Written by Ben Fellowes. Ben is a writer, designer and marketer at Roland DGA. He loves art, punk rock, horror films, beer and cooking.
Okay! You’ve got that killer design but what are you going to do with it now? Where does it go from here? How can you make money from your artwork? Your first instinct might to stick it on a t-shirt. You may even feel like uploading it onto an online marketplace and forgetting about it, so it can live in digital bliss, waiting for someone to give it life as a poster, a tote bag or an iPhone case!
There is nothing wrong with uploading your design to a marketplace and featuring it on a bag or t-shirt. It’s a very smart idea. However, your artwork doesn’t have to sit in the “online ether” and can be more than just a t-shirt and a royalty payment. It has far more worth and profit potential than you may realize, especially when applied to new and unexpected products and surfaces to make highly desirable custom items.
There is a new breed of artists and designers who realize they can self-produce products featuring their art. These creatives put their art to work for them on a wide variety of products, to capitalize on new markets and revenue streams.
The following images illustrate just a few examples of artwork put to work using UV printing technology, by printing a single image on a variety of cool products including decor, merchandising, and unique functional pieces.





