Mary Lawler Art Blog
Earn A Living By Licensing Your Art
by marylawler , January 16, 2009—12:00 AM
Expert, Tara Reed explains "Licensing" is another way of generating income from your art. Instead of selling originals or selling your designs outright, many artists will grant the right (license) to use their art on a specific product, for a set time period in exchange for a percentage of sales. This percentage is called a royalty. By licensing your art, you have the potential to earn income on the same art piece or collection several times."
Creating art for licensing can be a lucrative business depending on how popular your designs are. For example, my friend Teri Martin has done very well designing lines of scrapbook papers and accessories for Creative Imaginations. Marjolein Bastin designs a very popular card line for Hallmark and her own Internet Store of products. There are thousands more licensing their art.
The big question is, "How do I get companies to look at and consider my work? Where do I start? How do I get an edge? How do I approach companies?" All excellent questions. Artist Tara Reed shares her experience and expertise in the field of licensing in her online e-books,
"How to Get Started in Art Licensing" "How to Find, Interact & Work w/Manufacturers Who License Art" "How to Maximize Your Time & Investment in Trade Shows" Well worth the investment, Tara's books are a wealth of knowledge. Visit Tara's website for these e-books and much, much, more. Tara's philosophy is "Let's fill the world with beautiful art and destroy the stereotype of the 'starving artist' once and for all." Sounds like a plan to me.
COMMENTS
02/14/2009 * 18:01:26
..... seems this is timely information for myself, too. you see, i am one of those starving artists, struggling with, but finally coming to terms with the hard truth ...that though i am creative and innovative and possess some talent, i am not a fine artist, i will never rise to become some well known artist. what i am is simply someone who cannot resist creating and capturing, then hoarding and collecting little snippets of images. i play. i sketch, i doodle, i paint. i scan the images, and then i go into adobe, then play some more. i do the same with photographing close up images of wildflowers, weeds and other flora.
the bottom line here is, it feels downright wrong, almost sinful to have thousands of my images and not have what it takes to turn them into a little bit of profit.
( homepage )
01/19/2009 * 16:33:59
Mary, you must have ESP! Licensing art is one of the items on my 2009 "to do" list!!!!
I have accumulated many children's designs and Christmas ornament designs I'd like to do something with, but have put off serious pursuit because I didn't know where to start or who to trust.
Thanks again for timely information.
Mary Ann
Madeline ( homepage )
03/09/2009 * 16:11:17
Great Mary. I know Tara and she is one powerhouse. I love everything she does, her mindset and I totally agree that there should be NO STARVING ARTISTS.
Tara does great work but she also posses a good feel for business and she has a great mindset for that.
She moves fast and furious and with confirm. I would suggest her books too, because she is a great writer - one who writes as we read and process. Simple, articulate and for the lay person.
You and Tara have my stamped KUDOS!!!!