Don’t forget that as an artist, the copyright for your work belongs to you.
When people think about life as an artist, they usually assume selling artwork will be the main source of income. However, if you really think about it, there are diverse methods beyond just selling original pieces. If we share the methods we each know, we’ll probably discover many more opportunities we haven’t even considered.
But the core of all these methods is that the copyright for the work belongs to you, the artist. And as the artist, you can digitize your work’s image to reproduce it freely, or you can even lend or sell the copyright itself.
A New Way to Turn Art into Products: Collaboration with a Designer
As part of this process, I’m currently working with a calligrapher, Su Kang, to digitize her calligraphy pieces and turn them into simple postcards. Additionally, we plan to create and sell emoticons using her calligraphy work and my design expertise.
The key point to focus on here is the collaboration between the artist and the designer. In the last article, I wrote that artists could turn their own work into products and I wanted to share that with other artists. However, I recently realized that an artist’s beautiful work and an appealing marketable product are somewhat separate domains. I came to feel that the design element might play a decisive role in transforming an art piece into an attractive e-commerce product.
The Artist’s Aura and the Designer’s Instinct
I noticed this difference clearly while collaborating with the artist: the artist focuses on their work and self-expression, whereas the designer always thinks of the customer, or the user, first. This makes the two areas distinctly different.
So, I thought: What if a designer and an artist worked together? Wouldn’t a collaboration that combines the aura emanating from the artist’s work with the designer’s product sensibility—plus marketing skills—be a great opportunity for both of us?
Updates on the Project
Since the collaboration with Artist Su Kang is still in progress, I’ll continue to share updates on our progress. If you find our journey interesting, please keep watching and cheering us on. If the project leads to sales, I’ll share more detailed information about the sales data, the platform we use, and how we split the profits.
And maybe… there are other artists out there who’ve also been thinking about turning their art into products but don’t know where to start.
If this kind of collaboration sounds interesting to you — if you’d like to see your work come to life in new forms — I’d love to hear from you. 🙌