Cranking It Out Redux

I have a art piece that is, by far, my best-seller (not here, of course, but on my other POD site). It's this:

https://pixels.com/featured/black-panther-j-l-meadows.html

Now, logically, I should "crank out" more like this, more realistic big cats...but unless art has an idea behind it, I just can't get excited about it. Not enough to put in the work to render it. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know.

When the volume is too great for one person to handle, it's time to bring in assistants, interns, subcontractors or contact a factory in Asia to mass produce them.

I think it depends on what your medium is. I don't think that cranking out artworks makes them any less art. With my digital medium I can crank out works much faster than a traditional artist can and that could be an advantage if having a large body of work to choose from helps with sales.

Edward,... (Back from the Post Office)

RE:... "..it's time to bring in assistants.."


For years, the person managing my booth, @ the Maryland Renaissance Festival, assisted me in the creation of these critters.

When I sold the booth to her in 2019, as part of the contract, she began producing from scratch, what I had taught her, not only the Mice/Rats, but the Bats and Roaches.

To be sold only at that booth....And I was to get 10% royalty.

And I was to continue creating the Vulture sculptures, to be sold there on a consignment basis.


Receiving a nice bit of cash for the sale of my building....

And not having to dealing with all the problems owning that building.

I was content on simply creating and selling my art on the internet


So here I am

It worked for Henry Ford (Model T) and that wasn't so bad.
For some, volume is what works because they find places to explore that they weren't aware of before. If you can still find joy in what you are producing, then volume can work for you.
If it becomes a job where you punch in and are numb through the process, that is a problem.

You have to still look for what makes you who you are or become a shadow of what you were.

--Yo

Shelli,

To me. what makes the difference between traditional, tangible art and POD digital art

1... Traditional Art------We create --->We crank it out

2....POD Art------We create----> FAA/Pixels cranks it out.

I much prefer to work on several images simultaneously and get them posted and thankfully, AI makes that possible. I find that if I spend too much time trying to produce a single idea I get bored or do the whole "it's not perfect" thing and then throw it out and start over. Plus the "crank it out" method tends to give me more ideas for new projects to explore, rather than getting stuck with no idea what to work on next.

Personal choice really.

As a photographer, I can create one edit of an image or i can create 30 different edits. I see people smash the same photo through Topaz 15 different ways and upload all of them. I think that just dilutes the work and makes it more difficult to find the best version. Paradox of choice, etc...

Personally, I usually just stick to one version. Occasionally, I'll run with a black and white edit if it looks good. I try to share 1 or 2 photos / day (something new and something old) on my SM channels, so over producing is overkill really.

If you sell online, people want new and interesting. You have to compete with numbers. Doing things for fun is what a hobby is. Otherwise its a business. I used to do stained glass for fun. But it was costly and took up a lot of space, my fingers were never smooth due to small cuts. And now I focus on digital art stuffs because it gives me the same creative endorphins and I can sell it but gotta keep the glass full.


----Mike Savad

Ah I see what you mean by cranking it out, Roger

Digitally I was thinking cranking them out would be how many I create... whether I ever upload them or not. I actually have a back log of stuff I would like to upload sometime but in order to upload them all I have to take my creation time to do it and so far I haven't been willing to make that trade off.

BTW, I got a sale from the aforementioned design just a moment ago!

https://pixels.com/featured/black-panther-j-l-meadows.html

JL

WONDERFUL !!

May there be More

Thank you, Roger! I'm happy for your success too. Your unconventional career is an inspiration to me.

BTW, the sale came from my other POD site (it primarily sells t-shirts).

Come to think of it...I guess I AM "grinding it out". I'm creating more t-shirt designs than anything else right now because t-shirt designs sell better for me.

Roger, your problem of too much success and being too much in demand is a problem every one should have. Not sure how many pieces a month you make but when you hit 98 and start getting tired if you double your prices that should reduce your demand problem. Where I'm at there's an "Isabel Bloom" studio producing brand new Isabel Bloom work for enthusiastic collectors. Maybe you could create the "Roger Swezey Studio" and you could hire and supervise and design or just create the studio and be employee number one. Of course I only mean for when you are older and start getting tired. So far too much success is not my problem and I only have a few original hand produced works to price and list and I personally feel too old and cranky and tired to crank out anything. At least right now. Last summer I was sort of at least for me cranking out paintings but not now. Now should there be a demand for my work FAA PIXELS can crank it out for me. I don't have any pre death or post death "Isabel Bloom's" but there are a lot of collectors around here in her home area. As a delivery driver I sometimes see 2 or 3 foot tall Isabel Bloom pieces out on people's covered front porches. Guessing yours are probably displayed indoors.

I try to produce as much work as I can, and still be as creative as I can. Sometimes that's a lot, and sometimes it's a lot less.

While I have sold some prints through local gift shops or shows, I primarily focus my efforts on selling through POD. POD is most definitely a numbers game. I know that I need to get to the point where I have thousands of offerings, but I'm just no prolific enough to do that overnight. (...or over a decade, apparently)

Roger, the little mouse in your original post is fantastic!