Creating and selling your own artwork has never been easier. There are multiple selling platforms, a range of products to choose from and more accessible mediums than ever before. So, whether you’re a traditional artist or a digital whizz, we’re going to explore a few ways you can get in on the trend.
From Art Fairs to NFTs, read on to find out how to get involved and be inspired to create and sell your artwork…
Selling your artwork: Traditional art
Back in the day, artists often had to create their own paint, stretch their canvases, and have models standing by for days. Thankfully, those things are in the past, and a variety of traditional mediums are widely available at good art supply stores.
We all have our favourites – some prefer sculpting, others love gentle watercolours, but there are markets and audiences for all. If you’re unsure which medium would be best for sellable art, look at the places you could sell it and work out what sells best. Check places like:
- Etsy
- Local craft fairs
- Local galleries
- Any local pop-up shops
- Any shops that sell on consignment
- Your local government website for street-selling rules
Traditional artwork is often regarded as top-tier with the time, effort and quality often considered in the price, so it’s less likely to be found online outside of sites like Etsy and your website if you have one.
The marketing and selling process is simple as there are limited places to sell actual physical artwork, and most people like to see pieces upfront before confirming a sale. It’s just a case of displaying your art and enticing a buyer with a one-of-a-kind piece via word of mouth, social posts, and blogs on your website if you have one. It is a more challenging market but does carry a premium price.
Sculpture and moulded artworks like acrylic placemats, decorative cups, figurines, and decorative trays are still technically traditional art, but they are significantly easier to mass-produce and keep consistent. Card-making is similar to these, especially if you use stamps or Cricut machines alongside the huge range of card-making materials available in the market. The material accessibility and easy processing make these an ideal option for someone looking to be creative and more time or cost efficient overall. Unfortunately, this also means the market is a bit saturated with similar products, so make sure you find your niche and stand out from the crowd.
Selling your artwork: Digital Art
With the recent advances in technology, it’s no surprise that art has turned more and more digital in recent years. It offers significant efficiencies such as less clear-up, more mobility, and you can replicate a variety of techniques on screen. The most recent artwork craze is NFT and AI art.
- What is NFT art?
NFT art is what’s called a Non-Fungible Token. The idea is that it’s a unique piece of digital art that’s rooted in cryptocurrency – sort of like trading cards, but digital. The difference is that when you buy an NFT, you own the copyright, and there shouldn’t be duplicates anywhere, though there have been high-profile cases of NFT theft.
They can be GIFs or jpegs, even videos, and you can sell them on dedicated NFT marketplaces like Rarible, OpenSea and SuperRare.
- What is AI art?
AI art is another new market contender. It’s created using purpose-made apps like Dall-E and starryai that are coded to use algorithms to interpret your prompts and create art based on them. These are typically weird and funny pieces of digital art, but their selling ability isn’t very high, though more professional AI-aided and inspired art has made money in the past.
Other digital art options
The more common kinds of digital art are things like:
- Logos
- Print-on-demand ideas like t-shirts, posters and other merchandise that use dropshipping services
- YouTube covers, thumbnails and icons
- Fonts
- Stationary Templates (Invites, letterheads, etc.)
- Illustrations
These are all pieces of art you can create and sell over and over if you wanted. They’re far more time-efficient as you create them once, then you can sell them repeatedly on different marketplaces like Etsy, Redbubble, MyFonts, social media and more. Because they’re so mass-produced, the price you sell at is lower, though if you’re doing commissions, there are more earning options.
There are multiple opportunities for selling your art, both digital and traditional, it’s just up to you to find the niche and material choice that suits you best. So, do some market research, see where your skills lie and start exploring the money-making world of being a professional artist and entrepreneur.
Guest Post Author Bio:
Debbie is an experienced writer currently based in the UK working for Affinity Agency. Her main goal is to help others learn and develop through well-researched and informative content.
Interested in publishing content on the Julie Erin Designs blog? Read my blog submission guidelines here.