HBeats

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Tired of spending more time looking for references than drawing? Whether you draw ship art, sexy pin-ups, or cute girls, here are 5 places to find better NSFW references for your lewd drawings.

Quick note, we just released Pose Packer – reference photo packs created specifically for NSFW artists. Check it out here!

1) Pinterest

Great for: Finding inspiration through home feed & drawing tutorials by other artists

Pinterest is an image share platform where users pin images onto boards. Pinterest’s home feed and recommended images has never failed to inspire me, and I’m constantly pinning new images.

Here’s a board called “Lewd drawing ideas” to get you started. Unfortunately, Pinterest doesn’t allow explicit/sexual images, but there are still lots of NSFW-ish images.

2) Reddit

Great for: Finding specific content and amateur uploads (NSFW Friendly)

Reddit allows members to submit to dedicated subreddits. The best part is there are a ton of specialized NSFW subs.

r/NSFW411 has a wiki listing all NSFW subreddit. Need amateur couples having sex reference? Maybe sloppy blowjobs?

I personally love browsing subreddits featuring people who post their own content (e.g. r/RealGirls, r/Gonewild18)

3) Porn Pic Sites

Great for: HD shots and varying angles

Porn gallery sites which feature HD photo sets. These are great for studying angles and anatomy because of their photo quality.

PornPics is my go-to. Their search system is pretty good, and they have a good library of image categories.

Another good one is JavPornPics, thought they don’t have image categories.

4) Image Boorus

Great for: Art style studies and specific content

Boorus are imageboards that organize with tags. These are amazing if you need a specific pose or kink.

My go-to is Danbooru. They curate hentai artworks and tag them thoroughly, even including artist information and social media. If you’re in need of spread legs hentai, or uncensored pussy shots, just throw your tag search in! You can even search for artists.

Free users can only search two tags at a time, but that’s been enough for the 5+ years I’ve used it.

Alternatives include:

• Gelbooru – Bit messier than Danbooru, but same idea

• Safebooru – SFW anime artworks

• Booru List

5) Art Books

Great for: Finding inspiration and consistent content

If you like studying from one source, or just like a particular artist’s style (and don’t mind the spending), then art books are the way to go. From experience, there are several types of art books:

a) Artwork collection books

These books collect artworks from one or more artists. Sometimes themed, or just personal art.

b) Pose Books

Collection of poses. There are themed ones as well, depending on what you need.

c) Tutorial Books

These sometimes feature various artists, so make sure to check before buying. If you want to browse, you can find a good selection at JList.

Be careful though, not all art books are translated!

And those are 5 places to find NSFW references for your lewd art! I personally use them, so you’re sure to find good quality images.

1. Pinterest – Browsing for pose and gesture studies

2. Reddit – Browsing for anatomical and accurate body studies

3. Porn Sites – Browsing for HD photos when I need close up ref

4. Boorus – Browsing for inspiration and specific references to figure out something

5. Art Books – Browsing for daily studies, so I don’t waste time looking online

I hope the list helps you! Where do you find your art references?

Optimized post version on my website!

When I started drawing, my only source of income was through art commissions. I was constantly worried. How could I sustain myself and make money as an NSFW artist if it took me a few days just to finish an illustration?

While making better art usually means more demand (and the opportunity to price higher), this isn’t a course on become a better artist. Instead, our goal is to become better business people so we can leverage what you have right now, instead of waiting for “my art to get better”.

This is part 1 of the “Making Money as an NSFW Artist” Course.

Why build multiple sources of income?

As artists, we need to work smart with our main business offering: our art. Consider:

• What extra content can I make from a finished illustration?

• Is there any way to monetize my process?

• How can I grow client relationships so they come back after getting their artwork?

Aside from maximizing earnings from your artworks, you’ll also gain more security through multiple sources of income. What if your main social media platform shut down tomorrow? Would you be able to recover, or would you have to start from scratch?

If you’re interested in creating more security, or just want to earn more, here are several sources of income you can start building as an NSFW artist:

1) Art Commissions

When a client commissions you, they pay you to create art based on their needs.

However, before you become hireable, you’ll need to decide what kind of art you make, and who to market it to. Are you a hentai artist? Perhaps a furry artist? Maybe you do semi-realistic artworks like Dandon Fuga or Sciamano?

Regardless of what you draw, consider specializing in a niche and creating art for a smaller group with unique preferences. Because of how saturated the art market is (and NSFW especially), you want your works to be recognizable, which will generate client demand and trust.

Fulfilling a niche isn’t limited to genre. Consider popular hentai artists like ShindoL and Sakimi Chan. They’re known for their art styles as well. Wouldn’t you prefer to work with someone known for a specific style, rather than someone who can’t even pin theirs down?

I ‘brand’ myself as a hentai illustrator who draws original characters (OCs). Creating art for this niche influences my marketing and business decisions. I only create fanart once a month, and depend on client word-of-mouth to find work.

Once you’ve decided on what differentiates you as an NSFW artist, you can start looking for work and adjusting your commission prices as you improve.

The downside is that commissions can be time consuming. Even if you enjoy drawing for a niche, it can get tiring and uninspiring to create art for others. Some artists have even decided not to take commissions, like Gats. He’s a great example of how multiple sources of income create security, and even allow the luxury of choosing specific sources of income.

2) Crowdfunding and the Subscription Model

With the advent of sites like Kickstarter and Patreon, artists can build a large pool of income from the support of many individuals. They work by allowing fans to support you with any amount starting from $1.

The crowdfunding model is so powerful, it helped Studio FOW raise over 1.5 million euros for their game Subverse. That kind of fundraising would have been unthinkable a few years ago, when anything NSFW had limited options for growth.

If you’re looking for continuous support, subscription platforms like Patreon and Pixiv Fanbox allow your supporters to subscribe to certain tiers. In exchange for paying a certain amount monthly, fans receive perks and exclusive content that you decide on.

If you decide to start using such platforms, consider building a content strategy. How much time do you want to invest into your exclusive content? Do you prefer making detailed workflow posts, or just want to drop a .PSD file? Kidmo, one of the top NSFW artists on patreon, only has 1 tier, while Sakimi Chan has 6.

If you don’t want to start a Patreon yet, you might like Ko-fi, which allows fans to donate to you (for free!). Both have their pros and cons, which I discussed last month.

3) Selling Merch and Making Continuous Income

As you grow your audience, you can create physical and digital merchandise for fans to buy. Not only is it a great way for them to engage with your art,  but it can provide income for years to come.

Always make sure to check a platform’s policy on NSFW content!

Physical Merch

If you visit Comic-Con or anime conventions, you’d see artists selling merch like stickers, shirts, and art prints. You can do the same! Perhaps you have designs that would look good on a shirt, or you want to create stickers featuring OCs from your stories.

Reiq runs an online shop stocked with stickers, artbooks, and prints.

However, in his latest post he mentions how he’d often spend days fulfilling orders rather than drawing. If you aren’t keen on buying equipment and shipping things yourself, then Print-on-Demand sites might be for you.

Print-on-Demand (POD) Sites

POD sites like Printful and Redbubble allow you to focus on making designs, while they handle shipping and physical merch creation. This is a great way to build ‘passive’ income that doesn’t need much hands-on work, though you earn less because of POD fees.

My choice for POD is Redbubble. There are a ton of products you can put your designs on, and the quality is good! You can also set your margins for earnings on products.

Digital Merch

You can also sell digital merchandise like tutorials, eBooks, and files. This is a great way to make truly passive income, but it takes time to create content worth buying.

Gats sells short comics on his Gumroad (which is NSFW friendly!), offering thumbnail views so that viewers can decide whether to buy.

Digital merch isn’t limited to art. You could also create online courses and teaching material, like what Aaron Blaise does.

If you have a Patreon platform where you post exclusives and behind-the-scenes, you could also offer those as downloadable content, for fans who might only want said resources. Here’s an example from Sakimi Chan’s Gumroad, which is filled with tutorials and digital content.

4) Streaming and Making Video Content

We spend a lot of time drawing. You can capitalize on that by streaming and engaging with fans during otherwise lonely hours.

Some platforms allow donations and subscriptions, so it’s another nifty way to make income. Here are some sites that allow NSFW art streaming:

• Picarto

• Piczel

• Pixiv Sketch

You could also post your speedpaints and video content to sites like YouTube for more passive income from ad revenue. NSFW artists have to work within YouTube’s SFW rules, though. For inspiration, you can check out MikeyMegaMega and Shadman.

I personally don’t enjoy streaming. Always remember that you don’t need to force yourself into a platform, just because it’s a potential source of income! It’s more effective to focus your energy creating what you enjoy.

While this isn’t an exhaustive list, it should give you an idea of how most NSFW artists make money. Regardless of which methods you choose, remember that your products don’t have to be limited to what others do. Experiment, find what works for you and your supporters!

Ready to make money? Read on to find out how to set up your own PayPal account, and how to stay safe and keep your personal information private!

Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!

If you aren't keen on doing commissions, trying platforms like patreon and kofi might be for you. They allow your supporters to donate and subscribe to you, in exchange for benefits and extra access content. But when it comes to NSFW, what's better? Let's take a look at Patreon vs Kofi for NSFW creators.

You can read this post at hbeatsart.com/patreonvskofi/ for better readability!

Table of Contents

• What are Ko-fi and Patreon?

• NSFW-friendliness

• Getting paid

• How I use them

What are Ko-fi and Patreon?

Ko-fi is firstly a donation platform, allowing supporters to donate "a cup of coffee" to you. You can unlock extra features like monthly pledges with Ko-fi Gold. You don't pay ko-fi anything to receive donations.

Patreon is a subscription service platform, allowing 'Patrons' to subscribe monthly to you. In exchange, you can create Tiers with exclusive content and benefits, depending on what you want. Patreon takes a % cut monthly, depending on your Patreon plan.

NSFW-friendliness

Ko-fi does NOT allow NSFW of any kind, because they have to abide by Paypal and Stripe's terms. You can read more about their terms here, but it's pretty strict. You can use it with SFW art, but be careful not to post anything remotely NSFW.

Patreon allows NSFW, but you can't post it publicly. You cannot show NSFW on your profile images, banner, or tier images. You can link to websites containing NSFW, such as your Twitter or other platforms.

Patreon doesn't allow certain NSFW content, which you can find at https://www.patreon.com/policy/guidelines.

Getting Paid

For Ko-fi, the only fees are from Paypal or Stripe. You can set how much a "coffee" is, and then your donator can choose how many to send.

If you use ko-fi gold, you have more options for getting paid (like monthly subscriptions), but you need to pay a monthly fee to Ko-fi.

I've had friends who run into issues getting paid via Paypal balance, but I've personally never had issues with payouts from Ko-fi.

Patreon is a bit more complicated. There are two things that impact your payout:

A) Patreon Plans

Patreon offers three tiers, and takes a % cut of your income accordingly.

1. Lite (5%) - Simplest creator page, Patrons pay monthly what they want

2. Pro (8%) - You can set membership Tier prices, then Patrons choose a tier (My Plan)

3. Premium (12%) - Better support, merch handled by Patreon

B) Payment Schedule

You can choose when to charge Patrons:

1. Monthly - New Patrons are not charged when they start to support you. Only at the start of the coming month. (My Schedule)

2. Monthly Up front - New Patrons are charged when they start to support you, then on the start of the coming month.

3. Per Creation - You can charge Patrons when making 'paid posts'. Consider this if you don't release content often.

Your choices will impact total payout, but you can see a breakdown in Patreon. You can get paid through Stripe, Paypal or Payoneer.

How I Use Them

I started my ko-fi first, since I liked that there was no obligation to create exclusive content compared to Patreon. A common technique to encourage donations is to make sketch art for donators.

You can include a link to your ko-fi when posting art. Make sure you prompt action, something like 'Consider supporting me by donating at ko-fi.com/username!'.

Nowadays, I include ko-fi on my website, but I focus more on promoting my Patreon.

I started a Patreon a few months ago, but closed it when I realized I wasn't prepared with what to offer. If you use Patreon to offer exclusive content, rather than just as a monthly tip jar, then it helps to plan out what extra content you can create.

I started by offering three tiers. Notice how the benefits aren't too heavy, just things I can create from finished artworks. Make sure you don't overwhelm yourself when creating benefits!

Here are my first posts. I focused on making early access content, and explaining my creative choices and showing WIPs and behind the scenes.

Once I was more confident with being able to deliver, I added a few more tiers. I limited the number of Patrons for Goddess Tier, because I didn't want to get overwhelmed with making sketch art for Patrons.

Closing

I hoped the comparison helped! Is one better than the other? Maybe not, as long as you leverage them to their strengths. You can have both options available to people who want to support you! I've earned over $250 over the year I've been on Ko-fi, and I'm continuously growing my Patreon with exclusives and early access.

If you're planning on starting to use Kofi and/or Patreon and need a strategy, feel free to reach out to me!

As always, you can support me at patreon.com/hbeatsart Thanks!