Leveraging AI in Art, Design, and Media for a Profitable Side Hustle in 2024

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming industries across the board, and art, design, and media are no exception. With AI tools becoming more sophisticated and accessible, it’s now possible for anyone – regardless of their artistic background or technical expertise – to start a side hustle using AI. Whether your’e interested in creating AI-generated art, offering design services, or building websites, AI can simplify the process and help you earn extra income.

This article will dive deep into 10 AI-powered side hustles in art, design, and media that you can start immediately. We’ll provide detailed steps, tips for success, and the AI tools you’ll need to get started. These side hustles include:

1. AI-Generated Art for Print-on-Demand
2. AI Graphic Design
3. AI Website Design
4. AI-Powered Logo Design
5. AI-Driven Animation Creation
6. AI Photography Editing Service
7. AI-Powered NFT Art Creation
8. AI-Personalized Digital Portraits
9. AI-Enhanced Book Covers
10. AI-Driven Marketing Materials

Let’s dive into each of these opportunities and explore how you can get started quickly and profitably.

Print-on-demand (POD) services allow you to sell custom products like t-shirts, mugs, phone cases, and posters without ever needing to hold inventory. With AI art generators like MidJourney and DALL-E, you can create unique, high-quality digital artwork that can be sold on POD platforms such as Redbubble, Teespring, or Society6.

1. Choose an AI Tool: Start by signing up for MidJourney or DALL-E. Both platforms generate art based on text prompts, allowing you to create visually striking images without needing advanced design skills.
2. Create Your Art: Input creative prompts such as ‘abstract sunset landscape’ or ‘vintage floral pattern’ to generate unique artwork. Play around with different prompts and styles to create diverse pieces.
3. Set Up a POD Shop: Open a store on platforms like Redbubble or Teespring. Upload your AI-generated art and place it on a variety of products like posters, clothing, or home decor.
4. Market Your Store: Promote your designs on social media platforms like Instagram or Pinterest, or use SEO techniques to drive traffic to your shop.

• MidJourney: Creates high-quality, AI-generated art from text prompts.
• DALL-E: AI-powered tool that generates creative and diverse art based on your inputs.

• Offer niche designs that cater to specific interests or trends, such as retro designs, minimalist art, or pop culture references.
• Regularly update your shop with new designs to keep your offerings fresh and engaging.

With tools like Canva and Designify, AI has made graphic design accessible to everyone, even those with no prior design experience. You can offer freelance design services for clients needing social media graphics, presentations, posters, and more.

1. Sign Up for Canva: Canva is one of the most popular design tools, offering templates for social media posts, logos, posters, and more. With Canva Pro, you can unlock premium assets, images, and design features.
2. Learn Basic Design: While AI tools do much of the heavy lifting, learning the basics of color theory, typography, and composition will make your designs more effective.
3. Offer Services on Freelance Platforms: Set up a profile on Fiverr, Upwork, or Freelancer and list your graphic design services. You can specialize in social media graphics, marketing materials, or presentations.
4. Build a Portfolio: Use Canva to create a range of sample designs, from Instagram posts to business flyers, and showcase these in your portfolio.

• Canva: Offers pre-made templates and AI-assisted design suggestions.
• Designify: An AI-powered design tool that automates tasks like background removal and image editing.

• Focus on niche markets, such as small business branding, event flyers, or real estate marketing.
• Offer packages, such as a bundle of 10 social media posts or a complete branding kit, to increase your earning potential.

Small businesses are always looking for affordable website design, and AI tools like Wix ADI and Bookmark make it easy for anyone to create user-friendly, visually appealing websites without needing coding skills.

1. Sign Up for an AI Website Builder: Platforms like Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) and Bookmark use AI to automatically design websites based on user preferences and input.
2. Practice Website Creation: Use these platforms to build a few websites for practice – perhaps for friends, family, or mock businesses. Familiarize yourself with the platform’s functionality, from layout selection to customization options.
3. Offer Website Design Services: Create a portfolio of your completed websites and offer your services on platforms like Upwork or Fiverr. You can also market yourself directly to small businesses that need a new or updated website.
4. Upsell Additional Services: Once you build a website, offer ongoing services like content management, SEO optimization, or regular updates.

• Wix ADI: AI-powered tool for creating websites automatically based on user inputs.
• Bookmark: AI-based website builder that creates responsive websites in minutes.

• Specialize in industries such as restaurants, real estate, or personal portfolios to offer tailored solutions.
• Offer maintenance packages for clients who want ongoing support and updates.

Logo design is one of the most in-demand graphic design services, and AI tools like Looka and LogoAI simplify the process. These tools allow you to create professional-quality logos in just a few minutes, making it an ideal service for freelancers.

1. Choose an AI Logo Generator: Sign up for Looka or LogoAI to begin designing logos. Both tools generate logos based on user inputs such as company name, industry, and design preferences.
2. Create Sample Logos: Use AI to create a portfolio of sample logos in different styles, such as modern, vintage, or minimalistic. This will show potential clients your range of design capabilities.
3. Offer Logo Design Services: Market your services on freelancing platforms or approach small businesses directly. Offer logo packages that include different file formats (e.g., PNG, SVG) and color variations.
4. Provide Revisions: Even with AI, you may need to offer clients a couple of revisions to tweak the logo to their liking. AI tools make this quick and easy.

• Looka: AI-powered logo generator that allows for customization and fine-tuning.
• LogoAI: Generates logos based on business names and styles in minutes.

• Offer full branding packages that include logos, business cards, and social media banners.
• Use AI to quickly generate multiple logo concepts and provide clients with a range of options to choose from.

Video content is in high demand, and AI tools like Animoto and Powtoon make it easy to create animations and explainer videos for businesses. These types of videos are often used for marketing, product launches, or social media engagement.

1. Sign Up for an AI Animation Tool: Animoto and Powtoon allow users to create professional-quality animations with drag-and-drop functionality.
2. Learn the Basics: While the tools are user-friendly, it’s still helpful to understand basic animation principles such as pacing, transitions, and storytelling.
3. Create Sample Videos: Build a portfolio by creating explainer videos, marketing videos, or animated social media content. Focus on different industries like tech, retail, or education.
4. Offer Video Creation Services: Market your services on freelancing platforms or approach businesses directly, offering animated content for their marketing campaigns, social media, or website.

• Animoto: AI-based video creation platform for making professional-quality videos.
• Powtoon: Offers drag-and-drop animation creation with a focus on explainer videos and presentations.

• Offer tiered pricing based on the length of the video or the complexity of the animation.
• Use AI to quickly create branded animations for different social media platforms (e.g., Instagram, YouTube).

AI tools like Luminar AI and Remove.bg have simplified the process of photo editing. Whether it’s enhancing photos, removing backgrounds, or retouching images, you can offer these services to photographers, businesses, or individuals looking to improve their photos.

1. Choose a Photo Editing Tool: Sign up for Luminar AI for general photo enhancements or Remove.bg to automate background removal.
2. Learn Editing Techniques: Although AI handles much of the work, it’s still helpful to know basic photo editing techniques like color correction, cropping, and retouching.
3. Create a Portfolio: Use AI to enhance your own photos or find free-to-use images online to demonstrate your skills. Create before-and-after comparisons to show potential clients the power of AI-enhanced editing.
4. Offer Editing Services: Market your services to photographers, small businesses, e-commerce sellers, or social media influencers who need high-quality images for their platforms.

• Luminar AI: Automates photo enhancement tasks like color correction and retouching.
• Remove.bg: AI-powered background removal tool that automates the process in seconds.

• Offer packages for different editing needs, such as basic edits, retouching, or background removal.
• Reach out to e-commerce sellers who need consistent, high-quality product photos.

NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are digital assets that can be sold on blockchain platforms like OpenSea or Rarible. AI-generated art is increasingly popular in the NFT space, allowing creators to generate unique digital pieces quickly.

1. Create AI Art: Use tools like MidJourney or DALL-E to generate unique, one-of-a-kind artwork. Each piece can then be turned into an NFT.
2. Set Up an NFT Marketplace Account: Register on platforms like OpenSea, Rarible, or Foundation to list and sell your NFT art.
3. Mint Your Art as NFTs: Minting an NFT involves creating a unique token on the blockchain that represents your art. This can be done directly on the NFT platform.
4. Promote Your NFTs: Use social media channels like Twitter and Discord to market your NFT art to potential buyers and collectors.

• MidJourney: Generate unique, AI-created digital art.
• OpenSea: A popular marketplace for buying, selling, and trading NFTs.

• Create a series of NFTs with a consistent theme or style to build a recognizable brand.
• Engage with NFT communities on platforms like Twitter or Discord to grow your network and increase visibility.

AI art generators can create personalized digital portraits based on photos or specific inputs. This side hustle is especially popular for gifts, social media avatars, or even branding purposes.

1. Choose an AI Tool: Use an AI-powered tool like Artbreeder to create digital portraits based on client photos or specifications.
2. Offer Customization: Personalize each portrait based on specific client requests – such as incorporating unique backgrounds, color schemes, or art styles.
3. Create a Portfolio: Display examples of digital portraits to attract clients. Offer different styles, such as cartoon avatars, realistic portraits, or abstract designs.
4. Market Your Service: List your services on Fiverr, Etsy, or social media platforms, offering custom digital portraits for gifts, avatars, or branding purposes.

• Artbreeder: AI-powered tool for creating and customizing digital portraits.

• Offer personalization options, such as adding pets, special backgrounds, or hobbies to the portraits.
• Market to specific occasions like birthdays, holidays, or even weddings as unique gift ideas.

With the rise of self-publishing, authors are always on the lookout for eye-catching book covers. AI tools like Canva and BookBrush allow you to quickly create professional-quality book covers tailored to the author’s needs.

1. Sign Up for a Design Tool: Canva and BookBrush both offer templates and design elements specifically for book covers. These tools make it easy to create high-quality designs even with no prior design experience.
2. Create Sample Covers: Build a portfolio by creating mock book covers for different genres – romance, sci-fi, non-fiction, etc.
3. Market Your Services: Offer your services on platforms like Fiverr or directly to authors on self-publishing forums and social media groups.
4. Offer Additional Services: Along with book covers, you can offer to design author branding materials like social media headers, website banners, or book promotional graphics.

• Canva: AI-powered design tool with templates for book covers.
• BookBrush: Specifically designed for creating book covers and promotional materials.

• Specialize in specific genres to build a niche audience (e.g., thriller book covers, fantasy novel covers).
• Offer revisions or bundle services (e.g., book cover + promotional graphics) to increase your income potential.

Marketing materials are essential for businesses, and AI tools like Designhill and Canva can help you create brochures, business cards, and flyers in a fraction of the time it would take manually.

1. Choose Your AI Design Tool: Sign up for Canva or Designhill to create marketing materials quickly. Both platforms offer pre-made templates for flyers, brochures, and business cards.
2. Learn Basic Marketing Design: Although the AI tool does most of the heavy lifting, understanding how to layout effective marketing materials will help you stand out.
3. Create a Portfolio: Design a few sample marketing pieces for mock businesses to showcase your capabilities.
4. Offer Services: Advertise your marketing material creation services to local businesses or online through freelance platforms like Upwork or Fiverr.

• Canva: Offers templates and AI-powered design suggestions for marketing materials.
• Designhill: AI-powered platform for creating logos, brochures, and other marketing assets.

• Offer comprehensive marketing packages, such as a complete branding suite with business cards, flyers, and social media graphics.
• Target small businesses and startups that need affordable yet professional marketing materials.

AI has unlocked a world of opportunities for ordinary individuals to jump into art, design, and media side hustles without requiring years of experience or a steep learning curve. Whether you’re creating AI-generated art for print-on-demand, designing book covers for self-published authors, or building websites for small businesses, these AI-powered tools make it easy to start earning money quickly.

The key to success is finding a niche that interests you, mastering the AI tools that fit your chosen side hustle, and consistently marketing your services to grow your client base. With dedication and creativity, these 10 AI side hustles can provide a sustainable source of extra income in 2024.