Setting up an art print business: where to start?!

One thing that’s important to note is that the journey to setting up your own business will be unique to you. That’s the exciting (and scary!) part of it all. Disclaimer: This is by no means a ‘how-to’ guide, but more of an insight into some of the things I’ve personally learned in the process of setting up my own small business (as an artist creating their own work, not a reseller).

Do your market research

You should spend some time researching similar businesses. Have a look at their offering and establish what makes your art business different. Take a look at their FAQs and try to get a deeper understanding of their offering. How much are they charging for prints, and more importantly why? How are they showcasing their work? Make sure you’re following other artists and their content - Instagram and YouTube is a good place to start.

Get the right tools for you

I used to be a traditional art girly, working with watercolour and mixed media. However, I knew for a long time that I wanted to delve into the digital art world, so purchasing an iPad and Procreate was paramount in ‘making the first move’. Here’s a semi-extensive list of some of the tools I’ve invested in so far:

•  iPad 11 Pro 128GB

• Procreate

• Apple Pencil (2nd Generation)

• Squarespace website - this came with GSuite which has been SO handy for storage, creating my spreadsheets & docs and of course the custom email address

• Custom Domain (I bought mine through Go Daddy)

• Adobe Photography Plan (Photoshop + Lightroom) 

• DaVinci Resolve Studio (I didn’t buy this one, as my partner had a product key for multiple devices - very lucky to have a Videographer for a fiancé!) There are so many free tools (including a free version of DaVinci Resolve) to create video content so you really don’t need to spend a fortune on this stuff. For me though, I’m enjoying learning how to use an entirely new piece of software, but I’ll admit this is way more advanced than what I need it for. Just being honest. 

• Rode Wireless Pro Microphone - helpful for creating content, and VERY portable.

• Although I'm not using my printer for my work (more details below) I did invest in a high-quality printer back in 2020, an Epson ET-7750 (I think I paid between £600 - £700 at the time, but it was so worth it). The quality of printing, when used with the right paper type for your work, is exceptional. I use this printer a lot for testing at home, and will probably use it for smaller items if I ever dive into the market world.

• A mascot 🐶 - all jokes aside, my pup Ziggy certainly helps on the days when I just need a cuddle (like when I spend hours creating an Instagram reel and it gets barely any love).

Get started on your website sooner rather than later

Setting up your website will take longer than you think. In fact, I think it was one of the first things I started working on. It’s an investment to run, yes, but it’s a good way of exploring your overall brand image and it’s so important to make sure your Customer Experience is seamless (or as seamless as possible to begin with). There’s also the important stuff, like SEO - that will take some time to set up. It’s not as easy as just making it look pretty!

Make your life easier and create mockups for your product images

I wanted my shop to have a clean appearance and didn’t want to have to take actual photos of each piece of artwork before I could list them on my shop. Instead, I created some mockup images in Photoshop so that I could quickly upload my digital artwork to appear in a frame. I do the same for my social sharing image (featuring my logo) so that if anyone shares links to my products, there’s a snazzy image to promote my brand and the artwork at the same time, rather than a nasty cropped version of it. Make sure you get the dimensions right, and you’re onto a winner!

Create a social media content plan

Try and post as much as possible on social media - it’s going to be really hard at first (and for me it still is - cry 😭) but it will be so worth it when you eventually find the right audience. I created a spreadsheet to plan and track each of my posts and to make sure I don’t run out of ideas. Try not to get too caught up in your content being perfect and glossy, and give yourself the freedom to let your content style develop. Make sure you’re noting which posts work well for you, and try to create more of that where possible. More importantly though, try not to let it consume you, which leads me to my next point…

Find the right balance between creating ART and creating content

You can’t just create art and hope for the best. But at the same time, you don’t want to spend so much time creating content that you have no time to create new art. It’s a fine balance. Find a nice routine that works for you and try to stick to it e.g. perhaps use your morning to create some art (recording yourself in the process for that B-roll footage) and then spend your afternoon working on the admin side of things (developing your website, working on pricing, editing content, etc). Block it in your calendar and hold yourself accountable. Don’t be too strict on yourself and make sure that you leave time for proper breaks. Get outside, drink that water, and don’t become chained to your desk.

Think about printing and distribution

How are you going to actually print and distribute your artwork? Are you going to look after the printing and delivery yourself, or are you going to use dropshipping? Doing it yourself will take up a lot of your time and could (if things go well for you) quickly become a hindrance. Using dropshipping can be much more expensive and not as convenient if you want full control of the process. It’s important to weigh up your options and figure out what works best for you.

There are so many other things that could be added to this list, but I hope this gives you a brief idea of some of the things you’d need to consider.

Most importantly, don’t let any of this hold you back from starting. If you want to start, you just need to go for it wholeheartedly and learn along the way. Accept that you’re going to make mistakes - it’s the best way to learn and grow, I promise 🫶

Shiv x