This is why I believe artists should consider licensing as a get-to-market strategy. Take a look around you, artists! An artistic element exists as part of a seemingly infinite number of products. Art has the power to invigorate and differentiate common goods. After a few years of trial and error, Smith is designing exclusive artwork for the market via licensing agreements.
She's transformed her side hustle into a lucrative freelance gig, going from "dreamer to licensed artist," as she puts it. Art licensing is not a get-rich-quick scheme.
Initially, after Smith found out about licensing several years ago, she focused on licensing her ideas for new consumer products.
On sell-sheets for a wine bag she envisioned, she added images of her artwork to images of the product and to other products she envisioned. Turns out that a couple of the companies she contacted about the bag were more interested in putting her artwork on greeting cards.
Negotiations fell through, but Smith was encouraged by the validation. Unfortunately, nothing came of either effort. Taking advantage of the fact that her art features inspirational quotes, she connected with a product supplier selling to Fortune companies that want to reward and encourage their employees. The move worked: Smith was inspired to create works for that company specifically. She began designing a new phase of artwork based on her responses from various companies she'd pitched and on her gut instinct about the perfect fit.
She hired freelancers to format the artwork for digital submission. In the fall of , after she'd submitted about two dozen pieces, a deal came together quickly, she told me. Suddenly, everything clicked. In total, about of her artistic pieces have since been licensed and are featured on a variety of products in the market, including charms for keychains. Last month, another of my students, Maria Yiannikkou, signed a licensing agreement for five of her block-printed textile designs.
But a chance encounter at a printmaking workshop resulted in a deal being offered to her Full disclosure: My team helped negotiate the deal. When you focus on licensing, you minimize the risk of getting stuck with a lot of inventory that doesn't sell -- a huge benefit.
As a young entrepreneur, one of the first lessons I personally learned was that in order to eat regularly, I had to to focus on creating something people want , and to offer it quickly. A vast number of products feature artwork. Think outside the box! As art business consultant Laura C. You can live anywhere and do it. Smith is Canadian. How to book licensing jobs As I mentioned above, I work with an agent. Agents do take a percentage of your payment, so if you want to try your hand at booking licensing jobs first, here are some tips: Do the research!
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We Should 'Gram Sometime A girl from Southern California who took a random box of art supplies and turned it into a million-dollar creative business. I can't give you a fat cat to cuddle, but here's the next best thing Many people commented on my art needs the woled to see and criticize as well as to reflect or compare their personalities or their strengnuous lfes struggles.
I just passed up an offer to do an company logo and connections for several others. Hello, I was just wondering if its possible to license many designs of the same concept or do companies like variety of different?
The thing is, my designs are based on one idea I have different design ideas for the same concept of the design , but every one of the designs are aesthetically different and detailed differently. Also, is it possible for another company to license the same kind of designs if another company is already getting my artwork? Thanks for your response. Can I ask? Do you do offer Art reviews for Artists interested in Licencing? I would be very keen to have you have a look at my portfolio to see what you think stands out for licensing potential.
Thanks so much for the post! What awesome information! I want to be just like you when I grow up! Seriously, your posting provides so much great information. I want to take the plunge next year and approach companies for licensing. Thank you so much for your insight.
I would LOVE to get my art licensed and this article has given me a step forward and a light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you for your intelligent, insightful article.
I was just talking to my husband about a project that I am working on, and wanting to get licensed. This helped me tremendously! Hey, I searched for this blog on Bing and just wanted to say many thanks for the superb read. I would have to agree with it, many thanks once more! Thanks sooooo much for this helpful afrticle. This was the first article that I used for information on licensing. Your website got me excited about this new world of licensing. Awesome advice! Great post about licensing!
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