Prints for sale!

Buy this print for US$1.95! Or CA$2.29! Or £1!

So it looks like I may have finally found a place to sell prints of some of my illustrations and cartoons. I've been a member of deviantART for a while but never did much with my account. Either it's improved its services a lot since I first checked it out or (more likely) I didn't check it out thoroughly in the beginning.

I was also much more paranoid about posting my cartoons and illustrations online back then. My attitude has changed somewhat over the past couple of years. I know there are people out there who don't think twice about stealing an artist's work and possibly re-using it without credit or compensation, but I've found that the PR/word-of-mouth benefits of posting my work online is worth the risk. ALL my paid illustration work has happened because of the illustrations I've been posting on Inkygirl, Blatherings, and Flickr.

A growing number of people have been asking me about prints, and I've been investigating various services. I love the IDEA of selling prints, but I'd rather not get into the hassle of worrying about where and how to make the prints, administration, figuring out postage and handling, packaging and mailing, plus worrying about customs fees etc. It was the same with Inkspot. I've always been much better at the creative part than the administrative/marketing tasks, though obviously a freelancer has to learn both.



Buy this print!


Anyway, I'm starting to sell prints at DeviantART! I chose this service because it has more reasonable prices than CafePress, as well as a wider selection of print sizes and types. It also has a basic screening process: your image has to be approved (for format, image quality, non-violation of copyright). Cost ranges from CA$2.29 (£1, US$1.95) for a 5"x5" Matte or Glossy print to about $17.62 (£7.69, US$14.99) for a 10"x10" Lustre print. You can pay by credit card, deviantART dollars, or Paypal.

For those wondering about the difference between Glossy, Matte and Lustre (which is more expensive) finishes, here's what I found in the FAQ:

"The Glossy option is perfect for detailed/technical prints or photograph images. The Matte finish is better for paintings and darker prints. The Lustre is wonderful for both, capturing the best qualities from Glossy and Matte and combining them into one beautiful finish."

I've ordered a couple of prints for myself to see what the quality's like.

I'll be gradually adding images to my Inkygirl deviantART prints shop. I would very much appreciate any suggestions about specific cartoons you think I should be adding to the print shop. Don't worry, I won't expect this to indicate a commitment to buy any yourself...I'm mainly interested in which of my cartoons or illustrations you'd think would make a good print.

You can see my writing-related cartoons here and my Flickr sketchbook here.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions! I'll be adding the print shop link to my main navigation bars once I have a decent number of prints for sale, and I also have a chance to see some actual samples myself. I'm pretty excited about this, and hope it works out.





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