How do I get my custom toys / artwork and name out there? I want to get my work displayed in shows, galleries, shops, etc...

A: Persistence is key. A lot of artists send a couple emails to a couple people and if they’re not world famous and rich within a few weeks, they get frustrated and they decide that the world is aligned against them. That's not how life works.

There’s only one way to get known: make stuff and post it to the internet. Repeat daily for years. Have a comprehensive portfolio of every single piece of work you’ve done, publicly available on your own website. Duplicate it on another website like Behance that has some built-in social media integrations.

Get your own work up, get it out there to see. If it’s not photographed & posted, you may as well have never done it. So that is the first step for any artist to take. The second step is: try to sell it. This is the hard part. As you sell, take note of what sells and what doesn’t. Pivot your style and look according to what sells and the price points that work.

I’ve been putting my work on the net for years, granted I don’t have a website outside of a drop ship for prints. What I’m looking to do is get it into the eyes of people. Idk if you have a line on shows, or know of galleries that display work… perhaps a shop.

A: It doesn’t work in the way you’re envisioning. No one has a line on shows, you need to make a name for yourself and catch the eyes of the people in our space that put on shows or run galleries. So, you have to put the work in first, get noticed, spread your name around online, which is why i am talking about a website / portfolio site.

You need that and an active social media presence on your favorite platforms. Post constantly on those, once a day minimum on each. Post new works to your website regularly. Make new posts on social media featuring nice images and a brief description of what you've made, and a link to that page on your website.

Be easy to find and contact. Be active and social, and make friends and connections with other artists, gallery owners and shop owners. Exhibit at conventions. Be friendly. Sell stuff. Grow your community. This takes work, years of work. There's no shortcut, no one can really do this for you.

So where do I start?

A: If you need help figuring out what galleries host artists like yourself, you need to identify the artists whose trajectory is one you hope to emulate. Do Google searches for them and sort thru the results. Spend an hour on this, take notes.

Google will show you where they have had shows and releases and in general what they have done each year. Take note of the people who run the galleries and shops and companies that those artists have worked with, and reach out directly to each of them to show them your work. They will need to quickly see what you do, which is why a link to your own website where your portfolio is hosted and displayed in a very clear and simple manner is so incredibly important.