“Grow” Mushroom Vector Illustration and Time Lapse Video

Alongside more traditional art, I create illustrations for tshirts, greeting cards, etc. Shown here is a t-shirt design for a fun current trend called “whimsigoth.” I chose a vivid pink and a softer cream shade for how they stand out against the black background. For vector artwork I prefer to start out right in Illustrator so I can keep the lines crisp. You can paint in another digital art program and then turn it into a vector but there’s a lot of clean up that you can just avoid by skipping right to vectors.

Once the design is complete, I prepare the file as a transparent png to be flex printed on tshirts by a small business I’ve partnered with and list them in my Etsy shop.

Tshirt with this design for sale: https://crysodenkirkart.etsy.com/listing/1774925839

Creating a listing that will convert to sales requires a combination of skills beyond design. I start with retail trend and keyword research and incorporating chosen keywords into the copywriting so that I can be found in the search ranking on the site. For Etsy specifically, listings also require a 15 second video and 4-10 product photos. I also have to set pricing taking into account all my business costs to find a balance between a low enough price that people will buy, but high enough that I can still make a profit on them.

For designs where the process is interesting or complex, I also create time lapse process videos as content for my art Youtube channel, one full-size video and one short. As with all videos, this entails screen recording the process of creation, and then using Adobe Premiere Pro to edit the footage. I choose music from Epidemic or Artlist depending on the mood of the piece.