Black German Shepherd Amazon Merch T-shirt

I started an Amazon Merch shop over a year ago. It took a while to get it going because you need to meet strict criteria for image sizes and formats. And that’s not always easy to do when you work primarily on an IPad. There are things that still can only be done on a computer or laptop. I just got a new iPad Pro and Apple Pencil and can now save a png image on my iPad using a different app for painting, but the image will only upload with a transparent background to Merch from a saved png image on my laptop. So finding workarounds and such can be time consuming. And since this is a hobby, it can take forever sometimes to figure it out. Nevertheless, I have several of my custom pet portrait images saved on T-shirts in my LITS pooches, kitties and other sweet faces shop. I’ve had sales here and there since I opened the shop, but starting in July someone was buying not one, not two, but five T-shirts of my black German Shepherd. I thought it may be it was a mother, father, and child family group because the T-shirts were for a man, woman and child. But then it became six, seven, eight, and then nine yesterday - all in different colors and sizes. Unfortunately I am not able to tell if it’s the same person buying the shirts, or the city they originate. Many of my other website shops show where the item was purchased. Many sales come from overseas - it’s really amazing to watch! Anyway, it hardly matters, but it would be interesting to know who has so much interest in this particular image and this particular breed of dog. So whoever you are out there, thank you for noticing. I really appreciate it!

Amazon LITs Pooches Kitties and Other Sweet Faces German Shepherd T-shirts

I have an Amazon Merch Shop that’s about a year old. It’s made up of a lot of my custom pet portrait images on T-shirts and is called LITs Pooches, Kitties and Other Sweet Faces. Unlike Redbubble, Zazzle, Etsy, and Pixels/Fine Art America, I don’t get email notifications when I sell a product. So I always look at the stats and manage tabs on a daily basis to see if I’ve had any sales. Last week was interesting. There was a sale from somewhere in the US for a German Shepherd T-shirt in a size large on a silver background. Then the following day there was the same German Shepherd T-shirt sold in an extra large on a black background. Then the day after that there was another sale for the same image in a child size on a green background. Unfortunately it ended there, but it was fun to see that someone must have liked the product and image enough to order two more T-shirts in different sizes and colors. So thank you to the person who not only noticed my work - out of the millions out there - but liked it enough to either use or give to someone. I really appreciate it! 

Redbubble German Shepherd Sweatshirt

I am always so thrilled whenever someone notices my digitalart. I’ve been painting custom pet portraits since 2012 using my iPad as the canvas and a stylus as my brush. When the commissioned portraits are complete, I upload the files to four different websites that can turn the images in to a product of choice - coffee mugs, T-shirts - just about anything. I use Fine Art America/Pixels, Redbubble, Zazzle, and Amazon Merch. I was pleased to get a notice that someone from Australia purchased a German Shepherd hoodie. I’ve done a few commissions from Australia - one of the first portraits I painted was an English Springer Spaniel in Australia for a Christmas gift. It’s fun to see where the purchases come from and quite remarkable to know how far reaching all my images are seen. It does take quite a bit of time to keep all the websites updated, but after the initial set up it’s basically tweaking and checking things over regularly. But then there is all the social media promoting that’s even more time consuming. But it is fun as a hobby and I can choose to do as much or as little as I like. So thank you for noticing my work - I really appreciate it!

Amazon, Redbubble and Zazzle Trifecta

I’ve been sketching on my iPad ever since I got the first iteration in 2010. Then I started an Etsy shop specializing in custom pet portraits. After that came all the associated social media marketing, a personal website, and more on line selling opportunities. Thankfully I don’t have to make a living off any of this. But I really enjoy the challenge and it’s a great hobby - especially since I retired about two years ago. Keeping all these sites up to date is a full time job! Last week was interesting in that I sold three items on three different sites. The first was a German Shepherd baseball cap on Zazzle; the second was a Black Labrador T-shirt on Amazon Merch; and the last was a white standard poodle sticker on Redbubble. It’s always fun to get an email saying you sold something. And it’s even more interesting to see, when possible, where the order came from because they literally are from all over the world. What’s even more heartwarming is that my images were selected out of the millions that are out there. So thank you for looking, thank you for purchasing, and thank you for displaying, wearing, or giving as a gift something that I created. It’s an incredible feeling and I really appreciate it! 

German Shepherd Tie Sold on Zazzle

I have several websites to showcase my digital art. I just sent and received an “acceptance” letter to open a Merch by Amazon shop and spent a lot of time getting my images converted to their specifications. And I am happy to say I sold my first t shirt on Amazon to an American Eskimo dog fan. This morning I received an email from Zazzle that a German Shepherd tie was sold to someone in Germany. What’s even more interesting is that a German Shepherd tie was sold to another person in another city in Germany not that long ago. Then I looked back to see who buys my products. Half of them are to international customers - United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, and France. What I find stunning is that anything I add to my websites can literally be found anywhere on the planet - not something that would have happened even ten years ago. It’s not like I get huge royalties on any of these things, but it’s gratifying to know that out of the literally millions of images and products out there, someone likes whatever I painted enough to want to purchase the image or share it with someone they care about. It’s practically a full time job managing and updating all these websites. So whenever I get a notice that someone purchased one of them, it’s really a nice feeling. 

Zazzle German Shepherd Necktie -Sold!

I’ve been revising and updating several of my digitalart websites over the last couple of months. My Zazzle shop needed a makeover! So I added a bunch of new custom pet portrait images, updated the banner,  got rid of things that were dated, added collections, and spent a lot of time refreshing the site. It is also linked to my newly revised personal website called LIT Digitalart and Such at www.loistavaf.com. So today when I received an email from Zazzle that one of my items sold I was thrilled! What’s even more interesting is where the order came from - Germany! And it was a German Shepherd necktie - quite fitting if I do say so myself! So I looked back to see where the other sales have come from. The last one was for a Borzoi T-shirt from Japan. There was another one from France, and several others from all over the US - including Milwaukee (our home town for thirty years.)

It’s not the royalty from the product, it’s the fact that someone from somewhere on the planet likes my digitalart work that much to be noticed out of the millions of options out there. And I love these transactions because I don’t have to do anything! I’m thinking about opening a shop on Threadless, Cafe Press, and Society 6. But before I do I need to spend more attention to my new Redbubble shop. There are some cute products there. But it will take more time to set those up. It’s always fun to do but even more fun when someone notices! 

Custom Dog Portrait Feedback

I love to draw - I've been sketching since I was in kindergarten. I also love dogs. I have an Etsy shop that combines these two subjects. But now I use my iPad to create hand painted digital art rather than a sketchbook and pastels or watercolors.  Today I received such nice feedback on a portrait that I did for a Christmas present.

"I ordered a custom picture of my GSD from Lois as a surprise gift for my husband and son. This was my first experience using Etsy as well as doing business with Lois. Lois patiently walked me through the entire process. I sent her several pictures of my dog and she recommended the best one based on her expertise. She kept me in the loop throughout the entire process, often sending me pictures of the progress of her sketch. Her turnaround time was incredibly fast and the finished product was better than I could have ever hoped for. My husband and son were speechless and the picture is now proudly displayed in our den. Lois has such a gift and I am so grateful I stumbled across her site. We now have a picture we will treasure forever. Thank you Lois!!!"

Thanks J- you made my day. And it was such a great project too!