Really Small Pond: How Do I Market Myself in this Niche?

[Rozume]

Hi. I'm back. Again. Before I get to the point of this thread, I'd like to say that I spent a lot of time running in circles, going back in forth, trying to go somewhere and do something without any direction nor destination in mind. Long story, short: I like Visual Novels. I got into Visual Novels. I got out of Visual Novels, then I got back in. Then I got out again and now I'm back after realizing that I really like Visual Novels. And I mean really like them. So much that I want to make a career out of it.

I listened to a lot of freelancing/business advice and everyone says to find and capitalize on a niche... and this niche, Visual Novels, especially OELVNs is what I want to market myself in.

But one of the main issues I see is that this niche is a rather small one. And from what I've seen the community is made up with a lot of small indie/hobbyist developers with even smaller budgets. I want to market myself as a Visual Novel Artist, but I know I might have a problem with actually getting paying clients.

Still, I want to do this. However, I want to ask for any opinions/advice on the matter. How would I market myself to in this niche as a Visual Novel Artist? How will I find work? I know a portfolio is very important - what would developers like to see in Visual Novel portfolio? etc, etc.

[firecat]

what would developers like to see in Visual Novel portfolio?
we like to see characters, its very important to show them first because thats what we are going to be looking at before anything else. background art is second, adding the characters is fine but show some non-character background for letting us know that you can do it without drawing them (some artist cover the background with the characters being very big). showing completed projects (anything from collaboration with other artist, paid commissions, etc) is next, this shows us that you have done work with other people even if its not about gaming. lastly dont just put lots of social media links, just have your favorites in it and dont force people to join them.

How will I find work?
start as a freelancer, there's great advantage to this if you ever want to get a job. As you build your portfolio, the company will look over your history and find that you do have the something for them to consider. my old teacher was once a general manager for (forgot company name), he was told to throw any artist that does not have work history. the reason is due to the fact that they do not want to teach someone what to do or say, that will cost time and money.

thats all i can help, things like niche, finding the best clients, websites to go, etc, can easy be found by google or with help from someone else.

[Lesleigh63]

When I was looking to commission a sprite artist I looked through the recruitment and services thread to find someone whose style I liked and who also could paint in a style I thought would suit the look (backgrounds and textbox) of the game. I also tried to find someone that I thought would deliver.

I don't know if bigger developers operate this way.

[Kinjo]

The best way to market yourself is to find something that you excel at and continually improve in that area. You don't just want to say "VNs are my niche", but you want to find your own niche within this niche and make it your own. You could say my niche is mystery stories, or game programming. Other people's niches might be painted background art, or pixel sprite art, or RPG music. They continually strive to improve in this specific area until they have a recognizable style, not just from how it looks but to the point where people go "oh, this must have been made by ___" just from looking at it without any context.

If you're going the artist route, I'd suggest building toward defining your own style and marketing yourself the best you can. Ask yourself, what can you bring to the community that other people can't?

Then continually improve in that area until you're the best person for the job.

[gekiganwing]

How would I market myself to in this niche as a Visual Novel Artist? How will I find work? I know a portfolio is very important - what would developers like to see in Visual Novel portfolio? etc, etc.

Perhaps you like creating a mix of gameplay and story. If that's true, think about how you can help create other types of narrative driven video games. Or perhaps you like telling stories through words and pictures. If that's true, think about whether your visual novel should be connected to a webcomic, or another type of interactive media or webfiction.

Consider the themes, art styles, and settings that you like. Sometimes it's best to stick to what you like, so that you can create a distinct individual style. At other times it's best to have a diverse portfolio

I listened to a lot of freelancing/business advice and everyone says to find and capitalize on a niche... and this niche, Visual Novels, especially OELVNs is what I want to market myself in.

In my opinion, any term that begins with "OEL" is almost always used in negative ways. I recommend describing your works by using words with positive, easy to understand connotations.

[Saitoki1582]

Developing your own style is great and all, but if you have the ability to mimic style, that would open you to a lot more possibility. There are many artists who do sprite but don't have time to do CG, and I have gotten some offers to mimic art style of sprite artist in CG.

[Rozume]

Thanks for all your input! I think I know what to do now. c: