Do you think I could sell artwork?

[bcblondie]

Here are some drawings I've done. As you can see, most of them were when I was a teen. I'm now 22. I haven't done as much drawing since graduating high school. But I'm sure I could get back into it no problem. (If ds allows me teh time)

So what do you think? Good enough to sell, like maybe have people email me pictures and I can draw them? Or do I need more practice?

How would I go about getting my name out there if I did this?

http://www.angelfire.com/pro/artistry/

[femalephish]

nak

I think those are great. I think you could try etsy.com

Maybe you could have a 'custom' listing- you could show a photograph that inspired you and then show your drawing of that photo as an example. etsy even has its own forums where you can chat with other sellers, craftsters and artists and get their advice.

Good Luck!

[amberskyfire]

I majored in illustration and fine art in college

You've got awesome technique which is just exactly what you need! You have real talent!

After trying to sell my art all my life, though, I hate to say that people are picky about what they buy. For sale, you have to find a way to really punch it up. I don't mean change your art style, just give it some punch and add some double whammy. (LOL, I know that makes no sense at all!)

While studying art, one of my instructors had us learn from the book "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain." I cannot recommend this book more. If you follow along in the lessons your work will improve tenfold. It is fantastic! You should be able to find it in most any library. It's a pretty popular book.

Etsy buyers really love unusual types of art and of course whatever is trendy and popular sells very well. I've noticed that the trend right now is for very Indie looking stuff.

I also do coloring books. Do you do line drawings? I've found that my self-published coloring books sell amazingly well and I'm trying to get them on my Etsy shop. I'm working on a new one now that should do well if I can ever get it finished But yeah. Plus, they are tons of fun to make.

[bcblondie]

Thank you very much girls! Etsy is a great idea. I don't do much line drawing but I doubt it would be too hard for me. I mostly do portraits, as you can see. But I've been wanting to branch out anyways.

Colouring books are a great idea. How do you publish them yourself? Can you link me to your website? I'd be very interested to see

Oh and I have heard of that book. Sounds like a good'er

[amberskyfire]

Originally Posted by bcblondie

Thank you very much girls! Etsy is a great idea. I don't do much line drawing but I doubt it would be too hard for me. I mostly do portraits, as you can see. But I've been wanting to branch out anyways.

Colouring books are a great idea. How do you publish them yourself? Can you link me to your website? I'd be very interested to see

Oh and I have heard of that book. Sounds like a good'er

I started by doing portraits, too!

I draw mine on acid-free 8x10 paper, just the same type you use in the printer or copier. Then I take them to Kinkos (or whatever they call it now) or another print shop. I make regular Xerox copies of each page and staple them together in a bunch. Usually, each book contains 12 images.

For the cover, I pick out a piece of parchment-colored 10x16" paper or whatever the double size is. I have them print those for the covers, then I fold them in half and put the stapled pages inside and glue them in with a little glue along the seam. I used to sell them out like crazy.

I don't have a website for them anymore. All of my print copies are back in TX where I used to live and we haven't had them sent over yet. Right now, I only have one image from my new coloring book I just started and I have another image done in the same style as my coloring books, but it actually came from my journal. Here they are in that order:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...nal/cbook1.jpg

http://amberskyfire.deviantart.com/a...-Tree-14136538

If you come up with a theme and move with it, people really love that. I mostly sell these to adults, even though they are intended for children (or at least your inner child ) so you really can do anything you can dream up! I have a good friend who makes X-rated adult coloring books which is kind of funny, but they SELL.

[bcblondie]

Wow I LOVE those!! Good job! Thanks for all the advice. It would be so nice to have a little extra income. Can I ask how much you charge per book?

[amberskyfire]

Well, I used to charge $5 per book which was okay when I was in college, but I think with this new book, I'll be raising the price to $8.

See, I've found that most of my clients want to buy two of my books because I hand sign them, so they think they will be worth more in the future. They won't be, but the signature puts a lot of value on them for my clients for some reason (so hand sign all of your books! ). They buy two so they can color in one and save the other in its original condition. So the issue I'm dealing with is, how high can I go on the price so that the customer will still think it's affordable to buy a second book?

I think $8 is about the cutoff price. That way they can get 2 for only $16. For something with less detail, though, maybe $7 a book. Plus, if you sell them on consignment, they have to be priced so that you still make a profit.

[bcblondie]

Ok that makes sense. So is it the same people always coming back, or are most of your sales to new customers? How many different books do you have?

[amberskyfire]

Well, I haven't had any for sale in a few years, but when I did it was a mix of return customers and new customers. I would make a new one each year, so people who had bought before would want one of the new ones with the different theme.

I'm working on the fourth book now. I haven't made one in several years. The theme of this one is "Enchanted Hawaii." I'm hoping it will sell to the tourists as well. If you make one, try on Etsy and see how it does. If you market coloring books that both adults and children will love, you can widen your client base.

[bcblondie]

Ok that's awesome! I'm excited now lol. It's something that you can try and if it doesn't take off, you're not a million dollars in debt lol. I think it's definately worth a shot And it'll improve my creativity I bet. Now I gotta think of a theme.
If you do more pages, let me know. It's awesome work.

[bcblondie]

Oh. I'm in Canada. Would etsy still be my best bet for where to sell? How do people pay you, paypal? Does it cost money to have people pay you through paypal?

[amberskyfire]

If you sell through Etsy, you can sell worldwide and yes, you can take Paypal. I like Etsy. It's easy to use and their fees are extremely low.

[bcblondie]

Ok thanks

[bcblondie]

Some quick doodles for practice for my colouring book, since I'm rusty and haven't drawn in ages. Trying to get more into the "line drawing" mindset and not go all crazy on teh shading.

These aren't the pics I'll be putting in teh book. They are just practice.

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u...ouringbook.jpg

I made the bird one more "line - y." I realize this wouldn't be the best subject for a colouring book since I haven't really created areas that would be coloured one colour and others a different colour. But alas. It's just practice.

I'm totally open to criticism/advice/suggestions. Go crazy

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u...uringbook2.jpg

[amberskyfire]

A kingfisher! And LOL, I'm loving that cow

The only thing I would change is make sure when you draw you don't use a sketchy hand. My art instructor used to yell at me for that one pretty bad. It means you are not sure of yourself when you draw. You have to (and this is so hard, I know) just draw a straight bold line and believe that it will go exactly where you need it to go. This means going soooo so slow in the beginning, but at least it's easy to get the hang of quickly. My professor made me draw my shoe about a hundred times until I got it right. Man, those were tough times. Still, it was worth it!

What sorts of themes have you been thinking of? When I first started, it was hard for me to think of good ones. I'd do something that had already been done. After the first two coloring books, I got a lot better at it. Here are some ideas I've been tossing around that you are free to steal if you want:

-an alphabet themed book with one drawing per letter (but this would make for a 26 page book)
-Pirates! Everybody seems to love them lately
-gnomes/nature spirits
-Dolls from around the world!

OH OH! Or you could do one with a birth theme! That would be a really fun and empowering birth project for pregnant mamas! Actually, I think I'll do that next!

Also, when I did my first coloring book, I just did a picture isolated right in the middle of the page. There was no background, just something like a unicorn right in the white middle of the page like a regular coloring book. They didn't sell well until I figured out that I needed to draw an entire and very intricate background. Then they started selling like hotcakes. People will pay to have more to color.

Check out these awesome coloring book artists on Etsy!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php...ng_id=31699244
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php...ng_id=15434023
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php...ng_id=18695910
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php...ng_id=26183624
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php...ng_id=27618367
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7489155

And this one is NSFW but really beautiful:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing_id=33508071

[bcblondie]

That's funny that the background can make such a difference. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help and guidance. Where would I be without you? I've had business idea's in teh past but everyone was like "uhhh yea sure. That would be cool... heh." People actually think this'll take off! Even my MIL *gasp* lol !!

Wow those books are really nice. (Except the last link didn't work)
The sketchy hand thing is hard to get past, you're right lol. But what if I did it in pencil and then did the solid line in pen and erased the pencil after? I'm sneaky like that lol.
I have been having a hard time thinking up themes. Been trying to get imput from friends and family but not much has struck me. Did you have an "aha!" moment when you thought of yours?

[amberskyfire]

Yeah, sketchy hand is hard to get past and you can trace with ink and erase it for now, but it's a good idea to learn not to do it for your art's sake in general. Also, it teaches you how to really see what you are drawing which makes you very accurate and you'll find you don't have problems anymore with proportions being off. It's one of the most valuable art skills you can learn

Yeah, I usually get "aha" moments when I'm least expecting them. It'll come to you. Just practice your drawing until it hits you. Anybody can make a coloring book, but one of the biggest sellers is thinking of an idea that everybody will really love. That awesome theme is what will be the real seller. There are plenty of coloring books on fairies or endangered animals or cartoon characters or birds. Wait for that one idea that says "If I was anyone else but me, I would simply HAVE to have this book!"

[bcblondie]

Ok thanks I will definately take my time and think of something super cool.

[bcblondie]

amberskyfire I finally thought of a theme! All things chinese, their culture, heritage, etc. Their clothing and buildings are so beautiful, and the new year dragons and water lanterns and everything are so colourful. Plus I love those cherry blossom trees!!

I'm so excited!!

[amberskyfire]

That is a WONDERFUL idea! I want to see it when you are finished!!

Oh, don't forget to be sure to buy only acid-free ink or it will turn colors after a few months. I learned that one the hard way. Archival ink is best.