There are many aspects to think about when you want to monetize your hobby. Where to sell your products is a major one.
When I still was a graphic designer I always joked I should find a new hobby, because I didn’t have one anymore by making a business of my drawing skills.
And in a way, I did find another hobby when I returned to one of my former passions: ceramics. So I have experienced several hobbies that make money and know what difficulties and pleasures might come your way.
Where do we get ideas for hobby products to sell? I have written down 59 ideas here.
Partly these are products I have made or am still making myself. And of course, you can find loads of ideas on the internet. Great platforms for that are Pinterest and Instagram.
And a great way to develop ideas is to brainstorm. Writing this article I did that on my own, but brainstorming with 2 or more people produces a ton of ideas. Start writing down some keywords and from there go on and on. This is such a fun thing to do!
Lately, I’ve been making a lot of collages and cyanotypes on heavy paper. I keep most of them in a drawer where they subsequently rarely come out.
That’s why I was looking for a way to bind the nicest ones into a booklet that I can easily take with me to show to others.
In another article, I described how to make booklets from plain paper, but these methods were unsuitable for thicker paper or single sheets. The Japanese bookbinding method I have tried is perfect.
Using layers in any creative computer program is a marvellous way to enhance our creativity. In this article, I will explain how to use layers in Photoshop, applied to an Easter card.
Once you know how to benefit from working with layers, you can use them for any kind of creative expression.
Besides using them for masking, I often toggle between layers to turn them ‘on’ and ‘off’ so I can judge differences. Making variations and looking at which one pleases me most, is easy that way.
The grandchildren are coming for Eastern and I am planning for an Easter egg hunt with them as well as a decoration with eggs. It’s fun to think of different ways to decorate Easter eggs.
A couple of years ago I made the decoration together with them. I had cut eggs from sturdy cardboard and they decorated them on both sides with felt-tip pens. Then we put a hole in it and hung them on 2 cross-linked branches to form a mobile.
They don’t like crafting themselves anymore, unfortunately, so I made the decorations myself and I used real eggs this time.
Some years ago a Dutch friend, Jenny van Diggelen, Blauwwerk, gave me a workshop on Cyanotype Printing. I wasn’t sold right away because I was in the middle of emigrating.
Once in order in my new house, I was once again inspired by the blue colour and the possibilities of cyanotype.
It took some getting used to the Spanish sun and sometimes the sun really shines too bright to make nuanced tests. Which makes experimenting all the more interesting.
Sometimes the budget is scarce and the wish to make an outstanding item is big. For example, you want to have a great present for a birthday or anniversary. Or you want a gift as a souvenir at a customer meeting, like a friend and I did.
In this article, I explain how to make a booklet by folding it, without the need for any other resources but paper and an A3 printer.
And I show another way of folding a booklet for which you don’t need a printer unless you want to use text.
In my personal challenge, an assignment to make a collage daily for 365 days, I am focusing on one aspect a month. More or less. It’s not written in stone, of course.
The month before, I primarily worked on art journaling, using illustrations and text. February 2023 was dedicated to transferring pictures to the Gelli prints.
I used several methods. The main difference was either Gelli printing or using the copy machine on tissue paper.
Why should a hobby artist care about the colour theory? Well, any knowledge that contributes to your toolbox is helpful and expands your possibilities.
In this article, I explain the difference between the colours on your screen and those of paint. I talk about Johannes Itten’s colour theory and give some tips about resources.
A colour theory for hobby artists is in my view just as important as for professional artists. Hopefully, it will increase your enthusiasm for your hobby.