How can I conduct research into whether or not there would be any interest for a paid tutorial website?
After looking into it for a few weeks, I'm pretty opposite-of-impressed with the state of free online art instruction. (
related previous question)
There are tons of speed drawing videos online, most of which seem to be a way to show off and are of limited instructional use.
I've also seen lots of step-by-step walkthrough of how artists have created an illustration,
like this one. It does contain some information on technique, but I think only an art student of some experience is in any sort of position to synthesize the information and make it a part of their toolbox.
Then there are a bunch of random, disconnected videos that may do one thing or another pretty good, but it's a crapshoot and incomplete.
So I thought to myself, why not create a website that provides digital art instruction, with an emphasis on digital illustration and painting (rather than photo manipulation or effects work)?
A mixture of art tutorials (like the one linked above), Bob Ross style "paint along" videos, and straightforward instruction on technique, anatomy, etc, branching out from a core collection of videos building essential skills.
(Similar in idea to
this site, which covers cooking.)
The only thing is, I have no idea how large a market this might be. Is there any way to find the sales figures for Wacom's Bamboo line of products? (Under the theory that burgeoning artists would be the likely purchasers of those products, and thus potential customers.) Is there any indication as to whether users of Deviant Art would be willing to pay for instruction, or does their community fulfill their needs to the point that an outside site would be a hard sell?
Basically, I'm planning on making some videos along these lines anyway. I got a tablet for a family member for Christmas, and I want to make sure they learn to like it instead of just getting frustrated and letting it gather dust on their desk. But is there a business opportunity here? Are there a thousand people who would pay $25 a year to have access for a library of these kinds of videos? Or is it more like 10 people willing to pay nothing?
I assume there are ways to research this and test the waters. What are they? Also, are there quality sites out there for art that already cover this territory?
- Gnomon Workshop
- The Art Department
- Schoolism
They are very expensive ($500-1,000 per class) because they hire top industry professionals and often give students one-on-one critiques. It's a decently-sized market -- large enough that these three high-caliber online schools can compete with each other for the same interested people.
Rather than a thousand people willing to pay $25 versus 10 willing to pay nothing, my sense is that it's more like 200 people willing to pay $1,000 (provided they feel like they're investing in their career prospects, to get a job as a concept artist for the movie/games industries), and then a million people willing to pay nothing.
The middle ground is tough, as you have noticed. I think you'd find more success selling one-on-one private online instruction using some sort of screen sharing software. Digital art lends itself well to this system, and personal feedback IS valuable. That's what people will pay for, I think.
posted by overeducated_alligator at 12:36 PM on December 30, 2010