Author:
Greg Gillespie

Before I tell you a story about how just one piece of artwork created over 15 years ago continually and regularly brings me $3,000 every year I would like to ask you a question.

Have you ever wondered how you could be capitalizing on your art talents in way that could generate some extra income for you and your family?

I certainly have as a veteran artist of some 25 years, creating and selling art across the globe, have at times wondered if there were any ways to actually sell my art that would keep on bringing me income long after I have finished my artwork.

The times when my income has dropped for whatever reason, recessions, global financial crisis or just general market dips, have been testing times and have forced me to “think outside the square”. After careful research along with some trial and error, I have come up with 3 sure fire ways to make money from your art, that are bound to help you if you put them into practise.

3 Smart Ways To Make Money From Your Art

1. Sell your art online and have royalties come in for years to come

2. Sell your art tution to students willing to learn “how to…”

3. Other people sell your art & art tution

So how is it done?

1 Sell your art online – collect royalties for years.

This is my preferred Smart Way No1 as it has a payoff that just keeps coming, for me personally 4 times a year I receive a royalty check for work done over 10 years ago. This is a very smart way to make lots of money from your artwork, but you have to know what you are doing before you can guarantee success with this method.

Who Will Pay For My Artwork? What are the Markets? First and foremost you need to work out which markets are going to be interested in your artwork. Do you like to paint landscapes? Or animals? Or cartoon characters? Or Cars & Bikes? Or Nudes? Or abstract? Or caricatures?

Each of these have different markets that can be exploited for royalties for years to come. Some of the distributors of such art are: jigsaw puzzle companies, computer and cell phone wallpaper companies and homewares companies, are 3 goldmine areas to explore. Each of these different markets rely on fresh and inventive artists like yourself to come up with more “PRODUCTS” for them. That is right, you are the product creator, they are the marketers. That is how it works.

Let me give you an example:

Several years ago I was approached by a jigsaw company in Australia “Blue Opal Jigsaws” and asked if a piece of artwork I had already made for a former client who allowed me to retain copyright of the original and profited from, could be reused for a new jigsaw they had planned.

After careful negotiations I was offered $1,500 for some slight modifications to the artwork and a 7% royalty, payable quaterly for the life of the product.

I currently recieve approximately $3,000 annually from this one puzzle that keeps on selling over and over. I will give you a hint – it is in the souvenir/tourist category (this market never gets tired of buying your product, because they are a new breed every year, as most people take that big overseas holiday perhaps just once in their lifetime and so they want something classic to remember their trip by) which is the perfect market for a repeat sale of your product. You don’t want to choose something that is contemporary if it is longevity is your aim, as it will eventually lose steam and fade out of existence.

Here’s an another example:

Visit all the pop culture websites and make a list of the coolest people (celebrities of course!) and create cool caricatures of them(just Google celebrity and follow the leads). They need only be head and shoulders, (face really – you will see why in a minute). Each different subculture idolizes a different mob of heros, so get your mind into their space, in fact MySpace is a great place to start. Learn your market, think like your market and create what you would want if you were them instead of you. It takes a little time but well worth it when you read this next sentence.

Each year the mobile phone ringtone industry sells $7,000,000,000 dollars worth of ringtones to young people around the world. This market has tons of disposable income (mummy and daddy are paying for the house, food, transport and general upkeep) so they love to spend their time (also tons to spare) with friends online and on their cell phones. Guess what they love to spend their spare cash on – “Wallpapers”. For those of you youthfully challenged readers are probably wondering what’s a Wallpaper and why would they buy it?

A wallpaper for a cell phone or mobile phone is the display image on the full color screen on the phone itself. The picture is small so a celebrity head that fills the screen is going sell better than a whole body, so less work to do (this is easy if you know the secrets to a quick and cool caricature).

Wallpaper sales are the next most popular download (read purchase$) next to cell phone ringtones, so you can see it is a huge market. Yes I hear you say but how do you sell to this young lot, isn’t the market saturated with products like this? Well yes there is competition like any field but you only need a small piece of a very big pie to feed the family as they say.

You could setup your own website, (more info on doing this correctly below) and draw in traffic by giving away 5 free wallpapers to members who register for your weekly newsletter (the one you send with your latest “pay for” caricatures, that is the who is hot and in the news this week, follow scandal websites for tons of ideas here!!!) and watch the income increase as your newsletter subscriptions increase. If only 4% of subscribers bought your latest celebrity caricature of the week for .99c and you had a subscriber list of 50,000 you would be $1,000 a week better off.

Work once and get paid many, many times now that is smart.

2 Sell Your Art Tution Onine – Everyone Wants To Learn How To.

Now the obvious suggestion here is to launch a website and setup a shopping cart and off you go to success, but if it were that easy then everyone would be doing it right? Exactly, so that is NOT what you are goint to do. You are going to set yourself apart from the herd and have people lining up for your tution and keep on paying you forever, or as long as your art teaching is popular.

So how is this going to be done?

Everybody loves to watch don’t they? Yes, they love to watch others and see if they can pick up some tips on how they are doing their magic, whether it is oil painting a landscape in “plein air”, sketching caricatures at a theme park, or creating fantasy art with 3D computer programes. Whatever your leaning towards, if you have mastered your craft then you can get people interested in learning your methods by this very simple technique, that doesn’t cost you a cent.

A) Set up a Youtube account

B) Record yourself creating your art

C) Publish to Youtube some introductory video lessons

Once you have published your artwork on Youtube and all the other major video sharing sites, watch the traffic of visitors come in to your website to learn more. That is how it works for me, as some of my videos have had 50,000 viewings in less than a year. That is a lot of targeted traffic for your site and the “Full length videos on DVD delivered to your door – for $39.95” or the “ebook instant download version for $29.95”. I personally have “How To…Products” that have been selling on an almost daily basis for months now and the best thing is the market is steady despite the economy being anything but.

3 Get Other People To Sell Your Art & Art Tution!

This one is also a favorite smart way to make money by selling your art online. Creating art as in example 1 and then selling the tution in 2, sets you up perfectly for doing this – getting AFFILIATES to sell your artwork for you.

You see there are whole armies of folks selling things online to their audiences who login on regularly to the websites that they control. Most of their time is spent on creating content for blogs, answering forum posts and keeping the site up to date, so they have precious little time to do what you and I do – make art!

So those with the website visitors, (some popular sites have hundreds of thousands of unqiue visitors everyday) are in the perfect position to sell your wares, your artwork by commission, your art ‘how to…’ products. I personally have a long list of affiliates who are out there promoting my ebooks who only get paid IF they make a sale. Now that is my kind of workforce, no base salary, no holiday or sick leave to account for, only commisson on sale. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Using the contemporary example above for cell phone wallpapers, you can approach hundreds of website owners with your – “this weeks best sellers celebrity caricature wallpaper” and have them sell for you on a royalty basis as well.

The limits to these lucrative areas are boundless and with your crazy artistic imagination you are going to do well to follow these 3 smart ways to profit from your art online.

About the Author:

Click here to see some celebrity caricature examples you could be doing:

www.learn-to-draw.org/caricature-celebrities/

and scroll down and go to page 3, 4, etc for some very cool looking celebrity caricatures.

For more information on how to draw caricatures and make money with your own website set up to sell, please visit Greg Gillespie’s webiste,

http://www.learn-to-draw.org

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
3 Smart Ways To Make Money With Your Art

Author:
Cathy Robertson

As an Artist you know there is no greater thrill than seeing your artwork on someone’s wall; knowing that they love it, that you have brought joy into their world. Whether you’re a part time hobby artist, a full time professional or somewhere in between there is always opportunity to sell your work. You may find that one or more methods work well for you. Pursue them. Hone your skills. Reap the rewards! Remember the old adage, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained …”

Your Local Art Community

If you haven’t already done so, check out your local ‘art scene’. Many communities have organizations designed for the budding Artist. They offer classes, exhibits, information on local events (booth opportunities) and general art related resources. You may also fine resources through the Chamber of Commerce and your local Colleges and Universities. It’s a great place to start.

Word of Mouth

Everyone loves to sell by word of mouth. It’s free and you know people are talking good things about your art. Great word of mouth is every seller’s dream.

Advantage: Someone else is marketing for you simply by giving their recommendation to a friend.

Disadvantage: In order for “word of mouth” to be affective, people have to know about it first!

Conclusion: It takes time to develop ‘word of mouth’ selling. Produce good work, conduct yourself with integrity and a great reputation will follow! It is worth its weight in gold.

Commissioned Work

With commissioned work, you sell it before you create it.

Advantage: You can pretty well expect to get paid for the job, assuming you deliver as promised.

Disadvantage: You have to market yourself to get the job. And you are obligated to paint within someone else’s parameters rather than yours completely.

Conclusion: Working within boundaries forces you to solve the problems it presents. It forces creative solutions. Many of us do our best work when presented with unique challenges!

Event Booths

Event booths can be a fun way to sell your artwork and participate in the community.

Advantage: Booth rentals can be relatively inexpensive. You get to talk with people and promote your work. You get instant feedback. You know immediately how people feel about your artwork; everything from style, content, size and price. You get a ‘feel’ for the market. You have the opportunity to get the word out about you and your art; give out business cards or email contact.

Disadvantage: You have to deal with how you will accept payment (credit card, cash, check).You don’t want someone to walk off with one of your paintings and find out their check was bad. You need to sell enough to cover your expenses. Event opportunities may not come around often enough to suit your taste or you may not have enough pieces to warrant having a booth.

Conclusion: Consider these – renting a booth with other Artists if you don’t have enough work to fill the space; excepting credit cards or cash only; selling low price point prints or cards of your artwork to passers by (for spontaneous sales). Market yourself to the hilt. Tout your web site.

Your Own Web Site

Nowadays everyone seems to have their own web site. If you have anything to sell, people expect you to have one.

Advantage: It’s fast, convenient and you’re not confined to any one location. Your artwork is available for people around the world to see 24/7. Getting online can be done on the cheap. If you’re willing to do the research, the world is literally at your fingertips to learn the In’s and out’s of being online.

Disadvantage: Getting on the web is one thing. Getting found by people searching for your product is quite another. Getting listed on page 158 on a Google search doesn’t add up to sales. Unless your prepared to take on the full time job (and expense) of marketing your site, you will most likely only be found by people to whom you have personally given your web address. You will also need to have a payment and delivery method. And work out things like who pays shipping.

Conclusion: If at all possible, at least get a web page. Give people a convenient way to see your work and contact you by email. It’s expected.

A Hosted Website

Showing your artwork on a hosted web site is a fairly fast and easy process.

Advantage: When you show your work on someone else’s web site, you don’t have to market your art or your website. It is relatively inexpensive. There are online companies that will ‘host’ your artwork and often for free or a small annual fee. Buyers are then directed to you; where you handle the sale and shipping, etcetera… Some of them even take care of accepting payment, shipping and returns if you sell prints of your art that they produce (for a fee of course). Luckily many are able to print on demand, so you don’t have to ‘buy’ the print until someone places an order for it.

Disadvantage: The hosting site makes the bulk of their money by selling their services to you (hosting and producing prints), not by selling your original pieces of art. In other words, they do not target sales to a specific market of art buyers; but rather you, the Artist. You may have to provide your own digital capture. If you want to offer larger prints you will need to use high end capture methods (professional camera or scanner). The hosting company may also take a % of the sale for themselves.

Conclusion: It’s a fantastic way to get your art ‘on the web’ without a lot of time or expense involved.

Art Shows & Galleries

Art shows are often hosted by galleries and organizations that can attract lots of interested buyers.

Advantage: The event is advertised by the host, so you don’t have to. Art shows can be a great way to introduce yourself and your art to the local market (and possibly larger, if a licensing agent sees your work). You have the opportunity to sell your work or walk away with an award. Everybody loves an ‘award winning’ artist! Many Artists get their start via shows and galleries.

Disadvantage: You may not be accepted into the Show or you may have to pay to enter. Galleries are very particular about the work they carry. Once you are accepted, if you are accepted, you can expect the Gallery to take 40-60% commission right off the top. You must do your homework and deal with reputable galleries only.

Conclusion: The Internet is great, but it’s impossible to beat the ‘real thing’ when it comes to viewing art. Viewing the original up close and personal is the true art experience. The high end sales are still made in the galleries. Go for it.

Sell Prints

Selling prints of your original art is easier today than ever before.

Advantage: You can sell prints of a popular piece at an affordable price. You can sell the original as well or choose to keep it in your own private collection. Fine art printing companies are widely available on the Internet and elsewhere. Many of them do digital capture as well as the printing itself. Depending on your budget, and quality of digital capture, you have control over the type and quality of the Giclee Prints created. You also have choice of selling limited or open edition prints.

Disadvantage: You have to invest in the digital capture and printing services and hope that you can re-coup those expenses through the various methods of selling your art.

Conclusion: Whether to sell prints or strictly one of a kind, originals is a personal decision. The advantages are obvious, yet for some, it goes against the grain. Follow your heart.

License Your Art with a Company

Your “license” is your permission for someone else to market and sell images of your work. How the image is used is agreed upon in the contract.

Advantage: Your art continues to work for you long after you have created it, generating a passive income.

Disadvantage: These companies usually license art only for their own use. Meaning the art is used strictly for that company’s product.

Conclusion: Once you have a contract it is a no hassle way to sell your art. Be sure to sell your license, not your copyright!

License Your Art with a Commercial Licensing Agency

With this type of licensing your image is contracted out to manufacturing companies through the Agency. How the image is used is agreed upon in the contract. It could be used on anything from mugs, dishware, cloth, napkins, art prints, T-shirts stationary and any number of things in the manufacturing industry. Licensing art with an agency is the professionals’ game.

Advantage: Once you create the original artwork and sign a licensing agreement, you can return to the art of creating great Fine Art, all the while earning passive income.

Disadvantage: The licensing market is highly competitive. Agents will only license what they believe they can sell because it literally costs them thousands of dollars to land good contracts with manufactures, publishers and various agencies. They need art they ‘know’ they can sell. Some licensing agents will ask you to put up a significant sum of ‘good faith’ money to help off set their expenses. Then you both cross your fingers that it sells. If the agent doesn’t get paid, you don’t get paid. You get 30-50% of the contract price the agent makes with the purchasing company; about 4-10% of the wholesale price of the product (not retail sale price).

Conclusion: Even at a fraction of the wholesale price, the profits can be huge. If you are talented enough to play that game, my hat goes off to you. Well done!

I am sure you have noticed these selling channels are interrelated. Many Artists will participate in event booths; selling prints, handing out business cards with their web address, drumming up commissioned work and developing a good ‘word of mouth’ reputation all at the same time! And why not? The more you put your work ‘out there’ the more chances you have to sell it. Whether you just dabble in art or make it your bread and butter, there are selling opportunities for you. Some obviously require more time and effort than others. The great part is, between the Internet and local organizations you can get as little or as deeply involved as you want. Keep it fun and enjoy yourself!

About the Author:

Cathy Robertson is an Artist and writer for Fine Art Castle. Have fun, informative decorating & design articles delivered to you! Sign up for our monthly Newsletter today at
http://www.fineartcastle.com/decoratingtipsanddesign.aspx
. Or stop by and take a peek at our Fine Art Prints for your Canvas Art decorating needs at
http://www.fineartcastle.com

Article Source:
ArticlesBase.com
–
10 Ways to Sell Your Art, an Overview of Selling Options

By
Reinaldo Arvelo

Artist Statements, Artist Biography Tips, And Resumes –
Nuts and Bolts

By
Barbara
Bowen

 "If you aim for a market you’ll miss the mark." Whoever said that, I’m a
believer. It’s no good looking over the shoulder at what strangers prefer
before creating. True inspiration is the optimal motivator. Quality issues
from there, and its purity taps the nerves of audience attraction. That
said, there are far too many masterpieces tucked on shelves behind the light
of day. Strong promotional tools may be secondary to our motivation, but
they’re essential. Like the apex of an iceberg, they show first. They
introduce our work, foster credibility, and mirror how far we’ve traveled
along the arc of our goals. Those we know may direct us to new connections.
But even then, we must support those connections with an effective
"portrait" of who we are. Selling is a part of every career. Never
underestimate the power of presentation. Why not enter the new season
prepared with an updated, incisive, authentic, and powerful one? What do you
need? A dynamic artist statement, artist biography and artist resume is the
beginning. Effective artist portfolios and proposals are also important.
Start now and stay ahead of the pack. So, what are the important elements of
these essential artist presentation tools?

Artist Statement:
Shaping your essential bond with viewers and sales An artist statement
communicates what motivates you as an artist. It’s the most personal part of
your presentation; an opportunity to bring your viewers and potential buyers
closer. It offers a glimpse of the person behind the work. While keeping it
informative, let your personality show. Share your ideas and concerns, and
how they are revealed in your work. Explain to viewers what your work means
to you, not what it’s supposed to mean to them. They will arrive at their
own conclusions. It’s okay to mention influences, but mostly keep prominent
names associated with your career for your resume, where they will serve as
testimonial and avoid the appearance of boasting. Give some details about
your techniques and how they help you achieve your vision. Then, you might
add a segment about how your approach is unique. Most general artist
statements are around one page or less. Brevity sustains attention, so I
lean toward three or four concise paragraphs. In some situations, a
statement about a particular artwork may be requested. A statement can act
as a marketing piece in certain commercial situations, which may be
appropriate. So be sure to tailor your artist statement to its purpose.

Artist Biography:
Creating a memorable snapshot of your career
life An artist bio contains similar information to the artist resume but is
presented in paragraph form, is less formal, and is most often written in
the third person. It serves to highlight the information presented on your
resume. It’s a great way to convey a "snapshot" of your career experience.

Artist Resume:
Detailing your career with clarity and
professionalism Artist resumes detail the accomplishments, endeavors, and
knowledge. They offer a full picture of your career, and the categories
featured on the resume will depend upon your artistic discipline. It’s
important to update your resume on a regular basis, adding and deleting the
listed activities, as appropriate. An artist resume can be one to four pages
in length. Most artists have two versions prepared: a longer and shorter
version. It’s often best to use a professional paper stock, in white or
ivory. The style of type varies, and can add to the resume’s
professionalism.

Artist Proposal:
Standing out from the crowd with dynamic
writing/shaping/editing Artists also use their portfolio to apply for
specific projects, funding programs, residencies, or other competitive
opportunities. These applications may ask you to submit a project
description, details on your approach to the project, and a cover letter.
These written materials should be tightly edited and tailored to the
particular opportunity. Be passionate and sincere in the presentation of
your work, and always conclude with thanking the panel, juror, and/or
organization for their time and consideration. Typical questions for you to
answer will be: Why are you an ideal applicant? How will you benefit the
program or project? What technical qualifications, abilities, or personal
assets can you contribute? How will you benefit from the opportunity? How
would the project advance your career as an artist? How would you use the
money awarded?

Visual Artist Portfolio:
Keeping the heart and soul of your work
evolving Your portfolio is the most valuable tool in your overall
presentation. Your visuals are worth a thousand words, and an arresting
portfolio can help close the gap, should your written materials be less
developed, as in young artist on the career path. There are many approaches
to a portfolio, depending upon the discipline. One universal ingredient to a
successful portfolio is a sense of continuity. The transitions between and
within subject matter must cohere. Color, tone, shape, scale, all must be
considered when choosing what images to include and how to position them.
This process involves subjectivity as well as objectivity. Most artists
benefit greatly from feedback from a trained eye, and reactions from
untrained eyes can also be helpful. A portfolio is most successful when
modified and tailored, with acumen, for its particular audience. Many
artists now supplement their physical portfolio with a digital version
either on the Web or presented on CD-ROM or DVD. Stay current on new formats
and choose the method(s) that feature your work most powerfully and support
your marketing goals.