As an artist, you might have heard someone say, “You’ll never make a career out of your art!” or, “There’s no future in artwork?” It can feel discouraging, but I’m here to tell you those words aren’t true!
Becoming a professional fashion illustrator isn’t only possible, but it can also be advantageous.
It’s a career that lets you dive into exciting concepts, work with amazing clients, and, best of all, give you the freedom to create on your terms.
You can have the freedom to explore your ideas, manage your time, and build a living doing what you love.
What Does a Fashion Illustrator Do?
You may question, “What exactly does a fashion illustrator do?”
In simple terms, fashion illustrators bring a designer’s creative ideas to life.
When a designer has a fresh idea that needs to be shown, they hire a fashion illustrator to sketch and develop the concept before creating samples.
Fashion illustrators work on a variety of objects, including shoes, bags, dresses, headgear, and other accessories, to help establish a collection’s visual identity.
But the role goes far beyond just sketching garments.
Fashion illustrators can also work in editorial illustration, design packaging for fashion and beauty brands, offer live sketching at events, and even sell their artwork online.
They have numerous options to work freelancing, in fashion boutiques, periodicals, and design studios.
The options are limitless.
Why sell your fashion illustrations online?
Selling your fashion illustrations online has various advantages, making it a popular choice for many artists.
These are some strong reasons that can help you decide on whether to take your artwork to the digital marketplace.
1. Reach Across Borders.
The internet allows you to promote and sell your work to people around the globe.
This increases your sales potential tremendously because it widens the number of people who can view your work.
2. Low Overhead Costs
Online platforms eliminate the need for physical galleries or store spaces, reducing the costs associated with selling your art.
Now, you can start your business without much money in your pocket.
3. Flexibility and Control
You have the option to set up a website where you can display your artwork, and control your brand reputation, its pricing, and how it is displayed.
With these options, you can present yourself on the web exactly how you want to.
4. Passive Income.
Offering digital downloads or print-on-demand products allows you to generate cash without having to constantly develop fresh content.
This means you can make money even while you aren’t actively selling.
5. Increased exposure and networking.
Selling online allows you to have a strong online presence across social media and other platforms.
This makes it easier to interact with potential buyers, influencers, and brands.
This exposure may lead to new collaborations and opportunities.
6. Various revenue streams.
Selling online allows you to offer a wide range of products, including prints, digital downloads, and merchandise, resulting in multiple streams of income.
This can help you make more money at work.
7. Easy to manage.
E-commerce platforms make it simple to administer an online store, from product listing to payment processing.
This allows you to focus on developing while managing sales and customer service with minimal effort.
How To Sell Illustrations Online
1. Define Your Style and Niche
Before you begin your path to selling fashion illustrations online, you must first develop your distinct style.
Fashion illustration spans a wide range of artistic techniques, from slick, high-fashion editorial works to casual, everyday outfit doodles.
Your style will not only set you apart from other artists but will also help you reach a specific audience who shares your interests.
Consider the following factors to help you identify your style:
▪️Target market:
Do you want to attract fashion companies searching for custom graphics, collectors looking for one-of-a-kind items, or consumers looking for trendy fashion prints for their homes?
▪️Artistic Style:
What type of visual language do you want to create? Will your illustrations be minimalist, brightly colored, avant-garde, or hyper-realistic? Your style should represent both your artistic inclinations and the tastes of your target audience.
▪️Thematic Focus:
What kind of fashion will you showcase? Will it be grand catwalk designs, antique-styled outfits, or just simple and casual?
Choosing a specific theme helps streamline the entire process and makes it easier to market.
Specializing helps in building a strong personal brand that relates to a specific audience, ultimately increasing the chances of gaining unwavering support.
2. Create a strong portfolio.
Your portfolio is your most powerful marketing weapon.
It is your web gallery that showcases your best work and serves as prospective customers’ first impression of you.
A well-designed portfolio not only demonstrates your technical ability but also expresses the essence of your artistic vision.
Consider the following guidelines to create an impressive portfolio:
▪️High-Quality Imagery:
Ensure that your illustrations are captured or scanned at a high resolution. Clear, sharp images demonstrate professionalism and attention to detail.
▪️Variety of Content:
To illustrate your versatility, your portfolio should include a wide range of work.
You should specify the particular items or groups that need to be drawn for clothing, jewelry, and shoes.
▪️Narrative and Personal Element
Include unique and self-reflective objects in your drawings so that the viewer understands the meaning behind them or a collection.
People appreciate stories, so tell them about your creative process, artistic career, and what motivates your passion for fashion illustration.
You can host your portfolio on your website or use popular art-sharing networks such as Behance, Dribble, or Instagram.
3. Select the Right Platforms.
Selling fashion illustrations online necessitates choosing the appropriate outlets to properly reach your target audience.
The best platform depends on the type of artwork you’re selling and your target audience. Some prominent platforms to consider are:
▫️Etsy:
Ideal for artists selling handmade or one-of-a-kind items, Etsy allows you to sell physical prints, digital downloads, and original artwork.
The platform was designed to assist small and creative business owners.
▫️Society6 and Redbubble:
These are print-on-demand websites where you can upload your designs and sell various products including prints, t-shirts, mugs, and more.
These sites are perfect for artists who want to expand their reach without necessitating the overhead of inventory control.
▫️Saatchi Art:
If your illustrations are more on the fine art side of fashion, Saatchi Art is an excellent outlet for selling original works or high-quality reproductions. This marketplace caters to art collectors and lovers.
▫️Instagram and Facebook:
These social media networks can help you grow an active audience, display your work, and interact directly with potential consumers. Instagram’s shopping function and Facebook Marketplace can be useful for direct sales.
▫️Personal Website:
A personal website gives you full control over your branding, pricing, and sales strategy.
By integrating e-commerce tools like Shopify, Big Cartel, or Etsy, you can set up an online store that perfectly reflects your brand identity.
4. Offer Multiple Product Options
To get the most from your sources of income, ensure that your illustrations are in multiple formats.
Additionally, to widen your client base, think about marketing more than just the original pieces of the artwork. Here’s how you can broaden your scope of offerings:
🔸️Digital Downloads:
These types of products are perfect for customers who want to save money and print the illustrations on their own.
Digital files enable you to access a larger audience, especially international buyers who may not be willing to pay for delivery.
🔸️Prints:
This is a great way to sell directly to people who want your actual artwork for their homes or offices.
You can sell high-quality prints of your designs. Moreover, limited edition prints can be specially signed or numbered, thus increasing their value.
🔸️Merch:
Use print-on-demand websites to transform your art into other products like t-shirts, phone cases, tote bags, etc.
This widens your target market and captures the interest of people who like art they can wear or use.
🔸️Custom Artwork:
Help fulfill specific demands whether for individual fashion collectors or businesses that need unique custom fashion illustrations.
5. Set fair and competitive prices.
Pricing your work is important because it affects the perceived worth of your art and how easily you can attract buyers.
Achieve competitive balance by comparing similar competitors such as pricing systems.
Pricing should accurately reflect the quality of work done, time spent, and materials (for physical products).
Also, think about pricing tiers based on the format and exclusivity of the work:
Because digital downloads are inexpensive to produce and have a broader market, they tend to have a lower price point than other forms of advertising.
Physical prints:
Print pricing reflects the quantity, premium material, and craftsmanship quality. Premium pricing is justifiable for larger, or more expensive limited edition prints.
The original hand-drawn fashion illustrations usually attract the best rates because they are one-of-a-kind. Selling them at the right price makes more of a difference as these pieces are extremely scarce and authentic.
Although offering discounts and bundled packages does increase purchases, be very careful not to undervalue your art and be sure your pricing justifies the work accomplished.
6. Market your work.
Marketing is critical when it comes to making your fashion graphics accessible to potential customers. Here are a few notable methods that will help with your visibility and sales:
🔸️Social media advertising:
Platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok are great for marketing your art.
Always make sure to post high-quality images and videos, offer sneak peeks, and share stories of your creative process.
🔸️Collaborations
Mobilizing fans guarantees a robust following and loyal customers for the brand’s endorsement.
Collaborations help in reaching new audiences, capturing greater revenue, and higher exposure to the brand.
Collaborations with relevant influencers, fashion bloggers, or brands with similar aesthetics in style are the premier choice for higher revenue and exposure.
🔸️Email Marketing:
Create an email list of potential consumers and remind them about new items, specials, and other relevant information.
Email marketing can help you build long-term relationships with your target audience and increase the likelihood that they will purchase again.
🔸️Use better hashtags on social media.
To find your prospective clientele, seek popular creative communities, fashion hashtags, and other specialist locations.
7. Engage with your clients.
Having loyal customers involves much more than just making a sale.
To engage your audience, reply to their comments, direct message them or even join painting competitions in the online space.
Building a community requires you to publish content that your audience connects with and enable focused engagement.
8. Transaction and shipment management
Once you start selling, ensure you have a system that expertly handles transactions and order shipment:
🔹️Payment Gateways:
Make sure that your chosen website or platform allows for multiple payment options like PayPal, credit card, or digital wallets.
This way, clients from different regions can work with you easily.
🔹️Delivery:
If selling physical prints or items, ensure that the logistics are in place for delivering them.
While international shipping can expand your clientele base, you have to remember the cost, time, and packaging.
🔹️Returns and Refunds:
To avoid misunderstandings make your returns and refunds policy clear.
This policy should be properly communicated on the website and product pages.
9. Regularity and flexibility.
Because the online world is so dynamic, one has to be flexible and focused on emerging opportunities.
Make sure your portfolio is up to date, constantly improve your style, and follow the latest fashion styles.
Updating your portfolio and interacting with your audience regularly makes you an accepted and trustworthy brand in the industry.
Conclusion
The internet offers a lot of possibilities to make money selling fashion design illustrations for those who want to build a business.
By defining your style, choosing the right platforms, offering a range of products, and actively marketing your work, you can reach thousands of people and grow a customer base.
Fashion illustration is a well-sought-after form of art, but with the right business strategy, your passion can turn into a lucrative Internet business.