I recently signed a contract with a licensing agent! This is actually quite a big deal for me. I’ve been approached by several agents over the years but on the whole, have been happy to expand and market my business on my own.
Painted Planet Licensing Group wrote me a few weeks ago with interest in my work. I’ve been very hesistant with agents but had a very good vibe about this agency and felt like they approached me at the right time. With baby #2 on the way, my work hours are going to be reduced and I really won’t have as much time to market myself and get quality work on my own. Painted Planet is a licensing agent that will hopefully acquire me jobs that will allow my work to be featured on many more products than they are now; including tableware, fabric, stationary, and much more!
As soon as I signed the contract, I was able to collaborate with their talented art director and start getting my portfolio in order. A lot of my illustrations work well for licensing but one of the main comments from the art director was that I should expand each illustration into more of a collection that could be spread across various products. She recommended designing complimentary patterns and borders to compliment each piece. I’ve posted an example of the first piece I worked on. I had already designed this boy’s art print but she suggested I create a girl version and add some complimentary pieces to make it more viable for licensing. By adding these complimentary pieces, art buyers can see the potential in the design. They may decide to use the main design for a plate, the pattern designs for napkins, the border designs for ribbon, etc. By giving art buyers vision with a certain piece, I am allowing my work to be more sellable. It gives an instant vision of what can be done with one illustration.
Now the plan is to do the same with several other of my illustrations before my little bundle decides to make an appearance! :)
PLEASE NOTE: If you’re interested in purchasing either art print, you can visit my Etsy store :)
