I always knew Jordan Sparks was kind of a thicker gal, and that she had lost some weight since becoming famous.  I guess I never looked down far enough.

-Moose

Have I mentioned today that I love booty?

-Moose

Because we care…

-Moose

Something wicked this way comes.

Now that you have a website and a blog, or the comic studios you plan to apply to, when do the riches and groupie orgies start?   Maybe soon, maybe never, but let’s get one more thing out the way. Whether you choose to be a freelancer or an entrepreneur, your art MUST connect with someone. If your work doesn’t connect, people don’t visit and you don’t get paid.  Freelancers sometimes throw out connection because they’re just doing work for hire but if your work doesn’t connect with an editor, you don’t get hired.

Your #1 priority now is to find your artistic voice or vision as soon as possible.  If you work for a futa/ladyboy site, and you don’t like the content, just how good do you think your work is going to be?  I don’t care how skilled you are, you will not consistently be your best if you do not like the content.  Find your niche, or create it.  If you have a member site, don’t choose subject matter because it’s “popular”. Do it for one reason and one reason only, because you love it.

A lot of artists do not like to use niches because they feel it pigeon holes them into a small number of fans.  And that is true, but let me tell you this.  If you want to grow your site slowly and if being profitable quickly isn’t important to you, don’t use a niche.  If you’d like your site and income to grow quickly, use a niche.  Why?  Think of it this way.  Let’s say you’re at a restaurant and you were waiting for your friend to arrive.  You see him walk in and you gesture but he still doesn’t see you.  You yell “Peter”, and he sees you and walks over.  That’s the power a niche!  You need to define the kind of perv you’re looking for and speak their language.

For example if you start a site that says we do the best adult comics, our girls are naked by page 3, we draw good, my mom loves our work, etc.  You’re not calling anyone’s name.  People may join your site because they like your samples, but statistically speaking, your site will grow slower.   However if you do MILF comics, or maybe even make a smaller niche like Latina MILF or Latina big boob MILFs, your site is going to resonate with that one guy who’s been searching for a big boob Latina MILF comic site.  And if he has friends or hangs out in forums or chat rooms, he’s going to tell every big boob Latina MILF fan he knows about your site (in some cases, even if he doesn’t like it).  This guy may be one out of a thousand but once you find him, it’s worth it.

The second reason niches are effective is because the stuff people really love is scalable.  A few years ago I used to have three coffee businesses within two miles of my house (two Starbucks and one private business).  Eventually one of the Starbucks closed and now there are two left.  Coffee shops are not scaleable, you really can have too many of them at an intersection.  Big boob Latina MILF sites are scalable because even if there were a 100 of them, you’re still going to attract people who love the content.  Search for gonzo sites, I bet you find hundreds of pay sites and tens of thousands of free ones.  I googled yoga pants once looking for reference for a picture and almost two hours later I was still looking at yoga pants sites!  All that booty and lycra blew my mind but the point is I never got enough of it.

Next you need to put your energy into getting fans or people to buy your stuff.  I love Kevin Kelly’s essay 1,000 True Fans.  If you haven’t read it, I suggest you read it ASAP: http://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/ .  In a nutshell he says if you’re a creator, such as an artist, musician, author, etc, you need to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.  Here’s his definition, “A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce.”  He says a True Fans spends about $100 a year, so if you have 1,000 fans that’s $100,000 a year.  And ironically that’s about the average price of a lot of comic membership sites out there.  There are of course different levels of fans, and some people will pay more and some will place less, etc.  But here’s the rub, If the marketplace likes your content and connects with it, they will buy it.

In part 4, we’ll talk about marketing. For more updates and DirtyComics news sign up for for our newsletter.

DirtyComics.com, the comic website known for more anal, will be releasing a line of pinups from Cartoon Pink illustrator, Amy Matthews. “I’m very excited about the new project I’m working on with Dirty Comics. It will be some of the naughtiest, sloppiest, dirtiest illustrations I’ve done so far!”, Amy said.

Moose, founder of DirtyComics.com said the all-girl pinup line named, “Sloppy Endings” will feature lesbians in various ass play, strap-ons, gaping, fisting, rimming, etc. “It’s the kind of thing you would expect from DirtyComics.com”, Moose said. The series will be made available to DirtyComics.com members starting January 25^th.

For updates join our mailing list below or follow us on Twitter @Dirty_Comics or @CartoonPink for Amy Matthews.

I think she likes her packages delivered in the rear.

I don’t know about you, but to me, Christina Hendricks is the most fuckable redhead in the world!  I guess if you don ‘t like red hair, big boobs, or a small waist and great hips, she probably won’t do much for you.  But if you do, Ms. Hendricks is a goddess!  I’m still waiting for one of her ex’s to leak a sex tape or naked cell phone pics or something but until then, we draw.

I need to do a whole series of these.  Her boobs are what are most delicious to me about her but she has a fat ass and it needs to be explored.    How should I draw Christina or who should be my next celebrity victim?  E-mail me at moose at dirtycomics.com or on Twitter @Dirty_Comics.  For more free art and updates sign up for our weekly newsletter below.

Moose

Can I earn a living drawing porn? Part 2

Ok, so let’s talk about getting paid. Here’s a mistake that most artists make, whether you’re an entrepreneur or a freelancer, you still need to approach this like a business. That build it and they will come crap that led to the dot com burst in the 90’s just doesn’t fly anymore.  You need to realize that almost every new business in the world has one problem in common, obscurity.  When you finally start your site, blog, etc., no one knows who the hell you are, or why they should care.  It does help if you can draw like Tom Bancroft or paint like Art Germ, but the problem is the same.  No one knows who the hell you are.

Step 1, get a web site.

I recommend getting your own URL first (e.g. idrawbigtitblondes.com, mypornalias.com, etc.).  I think this is important because you need full control of your content and brand, and if your only site is a free one, you may lose some flexibility.  For example Blogger is owned by Google but in the beginning the original owners had more liberal content policies.  A few years ago Google started cracking down on  adult related blogs and this year they were going to shut down all blogs dealing with porn.  They changed their mind for some reason but learn the lesson, don’t build your future on rented land.

Step 2, get a social media site.  Some people go crazy and get several, but the main thing is having at least one.  Since we want to draw porn, it only makes sense to use a site like Hentai Foundry, or one that specializes in adult art.  Yes, you can get a deviant art, or Facebook page but you should want to show your dirty work. If you can’t find an adult social site, I suggest getting a blog.  Tumblr.com comes to mind.  Tumblr is great because they seem to not mind the filthy stuff and it’s very easy to share content (especially photos) so your site can grow fast in Tumblr’s system. Twitter isn’t a bad idea either.

Freelancer Business Model examples

Keep in mind your business model could be virtually anything [legal, ahem…] but I’ll give a few examples here.

1.  Commissions.  Once you start posting on your site or social media page, sooner or later someone will probably commission you.  Why?  Because you have a big ass sign on your blog that says, hey, I do commissions.  How much do you charge?  Charge whatever you want, but listen to the market.  If you charge $80 a sketch but no one’s buying, you may need to drop the price.  On the flip side if you’re doing $20 sketches and maintain a waiting list, up your prices.

2.  Free.  Everybody likes free, right?  Let’s say you start a web comic or post images regularly, you could get a “donation” button so people could donate intermittently.  Many artists may not take this path seriously but I’ve  seen sites that make thousands of dollars a month from donations.  If people like what you do, some of them will donate.  Keep in mind Paypal (and many others) prohibits adult content so be careful if you try to use them.

3.  Crowdfunding.  Crowdfunding freaked a lot of people out at first, but now everyone from big businesses to every day people use it.  KickStarter.com is the most popular one, but like Paypal, adult content is prohibited.  I’ve seen campaigns dance around the rules, but why bother.  Go to OffBeatr.com or another site and use a platform that will support you.

4.  Patreon.  A year ago I barely knew what Patreon was, now A LOT of artists I know are on there.  Patreon.com is a way to get regular monthly support from people who choose to support you.  For example you can set up weekly or monthly pledge amounts of $1 (on up) based on what you plan to draw.  For example, if someone pledges $1 a month that may give them access to three sketches a month.  But for someone who pledges $10, that may give them access to the three sketches, and a finished drawing.  It’s very similar to the pledge system in Kickstarter.  For a sample of a Patreon, look at Doxy’s: www.patreon.com/doxydoo  Right now, he has 320 people donating to his Patreon.

5.  Advertising.  It’s tough starting out with this model because as we discussed, no one comes to your blog.  Kinda tough to monetize zero traffic…  You can use  programs like www.adultsense.com, or sell your own ads that you place on your site.

6.  Freelancing.  Find a publisher you want to work for and show them your work.  My tip here is this, make sure you show them what they want.   If they post a need for a comic artist, don’t go give them seven pages of pinups.  Follow the guidelines as much as possible.

Entrepreneur Business Model examples

I’ll start by saying that you can do 1, 2, and 3 from the freelancer list, but the most common way to make income will be from your personal site or blog.

1.  Free Site.  If you make your site “free” you can  use ads (pop-ups, pop-unders, display ads) to make money when someone buys someone else’s content.  For example, if your site is interracial, it may behoove you to get into an affiliate program of another site (e.g. JohnPersons.com) and market it in hopes of creating revenue.  You can market anything, but I recommend staying close to your niche.  You can use one or 100 different affiliates.  My advice is to pick good ones.  If you point people to lousy content, you’ll lose credibility.

2.  Pay Site.  By pay site I mean you are selling access to your art, or memberships, at let’s say, $10 a month.  In exchange you produce new content.   In addition to selling content, you can also have your own affiliate programs.   Things reverse here. Instead of marketing for others, after you start an affiliate program, THEY promote and sell YOU.  Again, you can’t have a crappy uninteresting looking site, or no one will want to promote you.  There’s tons of free sites compared to pay ones, and most those free site owners want to make money, so give them something to promote and you all win.

In part three I’ll go into more details about getting started.

-Moose

This was a New Year’s sketch I did.  I love Vicky from the Grumpy Old Man Jefferson comix because she’s quite the dirty girl.  So much so, I’d love to draw her a spinoff comic for DirtyComics.  LOL  Hot, young, braces, she likes anal, has daddy issues, she’s perfect.  I thought  Vicky would be the kind of slut who would try to break her old anal accomplishments.

After I sent this in, I realized I forgot something.  Something that I think would have made this image better.  I should of put a clock on the wall.  I’m thinking had I had a clock about to strike midnight, maybe more lube around, you’d know shit was about to get real.  Maybe next time.

Moose