Art Licensing: Strategy on Creating Art for Products

Because licensing art is a commercial venture, art for products need to be popular with a large number of consumers.  If artists create art with themes they like but may not be popular with consumers, the likely hood in licensing the art is slim.  The problem is that they first created the art and then try to figure out what product it should go on. That is backwards thinking!

A better strategy is to first think about the product and then figure out what theme (image) sells best for that product before creating the art. All themes are not popular for all products. Flowers, birds and butterflies seem to be a fit for most products. But, elephants, grizzly bears, and other wildlife have a more limited appeal. And, snakes have almost no appeal with the exception of a few products in small niche markets.

You should choose one or two industries to first start licensing your art to. You need to study that industry and determine what art themes, colors, and art styles are being licensed. And then, create the appropriate art for the products. For instance, many artists start licensing their art to the greeting card industry. It is huge, has many manufacturers, and uses a large variety of art styles and themes so it is easier to get licensing deals than other industries. The number one category for cards is birthdays. Visit retail chain and gift stores and search manufacturer websites to see what images are used for birthdays. Read designer Kate Harper articles "Greeting Card Business: 101" for information on designing cards and check out the side bar on her blog for links to other useful greeting card articles.

Note: What industry you choose depends on your art style and may not be for greeting cards. If you are a surface designer and create patterns, of course you should first choose the fabric industry.

Below is a list of articles about different industries that license art. The articles discuss what kind of art manufactures expect from artists and includes links to some websites.

• "Licensing Art to the Calendar Industry"
• "Licensing Art for Cloth Products"
• "Licensing Art for Coffee Mugs"
• "Licensing Art to the Greeting Card Industry"
• "Licensing Art to the Flag Industry"
• "Licensing Art to the Jigsaw Puzzle Industry"
• "Licensing Designs to the Melamine / Acrylic Tabletop Industry"
• "Licensing Designs to the Quilt & Craft Fabric Industries"
• "Licensing Art to the Paper Partyware Industry"
• "Licensing Art to Print Manufacturers"
• "Licensing Designs to the Scrapbooking Industry"

Your comments are welcome. Please click on the comments section (below) to write your comment.

Licensing Art to Print Manufacturers

The art print industry may be a big business but it is not necessarily a lucrative one for artists and can be full of pitfalls. Some manufacturers pre-sell art by doing presentations to retail chain stores. Other manufacturers show thousands of art in their catalogs or on their websites. Much of the art may never be printed because these manufacturers are usually print-on-demand companies. In other words, it is printed only when a retailer or consumer orders the art. Thus, the revenue from the art may be non-existent or very little. And of course, the art is tied-up and not available for licensing to other print manufacturers for several years.

According to the research I have done and networking with other artists there seems to be many unscrupulous print manufacturers that are out to make a quick buck and their licensing contracts are not in the artists best interest. Sometimes the artist loses all rights to her/his work. Some manufacturers ignore the contract terms such as sub-licensing the art to other manufactures and the artist gets nothing. Also some do not pay artists the revenue due to them. They may even lie to the artist that their art is not selling when in reality the art is being displayed in stores. SCARY ISN'T IT! But happily NOT all print manufacturers are dishonest. To find out how to protect your art, read art licensing agent Lance Klass article "How an Artist can Avoid Disaster in Today's Print Market." Make sure to read the comments to this article.  Lance has an update to the print industry since he originally wrote his article.

Artists that are savvy in licensing their work and try to avoid unscrupulous manufacturers network with other artists by questioning them about their experiences with the manufacturers. Some artists avoid print-on-demand manufacturers and instead get deals by going direct-to-retail or direct-to-consumer where they have a chance in making higher revenue. According to a review by Creatives a Work blog about art marketing consultant Barney Davey's book "How to Profit from the Art Print Market", Barney recommends that artists should sell their art to art collectors (direct-to-consumer) as a better way to secure their future.

Most print manufacturers are looking for art for the home / business décor market. Thus, they usually want art:
1. that has popular themes for consumer homes, office and business walls. Coffee, wine, coastal and inspirational words are a few that are popular. Search print manufacturer websites to see others.
2. that have colors that blend with furnishings. Unsaturated colors (NOT bright but more grayed) have been popular for years but these colors seem to be changing.  Also black -on-white or white-on-black seems to be popular.  Search print manufacturer websites to view recent color trends.
3. with two or more images that can be grouped on a wall.
4. that is formatted as vertical, square and horizontal.

Below is a list of some art print and poster manufacturers.
Caution: I do not endorse any of these manufacturers because I have no knowledge of their business practices. I recommend that you contact artists that license their work to these manufacturers for information.

• Art In Motion (division of ICA Home Decor)

• Fine Art America

• Gango Editions***

• Greg Young Publishing Inc.

• Montage Fine Art Licensing & Publishing

• Northern Promotions, Inc

• Penny Lane Fine Art & Licensing

• Roaring Brook Art

• Sagebrush Fine Art

• The Land of Nod (children products including wall art)

• Wild Apple

*** This manufacturer has been endorsed by an artist.  See the comment to this article.

Your comments are welcome. Please click on the comments section (below) to write your comment.

Editorial: An Art Licensing Winning Team: Susan Winget Art Studio

Little did artist Susan Winget and painters Mary Beth and Jeannie know that they were going to travel a long and rewarding journey when they started creating art to sell at the Atlanta Gift Mart in 1982. Thirty years later and a lot of hard work, Susan Winget is one of the top art licensing licensors in the U.S. Her work is licensed for an amazing number of products including fabric, calendars, ceramic and melamine tabletop ware, all sorts of gift items, ornaments, decorative flags and paper products including party ware, gift bags, and greeting cards.

The business started in Susan's garage but as the success of first selling and then licensing art grew, more space was needed. Thus, a small building was built on Susan's property. And, as it continued to grow a larger two story cottage was built in 2001. Find out more about the art, staff, and studio on the Susan Winget website.

So why is Susan Winget art so successful and sought after by consumers?
When I have a chance, I often query sales reps, distributors, gift store owners and managers about different artists work. In response to questions asked about Susan Winget's work, a sales rep told me that Susan knows what consumers want and creates art that sells products. A distributor told me that Susan's art is continually refreshed so that it is not dated like some other artists work and the themes are just right for the products. And, a gift store owner told me that products with Susan's art on it outsells the same products with other artist's art.

I am sure that knowing what kind of art resonates with consumers has taken years and a lot of research. And, it looks like the Winget team has hit it right-on. The styles, colors, and themes have been refreshed and expanded over the years to reach out and appeal to more consumers. And, having an experienced team that creates a lot of art with different themes give manufacturers plenty of art to select. They do create an enormous amount of art because just for 2012, Susan Winget licensed OVER eight calendars. Gasp! That is over 96 images.

The success of Susan Winget is also due to being represented by a top art licensing agency, Courtney Davis, Inc. They specialize in planning a business strategy for each of their artists by seeking out the right manufacturer partners and then working with them to develop products that sell.

View the following videos for an eye-opening view on how a vision, hard work, dedication and a team that considers themselves family can produce great art that is seen on an amazing number of products that is coveted by consumers. By the way, putting these videos on youtube.com is a great marketing strategy by getting visibility of her art at no cost ;)

• "Tour of Susan Winget's Art Studio"
Discussing the start of the Susan Winget brand and a tour of the Winget Art Studio.

• "Susan Winget Shares About her Art"
A discussion about different projects for 2012.

Products
• "KandCompany Susan Winget by BlueMoonScrapbooking"
Showing papers, stickers, and other items for scrap booking.

• "CR Gibson's Brand's New Day :: Susan Winget"
Showing paper party products.

This article was updated 7/17/18.

Your comments are welcome. Please click on the comments section (below) to write your comment.

Art Licensing: Hurry-up and wait . . . and wait . . . and wait

One of the most frustrating things that happen in art licensing is that a manufacturer asks an artist to send them specific images, the artist hurry's up and sends them, and then the artist does not hear back from the manufacturer. This is especially true for artists exhibiting at Surtex and other licensing trade shows. The artist gets many requests for art but few if any licensing deals goes forward. WHY?

Listed below are some of the reasons.
1. A huge number of artists are vying to license their work to a relatively small number of manufacturers looking for art. Thus, manufacturers have lots of art to select from and they consider MUCH more art than they can possibly use for their product lines or for presentations to retail chain stores. Because manufacturer art directors have so much art to consider they often do not inform the artist on the status of their art until or unless they intend to license it. Note: Artists that create licensable art with a special twist or emotion that catches the attention of art directors are the ones that get the deals.

2. Art may not be looked at immediately but stockpiled for a later decision on whether to license the art. For example, at the May 2012 Surtex show manufacturers most likely had already chosen Christmas art for the 2012 holiday season and may even had chosen art for the 2013 season. So the art they were considering was for the 2014 season and may not be decided on until the last quarter of 2013. However, it usually does not take that long if the timing is right but still it can take longer than anticipated. I had interest in the nutcracker art (shown at the top of this article) for a decorative flag in January 2010. I did not hear from the manufacturer until they decided to license it 11 months later (December 2010) for the 2011 Christmas season.

3. Pre-selling art on products before it is licensed is increasing each year especially to retail chain stores. If the art is intended for use in a presentation, it can take months before the presentation is scheduled and for the retailer to make a decision. And if the presentation is not just for several individual products to be shelved with others but for a batch of packaged products to a big box chain store, it can take even longer. Many presentations may stretch over several months and in the long run the manufacturer may lose the deal to another manufacturer. So if the artist's work is part of packaged products, there are two hurtles to overcome. The manufacturer must first get the deal and second, the artists work must be wanted by the retailer so that it is incorporated into the package. Note: During this long involved process, the artist may not even be aware that her/his art is being considered.

4. Circumstances in using the art may have changed by the time the manufacturer is ready to make a decision.
• The art may no longer be on trend.
• The art director that asked for the art is no longer with the company and the new one is not interested in the art.
• The company policy has changed on the type of art and art style it wants or the company goes out of business.

So what can artists do?
The following are some suggestions to increase the chance in getting licensing deals.
1. Have a huge body of work so that many pieces of art are chosen for licensing consideration which increases the chance in getting deals. For instance, if an art director requests 20 designs be sent for licensing consideration, the artist has a better chance in getting a deal for at least one design than if only one design was requested.

2. Enhance your portfolio by having an excellent variety of art themes that are popular with consumers. Read "Art Licensing Editorial: List of Recent Trends" to see a list of some themes that are popular.

3. Continually stay in touch with art directors and often send new work. The more familiar art directors are with the artist and her/his work the better the chance in getting deals. Read "Art Licensing Tip: What does follow-up really mean?"

4. Contact art directors to find out when they are interested in considering different themes of art such as everyday, fall / Halloween, winter / Christmas, and other holidays. There is no standard time of the year to submit different art themes. Each manufacturer has their own time frame.

5. Contact art directors to find out if they send out requests for art (call-outs) and ask to be put on their list. Participating in call-outs is an excellent way to find out what kind of art themes manufacturers are seeking and when they want them. For more information on call-outs, read "Thoughts on doing CattleCalls - Should You?" Note: The words "cattle calls" originated with the motion picture industry when the studios sent call-outs for auditions.

Conclusion
Be aware that not hearing back from manufacturers after they request art is just part of the business and requests for art may not result in always getting deals. Take note on what art themes manufacturers are interested in and create more. Most likely other manufacturers will also be looking for those themes. Create as much new licensable art as possible so manufacturers will have a large selection of art to choose. Be persistent and continue to follow-up and stay in touch with art directors. And most of all do NOT give up!

Your comments are welcome. Please click on the comments section (below) to write your comment.