What is art licensing?
What is art licensing? In a nutshell, it’s when an artist licenses his or her artwork design with a brand or company’s product. For example, if you’ve seen a pretty pattern on bed sheets or an artwork design on stationary, odds are that the company collaborated with an artist to use their design. The artist does not have to take care of the production, manufacturing costs, or shipping in any way, but instead receives royalties per unit sold of the licensed product, whether that’s monthly or quarterly. It’s a form of passive income that’s a really great way for an artist to make ongoing income on an artwork they made for as long as that product is being carried and sold with the collaborating brand. When an artist licenses artwork, there is a contract negotiation with the brand that goes over how much money the artist will get per unit sold, when to expect payments, and the duration of how long the product will be available to purchase (seasonal, limited edition, or ongoing).
The world of art licensing has been around for a long time, but ironically not many people realize they see licensed products almost on a daily basis whether it’s through online or in-store shopping. Whether it’s a cute design on baby clothes, a pretty artwork on a planner or journal, a puzzle design, lettering on printed wood signs, or artistic iPhone cases - you name it, the possibilities are endless for collaboration between artists and brands. What’s really cool about licensing is that you can make money on old or new artwork that a brand wants to license and spend more time painting things you love without having to spend all your time doing custom artwork. Streams of passive income are key to making a sustainable living as a creative or artist, and licensing is an excellent route to take when it comes to passive income. No more trading hours of your time for money. Your time is so valuable and nowadays, time equals currency.
I’ve personally been able to license my landscape watercolor National Park paintings with two puzzle brands: JIGGY and Micro Puzzles. They both have been a pleasure to work with and I’m still working on additional designs to add to my collections with them.
Some of my favorite licensing collaborations to check out are:
Keds Shoes x Rifle Paper Co.
https://www.keds.com/en/us/category/trend/keds-x-rifle-paper-co
Big Raven Yoga x Remy Joy
Arches National Park by Remy Joy Yoga Mat – Big Raven Yoga
JIGGY x Studio - ft. over 30+ artists
https://jiggypuzzles.com/pages/jiggy-studio
How do you tap into the world of licensing?
If you’re considering getting into the world of licensing but aren’t sure where to start, I learned a TON from an E-course by Jenna Rainey called Brand + Brand. There she goes over licensing in depth and teaches how to build a licensing portfolio, how to make repeat patterns on photoshop, and lots on licensing business strategy (and so much more!). I’ve linked her course here: https://jennarainey.com/brand-plus-brand
Any questions on licensing? Feel free to comment below.