Do you know people are now making their entire career with the help of their art skills? People or buyers are now giving much value to this talent of making art and crafts, hence paying the desired amount. But the increasing competition among artists has made it impossible for the buyers to pay too much for the original version of the paintings.
Are you fond of working with watercolours and letting your art skills pop out in that piece of work? But the problem is that an artist spends days making that specific watercolour painting look good, and in the end, what they get is a compliment. ‘OMG, that’s expensive. Right? To avoid this unsatisfying end of any painting, art prints is a technique that jumps in like a superhero. Now people prefer buying prints of your work instead of buying the original one.
This method of making money from your art skills can be the source of your continuous income. You have to make the masterpiece one time and can earn from that several times. Still, there will be someone for sure that will value your original masterpiece and will pay you the actual worth of your hard work. All other butterflies are enough to generate revenue out of that specific piece of work until the barnacle comes.
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How to Make Prints of Watercolor Paintings: Procedure
When it comes to making prints of watercolour paintings, we would say the procedure is quite tricky compared to other painting types. Do you know why? This situation is challenging because of the translucent nature of the watercolour that will not simply allow you to scan and print. The traditional or typical printing procedure will not apply to this type of painting as it will not retain the actual shade of your original version.
It is not wrong to say that no print can beat the quality level of the original work, but still, you can level up the quality game by using appropriate printing techniques. There are enormous reproduction services that will allow you to hire them and make prints for you. But of course, this procedure can cost a lot and being a newbie; it would not be a wise step for you.
What other option is left for you? Yes, there is always a way out; why not going for a DIY option? Let’s see how to make prints of watercolour paintings on your own.
Step 1: Capture your Masterpiece
Do you know that scanning is the method that is not meant to be for a watercolour painter? You need a digital image of your painting of good quality. The best method to achieve this is to snap a photo of your painting using a DSLR camera in natural light. You can use a softbox if you have reliable natural light and do not want to wait for a sunny day.
To make sure everything looks properly, use Photoshop to fix the photograph once taken with your DSLR. It’s possible, depending on the artwork, to set the image on a translucent background now. In the absence of an attractive DSLR camera or working knowledge of Photoshop, you should not be discouraged.
You can ask your photographer friend to take a good click of your art piece and convert them into digital files. If you don’t have any friends like this, you can hire a photographer to click few pictures, which will cost ten times less than buying a digital camera.
Step 2: Getting a printer to wrap up the work
After you get the excellent quality digital images of your artwork, the next step would be looking for a good and reasonable printing option. Following are some services that will help you get the work done for you.
PRO Photo Labs
This service can be a fantastic alternative for high-quality prints at a reasonable price. Almost all of these photo labs offer delivery that is reasonable or free, as well as the ability to purchase small quantities. In terms of product selection, though, you’re at a disadvantage. Cardboard or watercolour paper may be out of the question for printing.
However, many buyers complained that the photo paper felt poor when they printed their artwork on it. When hiring a photo lab, consider a matte finish whenever possible to avoid glare. You can use it to make your watercolours appear fantastic.
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Using this service, you may get high-quality printouts. Their responsibilities include stock management and sales. Everything is set up for you – upload your images, create your items, and start selling. Do you want to know the dark side of them? Let us know one of the disadvantages of hiring them for doing your work. They take a significant percentage of your profits. As for selling at a craft fair or on Etsy: it’s not cheap. So, we suggest you go for the cheapest yet fantastic option at your career’s beginning.
Print At Home
Besides all this, if you are interested in buying your printer and making prints on your own, you are more than welcome. But just keep that in mind, as a newbie, it can be a considerable investment without making decent profits. But if you are interested in investing, you will have greater control over the inventory management and can end up making high-end print versions, the ones that can’t be recognized as a duplicate.
Step 3: Last but not least, Ship your Work
All art prints should be shipped in plastic sleeves or sturdy envelopes. These goods are available on Amazon. You are directed to order accessories at least 14 inches larger than your art, following the rule of thumb. For example, I would order 8.25 x 10.25 bags and 8.5 x 10.5 envelopes for an 8 x 10-inch art print. Do you have a list of reliable suppliers? New? We have a well-known name, so don’t be alarmed. In the United States and abroad, USPS offers the most competitive rates for shipping art prints.
Create a PayPal account so that you may mail parcels from your front door. All you need is a reputable scale to weigh your packages before sending them. However, if you want your shipments to be tracked, you must drop them off at your local post office. Even if you choose to print your labels at home to save money, it is still necessary to have the postal worker scan each parcel so that you can put the tracking information in their system.
Conclusion
We hope this article focuses on How to make prints of watercolour paintings had helped you understand the procedure. Now, nothing can stop you from adding gold stars to your art career and make money out of it. We suggest you follow the steps carefully and not miss any point that can confuse you in the future. We wish you the best of luck in your career, especially if you are a beginner with never-ending limits to achieve your goals and desires.
