Last updated on April 15th, 2024
A true artist is one who inspires others. Therefore, they need to keep working on unique ideas to create exciting and mesmerizing art pieces. Such artworks stimulate audience at both emotional and intellectual levels. Today, in this digital age, plenty of art is accessible online. Therefore, as an artist, you must pay heed to the quality of artworks assembled in your collection. That is the way to attract buyers and make them your loyal customers of art. In this article, we’ve discussed why artists should focus on creating awesome collections.
Generally, we like a particular piece of art due to its emotional impact and influence on us. This is evident from the fact that millions of people throng art galleries across the world to appreciate the work of legendary artists. The great museums of art are home to the valuable art pieces of historical significance. Today, art is no more the monopoly of art galleries.
In the modern digital world, artists are no longer dependent on expensive art galleries to display their works. They can exhibit their collection of old and new artworks on their websites or online portfolio platforms. For them, starting an online site to display their works is an easy and hassle-free task that they can complete in minutes.
However, as a consequence of easy displaying of artwork on different online platforms, it has created a problem of plenty. Creating memorable art pieces is not enough for them to earn. Independent artists have to compete and sell their art in the market where thousands of artistic works are already available in a similar category.
Then, how can an artist stand out and attract buyers?
A straightforward answer to this question is to make your art collection exclusive- a prominent collection for potential buyers. Unless and until that happens, your art sales will remain stagnant.
So, take a relook at your existing collection and see if it requires some crucial changes to make it enticing for buyers.
Note that a tremendous rise in the online art stores indicates the rising global demand for art. Your shop also can easily meet its sales target due to the robust demand. The demand for art is increasing fast each day.
According to a survey, the global art market has traded approximately 40 million art pieces in 2018, generating over 67 billion U.S dollars. The rise in demand is also because many clothing and accessories such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, phone cases, etc. display art in printed form.
If you are an artist, you can sell artworks to people by printing it on clothing and accessories as well. But you can take advantage of the ever-increasing demand only when your art collection is unique and impressive. Let’s dig in depth.
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What Do You Mean by Collections?
‘Collections’ refers to the set or series of art pieces that an artist has put together in one place, mostly intending to make them available for sale. So, it is not a portfolio that merely showcases the skills and styles of an artist.
When the potential buyers visit the collections, they can access artworks for sale with a price tag. This also shows that artists value such works highly in terms of style, skills, and inspiration.
For buyers, the collections matter a lot, as they can compare several artworks such as illustrations in terms of themes and prices. They can find out competitive prices for similar art pieces by comparing different collections to make the purchasing within the set budget.
Most buyers want to buy many art pieces as part of home decoration or for a commercial setting such as a restaurant.
Many buyers shop for different art pieces of the same style from the same artist and are available under the collections. The collections display artworks on mockup T-shirts and other clothing as well as accessories such as phone cases and custom mugs. You can also showcase your art as wall art for the interested buyers.
Why Should Artists Focus On Creating Collections?
Artists love to come up with different but unique artistic works. They want to use their creative bent of mind to express their feelings. But they also wish to do the art that can recharge viewers emotionally by evoking their social and other backgrounds.
Such an emotional, social, and cultural connection with the viewers is not easy to make, though. That is where the importance of an artist’s skills and talent lies.
Once an artist, like an illustrator, has finished creating several illustrations, that is the time to pick a bunch of them to display and sell. In other words, the artist prepares a collection of works that is worthy of investment from a prospective buyer.
But aside from selling at an attractive price, artists can benefit in many ways from creating collections.
Here Are A Few Of The Critical Advantages Of Creating Several Collections For Artists.
i. Generate Revenue
The first and foremost concern of an artist, both the established and budding ones, is to earn well. After all, artists usually have the art as the sole resource to generate revenue to live a comfortable life. Therefore, the collections are crucial to them from a money-making point of view.
However, the collections should be attractive enough for buyers. The artists need to understand what the buyers are looking for in the type of art on sale. Only an outstanding collection of art pieces can, therefore, help in earning well steadily.
It means that the artist should ensure that the artworks are no less than awesome in quality and uniqueness. That is the sole way to make the collections a steady stream of income.
ii. Run Your Business At Low Cost
For many artists, showcasing their works in art galleries is beyond their financial means. They can only dream of displaying their unique art in those expensive places where only the famous and celebrated artists are shown.
But thanks to the digital technologies that all artists have opened their online shops. Not only that, the online art stores or shops can reach out to many more art lovers and potential buyers than they reach physical galleries enjoy.
But illustrators should also know that when starting an online site to display their works opening and running an online art store is almost free. All you need to do is to visit an online platform dedicated to art and open your shop there free of cost. It is when you sell an art piece that the platform will take its small commission from the sales. That is all.
So, you do not have to maintain a physical inventory of the artworks, pay electricity, and other bills to run the shop. We can say that the cost of running the art collection site is negligible for artists who live on a small budget.
iii. Helps To Establish Yourself As A Brand
Artists aspire for recognition from the art world. They wish to be known for their unique style and talent in the long run. After all, to make a living out of their skill is not the sole purpose for the creative professionals.
They all want to make a name for themselves in their fields. But establishing oneself as an artist of a high repute takes time and requires hard work. It also requires you to market your works strategically.
However, with online collections, artists can quickly generate awareness for what they do. They can use social media and other platforms to spread a word about their old and new works rapidly. In a few months, they can win thousands of followers, fans, which go on increasing with time.
You can write blogs about your artworks, skills, and post images of the art pieces on different social media such as Instagram. When you drive people from elsewhere to our collections, and they are impressed by your remarkable art skills, it helps in establishing yourself as a brand.
Example Of A PrintShop Artist And His Collection
Let’s share an example from one of the PrintShop artists that might help. At this platform, which is owned and run by Designhill, the leading creative marketplace, hundreds of artists have put their works on display and selling at attractive prices.
Here, for example, we pick the collection of a PrintShop artist r4dscreatives. Like many other illustrators, this artist also has put dozens of unique art pieces in different styles and themes.
Here Are Some Of The Artwork From The Artist.
i. Muscleman Chief
The artist r4dscreatives has many themes based on faces in his collection. Amongst those faces, this Red Indian man with well-developed muscles is a unique idea. The muscles represent the physical strength of the original people of the U.S.
The black and white sketch of the tribal man against the yellow background gives a contrasting effect to the viewers. This illustration can be proudly printed on custom t-shirts to appreciate the strength and values the tribe carried.
ii. Singing Cat Cartoon
This singing cat cartoon is another illustration style from r4dscreatives from his collection. Those buyers who love to have a cartoonish style to express a message will like many such cartoons from the artist’s collection.
Cat is a pet animal in most homes, and, therefore, people can quickly relate to this illustration. Those who are in the music industry or simply like music will also like to buy this art, which can be put on clothing like T-shirt and even accessories.
iii. Happy Halloween Pirate Boy
In his collection, the artist has also included art that targets the buyers who look for creative works during festivals such as Halloween. This illustration shows an excited pirate boy in a cartoonish style.
The color scheme is simple, with only blue and yellow used with a bit of white for contrast. This art targets kids as they would like to wear on clothes printed with such fun art.
iv. Wolf Hip-Hop Dancing
This art piece aims at young people who like to dance very often. The artwork is again is in cartoonish style with the use of multiple colors. Giving the face of animals is a surefire way to create some fun through art. Such faces also help convey a message effectively.
v. Monkey Funk
Everyone likes to earn a lot of money that can buy luxurious things in life for happiness. The artist r4dscreatives explore this aspiration of people in this fun art that displays a monkey funk who looks overjoyed, smart, and happy. Such prints on T-shirts and other clothing can surely grab viewers’ attention quickly.
vi. Hip-Hop Panda Style
Animal faces in the art are not only amusing and fun to look at, but they catch our eyes immediately. The artist r4descreatives uses the adorable panda face that represents the aspiring young hip hop dancers.
The Dollar symbol chain in the neck, a red cap worn in a typical boyish style, and eyeglasses personify the panda as an expert dancer to the amusement of viewers.
vii. Gorilla Face Mood
This gorilla face represents the people who have authority and power. The artist uses the strength and fearful appearance of the animal gorilla to express the authority that some alpha leaders wield over others.
The black and grey colors evoke the influence of such leaders. For buyers, this is not just the face of an animal. More than that, it is about the power and strength of some extraordinary people.
viii. Cat Rules The World
This is yet another cat from the collection of artist r4dscreatives. This time the cat is shown as overpowering the world in the illustration. Cats are also known for remaining awake in the night as they hunt for mice and rats.
So, the night belongs to them. People will buy this artwork for the expression that these pet animals rule the night world.
These are some of the styles of art that r4dscreatives has displayed in his collection. A buyer has many options of artworks to choose from when they are at such collections. But how many artworks your collection should have at least for the buyers?
Create Collections Of At Least 8-10 Artworks
How many artworks should your collections have? To answer that question, first, know that the buyers usually do not visit the collection to buy just one or two. They are looking for a series of artworks. Very few of them are satisfied with purchasing only one or two illustrations or other artworks.
Such people are generally individual buyers who hang the art piece at home as part of their decoration schemes. But given a good budget, they also want to buy more.
The number of art pieces bought for a commercial purpose is usually much higher. For instance, a buyer would like to have more attractive artworks on different walls in a restaurant. You never know if particular buyers want the art pieces for individual or commercial use.
Most importantly, the collections should give a sufficient number of artworks as options so that buyers can make a choice. Generally, for commercial use, people want to buy many artworks of an artist in the same style. In this way, they want to create viewing pleasure with matching styles.
Stats says:
– Artists who have created and uploaded at least 8 artworks tend to earn on average 17 times more than artists who have only 1 artwork in their online shops.
– Artists who have created and uploaded 10-20 artworks tend to earn on average 33 times more than artists who have only 1 artwork in their online shops.
– Also, artists who have created and uploaded 20-30 artworks tend to earn on average 11 times more than artists who have only 1 artwork in their online shops.
Considering these aspects, artists should include at least 8-10 art pieces in their collections.
How To Create A Powerful Collection?
As an experienced artist, you should use your skills to your advantage. The best use is to create an amazing collection of your artworks. You surely have plenty of them scattered in your studio.
Just have them together to mesmerize the art lovers and buyers. However, while picking the right art pieces for your collection, avoid the temptation to include all of them.
Here Are Some Key Tips You Should Follow To Create An Enticing Collection
01. Put Yourself In Place Of Customer
A unique collection of artworks can help artists win customers regularly and even convert them into repeat buyers. But as buyers have a lot of other collections to visit, you have a tough competition to tackle.
Your concern should be about how to make a quick impression on those potential buyers whom you drove from social media to your collection site.
First, change your mindset from being an artist to a buyer. Put your creative self for a moment in place of the customer. For instance, what are your thoughts when you visit some other collections of artists?
Do you like their creative works? If you do not like them, then what was missing in those collections? If you want to buy from some artists’ collections, what compelled you to make the purchasing?
You should ask such questions to find out what an art buyer has in mind. You can even talk to your friends who bought art to enter a buyer’s mind.
02. Think Of The Ongoing Trends
You are a creative person who usually does not like to compromise. Many artists believe in creating for their satisfaction. But if you wish to make money from your collection, then consider the trends as well. Find out what the buyers are looking for when they want to buy artworks for individual and commercial use.
Buyers generally think in terms of trends. They look for colors, styles, and other things that are most talked about and displayed. Once you have an inkling of what the buyers want, you can then make the improvements in your collection accordingly.
You may think of putting some new style of art as per the current trend amid the buyers. Make such changes that help buyers make a wise purchasing decision at your collection site.
One of the best ways to know about the prevailing trends is to visit many other collections and see what style of artworks they display mostly. You can also access online surveys that reveal which art pieces are selling more than the others.
Overall, think strategically about which type and style of art you should include in your collections. So, give people what they want.
03. Include Many Works In Your Collections
A dilemma most artists face is the number of artwork to include in their collections. We have already mentioned that they should have at least eight to ten art pieces in your collection.
But that is the minimum number, and you should have more of them. Surveys have revealed that with a higher number of works, chances of selling more art pieces go higher.
04. Create Art Around A Theme
Buyers generally search for artworks based on a theme they have in mind. They google using the keywords of the theme to know which collections have those art pieces. Many of them also look for a certain style of art.
Therefore, while thinking of building a big collection, include many art pieces based on one theme or style.
This is because people like to buy many art pieces of the same theme to display them in a double row on the wall. Remember that coherency will make your work and collection even more desirable and useful to potential buyers.
Another benefit of having themed based artworks is that it helps in increasing your social media followers. This, in turn, helps in more earnings.
But building a collection based on themes is not easy. Many experts say that the impressive collections are centered around one theme. They suggest that artists should avoid including many styles of art as it may become too complex for buyers due to a mismatch of art.
A better approach is to include at least 8 artworks in the same theme or style. Also, make sure that you upload the artworks in the same shape or orientation.
So, instead of uploading 2 vertical and 1 horizontal poster of the same theme-based art, upload 3 horizontal posters. This is because buyers generally want to buy art in the same orientation as they think it looks better.
05. Evaluate Other Collections
Even artists have many competitors when they put their collections to sell. The buyers have easy access to plenty of artworks. They can always migrate to the other collection if yours is not an interesting one. Therefore, to compete well, know what other artists are creating and what customers are buying.
Find out which collections are bestselling and which artists are being praised more for their illustrations or designs. Have an insight into what they are doing differently. Think over such aspects and conclude what more you need to do regarding your collections.
Get Featured To Our 1 Million Followers
Another wise move you can make is to create your impressive collections on the right online platform. Not all such platforms are made the same. Some of them are more useful to you due to their unique features and massive based on followers.
PrintShop is one such online print-on-demand platform. Owned by Designhill, the leading creative marketplace, PrintShop is home to thousands of artists who have displayed their creative art by opening their shop here and selling their works at an attractive price.
But what makes PrintShop even more useful and enticing for artists is that they have access to its 1 million followers. Think of this huge customer base that readily available to you. They will visit your artworks and buy them.
So, pick your artworks that look unique and have a theme and artistic value. , and include them in your collections. Set your price right, and buyers will come looking for your art.
Wrapping Up
Artists are creative people who want to make a decent earning by selling their art. They can benefit immensely in terms of getting a steady income by putting their collections for sale. But the collections must have artworks that are unique, impressive, trendy, and style. With such a collection, you will generate income regularly due to sales. You can also establish yourself as an expert artist and brand, which helps in selling more of your artworks.