sure man! There were two things that were like cheat codes for me, although they're pretty common sense:
- Having a niche, and
- Marketing.
Having a niche is great because it's difficult to be the best overall, but it's pretty easy to be the best in a smaller community (as long as you have at least some skill, which you definitely do).
By way of example, I started by making Minecraft logos. I wasn't great, but I was good enough to make 20 bucks here and there. Gradually my skills improved, and I had to charge more because I didn't have enough time to meet demand.
Doesn't have to be Minecraft, obviously. Find a community you like, see what graphics they need - which is not necessarily what you want to make, or what other people are making - and become the best at it.
Marketing is a bit of a "no duh", but I feel like people on itch ignore it, instead assuming that they're going to get "discovered" and suddenly start raking in the cash. Goes for games and assets alike.
When I started, Twitter was great for marketing. That's still true, but if I were to start again today, Tiktok is the far better choice. The trick is to post visual content regularly. For me, that's twice a week.
Luckily, our content is necessarily visual, so that gives great options for content: finished products, WIPs, timelapses, etc. When you get a bit more established, updates and releases get good engagement, and you can of course interact with your community.
All in all, I'd recommend spending 40-50% of your time on marketing and general business tasks, and the rest on actually creating stuff.
Hope that helps!