Many may doodle on the margins of paper in class. Some may use art as a hobby. Perhaps even a passion. But few think to turn that passion into a business.

Sophomore Cheyenne Brinton has done just that. Instead of relying on her parents’ money, like other teenagers do, she found a way to make some herself.
   

 Ever since she was a child, Brinton showed artistic promise. “I was way better than most kids my age,” she said as she thought back to her earlier years as an artist.
    Brinton has been drawing since she was 5 years old and has been working to enhance her skills ever since then. But just recently she realized her drawings were taking up too much space. Seeing that people truly enjoyed her art, she came up with the idea to sell some of it. This led to the later thought of taking requests.
    Brinton carries with her a notebook in which anyone that wants a custom piece from her can write down what they want.
    Since she started selling her art, word has really gotten around. She can draw in many different styles but she has a large demand for styles such as manga, anime, chibi, and anthro.
    Even though she has only made about $10 doing this, she has made money doing what she loves. Her business only started this past summer, and it is only growing. The notebook she carries with her currently has over a page of requests in it.

As of now, the going rate for her art is $1 for a simple pencil sketch, $2 for a more detailed colored pencil or pen drawing, and $5 for a drawing on the computer.

A big part of Brinton’s success is through advertisement.

She advertises her art on various social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. She has an entire album on her Facebook profile dedicated to the art she is selling.

Brinton uses a program on the computer called Sai Paint to produce the more expensive drawings. It is basically a more advanced version of Microsoft Paint that includes gradients and other tools. Brinton came across this program one day on Youtube. She was watching videos and tutorials of other people drawing. In the description of one video there was a link to the Sai website.

She really enjoys using her skill as a way to make money.

“It’s not exactly a job, but more of a hobby,” Brinton said..

She is currently working on three requested art pieces, and word is getting around about her art business.