Selling Pencil Drawings
Are you interested in learning how to sell drawings online but do not know how much to charge for a fine art drawing or sketch?
Over the past five years, more artists have been selling amazing drawings in pencil online. Online art sales are rising, including original oil paintings, acrylic paintings, watercolor paintings, color pencil sketches, illustrations, black and white pencil drawing pictures, sketches, line art, and reproductions of original art.
It is now possible for great pencil artists to showcase their detailed or simple wall pencil drawings to potential art buyers worldwide. But how much are people willing to spend on drawings?
A drawing’s value differs from an oil painting, so learning how much to charge for a line drawing or pencil portrait is a good starting point for selling your art online.
Pricing art is a challenge for every artist starting to sell their work. The best way to start is to know how much other artists charge for their unique pencil portraits or animal pencil drawings for sale.
After you have an average price, artists sell drawings; you will want to learn more about pricing art to sell. You can learn more by visiting, How To Price Art – Ultimate Guide.
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How Much Do Drawings Sell For
Before you set a price for your drawing, take some time to look at how many artists are selling on popular online galleries.
Here are some popular platforms graphite artists use to sell their drawings and the price range for each platform.
Saatchi Art
- Original pencil and colored pencil drawings range from $300.00 – $2,000.
- Prints range from $40.00 – $100.00
1st DIBS
Original drawings range from $246 – $2,710.00
Artfinder
Originals range from $36.00 to $5569.00
Singulart
Pencil drawings range from – $860.00 to $7340.00
Etsy
Only pencil drawing and graphite art drawing range between – $9.99 to $1,400.00
How Much To Sell Drawings For
By looking at the wide price range for drawings, you might ask yourself, “How much should I charge for my art?”
There are a few reasons why artists charge the amount they are charging for their work.
Art Price Guidelines:
- Market value
- Medium – pencil, color pencil, charcoal
- Size – 8 x 10, 16 x 20, 20 x 24
- Drawing surface – paper, bristol board, wood
- Drawing skills
- Name recognition
- Product in demand
All of the variables listed above will affect the prices of a drawing.
Research is the key to success when it comes to pricing art.
Begin by searching for artists with a similar art style and skill level as yours. Start by searching Etsy, then look through the other sites listed above.
See if their name ranks high in the search results.
See how well they are doing and how many people follow them on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Scroll down their newsfeeds to discover if people purchase products on their social media accounts.
The last step is to sign up for their email list. Take note of how often they send newsletters and what type of content they include in their newsletters.
After you have completed your research, you will have a better idea of how much people are willing to spend on drawings like yours.
When you are done with your research, do a search for “best pencil drawings in the world” for some inspiration.
How To Price Drawings
As we have mentioned earlier, many factors are associated with pricing drawings. You will also want to consider how much time it took to complete the drawings, how big the artwork is, and how much the supplies cost.
Drawing pencils, pencil sharpeners, charcoal pencils, and Strathmore Bristle Board are inexpensive compared to most mediums like colored pencils, oil paints, pastels, and acrylic paints.
Even if you use the best pencils supplies, the costs will not be too expensive, so the costs will be when you invest in creating the piece.
Professional artists use a few pricing formulas, including square inch or hourly pricing.
To learn more about pricing art, visit How To Price Art – The Ultimate Guide.
Upload Drawings And Earn Money
Many platforms will allow you to sell original drawings and reproductions online, including WordPress (we recommend artists build an artist website for their art business), third-party website builders, and print-on-demand sites.
Every platform makes it easy to upload art. If you can upload an image on your Facebook account, you can upload an image on WordPress, Fine Art America, and other website builders.
The difference is the monthly fees associated with website builders, the flexibility of designing the site, and the site’s speed. (Google rewards sites that have a fast load time.)
Print-on-demand sites allow artists and photographers to sell fine art prints of their artwork, fulfill the order, and ship the product directly to the buyer. The artist will receive royalties for each sale.
For an example of how easy it is to sell prints of your drawings, visit, How To Sell Art Prints On Etsy With Printful.
To learn how to sell tangible products on WordPress, visit, How To Add And Manage Products With WooCommerce.
To learn more about selling drawings online, visit, How To Sell Drawings Online And Make Money.
How To Earn Money By Drawing
There are many ways an artist can make money drawing, and successful artists use multiple methods to generate income.
- Selling art on an art website.
- Selling artwork at local art fairs.
- Selling art in galleries.
- Selling art on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
- Teaching art classes online and one-on-one.
- Selling reproductions of an original drawing.
- Selling merchandise with prints of the original on them.
- Selling vector designs.
- Writing blog posts.
- Writing eBooks.
- Commission products.
- Illustrations.
These are just a few ways graphite artists can get work with their skills.
Do Abstract Pencil Sketches Sell
Abstract pencil sketches can sell for several reasons.
- Pencil sketches can be seen as an investment. This is because they are often seen as more unique and original than other types of art.
- Abstract sketches can be sold for their aesthetic value. Many people enjoy the look of pencil sketches, which can be used to decorate a home or office.
As a result, abstract sketches can be a great way to make money as an artist.
Final Thoughts On Pricing Drawings
There are more and more artists selling art online. Artists from the United Kingdom and the United States are doing well marketing their pencil drawings and colored pencil drawings online.
Pricing art can be a challenge when first starting, and you might want to consider pricing your art lower at first to build your following. As your art becomes in demand, you can easily increase your prices.
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