THE LIST

7 Ways to
License
Your Art

© COPYRIGHT JENNA RAINEY LLC 2021

 JENNA RAINEY X TOKI MATS

Hey, artist! I'm stoked you're here so I

can share with you the HUGE potential
of the licensing industry.

When you hear the term “licensing,” what comes

to mind?

Typically people think of getting their work into

big box retail stores or collaborating with

brands somehow, but most have a very limited

view of what licensing your artwork really

means. While every artist, designer and creative

dreams of having their work line the shelves of

their favorite retail stores, there are often

collaborations that happen in the world of Hey! I'm Jenna!

licensing that are often never even thought of!
I'm a surface pattern designer,
best-selling author and creative
Many well-known, and not so well-known home
entrepreneur. As someone who
goods, textile manufacturers and paper goods has grown a creative business
brands work directly with independent artists to from a side hustle hobby in my
license their art or patterns. kitchen to a 7-figure business,
I'm hell-bent on helping other
creatives build a thriving
In the next few pages, my licensing agent Julie
business!
Turkel (@iamjulieturkel) takes us through some

examples of ways to license your art to crack

open some ideas and possibilities for your art

licensing business!

Let's dive in!

JENNARAINEY.COM

JULIETURKEL.COM

© COPYRIGHT JENNA RAINEY LLC 2021

 7 Ways to License Your Artwork

1
LOOK LOCAL. Craft breweries or coffee shops often
commission artists to create their logos, graphics for

labels on coffee bags or to adorn their walls with fun

murals that draw in customers. That is a form of

licensing!

2
THE BIG SCREEN. Set dressing, live performances,
commercials, movie posters, and more. Your artwork

can be licensed to set the mood and deliver a story, or

to promote a movie or product. Let's look at some

JENNA RAINEY X ANCHOR BREWING
examples:

Movie Posters
Fine artist Jenna Gribbon's work is seen on

the poster for the A24 movie Eighth Grade.

Vintage! Reynold Brown was an American

artist who painted many old Hollywood film

posters like Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.

Set Dressing
Brice Marden's artwork set the scene for the

Four Quartets ballet.

Movies & TV
HBO's "Succession" uses licensed artwork.

These movies—including The Devil Wears

Prada—also used licensed artwork!

Other Collaborations
Universal x Hygge & West wallpaper
©ARTESIAWELLS VIA CANVA.COM

3
BOOK COVERS. More than we’d like to admit, we gravitate towards those pretty book
covers over those not so pretty ones. Examples: Sally Rooney's Conversations with

Friends features artwork by Alex Katz and Illustrator Laura Callaghan's artwork is

included on a new young adult novel by Alex Katz.

4 ALBUM ART. I don’t know about you but good album art is like a good label on a wine
bottle. One of my favorite collabs on album art is an example of licensing—Future

Islands x Beth Hoeckel!

© COPYRIGHT JENNA RAINEY LLC 2021 | EXCLUDING IMAGES OTHERWISE CREDITED

 7 Ways to License Your Artwork

5
DIGITAL WORLD. Are you an artist that is interested in expanding into the digital
world? A great way to do this is by licensing your artwork to companies as

screensavers (most applicable now as Zoom meeting backgrounds) and even

instagram or snapchat filters.

Click to see how

Lovevery used my

swatches for their

digital branding!

JENNA RAINEY X LOVEVERY

6
PRODUCT PACKAGING. We all know that packaging sells products. Those products you
see with really beautiful packaging? Those are most likely licensed artworks! Companies

use artwork to sell their products all the time like Marleight Culver's work for Brightland's

Olive Oil.

7
BRAND COLLABORATIONS & PRODUCTS
WITH ARTWORK. Virtually any product that
has artwork on it—from printed napkins to

mugs and homewares—was most likely

licensed. If it looks like an artist designed it,

they probably did!

Big brands also love collaborating with artists

to elevate their brand image, reach new

customers and entice their fan base to

collect.

Here are some examples we love: Meg Lewis

x Welly Bandaids, Dabney Lee’s line of

bookmarks, stationery and accessories at

Target, Uno's Artiste Series and Stoney Clover

collectible Barbie doll. JENNA RAINEY X CASETIFY

© COPYRIGHT JENNA RAINEY LLC 2021

Want to take the first steps towards
landing licensing deals?
Join me and Julie Turkel—my licensing agent and branding guru—in our

bestselling course for creative entrepreneurs: Brand + Brand.

We also have a free download with an exercise to help you reflect

on whether licensing could be a good fit for you!

Get the
Is Licensing for Me?
Worksheet

© COPYRIGHT JENNA RAINEY LLC 2021