Advice on pricing, copyright etc

[markchilly]

Hello,

First off, this isn't me with a begging bowl but I could really use some good advice here.

I'm up to my eyeballs in money trouble. Never sold any of my art before, always gave pictures as presents for birthdays, Xmas etc. But now I really need to start making money, been out of work for a while after getting laid off again.

So, here's my plan starting from today. After looking on ebay and seeing whats selling I'm going to start by picking a theme (Star wars seems really popular) and knock some pieces up myself.

So say today I draw Vader, ORIGINAL PIECE on bristol board and then produce some prints (coloured and enhanced on PS) limited to 5-10 on nice glossy hi-res card. What kinda price should I be looking at? Also selling one print with the original piece?

I also have loads of art work lying around, like those dark judges. Was thinking of selling those as prints, again limited, as well as the original pieces.

Also going to dust off the paint brushes and knock a few canvases out.

Where do I stand on copyright in all of this?

Thanks,

Mark.

[pauljholden]

Mark, sorry to hear all of that.

With regards copyright: if you keep to original / commissioned pieces then you'll be fine. If you start moving towards limited prints you're in dodgy territory - it's unlikely a publisher will come down on you but if you start making reasonable money or draw attention to what you're doing it's more than likely that you'll either get in to trouble for it or burn bridges that are better not burnt. Far better to seek permission to begin with.

My advice, in the short term, learn to caricature and hit up some of your local markets (I'm sure you have some) for on the spot £5-£10 caricatures. Once you've done a bit of that, get some business cards printed for caricaturing at parties/weddings/ etc.

The market for caricature is MUCH wider than for, say, prints of Dredd (or even Star Wars).

I know that may not be helpful (it's not for everyone) but it's a fairly quick way to get some pocket cash.

-pj

[DoomBot]

As Paul says, best to stay clear of licensed and copyrighted characters such as Star Wars.

Another thing you can try is selling your own designs on t-shirts and other merchandise such as mouse mats and mugs through online services like Cafepress and Zazzle. You just provide the designs and they do all the printing and distribution and they pay you commission on sales. I've sold a few things that way so it works although won't make you rich overnight.

[markchilly]

Thanks both.

Taken on board, it's just the wolf is at the door. Will probably skip the ltd print thing and just try and sell original pieces and try and get some commission offers.

Sincerely,

Mark.