What to Know About Licensing Your Art

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Being an artist can be a hard job when it comes to making money and getting customers. One of the best ways to turn your art into income is by licensing your artwork. When you license your art, you’re allowing a bigger company to reproduce it on their end. This isn’t something that needs to be done for all of your pieces, but every artist should have a few in mind that they would like to share with a larger audience. Many times licensed artwork is put onto tote bags, phone cases, pillowcases, and many other products. Licensing agreements state what percentage of sales an artist will receive. Before jumping the gun and licensing your art, here are important things you need to know about licensing.

 

Manufacturing

There are so many ways and places you can license your artwork. Many times opportunities of collaboration will come up with someone you know or even a brand that saw your art on social media. Check out small local businesses that may be interested in teaming up with an artist to work on their products. Some restaurants might want to rebrand themselves by having new cups and coasters for tables and selling merchandise. If you’re interested in working with a larger manufacturer, then check out options on online stores. Redbuddle is an online shop where over 700,00 independent artists sell their art on just about any product you can think of. This option is great for artists who may not have time to create products themselves.

 

Understand your Deal

Every licensing deal is different, so it is important as an artist to sit down and understand the terms. For some companies, you may be asked to create art that is specifically designed for them to manufacture. If you team up with a well-known company to license your art this most times means that they take care of work behind the scenes. From manufacturing, shipping, and customer service, none of these things will be on your hands. Look deep into your deals to see if you can license the same pieces of art to more than one company. The most important thing to consider in a licensing agreement is the responsibility of you as an artist and the amount of money you receive from sales.

 

Enjoy the Benefits

After licensing your art you will begin to gain new customers and attract followers on social media. Your sales won’t only increase through licensing but as well as your selling. It can take some time for your art to be noticed, but once it is, it’s up from there. By continuing to create art and selling it from your home or a local store, and licensing other pieces of art, you’ve created multiple streams of income for yourself! 

The Psychology Of Color (1)

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The human brain is an incredible and complex system. We are continually taking in stimuli and processing on both subconscious and conscious levels. One aspect of natural life that we are always aware of, are colors. Our brain processes colors and what they mean every time we see a sweater, a piece of furniture, or a painting. Artist and marketing agencies alike are very aware that colors carry a psychological connotation. Commercials, advertisements, clothing brands, art shoes all use the psychology of color to appeal to an individual. 

 

Color psychology is defined as how colors affect perceptions and behaviors. The practice of color psychology is mostly dependent on how we use color to be primarily dependent on the experiences we have. We can’t assume that red represents passion for everyone. When we look at overall experiences for different demographics or geographical locations, we can make an educated guess on what common life experiences they are experiencing. From there, we can build a color profile on what colors may link to what feelings, thoughts, and memories. The bottom line is, there are no clearcut answers to which colors will be the most effective.

 

When creating an ad, marketing opportunity, or piece that needs to appeal to the human eye, try using some of these color categories in your art. 

 

Red

Red is a color that captures attention and draws the eye to it. Red is associated with danger, passion, energy, and action. In color, psychology red is usually classified as the most standout color. Famous brands like coco-cola and Youtube use red to draw attention to the product.

 

Yellow

The meaning behind yellow revolves around warmth and light. It evokes feelings of excitement, happiness, optimism, and positivity. Yellow is a cheery color that provides happy vibes and feelings. 

 

Keep an eye out for next month’s blog, where we will delve deeper into the psychology of color.

 

What is Environmental Art?

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Environmental art, also referred to as ecological art, is a genre that encompasses a blend of both craft and nature. The idea of showcasing the Earth through art has been around since the dawn of man, starting with paleolithic cave paintings. They were, in essence, the beginning of landscape art. Back then, their only purpose was to display the beauty of nature itself, not to send any type of political message. In this era of a growing concern for our planet, a lot of people are feeling ecologically motivated to send a social message along with displaying their talent. There is a strong movement towards educating the public about growing concerns all around us. 

Instead of using nature as merely a background that is used to tell human tales, many artists nowadays are working alongside nature to create works of art in order to convey a deeper message about climate change and how it relates to society as a whole. By choosing a specific landscape to showcase their work instead of working within the confines of a studio, environmental artists help draw their audiences’ attention to the canvas of nature itself. This can help bring attention in a positive way to those areas that need human intervention.

Some artists in this field have chosen to express themselves in a very literal sense, using only all-natural materials and working only within natural landscapes. This can be rural, urban, or a combination of both. These particular artists try to achieve two things simultaneously – they seek to display a certain area as it has always been in its natural state, while also transforming it into a new vision to send a message. The purpose of having a twofold goal in mind is to help people see the existing world around them from a new perspective. 

A common thread among environmental artists, regardless of location, is that they must do no harm. Their purpose is to raise awareness while drawing attention to a specific area or plight without harming it further. Some artists take a more figurative approach, but most of them will use organic material in order to represent their subject matter. The types of substances they might use include rocks, sticks, leaves, sand, flowers, or water, to name just a few. This leaves them open to vulnerability, much like in nature itself which falls prey to the changing of the seasons and predictable decay. 

 

Beginners Guide to Art Auctions

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The battlefield in the art world has always taken place at the art auctions where wealthy collectors and art speculators have all converged in the salesroom to compete with each other. It provides a strange delight for the onlookers who have attended the event to specifically have a look at all the action. When an art auction performs poorly, it undermines the confidence of the entire industry. For those getting started, it can be tremendous fun to watch, and sometimes the record-high prices elicit a gasp and roaring applause. If a person has no familiarity with the baroque logic of the art auctions, it might sound like an impenetrable mystery.

 

The Auctioneer

The showman of the art world, the auction employs humor and drama to raise the prices even from the most reluctant of bidders. Each auctioneer has his signature style, and the younger generation of art gavelers has leaned more towards the edgy and in-your-face style.

 

The Hammer

Known as the Excalibur of the auctioneer, he wields this combination of baton and judge’s gavel with astounding alacrity. When it comes down, sometimes it taps the table lightly. Other times, a crashes with an unmistakable thunk to show a sale has been completed.

 

Paddle

A snooty cousin of the ping pong paddle, this numbered instrument gets used as a telegraph to bid. Many of the high-flying buyers have chosen one of the more discreet approached to help in signaling the auctioneer, but sometimes the process can be as simple as nodding.

 

Appraisal

An appraisal gives the art collector the approximate market value of the items at the auction house. This is the process of developing an informed opinion on the value of an art collection. This will get assigned to a lot from the specialists of the auction house.

 

Estimate

The estimate is what a particular work will fetch in the sale. Art collectors will see both the high end of the estimate and the lower estimate. For example, they might have something that says anywhere from $14,000,000 to $18,000,000.

 

These are some of the terms for a beginner to understand about art auctions. Sometimes a dealer will bid on behalf of an artist he or she represents, and he ensures that the price of the work never drops below a specific price range.

Art Collecting’s Technological Transition

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The world of art collecting is being transformed by apps like Artland, Artsy, and Magnus, as well as websites like Paddle8. These resources bring the hobby of art collecting to people who cannot frequent gallery shows and art auctions, leveling the playing field among collectors. While these options broaden the pool of potential buyers, they have been met with resistance from those heavily involved in the art scene.

 

Each technological option operates in its own way. Artland, for instance, charges galleries a monthly subscription fee to list pieces on their service, through which both aspiring and seasoned collectors offer bids for individual pieces. Artsy focuses on educating novice collectors on the practice of art collection, and, like Artland, offers galleries a monthly subscription to show their pieces. Magnus serves as an aid to those attending shows and auctions, allowing the collector to capture a picture of the piece in question with their phone and run it through a database that estimates its potential value based on the artist’s other works. Paddle8 operates as an online auction house that has recently stepped into the future by collaborating with The Native to orchestrate auctions accepting bitcoin.

 

Each forum is designed to bring art to the masses, but current collectors hesitate to accept them. Many are concerned with robbing art collection of its exclusivity and mystique. By having prices available, the art world runs the risk of becoming an open market instead of an invitation only world, bringing prices down. Conversely, supporters of these apps praise them for their openness and demand even more transparency; only one third of the pieces listed on Artsy include prices, which is a staunch difference between Paddle8, which makes it a point to be upfront about monetary details.

 

Despite conflicting views, apps like Artland are poised to launch the world of art collecting into the future. Forbes quotes CEO Mattis Curth, “Until now, the art world has been small. Lowering barriers to entry will lead to a bigger market.” Without these barriers that the pioneers in art collecting’s digital age intend to complete their mission: to bring the art world out of its selective community and into the light, where any art lover has the power to view and purchase collections they otherwise would not have seen.