Artist - Lori Schory Jigsaw Puzzles

One thing led to the next, and when I eventually contacted Diane Skilling of Sunsout Inc. to see if she might be interested in my art for her jigsaw puzzles, she nearly knocked me over when she said, “yes!”. She gave me my very first assignment designing a Hummingbird shaped jigsaw puzzle. That opportunity was a huge stepping stone for my inspiration and self-confidence making art for jigsaw puzzles. Diane Skilling has since become my best customer, and she and I have learned to work in sync together. Working on art for her was a huge challenge at first as she was very strict about what she was looking for. Working for Diane made me work extra- hard to learn to create the type of imagery puzzlers are looking for.

Cronan Minton of White Mountain Puzzles was also a very strong influence when he decided to accept some of my early art for his line of jigsaw puzzles.

Elaine Citron was hesitant at first to represent me as I didn’t have a portfolio of the type of artwork she was accustomed to or able to sell. After finally agreeing to work with me, she spent hours and hours on the phone with me --directing me and educating me as to what type of art I needed to create for her markets such as wall décor, greeting cards and garden flags to name a few.

Elaine taught me how to research products on my own and study what kind of imagery works best for different types of products before even beginning to create the art.

Elaine agreed to represent me non- exclusively which allowed me the freedom to explore other areas of art licensing on my own.

Elaine was able to license some of my early art primarily for products outside of jigsaw puzzles.

That was my first introduction to actually earning income as an art licensor!

Q. Why did you end up mostly licensing jigsaw puzzles?

I found that over time, the artwork I was doing for jigsaw puzzles matched my style and sensibilities best, and I could work more freely with a wide variety of subjects. I enjoy telling a visual story through my imagery and that was most appropriate and encouraged more in the world of jigsaw puzzle art than in other areas of art licensing. Other areas such as fabric designing, decorative wall art, or home related products relied more on current trends, and didn’t allow me as much leeway for creative expression. It’s like anything else... you do it long enough, you find out what you are best at. For me it was jigsaw puzzle art and the positive feedback and repeat orders I was getting from my customers that inspired me to focus mainly in that area. Also, I began spending so much of my time designing for jigsaw puzzles that I didn’t have extra time to design for other products as well.

Q. What other products have your licensed artwork?

I have licensed my art for quilting fabric, wall décor, thermal tumblers and light switch plates, tile murals, mural wall paper, bath décor, cross-stitch patterns and greeting cards, T-shirts, coasters and decorative clocks. Also, stationery and those decorative stained-glass window décor. None of those areas were very lucrative for me as I never licensed enough art to those companies to make it profitable. I guess that's the reason they usually preclude the word artist with starving! Ha!

Q. How many puzzles have you licensed over the years?

I have licensed over 300 jigsaw puzzle designs since 2006 when I licensed my very first design to Sunsout Inc. (15 years ago!) Many of my designs have expired their usual 3-year contract but some have stayed in the marketplace for over 12 years. There are instances where a company will re-license an expired design that had been licensed by another company, but that doesn’t happen often. I save pictures of my licensed designs in folders on my computer by year, so I can reference how many puzzles I have licensed in a year and of which puzzle images were licensed in what year. This year I have licensed 26 new jigsaw puzzle designs. I just counted 30 in my 2020 folder. It takes me anywhere from 2 days to a month of 12-hour days (or more) to complete a design. Now that my library of objects has grown, time spent masking and digitally enhancing images is shortened which allows for finished pieces to be completed much faster. For instance, if I am asked for a collage of butterflies...I can put that together very quickly because I have a library consisting of hundreds of butterflies already ready to be digitally placed into the design.

Some designs require me to go out and research a particular theme which involves time away from the computer to collect the imagery necessary to complete the design. In which case the art may take a month or even longer.

Q. What is your advice to anyone wanting to get into art licensing?

My advice to anyone that would like to make a career from art licensing is to start out with enough money saved to live on while you are trying to find your niche. I would say at least two years of expenses.
Either that... or have another source of income so you can focus on creating a lot of art work with less pressure and stress.

Study products in stores that use artwork on them, and see where your artwork might be fitting.
If Licensing shows are going to be happening...try to attend the shows’ art licensing section. Surtex (in NYC) and Licensing (in Las Vegas) are two shows I have attended which were helpful.

Create a large body of artwork for the given area of art licensing you would like to work in. The more artwork you have to show the more likely some of it will be accepted.
Research the different companies and find out to whom you should send your artwork.

Contact the art directors of the different companies and introduce yourself. Ask them if they would like to see what you have to offer before sending low resolution images of your artwork. Read up on art licensing. Books about art licensing can be found at Amazon.

Read this article by Lance Klass of Porterfield’s Fine Art Licensing: https://www.art- licensing.biz/ Go to art licensing agents’ websites and study the artists they represent. Be prepared to have your artwork rejected more times than not. Don’t give up if your art isn’t accepted immediately. Be willing and able to make adjustments to your artwork if the client wants to make changes. Deliver revisions to your client in a timely manner and be dependable and easy to work with. The client is always right. Do not try to argue with them or convince them you know better what will work for them.
Be proficient in a digital art program so you can provide high-resolution artwork to the client that is the correct size for their product. I happen to use Corel Graphics Suite/Corel Draw and Corel Photo-Paint however the industry standard is Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photo-Shop. If your artwork is not created in a digital art program, know how to present high quality representations of your artwork to the client.
Equip yourself with a high-powered computer that can handle large files if you are creating art for jigsaw puzzles as they are often times very large files. It is good to have a technician who is familiar with that and can assist if you run into technical difficulties.

Work with an agent if you find one that will represent you, but note you will pay them a percentage of your advances and royalties for their hard work. If you can sign a non- exclusive contract with an agent, you will be able to license to companies on your own as well as through your agent.

Keep accurate records of your contacts and all business dealings and follow up with them in a timely manner. Be certain to keep good records of your expenses and earnings, and understand the tax-implications of being a self-proprietor. You will have to pay estimated taxes quarterly, and you will have to pay your own social security taxes in addition to income tax.

Get a good accountant. If you are fairly young, contribute now to an IRA and SEP savings plan. You will be glad you did when it comes time for you to retire.
I spend so much time isolated in the studio and I was never a solitary type of individual. One drawback of the art business is isolation. Make the conscious effort to get outdoors and make time for socializing with friends as much as you can.It's a tough business and it's not for everyone but it can also be very rewarding!
Work hard...be polite and pray a lot!