Selling art prints online

[Zak]

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to ask for an opinion. But I wanted to sell some art prints online.
I was just wondering what is the best way to go about it? Should I use a Ko-Fi account and if people donate I mail them art prints that way and also sign them or something? Or should I find an online store that prints them off for folks so I dont have to worry about mailing them myself to people?

Or am I thinking too far ahead of doing something like that for my webcomic? I only have 32 subs on Tapas and 22 subs on Webtoons with about 23 episodes up online.

Any suggestions would be fantastic as Id like to earn a little bit of pocket money on the side due to my unemployment ^^'

[Shadymeadows]

On Etsy, people can just buy the digital file and have it printed locally near them.

[Zak]

So its better to do it that way then?

[Shadymeadows]

I have only sold a few this way and a few others I printed.. No real opinion of what is best. 8.5x11 came to about 2.00 shipping within the US.

[Zak]

So either way is a good choice? As in theres no REAL wrong way to go about it?

[Shadymeadows]

Try it all I say

[rajillustration]

I use Etsy for prints I make myself (you can even use their labels for shipping although that's sometimes more expensive), Redbubble for Print on Demand if I don't want to bother with shipping, and it works pretty well.

[Zak]

Which do you think people went for mostly? Or is it mostly dependant on the content that it is rather than format?

[rajillustration]

It really depends on what you think will sell to your audience. Etsy and Redbubble have a lot of crossover as far as clientelle demographic goes (there's more old people on Etsy looking for homegoods, but not very old). They are different products though. What I sell on my Etsy I have full control over how it is made because...I printed that myself--and so I can charge just way more. With Redbubble you just have to trust their printer does a good job, but they do all of the printing and shipping labor. However with Redbubble...it takes a while to get paid, because you only make like 1 dollar per sale.

Both are fine for different things. It's worth checking out. Etsy does cost money though--Redbubble does not, it's free on your end.

[joannekwan]

Yeah I recommend POD sites like Redbubble or Society 6 for prints, since they can do much larger sizes than what's practical for you. Printing and shipping larger items can definitely be expensive.

Personally I only produce and ship 8.5" x 11" (and smaller) prints out of my own time and money, since they fit nicely inside the priority mailers you can get from the U.S. post office and the shipping price is reasonable.

[Zak]

Ill try out Redbubble for stuff then. I was thinking of some small prints to send out but I dont know how the postage works in Australia, Everything is ungodly expensive here so it might make me get poorer than what I already am now lol

[joannekwan]

Yeah, especially if your fans are overseas!

[Zak]

Well, I dont know what my audience would like so I was just thinking of drawing some art and selling them as small prints to test the waters. Maybe some pins or something as well. Not sure.

Is there any way of knowing? I normally try to reach out to my audience but I dont get any replies through the tapas status thing. And Im not very popular on twitter or anything like that. ^^'

[Zak]

Fans is too strong of a word for me, mostly because thinking about it sounds a bit surreal to me lol.

Ill try and figure something out. I just hope it works out in the end. lol

[nostalgicroxas]

Look into the Artist Alley International Network on fb and discord. They have tons of info!

[rajillustration]

Well the stuff I end up selling the most is the stuff that ends up gaining traction on social media, and you never really know which that will be, since like only 1/300 things I draw actually get notes on twitter (so if you have something go viral, always make sure to add a link in there where the print is sold) and fanart is usually what does it. (and surprisingly I get the most Redbubble sales from people who find me on Tumblr, which is weird) The nice thing about POD sites like Redbubble is that they have a variety of options--from prints, to cards, to t-shirts. I sell a whole bunch of stickers on there, although stickers are like...a 20 cent profit lol.

But youknow, just start drawing a bunch of stuff and putting it on there. Why not? If anything it makes you look more profesh to have a storefront.

As for pins, they're actually a really big investment. A lot of artists actually run kickstarters just so they make enough money to make the pins.

[Zak]

I applied for them on facebook just now. Tried finding there discord but it doesnt seem to exist anymore. .w. Thanks for the comment!

[Zak]

Ah, well then I might lay off the pins for now. I dont think Im good enough for a kickstarter lol.
I was just gonna do stuff for my comic maybe and see if it gets traction. My fanart doesnt do too well either (even if I putted it on a shirt and promoted the shit out of it on my twitter and DA. ^^')

Stickers sound cool! I always wanted to make merch of my comic to see what kinda ideas flow. Im also a little bit unsure about selling fanart sometimes too. Some people get in trouble if you get too popular, some don't. So its a very confusing topic, Considering copyright laws work differently in different countries as well. And generally frowned upon as well.

[rajillustration]

With fanart it's like, if you get DMCA'd you take it down...and that's about it. I've only been DMCA'd once (and I think that one was kind of a mistake since it was a needlepoint of a still from a show, so I think it was just a bot that was like "ah! I recognize this!", so I wasn't offended). Also, don't sell Disney or small creators' works and you're good. TBH I don't sell most of the fanart I make, I just make it because it does get me views and it does get me followers.

But you'll get a knack for what style of things sell and what don't, and I think it's one of those things you can't really learn until you start to do it, really. That and just seeing what's trending on there. But ya, stickers are a great option! Very low commitment, people love to buy and collect em right now.

[Zak]

Interesting. Ill have to see about making some and promoting the shit out of them after they're up lol (spamming the forums might do and annoy people that way lol).

I might try fanart again, I do like drawing certain things but Ive been drawing my comic for so long I dont like drawing anything that isnt by me if that makes sense. I mean, If I get a REALLY good idea then sure. But otherwise for me its hit and miss lol ^^'