This week I focused on the production aspect of my project. I met my goal of making six smaller sticker designs last week, and this week, I completed three full-size poster designs to add onto my collection of items to sell. I’ve lined up the finished stickers:
…and the full-size designs.
I tried to keep my schedule as organized as possible. I know I’m prone to wrist pain and straining my eyes, so I made sure to schedule in breaks so I wouldn’t overwork myself. I’d wake up at my usual morning time, get something to eat, and then sit down and work. Nothing else was happening in my life besides planning for this project!
I also set up an account of Redbubble, where I’m planned at first to sell all my work. This was pretty self-explanatory, and formatting the artwork onto the various offered designs was a lot easier than I thought it would be. However, Redbubble isn’t the only place I want to use as a platform to sell my work.
After last Wednesday’s Praxis talk, I realized that I need to offer my work on my personal website as well, because I suppose it looks more impressive to set up my own store as opposed to utilizing an already existing platform. I agree completely. Now I just have to figure out how to implement it. From what I’ve learned as of now, I’ll have to update to a different monthly payment plan for my website hosting – the one I’m using now doesn’t allow ecommerce. It’s not a large monetary investment, so I’m very willing to take that step.
Finally, I’m purchasing something that isn’t graphic novels or Chipotle burritos. Mother will be proud.
The marketing of my project is going to be the most challenging part. I’m already utilizing Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr (to a small extent), and I plan on settling back into using Instagram as an added boost to outreach. So far, I’ve only been able to get the word out to people I know, about 10-12 people, and hopefully I’ll be able to convince them to support me. I’d say “fingers crossed,” but that makes it sound like I don’t know what I’m doing. It’s true that that I’ve never sold any of my work before, but in marketing terms, this ain’t my first rodeo.
Next week, I have a lot of sketching to do. I plan to knock out three more poster-size illustrations, and six more sticker-size designs (this time with a different theme). I’ll be in Philly over the weekend, so I’m glad this week’s work doesn’t involve using my drawing tablet. I can’t lug that thing around with me everywhere, it weight about ten pounds and won’t fit in my backpack. With any luck, I’ll actually be ahead of schedule before the 21st.
Be on the lookout for more updates from me. Trust me, you’ll want to stay invested.