Are you passionate about creativity and creating colorful art? Imagine turning your artistic skills from the comfort of your home to a reliable source of income. One commonly overlooked way to make money with your creativity is to color.
Yes, you read it correctly. Many people love color. I think it’s an easy and therapeutic way to relax and decompress after a long day or week.
If you want to receive rewards for colour, you don’t have to be a veteran artist. You need creative ideas and solid strategies. In this blog post, we will explain seven realistic ways to monetize your artistic skills, from designing adult coloring books to teaching art online.
1. Design adult coloring book
Adult coloring continues to be a major trend and is popular among adults who want to relieve stress and practice more mindfulness. Designing your own coloring book allows you to share art and creativity while earning a passive income.
Start by choosing a topic for your coloring book. Whether it’s travel, nature, motivational quotes, geometric shapes, or something else. Create high-quality illustrations using Adobe Illustrator or the free online design tool.
You can then self-publish your book on platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), or sell it on Shopify or Etsy stores.
Self-publishing on Amazon is one of the easiest ways to sell coloring books, as Amazon KDP allows you to create and create a list of books in minutes. Amazon cuts sales slightly to help create coloring books, but Amazon has millions of active users, which means it has a huge reach for potential customers.
2. Sell artwork on Etsy
Etsy is one of the biggest online markets for handmade and creative products, perfect for artists looking to sell their artwork online. Create printable coloring pages to create custom templates and list original artworks and paintings.
You can have store or artwork themes so you can narrow down your target customers. A few summers ago, my son attended a Children’s Entrepreneurial Fair and sold some of his artwork and sketches. He loves certain animated television shows, so much of his artwork represents this, and some of the people who purchased his drawings shared the same interest.
You can set a shop theme to sell niche items such as homeschoolers, plant lovers and popular animals coloring books. You can sell printed materials like PDF Step-by-Step Guides for specific art projects, or create coloring games to download.
3. This is a work by a home art therapist
Art is not just creative. That’s also a treatment! With proper training and certification, you can provide art therapy sessions online to help people deal with stress, anxiety, or trauma. To get started, you need to gain the required experience and obtain an art therapy degree or certification.
Scholistico offers affordable art practitioner certification courses featuring over 12 hours of on-demand video and audio lessons, as well as 9 or more training modules and exercises to help you grow and master your skill set. Art therapists can promote their services on platforms such as Betterhelp and their own private practice websites. You can also provide courses and group coaching services on sites such as Coursera.
According to Ziprecruiter, art therapists make around $32 per hour or $66,321 per year, depending on their experience and expertise.
4. Create a YouTube channel
Starting a YouTube channel is another way to get paid for color from your home. YouTube is a popular platform that anyone can use and a community that supports viewers and creativity.
You need a theme in your channel because you know what your audience expects from your video. This can do anything, such as discussing and introducing art, reviewing coloring products, appropriate material for a particular project, drawing ASMR coloring videos, or tutorials.
Growing YouTube channels takes time, but not guaranteed, but if you can meet the requirements to monetize your channel, you can make money from advertising through Google. Another way to make money is to be paid to share products and services that benefit your audience through affiliate partnerships or art brand ambassadorships.
This is a flexible option to make money as you can work on your YouTube channel any time, but it requires consistency to see results over time.
5. Describe books for children
Children’s books are often filled with bright, eye-catching illustrations that help bring the story to life. If you like to draw and create your own colored content, you can promote the service to the authors of books aimed at children, who rather outsource the illustration elements of your book. According to Ziprecruiter, book illustrators can earn an average of $29 per hour.
You don’t have to be a trained artist to do this either. Be creative and own your ideas and concepts. I have a friend who wrote a book on farm life and portrayed herself by drawing and coloring chickens, cows and other animals in her own creative style. Was the photo perfect? No, but they were fun and a little unusual, and stood out in the book.
Think of other popular illustrations from books for children. You will notice how each person’s style is different, but you will notice that it works effectively to enhance the overall book.
To earn money showing books for kids, you need to build a portfolio to showcase your style and versatility. Next is networking with authors and publishers on platforms such as Reedsy, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and various social media platforms. You can also attend local publishing and author meetings and network services to sell them. You can also provide freelance illustration services on sites such as Fiverr and Upwork.
6. Become an art teacher (online)
If you enjoy guides from others, consider teaching art online. Platforms like Teachable, Udemy, and Skillshare make it easy to create online coloring courses and sell to art lovers and creatives. You can brainstorm your own curriculum and have the consumables that students need, such as support pencils, coloring materials, and painting supplies.
The online course platform pays a percentage of sales from students signing up. However, these sites allow you to easily sell classes to others who are interested.
If you’re interested in serving your local community, check out the community center, local businesses, or the park district to see if you’re interested in a seasonal art class partnership or if you’d like to buy a new coloring game to distribute to student families.
7. Please give us some interior design advice
Working as an online interior design consultant will allow you to explore your love for color theory further. Online interior design consultations are a great way to leverage design sensibility by helping clients choose color schemes and decorations that represent creative expressions.
You can sell your services on sites like Upwork and create a dedicated Facebook page or website to share more about the services. Next, consider offering remote consulting via zoom or email, allowing clients to choose wall colours, furniture and decorative accessories. Present mockups using software such as SketchUp and Canva.
Although not required, it may be helpful to have a bachelor’s degree in interior design or related fields. You can also consider taking several courses if you have a certification in interior design and gain knowledge of basic design elements and this is a whole new industry.
You will be paid for color: Summary
Monetizing your love for art and colour can take many forms, from publishing your own coloring book to teaching coloring workshops. With today’s digital tools and online marketplaces, coloring doesn’t have to be just a hobby. It can be a great side hustle or even your full-time job.
It’s a great way to boost your mental health, but these ideas can help you turn your creative side into income. Take your first step by exploring the options that resonate with you the most. The key to success, especially when working independently from home, is to stay true to your consistency and creative style.
