How to Network With Other Artists

Imagine this – you’re waiting at a bus stop with a couple other folks, super tuned into your Spotify playlist, and as you look toward the direction of the bus, you spot a person doodling in their notebook as they wait. You tap them on the shoulder, compliment their style of illustration, get into a conversation about your favorite illustrators, and this conversation carries onto the bus. Cue the business card swap as they get off the bus at theirRead more

4 Ways Pins & Patches Could Help

Whether or not you keep up with fashion trends, pins and patches are a fun trend to keep up with. And they’re super in right now. Maybe it’s because the ’90s are coming back with a vengeance. Maybe it’s just because they’re cute and fun. Maybe it’s because you can drop $10 on a pin and your wallet won’t feel guilty for it. Whatever the reason, patch-turned-tee artist Dano Brown (Danobanano) said it best when he told me: “I think that theresRead more

How to Show Product on Your Homepage

One of the most important things we think about when adding cool new features to Artist Shops is that we want your shop to be super customizable, and that the actual process of customizing is super easy. Because that’s the whole point of Artist Shops – to make your lives a little more hassle-free so you have more time to make great art! One thing we kept hearing is that people wanted to be able to customize their homepage a little more, like being able toRead more

How to Make a Transparent PNG

Knowing how to promote your online store, use social media in a creative way, etc. are all important parts of an eCommerce business. But sometimes it’s good to just start with the most basic of the basics in apparel design. So let’s start with a tutorial on how to make a transparent PNG of your design. We touched on this a little bit in our post, “How to Get Your Designs Print-Ready,” but if you’re a visual learner, sometimes it helpsRead more

What’s Tara McPherson and Parlor Tattoo Print’s Secret?

It’s easy to look at the social media accounts of artists who have hundreds of thousands of followers and go, “they’re just awesome…that’s it, that’s their secret.” But even the biggest artists had to put a lotta work in to get their art noticed. Sure, skill and making good art is part of it. But those followers were earned – not magically gained. And once that following is gained, if you don’t give followers a reason to stay a fan? ThenRead more

Sagely Advice From Artist Shop Artists

They say if you want to write, read a lot. If you want to draw, draw all the time. If you want to become a Jedi, go to the swamp planet Dagobah and seek out a small green elf-ish man (creature?) for lessons. The point? Sometimes before you start your shop, create your social media channels, or grab that lightsaber, the best thing to do is to pause and look to those who have done this before, and learn from them. We talkedRead more

Overused Designs: Avoid Them or Embrace Them?

Overused designs can be kind of like exhausted memes, or even fanart at a convention – been there, seen that. But here’s the thing about overused designs – they can also sell. I talked to a few of our artists and product team members, and while the product team members told me about designs that were way overused, artists said that while that’s true, those same designs can bring in some serious money. Sure, there are a ton of “KeepRead more

The Anatomy of an Awesome Logo

Creating a logo seems pretty easy. But after staring at a blank sheet of paper for a few hours waiting for inspiration to hit, it becomes clear that creating a logo is actually pretty dang hard. The Point of an Artist Logo A logo isn’t just an image – it represents your art style, your vibe, your tone, you as an artist. When you google “logos,” most of what you get are company logos. But your logo isn’t just illustratingRead more