Chapter 3: What to create and what to paint? ( Part 3)

So far in chapter three we have already explored themed art and the concepts of Mono Themed or Multi Themed artists.

In this part, part three, we are continuing to explore Themed and Character art with an explanation of Character Art...

What is Character Art?

The classic and most known characters art of all time are Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck and other more recent characters art are The Simpson family and the Toy Story characters. Character Art defines the apparent individual nature of something.

IMOK's Characters

Artists behind IMOK- Jen Roberts & Sandra Mason

Characters are very popular in art licensing. Many art characters are used in book illustrations and some even licensed in movies, TV shows or in computer games.

Character art has helped children books and other products sell because we can relate to them.

Don't worry you don't need to have a hit TV show, comic book, or famous character to be successful as a Character artist... In fact there are many artists who have successfully developed great character art for manufactures who then turn that art into great products that sell well in the market place.

So Are you a Themed or Character Artist?

Want to learn more about Art Licensing the ArtSHINE way?
It’s as simple as 1... 2... 3...

1: Become an ArtSHINE network member http://artshine.ning.com/

2: Come along to the ArtSHINE workshops in Sydney: artlicensing@quantumcompass.com.au

3: Contact Vinh for a no cost, no obligation coaching session on 8060 9321,

or 0410 636 138 

Click here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ArtShineDiscovery

Chapter 3: What to create and what to paint? (Part 2)

Character or Themed Art?

Before you enter the Art Licensing world the first decision you need to make is whether you want to be a "Character Artist"or "Themed Artist". Both are licensable, the only difference is how you are going to promote yourself as an artist. Deciding the marketing strategies for each will be very different too.

Themed Art

Fusia- Siam
By Artist Chris Chun
Copyright

Themed art is a unifying idea that has a recurrent element in the artwork...

Simply put, it's art that has a theme, or a story to tell.

Some typical themed art could be notions like:

• Christmas,
• Spring,
• Winter,
• Fruit,
• Flowers.

Get the idea?

If you decided to follow the "Themed Artist" approach it's a good idea for you to explore different themes to see which themes would best suit you and your sensibility.

From experience the artists I've seen who are successful in this field are the ones who tend to paint or create "Multi Themed" art, rather than those who specialise in a "Mono Themed" art. That's because as a Multi Themed artist you' ll have more chances to get your art licensed in different themed art categories.

In saying this though, as a Mono Themed artist you'll become known for that particular theme. Your goal is to be the best in your field and to become known in the art licensing industry as the specialist in your particular theme.

Here are some of the most frequently requested art themes in Art Licensing:

• Foods & Wines
• Fruits
• Pets/Animals
• Baby/Children
• Spa/Resort
• Exotic / Tropical
• Entertainment
• Lifestyles
• Whimsical

So are you a Themed Artist? If you are then ask yourself this question...

Am I a "Mono Themed" artist, or a "Multi Themed" artist?

In Part 3 we'll explore Character Art and the steps you need to understand to be successful as a Character artist.

Want to learn more about Art Licensing the ArtSHINE way?
It’s as simple as 1... 2... 3...

1: Become an ArtSHINE network member http://artshine.ning.com/

2: Come along to the ArtSHINE workshops in Sydney: artlicensing@quantumcompass.com.au

3: Contact Vinh for a no cost, no obligation coaching session on 8060 9321,

or 0410 636 138 

Click here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ArtShineDiscovery

Chapter 3: What to create and what to paint? (Part 1)

“Be yourself, be distinctive and create art from your heart”- Vinh Van Lam

Starting out in Art Licensing could be quite scary for many artists.

Working with some of our clients there's some questions that keep coming up...
* Where will I find inspiration to create and paint?
* What will I paint?
* What type of art will sell?

Our answer... quite simply:

Be Original! and Be Yourself!

It's important that you don’t try to be someone else or copy someone else's styles of work.

Create from your own interpretation and honour your own creativity.

Let it shine!

When you create your own original work and share your own interpretations you are the creator of your own masterpiece...

It's this quality will make you unique in Art Licensing.

So what would you prefer to paint?

Next week we'll explore the two different types of art work that are used for art licensing. So please come again and let's explore it together.

Thanks for dropping by...

Need help?
Contact Vinh on +61 410 636 138.
vinh@quantumcompass.com.au

How do you know if an Art Licensing Coach is the right one for you?

Well, that answer to that question depends on a few things... 

Firstly, it's about whether you can find a coach who understands what you do, fits well with your personality, and the most important of all...  the way they communicate with you.


You need a coach who can motivate you and who will lift you up when you're feeling down. Who'll lift you up so you can stay focused on your creativity and passion.

Before you invest even one cent in coaching... consider this...

IT"S ABOUT YOU... It's an investment in your success...


It’s about having a real person walking along side with you and helping you enhance your strengths and overcome your weaknesses. Reading books is fantastic, but it doesn't always answer all the questions you have. Or maybe you feel stuck and unable to get your head around things and you just want some advice on how to tackle it.

We can’t tell you who'd be a good choice to coach you... that's a choice for you, but what we can share with you is four things that describe the person who's going to get the most out of working  with an Art Licensing Coach...

ARE YOU READY TO TAKE ACTION?

Cause or Effect- which one are you in now? –  for example, the current economy may be the reason you have experienced hardship in your business but you have to stop using it as an excuse.

Choosing to be at "Cause" is an active choice. It really is a decision and an action. You take full responsibility for your destiny. It can give you more choices and opportunities as you will explore different options to improve or change your situation right now. In other words, it has the effect of actively empowering you to create your live in each moment. 

Being in "Effect" on the other hand is easy, you don’t have to take action, just blame your circumstances on the other things around you. It’s never YOU, it's never YOUR fault. Being in effect means you often feel like you are dis-empowered by your life's events. Not in control.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND ART LICENSING & COACHING ISN'T A "MAGIC PILL"

Art Licensing takes time, energy, and effort. It isn't for everyone. And it  takes time to see real results - residual income - even after you get a contract - plus gaining contracts can take time too. For success you need to be committed, have a long-term focus, and be able to apply consistent effort. The good news for you is that you can learn along the way and carry out what you need to do for licensing while you're also working on other income sources – so don’t  sweat!

ARE YOU OPEN TO NEW LEARNING, THINKING, ACTING, AND WORKING?

An Art Licensing Coach may suggest you try some things that you haven’t done before. What we suggest could be outside your comfort zone. Are you ready for something new? Are you willing to try? Have you ever heard the saying "If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got."?

We're very clear that you won’t always change your results without changing your behaviour... And that's true in any area of life!

Want to learn more about Art Licensing the ArtSHINE way?

It’s as simple as 1... 2... 3... 


1: Become an ArtSHINE network member http://artshine.ning.com/


2: Come along to the next ArtSHINE workshop in Sydney on Sat 18 December: ArtLicensing@quantumcompass.com.au


3: Contact Vinh for a no cost, no obligation coaching session on 8060 9321,
    or 0410 636 138
Click here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ArtShineDiscovery

Five important concepts in art licensing (Part 2)

Part 2

Last week we talked about the first two concepts; flat art and colour art. This week we are continuing to explore the next three important concepts; series art, commercial art and Flat art portfolio. 

What is Series Art?

When you create series art, your focus is on creating a story or a series of art works. Licensees or manufactures are always looking for a range or a collection of art works. This way they can put together and create a range or a collection of products based upon your art. 

 

Beetle Boy

Ellen Crimi-Trent Copyright

An ideal series or collection is a set of FOUR and this is an industry standard too. There’s no reason why you can’t do more if you like as long as the all work comes together as a series. The key is they all compliment each other.

Manufacturers like patch work or quilting fabric companies generally seek a range of up to four through to seven colour ways in a collection or series.

Commerciality

To do well in art licensing your artwork needs to be commercial. Manufactures who license art are generally seeking art that is commercial or mainstream. If artworks are selected from “alternative” sources, it’s because there’s an identified niche, or audience readily available to purchase the finished product. The manufacturer’s objectives are to attract a wide audience. 

This works to the artist’s advantage too. After all, the more products the manufacturer sells, the bigger the pay cheque you will receive.

Your Art Portfolio

To grab great attention for licensing your art you need to have a well laid out art portfolio.

Your portfolio should include the following areas:

Artist’s statement - a text composed by you the artist that explains and contextualises your works, themes, and journey as an artist. We’s suggest both a short (50-100) word version, as well as a longer (500-1000)word version of the same statement. It’s important that these statements are maintained and revised over time.

Sample of Art Portfolio

Artwork - show your creations. This could be original or a quality scanned versions of your artwork. Categorise your artwork into different stories and highlight any of your artwork that has already been licensed. This is to gain the potential licensees’ confidence in your work and designs.

Mock Art™ - is a great way to show your artwork and design as an object. This way your potential clients could see how your design would work on a particular product. Mock Art™ is an ArtSHINE service that we created for Licensing Artists. It helps you translate your art into a mock object like a mug or teapot. Mock Art™ allows you to embed your art into a mock object using Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. 

 Mock Art                                        Mock Art

Before                                             After

                                                                                                         

                                                                                           

                                                                                   IMOK Design on Mock Art    
              

 Product samples - show your clients some of the finished products. For example you could feature some of your licensed greeting cards, or a actual photo of your ceramic range.

Overall, your portfolio needs to be inspiring, exciting and appealing.

Your portfolio is one of the key elements that you’ll need to succeed in the Art Licensing world.

Next week we will talk about “What to Create and What to Paint for Art Licensing”

So stay tuned and thanks for dropping by...

Chapter 2 :Five important elements you need to be ready for license your art

 PART 1:

Flat Art

Imok Copyright

Available for  Art licensing

To ensure that you are ready to license your art, you’ll need to first consider these five concepts:

• Flat Art
• Colour Art
• Collections & Series
• Commerciality
• Flat Art Portfolios

What is Flat Art?

Flat art refers to any art work that is painted, illustrated on paper, or presented on flat surfaces like canvases.  Flat art could also be digital or even photographic. In our experience flat art is preferable to presenting any three dimensional art work or objects.

That said, three dimensional art works have been used to license figurines and toys before, the process just takes  a little bit longer because the three dimensional object needs to be translated in flat art first.

What is Colour Art?

Colour art is the most popular and successful form for licensing. We realise how important colours are, and sometimes colour is just as important as the actual design.  After all, colour can be the first thing that attracts our eyes.  Colour can make or break a design too.

Black and white art on the other hand may not a good option for licensing and may have less chance of being selected by manufacturers.

Colour Art

Imok Copyright

Available for  Art licensing

Tune in next week for Part 2 

How Do I Know Art Licensing Is For Me?

Nikki Catalano Copyright

Art licensing is just one way that you can earn income by doing what you love... but is it for you?

Ask yourself these questions:  

• Are you passionate about creating art & designs?

• Are you able to commit to deadlines?

• Are you flexible within your artistic creation?

• Are you prepares to compromise by making changes to your colour schemes, and even your designs sometimes?

• Are you versatile within your art practice, and able to generate different art themes, or character art?

• Would you love see your artwork on products sold in stores, and on-line?

Have a think about those questions, and notice some of the words that we've used. Words like passionate... flexible... versatile... 

And some challenging words too... Deadlines... Compromise...

Art licensing is about being clear of who you are as an artist. It's about you having an deep understanding of what is at your very core as an artist, and a real confidence in your creation. 

To be successful it's important that you're able to decide what belongs to you as an artist, and what you can share with the world as a design that's able to to be licensed.

Art licensing isn't for every one... so is it the right path for you?

One of the keys to creating success is to develop a system that supports your creativity and allows you to maintain a momentum.

Tune in for next week to learn more about our art licensing process.

Need help in mapping out your Art Licensing journey?

Call Vinh on 0410 636 138

 

Vinh@quantumcompass.com.au

Is Art Licensing a right path for you?

 Imok's Alphabet Mug

Available for Licensing

There's some common questions artists and clients have when they're exploring the idea of licensing their art work:

            • Is my work  suitable for licensing?

            • How do I know if my artwork is good enough to be licensed?

            • What will I paint?

            • Where do I begin?

            • How do I get started with art licensing?

            • Who do I see to get help with licensing?

            • What are my first steps?

            • Where do I find the manufacturers who license art?

The truth is that there are no easy answers to these questions... Art licensing isn’t for everyone.

There’s no quick way through, and no magic pill either!

To be successful in this art licensing game you need to work hard and understand how art licensing works.

Art licensing is a process like any other and it could take some artists at least 12 to 18 months before they earn their first royalty cheque. In saying that, the art licensing journey could be worthwhile and rewarding for you the artist if you have a  good process or systems in place.

Art licensing is an alternative revenue stream It allows you to earn a living through leasing you art work to a manufacturer for a period of time in exchange for a royalty payment.

Seems like a great way to earn a residual income...

Ask yourself these questions:

            • What do I want to achieve through art licensing?

            • What will art licensing give me?

            • For me to be successful in art licensing hat do I need to learn and what commitments do I need to make?

We encourage our clients to do at least three art licensing related tasks per week.

Three tasks in a week means that you’ll complete twelve tasks in a month. Wouldn’t this level of focus bring you closer to your art licensing goals?

And remember... There’s always times when you feel like throwing in the towel and call it quits. Everything can be more difficult at the beginning... And success rarely comes easily, or without hard work, application, and focus.

Here are some more tips to get you started with art licensing

            • Read blog posts.

            • Watch art licensing videos via youtube

            • Read about artists who are successful in the industry.

            • Read  books about art licensing

            • Get an art licensing coach to help you in the process

            • Listen to podcasts.

            • Talk with others who are learning about art licensing.

            • Create art with licensing and commerciality in mind.

            • Create four coordinating pieces of art.

            • Learn to create repeat borders & patterns

            • Learn to create "mockart"
              (mock up product with you design on it. like the Imok 's Alphabet mug)

            • Learn Photoshop

            • Learn Adobe Illustrator

            • Join a group of artists who are also interested in art licensing.

            • Do research and see what kind of art you see on products.

            • Research companies that license art.

            • Contact a manufacturer and submit your artwork for review.

            • Be open to feed-back.

            • Keep creating new artworks.

            • Promote yourself as an artist, and promote your artwork.

            • Allocate your “refresh” time.

As we’ve said, art licensing is a process. While it’s easy to feel overwhelmed sometimes, try and avoid the temptation to give up before your even start.

Commit to doing three tasks per week and you will be amazed at the progress you’ll make in your art licensing journey...

To your art licensing success!

Need help? 

Contact Vinh  on +61 410 636 138.

vinh@quantumcompass.com.au

Introducing Art Licensing to Artists & Designers

What is Art Licensing?

Image from Sakura: P Z Studio

How would your life be different if you were earning  

residual income right now from your art

"Art Licensing" is a  great way of generating income from  your art.

Instead of selling originals or selling your designs outright, many artists and designers will  grant the right (license) to use their art onto a specific product, for a period of time in exchange for a percentage of sales. This percentage of sales is called a royalty payment. 

By licensing your art, you have the potential to earn income on the same art piece or collection multiple times. A good commercial art work could be used on many products from stationery, greeting cards to ceramic, fabric and more.

In the US and Europe art licensing trade shows allow artists and designers to show new artwork to design and product manufacturing industries. As an artist you have a choice to do your own trade show or you can get an art licensing agent to represent you.


Art licensing has increasingly become popular in the design and product manufacturing industries. Lots of manufactures prefer to work with artists as it is one of a cost effective solution for their business. This mean they don't have to financially commit to employ a full time artist or a designer at a high salary. Working with many different artists will also bring fresh ideas into their product designs, this is certainly will help to sales their products and  great way to position themselves in the  product design industry.


Although Art Licensing is a fantastic opportunity for Artist to earn a residual income by creating and doing what they love. An  artist who is planning to  do art licensing will need to understand the art licensing process and what to paint in order to earn  good income in Art Licensing world.

So,

What inspire you to create and paint?

What will you paint?

What type of art that you create will sell?

These are the questions need to be answered .....

To be successful in Art Licensing you need to be authentic and to be true to yourself, don’t try to be someone else or copy someone else styles or work as they are already out on the market . You need to create from your own interpretation and honour your creativity and let it shine. When you produce your own original work and with your own interpretation that mean no one else can do that except you. You are the creator of your  own masterpiece. This quality will make you unique in the Art licensing. 

 Want to learn more about Art Licensing the ArtSHINE way?

It’s as simple as 1... 2... 3...

1. Like  ArtSHINE’s Facebook page

2. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

3. Discover ArtSHINE Coaching by taking our survey to receive a complimentary coaching session

• New Business
• Existing Business

Contact Vinh direct: vinh@artshine.com.au , +61 410 636 138