WEEK 32 - How to turn one piece of artwork into multiple paychecks
Hey HOMwork friends, happy Friday!
(If this is your first time joining us, take a peek at our Challenge Archive for all previous assignments.)
This week we have not one, but two amazing guest teachers! Meet Katie & Ilana!
Katie and Ilana are designers and lettering artists who found camaraderie through art licensing. After getting their work on products from greeting cards to apparel and seeing the impact licensing had on their own businesses, they teamed up to help demystify the world of licensing for other artists!
From Katie & Ilana:
We both stumbled into art licensing by accident.
Long before we knew each other, we each created and sold our own lines of greeting cards and stationery. Putting our own designs out into the world started to attract clients, and they began asking us to "license" our designs for products like greeting cards, gift bags, and apparel. It took us both a while to realize that we had uncovered a whole new method for selling our art, but once we finally wised up, we were left completely overwhelmed and uncertain of how to navigate the intimidating world of art licensing.
A few years later, and after a ton of trial and error, we've come out on the other side of the licensing wormhole with a lot more understanding and know-how (and an online class on the subject - use the code HOMWORK for $30 off!). We've learned how licensing allows us to sell the exact same piece of art multiple times and how we can cash royalty checks from designs we sold years ago. Licensing has become huge in helping us maintain more financial consistency...but somehow the lettering community isn't really talking about it!
We're here to change all that. In fact, we're going to help you create your first licensing portfolio piece right now!
OMG FREE BRUSHES!
Awww yeah - as a HOMwork subscriber, you get two FREE Procreate brushes to play with every week, courtesy of DesignCuts.
<< Click here to download this week's brushes!
Your Assignment: Letter or illustrate a birthday design for your art licensing portfolio.
Here are a few tips for creating your birthday piece:
Think about who it's for and use that to inform the copywriting. Is it for a mom, a young child, a best friend?
What kind of product might it end up on? Birthday pieces are great for greeting cards, gift bags or boxes, wrapping paper, etc... How can you optimize your design to work on multiple products?
What's going to make your piece stand out to a buyer? Unique neon colors? Super funny copywriting? An unusual lettering style? Make something you'd want to pick up on a shelf next to a bunch of other birthday-themed items!
Caption Idea: Tell us who your birthday message would be perfect for and why!
Don't forget to tag @homsweethom, @ilanagriffo, and @katiemadethat thenfollow and use the hashtag #HOMwork so we can see your clever birthday messages. We’ll be sharing our favs in our Stories all week!
Love,
Katie, Ilana, & Lauren
Ready to take the next step and start your art licensing portfolio? Sign up for Katie & Ilana's e-course Art Licensing for Letterers and use the code HOMWORK for $30 off!
