How to find your creative niche with fan art

Finding your tribe, the people who deeply love your artwork and truly get what you’re doing, is one of the most fulfilling and joyous aspects of being a creator. Fan art is a clever and efficient way to do it, because it gives you access to a ready-made community of like-minded people. And, if you’re lucky, it can result in work opportunities, or sometimes even the chance to make art in an official capacity.

“Creating fan art connects people who enjoy the same things, and it helps me reach people who wouldn’t normally see my artwork,” says Lara Georgia Carson, a senior designer at the production and animation studio WildBrain.

“When I post fan art, it inserts me into different groups of people who might not normally follow artists, and I love being able to ‘fangirl’ over things that are mutually enjoyed.

Putting your own spin on beloved characters from various works of fiction and emphasising the features that matter to you most is a surefire way to enrich everyone’s enjoyment – yours and the audience that you’re sharing them with.

Daniel Kamarudin, an illustrator who also designs statues and collectibles for both original and existing franchises, tells us: “Making artwork of your favourite characters is like speaking to your community and the fandom in a voice that only you possess. Your art style is unique to you, and painting characters your own way is your contribution to both the particular fandom and the art community as a whole.”

Daniel sometimes chooses subjects that are relevant in popular culture, but more often than not, he likes to stir up nostalgia by drawing from something he watched or played when he was younger. He tells us that experimenting with different fandoms is key to finding your people.

“Eventually, you’ll attract people who fall in the same section of the fandom Venn diagram,” he says. “For example, I found a particularly fun niche of Hololive fans who enjoy the members painted in a more classical style like mine, as opposed to the ‘purist’ approach where they’re more in line with their original art style.”

Fan art can help you find your following

As well as finding kindred spirits, it’s also a way to grow your following. “Fan art attracts the most people, and creating pieces for specific IPs is sure to get you an audience,” says artist and comic creator Sean Kyle Manaloto.

“Consistency is key, and it helps to post your art on IP-specific places like Facebook fan groups, and also using a few hashtags and tagging accounts related to the fan art.” Lara tells us that taking community requests and participating in trending fan art challenges can be a great way to get your work seen.

“Recently there was a Frieren art challenge, and years ago there was a Sailor Moon one; they both had huge reach in both the art and fan communities. When new content comes out that has buzz around it, it can be good to strike while the iron is hot, and trending fan art posts can then bring people to your page.”

As you get more eyes on your art, there’s always the chance you’ll get spotted by people who want you to work for them. Some of Lara’s fan art has become licensed to its original IP and used as promotional material, and she has created official art for Disney Lorcana. Daniel got his start in the industry this way, and Sean has been asked to work on projects ranging from tabletop campaigns to video games and art books.

Going beyond fan art

Despite the success that fan art can bring, it’s good to remember that it’s just one string in your bow; there can be pitfalls to relying on it too much to grow your following. Comic artist, illustrator and background designer Bailie Rosenlund tells us that building an audience should be a side effect, not the goal.

“Creating art based on what you think your audience wants is going to make you feel miserable and burnt out,” she says. If one piece of fan art does really well, you may feel pressure to make another similar artwork. “Truly, if you don’t want to do that, then just don’t. Fan art should be fun and indulgent, and created first and foremost for yourself.”

Bailie also advises a thoughtful approach to using fan art in your professional portfolio. “Different artists and art directors have varying opinions on whether or not fan art should exist in a portfolio,” she says.

“I do have fan works in my portfolio, but the majority of it is original. The fan works I’ve included are ones that I’m particularly proud of – ones that show off my compositional, lighting or colour sensibilities. Also, as my job as a comic artist does at times require me to draw existing IPs, it allows a client quick insight into how I may interpret their IP into my own style.”

On top of helping you to reach people, creating fan art is also a good way to hone your art skills. Bailie tells us she often learns something new that she didn’t expect from her close study of the design decisions she sees in the media she’s referencing. “It’s a great opportunity to learn from other artists,” she says.

Fan art and the learning curve

Lara tells us that as well as helping her push her style, be more experimental, and engage with media in a more critical way, making fan art has been great preparation for working in production environments.

“When I’m working on a TV show as a designer, I have to be able to match the style and create inside of the established world, which is a little bit like making ‘official’ fan art. So the unofficial art is good practice for that.”

Daniel uses fan art to practise fundamentals and experiment with his techniques. “Having a familiar character or subject matter you can practise on makes it easier to focus on the things you want to learn from a particular piece you’re painting,” he says. “Learning how to clean up my lines, create more appealing compositions, render a certain way, and so on all came from painting characters I like.”

Sean has also seen a benefit to his art practice. “The process of making fan art has greatly expanded my visual library and has taught me a variety of lessons, such as how to improve form, making textures more believable, and honing attention to detail,” he says.

“Creating fan art is always challenging, and will always teach you something new you can apply to personal art.”

Natalia Klimczak is a UK based painter and illustrator, creating work inspired by fantasy and fairy tales. She focuses her fan art on characters from books rather than from movies or other visual arts since this allows more creative freedom. “You often get a rough description of what the characters look like, but the rest is entirely up to you,” she says.

“I love adding little pieces of myself and my taste in aesthetics to characters I like. I think drawing fan art of book characters is probably my favourite thing to do. I consider the character’s personality, aesthetics, and the themes surrounding them.”

She says fan art opened career opportunities for her, but that this isn't be the main reason to do it. “Getting obsessed with a piece of media and feeling inspired to draw characters I love definitely played a big role in me becoming the artist that I am today. It kept me motivated and also made learning how to draw more enjoyable for me.

“There’s nothing more exciting than getting to work on a project related to a series you love. But it’s not the reason I do it. You can spend years drawing fan art of your beloved characters and never get noticed.”

For inspiration, see five artists' tips on how to make fan art original and fresh.

This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.