Guides

[center][size=6]SO YOU WANNA OPEN AN ART SHOP, YOUNGIN?[/size] [img]http://i.imgur.com/TFqipRl.png[/img] You came to the right place, as I, foff the first, will guide you through a magical journey on all the steps you need to open a crackalackin art shop. Follow all these steps, and you, too, can be a swaggy business owner. [quote=NAVIGATION] [i]Click to be redirected[/i] ----- [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1740159#post_17445997]PRICING[/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1740159#post_17447441]MAIN POST[/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1740159#post_17447706]SLOT & PINGLIST[/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1740159#post_17447934]EXTRAS[/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1740159#post_17449172]CODES[/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1740159#post_17449801]FAQ[/url] [/center][/quote]

----- [center][size=6]PRICING[/size] ----- [i]HOW TO PRICE YOUR ART[/i] [/center] Before we get to how to price your art, we must first go back to step 0.5: [b]Know what you are offering.[/b] First, decide on what you want to offer for sale. Remember that you must be honest with yourself and your customer. Do you want to draw a 8-hour art piece for dragon money? If not, then don’t offer it!1!1 Decide what is worth your time and within your range of abilities for commissions. Don’t offer a high quality example only to provide lackluster results. It’s bad for business. [quote=QUESTION][color=#800000][i][columns][img]http://i.imgur.com/sg2IBhD.png[/img][nextcol]But foff, I want to show off my capabilities! I want to show that I can also paint, watercolor, and play the recorder on top of the art I'm willing to offer! Customers will be thrilled to know I am skilled! [/i] That's true, but remember that customers are only interested in what you are offering at the moment. You can put that in a gallery link later, but only show samples of what you are offering to prevent miscommunication.[/columns] [/color][/quote] [color=red][b]TL;DR: offer only what u willing to do for money.[/b] [/color] [b]NOW, onto pricing.[/b] There are two steps to this. One is deciding on[u] what you want[/u] for your art. The other is getting feedback on [u]what people want to pay[/u]. Take both these values to reach a compromise. [columns][size=6]Y[img]http://i.imgur.com/Bg3uZOY.png[/img] O U R P R I C I N G[/size][nextcol]When you decide what to price for your art, take into account the quality and time it takes to complete a piece of artwork. If the piece takes you 1 hour to complete, how much do you want to be paid per hour? In treasure/gems or USD? (Keep in mind of the minimum wage) Remember that FR has a gem to treasure ratio that changes every so often. Keep up to date with the current ratio so you do not undercharge yourself. If you already have a price in USD for your commissions, you can convert it into gems at a rate of $1:100g. Note that FR currency is harder to generate on-site per hour than minimum wage irl. Therefore, many people might not be inclined to pay that much for art if they only have gems or treasure. Nevertheless, price what you think you deserve! [quote=QUESTION][center][color=#800000][columns][img]http://i.imgur.com/sg2IBhD.png[/img][nextcol][i]But foff, if I offer lower treasure rate than USD, then when will they ever want to commission me in USD? [/i] Offer perks for USD. Things like moving to the front of the slot list, less wait time for commissions, or exclusive offers. [/color][/columns][/center][/quote] [color=red][b]TL;DR: Calculate how long it takes for you to work on an art piece and pay yourself at a rate of $/hour. Convert to gems/treasures/USD as needed.[/b][/columns] [/color] [columns][size=6]O[img]http://i.imgur.com/Bg3uZOY.png[/img] T H E R ' S P R I C I N G[nextcol] The second part of pricing is figuring out what other people are paying or willing to pay, you can ask for price check in [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc]THE CREATIVE CORNER[/url]. The savvy art folks there will give you an estimate, you might even get some new customers. Another way is figure out how much to price your art is to sneak into other people’s art shop and see what THEY are offering. Do not be discouraged to poke your head around the Art Sales Forum. If you come into a shop and see that your art is of the same quality as the one being offered, then, charge in that price range. Through trials and error, you can raise or lower prices as needed. If you are finding out that you are doing too much work for too little money, bump the price. Whatever you price at the beginning can always be changed as your art progresses and improve, so don’t get hung up on the pricing alone. For reference, I price these at 200kT. [url=http://i.imgur.com/7pRAp5n.png][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/GXULUFD.png[/IMG][/url][url=http://i.imgur.com/gnpirh6.png][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/qWC2WQH.png[/IMG][/url][url=http://41.media.tumblr.com/54aeb49f68d51331f5575a776113b4f5/tumblr_npprsa3lQD1rz3gsjo2_500.png][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/7rqWRcW.png[/IMG][/url][url=http://i.imgur.com/dHsaG1X.png][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/MzNqPE8.png[/IMG][/url] [color=red][b]TL;DR: Directly ask for pricing help in the Creative Corner or snoop around the Art Sales forum to see what people are charging[/b][/columns] Once you have done two of the above, you can make an estimate on what you want to price your art. If you want 500kT for your art but people are only willing to pay 300kT? You can price your art at 400kT. However, if you are DEADSET on 500kT, THEN PRICE IT AT 500kT. Remember, only you can judge how much time and effort you put into a piece of art. Do not sell yourself short. Foff believes in you. [/color]

----- [center][size=6]POSTING[/size] ----- [i]WHAT TO PUT IN AN ART SHOP[/i] [/center] Now that you have your pricing down, LET’S MAKE A SHOP. yes it is that easy, truly. [quote] [center][b]The necessary components to a good shop[/b] Samples/Prices Slot List/Ping List[/center][/quote] Yup, that’s all you need. Everything else is optional. But remember to reserve enough posts, or you will suffer with the lack of space. [center][size=5]TITLE[/size][/center] When you make a shop, of course you need a title. These are the formats I suggest [indent][b]([color=#739900]Status[/color]) Shop name[/b] OR [b]Shop name ([color=#739900]Status[/color])[/b][/indent] Shop name is explanatory…right? Just call it whatever you want. Nothing illegal tho dont do that. [color=#739900]STATUS[/color] lets the customers know if you are taking orders at the current time. The 4 statuses…stati?? are: [indent][color=#739900][b]OPEN [/b][/color]- open and taking orders [color=#739900][b]CLOSED [/b][/color]- shop is dead or will be closed indefinitely [color=#739900][b]FULL [/b][/color]- shop is full but will reopen [color=#739900][b]HIATUS [/b][/color]- you have gone on vacation to Disneyland or Hawaii and will not be around to manage shop. However, there is a small chance it will live again. While your customers hold onto the hollow dream that you will one day return to accept their humble offerings, you will look towards the bright yellow sun on the horizon of the Hawaiian beach, sipping your umbrella drinks, AND LAUGH LOUDLY as you know you have escaped dragon hell. You will never come back. We are left in dragon Limbo with cash in our hands to wither away, whispering “the artist will be back soon," but alas, it is only but a broken dream. But at the creation of the shop, post [b]“U/C” or “under construction”[/b] so nobody can cut between your posts. Remember to reserve an extra post, just in case.[/indent] [color=red][b]TL;DR: Shop title should have the name of the shop, and the current status of the shop. Put "under construction" when you are still setting up to prevent people posting where your post should be.[/b][/color] [center][size=5]POST CONTENT[/size] [/center] [b]Your first post should contain samples of what you are offering and their corresponding prices.[/b] Make sure to group options. The lesser the unique options, the better! What do I mean by unique options? It means PLEASE DO NOT LIST OUT ALL POSSIBLE COMBOS OF ART AS INDIVIDUAL OPTIONS. [b]Bad Example:[/b] [indent]sketch headshot sketch waist up sketch fullbody colored sketch headshot colored sketch fullbody colored headshot colored fullbody …. colored lined sketch fullbody 3 with mayonnaise and a side of mustard. [/indent] [b]Good Example: [/b] [indent]SKETCHES: waist-up (50kT) or fullbody (100kT) +50KT for color COLORED: waist-up (150kT) or fullbody (200kT)[/indent] See. Very simple and none of us has to do calculus. [b]Remember that people are always in a rush and chances are they won’t read 99.98% of the time. I will bet you money on this. What you need are PICTURES.[/b] [u][i]REFRAIN FROM MANY LINKS[/i][/u]. You think people are gonna click your link and go through confirmation and then go back to the shop? NO. They gonna close tab because they are lazy (i.e. ME.) If you make me click more than one things I will…NOT DO IT. [size=4]You have two options: Fullview or thumbnail view.[/size] Fullview is great if you have one example you wish to show. ONE. You hear me, man? UNO. If you have multiple samples for an option, please refrain from posting 9999 images. my internet is weak and sad. As a rule of thumb, ONE fullview per option MAXIMUM. Please. I beg of you….please. Otherwise, please use thumbnail view. To make a thumbnail view, you need two things: the link to the cropped/resized version of a picture AND the link to the full picture. [center][url=http://i.imgur.com/lXiPJps.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/oo4NaTw.png[/img][/url] [code][url=LINK TO BIGGER IMAGE][img]thumbnail URL[/img][/url][/code] [/center] NOTE that the [im[i][/i]g] tag will only work with direct links, aka links that end with .png .jgeg .jpg or .gif. Links like imgur.com/khafskhsfhfsakh will not work. I’ve seen people do this, you know who you are. If you’ve been wondering why that darn code doesn't work, well now you know. To get the direct link of something, right click > Copy image url (address) Finally, remember to add a link to your gallery so people can peruse more of your art, Who knows, maybe that one bad drawing you did of a unicorn chewing its foot is the deciding factor if people wanna commission you or not. [b]VOILA THERE IT IS. YOUR MAIN POST IS DONE.[/b] [b][color=red]TL;DR : Condense your options and always provide pics bc nobodygottimeforthat.gif for clicking 52 links[/color][/b]

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After you have gotten orders and decided on what you’re gonna draw, put it on the slot so you won’t forget. My recommendation is 3 slots but I ain’t ur bossman. Offer as much as you think you can handle. But not too much, ya hear?

This section doesn’t even have to be nice, it’s for your reference to refer to, so you can type in hieroglyphics or wingdings for all anyone cares, but if you think alien speak is not for you, the general format is as followed:

Slots
For more complicated slots, you can also list them under different sections

Colored Slots
Sketch Slots
Since FR does not have a secured trade system, I suggest you take payment upfront. Or you can take half the payment upfront, show the customer of the watermarked version when you are finished, accept the rest, then send the full version. (Ohohoho, FR updated trading. Good work, FR)

ONTO THE PINGLIST

What is a pinglist? It’s just a notification list. People may want to know when you will offer new options for payment, when slots are open again, when you will finally accept firstborns as payment, or when a new style is being offered.

You can do pinglists in 2 ways:

Self-edit: the user can edit themselves in and you just copy whatever is on the list
Owner-edit: people ask to be on the list and you add them yourself (secret: this is a good option if u want ppl to bump ur thread for u lmaooo)
For self-edit pinglist, you can make a google doc or spreadsheet, make it editable to everyone with the link, then post the link to your shop. Remember to make it BIG AND BOLD THAT SAYS :
“HEY NERD THIS IS A PINGLIST YOU CAN EDIT”

Otherwise, for owner-edit pinglists, you can just keep a record of pings like you keep slots. You can post it here or make a google doc only you can edit. It is your choice at the end to clear the list or keep it. For self-edit, people can remove themselves as needed, but for owner-kept pinglists, you have to make the choice for this.

Tadah, you are done with the core for starting an art shop.

TL;DR: Slots and pinglist are important if you don't want to drown in 999 different commissions

----- [center][size=6]EXTRAS[/size] ----- Well, you got the core art shop down, but it never hurts to add a little extra. [size=4][b]ORDER FORMS[/b][/size] You don't like how everything is all over the place? Make people order with a form. Generally, it looks like this. [quote=ORDER FORM] Username: username of the person Style: If you are offering more than one style Offer: How much they are paying Note(s): Any extra notes they want to add regarding a request or personality description of the reference. Reference: What they want you to draw. I recommend putting this last or almost to last because if they post an image, it will push the other texts down and it'll look very cluttered [/quote] [size=4][b]ALTERNATIVE PAYMENT[/b][/size] if you have a wishlist or anything that you want to take as payment, list it here. The code for that is [item=[i][/i]itemname] and [skin=[i][/i]skinnumber] for items and skin respectively. [size=4][b]FINISHED WORK[/b][/size] Show those skeptics you are able to complete a task no matter how much you procrastinate. Eat my socks, you skeptical penguins. [size=4][b]AFFILIATES[/b][/size] You got a homie with an art shop too? Well, advertise them here and they can advertise you, too. Wanna tell people you also make accents? Link it up. Or link to this thread so they, too, can make a bad life decision of opening an art shop for money in dragon hell. [size=4][b]DOs & DON'Ts[/b][/size] Put this in the same place as the samples. If there are specific things you do and don't, let people know. You aren't up to drawing muscular men dressed as a salmon? Let people know. This will save you from repeated questions.

----- [center][size=6]CODING FORMAT[/size] ----- [i]HOW TO CODE YOUR POST[/i] Wow, you read all that and STILL don’t know how to make an art shop? Or maybe you do but your BBCode skill rivals a radish? Have no fear, bad-coding foff is here. I will provide you with a myriad of choices for your shop. Just pick, fill it out, and go go go. To use, save the icons. Go to your art program, lay the image you want over it, and make it a clipped layer. (Sai: Check the box that says Clipping Group. For PS: [url=https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/revealing-layers-clipping-masks.html]check this[/url]) Note: You don't have to use squares at all. You can use any thumbnail stencil as long as you save it with transparencies. [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/F6NmSNq.jpg[/img][/center] [center][b][size=6]WELCOME TO MY ART SHOP![/size][/b] Gem rate is 1:650 Please give me money I am a poor college dragon. [url=http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/doqj6ow.png[/img][/url] [url=http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/doqj6ow.png[/img][/url] [url=http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/doqj6ow.png[/img][/url] [size=4][b]COLORED HEADSHOT[/b][/size] 400-500kT [i]I only draw dragons with beards for this style, no exception.[/i] [url=http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/doqj6ow.png[/img][/url] [url=http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/doqj6ow.png[/img][/url] [url=http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/doqj6ow.png[/img][/url] [size=4][b]SKETCHES[/b][/size] 500-900kT [i]I only draw dragons with socks for this style, no exception.[/i] [/center] [code][center][b][size=6]WELCOME TO MY ART SHOP![/size][/b] put your description or whatever here. //copy and paste the block below as many times as you want [url=FULLVIEW][img]THUMBNAIL[/img] [/url](do this 3 times) [size=4][b]STYLE 1[/b][/size] price [i]description[/i] [/center][/code] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/F6NmSNq.jpg[/img] [i]This style is good for lots of samples.[/i][/center] [center][b][size=6]WELCOME TO MY SWAG SHOP![/size][/b] Gem rate is 1:650 Please give me money I am a poor college dragon. ----- [size=4][b]COLORED HEADSHOT[/b][/size] ----- [url=http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/4GZZNpJ.png[/img][/url] [url=http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/4GZZNpJ.png[/img][/url] [url=http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/4GZZNpJ.png[/img][/url] [url=http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/4GZZNpJ.png[/img][/url] [url=http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/4GZZNpJ.png[/img][/url] [url=http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/4GZZNpJ.png[/img][/url] 390kT/600gems/6.00 USD [i]I only draw dragons with beards for this style, no exception.[/i] ----- [size=4][b]SKETCHES[/b][/size] ----- [url=http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/4GZZNpJ.png[/img][/url] [url=http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/4GZZNpJ.png[/img][/url] [url=http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/4GZZNpJ.png[/img][/url] [url=http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/4GZZNpJ.png[/img][/url] [url=http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/4GZZNpJ.png[/img][/url] [url=http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png][img]http://i.imgur.com/4GZZNpJ.png[/img][/url] 195kT/300gems/3.00 USD [i]I only draw dragons with socks for this style, no exception.[/i] [/center] [code] [center][b][size=6]WELCOME TO MY SWAG SHOP![/size][/b] shop description //copy and paste the block below as many times as you want ----- [size=4][b]STYLE 1[/b][/size] ----- [url=FULLVIEW][img]THUMBNAIL[/img] [/url] (^ do this 6 times or as many times as you want. remember to leave a space between them) price [i]style description[/i] [/center] [/code] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/F6NmSNq.jpg[/img][/center] [center][b][size=6]WELCOME TO MY ART SHOP![/size][/b] I need money to feed my poor dragon children. Please pay me money. [quote=STYLE 1 300kT] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/vCWImow.png[/img] [url=FULLVIEW][img]http://i.imgur.com/bftE1Bb.png[/img] [/url][url=FULLVIEW][img]http://i.imgur.com/bftE1Bb.png[/img][/url] [url=FULLVIEW][img]http://i.imgur.com/bftE1Bb.png[/img] [/url] description of the style here. You have ONE big sample, something you're proud of, and smaller samples on the bottom. This is good if you want to update your finished work here, too. [/center][/quote] [quote=STYLE 2 900kT] [center] [url=FULLVIEW][img]http://i.imgur.com/bftE1Bb.png[/img] [/url][url=FULLVIEW][img]http://i.imgur.com/bftE1Bb.png[/img][/url] [url=FULLVIEW][img]http://i.imgur.com/bftE1Bb.png[/img][/url] [url=FULLVIEW][img]http://i.imgur.com/bftE1Bb.png[/img][/url] [url=FULLVIEW][img]http://i.imgur.com/bftE1Bb.png[/img] [/url] This is the condensed version. You can just keep on filling it up as you get more samples. I suggest not putting too many big images in your shop in the same post. It gets long if you have multiple styles. [/center][/quote] [code][center][b][size=6]WELCOME TO MY ART SHOP![/size][/b] I need money to feed my poor dragon children. Please pay me money. [quote=STYLE 1 price] [center][img]FULLVIEW[/img] [url=FULLVIEW][img]THUMBNAIL[/img][/url] (do this as many times as you like) description of the style here. [/center][/quote][/code]

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Feel free to ping me to ask about stuff(except pricing, I don't price). I will answer to the best of my abilities.

foff, I see that you made this guide but why does your shop still look like sh-...scrambled eggs?
Short answer is "I'm lazy." Long answer is "I'm really lazy." But don't be lazy like me. Make your shop hot and cool.

How do I link to individual posts like in your first post?
Here is a guide on doing that.

reserved for anything else. AND WE ARE DONE.

I will continue to add more formats to the CODE post, so please be patient. In the meantime, if you find any grammatical mistake, please do tell me.

Feel free to ask questions and make suggestions. Thank you for reading.

@foff
Thanks so much for making this! I've been meaning to make an art shop but didn't know where to start!

@TwistTongue np. It's pretty simple once you get down to it. Hope the guide was helpful in some way.