Anybody Willing To Come Out Of The Closet?

Asked and answered. Do a search. The first two are asked every other week.

.....

This one is new: " is selling a hundred pieces a month unrealistic"

Depends. Do you have say 40,000 great images uploaded and keyworded and are marketing them?

the closet already contains this info in the search

1. it took me 2 weeks
2. 1200
3. you won't sell a 100 pieces a month.

you would have to be a fantastic salesman to get that many sales a month

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

the question really is, where are you getting your art from? if this is stock or PD stuff - like some of it, everyone has this already and you'll have a much harder time competing. i saw many from shutter stock - did you know that most of their things should not be sold as POD art?

if you sell your own original things and it's a constant style, then you might have a chance, but it will take years before your name is known. and if you get mixed up getting stock, it will just sully the name.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Twas a silly question

Time to first, about 8 months

Number of images at that time, about 1,000

Selling 100 per month possible, some do it on here, I'm sure but probably not more than 25-50 out of the 100,000 or more artists on the site.

1. Haven't sold anything yet.

2. I currently have 63 images, most are only available as originals though, probably one reason I haven't sold anything yet.

3. I can't imagine the number of images and level of marketing it would take to sell 100 items/month.

Time to first, about a month. I already had marketing channels in place on my own site and Facebook/twitter.

I had about 80 images at that time

25 prints a week? I would say very difficult here unless you're marketing VERY agressively online and in person. I do that through other retailers, but not every week.

Thanks everyone for answering.

Mike, not a single piece did I get from shutter stock. All my pieces are either public domain, creative commons with commercial use, my own photos or stock that I purchased with rights for commercial use.

If you would be kind enough to point out which ones you suspect are from shutter stock I would appreciate it and I will be glad to tell you where I got it from.

Thanks again everyone.

almost a year
2000 +
to sell 100 a year would be incredible.

Strange how you describe yourself and galleries such as "From my mind to yours." and then offer someone else's work.

Which stuff is your original work?

Also, I doubt you'll be making a good connection with buyers when you have galleries titles such as "The Weaker Sex". Even your thread title shows lack of sensitivity.

Well Ed, your entitled to your opinion but not your own facts.
If I buy a rolex watch, am I not entitled to call it my own, I didn't make that either.

As for the "the weaker sex" title if your Touchy Feely feelings are offended, thats your problem. I never was Pc or will ever be. I think you need to grow up or develop a sense of humor.

When I add a piece for sale sometimes it takes me and hour or more to clean it up, add effects or what have you.

google clyde fitch's greatest comedy girls, the one that I call Miss Pam, then compare the original public domain image and the one I posted,

Now if you are talented enough to produce your own original work thats great and I envy you, some of us mere mortals have to use the talents we have and use what is legally available.

Anyone can create original work - its just a matter of believing in yourself and shedding your insecurities. That and putting in time and effort. Original artwork is created everyday by mere mortals.

i did a reverse search, i looked at that hip and a few others and shutterstock came up first. now i don't know if it was PD and they took it or what. do keep in mind though that even when its PD, there are often rules stating you can use pieces of it, but you can't sell the whole thing in its entirety.

your saying you made the rolex watch - not that you own one. that's the difference. if your telling people that you made these things but they are all PD or whatever, then its a lie. and even if you took the images, they are totally random, in style and choice of what you took. it would be almost impossible to have a sale like that because no one would be able to figure out what the theme of your store is.

the weaker sex - you don't want to insult the audience, especially when that "weaker sex" are probably your buyers. you asked is it possible to sell a ton of work - and in this case, if you lack sensitivity to your buyers, then you MUST be PC. telling others to grow up or get some humor will be your demise. simple rules:

always respect the art and honor it when you create it
always respect the customer. they aren't always right, but you shouldn't insult anyone.

cleaning up a piece - everyone does that with their own things. cleaning things up for me - the PD i use, will take a few hours. adding an effect - anyone can do. and if anyone can do it, there is no reason to get it from you. i'm not comparing anything, you'll have to show us. mostly what i saw was a new background or a canvas layer added and that's about it.

if your thinking you'll make a ton of money in art, by posting other peoples art - you probably won't be making anything. people want original pieces with a certain style. not randomly grabbed pieces. then it takes name recognition and a lot of advertising and it takes a long time. many people come in here thinking they will make a ton of money because art is easy, but its not. what we are trying to tell you is - we don't care if your using PD or whatever, if your not different from the rest, the work will sit. while you might make a sale here or there, thinking that you'll sell hundreds a month --- it won't ever happen.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

this might be huge, hard to say. if it is it is. but near as i can tell, you took out the thumb prints. this is base level work, there isn't enough difference here to call it yours. if you took out the lady and put her on the background and added the text and so on, i'd say its original.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

yeah it's a little too large, but parts can be seen.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

But Ed....I think we take a LOT more than an hour to get presentation right for discerning POD attendees who want new work. The more time creating -the less time for selling...life's like that for some original artists.

Maybe I missed the rules for selling on this site, so if someone can point me to where fineartamerica excludes public domain images and pieces that are not yours but you have the rights to sell I would be grateful.

we aren't talking about exclusion (if they are really PD images and not an image that someone labeled PD - because many will upload to wallpaper sites and they are not supposed to be there). only if the artist said it was ok, then it's ok. but we are talking just selling in particular as per the questions you asked. i personally don't care what you sell. but if you want to sell things in volume you either have to have more work, with themes (10,000 or more like a stock site would have). or have originality. those are the choices for the questions you asked.

but do be sure these are really pd images. there are many sites that will post them that way but they really aren't.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Where did I ever say I'm picasso? I find public domain images, clean them up and post them for sale. I never claim to be doing something fantastic.

Again, I say show me where this site doesn't allow what I'm doing or am I the only one doing it?

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-4488334/stock-photo-woman-at-the-wild-ocean-island.html?src=PS5DwrRy6S3EBRIUs8iKRA-1-1&ws=1


http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-625212/stock-photo-girl-with-jeans.html?src=PS5DwrRy6S3EBRIUs8iKRA-1-1&ws=1

here's two of them. they are both copyrighted according to shutterstock. hard to say if they took it from a source and uploaded it there. but in any case there you go.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

and again we are only answering your questions. it's all going to be based off the artwork your trying to sell. that's it. however the rules do say that it has to be your copyright. and then it comes down to proof over all. some images were labeled PD, but i'm not going to explore that deeply. if you want to be certain use the images from the library of congress. they label all of their stuff. the color stuff will mostly be movie posters.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

the final answer - will you sell 100's of these a month, a year? no probably not. that's the simplest answer.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Could be the use of "I" and "my" in your bio that brings out the negativity.


"I am a photographer, graphic designer and digital artist. Ex New Yorker now living
in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Outside of a sale, I most wish that my creations capture your interest
and you are able to escape the hustle and bustle of life for a moment or two.
If you like my style please stop back, I add new work weekly. "

Let me address the "The Weaker Sex" title, it's a common saying that has been passed around for as long as I can remember and I find appealing and attractive.
Only people that are walking on egg shells about offending someone's feelings would see a negative aspect to it.

If I'm not mistaken there is a huge multi-million dollar publishing empire with the title called "..... For Dummies" I wonder how many lost book sales they lost due to that title.

Mike, I don't see where I can add pictures other wise I would upload the original but Tropical and Topless came from a stock site that I pay a subscription for.

Do you like my stars came from a site that used to be called Yuri something or other ( I had this picture for a few years) It's now called People images.

Both of these images had major changes applied to them, at least I would consider major.

If you tell me how to post images to a post I will post the original.

Lol David, taller and smarter

Edward,

I should write a book...the title.....

"What to do with Public Domain art work and what not to do:
The Humor Therein"

Definitely signed David #Bridburg
Bridburg.com

Sharon,

I have never seen your avatar before.....

Dave

art is hard to quantify. grabbing work from random places, of random and varying qualities and techniques, is not a way to succeed. the fact it took me only a second and a half to see that the work was taken from around the net, buyers can see this too.

listen - you say you don't have the talent to be an artist, and that's a great thing to admit, it fits the topic of this thread well. however anyone can be an artist, just look at this site... get a camera, a phone cam, etc and try to do stuff on your own. selling other people's work probably won't let you get that far in the art or selling world. art is not that hard, but it does take years to perfect. and since your already cutting things out, you can easily shoot things and make a montage or something from it. i don't see how that's any harder than what your doing now,and it's a lot safer for you down the line when they decide the image is no longer free. and you don't have the paperwork to really back up your claims.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

XP, I just saw that you live in Las Vegas. Do as Mike suggested and grab your camera or cell and take photos. I'd absolutely love to live there! An overabundance of sights to shoot.

XB,

Time for me to soften up as well. Art is a very tough business.

Good luck,

Dave

vegas is a hot selling place though there are many trademark issues there. i know zaz doesn't want that stuff there. however its easy to shoot. its mega bright at night, and anyone can get a good shot with any kind of camera. signage, old vegas, and all of that, that stuff is salable.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

* almost a year
* a handful
* yes, I'm doing it

I differentiated between creative commons licensing and public domain in my post. CC0 = public domain, true. Everyone I know who uses or creates PD images calls them public domain. If that's what you're using, then ignore my info about the other CC licensing guidelines. Public domain images can be a rich source of content for creators. There is nothing wrong with being a reseller of valid PD images, altered or unaltered. Lots of people do it here, I see patent drawings and all kinds of stuff selling.

I posted from Shutterstock because that's where I saw the image of the woman on the beach appear. So if you're getting your images from somewhere else with fewer restrictions, what I posted doesn't apply. Keep in mind that if a site you're downloading from is misrepresenting copyrighted material, that responsibility gets passed down to the end user if the copyright holder decides to take action. I have no idea how you find out about that kind of deception and protect yourself, but it's a good thing to know. A person or entity can't assign copyright to a validly public domain image, so if a big stock site (with big stock site lawyers) offers the image under copyright, chances are it's a valid copyright and the Public Domain representations aren't accurate.

By the way, the term substantial changes usually means adding or changing the source image enough so that the finished work is no longer recognizable as the original file. Like, you can embed the photo in an ad layout, but you can't just enlarge it, adjust the brightness and sell it. I took a big webinar on copyrighting artwork and I met with a local lawyer when I decided to sell my own images and learned some good info, but I'm no lawyer, so there's that.

As I understand it, like other big art and stock websites, FAA doesn't assume any legal responsibility for copyright violation. That responsibility is passed down to the seller. So if someone posts a Disney image or whatever and Disney sees it here, they bypass FAA and come straight to the seller. Now, images of low quality may not print, and FAA may refuse to print something that 's a blatant violation, I have no idea. The agreement here says you take responsibility for what you sell.

The personal attack thing sucks. I'm sorry this thread took that turn, and speaking for myself I never intended to come across that way. I'm just suggesting you be transparent about what you're offering and, you know, consider your audience here and your buying audience. People are pretty savvy and putting your sources in your image descriptions is a good thing, often times because buyers are curious about what they see and like.

And again, as I mentioned, many of us have been burned by image appropriation and we're very sensitive to it.

XB,

You seem to be gone for now. Internet time we will see you later.

Cynthia,

Just a note, I did a search yesterday on Google to see Patent art. I came up with tons of stuff. It was easy
pick'ens for a while there. Not any more. The margin is threatened by the sheer amount of competitors in the space.
And if it ever was a fad that could have come and gone by now.

XB,

I said earlier my iamges were PD. The basis of my art is PD.

My art is registered officially with the copyright office.

Everyone when they create something has an automatic copyright.

I also register all of my works for many different reasons.

Dave

XPosed, you asked:

* how long it took for your first sale
* how many pieces you had available when you sold your first work
* is selling a hundred pieces a month unrealistic

I'm answering:

* almost a year
*less than 30
*not for me at this time

BTW: You do not have to sacrifice your beliefs or personality or even be politically correct to be sensitive or even considerate to others. And if you are trying to sell anything you had better be a little more sensitive and considerate to others than to use sexist titles.

You said," Let me address the "The Weaker Sex" title, it's a common saying that has been passed around for as long as I can remember and I find appealing and attractive.
Only people that are walking on egg shells about offending someone's feelings would see a negative aspect to it."


Stating that the title The Weaker Sex has been around for a long time is an illogical argument for using it. Violence and brutality have been around forever but that doesn't make it right or even desirable.

And saying, "....I find appealing and attractive." I doubt any of the women I know would find that title attractive. They would find it very negative and none of them walk on eggshells.

Interestingly enough all but one of my buyers have been women!

that's always the problem with PD art. because anyone can download it, anyone can make it. patent, blueprint art etc - people see others selling it but then fail because they were not the first to think of it. same with colorizing photos, unless they look different than everything out there, it won't sell either. and the list goes on. if you start with a pd image and take out the background, that's easy to do. if you combine them into a totally new image, that would be more interesting and there would be less competition as well.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I second Kathy's comment regarding "The Weaker Sex." That title, combined with the three suggestive images the gallery contains, makes a negative statement about the artist that would prevent me from purchasing from him.

Mike,

We can not name names. I would NOT want to anyway. But someone still on FAA who sells
patent art SEEMS to have disabled their separate site elsewhere. I was discussing website
design with them in January and now the site is gone. I am pretty sure it is not just that I can not find it.

I know there can be other reason(could be renamed or I dont quite remember the name rightly),
but the sheer number of competitors is amazing. Not worth supporting the stand alone site.

Dave

pd seems easy at first, but then when you think how many other people have it, its way harder to do, your pushing someone else's work essentially. and no one can ever be known as that guy that makes XYZ because the styles are all different. the patent art at least has a consistent theme. but you need a lot and to be organized to pull it off.

now if the op asked - does anyone make hundreds of dollars a month, then yes, many do.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I third the dislike for that term

Mike,

The big part of marketing is knowing who is buying. Your art has a slightly different demographic because
older ladies will buy waiting room art as a gift.

But....a rough set of ideas here......

People under 35 generally think they can make the art for themselves.

People over 35 generally think if it is a novel idea that maybe they cant make
it for themselves, they are more realistic. And if they like it they will buy it.

People over 55 have all the art in most cases that they will ever want to buy. In fact
my parents downsized at around age 55. If I try to give my mother a gift she tells
me to take it away. Her home is too small for any additions. Dad only has some say over
the bigger decisions like buying a Persian rug.

So for most of us the target audience is between 35 and 55. They have more money often and they
will buy.

I am seeing people spending on bigger ticket iteams. Saving on gas and energy. I am seeing food costs
come down because petrol costs to the farmer are lower. People are saving generally and when they spend
they have more wealth at hand. Home prices are lower in much of the country than 2005, and incomes while not
rising now have risen since 2005. People have less credit card debt in aggregate.

Dave

PS I am exhausted. I spent part of the night in a rework of my website.

actually many of my buyers are guys. i know how to market the work.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

The majority of my buyers (that contact me or that i otherwise know about) are men. When I first noticed that, it surprised me. Men, then couples (of all genders and ages). But on the retail sites where my work is sold, 99 percent of the reviews are from women.

Oh, and the term "weaker sex" is offensive. The less offensive and more accepted term for such generalizations is "the fairer sex". No one with any interest in selling to women would use the first term.

it might be that the guy looks and the lady approves? i think it depends on the work. my stuff fits into a shop really well. if it was more decor then it might be someone else. but then there are gay couples and then the stats go out the window.

ideally if you don't make your own work, and the work changed isn't that changed, then the only thing you have left is your reputation. and if it's sexist and uncaring to the buyer, you won't get any sales. in fact i know of people that would broadcast your personality to make sure you don't get sales. all you need is to press someone's button. its hard to get your rep back once lost and you only have one or two impressions to make it a good one.

i remember when my grandmother would start singing rather racist songs, mostly about black people. she didn't seem harm in it because to her that was normal, they did that back when she was a kid. but today its not at all pc and well you can't be oblivious to things like that, it will only hurt you.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I must chime in on the "weaker sex" category title. I went over to the OP's pages when this thread was first posted. After a bit of albeit confused looking (I was thrown off by the myriad styles), I saw the "Weaker Sex" title and actually said out loud "good Lord!" ....it was that offputting to me. Not a smart move as ANY woman would be offended by that. After I looked to see if it wasn't a joke title and actually referred to women showing their strength...I was sadly mistaken. I left the OP's gallery immediately. This is 2015, not 1915....women fight wars, run huge corporations while also running a home with family, drive racecars, among other things. The "weaker sex" phrase went out when the Women's Revolution for equality began in the 1960's...just sayin'! :)

I just sold my first one today!!

1. 1 Year (anniversary is Friday 3/6)
2. 123 Images uploaded
3. You would have to be a big name to sell 100/month. I'd be happy with at least 1 a month.

Ok, so I just briefly read through. Wow. It is like going to the movies. I know if I was an artist that sold on stock sites, I wouldn't like it if another artist bought my photo so they can customize it and then sale on another site. Wow!

Yes, I would definitely not purchase anything from anyone who titled a gallery or photo like that...even if I liked the art/photo.

Gay couples don't change the stats. Couples are couples, families are families. One notable difference is that statistics show same-sex couples tend to be better educated and more affluent, as a whole.

i would think that gay people would have a different taste. like a macho guy might not want pink ballet slippers on their wall, but a gay male with that taste, he may. he may lean towards what a female would want, and therefore, unbalance the stats. in any case, i make things for anyone, it makes it easier that way.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

The anyone approach is best. Because a person's orientation has no bearing on their taste. anyone can like anything for any reason. :)

It took me about 3 months. I had less than 2 dozen pieces up at that time. I sell a piece about every 2-3 months. Not bad, considering that I do this in my limited spare time.

While you have some beautiful images posted that I would otherwise consider, I wouldn't buy them from you if I knew you didn't create the work yourself.
I'd rather buy from the person doing the actual work. There are plenty of people here, doing it themselves, and I would rather support them than someone who is using other people's work...public domain or no.