Author Topic: How many of you are doing stock full-time? (Read 28345 times)

suz7 · « **on:** August 07, 2019, 06:10 »

I am self-employed as a signwriter but have been doing vector and animation stock for extra cash for a few years.

Would so love to do stock full-time but for now it is just a pipe dream that seems to be getting less of a possibility.

How many of you are making a living out of it? I know depends on living costs, but I am just curious if many actually do.
For me, for now, it's a nice extra small income and good to have some creative freedom (and no clients to deal with!).
:)suz

cathyslife · « **Reply #1 on:** August 07, 2019, 06:31 »

proofread your subject line.

edit: FIXED! 👍

SpaceStockFootage · « **Reply #2 on:** August 07, 2019, 07:45 »

wollwerth · « **Reply #3 on:** August 07, 2019, 08:00 »

Stock generally makes up about half of my income.

HalfFull · « **Reply #4 on:** August 07, 2019, 08:22 »

I do.

THP Creative · « **Reply #5 on:** August 07, 2019, 09:35 »

It's still possible, just harder than it was.

tätarätä · « **Reply #6 on:** August 07, 2019, 12:22 »

Stock photography is about 4% of my income. Guess its impossible for me to make a living of it.

everest · « **Reply #7 on:** August 07, 2019, 13:35 »

I still do and have for the last 11 years. Doubt it will be possible in the next 5 years if the trend is heading in the same direction and at the same pace........

f9photos · « **Reply #8 on:** August 07, 2019, 14:54 »

I do full-time for the last 10 year .

k_t_g · « **Reply #9 on:** August 07, 2019, 16:56 »

Never! I always saw it as extra par-time equivalent income.
Everyone who qualifies in the creative market and who is honest should have a chance at this.
But these days too much greed on both sides has muddied the waters so to speak so now, I see it as piggy bank money.

Its like kids at a pinata, or those seagulls in Finding Nemo. Everyone is clamoring for more and repeating "MINE! MINE! MINE!" The little guy gets squeezed out and gets none in the end. Just the sad reality of today's world. 😐

cascoly · « **Reply #10 on:** August 07, 2019, 18:51 »

as a retiree, I get about 20% of total income from stock, but that's declining; I use it to pay for some of my travel

marthamarks · « **Reply #11 on:** August 07, 2019, 21:46 »

Quote from: cascoly on August 07, 2019, 18:51

as a retiree, I get about 20% of total income from stock, but that's declining; I use it to pay for some of my travel

Same here. I feel bad for people who have to make a real living doing this.

increasingdifficulty · « **Reply #12 on:** August 08, 2019, 01:23 »

Quote from: suz7 on August 07, 2019, 06:10

Would so love to do stock full-time but for now it is just a pipe dream that seems to be getting less of a possibility.

I make a good full-time income in an expensive Western country from stock (license fees + other royalties). I can't say I spend 40 hours a week on it though, much less than that most of the time. I guess I'm a bit too lazy... But on the other hand, when inspiration strikes, 12-hour days fly by just like that. It's hard to quantify exactly, and if you count thinking about work, procrastinating and reading forums, yeah, then it might be 40+ hours.

I will say that only a small part of that comes from still images. My advice would be to focus on the most difficult (but of course still commercially viable) areas of stock that you still think are fun. So instead of making a simple 2D illustration that artists can churn out in an hour or less, maybe make a stylized animation that will have much less competition.

There is so much you can sell as stock, and more opportunities turn up all the time as new applications or trends become popular. Spend time on YouTube and other social platforms and see what the content creators are using. More likely than not, they didn't make the graphics/titles/animations/music/sfx/etc. themselves - they used stock media.

I frequently see my stuff being used just browsing YouTube or scrolling down my Facebook feed.

lark · « **Reply #13 on:** August 08, 2019, 01:54 »

I do. I can work long hours in some periods and then I can do nothing for months. I am very satisfied financially at the moment. But what will be in the future - who knows? I feel free and independent. The only disadvantage is working alone at home. I feel very isolated. Not only that it limits my social contacts but most people cannot understand at all what I am doing and I cannot speak with anyone except with my close relatives about my work which is a substantial part of my life. I live in two separate dimensions - one is online in Internet and the other is my real life. And they do not cross each other except in my mind.

dpimborough · « **Reply #14 on:** August 08, 2019, 03:46 »

I do but this last two months have been hard

Brightontl · « **Reply #15 on:** August 08, 2019, 03:54 »

Quote from: lark on August 08, 2019, 01:54

one is online in Internet and the other is my real life. And they do not cross each other except in my mind.

Real life?
Could you explain me what is it?
:-)

suz7 · « **Reply #16 on:** August 08, 2019, 04:14 »

Quote from: cathyslife on August 07, 2019, 06:31

proofread your subject line.

Whoops!
Thanks

Great insights from everyone, thanks for replying.
"if you count thinking about work, procrastinating and reading forums" hahahaha!

increasingdifficulty · « **Reply #17 on:** August 08, 2019, 05:04 »

Quote from: suz7 on August 08, 2019, 04:14

thanks

Here's an example of what I meant:

Take the "evolution of man" concept and search Shutterstock. On the image/illustration side - thousands and thousands of competing images. This is a concept I imagine would be quite popular in all kinds of situations, but almost any illustrator can quickly make a copy of this idea.

Search the footage side ("evolution man animation"), and what do you know, I find maybe five possible competing clips. FIVE! And they could easily be done much better - I'm thinking walking animated primates with those moving sketch outlines.

And I believe that would be an incredibly useful concept relevant to many content creators.

That was just off the top of my head, and there are thousands of examples like that.

zsooofija · « **Reply #18 on:** August 08, 2019, 05:34 »

I do, more precisely I'd say, stock is the only work that I do for money, but my living costs are super small.

georgep7 · « **Reply #19 on:** August 08, 2019, 06:14 »

Quote from: lark on August 08, 2019, 01:54

I do. I can work long hours in some periods and then I can do nothing for months. I am very satisfied financially at the moment. But what will be in the future - who knows? I feel free and independent. The only disadvantage is working alone at home. I feel very isolated. Not only that it limits my social contacts but most people cannot understand at all what I am doing and I cannot speak with anyone except with my close relatives about my work which is a substantial part of my life. I live in two separate dimensions - one is online in Internet and the other is my real life. And they do not cross each other except in my mind.

There are many people like you.
I like to call them (and me) "digital monks".
The "good" thing is that you can spot and pass all this junk
in both digital and " real" world easier and isolate the harmful people around you.

wds · « **Reply #20 on:** August 08, 2019, 21:19 »

I read the forums full time.

AnS · « **Reply #21 on:** August 09, 2019, 01:33 »

Quote from: increasingdifficulty on August 08, 2019, 01:23

I will say that only a small part of that comes from still images. My advice would be to focus on the most difficult (but of course still commercially viable) areas of stock that you still think are fun. So instead of making a simple 2D illustration that artists can churn out in an hour or less, maybe make a stylized animation that will have much less competition.

There is so much you can sell as stock, and more opportunities turn up all the time as new applications or trends become popular. Spend time on YouTube and other social platforms and see what the content creators are using. More likely than not, they didn't make the graphics/titles/animations/music/sfx/etc. themselves - they used stock media.

I really like your attitude! Congrats, you seem to adapt and move with the changes of business while still not giving up on having fun! A bit of a role model, to be honest!

May I ask in what program do you work or what do you recommend for graphics/animations?

increasingdifficulty · « **Reply #22 on:** August 09, 2019, 12:09 »

Quote from: AnS on August 09, 2019, 01:33

May I ask in what program do you work or what do you recommend for graphics/animations?

Sure, while animations are not my main focus, I use After Effects mainly for simpler 2D/2.5D stuff and compositing, and Blender + Cinema 4D for pure 3D.

I know After Effects pretty well, but I would consider myself a novice in real 3D work still. I can produce sellable content, but it takes a long time... Learning more every year though. It's important to be curious, creative and open to anything if you want to be able to skip the 9 to 5 in the long run.

And do the opposite of what the "industry pros who have been in this game a long time" tell you.

suz7 · « **Reply #23 on:** August 09, 2019, 12:17 »

Quote from: increasingdifficulty on August 09, 2019, 12:09

Quote from: AnS on August 09, 2019, 01:33
May I ask in what program do you work or what do you recommend for graphics/animations?

Sure, while animations are not my main focus, I use After Effects mainly for simpler 2D/2.5D stuff and compositing, and Blender + Cinema 4D for pure 3D.

I know After Effects pretty well, but I would consider myself a novice in real 3D work still. I can produce sellable content, but it takes a long time... Learning more every year though. It's important to be curious, creative and open to anything if you want to be able to skip the 9 to 5 in the long run.

And do the opposite of what the "industry pros who have been in this game a long time" tell you.

Thanks for taking the time to give some great advice, also very inspiring
(I laughed when you mentioned the procrastinating)
And to everyone else too, interesting to hear how others are doing:)

mindstorm · « **Reply #24 on:** August 09, 2019, 13:09 »

More to the point... how much do YOU need to live full time?

I know one woman here in town that lives quite comfortably on $800/mo. If that were me, then I would say I am just a bit shy of being able to go "full time" for an income.

Personally, $10K/mo is more my style. And no, stock sales are no more than pocket change and the fun of seeing who liked my stuff enough each day to actually put money on it (as opposed to Facebook 'likes'...).

As it happens though, I am retired. I travel a lot (8 countries on a 6-month trip already this year), and write a travel/photo blog ( www.mindstormphoto.com ). That is where most of my focus goes. After the blog is published, I look to see what else might sell, and upload that too. I am fortunate enough that I saved and invested heavily when working, so now can do this and no longer have to worry about money. As they say, YMMV...

And, FWIW, I do not monetize my blog in any way, and have no interest in doing so. I started writing it for myself, just to help me remember and relive these trips we take. Then "family and friends" started reading it. Now it has roughly 2000 readers (according to Google Analytics). In other words, another little ego boost, but with no cash attached.

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Author Topic: How many of you are doing stock full-time? (Read 28345 times)

suz7

cathyslife

SpaceStockFootage

wollwerth

HalfFull

THP Creative

tätarätä

everest

f9photos

k_t_g

cascoly

marthamarks

increasingdifficulty

lark

dpimborough

Brightontl

suz7

increasingdifficulty

zsooofija

georgep7

wds

AnS

increasingdifficulty

suz7

mindstorm

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