I have been doing illustration and design for clients for years. Not the licensing art, but for hire, draw this image for me type of work. With the slow down of the economy this work has slacked which opened the door for me to create work for licensing. I have enjoyed the large body of work created and the small fruits it has bore already. However, I find I am at a crossroads.
Since the other work slowed down, and the licensing is just picking up, I find both are at the same spot as far as need. I either have to dump time and energy back into promoting the 'Bread and Butter' work of the past, OR dump time and energy into the licensing work of the future. Both require promotion and follow-up. All my old word of mouth, steam ship promotions of past for the regular work has slowed down since everyone cut back their budgets. Now that I see a glimmer on the horizon of work picking up, I either have to start putting myself back in front of those people, or I lose them. By the same token, my fledgling licensing work needs the same love.
What to do? Can I do both? Can I promote both or do I need to choose. Licensing or Bread and Butter? I enjoy licensing, but I enjoy the immediacy of a payday from Bread and Butter clients. With my amazing luck of having pneumonia, I see that I can ponder this from my sofa for a few days.
2 comments:
Nice to meet you and your dilemna! I am older but right behind you in terms of blancing the old with the new. My etsy shop provides some immediate sales supplemented by adjunct teaching in fashion and just now hoping to get into some licensing . Your ortfolio is gorgeous and huge. I know you will do well and it looks fresher than alot of stuff out there because of your subjects and imaginative arrangements. My hope is to do the simplest toss patterns in hand drawn detail to reflect the sincerity of the new younger handmade movement. Stay in touch? I have yet to start a blog but must do...
I remember when I was in the same situation. I had one foot in the Licensing world and another in the commercial graphic design world (which was my B&B). I longed to let go of the B&B, but even though the Licensing had picked up, I still wasn't making what I would call good money from it, so I continued to awkwardly straddle both worlds until the Licensing was creating a decent revenue stream before I one-by-careful-one let my commercial clients go. It wasn't easy to do both, but it was necessary. I am not sure I'd have the energy for that today! Licensing is a fickle industry and at the moment, a changing one.
Hope you're feeling better.
BJ
Post a Comment