If you’re an artist just starting out, then the best way to get your work out there is by selling it on Etsy.
With so many people shopping online for handmade items and home decoration, this platform is a great opportunity for artists looking to make money from their art.
This blog post will discuss how to print digital art on Etsy in 6 quick steps:
- Create a digital art file in Photoshop
- Upload the digital art file to an online printing service like Printful
- Set up your Etsy listing with the link to your print-on-demand store
- Take a photo of your printed artwork and add it to your listing as well
- Wait for orders from customers, then print and ship their orders!
- Repeat steps 2-5 until you have enough money saved up to start investing in other things!
Why We Chose Etsy?
As professional artists, we always wanted to share our art on social media. However, we didn’t have the resources or time to print and ship physical copies of our work.
That was until we found Etsy. Etsy is an online marketplace for handmade arts and crafts that allows you to set up your own shop where people can buy your products.
Even if you are not comfortable with shipping items from home, several printing companies offer services specifically for selling through Etsy.
We’ve found this site to be incredibly helpful in building a following around our artwork! If you’re looking for tips on how to sell digital art on Etsy check out the following steps.
1. Create a Digital Art File in Photoshop
Photoshop is one of the most popular design programs on the market and it’s easy to use too.
In just seven steps, we’ll take you through the process of creating a new document from scratch, setting up an artboard, adding some text and shapes to make your new illustration pop!
- Step 1: Create New Document. Hit the ‘File’ menu at the top of your screen and select “New”.
- Step 2: Set Up Artboard. When the document opens, you’ll see a grayed-out background. To make it full color and editable, click on “Canvas Size” in the bottom left-hand corner to give it a square shape.
- Step 3: Add Text and Shapes. Select your type tool by clicking on its icon at the top of Photoshop’s menu bar, or pressing shortcut ‘T’. With your text box selected, enter some words for your new digital art file. To make them pop, you can also select a color that stands out from the background.
- Step 4: Fill Shapes With Colors. After you’ve added your text, shapes, and background colors to the canvas, go back into “Edit” mode by clicking on the tool at the top of Photoshop’s menu bar. Choose a color from the palette that pops out to fill any other shapes or areas with different colors!
- Step 5: Save Your Artwork. To save your new digital art file as an .PSD, click on “File” and then “Save As”. In the window that pops up next, change ‘Format’ to PSD (Photoshop Document), give your art file a name, and voila!
- Step 6: Preview Your Art File in an Image Viewer. You’re almost there – just one more thing. Choose a file viewer like Preview or Image Viewer to preview your art in all its glory!
- Step 7: Export Your Work As a JPG or PNG. To share your art file with the world, you’ll need to export it. Click on “File” and then “Export”. Choose the file type for your art, and then click “Save” to export!
2. Upload the File to an Online Printing Service like Printful
Uploading the artwork to a service like Printful allows you to take advantage of the low cost and convenience, while still retaining full creative control over the design.
The process is quick and easy and there are many benefits including high-quality prints at low prices, choosing the size of the print that suits your needs, and making a profit on every sale.
To upload your artwork just follow these simple steps:
- Go to Printful’s website
- Select “Upload Artwork” from the left-hand navigation menu
- Choose whether you want to send us a ZIP archive or drag-and-drop files directly from your computer
- Drag one or more images into this box
- Click “Create Account” to create an account and start uploading
And that’s it!
You’ll have access to all of Printful’s features and tools, such as the design module, which allows you to add text or a logo.
3. Set Up your Etsy Listing
If you have an Etsy shop, you can set up your listing with the link to your print-on-demand store.
What does this mean for you?
You’ll be able to offer a wider variety of products in multiple formats and sizes without worrying about storage or fulfillment. So if someone orders one size of a product, but wants another size too, they can order it from your print-on-demand store!
Etsy offers two different options for setting up your shop: Standard & Plus.
- Standard is for small businesses with a limited number of products. It’s free and easy to set up, but there are some limitations when it comes to paid features like listing upgrades or promotional offers.
- Plus is for more established shop owners who have grown their business and want the benefits that come from upgrading your account – these include multiple listings and shop management tools, insights into your traffic and sales data, as well as a selection of advanced listing upgrades. The monthly cost is 10$, so be aware of that.
4. Add a Photo of your Printed Artwork to your Listing
With a photo, the artist can attract potential buyers who may be browsing through items in their search for something that catches their eye.
Adding images of artworks helps artists stand out amongst other sellers and products listed on the same platform.
- The first step is taking a picture of your art print out onto natural light or outside if possible. The perfect time for pictures is during sunrise or sunset when the sun’s rays are at their most beautiful; try not to use artificial light such as lamps and overhead lights because they cast shadows on the print which can make it look distorted.
- The second step is uploading it onto social media sites like Instagram and Facebook where it will have the best opportunity to be seen by buyers.
- The third step is adding a photo of your artwork into listings on Etsy marketplaces. This way your artworks can be viewed even when you’re not available to talk with someone or answer their questions.
5. Wait for Orders from Customers
Now we will walk you through how to print and ship the customer order on Etsy.
First, from your dashboard click on “orders” located in the top right corner of your screen. You should see a list of orders that have been placed by customers. Click on “view” next to the order you want to print and ship for more information about this specific order. This page is where you can change or cancel an order if needed, as well as view tracking info (if applicable).
Once you are finished with the changes go back one step until you are back at the orders list again; scroll down and find the box titled “ship out”. In this box there is a place for both quantity ordered and shipping price per unit – just fill these in appropriately and then “continue” to the next page.
The next page is where you can enter your Etsy address, contact information, credit card, or PayPal account (if applicable), as well as a tracking number for this particular order if needed. Once all of these fields have been filled out click on continue at the bottom of the page.
At this point, the order is being processed and will be shipped out to the appropriate address as soon as possible.
6. Repeat Steps 2-5
You are now going to repeat steps 2-5 and upload another digital art file until you have enough money saved up to start investing in other things and scale up further your activity!
You could hire somebody who will upload files for you on Etsy. Consider that you will need to pay them even if they do not make any sales.
You could also use an automation service like Sellfy’s Turbopro or a social media scheduler like Buffer, Hootsuite, and IFTTT. These services can automate the process of uploading your new images to Etsy automatically.
But if you want to do it all yourself, then repeat the previous steps as needed and save enough money until you can make a larger investment in something or someone else.
Conclusion
The information in this blog post should help you learn about the basics of print digital art and how to get started. Hopefully it was informative, and helpful!
You may have heard about how print-on-demand eCommerce companies such as Zazzle and CafePress are having a hard time with competition from the likes of Amazon.
But Etsy is still going strong, thanks to its talented community of sellers who offer unique goods that can’t be found anywhere else online.
If you’re an artist looking for a new way to sell your work in this changing market, why not try out selling digital art on Etsy?
