Today, I thought I would share something from my bag of tricks with you, because I had a couple of special requests that came in this week via Zazzle and was able to get some customers exactly what they were looking for. So in case your are on the hunt for a special design, and are having trouble finding it, I wanted to let you know that I take requests.
I like special requests, because I love creating new art, and sometimes these requests give me great ideas. My black ballet shoes graphic tee wasn’t actually a special request, but it was inspired by a mom of a boy ballet dancer who was lamenting the fact that all the ballet-themed gifts out there were so girly when plenty of boys enjoy ballet as well.
So, if you have some specific artwork in mind, I’ll see what I can do to accomodate your request. Maybe it’s an already exisiting design that you like, but just wish it had an additional graphic. Maybe it’s something specific that you’re on the hunt for like illustrations of ballet shoes that aren’t pink or illustrations of goats wearing pajamas. It could even be as simple as changing the color of a graphic, a background or the type of lettering. The good news is that on Zazzle you can actually make a lot of these customizations yourself. (This post of mine has some tips on how to do that.) But if you’re having trouble getting things to look exactly the way you want, or just have something more involved than what you’re able to do yourself drop me a line, and I’ll see what I can do to help.
Now, there are some limits to what I’m able to do. First and foremost, I’m unable to create designs from copyrighted material that I do not have the rights to. So, for example popular cartoon characters or brands would be off limits. If something can be made in the style of a popular toy or product, but still be generic than that is okay. As an example, take a look at my plastic toy building bricks party hat.
Similarly, please be aware that images that you’ve found online by doing a Google image search or by pulling off of a social media site, are not fair game, and can’t simply be reproduced on a product that’s being sold online. That said if you want to use images from a Google image search to simply give me an idea of the sort of thing you had in mind, that’s perfectly fine.
I’ve used Zazzle for all of my examples, because honestly that’s the only online store where I sell my art where I’ve ever had any custom requests, especially since Zazzle products lend themselves to customization. But for the right design, a special request for a design available from another online store might be a possibility as well.
Finally, these custom requests I reference in this post are all direct to consumer items. Where the customer is buying the item for their own use or to give as a gift. If you’re a brand or individual seeking designs that you can then turn around and sell in your own store or on another platform, then that would generally be a licensing agreement, which is a possibility as well.
No, matter what your special request, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Although I can’t accomodate all special requests, I’ll do my best to try!
