After a few weeks away, I have managed to get some time together to create this little illustration for iStockphoto.com.
Anyone who creates royalty-free illustrations for stock sites like istock know that the holiday seasons, like Christmas and Halloween, can be a bit of a money spinner. But with these sites now booming with contributors everyone seems to have the same idea - which can result in your work being pushed to the back of the queue as soon as it is uploaded. This is one of the reasons I don't concentrate too much on the seasonal stuff any more. Though I have had the idea for this illustration for a while and wanted to get it done for me more than anything. If it goes on and sells a few then that is an added bonus.
Let me know your thoughts, I'd love to hear from you!
Enjoy!
All illustrations, designs and concepts are copyright. ©Dan Bailey 2009.
Nice picture u have.. I admire all of your works. I'm a contributor on Istock too, a base one. Any advice on how I can increase my sale?? How about seasonal graphics like the one above, do they still make much money? thanks dude. keep up the good work
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the compliment Yogysic, I really appreciate it. You portfolio on iStock is brilliant, you have some really stunning pieces on there.
ReplyDeleteI think finding the secret formula to selling a lot of images on iStock is something we'll never know. The main thing to do is to look at things from the clients point of view and think what kind of illustrations/icons people will need to use.
The only problem with this is that there are now so many icons available to purchase on iStock that it may end up being a waste of time. The same goes for the seasonal images – there are so many people contributing now on iStock that it makes it tricky for your work to stand out from the others. You could create an amazing Christmas scene which you are sure is going to sell loads, but as so many contribute it can easily get pushed to the end of a very, very long queue.
Saying that I would still advise doing them, as if the work is good, people will no doubt buy it.
Also, once you have got established, you will find people want to use your illustrations more and more and so will search within your portfolio for what they want. It is a good way to start getting commissions too.
As long as you are enjoying what you are doing, I think that is the main thing. I don't sell that many illustrations, especially compared to some of the big guns out there, but I have found my simpler illustrations of characters like children or cartoon superheros out sell any of my other work considerably.
Just keep adding to your portfolio and enjoy what your doing and you will find your sales will increase :)