How to Choose Subjects for Your Art and Dealing with Rejection

Figuring out what type of illustrations the Microstock agencies are looking for can be a difficult task. The trick is to find a balance between what they want and what you want to create. After all, if you’re not getting some personal joy and satisfaction from the vector art that you’re creating, then I doubt that you would continue to spend enough time on it to make it worth your while.

When I first started creating vector art for Microstock I wanted to submit work that would impress the reviewers enough to convince them to give me a chance. I spent hour after hour on single submissions. Making them so complex and interesting that I thought there was no way they could possibly reject my beautiful creations. I was wrong. Some were accepted but many were not. Every time I received a rejection I was crushed. I felt rejected and wronged and had no idea why the pieces that I had spent so much time on were being declined. I’ve found that the reason for vector art rejections is almost never explained in a clear manner, which makes it really difficult to correct the problem. Struggling through the first few weeks I finally decided to put aside my artwork for a little while. I was considering that maybe this just wasn’t for me.

Being someone who never likes to give up I soon started to really study and research exactly what had gone wrong. I’ve been in the graphic arts field for years and I knew that in my work there were often times when I referred to clip art for simple images and logos. I started keeping track of specific art that I needed and either didn’t have or couldn’t find easily. I have volumes of clip art and also use the internet for reference sources. You would think that it would be possible to find anything you want on the internet, but it’s just not so. A list soon formed of art that I could create that would not only help me in my graphic designs but also provide me with submissions to Microstock

Another way that I choose subjects for vector art submissions is to look through my home and garage and sheds for any interesting objects that can be subjects for my art. I think I’ve created a vector image for everything I own at this point. You would be surprised at what sells in terms of objects. Many times the objects I think will do well don’t and vice-versa.

If you look through the Microstock sites you’ll find that anything that can be created has probably already been created several times over. Don’t be discouraged by this. Your art will be different than everything else.
For example, I find a hammer in the garage and I want to create a vector image of it. I don’t research and try to see how others have interpreted it. I take several photos of the hammer at different angles and maybe with different lighting and from my own image start creating. If you look at a lot of other peoples work before you start your own it will influence how you create your own image. Without outside influence you will create something that is more your own style.

Each person who goes to a Microstock site to find an image is looking for something that appeals to them. Your creation may be just what they were looking for.

Most of the big Microstock sites have a page that shows the most popular images for that week or month or year or all time or something to that effect. Shutterstock for example has a page of popular images and a page for keyword trends to help you get an idea of what is selling.

Don’t forget that you have to create images that interest you. The best thing about creating Microstock art is that you can, to a certain degree, create what you want. You can be as imaginative as you want. Not everything that you create will be accepted by all agencies anyway, so draw things you like or things that challenge your skills.

The only thing I would caution you about is creating individual pieces that take a really long time to create. If you want to make money from your art then you really have to guard against this. It’s easy to get too focused on one vector creation and before you know it you’ve spent three times as long as what you intended. If it’s accepted, great, then you have a chance to make some money off of your creation. It may however take a long time for you to get anything for your time. If it’s rejected you’ve really wasted a lot of time.

Images That Sell

This is really the question that everyone wants a clear answer to. You can look through the most popular images on the different Microstock sites to get an idea of what people are buying. For instance, Fotolia has a page under the Vectors tab called Best Sellers where you can see the most popular images for Today, This Week, This Month or All Time. There is usually a big difference between the images you will see in Today’s most popular and the All Time most popular. In our CMVA Resources section there is a section called Popular Images you can click to see some of these helpful links.

Simple, straightforward images with a clear subject matter are good. Crisp subjects and great compositions are necessary if you’re going to get customers to buy your images. Look through magazines, newspapers and of course the internet and pay close attention to the kinds of images that are used by designers. Notice that most images are used in a small format. In order for these images to be easily seen they need to be fairly simple and bold.

There is no clear answer to the question of what sells. I’ve seen images that are almost identical, one of the images will sell over and over and the other hardly sells at all.

Images of people are always popular. People in any situation can become the subject for an illustration. People at work in different occupations can make good subjects. There is still a need for illustrations like this. Couples are popular, as are lifestyle images such as people at play. Business related art is probably the single most popular area for all Microstock. Everything from a complex meeting with multiple subjects to single figures can be presented. The market is flooded with these images however, so make sure your vectors are unique or so well executed that they stand out among the others. Try to make your figures more than just simple silhouettes. There are already so many of those types of images out there that sometimes you may have your art rejected due to its simplicity. Illustrating people can be difficult for many artists, so if you’re good at it you will have an advantage.

Objects can make great subject matter. Any object can be turned into an illustration. Look around you. There are most likely subjects for your illustrations within reach. Think out of the box too. Offer unique angles and lighting for your objects. Remember that just because you can illustrate it, doesn’t mean that you should. If your concerned about a particular subject selling do your research and see if similar images are selling for other people before you spend a lot of time on it.

Types of food can make great subjects. Anything from apples to spaghetti could work. There is always a market for these types of illustrations and designers are always looking for them. This is one subject that is always needed. Consider illustrating foods that represent your own area, state or country in order to stand out. Just consider how many restaurants, grocery stores, food critics, etc. are out there. Every one of them needs illustrations of something related to food at some point.

Another good theme to create a section of your portfolio around is seasonal art. Creating art for Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, Etc. can be fun and profitable. If you build a portfolio of objects representing different holidays you can later use these elements to create new designs next year. For instance, you create a beautiful image of a four leaf clover and a few Christmas ornaments, next year you can use the clover and ornaments to create designs for greeting cards .The only problem with holiday designs is that it will only make you money for a few weeks every year.

Fashion oriented illustrations can be good sellers.

Vector Backgrounds are common and popular in the world of Microstock. Some agencies will accept these and others will reject them. If you want to try your hand at backgrounds make them really interesting and different. Consider including several backgrounds in one illustration. Seamless illustrations can be decent sellers. These patterns when repeated create a larger background for websites. The advantage is that when the site loads it only has to load the single small image and through the use of css the image can be repeated to create the larger background image.

Abstract Designs such as icons and buttons make good subject matter.

Concept Designs can be good sellers if the concepts are well thought out and executed. Teamwork, for instance, is always a good concept for Microstock art. These kind of illustration can be fun to create. Try combining things in unusual ways. You are not limited by the rules of nature or reality. In your art anything is possible.

The greatest thing to me about being a Microstock contributor is the fact that there are no rules. Yes, you have to get your illustrations approved, but you don’t have to compromise nearly as much as you do when you work as a traditional illustrator or designer. Be as bold as you want to be.

There are a few illustrators out there who break all of these rules and suggestions and are still successful Microstock artists. They are so talented and imaginative that it doesn’t matter if they conform to what is normally sold as stock.

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