ArtPlantae Today

Carol Creech of CCreech Studio is a part-time artist who works in pen & ink, colored pencil, and graphite. She is a member of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators. She is also a business woman and has generously offered to discuss her use of Zazzle.com, a service that enables designers to create one-of-a-kind products featuring their designs and artwork.

Please welcome Carol Creech!

ARTPLANTAE: Thank you for participating in a conversation about the business of art with ArtPlantae readers. How do you balance time spent on business-related activities with time spent drawing and painting?

CAROL CREECH: Hello and thanks for having me! To answer your question, it can be challenging to balance drawing time with business activities, especially when I am currently just working part-time. The To-Do list is long on both sides! But as much as I enjoy doing the artwork, it’s equally exciting to get things uploaded and “out there” on Zazzle. I have spent a good bit of time over the last few months getting my storefront up and running. Not only is my work available to the world at large, but I can order small quantities of my own products (note cards, or other items) to use as promotional donations locally, as well as personal gifts to family and friends. It’s a great tool.

AP: On your website, you show examples of the wonderful house portraits you have completed for homeowners. Do you create illustrations for commercial home builders as well? How long have you been illustrating homes?

CC: I have not ventured into illustrations for commercial home builders. The house portraits can be time consuming to do as I tend to be very detailed in my style. It’s what people love about them, and what I love to focus on when I draw them, but doing that on a regular basis would be more involved than I have time for at the moment.

AP: When creating your animal portraits, do you visit with the star subject for a while to get a sense of his/her personality (e.g., see camel)? How do you know when you’ve captured “personality” in a drawing?

CC: Interestingly, I usually create the animal portraits only from photographs. If I have a chance to take the photos myself (e.g., the camel) then I can tell when I have captured the right view of the animal for a good portrait. The key to any good animal portrait is usually the eyes. If you can render the eyes, which I always do first, and capture the essence of the animal there the rest of the portrait will fall into place.

AP: How did you learn about Zazzle.com? When did you open the CCreech Studio Store on Zazzle?

CC: I opened my store back in 2009, but just recently started working on building it up since last October. I had heard of Zazzle on one of the art lists I follow. I am embarrassed that I can’t remember which one! I did some additional research online, and it seemed like a good option. I had wanted to find a way to get good quality note cards of my work printed in small quantities, and I have to say that Zazzle’s cards are fantastic in their quality. I love how my artwork looks on them!

AP: You feature 23 product categories in your store. How many product categories are possible through Zazzle? How did you decide upon the product categories you have chosen?

CC: There are currently 45 product categories listed, but within each category there are often multiple options. For example, within the tote bag category you can choose from six different styles, and within each style, a variety of different colors. Plus, Zazzle is always coming up with more product categories, most recently adding keychains, necklaces and coasters. I decided on my product categories by choosing ones that I thought would look good with my drawings, many of which are botanical subjects. So, obvious products like cards, buttons, and stickers work well, but also items like aprons, mousepads, and letterhead. Bottom line is that you never know what might appeal to someone, so give it try and see how it looks!

AP: How many pieces of artwork have you used on Zazzle products?

CC: I think about 25. I also have done some simple enhancements by adding digital borders and backgrounds to a few pieces and that has been a great way to expand my offerings.

AP: What types of artwork works best on Zazzle products? Are there specific media or colors that reproduce better than others?

CC: So far, all of the media I have used seems to reproduce really well! I am a big fan of pen and ink and have been very pleased with how my ink and colored pencil combination drawings have reproduced. Although I have to say that the drawings using colored pencil alone look just as great! I think as long as you upload digital images that are of an appropriate resolution and make sure that they look good on the products you are designing, then you will be very happy with the results. One area that I am careful with is the T-shirt category as they have so many different color combinations available for customers. Some of my artwork only looks right on lighter colored shirts. Fortunately, Zazzle allows me to choose that as a limit, so I can assure that potential customers only see my work at it’s best.

AP: What types of plant images sell better — images more in line with traditional plant portraits or stylized botanical images?

CC: I know that Zazzle has many designers offering floral work, whether traditional photos, drawings or paintings, as well as stylized graphic designs of botanicals. I’m really not sure which sells better. I tend to prefer the traditional style and my work reflects that, so I am hoping that with some additional marketing I can draw in (no pun intended) people who appreciate the simple beauty of a single, well-drawn flower or plant. We shall see!

AP: Have you tried making prints or posters of your work? If so, how did your prints &/or posters turn out?

CC: I have not yet ventured into prints or posters. That is one of the things on my To-Do list! Zazzle does offer great quality prints and posters, so I’d like to explore that further.

AP: Is Zazzle easy to use? Briefly describe the designing process.

CC: Zazzle is very easy to use, in my experience. To start, you choose Create from the navigation bar at the top of the Zazzle page and follow the buttons and prompts to upload the image you want to use. There is a design view that lets you adjust the size of the image by reducing or enlarging it, dragging it around the product template until it fits properly. You can then choose to add text, customize font style and size, and even add background colors and borders, depending on the product. Then you can choose to order your product yourself, or post it for sale in the marketplace. When you post for sale, you select up to two subject categories, and add a title, descriptions and keywords so that potential customers can find your item. It’s surprisingly straightforward and easy to do.

AP: Does Zazzle allow sellers to keep selected items as on-site inventory so they can have products for sale at their studio for events such as studio tours?

CC: Absolutely! This is one of the things I love about Zazzle. You can order your own products, with a seller discount and possibly quantity discount depending on how much you order, and keep them in your studio or have them to sell at an art show, etc. I have ordered sets of my own note cards for blog giveaways as well as a couple of local fundraising events that I donated to recently. It’s a wonderful way to get high-quality products of your own work without having to invest in large print runs.

Thank you, Carol, for telling us about Zazzle and about your experiences with the service.

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Click on the image to see Carol’s complete line of greeting cards.