/ic/ - Artwork/Critique

I'm on there with a few pieces but haven't had any success yet. Granted I pretty much just uploaded the things and left it at that, so I'm not exactly surprised. I plan on polishing all my listings with better titles, descriptions, and keywords when I have some time, I just need to do some research on what works best for it.

I had a question are you guys posting fanart anime/games stuff or more of a keyword niche thing like cute dog vectors/ slogans?

>>3511420
>cute dog vectors/ slogans
>>3511420
>niche thing

>>3511473
My bad, I meant designs that are fanart/popculture (games,tv shows) related or generic/non-popculture related (horses, dogs, patterns, 'I eat ass' tees)

>>3511268
I have no idea what you're talking about, but have my bump, you seem chill anon-kun

>>3511268
Do likes actually do anything?
I mean those hearts you getting when people like your stuff.

Im thinking of making couple accounts and like all my stuff increasing number of my likes.
I just don't know if it will make any difference or help.
But i guess some randome people will see that i have more and ...i guuuess buy something

>>3511268
Hey RB buddy! I'm the anon from the last thread(s) who makes ~$700/month on Redbubble passively. That's great that you've jumped on the platform. You're right about it having an amazing system of newcomers. I remember being surprised by my sales when I first joined - pic related is actually my first 7 months of earnings. I remember getting several pieces of work 'Found' and featured on the front page, which is a major & instant boost to sales. It's my best guess that Redbubble likes to try and push new artists and feature them on their homepage. Maybe its different now, but its a shit ton better than something like Society6.

>>3511420
>>3511482
>fanart/popculture (games,tv shows) related or generic/non-popculture related
You can do both! Personally speaking, my top selling designs are a mix of pop culture stuff and non-pop stuff (a lot of animals actually).

>>3511541
>Do likes actually do anything?
Each print-on-demand store has its own search algorithm, and it's a guessing game to try and determine what actually helps push a design to the top of searches. I genuinely don't think likes do anything significant, but I could be wrong. Based on my experience, I think its:
+ Total sales - The more sales, the higher up it shows in searches. If you're fortunate to get featured on the front page, the sales from that will usually be enough to bump you up quite a bit even in competitive keywords.
+ Title & tag - especially the title. I found that it's best to just ditch the fancy, fun clever names in favor of cold hard keywords in the title. Got a design that features goats? Don't call it something fun/artsy/non-descript - just name it "Goats" or something like that. Got a pop design? Just call it whatever the franchise is, or maybe the name of the character.

Happy to help more!

>>3511614
Oh hi! you was super helpful and inspiring!
>>3511614
>+ Title & tag - especially the title. I found that it's best to just ditch the fancy, fun clever names in favor of cold hard keywords in the title. Got a design that features goats? Don't call it something fun/artsy/non-descript - just name it "Goats" or something like that. Got a pop design? Just call it whatever the franchise is, or maybe the name of the character.
yeah i do this.
I simply just write something like MIDDLE AGED WARCRAFT ORC WITH NINTENDO SWITCH PLAYING SONIC VIDEOGAME
that lol

>>3511614
>>fanart/popculture (games,tv shows) related or generic/non-popculture related
>You can do both! Personally speaking, my top selling designs are a mix of pop culture stuff and non-pop stuff (a lot of animals actually).
do you not get called out by other users or have your entry deleted due to copyright claims? I wanted to do pattern art for video games but afraid of people going lynch mob on me

>>3511614
Holy shit anon! that's a great amount during the very first month.
Please can you tell how many pictures you had during the opening your store and first month?

Also what is your themes of store? And if you can-post pictures similar to what you have in store? So i will have more info to research about - thanks!

>>3511690
>I wanted to do pattern art for video games but afraid of people going lynch mob on me
This is a non-issue. This just doesn't happen. The only time I see people complain is when:

1. Someone steals their own work
2. They see others selling official art as their own

No one is going to call you out for creating & selling fan work. Even if they did, you shouldn't let fear of judgement hold you back in any endeavor.

Regarding the copyrights - when you create fan work inspired by copyrighted IP's, then you run the risk of the listing being taken down from the copyright holder issues a DMCA against you. All that happens is your design gets removed, and if it happens often enough, your account might get terminated.

>>3511753
I probably had about ~10-15 designs up in that first month. They were really random designs, but they happened to get featured on the front page which kickstarted some sales.

The 'themes' of my store - there isn't really a set theme. Though there's a fairly cohesive style throughout most things, which revolves around a more loose, hand drawn, 'hipster' style while usually using no more than 2 or 3 colors and designed with a dark background in mind. Most designs usually take me around 30 minutes - 1h30m to complete. For examples of similar work to my own - just check out the front page of Redbubble. It's more or less along those lines: simple, flat/graphic (ie. not fully rendered digital paintings), etc.

>>3511870
>. Most designs usually take me around 30 minutes - 1h30m to complete. For examples of similar work to my own - just check out the front page of Redbubble. It's more or less along those lines: simple, flat/graphic (ie. not fully rendered digital paintings), etc.
this looks so promising.
Like...do simple stuff and get 100+ dollars each month.
But i know for me its gonna be hard lol

>>3511870
What about patterns? Do patters sell well? is it worth it?
right now im having an idea of 4 patterns. but i guess it wont hurt having them

>>3512812
>Like...do simple stuff and get 100+ dollars each month. But i know for me its gonna be hard lol
For sure! You don't have to be an amazing artist to start making sales. If you see a lot of work on Redbubble and you think 'Man that's so simple/easy - I could make that too', just understand that there's another element to it that's hard to recreate, and that's about having a good sense of appeal. In other words, success is not about making the best work, but about making the RIGHT work. Pic related is an iconic graphic tee - it's not the most complicated design or the most difficult to make, but its an execution of a fun idea that just feels right.

My best tip would be to focus on making something that people would want to wear. There's a big difference between a drawing that is fun to look at on the internet and something that would actually fit work well on a shirt or other products.

>>3513052
I've only done a handful of patterns. I think they can sell alright, but you'll generally be missing out on one of the biggest sellers: normal apparel. Patterns lend themselves so well to many types of all-over prints (pillow cases, phone cases, journals, shower curtains, etc.) and even all-over prints for apparel (called sublimated printing), but the biggest sellers are usually just normal tshirts, hoodies, etc. in which the pattern can't really be repeated to its full effect.

It's definitely worth trying though. You can use a separate image for each product, so you can do what I've done and rework the pattern to work as a standalone design, and then use the pattern file for everything else that it appropriately fits on.

>>3513250
Thats a lot of advices, thank you!

>>3513250
Great info dude very inspiring, I've also got some random questions if you don't mind.

I've heard that stickers are actually the ones that sell the best at RB, do you sell those? what are your thoughts on them?

Do you know/use analytics/metrics?

What do you think is the biggest demographic at RB? are they mostly male or female? age range?

Do you have experience openning shops on other merch sites like designbyhumans, society6, Threadless, etc?

Have you made social media pages for selling merch? Which social media will you think a good companion for promoting redbubble merch?

I've also heard that people do all sorts of promotions like making dozens of tumblr blogs or posting at subreddits, joining big pinterest groups and spamming facebook groups or paying for ads, do you recommend any? Is it smart trying to have your design rank or show up at google?

Also do you follow any good merch podcast, blog or video series? Do you follow some shops/merch artists that inspire you? here's some of my favs milestogo, nicolo nimor, derek deal, johnny cupcakes.

>>3514684
>I've heard that stickers are actually the ones that sell the best at RB, do you sell those? what are your thoughts on them?
>Do you know/use analytics/metrics?
Im OP - just adding:
As i said - i didnt even open my shop yet and people already followed me. And very first sell i made was a sticker - when i had 4 followers.
So i guess you right.

even i already have few neat stickers in my cart. Stickers are cheap and neat.

>>3514684
Lotta stuff here:

+ Most of my sales are from shirts & apparel - maybe around ~75% of all sales. Stickers come next, but the margins on them are so, so low because they're so cheap. After stickers is just miscellaneous products - mugs, journals, prints, etc. which have good margins

+ I don't use any sort of analytics

+ No clue on the actual demographics. My best guess is that it's an even mix of male/female, and around 18-40 years old.

+ I have a DBH & Society6 store, both of which don't earn very much at all. Maybe my DBH one could if I put more designs on it. Threadless has two things: their 'artist shops' and their actual own store. The 'artist shops' are your own little independent site - they are not apart of a larger marketplace so it's on you to drive traffic. However, the actual Threadless store is actually where I first started doing shirt stuff and first started making money with art / illustration. I've had multiple prints over the years, and currently get around $400/month from them. The golden age of Threadless is long over (they used to have some great stuff and many old Threadless artists are now pretty well known [Olly Moss, Mike Mitchell, etc.]), but I owe a lot to them for helping me get started in an art career.

+ I've never promoted my PoD stores. I can't be bothered to do so - I think it's just not worth it.

+ This is spam. There is a lot of garbage on these PoD sites that are spammed across the internet. It sounds like a lot of effort for virtually no gains. Google is so large that there's little use in actually trying to get on the 1st page of a keyword.

+ There are 2 types of people who use these sites: artists who want to monetize their art, and non-artists who just want to make money. Almost all podcasts, blogs, etc. I've seen cater to non-artists. Some shirt artists I like are Louis Roskosch, Steven Rhodes, Rick Crane, Mathiole, Ilustrata, Eric Fan, David Olenick.

Pic unrelated

I started using it some time ago after reading a topic about it right here.
I used it blandly, getting a few dollars a month.
I had some removal of artwork for allegedly infringed copyright, (false allegations in my opinion).

Now I would like to do other work with 0 copyright risk.
You suggest me to make another account where to upload these jobs and continue to post those at risk on the old account or put them all together?

Can another account have the same paypal associated?

ATTENTION
BITCHES
Redbubble and Society6 won't let your designs be put in the search engine until you get 50 likes. We need to get together and create a group to give us 50 likes on each design so that way they can be searched.

>>3511268
What resolution should I be drawing at to sell on Red Bubble? Or should I into vector art?

>>3515250
Sounds good. however im always afraid to post my stuff online.
but i would exchange likes somewhere in discord or something like that lol

>>3515254
just draw it big.
vectors not needed

>>3515295
how big? I draw at 6200px wide

>>3515254
read the FAQ I use FAQ resolution

>>3511614
Just wanna pop in to say that you're an inspiration. It doesn't even matter that I have no idea what your work looks like because you provide some bitchin advice and your sales don't lie

>>3513250
>posts communist image while talking about how to be a successful capitalist on RB
Peak post-irony. I love it. It makes it even better that it's a popular design.

I am wondering, at what skill level should you be in order to start doing redbubble designs?

>>3515187
More answers & thoughts:

>>3515187
You can continue to use your old one or make a new one with the same paypal. No need to restart if you're going to do original work. You can even continue to do fan work - just avoid the IP that you got in trouble with, and all the other major stingy ones (Rockstar, Bethesda, Star Wars, anything HBO etc.)

>>3515250
This is not true, and these 'like' groups are woefully unnecessary and won't work. You're not the first one to think of this. Likes don't matter on Redbubble. On Society6, you need ~10 likes to start showing up in searches - an amount easily achieved just by using tags. Once you hit that, you'll get an email notifying you that your design will be include in the Society6 blah blah blah. I don't know where you've got 50 from, I can only assume you made it up. Why would you do that?

>>3515290
> however im always afraid to post my stuff online.
There's no reason to be afraid. No one is going to judge you - your fears are all in your head.

>>3515254
>>3515296
6200px wide is more than enough. I usually make my designs at around 4000px X ~6000px.

>>3515615
Thanks! I just want to help others maybe monetize their work. For some, it might be the first money they've ever earned with their drawings which can give folks the confidence and motivation to reach further.

>>3515734
>what skill level should you be in order to start doing redbubble designs?
Questions like this are impossible to answer, both for this and for other types of endeavors. There is no such thing as levels. As a little green alien says - 'Do, or do not - there is no try'. Anyone can start making designs just by making them and then uploading. Pic related is one of the top selling designs ever on Threadless.com. This must have netted the artist thousands and thousands of dollars. It's a super simple doodle, but the idea & execution resonated with a lot of people and it worked very well on shirts & stuff.

More answers & thoughts:

>>3515187
You can continue to use your old one or make a new one with the same paypal. No need to restart if you're going to do original work. You can even continue to do fan work - just avoid the IP that you got in trouble with, and all the other major stingy ones (Rockstar, Bethesda, Star Wars, anything HBO etc.)

>>3515250
This is not true, and these 'like' groups are woefully unnecessary and won't work. You're not the first one to think of this. Likes don't matter on Redbubble. On Society6, you need ~10 likes to start showing up in searches - an amount easily achieved just by using tags. Once you hit that, you'll get an email notifying you that your design will be include in the Society6 blah blah blah. I don't know where you've got 50 from, I can only assume you made it up. Why would you do that?

>>3515290
> however im always afraid to post my stuff online.
There's no reason to be afraid. No one is going to judge you - your fears are all in your head.

>>3515254
>>3515296
6200px wide is more than enough. I usually make my designs at around 4000px X ~6000px.

>>3515615
Thanks! I just want to help others maybe monetize their work. For some, it might be the first money they've ever earned with their drawings which can give folks the confidence and motivation to reach further.

>>3515734
>what skill level should you be in order to start doing redbubble designs?
Questions like this are impossible to answer, both for this and for other types of endeavors. There is no such thing as levels. As a little green alien says - 'Do, or do not - there is no try'. Anyone can start making designs just by making them and then uploading. Pic related is one of the top selling designs ever on Threadless.com. This must have netted the artist thousands and thousands of dollars. It's a super simple doodle, but the idea & execution resonated with a lot of people and it worked very well on shirts & stuff.

Bump for a good thread

>>3515838
Oh wonderful RB anon, and also Mike-Poster sama (i think), you have inspired me to get shit started. My question is about getting featured. I am currently producing a series of about 10 designs that are all closely related, and not fanart. How do I get redbubble to shill my stuff for me?

>>3516566
> and also Mike-Poster sama (i think)
You think right my friend! Super happy I've inspired some people to try something new. Even if it doesn't lead to much money, I think there's a lot to be learned from doing stuff like this that can be carried over into other endeavors, as you'll likely be trying new techniques and styles to see what sticks. Just remember that these print-on-demand sites are a marathon, not a sprint. It takes a while to build up a catalog of regularly selling designs, since most of them will likely go without selling much.

As far as getting featured - I just have absolutely no clue how to increase your chances. Sorry! As far as I can tell, it's just sort of random and out of your control. I think someone just goes through portfolios and recently uploaded work and picks stuff. I've had stuff be up for days then be featured, and stuff be up for over a year and then be featured.

>>3516670
>Even if it doesn't lead to much money
Despite this, I am super hopeful I can throw it into a bucket of passive revenue streams. Passive revenue sounds to be where its at for artists who know how to do business. Along with gumroads and shit, depending on what type of art you do.

>>3515838
>>3515103
>>3513250
>>3511870
>>3511614
I want to kiss you and never let you go...

I started up RB because fuck it I had some cute art doodles that I threw up there along with some family friendly stuff. I'm primarily a porn artist though, should I be too concerned with adding the casual nudity designs as prints or should I make another account? I have pretty middling popularity and don't expect a rush on people looking to buy my art prints that aren't even designed as good posters.

Also, are groups worth it? They seem like they're just filled with garbage and headed by old ladies that like to micromanage things.

Maybe this is a dumb question, but what should I do to protect myself if I wanna throw some designs of copyrighted IDs in the shop? I always see a lot of those in RB, and I've bought a bunch myself (I usually ONLY buy those, so I'm guessing I would earn more), but it seems that the risk of it being removed or the account terminated is high, so now I don't know what to do...
>>3515838
>You can continue to use your old one or make a new one with the same paypal.
how does this work? would I be able to make a new account with the same paypal if the old one got terminated for copyright infringement? sorry if the questions are dumb.

>>3515838
>Rockstar
yeah stay away from that brand. I made an original hat in time/GTA crossover poster that took fucking forever and they took it down because of the logo.
you guys should also watch out for pic related: the OBEY style T-shirt design. I created a bunch of designs, (not even copyrighted characters) in that style and I made a killing but then I got struck with copyright and they took down ALL of them. I make a fraction of what I used to so I'm basically starting again. I personally think it's complete fucking bullshit, especially considering that they are striking me for a style of shirt instead of a clear-cut ip violation if I used a character instead.
be careful out there.

>>3515103
>DBH & Society6
>both of which don't earn very much
Anon, I can agree with you there. I haven't got a single sale from these two, even though my Redbubble store has been doing decently. what's worse is their $1 signup fee just to start selling. what a waste of money that was

>>3515103
>DBH
detroit become human?

>>3518214
it's a site called Design by Humans. Don't bother, they're not worth it.

More:
>>3516675
>Passive revenue sounds to be where its at for artists
It really is a wonderful thing. For me, it acts as a base income to cover all my living expenses while I focus on freelancing.

>>3516942
I can't really comment on adult work - I just simply don't know. I think if you're doing erotic stuff, then you have to rely on your own means of driving traffic and sales, since RB won't promote it or show it in searches. In that case, you'd be better off using your own store + Printful for your fulfillment - it's slightly more setup but carries better margins.

>>3518164
>what should I do to protect myself
Not a dumb question at all. There's little you can do to prevent DMCAs if the copyright holder decides to issue one. It's really not a big deal, and you have to be a serious offender to get your account terminated.

Not sure about using the same paypal if your account got terminated. I think that ban might carry over to the new account with the same paypal.

>>3518197
There's quite a list of IP's I would avoid, and are fairly well known and easy to circumvent. OBEY parodies are a big no-no, and have been for a long time. It's one of those things that you wouldn't know until it hits you, but you can also listen to others and avoid things they got banned for.

>I personally think it's complete fucking bullshit
It's a hard pill to swallow, but the defense of parody and fair use are relatively weak. The whole thing is a grey area, but it's all relative to how the IP holder feels. If they feel your work is close enough to their own, then can issue a DMCA and the site (and you) are forced to roll over and take it. There is no use in trying to fight the takedown unless they literally had no reason to do so. That sucks that it wiped most of your store. It's one of the reasons I try not to make more than one design per IP. You've gotta diversify your designs a little bit to minimize the risk of losing everything at once.

>>3518345
>quite a list of IP's I would avoid
according to the thread so far we have:
>OBEY
>Rockstar
>Bethesda
>Star Wars
>HBO
any other notable ones? I'm guessing that nintendo and pokemon would be candidates but I'm not too sure about those.

We need more threads like this- friendly and full of good advice. It puts me in a good mood

Good thread.
Can I get a yee?

>>3511622
>MIDDLE AGED WARCRAFT ORC WITH NINTENDO SWITCH PLAYING SONIC VIDEOGAME

>>3519300
anything disney related as usual

>>3519300
>Star Wars
rreeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Really? because i had so many SW-related ideas...i thought that if star wars is popular then drawing some mugs or stickers will bring me moneys

AHHHAHAHAHHAHAHA

I just created 2 fake accounts and commented and favorited my pictures :D
I look so popular now!

>>3519300
>nintendo and pokemon
Pokemon - I think so. I think I've heard of Game Freak (partial owner of Pokemon) doing takedowns. Nintendo - not at all. Nintendo is honestly the most lenient of them all. It's the reason you'll see so much Nintendo shit on sites (I have a fair share of my own as well). It's kind of ironic because Nintendo is well known for shutting down fan projects without even blinking, but they've just turned a complete blindeye to people selling fan work on these sites.

I haven't really kept up a list of IPs to avoid and it's hard to think of them off the top of my head. It's also important to note that somethings will be taken off some platforms and left on others, for reasons I don't know. For example, I've had a Rocket League inspired design removed from Etsy, but it's still up on Redbubble.

I have 2 examples of trendy IPs that have been gutted and should be avoided. Rick & Morty came out and started gaining a bunch of popularity. If you create a design for a super popular, 'in-the-now' show, game or movie, you can really ride that popularity wave and make fantastic sales. I made a Mr. Meeseeks design that did fairly well and netted a few hundred bucks. However, the copyright holders caught on and went on a purge and totally wiped all Rick & Morty designs out. Another example of this happening was Stranger Things - I know people who were riding that wave hardcore and made a ton of sales off it, and also made a ton of designs for it. The purge came and they lost everything.

>>3519458
Y E E
E
E

>>3519530
>Star wars
I think this is a risky IP, but there's a lot of stuff out there so who knows.
>i thought that if star wars is popular then drawing some mugs or stickers will bring me moneys
You thought this, but so have tens of thousands of other people.

>>3519565
I really don't recommend doing this. Not because it'll be detrimental to your success or you'll be 'caught', but rather that it's just a waste of time.

>>3519835
>Rick & Morty
wow
didn't expect this cynical and memetic franchise being so protective.

What happens when you being caught?
Just 1 picture being removed and that's all?
No gallery shot down or money beign hold?

>>3511614
>>3511622
For pop designs, does having a more descriptive title than just the franchise name work? For example, would a title like "Berserk - Chibi Griffith" still show up in a search for just "berserk" or "griffith"?

>>3511614
>>3511870
>>3513250
>>3515103
>>3515838
>>3518345
>>3519835

Thank you based capitalist dog, I hope I'll be able to join in on this at some point

Two question, seeing your thread I poked my head around RB for the first time. A LOT of peoples merch are things like doodles of Starbucks cups, Hot cheeto bags etc with the logos being recognizable. What the fuck is the legality behind this? Some of the best selling stuff on the site is literally fan art of "Brand name" items. Can you really get away with that?

Secondly, a lot of art there I see resized up and down to be put on not only shirts, but small items like mugs and phone cases. How does the website handle that? What resolution would I need to make something in to confidently know it wont look like ass if someone orders something big or small?

>register RedBubble tm
>make 20 desingns
>wait 1 week
>see acount

>0 views in each desingn

please send help, i want that pasive money!

>>3520432
post an example of your work maybe we can give feedback?

>>3520461
something like this, some in color

I'm not worried about not getting paid, I know they're not very good. I'm worried about getting zero views.
Any recommendations with the tags?

>>3520526
Abstract and whatever words tertiary to that make sense. Even though it isn't a fractal it's starting to get close to that territory so I might just start throwing in phrase like that. The problem is that it's a picture of nothing, so you cant call it chair. And it doesnt have any style to describe it yet other than it being a black and white logo.

>>3520526
Would you wear that? Would you pay 20 dollars to wear that?

>>3520596
LMAO.
from
>>3520589
That is exactly what everyone here should think when they upload things. I forget to do that sometimes myself.

>>3520688
Shit I feel bad for leaving my last message at that.

>>3520526
Your design as it stands is too boring for you to be uploading anywhere. But it isn't that far off where it can't be something cool with more tweaking. If it was complete shit I would just tell you to start over. It's obvious looking at the design that there was thought put into it from the way the parts overlap. You really just need to refine it more. Use a cool color scheme or pattern and maybe put 50% more complexity into the geometry. Those tortellini shapes on the end look out of place with the prongs as they are now.

Frankly it reminds me more of a videogame player insignia than anything else. If it was in a game and the edges were cleaned up I wouldnt question its inclusion as a random unlockable. If thats what you want it to be then great honestly but if you want it to be something someone pays for you need to push it further. I only wrote this stuff because I dont mean to completely discourage you when I think you can actually make it work.

>>3520696
I would recommend him to try an actual abstract illustration or a pattern starting from there, because I don't think just random logos of nothing in particular would sell. What he showed isn't bad but on its own it will never sell.
Design something that you would pay money for.
Also, try "psychedelic" or "trippy" as tags. Usually those type of designs sell a bit from what I know.

>>3520589
>>3520696
>>3520701
currently I prefer to start a design from scratch, the "final product" looks something like this (in cups, cellphone cases look a little better)
I was planning on making a series of geometric patterns that would repeat themselves, I'll use your advice!

>>3520332
1st question: The legality behind it is that the copyright holder has every right to make a justified complaint. Parodies of established brands are real risky, and using the actual logos of stuff is not smart at all. Some might get away with it because - for whatever reason - they IP decided not to pursue them.

2nd question - RB automatically sizes down work. If you try uploading something, you can see for yourself. It's a really great, intuitive and quick system they've got to fly through all the products to adjust the size, placement and colors of the products.

>>3520526
>>3520742
I like this, and I could see it working well on a shirt. However, I think you'll have trouble selling it passively on RB because of a few things - most of which have been touched upon by others.

One of the best practices you can do is to place yourself in the shoes of a random browser on Redbubble. What do they type in the search bar to see designs that might interest them? Dog lovers might search 'dog shirts' or 'puppy art', or maybe even go more niche - 'husky shirts', 'pug dog stickers', etc.

What would someone need to type in to find work like this? Unfortunately, abstract work like this is difficult to categorize - at least in a way that uses good keywords/tags. 'Abstract' 'trippy' & 'minimalist' work, but those are rather generic keywords and it'll be hard to get any sort of visibility in them.

The point I'm trying to drive home is that when it comes to making sales passively on sites like this, you can save yourself a lot of headaches and frustrations by trying your best to design with a purpose. Designs that have some sort of interest associated with them (for example: a video game, nature/outdoors, saxophone, koalas, puns, etc.) will be much more likely to generate passive sales than work like yours, because yours is harder to discover due to a lack of good keywords associated with it. Does that make sense?

>>3520742
Those colors remind me of the trans flag, you should mark it as that, it would probably sell way better.

>>3521420
That actually sounds like a neat exercise, which is: choose the keywords you want to use /before/ drawing the piece, and then design something that would fit all of those keywords.

does anyone make much money from here?

>mfw someone bought a T-Shirt I worked really hard on within a day of posting it
is there any greater feel than this? We'll all make it someday

>>3522759
it happened to me but then i found that my friend bought that. Friends dont count.
if heres anonimous bought - its probably your mom or friend.

>>3519300
/cgl/'s Artist Alley thread has a link to properties and companies that are on the Do Not Draw list.

>>3522888
cool advice anon, I'll check it out. I've never been to /cgl/ before.

>>3522878
nobody knows my art account. I don't exactly have a lot of friends who are interested in this topic either.

I uploaded one of my drawings as a bunch of products and immediately got like 30 fake reviews from the site, what the fuck
Is this going to look bad if people happen to come across and spot the reviews? How do I remove these?

>>3522989
they're reviews based on the quality of the product itself, not your specific design

>>3522759
there's something very fulfilling when someone buys your merch for the first time. Good feels

How much do you make per sale of a shirt, mug, canvas print, poster print, iphone case?

I think I might actually get into this.

>>3521504
>That actually sounds like a neat exercise, which is: choose the keywords you want to use /before/ drawing the piece, and then design something that would fit all of those keywords.
It really wasn't suggested as an exercise - rather a necessity. It's exactly what I do. I have a list of my own researched and targeted keywords & themes to work through - it's currently about 200 entries long, organized in a simple spreadsheet. Designing for keywords just makes everything so, so much more efficient than just randomly tossing up stuff and hoping it sells. Designs should be made responsively (based on your best educated guess) to the perceived supply & demand of a keyword. In other words, a reliable seller will often be something that is standing out in a high search volume but low competition keyword. It might be fruitless to try and jump in on a super popular niche since they're over saturated.

Designing and thinking like this will put you ahead of a vast majority of users.

>>3522291
I think I'm the only one here, but I've been at it for a while.

>>3522759
That's so awesome - congratulations!

>>3522989
As the other anon mentioned - these are reviews that are on everyones page, as they're reviews for the product themselves and not your designs.

>>3523345
You can customize your margins on RB. I started making significantly more money when I increased my prices. It's easier to sell 1 thing and gain $10 than 4 things for $2.50. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that lower margins (thus lower retail cost) don't necessarily translate to more sales & more money for you.

Shirts usually net me around ~$5, other apparel $5-$15, prints are ~$10-$30, mugs ~$6, cases ~$5.

Make a a few sales of these a day and you've got an easy passive $25 (just an example - that's usually what I make). Times that by 30 days and you've made $750 passively that month just from RB alone - not including other sites you can upload all your work to as well.

bumpan

Do you make lots of money with this?

>>3523683
Why did you bump this?

Serious question.

Finally opened my store. This what i got in 2 days.
However all of these are my friends...sooo...im not counting this i guess.
It counts only a complete stranger buys stuf?

>>3524792
did you promote your store somewhere or just uploaded the design and waited for someone to stumble on your work?

>>3523354
>high search volume but low competition
hit the nail right on the head there. I made a design based on a meme that blew up and there were no other well-made or professionally created designs available. let's just say that I made more than a couple sales...
but of course finding that next big thing is the hardest part. any advice on this front?

>>3524795
I posted it on tumblr and instagram - this how friends bought it. No other sales yet but i guess its normal because its not even a week left. Im not expecting much during first month.
I will be drawing new designs oftend and promote them on social media from now on

>>3524674
Why do you think a bump needs justification? This is one of the most insightful and useful threads that I've seen on /ic/ in a long time, and it was about to die.

>>3525023
Doesn't look like RB gives out any sort of analytics data tools for searches/keywords and the like? Making it mostly guesswork? Unless Im wrong here.

>>3525023
>>3525495
I'm lurking this thread and I found something that could be of use.

I used google trends to see the top trending related searches for "t shirt". It shows which words are most used along with the search term "t shirt".

Oh shit i have a problem...

I can't buy my own products. Every time im going to pay with paypal - it says "There was a problem with the address chosen in PayPal".

Anybody had such problem?

>>3526130
you should be able to buy your product but the price would be discounted.

>>3525023
Follow twitter/instagram trends.

Right now She-ra is blowing up on twitter I bet if you had something She-ra related it'd be a hot item.

Ok i have a question about copyrighted things...
I made a pokemon-related design. And to avoid any issues i didn't mentioned anything Pokemon/GameFreak/Nintendo related in the title or tags.

I just put tags and title-words that closely resemble the design/pokemon.
Is this how it should be done?
Or its ok about mentioned copyrighted material at least in tags so it will be easier to find?

Is it ok to just simply put nintendo/pokemon/pikachu in tags?

>>3526477
>She-ra is blowing up on twitter
did you use a third-party website to find this or is it directly listed on the sidebar? I'm not exactly sure what the best method would be.

>>3527027
not him but there's an influx of she-ra fanarts on my timeline these past few days

>>3527062
Im very curious about how such things work.
For example - i think all that She-Ra is just pandering for that twitter post about Shera being redesigned as a tomboy/boyish girl. And twitter artists jumped on bandwagon to get some hype points.

Im not sure if some actual buyers/customers dying to get SheRa stuff on RedBubble tho...

More answers:

>>3524493
I mentioned that my RB income is around $700. My total passive income has been around $1,500/month (mostly from RB, Threadless, MerchByAmazon, and Etsy). I've netted an extra $1k a month through a personal connection, bringing it to ~$2.5/month passively. I freelance on top of that (gotta create those multiple revenue streams!)

>>3525023
>>3525495
>>3525769
>>3526477
>>3527027
Welcome to the world of keyword research and SEO - it's is an entire industry all in itself. In some ways, it is 'guess work', but it should be educated guess work based on data.

There are two types of products: Evergreen products (in demand all year round) and seasonal (only popular for limited times - trending themes could fit into this). It sounds like the She-ra thing is a trending topic which you'll just have to use your gut to decide whether to jump on it or not. Sounds promising though!

Evergreen products generally need to be researched to find low competition / high search-volume keywords. There are many ways to do this (its even some peoples career), and I am by no means an expert. There's no one right way to do it. Personally, I use a mix of etsyrank.com (analyzes Etsy) and MerchantWords (analyzes Amazon) to find good topics to design for. They're both paid (etsyrank has a free version that lacks critical tools). Basically, you use these tools and do some digging to find keywords, finding ones that you can - based off your research - reasonably assume is a good keyword revolved around a profitable niche to design for. Some might still be stinkers (or your art might just not be resonating with buyers), but approaching it like this is a hell of a lot better than just blindly guessing.

>>3526732
Putting yourself in the eyes of a customer - if someone wants a Pokemon design, they're gonna search using the word Pokemon. If you design based off a copyrighted IP, then you might as well go all the way and use it in the title & tags.

>>3527173
>Putting yourself in the eyes of a customer - if someone wants a Pokemon design, they're gonna search using the word Pokemon. If you design based off a copyrighted IP, then you might as well go all the way and use it in the title & tags.
yeah you right... im already seeing this.

I hope nothing bad will happen to my store? they just remove it and that's all?

>>3527231
Not him, but I'm pretty sure that's there to filter out people trying to upload pornographic or other designs deemed "unsavory", so they have a review system. It should clear up for you, I hope <3

>>3527173
You're pretty inspirational my man. Netting that passively sounds pretty sweet, and would really help a wagecuck like me break free and work from home. and I'm putting some time and investments into my own series of merch based off what I would want to buy mixed In with a little bit of cuteness. I'm not shooting at making a ton of money from this, If I even make anything it would be a plus. I just want to make a shirt or something and buy it lol

I really hope this thread becomes a staple as I feel like I'm not the only anon who is probably starting a whole venture like this. Maybe, at some point, we could all share links to our stores in this or the promo thread. Cheers!

>>3527173
>it's another that one guy who made it gives insight into the industry post
t-thanks

bumpings

>>3527231
I've never seen this message before - sorry!

>>3527250
>>3527267
Happy to help friendos! Though this'll probably be the last time I go this in depth with what I know. If there are any other questions you might have, feel free to speak up.

This is a top tier thread full of useful info, especially for /ic/. Hopefully we get more useful redbubble threads in the future. does anyone know how Redbubble compares to sites like Teespring, TeePublic, or Teefury?
I'm thinking of expanding my portfolio to other websites so I'd like to know if it would be worth it. I've joined other websites in the past and they weren't really worth my time

>>3527921
>I've never seen this message before - sorry!
>>3527241
>Not him, but I'm pretty sure that's there to filter out people trying to upload pornographic or other designs deemed "unsavory", so they have a review system. It should clear up for you, I hope <3
Im that anon - this message is when the picture getting deleted.
I got my pokemon-related desing removed yesterday.
I'll redesigned it slightly and uploaded again though - without any pokemon stuff.

This is kinda sad.
I had so many ideas about Overwatch characters. stickers/t-shirts. Now i can't make any of that?

Is Blizzard as protective as Nintendo?

>>3528549
I've heard that blizzard is pretty anal about things but I don't know for sure

>>3528743
>>3528549
according to /cgl/'s artist alley, blizzard and overwatch IPs are very high risk. there's been numerous takedowns within the last 12 months, with anything being tagged being removed. Unfortunately, I don't think you should do Overwatch merch anon.

>>3528827
>with anything being tagged being removed. Unfortunately, I don't think you should do Overwatch merch anon.
Thanks!
oh shit this is sad...i had like over 9000 ideas of cool or cute stickers or t-shirts.
Oh well..

More:

>>3528380
This is yet another topic that can be delved into with great detail - Should you only focus on Redbubble?

The answer is a resounding no. The beauty of these print on demand sites is that you retain all rights to your work, so you are free to use the exact same designs on multiple different platforms - each with their own pros, cons and audience. Some designs might sell better on one platform and worse on another. Let's break down your 3 examples, because they're all very different:

Teepublic - This is a solid option. I get around $50 from there, but I'm sure I could get a lot more if I bothered to upload more stuff. I know people who make great money from them. They've got good communication with their artists and are just a great alternative/supplement to RB.

Teefury - This is not like RB. Teefury is a 'shirt daily' site, in that they have an ongoing call for designs in which - if chosen - will sell your designs for a short period to their large audiences. Great for getting a good chunk of change in a quick burst. You still retain your rights even when selling with them. Other alternatives include Shirt.Punch! & The Yetee.

Teespring - I'm not exaggerating when I say Teespring is the enemy of print-on-demand artists. I believe there's actually a class action lawsuit in the works against them. Teespring is mostly used for Facebook shirt campaigns, in which people steal your successful designs, regurgitate them as their own via a Teespring shirt campaign, and then get people to buy it via Facebook ads. Teespring has a marketplace similar to RB, but it is a vile, toxic shithole. I could probably find you dozens of links to my own stolen work on Teespring. Art theft if a significant problem once you start gaining some traction and your work starts getting more eyes on it, and Teespring is one of the largest perpetrators of it.


>>3528549
Blizzard stuff is a no-go. I've personally had a Starcraft inspired design taken down on multiple platforms.

>>3528946
>Teepublic
okay why THESE pokemon designs are not being removed even those are literal pokemon?

>>3528380
there's a floating excel somewhere online with all the comparisons of print-on-demand sites like redbubble and society6. I stumbled upon it when I used to research on how RB works.

>>3529069
we gotta report them for copyright, mr krabbs
If we can't upload any fanart designs, then they shouldn't too

>>3529079
>we gotta report them for copyright, mr krabbs
nah im not the shitty kind of person.
Was just wondering if that site has different terms of copyright or something? And it's ok to post pokemon-related designs on it?

>>3529069
>>3529095
I cannot give you an explanation for this, nor can anyone really except the copyright holder. All that you can deduct from this is that either:
1.) The copyright holder hasn't done a purge of that site yet to issue mass takedowns, and isn't aware that these designs are online
2.) They know, and just don't care or don't want to go through the effort of issuing mass takedowns.

Sometimes your work will get taken down while others remain up. It's frustrating to see, but there's nothing you can do about it. I've personally drifted more and more away from pop culture designs, because I find they are the most likely to be stolen, and the most likely (by far) to get copyright complaints against them.

For what it's worth, I've had a Pokemon design on Redbubble, TeePublic and Etsy without any problems. The fact that they are 'literal pokemon' is irrelevant - as long as the likeness is there (either from literal drawings or more creative interpretations), there are grounds for a DMCA complaint to be issued.

>>3529079
Issuing a copyright complaint by way of a DMCA notice, and NOT being the actual copyright holder, is not only pointless but highly illegal. It's pointless because the user can see who issued the copyright complaint. It'll be obvious if it's real or not. If they see its a bogus complaint, they can contest it and issue a counter notice, in which your faux complaint is removed, the design goes back online, and you can escalate the case by taking them to court (which you won't because it was never a legitimate complaint to begin with). It is a dumb, petty, and risky thing to do. Don't do it.

>>3529069
>why THESE designs are not being removed
I had Rockstar games issue a copyright claim within 1 week on my fully original GTA style poster, meanwhile some guy is literally selling a png of the GTA V logo, with no modifications or anything and it's been up for months. There's absolutely no consistency sometimes.

>>3530136
Shits bananas

Today I have removed another artwork,
I have a similar one with a few differences that has not been removed,
I take it off to avoid other problems?
maybe they believe that it is the same recharged, I do not know.

>>3530713
This is unusual. Though if you have something removed, then you sure as shit shouldn't be uploading more stuff like it. My best guess is that because you're a new account, what you upload might be slightly more scrutinized? I don't know.

Do you feel comfortable posting the work here that was deleted? That might provide some insights.

I'm new to digital art and have a simple question that is a bit abstract. What resolution do you all make art in? If you want something to look crisp as a sticker, what canvas size do you work with digitally?

>>3531492
I think there's a minimun required resolution indicated in Redbubble if I remember. Check out their help section. Designs for Notebooks and bags usually requires a minimum of 2000+px resolution. For things like, blanket and scarf designs, they require much higher reso

>>3531530
thanks for the speedy reply. Lets say I just want an image to be a sticker, what is a good average working resolution for that? I dont think I would want it to ever be larger than 8.5x11 in any situation. I would probably want the sticker to be 3x5 inches or something around there.

>>3531545
https://help.redbubble.com/hc/en-us/articles/202270679#stationery
https://www.redbubble.com/people/byron/journal/16056584-rb-image-dimensions-and-formats

Stickers have assorted sizes. The smallest size requires it to be 600x800px as minimum and 2800x2800px to ensure the design is available on all 4 sticker sizes. Check the link above for the full dimension chart.
I'm not sure how it would compute in inches though. Maybe try to work on a larger canvas just to be sure?

>>3531566
Some other guy on here made some thread saying pictures should only be 1000x1000 so I'm wondering what your response is to that since 2800 is triple that.

When you set up a document do you tend to set it up by pixels then as opposed to inches?

Lastly if I set my document to X pixels by y, what setting do i put in the PPI section? Sorry for so many questions. It just is a really weird roadblock I'm at since its intangible.

>>3531574
>what your response is to that since 2800 is triple that.
Uploading 1000px designs are ok. That would mean Redbubble will only let you upload to the smaller sticker sizes and not the XL ones

>When you set up a document do you tend to set it up by pixels then as opposed to inches?
Yea My default drawing size is 2000x2000px. Inches always confuse me so I set my reso to pixel measurements

>if I set my document to X pixels by y, what setting do i put in the PPI section?
I don't usually pay attention to the PPI/DPI. My default is 140DPI because anything higher than that makes my PS and CSP run slower but I've read somewhere 300DPI is the recommended settings. Though Redbubble also mentioned in the link I gave above that "Please also note that DPI and PPI don’t have any effect on your final uploaded image."

>>3531594
okay thanks. I really appreciate you answering this stuff. The reason I'm so obsessed is I want my stickers to have a smooth crisp Black outline and not be pixelated.

If redbubble is trying to make sense of how "big" your work is, is it counting the unused pixels or is the final pixel count just the image itself and not the blank backround? I'm reading the links you sent btw these are really useful.

>>3531674
> is it counting the unused pixels or is the final pixel count just the image itself and not the blank backround?
I don't have any experience with stickers or transparent designs yet, sorry senpai. I used to do notebook, phone cases and bags. Other anons in this thread might be able to help you.

>I want my stickers to have a smooth crisp Black outline and not be pixelated.
I don't think there'll be any problem if you work on the same canvas/pixel size as what redbubble specified, since that's their recommended sizing anyway.
What they don't advise is when your finished design is originally just 1000px and their required px is more than that, but you decide to just resize it larger. That will definitely pixelate the whole design

>>3531696
Let me also add that, always work on a larger canvas, then just resize it to a smaller version later. Never resize to make it look bigger, that will always ruin the overall quality of your design.

Does Redbubble or any print-on-demand site have keychain and acrylic products like this >>3528845 ?

>>3531706
This looks fucking awesome.
Please tell me what are these dioramas? I keep seeing such things when they make a little scene with base and flat character with 2d print

>>3531777
I think they're called acrylic stands? I'd love to have my one for myself but usually these are made to be bulk orders I think.

Some people are really bold using official art and selling it as their own or using some art they found and editing it a little in photoshop then selling it.

>>3531706
maybe etsy?
>>3529841
I know RB doesn't give much info but have you built an email list yet or do you think is too much trouble? (I'm thinking more on building a "clothing brand" rather than just parody tees)

do you know if there's any risk using paypal+redbubble? I've heard people who do commission use invoices since if paypal sees suspicious activity they could freeze your account. also how much do you pay for taxes with all your merch income?

can you have multiple redbubble accounts with the same paypal email? (not doing anything illegal just for testing different art-styles)

More:

>>3531492
Design as high a resolution as you can. Smaller products like stickers and such are automatically sized down. I personally design around 4000x5500, and that works just fine for most products. 1000px x 1000px is not enough high resolution enough to be printed on a majority of products. Pixel dimensions are what matters - mid thousands are usually good. High thousand dimensions (8000+) are a bit overkill.

>>3531706
No print on demand shop can make these. There are plenty of sites that you can create your own and order them (keychains, pins, patches, etc.), but Redbubble and the other major sites don't offer them.

>>3532142
A few questions here (cool GIF btw!):

+ I think people here are confused about what Etsy is. Etsy is NOT a Print on Demand site that makes products for you. Etsy is simply a marketplace where you can list items and sell them to people online. Etsy plays no role in the fulfillment, shipping & customer service of your products.

+ I've personally never bothered to build an email list. My whole approach to this is to make the most passive income I can with the least amount of effort because I like to focus almost all my time on personal work and freelancing.

+ There's no risk of using paypal + Redbubble. People who get their accounts frozen for commissioned work are usually doing porn commissions or other poor quality freelance jobs with inexperienced and unprofessional clients who are more likely to cause trouble.

+ I can't really say what my taxes will be. This is my first year making a decent amount of money with my art & illustration (shooting for around $40-45k). I lump all my passive income into my other art incomes and just report that. I'm setting aside ~30% just in case, but in previous years I didn't really make that much so taxes weren't too bad.

+ I think you can have multiple accounts.

>>3532135
'Bold' isn't quite the word I'd use. More like thieving, lazy pieces of shit. Using official art or stealing the work of others is beyond pathetic.

>>3530136
did yours not look like shit? Maybe it looked to professional to them and they felt threatened lol. Maybe they see it in some strange way like, whatever stuff is going to be out there, its only going to be things made by their own artists. even if someone else steals it. fuck idk. i tried making sense of it.

bumpan.

Looks like the threads losing steam. Does anyone have any more questions about this? This will probably be the last time I go this in depth with explaining Redbubble (and other sites), so if there's anything else you wanted help on I'm happy to chime in. If not, RIP thread.

>>3533672
Im OP - i have shop opened for less of a week now.
To me its all just starting. i got all basic questions answered and now it needs to be experienced by myself.

Is less of a week shop that has 11 followers good?
I also have 19 sales but i dont count them because majority of those are my friends - not strangers or random people...
PS:

I also can't post often because for some reason CAPTCHA keeps just disappearing..

>>3533672
also thank you so much!

but i will keep thead bumped. because i want to share further experience or stuff that just happens.
Hope my captcha will not fail me...

>>3533774
I'm afraid I can't provide any insights as to what amount of followers or likes are good. I just checked and I have about 1080 followers with ~6600 favorites received. This is my first time ever looking at these figures in the 4 years I've been on Redbubble. My best guess is that it's just people going through and mass following people and liking work in an attempt to get the same in return, because they think it will improve their sales. Again - I've never once bothered with these figures and my sales have always been just fine. They might be totally meaningless.

That's great that you've got a few sales already! I think its smart of you to acknowledge that they came from family and friends rather than passive customers. I mentioned previously that this journey is going to be a marathon, not a sprint, so only time will tell if your designs are reaching the right people and resonating with them. I hope they do!

Also - fuck CAPTCHA. What a broken piece of junk.

>>3534438
One question my dude, should I have many designs ready before opening shop or is it just the same if I start with one and add more as time passes?

Hey, I have a question... an important one...

how about win rate? 20%>10%>5%???

>>3533774
>Install 4chanX
>Enable Noscript Captcha
it will take you less than 3 seconds on every captcha
>>3533672
>>3532291
what's some general advice you can give or some that you wish you knew earlier, here's some examples

-use 3 colors max
-make a statement relevant to a hobby or interest
-don't more than four words + simplified graphic
-dark t-shirts sell best, white t-shirts are very hard to sell
-price in the middle to not look suspicious ($5 profit)
-make sure the first word of your title is the most important word (don't write men or woman)
-get good at writing individual descriptions

>>3532291
Do "pro" clothing artists work on CMYK all the time? I think RB converts it from RGB right or do they have a different printing method and it doesnt matter?

>>3534438
>1080 followers
>6600 favorites
holy fuck anon If you're not larping you must make an absolute killing. how many designs have you put out over the years?
also everyone should post their followers and favorites received.
>64 favorites and 8 followers

More:

>>3534442
As soon as you have a design ready, there's no reason not to upload it. So if you have one now, feel free to upload it! You can add more as time goes on.

>>3534536
>how about win rate?
??

>>3534719
>what's some general advice you can give or some that you wish you knew earlier
I mentioned this earlier, but I figured I'd reiterate: Success on these sites (or in anything really) is more about making the RIGHT work rather than the BEST work. Pouring more time into a super complicated design does not necessarily mean it's going to sell any better than one that took 30 minutes to do. Another thing that I wish I knew was not to design things aimlessly, but to design things with a purpose. In other words - what niche or keyword can your design fit into? What would a customer search in the search bar to see your design?

>>3534735
I've always worked in RBG, and I don't think it matters too much. Unless you have a sample color print with RBG / CMYK codes on it, your colors will always be slightly different than whats on screen. All print on demand sites use DTG printing (direct to garment), which essentially works the same as a paper printer - you set up a shirt and the printer literally prints out the design (like it would on paper). This allows a full range of colors, from darks to whites. Screen printed shirts usually need to be designed with spot colors in mind, of which are often provided or the printer will match your colors to their closest inks that they have on hand. I worked in a tshirt print shop for 3 years and have a pretty good handle on how they're printed.

>>3534887
I feel like you missed the point of my comment >>3534438 . I was trying to illustrate how inconsequential followers and favorites are. Regarding your question - I've put out ~100-125 designs over the years, just casually doing so whenever I had the time in between other projects. I mentioned in several earlier post exactly how much I'm making with these sites.

>>3535217
pic related

I've uploaded 3 works so far, and after a week my first one has 4 views, the other two none. I have my email verified already so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong here.

>>3535359
Pic related are what I set my shirts at (the biggest seller).

>>3535972
This is normal, but they might never generate significant activity for a variety of reasons. The most likely being:

1.) Your designs are not easily categorized, and are generally hard to find. What do people search to find your designs? Are the keywords / tags in demand? Are they super vague and over-saturated? If you were a customer visiting Redbubble looking for something cool to buy, what do they need to do to see your work? Are you designing around subject matters, themes & niches that people actually want, or are you just designing stuff that you think looks cool?

2.) This is a bitter pill to swallow, but your work might not be very good. Either that, or it might not be right for a site like Redbubble. There is a huge disparity between the type of work your average /ic/ user is interested in and the type of work that people want out of these sites.

If you're comfortable with it, you could share some of them here and we share our thoughts.

>>3536060
Here you go, it's all anime stuff so I'm afraid Red Bubble is way oversaturated and mine just sinks underneath the search engine.
I chose these designs with different intents in mind,the one on the left is supposed to blend in with the background color and work with the product itself to create an effect. The one on the right is intended as a cool illustration that you can slap onto anything. The one on the middle I'm not expecting to sell well, I only made prints and stickers available since it's just a regular drawing and of course nobody's going to buy Christmas tat at this time of year. Kind of just threw it in for variety's sake.

>>3515618
>taking advantage of baby pseudo-comunist antifa-ggots
how is that ironic, capitalism is beautyful like that

>>3536154
A few thoughts:

>the one on the left is supposed to blend in with the background color and work with the product itself
From here on out, I highly recommend that you focus on work like this, and only like this. On /ic/, people are usually focused on making work that is constrained by perspective, composition, rectangular borders, etc. You don't have to worry about stuff like this when it comes to merch designs. I always thought of shirt designs are sort of having no traditional composition because they don't rely on borders - the design floats on a colored background which is the shirt. The Piccolo one works well for this too - they're two figures floating in space (which is perfect!) My only suggestion would be to avoid white. I think that design would work very well on black, which is well known (and statistically proven) to be the highest converting shirt color. The runner ups are Navy & Dark grey.

As for the subject matter - I think it's great that you have the names of characters in the titles. If someone was searching for Gurren Lagann, I think yours would definitely show up in the searches. I just looked and it looks like there are about 800 Gurren Lagann designs, which seems like a lot but is actually pretty normal. Over time, you might get a sale or two, which will push it up in the search and will give it more momentum, becoming more and more likely to generate sales.

It may be useful to load the various designs on social networks (page dedicated to the store) like instagram with links to the stores where to buy them?

>>3537014
I touched on this earlier in the thread.

I wouldn't recommend promoting your Redbubble listings on social media. If you're going to promote anything, you should promote products that give you the best margin. If you can't sell your own products & inventory, you can use a dropshipper like Printful (they're who I use) and a storefront (Etsy, Shopify, etc.) to sell them. You'll get much better margins this way.

For example, lets say you were going to promote a shirt you made, and it's selling for $25.00. If you promoted your Redbubble item, then you'd only make ~$5 from it. If you promote your own shirt, you could make ~$10 off that same $25.00 shirt. In other words, if you're going to promote something, you should cut out the middleman as much as possible and take as much profit as you can. Make sense?

bumpan

>tfw just learned about this
>kinda wanna get into it because my economic situation isn't the brighest and I kinda need to make money off art even if my fundies are nowhere near solid right now
>above all I'm not sure I am creative enough to make good designs
Still, good thread

If I want to sell original designs and have my own website, how do I go about that?

>>3539533
>kinda wanna get into it because my economic situation isn't the brighest
Building up a passive income with this can act as a solid financial foundation that covers a lot of your living expenses. However, it would not be wise to think of it as a solution to your 'economic situation', because it can take a long time to get the hang of it and start making any significant money with it.

> my fundies are nowhere near solid right now
That's totally fine. Success on a site like this relies on a different skill set than just raw fundies. An /ic/ idol like Ruan Jia would fall flat on his face on a site like Redbubble (assuming he did similar work but had no name recognition to help him). It's not about technical mastery and strong fundies - it's about designing things that people are interested in and that looks good on products. No one wants a fully rendered, digital painting of an attractive elvish princess on their shirts, notebooks, mugs, etc. People want relatively simple illustrations like >>3513250 or >>3515838 . Having a strong sense of appeal is much more important than raw fundies.

>>3539602
You have a few options.

1.) Use a print-on-demand site like Redbubble. They will fulfill all parts of the process (production, customer service, shipping, inventory, etc.) and you just collect royalties. It carries the lowest margins, but passive sales are the name of the game here. With a high volume of passive sales, you can collect a great passive monthly income from this (this is mostly what I do). Low risk, low effort, low reward.


2.) Use a drop shipper (I recommend Printful) and set up your own shop. A dropshipper will fulfill your orders and ship them out, but you do customer service and you relay the information to them so they can fulfill the order. Better margins than PoD sites. Do this in combination with a store, either Etsy (part of a larger marketplace) or a site like StoreEnvy, Shopify, Bigcartel, etc (your own standalone site). If you don't use Etsy, you'll have to rely entirely on driving your own traffic and sales which is extremely difficult to do. Still - you don't have to put anything on the line to get it started besides time (no or little money upfront). Low risk, medium effort, medium reward.

3.) Produce all your own products and do everything yourself, again using sites like Etsy, Shopify, Bigcartel, etc.) You'll have to put down time, money & effort to get it going (ie. an investment), and you'll have keep inventory and ship it all yourself. If you don't sell much, you could see a disastrous return on your investment. However, you get the best margins per sale and can make more money with less sales. If you have a means of driving regular sales (perhaps a strong online fanbase), then this is a great option. High risk, high effort, high reward.

>>3539940
Thanks. Looks like minimum effort is the way to go. I don't wanna deal with anything besides making the designs. And if I make original designs I don't have to worry about takedowns. I'm gonna create an original comic so if it's successful that's my primary way to make money and t-shirts and all that stuff is just a good way to sell something extra to fans

>>3539998
>I'm gonna create an original comic so if it's successful that's my primary way to make money

Good luck anon. This sounds very, very difficult to do.

Has anyone actually gone through with doing this after reading this thread? How's it going so far?

>>3542844
im very slowly finishing my first 8 shirts, they are all in a series based off search term guessing

>>3542844
>Has anyone actually gone through with doing this after reading this thread? How's it going so far?
yes - im OP and picrelated is my statistics
However most of those (22 sales) are friends. And one of them bought a shit ton of stickers. Stickers were less than a dollar with coupon. So each sticker was few cents.
But today and yesterday i sold 2 t-shirts

ALSO I CAN'T POST IN THIS THREAD BECAUSE CAPTCHA KEEPS DISAPPEARING
really fucking thinking of buying 4chan pass

>>3544035
>So each sticker was few cents.
I touched on this earlier, but you absolutely need to raise the margins on several products on Redbubble. For stickers, I personally do about 150% since they're so cheap. This nets you a buck or two for the cheapest sticker without being prohibitively expensive for customers.

Another way to look at it is this: It's easier to sell one sticker and make $2.00 in one go, than it is to sell 10 stickers and make $0.20 per sale.

>>3542844
I've started one but I don't have that many options open as of yet. Not just that, but so far I have made no sales, gotten no likes and no follows. I've been making work that I think is solid and that I enjoy and will be buying sometime when I get my wagecuck pay, but other then that, I guess my work doesn't really appeal to that large of an audience, although I really thought it would have. Kinda sucks but at least I'm having fun, right bros?

>>3531706
vograce can print those but they aren't print on demand. Check /cgl/'s Artist alley thread.

>>3545210
but did you advertise your shop enough?
I did everywhere - on tumblr and instagram and even normiebook.
I posted about shop 2 times so far. first-when i made it. second time when i drew stickers.
I will be doing that from time to time.
I also ordered some of my products so i can take cute hipster photos of them and put them everywhere

>>3545845
I did on my Tumblr and Twitter, where I have the vast majority of my followers since my insta is dead. I'm totally gonna be getting some of my own stuff though, hipster photos or not, I still think my stuff is cute and neat so I'll at least make it for me. I just think most of my audience seems temperamental, I have almost 600 followers and the most traffic on my tumblr, but I usually rake in sub 20 likes/comments/reblogs. I kinda got no starting audience but I figured I'd pick up more interest and fans with the content I put out

>>3544035
but the t-shirts only gets you a couple of dollars, i dont see how you can make money from this

>>3542844
I did my first designs when the hype is still strong for a certain fandom last year. It's a lot of trial/error and a ton of research before I uploaded my designs. Wish this thread existed before but more or less everything you need is mostly posted here

>>3546095
but im already making
And then again - having t-shirt designs AND stickers designs is better thnan having only t-shirts designs. Not to mention how popular stickers are these days.

>>3545210
If you're comfortable with it, you can share some designs and we can see for ourselves. The skill in making work that appeals to a large audience is - IMO - criminally underrated on /ic/. It is a lot harder to do than it looks. Again - the best advice I can give in regards to designing is to really understand that there is a big discrepancy between a drawing that looks nice on the internet, and a drawing that works well on apparel. I really recommend downloading some nice mockups and regularly mocking up your design as you work on it - it will give you a much better idea of how it would look in person.

>>3545845
I don't know if you read the rest of the thread, but I mentioned earlier that if you're going to be advertising stuff all by yourself, then it might be smarter to advertise products that net you more money than Redbubble can give you. Advertising on social media is difficult to do, so when you are able to make a sale from your own promotions, you should try and get the most money you can from it.

For example - if you're going to be promoting your goodies, then I highly recommend looking into opening an Etsy store, and using Printful as your dropship fulfilmment. Etsy hosts the store, Printful prints & ships the products. Once its all set up, all you have to do is copy/paste the shipping & order info from Etsy into Printful, and they take it from there. A $23 shirt with $3.50 shipping will net you $10 per sale this way, while Redbubble would payout less than $5 for the same price.

>>3546095
>but the t-shirts only gets you a couple of dollars, i dont see how you can make money from this
It nets you a couple bucks - correct. But if you're making a few sales a day, then it adds up quickly. At ~$5 a sale, if you make 5 of those a day (on average), that's about $750/month. That's completely passive AND just from one site - you can sell your designs on multiple sites to get multiple passive monthly revenues from a variety of different sources.

>>3546683
>It is a lot harder to do than it looks
you are absolutely correct. when I first started I thought it would be easy, but it's actually a huge challenge to get a hot item that sells regularly.

Whats the difference between redbubble and society 6? Also whats threadless?

>>3547880
society6 is for people who are popular or the ones that already have a good following and look for a more professional print on demand website (although there's a few options like represent and bigcartel), threadless was one of the best sites for tshirts long ago a few of some now 'famous' illustratators like ollymoss started their career on there, you'll upload a design and other people will rate it, if your design get choosen then they will print it and you'll get some royalties but its not very recommended now a days for lots of reasons. the best ones are merchbyamazon (hard to get in) and redbubble.
https://www.michaelessek.com/

Fuck this site, just used it made a Tee and was suppsed to be delivered today something gone wrong in post, now im worried this whole thread is.a scam or some shit

>>3548066
hahaha we got him boys, thread is over.

>>3548276
fuck you jman they said it would be delivered today and im still waiting and on the DPD site they say they are holding it but its suspiscious because the redbubble site only said in production so how the fuck can it be at the DPD depot already?

>>3548276
are you being serious right now?

>>3549297
lol of course not
I had legit buyers message me and thanking me that they got their RB item

>>3549395
ive issued a refund, if anyone here is from uk, NEVER EVER use this site because they deliver through DPD and they pretend to deliver to your house and then say you wernt home, 2 times ive been home all day waiting for my tees and these fuckers claimed they tried to deliver and i wasnt in, i was literally home waiting for these guys and they never turned up on both days, never use this site

>>3511268
>mfw someone stole my original artwork and put it on redbubble without changing anything
Time to go to the shadow realm faggot

>>3549464
>NEVER EVER use this site because they deliver through DPD
Looks like this thread was a success, because we managed to trick you.

Seriously though, DPD is not the only one who does this shit and UK is not the only country affected.
For whatever reason retarded couriers do this shit all the time.
Although its good to raise some hell, even contact DPD and inform them they have a faggot like this.

In my case DPD courier was the nicest guy ever who would deliver my vidya to me with a smile, wait to fill the form in case something was damaged and would never try to show his dissatisfaction with anything.

>>3549558
>Looks like this thread was a success, because we managed to trick you.
I cant tell if serious, look if youre serious how badly am i effected and do i need to worry? i just wanted to make some nice tee's for myself not get fucked over finacially

>>3549576
I am not sure how serious are you but just in case, Red Bubble is a legit website, whatever issues you experience is not an indicative that someone tries to fuck you over.
Never used RB but it does have a wiki page so, how scammy can it be?

>the shipping company fucked up so the unrelated store is shit
Kek
The only question I think hasn't been asked? For the helpful Anon here, you use redbubble as a side gig. Do you think you've more or less maxed out it's potential or do you think if you do it full time and make designs more often, you'd make a good chunk more?

>>3550549
>Do you think you've more or less maxed out it's potential or do you think if you do it full time and make designs more often, you'd make a good chunk more?

This is a really good question. I'd argue the answer is yes. I think I currently have around ~125-150 designs total. What if I had 500? 2000? 5000? I'd likely be making much more.

Of course, there's not a simple linear relationship between more designs = more money. You have to take into account the subject matter of the shirt and the overall sense of appeal. If you have nothing but non-descript, hard to categorize designs, then you'll struggle to make sales. If your designs just don't look very good and are generally failing to connect with people, then you'll struggle to make sales. There's a real balance to be made between quality & quantity. Spending hours on a design does not necessarily mean it will sell any better than one that took 45 minutes. Idea, style & execution hold much more weight that raw fundamental skills.

If you have a good sense of those two things (niches & appeal), then your only real bottlenecks are
1.) How many good keywords have you researched or thought about to design around?
2.) How much time do you have?
When I have the time, I do what I can. It's a bit of a numbers game. I'd say out of my Redbubble designs, about 10% of them are the real money earners. You just gotta keep designing until you get something that really sticks. Most designs fall flat, and that's to be expected. I work on new designs when I'm not working on freelance projects or personal work.

One of the reasons I'm hesitant to really do this full time is because my ultimate goal is to work in freelance illustration, which I've been extremely fortunate to have achieved. In other words, the passive income from shirt sites is nice, but who knows how things will be in 5 years. I'd rather focus on investing time into building and nurturing a lifelong illustration career, which takes priority over this.

>>3548066
>something gone wrong in post
>Fuck this site
Why are people on /ic/ just so, so stupid?

>>3551875
Stop scamming him!

is there a way to download this thread to my computer?

>>3553129
Ctrl + s.

Do new users/shops get more recognition like at society6?

>>3546683
Sorry for not responding sooner- this thread seems to like to slip through the cracks and I thought it died

this is the sort of stuff I'm making and having fun doing. Sort of horror designs mashed up with cute things. I'll be looking into more mockups and really analyzing the shirts I see around me more and more

any feedback would really be deeply appreciated

>>3553133
This is already answered in one of the first responses to the thread

>>3553840
very cute! Just a few questions: where are you going to put this? (shirt, notebook, sticker, bag etc?) I suggest using thicker outlines so it easily "pops" out when people wear it. If you're planning on putting this on a bag/clothing, you need to limit your next designs in only 2-4 colors. Studying color theory and looking through the top shirt entries can be helpful too

>>3553840
that's a kawaii eldritch horror anon.

>>3553840
A few notes:

+ >>3554199 touched on this and I agree - I think the design could really benefit from thicker lines. I think a good rule of thumb is to - again - get some mockups, mock it up, and zoom out a little. Does the design still read okay if viewed at a distance? I think your current linework might just be a wee bit too delicate and its hard to understand the what it is at a glance.

+ I personally think the design might fare better without the text, but it could go either way. You sort of need to ask yourself - does this design need text? If it does, that's totally fine (I use a lot of text), but if its not totally necessary, then it might be best to omit it.

+ Regarding color - these products are printed in a full color range on all products, meaning that you can have as many color shifts and gradients as you want. However, I'd still argue that it's important to simplify your colors, for 2 reasons:

1.) For the most part, simpler color schemes and flatter, more graphic colors work better on apparel.

2.) Gradients and subtle color shifts can cause issues when printing on apparel (it's usually accurate on other products). For example, the yellow tones around his face could print way, way more yellow and darker than you intended. Another example would be that his right leg is much more green than his left - it seems like a subtle difference on a screen but when printed, it could really be noticeable and quite jarring.

I'm not saying that you need to limit yourself to 2-4 colors (though that's what I usually do) - but rather that it might be best to ditch the soft, subtle gradients and color shifts in favor of flatter, more consistent colors.

Hope that helps! I attached some mockups of the original plus thicker lines and no text variants.

>>3553840
A few notes:

+++ >>3554199 touched on this and I agree - I think the design could really benefit from thicker lines. I think a good rule of thumb is to - again - get some mockups, mock it up, and zoom out a little. Does the design still read okay if viewed at a distance? I think your current linework might just be a wee bit too delicate and its hard to understand the what it is at a glance.

+++ I personally think the design might fare better without the text, but it could go either way. You sort of need to ask yourself - does this design need text? If it does, that's totally fine (I use a lot of text), but if its not totally necessary, then it might be best to omit it.

+++ Regarding color - these products are printed in a full color range on all products, meaning that you can have as many color shifts and gradients as you want. However, I'd still argue that it's important to simplify your colors, for 2 reasons:

1.) For the most part, simpler color schemes and flatter, more graphic colors work better on apparel.

2.) Gradients and subtle color shifts can cause issues when printing on apparel (it's usually accurate on other products). For example, the yellow tones around his face could print way, way more yellow and darker than you intended. Another example would be that his right leg is much more green than his left - it seems like a subtle difference on a screen but when printed, it could really be noticeable and quite jarring.

I'm not saying that you need to limit yourself to 2-4 colors (though that's what I usually do) - but rather that it might be best to ditch the soft, subtle gradients and color shifts in favor of flatter, more consistent colors.

Hope that helps! I attached some mockups of the original plus thicker lines and no text variants.

>>3554199
>>3554265
>>3554740
Thanks for all the feedback guys! it's nice to know people like him

I do have one up there without text since I thought that there were a few things where It worked better with text (a shirt, maybe) and where it works best without, like a sticker.

This is really where I'm lacking as a designer; there a few things like a blue overlay going down the right side, and the yellow-y blush he has going across his face read much better as just a painting, but not too great as a design/merchandise. not only that but I never even took readability from a distance into account Since I was just focused on making a big cute dumbo, I overlooked something that seems like total sense with hindsight. Thank you again, guys! As I move forward with even more horror cute hybrids I'll keep this in mind, and maybe sometime I will retroactively go back and edit him to fit in the new scheme

here's another pic of him, keeping this thread alive. you all rock!

>>3554960
Remove or make highlights more obvious. Remove background blue color, potentially replace with a more erratic complimentary splash. Thicken lines more.

>>3554960
Happy to help!

> read much better as just a painting, but not too great as a design/merchandise
This is one of the points I've been trying to drive home in this thread when talking about Redbubble and merch designs in general, and one of the reasons designing with a mock-up is so important (in my opinion). Super glad to hear that some of these insights might have 'clicked' with you!

I have a question for the very nice successful Red Bubble-Anon if they're still around.

I've been thinking about a foray into selling my illustrations for a while now, but from what I've seen the most successful designs tend to be pun illustrations, drawings centered around a play on words, t-shirt fodder like that.

Picture related is a wip, but it's the kind of stuff I usually like to draw. Illustrations of cute or interesting characters posing or engaging in various scenarios. I don't know that if what I draw is very commercial though, or whether anybody would interested in owning items with my drawings on them. What do you personally think? Could I be successful drawing stylised stuff like this?

>>3556646
Not the RB anon but you should check out Loish' shop might be helpful

>>3556664
Oh I didn't know she even had a shop. I'd caution myself against comparing myself to her though, I'm nowhere near her level.

>>3511268
Need help from super knowlege anon!
I ordered my own sticker and...the picture supposed to be clear-yellow color.
But all of yellow color has this weird red grain over it...
Why?
Im so confused and...wow...i m not sure what to do.
Why is there even such reddish grain over yellow?

>>3557340
Wow... i watched some wideos and there are people that judge Red Bubble sticker quality
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h6enZqAdFw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JJ2u0Jh-fw&t=571s


saying that the quality is terrible. that they are fuzzy and grainy...just like mine

>>3557340
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDA77ap_SAo

Red Bubble Anon come baaaaack.

Are there any anons here with existing redbubble accounts? Can you guys post your shops here? I'd love to see them

>>3557476
>posting your stuff on 4chan
this thread exist for advices and experience share. You can go to redbubble and see literally any shop which will make the same result as anon's shop would do.

Don't encourage people to post their things in 4chan so some occasional dangerous retard can see it.

>>3556646
>from what I've seen the most successful designs tend to be pun illustrations, drawings centered around a play on words, t-shirt fodder like that.

This is a really good observation to make, and the type of keen eye that I think is critical to have. I like to think of there as being different types of t shirt designs. For example:
>edgy/horror
>humorous
>puns / play on words
>cutesy / kawaii
>manga / anime
>minimalist
>artsy
>retro / vintage
>etc.

I think these can be thought of as stylistic vehicles that deliver the purpose of the design. In other words, these approaches are a form of HOW you will design a subject matter - not WHAT that subject matter is. For example, lets say you wanted to make a golfing design. You could make a golf pun shirt, a minimlast golf shirt, a cutesy golf shirt, a funny one, etc. etc. >>3553840 & >>3554960 is a great example - they drew a cute version of C'Thulu. You could alternatively make a funny C'Thulu drawing, a C'thulu pun (which they simultaneously did), a minimalist one, etc.

This relates to your next question - You're wondering if people would be interested in buying stuff with that style. It's hard to say - they might be. What 'type' of style is this? It's more related to manga / cutesy / slightly erotic. Cutesy stuff is always popular, but manga less so, and erotic even less (based on my observations).

Part of the issue is that it's hard to know exactly what you're able to do with your own style. In other words, does this whole style just revolve around drawings of sexy women? Can you apply this style to other subject matters? A car? A dog? A tree? A tank? The more limited the style, the more narrow the subject matter can really be. Some people can thrive with a limited style & subject, but its hard to know if work like yours would thrive. I guess it boils down to what you do with it, rather than the style it self. I think the crits from >>3554740 regarding the line weight and colors could help a lot.

>>3557674
Thank you for input. I'll try and internalise these suggestions and apply them as appropriate, and if I'm lucky maybe I can locate a niche m

>>3557358
>>3557359
>>3557340
I had no idea the stickers were so shit. I'm sure there are better places to get stickers made of your own work if you want stickers.

I have the problem of high resolution, to make perfect lines I have to review them pixel by pixel.

is it just my problem? how do you do?

This thread is fantastic. Do you guys separate your freelance persona/account from your RB account? Seeing as freelancing has the potential to get you professional tier jobs and whatnot I was thinking that perhaps it's not a good idea to link that to IP infrigement and whatnot.

>>3559443
Relax

>>3559443
I don't understand your issue. Are you saying you're getting wobbly lines despite working in a high resolution? Sounds like an issue with your tablet / pen.

>>3559480
>s separate your freelance persona/account from your RB account
What 'freelance personal account' are you referring to? A secondary Redbubble account for your personal freelance work? Redbubble is not a
good site to hosting your freelance illustration portfolio. I have my own portfolio site (I use Squarespace) - the shop on it links to my Etsy store.

>I was thinking that perhaps it's not a good idea to link that to IP infrigement and whatnot.
I can promise you with the utmost certainty that this is not an issue. People do not care, and they have no reason to.

Just thought I’d add to this golden thread and also bump it for others who missed it.

My personal experience with red bubble is that I would post warm up sketches that I worked to finish up occasionally. One of them became a meme in a Facebook community I was part of organically and my sales went through the roof.
At one point I was making a consistent $170 a month off one design at its height I grossed $290 in one month off one design. It’s been almost 3 years and sales have trickled down a bit but I still make around $70 off a meme that took me like 5 hours to draw.. since then I’ve had big plans for redbubble. I made a bunch of designs that parodied we’ll know property’s but most were taken down. No my plan. Is to make evergreen designs to avoid the headache and time sink of leeching off well known prope with the. Potential of them being deleted..

They say I see it is this should be the goal for every artist to eventually have the bulk of your monthly finances covered by passive income. The idea of being a work horse for some board game company only to make a couple grand ONCE is the most idiotic thing ever. I made a shitty meme drawing normies connected with, and over time that drawing has brought me more money than any commissioned dragon goblin elf I’ve ever drawn.

My advice to anyone is to find what you love that’s evergreen and do a warm up sketch of a T-shirt every day. At the end of the week choose the ones you like and complete to finish the next week. Rinse and repeat every 2 weeks.

I’m currently trying to crack the phone case game on redbubble since you keep 100% of the margin from phone case sells. Get out there and draw shit you’d want to wear.

Sorry for the spelling mistakes.on mobile

>>3560873
this is an example of the lines.

>>3561179
Wait you keep all the margin on phone cases? Why would they not want to profit off it?
>>3561247
Sounds like you want to move to vector art

>>3561247
I suggest you leave it alone, it's a huge waste of time. Professionals don't worry about it especially when they have a lot to draw. Your audience will not notice the difference.

>>3561247
Yeah, this is the kind of perfectionism that will eventually destroy any love for what you create.

>>3561249
>>3561247
I would just like to have the best result once printed.

Sorry my mistake you don’t get all the margin from iPhone cases but it’s the biggest margin at $5 without having to raise the price of the product past what’s expected.

“I would just like to have the best result once printed”

Don’t worry about that shit. Your reputation doesn’t rest on these T-shirts. This isn’t some boutique high quality shop. This type of perfectionist attitude will burn you out quickly. I learned that fast after spending hours on a painted shirt design just for it to fall flat on its face. I think redbubble has printing covered at this point. Just focus on making something people can relate to and want to wear

>>3561255
Just try looking at vector or pseudo vector like gimp and Sai have. You can move the lines and adjust thickness after you draw them, or place the points first

>>3561253
>>3561254
>>3561278
>>3561317

I know I'm obsessed with perfectionism I'm trying to improve and be a little less perfectionist.
Surely your advice is useful as a reminder for the present and the future.

I will also take a look at the vector art I have never tried because I have always seen as slow and not immediate more technical than artistic, maybe I will change my mind by trying it.

Thank you all for the answers.

>>3561278
>This type of perfectionist attitude will burn you out quickly.
This was a pivotal realization for me, so I'm glad to see someone else also say it. I too also used to spend a lot of time of my designs, only to watch them fall on their face and go nowhere. More time =/= a better design. It's frustrating to see a design you poured a lot of time into fail and it can crush your spirits. Alternatively, if you're spitting designs out within an hour, then you don't feel as bad when they don't take off.

Part of that was starting to not fret about stuff like >>3561247 (which as many people said - if you want perfectionism, just use a vector program). In fact, I found that the more 'imperfect' my designs were, the better they sold. In other words, I found a more simple, loose, handdrawn style to be more appealing to buyers than ultra-sharp, 'perfect' designs. I guess people find a hand-drawn, more 'hipstery' design more relate-able than some cold hard perfect vector art.

>>3561179
>I made a shitty meme drawing normies connected with, and over time that drawing has brought me more money than any commissioned dragon goblin elf I’ve ever drawn.
I know that feeling. My best performing design took me about an hour to draw up, and it just took off and has since netted me almost $6000 in the past year from Redbubble + other sites. You really never know when you're gonna strike gold like that!

>>3561273
I touched on this earlier in the thread, but it's wise to increase of the margins on several items, including apparel and stickers. Also - I could never advise focusing on making a design for a single product in mind (like you're thinking about doing with 'cracking the phone case game'), but instead focus on making a design that works well on any product.

>>3562325
Morning senpai.

I've had a store since 2017 and never really knew what to upload to it until I read your advice here. I'm going to try and upload at least a drawing every day and see what happens.

>>3562325
Thank you, gentle giant

>>3561440
you don't start directly on the vector software since they're slow as fuck, what you usually do is first make a sketch on paper, scan it or take a good pic of it, then on photoshop you'll 'ink' it and then auto-trace it on adobe illustrator toto clean it up although is works well for a bold cartoonish artstyle, here's the process of a guy who has lots of experience making shirts.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r48SbFnA_xU

>>3562325
do you make specific work for holidays like halloween or christmas?

>>3563503
>do you make specific work for holidays like halloween or christmas?
Not particularly - at least not in the sense that I'd make a holiday themed design. Everybody does that, and its extremely difficult to stand out. What I do try to do is to get as many new designs online by the beginning of November, since the Christmas rush is just insane. November & December are some real big paydays.

>>3563991
Is having a big portfolio by november good enough or is there benefit of dumping a large amount of new content? Does it get priority in searches?

>>3564013
Having a large portfolio by itself is fine. I don't think you get any boost from uploading lots at one time, but I honestly could be wrong. I always found the more active I was with uploading work, the more steady sales were.

This thread needs to become a general here.

>>3565013
For sure. I'd love to see the progress of peoples work over time in regards to merch stuff like this.

How the hell do I take down an image someone stole from me? He's making more money off my art than I am, for fucks sake.

new to redbubble

i have 10+ designs uploaded, and they're all made public, but none of them are showing up when i click on 'shop'.

what the fuck

>>3566478
This has been discussed multiple times in the thread. You can report the stolen work to Redbubble and have them taken down. It's pretty easy to do - I'm sure you'll be able to find the links yourself.

>>3566600
Did you ever sort this out? No idea whats going on here or why they wouldn't show up.

hey i want to sell execusively skull designs , would that be viable

Hey so, completely new to RB, what rights to my artwork do they have exactly? I've heard that the amount of money you earn just isn't worth it and I've seen several artists jump ship from RB. Is it because they weren't pandering?

If RB weren't around, what other sites would you suggest that are similar?

>I have no money to go get my own stock made and shipped to me
>Should I just start with RB?
>If I later decided to jump ship, they wouldn't go and claim my designs right?
>Should I avoid posting original work I'm actually proud of?

Sorry for all the questions. I've always wanted to sell my designs, but I've always been concerned that some site would try and claim my works as their own or I wouldn't get good pay even if my sales were decent. Thank you everyone for your time!

>>3567380
Have you read the thread yet? All of your questions have been answered already. In fact, I think most questions you could possibly have have been answered - this thread is very thorough.

Redbubble (and most PoD sites) are non exclusive - your work is always your own. This is on their FAQ.

As mentioned earlier, you can set your own margins. I personally bump mine up a bit on several items. If you want higher margins on your products, there are other options you can use that have been discussed.

There's no reason to avoid posting original work that you're proud of. Skulls are always a cool aesthetic that work well on shirts and stuff. Though to only do skulls exclusively sort of limits you in regards to what niches and topics you can design around.

>>3566474
>>3565013
im OP trying to get through captcha-hope this will work

Picrelated is my result for month. i created this thread when i created an account
I got paid today and i got 33$.

BUT i think this is just some novice luck. lots of people bought stickers and some of them are my friends.
i guess next month will be not so profit-driven because those friends wont buy from me again because they already did-to support.

However im optimistic and will be filling my store with new stuff.
this thread is awesome - THANK YOU EVERYBODY!!!

>>3567541
Oof I did just barely skim the thread. I should have done a proper read though, sorry mate. Thank you for indulging and helping me out though! I really do appreciate it. I'll be reading through the thread thoroughly this time lol.
Thank you again.

Anons 3 years on Redbubble with 2.2k designs uploaded and these are my learnings. Pic related

find a few niches
throw up serious volume
Be patient
enjoy what you are doing.
avoid copyright infringing work.
spam social media
accept it wont make you rich

>>3568040
>accept it wont make you rich
That's rent money I'd never have to worry about again so it's more than enough.

>>3568040
3k is that it

also i just bought and made some designs for tshirts, its fucking rubbish, the tshirt quality is pathetic and i even tried a premium tshirt thought it was going to be thick they are very flimsy material, not relly impressed, spreadshirt is better imo

>>3568022
No worries - happy to help!

>>3567569
Big congrats anon! That's a great start for someone who has just jumping into stuff like this for the first time. Seriously - many people struggle to even just make that first sale.

>>3568040
I gotta be blunt - these numbers are atrocious. With 2,200 designs you should be pulling in way, way more money. To contrast - pic related are my earnings from the past year with only 120 designs online. I can't imagine the amount of time & effort that has gone into creating over two thousand designs only to see such little return on them. Seriously - 2,200 is so, so many. What happened? Why are so many of your designs falling flat on their face?

There are a few red flags in the tips you shared that signal to me that you're approaching this extremely inefficiently:

>find a few niches
>throw up serious volume
You've got this backwards. It should be:
>find a wide variety of different niches
>throw up 1 or 2 designs per niche
You should be casting a wide net and seeing what sticks, instead of doubling down on a few niches that are limited in their reach. If you find a niche / keyword that sells well, you should make more designs for it, but for the most part you should be diversifying the appeal of your designs as much as possible.

>spam social media
This is not required at all and is likely a huge waste of your time. The time you spend 'spamming social media' is better spent either researching new & better keywords & niches, or creating new designs.

>accept it wont make you rich
Many, many people make a decent income off stuff like this with much less effort than you've seemingly put into it.

>>3568573
I've heard mixed things about their quality, and that some products are better than others. To be perfectly honest, I couldn't really care less as long as people keep buying stuff. The quality control is Redbubbles problem, not ours.

>>3518197
>>3518345

Pretty cheeky of Fairly, considering his own swipes.

Question if item get removed via IP strike, do you need to forfeit all the move you've earned or can you keep it?

>>3569244
Thankfully you keep whatever you made. A DMCA strike is not necessarily a set in stone verdict - you can definitely contest it with the site if you want. It would be a load of horse shit if you lost all your earnings somehow because some scumbag filed a false claim against you.

>upload stuff today
>get first follower
>0 to 5 views on my old designs
>account is like a year old
I won't give up but things look grim

>>3565013
If it becomes general, sadly it will also become a shitpost place.

>>3568776
>700 a month
fuck anon once I made that much and I couldn't believe it. Unfortunately it dropped off pretty quick the month after that. ever since I've been extremely motivated to try hit those numbers again.
I definitely agree with diversifying too. Sometimes I think a design will be huge but then it gets zero views, while another time some random crap up I put sells decently. imo the hardest part is coming up with fresh ideas

>>3569996
>imo the hardest part is coming up with fresh ideas
For sure. It is difficult and frustrating. Though it's a little easier when you use keyword tools to help come up with topics to design around instead of blindly guessing.

>>3569708
This. I just see a lot of the same posts asking for updates, people spamming links to their own hoping to advertise to other poor anons, and "How 2 X" that is already in the OP FAQ.

This is still wip, but do you think designs like this could be successful on a site like Red Bubble?

>>3571565
>do you think designs like this could be successful
Overall I'd say no, for the exact same reasons as >>3556646 (with thorough reasons given here >>3557674 ) .

You've really got to put yourself in other peoples shoes - who is this design for? Do people really want to buy something like this for their shirts, phone cases, etc. and wear it in public? Some might, but it has a very narrow appeal. As stated here >>3557674 - Cutesy stuff is always popular, but manga less so, and erotic even less. This is definitely an erotic design, even though there's no explicit nudity.

The issue with erotic work is that it's just weird to wear on a shirt. The type of person who would have erotic work on a shirt just has a profound lack of self awareness, similar to pic related. It's weird, and not in a quirky, hip & funny way but in a way that makes others uncomfortable. There's not really a passive market for this type of work on sites like Redbubble.

Please remember that this is just an opinion and that I could be wrong, though this is my best assessment based on many years of experience.

>>3572348
>this is definitely an erotic design
I can appreciate that you took the time to respond to me and understand your points, but how on earth is a b&w elf girl in seifuku with a large ice cream melting down her head an erotic design? How is any aspect of this erotic to you?

>>3572348
any opinion on my stuff? I only have two so far buti have mountains of work i can use.
https://www.redbubble.com/people/roflchopta?asc=u

>>3572413
not that anon but the pose with a low cut skirt and knee-high socks along with slight blushing just evokes anime school girl eroticism to me

>>3572348
>>3572413
>>3572438

Also agree that this is erotic. I would have a tough time seeing someone wear something like this in public and not think they are kinda weird.

>>3572438
>>3572442
Eh. I mean, I want to argue, but maybe it's just because I'm female and we're looking at it from separate contextual perspectives. I just like to draw cute, weird things and don't really ascribe any particular meaning to anything, but maybe that's my problem.


I appreciate the feedback anyway. I thought there might be a market of people who liked cute, weird things too, but maybe I'm just not cut out for commercial sales.

>>3572559
No ones saying theirs any problem with your style. Its honestly just the pose, the concept can be used successfully with little tweak.

>>3572561
Aha really? I just used a pose from the Super Pose Book Nude as a ref.

>>3572413
>>3572559
As others pointed out - it definitely comes across as erotic. The pose & outfit are - IMO - totally fine and not overtly sexual. It's the melting ice cream and the blushing that resembles a giant bukkake load of jizz - thats the thing that reads as erotic. Similar to >>3556646 - where It's the 'gaping' open mouth with the saliva that resembles jizz & cumshots. There's nothing wrong with sexy & attractive, but its these metaphorical innuendos that push them over the edge towards being erotic.

>I thought there might be a market of people who liked cute, weird things
There totally is! I really don't think you need to necessarily give up by any means just because we thought that one particular illustration was erotic. You seem like a skilled artist and none of my crits were meant to be bring you down - I hope they didn't!

>>3572431
I took a look and there's really just not a lot to go off.

+ Monoke design - I highly recommend designing around a more centered composition. Having two columns of imagery (figure + text) separated by such empty space really doesn't work too well on apparel. I personally don't quite 'get it' either. Is there a particular reason she looks so wonky? If its supposed to look like traditional japanese art, then I think that look needs to be pushed much, much further - maybe more like pic related (mario kart parody in a traditional japanese style). I also recommend avoiding a white background color for your products - you can easily choose a color when uploading your .PNG.

+ Nismo design - I think this works just fine on all sorts of products, and looks solid on a shirt. However - you absolutely cannot use the NISMO logo like you have used. It also looks like you simply traced the blueprints found was Google images when you search '370z Nismo Blueprint'. I think the look & feel of it is fine and it has a clear audience / niche in mind, but it risks being taken down.

>>3572624
Nah it didn't put me down. I was surprised at first because I didn't really understand the erotic perspective, but I get it now. I really appreciate the feedback and recognise how valuable it is. Nobody can make it on their own steam.

>it's the melting ice cream and the blushing that resembles a giant bukkake load of jizz
Yeah, I didn't see that before. Now I can't unsee lol

>>3572431
I actually have some small criticism. I speak and write Japanese for my job, and whilst script was never my strongest area at school, the way you've written mononoke hime here is actually somewhat illegible at first glance. How you've written the character for woman in hime ( 女 ) actually resembles the se hiragana ( せ ), whereas the の's and the け look kind of weird too.

Here's a short 34 second video that'll teach you the stroke order for hime and will show you how to write it more authentically.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKjtHqYilH4

Attached is how I'd personally write mononoke hime, but obviously my own script is a lot more modern (and non-native), and I'm not using a but I just wanted to give you an idea of how it should look.

By the way, in Japanese calligraphy the brush is called fude, and the ink sumi. If you use the terms in Google you should be able to find an appropriate brush for whatever software you use. Hope this helps.

>>3572624
>>3572649

Ty ill keep all of this in mind make adjustments !

>>3572622
Honestly the way you exaggerated the pose with the foreshortening like we’re about to look up her skirt is what made me think it was too lewd also. It looks like a pose intended to look sexually appealing, idk. Not even getting into any of that freudian dripping liquids down female body = sex stuff
>>3572431
If you do Japanese writing, try to look up the brush stroke order of each kana. Something just seems off about it as a prior weeb and it’s not aesthetically pleasing. Oh wait fuck I was beaten to it.

hey OP thanks for the thread

is $250 a month an achievable amount for my first 3 months? also i want to target the "skull"/rock designs audience with skeletons and shit, do you think it is wise to do so?

>>3573543
Happy to help!

>is $250 a month an achievable amount for my first 3 months?
It totally is, but it hinges on a few things:
1.) Your overall sense of appeal - are you making things that other people will enjoy? Are you making work that is appropriate for wearing on apparel, or other products? Do you have a versatile style that allows you to draw all sorts of different subject matters?
2.) Are you designing around topics and themes that have a specific audience in mind, or are you just randomly making stuff?
3.) How many designs do you have ready to go? If you only have a handful of designs, you might struggle to make sales. A majority of your designs are likely to flop.
4.) Are ya feelin' lucky? Your work might get featured and give you a solid boost in sales numbers.

>also i want to target the "skull"/rock designs audience with skeletons and shit, do you think it is wise to do so?
Sure - that is ONE particular keyword / niche to design around. If your whole plan is to only do skeletons & skulls, then you might struggle to make a lot of passive sales. To develop a steady, reliable stream of sales, you have to be casting a wider net. If you're doing nothing but generic, cool looking skulls, they might not generate much. However, if you can figure out a way to tie in your skulls to different niches, then you can really expand the reach of your work. For example, you could make skulls designs based on popular video game characters. You'll then be tapping into the audience of different game fanbases while simultaneously making skulls. Does that make sense? In other words, fill in the blank with a niche / keyword: "_______ skull". Some examples could be "mario skull", "wolf skull", "nature/tree skull", "pizza skull", etc. etc.

Hope that makes sense!

>>3573625
cheers anon, i'll check back after a month and tell you how it goes if you will still be around.

bumpan

Do I need to fill in all the 50 tags to maximize search efficiency of my work?

>>3574543
Here's what I do: I have a text document with a bunch of tag phrases ready to go. Here they are:

keyword, keyword shirt, keyword t shirt, keyword tshirt, keyword sweater, keyword hoodie, keyword coffee mug, keyword poster, keyword print, keyword art print, keyword sticker, keyword stickers, cool keyword shirt, funny keyword shirt, keyword phone case, keyword case, keyword designs,

I then use ctrl+F to 'Find & Replace' the word 'Keyword' with the niche / keyword thats most relevant to the design. There's 17 here, and I do that twice. That's 34 tags ready to go. I then fill out the rest with a few more relevant keywords. It's really quick to do.

>>3571565
Honest opinion:

This looks like something that greesy fat weaboo would like.
I can't imagine anyone wearing softcore porn/erotic t-shirts in public
>durr hurr im a female
and this why you don't understand that female body in such pose and mini-clothes if a fap-material

>>3575273
>and this why you don't understand that female body in such pose and mini-clothes if a fap-material
Well yeah, that's the reason that I stipulated that I was female in the first place. Why did you think I was saying that?

Do you think I should reserve special original designs (ones I would save for when I eventually get big enough to run my own shop)? Or just post em onto RB until I can eventually move them?
Sure, I don't even know if my favorite designs would sell, but I'm just hesitant to take the plunge I guess.

>>3575304
Being a female doesn’t exempt you from understanding design principles. What’s sexy/erotic and what isn’t for example. Some things are subjective obviously but there are always constants. As an artist this is part of your studying

>>3575698
Understand that it will take a long time to get 'big enough' to where you're running your own successful personal shop. You really have absolutely nothing to lose by uploading your work now while you build yourself up on social media (if you're lucky enough to do so). If you want to make them exclusive for your own shop, you can just remove them from other sites when you're ready to open your shop. I promise you that no one will notice or care.

>>3575703
desu when I picture ice cream melting down a person's body, I only imagine how disgusting the sensation of cold, moist stickiness would be, not semen. Isn't it also true that men often perceive scenarios and imagery as being more overtly sexual, due to biological imperative etc.?

>>3575273
Anon you don’t get to blame her being female for not understanding then also say she should understand anyway.

>>3576251
I’m a femanon that agreed it looked lewd, and while that’s true that men are biologically a little pervy, it was also surprising for me that you seemingly lacked the pattern recognition to see it as sexual. I know your exposure to lewd female drawings might be limited but surely it only takes viewing a few pinups to notice a pattern? Or perhaps you look at so much weebshit that you’re desensitized?
I'm used to seeing a lot of splat stuff feature suggestive gunk and legs.

>>3576614
No need to be so pissy. You wont get any points here just because you have a vagina.
Also please stop turning this thread into typical "female appears and thread becomes gender-oriented" - crap.

>>3576251
Please stop
this is redbubble thread. Not pedophilia gender thread.

>>3576251
>when I picture ice cream melting down a person's body, I only imagine how disgusting the sensation of cold, moist stickiness would be
You are either 13 years old and never had sex.
Or just a complete liar, lmao.
You don't have to be a man to understand that ice cream melting over woman's body is a fetish.

>>3576022
I, thankfully, have a good, decent following (~8k). So at least there's hopefully interest. I guess my biggest concern is the fact that RB has a history of art theft/design theft. And already being poor, losing a profit at all is anxiety inducing to put it lightly.
But your words are reassuring... I can at least make some test designs and start small. I'll think more about it anon, thank you.

>>3576614
fucking female ruins the great thread

Would something like Pic related work? Something simple on a black or white tee.

>>3576641
However did you start building yourself up on social media. I think I have good enough skill to put something decent online. But I don't know how to communicate it.
Do you just post stuff on Twitter and hope for it to work?

>>3577304
It would, but it would have to be digitzed well so that the lines are crisp & clean. You might have to recreate those gradients digitally.

>>3577416
I don't have a scanner right now, I would have thought that the handmade marks of a drawing could have worked well enough

This thread is winding down so I figured I'd share some final thoughts.

I've never really gone this in depth with helping people with Redbubble, so I'm certain this thread can give you a solid perspective when approaching this stuff that will put you leagues ahead other artists. A lot of people that approach merch sales online like this actually tend to be non-artists who are focused on the logistics of it. In other words, they've got the keyword / niche stuff down, but they can't really make cool, original designs because they're not artists. And on the flip side, there's artists who can make cool stuff but they don't really understand that they should approach more like a business and to design around demand instead of random topics.

If you can combine these two - to be a good artist AND have that 'business sense', then you're in a position better than most.

Personally speaking, designing for shirts & such was one of the first ways I made money with my art, and it drastically changed the course of my own illustration career. I think there's a lot to be learned from this stuff that can translate into your other illustration work, and developing a steady, passive income to cover living expenses means you can focus on developing your own art career (freelance, etc.) without having to spend a lot of time at an irrelevant job to pay the bills.

If you come out of this thread with two lessons:
1.) Having a sense of appeal is critically important. It's impossible to teach, but the ability to know what other people will connect with is an invaluable skill. Fully rendered & fundamentally strong illustrations aren't necessarily what people want on products.
2.) Researching and designing around specific topics is key. Ask yourself 'What would someone search to find my design?'. Design with a purpose & an audience in mind.

Good luck to those that are jumping into this because of my comments in this thread - I'm happy to see that they were helpful!

>>3577438
thanks bruv. this has been a really helpful thread.

>>3577438
>Design with a purpose & an audience in mind
any tips on how to improve this skill? any useful youtube videos or similar you could recommend?
you've been a big help anon

>>3578528
It's in the thread. I posted a few tips earlier about how to research keywords and topics to design around. Im on mobile so i cant be bothered to go through and link the exact posts, but they're there.

Bumpan

>>3577438
The thread has been a big help, thanks anon

is there a way to save or archive this entire thread?

>>3581914
Right click anywhere and "save as"

Is it worth more to create a following for your individual designs, or try to appeal to treading tags?

Rather should I have 10k followers and sell them my output that they already want, or follow the market and net customers that way.

>I want YOUR tee vs. I want THESE tees.

I leaning towards the former, but it might be useful to do both?

>>3511268
sheeeeit should I be using this shit?

>>3527173
i kno that face

>>3582907
If I'm understanding your questions correctly -

It sounds like you're in a position to do both. I've never really been able to successfully monetize my own following (only about 4.5k on IG). Though selling to your own fanbase comes with a lot of uncertainties of its own. You talk about 'output that they already want' - you don't quite know for sure if people are willing to spend money on your work as opposed to just enjoying it on their social media feeds.

>I want YOUR tee vs. I want THESE tees.
This can be one in the same. I previously touched upon the benefits of having a versatile style. Can you create work for a variety of different subjects while still maintaining the consistency of your style that your current fans are already attached to? If so, you've got a win-win situation, where you can produce designs for PoD sites while simultaneously creating work that you can share & sell to your audience.

>>3583194
>>3583234
>should I be using this shit?
Thankfully the thread is done so you don't have a chance to derail things and make the thread all about you and your work, which you seem to do in every other thread where your work clearly isn't relevant.

To answer your question - no. Your work is not appropriate for PoD sites like Redbubble. I promise you that you won't see sales from your paintings. That's not to say that well done paintings don't stand a chance, but rather your paintings are muddy, poorly done, grainy and overall look amateurish. Not only is the work not appropriate for apparel & other products (your work printed on shirts would look absolutely terrible), but you're just copying pictures of celebrities & memes from Google, with little to no transformation. It's blatant copyright infringement and would likely be taken down.

>>3511302
Redbubble will only consider promoting people who have at LEAST 10-12 pieces up already

>>3583194
>>3583272
#REKT

Not sure if this belongs here but here goes:
Anyone have experience using paypal to receive money for commissions or designs rather than redbubble?

>>3583272
Glad I caught you before the thread went down.

I have a following, but almost none asking for merch, mostly "are you open for commissions?" Not sure if that translates into print or apparel sales, I'm thinking no. Maybe I can get into stock illustration instead for passive income, any experience with that?

>>3583324
I have, what's up?

>>3583338
Just wondering how exactly you would be receiving payments, I never used paypal before. Would it probably be better to use a false name since I don't want people knowing my real name? And how does actually getting money work, just pasting an email?

>>3583342
Common wisdom is getting a business account (easy), and sending an invoice. You control the information they see, and they have limited ability to fuck you. i.e. tipping off paypal that this is a porn commission by writing some inane comment like "Thanx for the cummies bby, murr~" when they send a payment. Make sure you charge for service and not a deliverable, so they can't say they never got anything and initiate a charge back.

>>3583351
Does that include business name being separate, as well as address/phone number? Or sending an invoice only lets the client see what I want?

>>3583324
>rather than redbubble
I don't quite understand - Are you insinuating that you can use Redbubble to receive money for commissioned work?

Redbubble pays out via Paypal. You can also use Paypal to accept money for commissioned work.
>>3583342
Someone buys something for $25. You get $5. The payments accumulate and are automatically paid out every month into your paypal, which you provide your email associated with your Paypal account. At no point do you actually have to use your real name if you don't want to.

>>3583338
As discussed several times in the thread, if you're going to be selling directly to your following, you might as well use Printful + Etsy (or another equivalent place thats can host your shop) so that you can get better margins, which you'll need because your volume will be lower.

> Maybe I can get into stock illustration instead for passive income, any experience with that?
If I were to do stock illustrations, I would create illustration packs centered around a certain subject / theme / niche and sell them on places like graphicriver.com, envato market, etc. I haven't done it, but I could absolutely see it generating income if you're able to make illustrations that people actually need and can easily use for their own projects.

>>3583356
No I was saying "rather than redbubble" because thats the thread topic and I was deviating, saying using paypal for commissions instead of using redbubble, cutting out the middle man.

>>3583355
You're making the invoice, you control the business name and any contact information that's on the invoice.

>>3583356
Something to think about, thanks.

>>3583363
Last question then, would it be better to use your legal name on paypal then or just use a pseudonym?

>>3583366
You're not gonna get sued if you use your internet handle if that's what you're worried about. I've seen a lot of buyers gov't names though, but that info is useless to me and soon forgotten. If you are concerned then use a pseudonym.

>>3583366
There's really very little reason not to use your real name on Paypal. No ones going to come after you. Whether or not it's "better" entirely depends on whether or not you want whatever it is you do associated with your real persona.

rip thread

>>3583272
>I promise you that you won't see sales from your paintings.
Yeah I'd see sales from prints of my paintings.
>but rather your paintings are muddy, poorly done, grainy and overall look amateurish.
and yet there's an audience for them. Weird how that twerks.
>but you're just copying pictures of celebrities & memes from Google,
Non. 4chan. 90% of them are solicited.
>with little to no transformation.
sexually?
>It's blatant copyright infringement and would likely be taken down.
Chyeah doy.

and like what kind of contemptuous cunt turns a well-intentioned question into a weird faggot antagonism meme, and then complain about how I "derail things?" You're the one being a toxic impotent nigger out the gate for no reason.

>>3583272
like normies don't give a shit about all that bullshit you tell yourself to justify why you don't make stuff. If you put it out there you''ll find someone willing to waste money on it as a goof. It's a society of meme obsessed hyperconsumers.

>>3583560
>>3583568
You're a dummy dum poo-poo head. A real fly in my rice chex.

>>3583578
nah uh

>>3583272
luv ya rb-anon

>https://help.redbubble.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000938143

seems like we'll be able to sell fanart soon? what do you think

>>3583928
hell ye
I'm hoping the partnerships grow eventually up to the big companies as there are currently only 3 brands listed on their website https://help.redbubble.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001021543

>>3583554
>>3583568
You'll probably miss this since the thread is past the bump limit -

>Yeah I'd see sales from prints of my paintings.
>and yet there's an audience for them
>like normies don't give a shit about all that bullshit
None of this is based in reality. Since you're too egotistical to read the thread, to think the rules don't apply to you, or understand that you're not special - let me spell it out for you:

You have no idea if you'd see "sales of prints of my paintings", because you haven't tried. And when you do try, you will fail, because the work simply isn't good or appealing to others. This is demonstrably true based on your atrocious attempts to be famous online. You even say that you're not going to be selling your work because Van Gogh didn't do it.

You say you have an audience for them - what audience? You have a ~2k IG account with poor engagement rates, a self-made wikipedia page, a self-made subreddit with no one on it, your posts on reddit regularly bomb and fly completely under the radar, you've only got about ~1k twitter and facebook followers. Where's the audience? Where's the engagement? Where's the interest in prints? Of you're one mildly successful post on the marvel subreddit (wow - how famous!) You had a single potential customer, who you then shot down.

You are delusional and full of shit.

>>3583568
how many pinkies you get doesn't correlate to how many people would buy it as merch. you're posting an alright painting on reddit, of course people are gonna thumb up fan art. now ask those same people how many of them would spend 20 bucks for it on a shirt.

>>3583959
>None of this is based in reality.
There is kind of a waiting list for some of the paintings.
>Since you're too egotistical to read the thread, to think the rules don't apply to you
The rules don't necessarily apply to anyone.
>You have no idea if you'd see "sales of prints of my paintings", because you haven't tried.
Well I "have an idea" that I definitely wouldn't see sales of the originals since they're not being sold until 2026 or whenever.
>And when you do try, you will fail, because the work simply isn't good or appealing to others.
Tell that to the people that find it appealing. You don't feel weird talking for everyone?
>This is demonstrably true based on your atrocious attempts to be famous online.
what would you say (you) are doing here?
>You even say that you're not going to be selling your work because Van Gogh didn't do it.
Like you even know my autism rules. You're writing essays about my project.
>You say you have an audience for them - what audience?
That's the fun secret about making things with an audience already built in. Don't need to like me to want a painting of an internet mem for your bathroom or whatever.
>You have a ~2k IG account with poor engagement rates, a self-made wikipedia page, a self-made subreddit with no one on it
I have a wikia. Having a wikipedia page is the end game.
>your posts on reddit regularly bomb and fly completely under the radar,
I almost never post to reddit. When I have it's normally 1 easy post and 1 hard post and I see how they do.
>Where's the audience? Where's the engagement?
What would you say you're doing?
>Of you're one mildly successful post on the marvel subreddit (wow - how famous!) You had a single potential customer, who you then shot down.
Yeah what's the problem?
>You are delusional and full of shit.
You're boring and full of shit. Nice gif you uppity nigger. Be a shame if I painted it and refused to sell it to anyone as a goof.

Thanks for the essay kiddo.

>>3583987
>how many pinkies you get doesn't correlate to how many people would buy it as merch
Actually going to cut off the ring finger. And yeah it probably will. You don't really understand much about our culture or marketing or anything really huh?
>you're posting an alright painting on reddit, of course people are gonna thumb up fan art.
And of course people are going to be willing to buy fan art. Are you fucking dipshits retarded? Is this what you tell yourselves to justify why you fucking do nothing at all?
>now ask those same people how many of them would spend 20 bucks for it on a shirt.
ok sounds good.

>>3583959
>unironically feeding this nigger with (you)s

>>3584080
just post it on redbubble if you're so sure. it's one of three things: a win for you for proving us wrong, a win for you for baiting us through this charade, or you just don't bring it up again if you get no sales because we'll forget all about this thread once it sages. but until you post it on redbubble, any point anyone makes is moot point.

Other sites in addition to redbubble and others reported on posts above that are reliable where to upload the designs?

>>3584953
AmazonMerch Teespring Society6 Spreadshirt TeePublic Threadless Zazzle Teefury DesignbyHumans SunFrog CafePress TheYetee

I wanna thank the merch-anon for sharing their wisdom. I haven't made any sales yet but I've submitted over 10 designs in my first 2 weeks