I turned my recent sketch made with reMarkable into a design.
Here’s the sketch that I made first:
Then I inverted the colors because I like while designs on black t-shirts more than white t-shirts with black designs. I took part of the design and places in on apparel:
But I put the whole patterns on home decor items, like: rugs, tapestries, blankets, and some accessories:
I titled it “Black Sands” because it was inspired by this photo I took in Iceland:
When I draw something I never know if people are going to like it. There were designs that I thought were going to be popular and weren’t. And designs that I didn’t think were going to sell well but they surprised me.
My “Dark Woods” design is sort of in the middle. It’s just reached $400 in total earnings. So maybe it’s not a huge success. But it’s passive income — this design will continue to earn a small amount every month.
I’ve said it before — you never know how your design is going to be received. Don’t second guess yourself, publish all your designs, and let people decide if they like them.
These past few days weren’t the best. I’ve been tired and slept a lot, I was not very productive 
But at least I was inspired to express my feelings through art:
I added it to my Threadless store.
Edit (2021 June 22): Design moved from my Fox Shiver store to my TRUFFLEPIG store.
Do yourself a favor and install Muzli. It’s a browser plugin that shows design inspirations every time you open a new tab.
I drew another space design and added it to my Threadless Shop. This is the first of two designs that I had planned for this week. Though I truly don’t know if I manage to draw the second one because tomorrow my whole family comes over and we are making pizza.
I write a lot about my successful designs. I mentioned my most popular design a few times, and other designs that earned me a lot of money. It might seem that whatever I draw sells well and brings me regular income, but that’s not the case. Far from it. A lot of my designs don’t earn even a few dollars. There are about 30 designs that so far haven’t earned anything.
This is a design that earned me just $10 so far:
It was supposed to be a cat that did something silly like chased a raccoon or stayed up all night at a party when they had work in the morning.
Yet, apparently, people don’t find it funny or cute, or maybe they just don’t like it. I don’t know. I never know anything. I just keep drawing. And sometimes a design gets popular, and I earn money.
If you are hesitating to start your own store because you “can’t draw”, then you should know that some of my designs are really not that complicated.
Make a few sketches of your favorite animal and chances are that one of those sketches will be interesting enough to sell it on a t-shirt.
Edit (2021 June 22): Design moved from my Fox Shiver store to my TRUFFLEPIG store.
Overall, funny t-shirts sell better. It’s not only my experience. Just recently I watched Michael Essek’s videos where he shares advice on designing and selling and marketing and he said pretty much the same thing. He said about 90% of his t-shirts are funny.
It’s difficult to think of a funny design on the spot. At least for me. So whenever I hear someone says something funny I note it down on my phone or my reMarkable, and then I put it on a t-shirt. It’s one of my habits — collecting snippets that I can later combine, rearrange, and use.
I was sketching on my reMarkable while watching YouTube and I drew very simple leaves and then turned them into a design for apparel.
