Digital Designs – where to create and where to sell
There are many ways to create digital art and graphic designs for free or for a paid plan to get a more comprehensive experience and access to all their platform sites have to offer.
Three I have tried are Kittl, Canva and Repper.
Three online websites I have tried selling digital art and products are Redbubble, Etsy and (Amazon) KDP.
Three resources for creating graphic designs:
Canva
Canva is a holistic graphic design platform that is continuously introducing new templates and updates. I’ve spent countless hours creating digital designs for Etsy, Redbubble, KDP and also Pinterest to advertise my designs. There is a magic AI feature that I have recently taken advantage of and created a few designs that are up on Redbubble. You just type in what type of design you want generated and voila in a matter of seconds you will have4 options to choose from. You can hit generate again or change the request if you are not happy with the first lot.
I have a yearly plan with Canva Pro that works out to be under $AU14 a month that I see as an investment in my present and future creativity by being able to experiment fully in all things related to graphic design. In addition, you can also create video edit on the platform that I may want to do in future.
Personally, I view the relatively small investment as a necessary expense to gain access to the full features available when inspiration strikes. You can take a pause or cancel at any time and go back to the free version. I did decide to pause at one point when I was on a monthly plan. However within a very short period of time the muse was back and I reinstated the Pro version. Now have a yearly plan that is more cost effective. This is just my choice but of course you can explore the free version which may be all you need.
Repper
Pattern maker browser-based app Some of my designs on Redbubble are Repper creations and this is how I produced the first 5 designs needed to open my Redbubble. These were quick and easy to create just by moving your mouse around the digital image to create a myriad of different patterns and effects. Once my store was more established I set aside the time to experiment and create other (better) designs with Repper I have deleted 4 of the 5 of my original Repper designs, they were pretty bad.
Kittl
Kittl is an online design platform where you can gain access to an extensive library of designs. You can then customize and create graphics for print on demand items to upload to the site you wish to sell these on such as Redbubble. As with Repper I just kept finding myself back on Canva. It is worth exploring all the options though to find what works with what you want to create, where and how you want to sell your products, which platform works for you or maybe it is a combination of a couple or a few different platforms.
Gift Guide – breakdown of platforms used
In my Gift Guide Pinterest pin above this is how I created each of the designs:
- Designs on Cushion, Clothes, Bedroom – Canva, designs created from scratch
- Designs on Coasters, Bathroom – Canva AI, using the AI function typed in words to describe the design I wanted to be generated and it produced a few results that I could choose from
- Designs on Bags, Spirals, Socks – Repper
- Design on Scarves – Canva with incorporated copyright free images and an element of AI
Three websites you can sell your digital art:
Etsy
My Etsy store has been and gone, having opened in late 2022 and closing late 2023. This platform is successful for many people, it just didn’t suit me personally. The main reason for me is that you can only sell digital files unless you partner with a third party for print on demand options such as Prinify. I didn’t feel comfortable in not having control over shipping time, print quality, delays or any delivery issues. There are many that take all that in their stride and sure many are making a good profit. It all depends on the type of products you want to sell, if you are prepared to do the research. It is extremely necessary to see if your product is or likely to be in demand and if you are willing to consistently put time into promoting your items.
My mistakes:
- Not doing research
- Guessing SEO
- Listing low value low cost items
- Not knowing who I was creating for
- Only having around 20 items at any one time
- Not heavily marketing my store and not on social media
While Etsy was not for me and my situation it clearly does work for others. If you are passionate about the work you create or items you have to sell and are willing to market all your products including social media, you could give Etsy a go and see if it is right for you. You may only know from doing and at least in my case I don’t need to forever wonder if I should have tried my luck at Etsy as I gave it a go.
Redbubble
An online platform to upload designs and have them instantly available on a wide range of items.
I have only recently opened a Redbubble store. It’s a great advantage to see your uploaded designs immediately on a range of products. Unlike Etsy you don’t need to worry about enlisting a third party print on demand company as Redbubble already has that feature incorporated on their platform.
Just like selling digital designs on Etsy here the barrier to entry is also fairly low hence you will be competing with millions of others some of which are well and truly established. If you are willing to market your products and stay for the long haul then why not give it a go. It would be particularly beneficial if you active on social media and are enthusiastic about what you are selling.
It is free to join, the only investment is your time.
Amazon KDP
Kindle Direct Publishing
Amazon’s book publishing platform for independent authors that has had an explosion of low content books uploaded in recent years. All elements of my books were created in Canva including using the interiors. I used the manual option as I did by inserting individual lines for my notebook interiors, then duplicating the page until you have the desired page count.
The minimalist art coloring book I created was made by piecing together individual line art elements. Copyright is important to me so if I use elements I make sure they make up a small part of a larger design and what I am creating is unique. I like to change up the colors or use different filters, flip the images around or join them together to make new images.
For the covers of my notebook journals and coloring book I started with the border that I downloaded from Pixabay then used elements in Canva and changed up the colours.
If you are interested in how to truly be comfortable being alone see my post on Be Your Best Friend.
Are you an introvert? Would you like to find out more about how an introvert can navigate in an extrovert world? You can read my post Introvert Blog – INFJ.
