@Zachary-Schrage So far, no one you’ve spoken to knows where it fits in the current market.. Black and white art, hatch mark artworks are both niche interests. You’ll need to provide more proof of concept on marketability.
Can you identify the strengths of your choice in style? Hatching usually invokes the idea of something being antiquarian, or gritty like with the Spiderwick Chronicles, Batman Black & White series, and some manga. You can continue to produce works of these expectations, or experiment to find a new way the audience can enjoy pen drawings.
Maybe use colored ink instead of black? Make a short comic of Harley Quinn beating someone up in rainbow color hatch marks? You get the idea.
You seem to like fantasy, and not adverse to fan art. Have you considered producing portraits and/or scenes from the current trending properties: House of the Dragon, Elden Ring, Monster Hunter, Baldur’s Gate 3, Rings of Power, War of the Rohirrim, etc… I’m imagining it would be like when Aubrey Beardsley created a series on Arthurian legends, or a lithograph by Albrecht Dürer.
And if you're really good at portraiture... It's the American presidential election season... Portraits on bills...
There’s a small chance for your work to resonate with the fandom, maybe even earn a write up by a nerd culture website. But the primary goal would be to develop and showcase skills in portraiture, sequential art, and marketability.
But maybe you’re more interested in producing works like that of David Macaulay (The Way Things Work, Pyramid, Cathedral). You’re quite good at architecture, and there are architecture firms that are looking for ways to market their building projects. You can do a series on the newest skyscrapers. Maybe someone who is a fan of Macaulay’s books, and has a lot of marketing $, will see what you’re doing and connect the dots.
Also consider how a lot of new skyscrapers generate revenue by including observation decks for tourists, or a ‘museum’ to something, and have their own gift shops. They need products to sell. And I’ve been to them. They sell junk. But their merchandise doesn’t have to be junk. Get what I’m trying to say?
Or maybe you’re a disciple of Chris Van Allsburg (Jumanji, The Polar Express). Your portfolio shows a strong interest in children’s tales. Perhaps you can produce a book dummy for either an original story, or something pre-existing can benefit from your drawing style. Right now, without samples of sequential art, you rely on people to take a chance on you. Business people want to make a good bet. Let them know you're a great investment by showing you can produce a book dummy in certain timeframe.
I hope one of these 4 paths I’ve presented is a realistic roadmap for you. Do your best.
