in $5… BUT for quick sketches or quick painting studies — it could be interesting.
Hello I am a artist from sc, I am attempting to promote my art, hoping to
publish a book with my bio, art, inserts and more
Hey, I think that “art” is not at all measurable as its the insights of an artist which can’t be measured in any ways.
Although I would like to say that the picture is absolutely marvelous. It’s so expressive and lovely at the same time. I am totally in love with this piece of art work.
Personally I find it the easiest to start making money on Fiverr by following your interest while providing a service that is in high demand, such as video testimonials (if you love acting, that is). These days video testimonials are all the rage and if you’re not extremely shy in front of a camera, you can certainly start making some money quickly on Fiverr by investing in a decent quality camera. And pretty much that’s it! Just follow your intuition and have fun doing it, and understand that at the beginning you’re not going to be making a lot of money shooting videos of yourself, but if you look at the ones on Fiverr that have 2000 plus positive reviews, you know that there is serious money to be made if you persist, which is what I’m aiming to do… so far I’ve got about 10 but I’m optimistic that through hard work and dedication I’ll be driving the numbers up steadily..
The key is creating value for others while having fun doing it, and be consistent.. and remember: creating a service is much easier than creating a product. Good luck!
Regards,
Mike
https://www.fiverr.com/sunny_tuesday
To test out Fivver I decided to see what it was like to buy a logo design. I looked at the work of four ‘artists’ and the results that came back in 3 of the four was to be polite shocking (and their fiver portfolio was obviously not their own work based on the artwork that i received). The first was a black and white child like drawing with basic Word font. I accepted the design and gave it a three star rating just to try out the system of delivery which was ok. The next two designs were nothing like what I had asked for in the brief (clipart and basic font cobbled together) and I asked them to modify (basically redo). One declined and the other produced a better logo with a different company name on it than i had asked for. I declined the artwork. The first design that I had accepted sent me a message through Fivver asking me to ‘up the 3 rating’ I had given to 5 stars so they could ‘use it to get more work’. I ignored this and then had another message reminding me to upgrade their rating again (what a cheek!). I used the Fivver facility to block them. The fourth designer came up with something which fitted my requirement but was very basic and obviously clip art stitched together in photoShop. The overall experience with Fivver was totally underwhelming and with no visible way of complaining to the site owners I have decided to leave it well alone. I suspect that Fivver will become a joke before long if anyone can claim to produce quality artwork without being vetted. On that basis and the fact that the fees are so low its not a place for artists who produce decent work and value their reputation. It fits perfectly with the old saying – ‘you get what you pay for’
$5 is your basic gig, but most add additional options. And have the opportunity to add more options once you get started on the gig. My cousin had a beautiful logo designed on fiverr. That is how I found out about it. So I joined, posted a few gigs and have already had orders. As far as, my digital art I even had a repeat customer and got to do 6 illustrations. The buyer can also leave a tip! I am proud of my work and happy to help someone accomplish what they need or have something to cherish that I created!
I am not an artist. I am making more than $1000 in fiverr working around 2-3 hours a day.
My average selling price is 20$ with 358 orders created so far with 1% cancellation. https://uk.fiverr.com/users/philsony/ Positive ratings 99%
My fields: Web development, Web Security (SSL Fix and installation), SEO etc.
Just wanted to share…
First off you use Fiverr so you can eat and pay your bills. You do a different type of artwork for Fiverr then you do on canvas etc..
Fiverr is for commercial art, not fine art. Art is everywhere and is needed everywhere from websites to coffee mugs.
My daughter has been selling on Fiverr for 2 years and can make up to $65 an hour, and has made a lot of professional connections. Fiverr is what it is. It is not a fine art gallery. It is a place to offer your COMMERCIAL artist skills to people and businesses who need your services. It is not for every artist, (just for those who like to make some consistent $).
BTW you start out with a $5 gig, but as you sales and reviews improve you charge much more. My daughters starting orders are round $40. She is in the music industry and I am researching for my other daughter who is an artist and came across this article.
There are different levels and qualities of offerings so you have to look at their reviews and portfolios. I have used fiverr for lots of different services for my business, from logos, SEO , social media, video and coloring pages. Most of the time I have loved what I have recevied. Once in a blue not so much, but that is everywhere you buy from not just Fiverr.
Best of luck, it is free to sign up and has been a blessing so give it a try 😉
I checked out Fiverr today… most of the “I’ll paint your pet portrait!” are in a “realistic style” or “watercolor style” etc., they are basically Photoshop manipulations, and, I suspect, some add-ons that will do most of the work for you (especially the low poly portraits). They look digital because they are.
For the few actual drawings that are scanned… well, you really do get what you pay for. I’ll spend 20+ hours on a portrait, but for $5, I suppose I could colorize a poorly traced sketch in Photoshop, too.
For $5 you’re lucky if I send you an IDEA I had…. 🙂
Found this a helpful article. Thank you.