Market Research

[tealin]

I'm looking at very much belatedly getting on this 'internet artist' bandwagon and turning some of my hobbies into something that could challenge me artistically/prfessionally and give me a little pocket change between jobs. There are two problems: self-promotion runs entirely against my grain, and I don't know the first thing about how to go about doing any of this. So I reach out to you, O internet, faithful friend and ally, to offer some sort of feedback. Please please chip in your two cents on anything you have an opinion on, I am out for data.

1. What would you, or people you know, be most interested in buying if I were to offer it in an online shop? (e.g. sketchbooks, prints of nice finished artwork, prints of existing rough artwork, original artwork, phone cases, tote bags, cupcakes, whatever)

2. Do you have any suggestions for new things I could make that there would be interest in?  (e.g. an illustrated cookbook, nicely formatted and illustrated art tips, 'art books' for things I tend to return to a lot (as if they were actual animated productions))

3. Do you have any experience with monetizing your art?  What would your advice be? Do you have any strong feelings on one online shop host over another?

Any and all feedback is appreciated (including 'stay pure! don't do this!') so please take a moment or two to tell me what you think, even if it's a general comment that doesn't address any of those three points.

THANK YOU!

Comments

[inevitableentresol]

As far as I can tell, the money is in commissions, generally either fanart or doing people's original characters in your own style.

My top tip would to be to keep your prices high and not be swayed by the floods of other artists charging peanuts, no matter how good you think they are. Work out your likely workrate per hour and base it off that.

I sold my own art before days of the internet, at art fairs and in local shops, so I don't know terribly much about this, sorry.

To promote that you're doing commissions, make a post on tumblr with a selection of your work and prices for each style/level of detail and ask for reblogs. I'm sure you've seen the kind of thing a dozen time but here's examples from the lovely Gabrielle Houle.
http://mariealbertine.tumblr.com/tagged/commissions
(oops, there's some graphic sexual content on that tag, a few posts down, that I didn't notice, so warning)

Here's a simpler post without pics from Polly Guo.
http://pollyguo.tumblr.com/post/61019099916/commissions-are-open


As for myself, as a potential buyer... yeah, I'd probably be most interested in buying commissions over anything else. I find it fascinating to see how each artist re-interprets well-loved characters. I've commissioned a few pieces in the past, mostly of BBC radio comedy characters.

[copperbadge]

Ahaha follow the link, Sam...

So, as I mentioned on tumblr, I know some people who use Patreon, which is sort of a subscription dealio. I linked to a well-done one in last week's RFM, I can dig out the link if you want.

Commissions are generally what people do, but of course you don't get to dictate much of what you draw. I don't know how they work but it looks like other people have that covered.

There are also selfpublished art books; Jean's done a couple of those, she can steer you towards good selfpub companies for artists, since Lulu.com is not ideal for that.

You could sell prints; I know of a few places where you can upload a work of art and sell it as prints/pillows/phone cases/mugs/etc., let me know if you want me to look up the specifics.

Or you could talk around to selfpublishers about cover design or internal illustration; B&W illos are a lot easier to add into books than they used to be. You did a brilliant job designing the Dead Isle cover.

Any route you go, keep me in mind to RFM your stuff - I've RFM'd artists before who need word of mouth, not just for emergencies. :)

[(Anonymous)]

So, I'd probably recommend commissions. I think people tend to go for the more than other things, particularly if you're a well-known artist. People love the idea of having an artist they like draw something for them, specifically. (: I'm sure you'd do pretty well, too.

[crystalmage]

*peers around corner, waves*

Super happy that you're considering this as I think your built-in audience will jump at the chance. Like I mentioned, this is just my experience on the consumer end of things:

Sketchbooks - Fun to buy when you're a fan of the artist because it doesn't matter what's in it, you just love their style. The great ones I've seen feel very much like the bloopers reel/deleted scenes of a favorite movie, including: never-before-posted material, a few "favorites" from the artist's library, and variations/expanded versions of existing work.

Prints of nice finished artwork - The bread and butter is here, in the form of commissions. You have the right to clearly state what you will/will not draw, what you'll charge for various types of pieces (sketch, bust, full-body, full color, OCs, etc), where you'll ship to, and even limit it to "x" amount of open slots. An informational "Commissions Are Open!" picture post like @inevitableentersol mentioned is the most convenient, and includes a range in prices for whatever different types of commissions you're offering. Usually the prices are for a single character, with a pricing option for "each additional character."

I'm not the right person to talk to about pricing in accordance to your level of skill, but I will say that my experience has been that if you price too high for your demographic, you won't get the response you're looking for. Alternatively, you can price high but occasionally have yourself a good ol' fashioned sale and offer marked-down prices for a limited time/limited slots for quick sketches. That way you offer something that's cost-effective for those that would like to buy without breaking the bank, and you're also not committing to something too intensive for less revenue.

Original artwork - Unless your original characters have their own following (through an online comic, "Ask [so-and-so]" blog, etc.) then I hardly ever see this option selected. People are skewed to the fanart or OCs angle when commissioning. On the other hand, I've seen artists post original art that was then requested to have added to a store if it gets enough of a reaction out of people.

Stores - Inprnt, Society6, Etsy, Redbubble, Storenvy and Bigcartel are the ones I see frequently. I know absolutely nothing about the selling aspect of this (pricing, print quality, percentages, etc.) so you're going to want to do your research on all of them to determine what's the best financially for both you and your buyers. On the buying end, I've bought from Society6, Etsy, and Redbubble and have not had any problems.

Phones cases, tote bags, etc - People buy these things. I don't personally, but I know they're out there and that people do in fact purchase them. The biggest issue I've seen with these items is that the cropping gets weird across the different items. So unless you want to create different versions of the same image specifically formatted for a throw pillow or iPhone version XXalphacentauri then it might limit the availability and cause frustration on both ends.

Cupcakes - Always.

New things you could make - I feel uncomfortable trying to push people to draw/write certain things - I figure if they were really inspired by it, they'd be doing it already, right? Still, If you're ever wanting a fresh bit of inspiration, or just a mental cool down, ask for prompts. Then promptly close your messaging system after about 15 mins because people LOVE a good prompt and you'll probably have more than you'll ever need.

That about covers it on my end - here's hoping I see a link to Tealin's Art Emporium soon!

[tealin]

Thanks for your input! I'm a little afraid of charging too much for commissions (i.e. the going professional rate for the time involved) because the majority of the people likely to commission me would be scared off and I don't want to lose any of the market right out the gate ... it's a balancing act, I suppose, and I'll just have to feel it out.

[tealin]

Thank you! I will have to look into Patreon, it is a very new thing to me.

I don't mind not drawing what I want to draw, this is called a 'job' and frankly most of the ones I've had are not what I'd have chosen. :)

I hadn't thought of offering work as a selfpub illustrator ... that is a good idea. I'll have to work up some samples that are not just animation-stye character sketches. Dead Isle was a stroke of intuition I don't know if I could get to strike again, but I'm glad you like it! It gives me hope I'm not completely at a loss with more designy stuff and can make it work every so often.

[tealin]

Thanks for writing all this out, wow! Great to hear the story from the other side of the desk, as it were. Very valuable and comprehensive information, thank you.

[inevitableentresol]

This was my philosophy: If you're doing it for fun, give your art away. If you're doing it for money, charge the proper rate.

It was really awkward sometimes when friends and family commissioned me, and I'm pretty hard-nosed. If I didn't feel comfortable charging the full going rate, I just turned it into a gift.

If it helps, think of the other artists who get really annoyed when someone with your talent and experience underprices themselves, and so drives down the price for everyone.

In the long run, you don't make any more money by undercharging, as far as I can tell, but you do increase the grief considerably. Those who want freebies/cheap art are traditionally the most nightmare, demanding clients. I've heard such stories. Those who value and will pay for art properly I found to be much nicer to do work for.

If you're scared of putting people off by the price, open commissions, but also do some freebie requests for fun for those who can't afford you.

Good luck whatever you decide.

[(Anonymous)]

If you made an illustrated cookbook, I would buy it. I'm generally very interested in the recipes you post because they go above and beyond what I would normally think of eating. I think such a book would have appeal in its illustrations and also in its recipes. The other day, I came across a cookbook all about apples with beautiful watercolor illustrations. It is a joy in so many ways. As for ideas about what else you could sell online, I have always loved your Master and Commander Valentines. They are very clever. If you could come up with appealing, clever valentines/cards/postcards/etc. that appeal to various fandoms and offer them as downloadable, printable goodness, I would buy them... and so would other people, I imagine.

Hiiii this is Sabrina

[(Anonymous)]

Not sure if you'll see this since I'm not sure how often people check super old posts, but I have opinions!

1) I have yet to really understand commissions (it feels weird to charge random people on the internet the kind of money that you would get at a paid art job) but if you can get an audience for it, then go for it! Personally I'd love to see a sketchbook from you- b+w sketchbooks are pretty cheap to produce and you can experiment with short digital print runs. I highly recommend using a local shop (you can generally find much cheaper and don't have to pay shipping).

The same goes for art prints (although the site catprint gives pretty competitive rates). I would definitely recommend offering some art prints on your more popular pieces and seeing if you make any sales. Art prints can bring a higher profit margin than sketchbooks and, even if they're not as popular, are really easy to make, store, and sell. I would only recommend investing in your own high-quality printer once you are confident in pretty steady sales from prints alone (but also remember that nice paper + ink gets HELLA expensive.... personally, I have yet to be convinced to switch over yet). Do a short run of prints from a local place or catprint and try it out! You can also probably do a poll first to see what people would like to buy.

I also sell bookmarks and charms but they don't sell as well as the books and prints. XD I make them because they're pretty.

2. Dude I would kill for an art book/concept from you of like.... any story XD I would like to see a mix of art and writing together (kinda like the ones Disney puts out- not that exact printing format obviously but that mix of art + insight). I'm not sure how much other people would like to see that but a risk-free way to test this out is to release a digital PDF.

3. Here's the common store breakdown:

-Etsy: very common, charges a small fee for each product AND for the store itself, and requires a renewal fee every six months to keep EACH product online. To me this was a dealbreaker because I have a LOT of products and also I am just miserly in general and hate sharing money. Supposedly people favor Etsy because they have a very large "marketplace", meaning you can draw people in from the main Etsy site, but I think that mostly serves craftmakers rather than artists.
-Storenvy: It's like Etsy but 100% FREE and with easily customizable layouts. It's less well known from Etsy but I usually draw more people in through my tumblr account anyway- I don't really expect people to just go to Storenvy.com or Etsy.com and stumble across my store (I assume most casual shoppers at those stores are looking for, like, cheap craft supplies or christmas presents.)
-BigCartel: The SUPER PROFESSIONAL-Y one, but it's more expensive than either Etsy OR Storenvy AND it does require some coding skills to get a nice looking site. IT CAN look super nice, but you gotta put in more work. I'd consider this a good "upgrade" once you've got the hang of things but not a good choice for first timers.

I'd be super excited if you started up an online shop! I probably wouldn't be selling stuff myself if it hadn't been for your encouragement so ummmm yeah! Do the thing!

Re: Hiiii this is Sabrina

[tealin]

Thank you so much, this is all very useful information!