7 Ways Creatives Turn Simple Doodles Into Income
A few years ago, Kyle Young set up a booth at a church craft fair. She brought along products featuring her bold, hand-inked designs — the kind of playful, personality-packed art that makes you smile the moment you see it.
Three hours later, she'd sold over $1,000 worth of products. And that wasn't all. Nearly another $1,000 in follow-up orders poured in afterward.
Kyle had run her own graphic design and advertising agency for over 30 years. But surface pattern design? That was brand new for her. She'd just started exploring it — and the results blew even her away.
Kyle's story is one of my favorites because it shows something I see over and over again: When you take a simple skill — drawing, doodling, putting pen to paper — and learn how to turn those designs into repeating patterns, the income possibilities are much bigger than most people realize.
If you've ever doodled on a napkin, sketched flowers in the margins of your notebook, or filled a sketchbook that's sitting in your closet right now... you're closer to earning income from your art than you think.
In my free ebook, Craft a Career You Love in Surface Pattern Design, I outline seven ways to sell your art in this industry. Today I want to walk you through all seven, with examples of real women who are doing each one, so you can discover which path lights you up.
1. Indirect Selling (Print-on-Demand)
This is where many of my students start, and for good reason. Print-on-demand sites like Spoonflower, Zazzle, and Redbubble let you upload your designs, choose the products they'll go on, and earn a commission when someone buys. You never touch inventory. You never ship a box. You create the art and they handle the rest.
My student Shannon Copley is a perfect example. She was intimidated by Adobe Illustrator in the beginning. But she pushed through, learned to master Adobe Illustrator, and now sells beautiful designs on a variety of products. She’s uploading her designs on Spoonflower and entering their bi-weekly Design Challenges so that she gets feedback and insights on what’s working and where she can continue to improve.
The beauty of this path is that your doodles don't need to look like they came from a design agency. In fact, the hand-drawn, imperfect quality is exactly what buyers are looking for right now. People are tired of generic, mass-produced patterns. They want something with personality.
Your wonky little flowers? That's personality.
2. Licensing Your Designs
If you've always dreamed of seeing your designs on fabric, home goods, or stationery, licensing might be your path. You give a company permission to use your patterns on their products, and they pay you a royalty. You retain ownership of your art. They handle production and distribution.
Debby McLaughlin is a wonderful example of this. Debby has loved to sew since she was a little girl, and when she discovered surface pattern design, her dream was to replace her regular fabric "stash" with new fabric featuring her very own designs. And that's exactly what she did. We did a Student Spotlight together and she talked about her focus on licensing and how she landed her very first contract with The Textile District!
One of the benefits of licensing is that you can license the same designs across multiple industries. Your collection could go on home goods for one company and stationery for another. The market for fresh, original pattern designs is far bigger than most people realize. Retailers are constantly changing their inventory and are always hungry for new art.
3. Direct Selling
If you love interacting with customers and have an outgoing personality, direct selling might be your sweet spot. This includes selling on your own website, in an Etsy shop, at local art stores, or at seasonal craft fairs.
Let me tell you about Virginia Rudolph. Vicki is a true people person and a multi-passionate creative. She jokes that she's "all over the place" but she's actually quite organized. Vicki is creating a line of sportswear with her designs on them. She’s already sold pieces through her Etsy shop and directly to friends and family. She’s incredibly focused on growing her audience so that she has more potential buyers.
And remember Kyle from the opening of this blog? She loves combining direct selling with indirect selling. She's a great example of how, as creatives, we don't have to put all of our eggs in just one basket.
4. Teaching
Once you've learned the process of turning doodles into patterns, you have a skill that other people desperately want to learn. And you'd be amazed at how quickly "student" can become "teacher."
Maria Ahl-Zanier is a brilliant watercolor artist living in a small town in Sweden. When Covid hit and she had to stop offering in-person workshops, she didn't sit back and wait. She created an online watercolor course called Color Flow, a five-week program with recorded lessons, live demonstrations, and Q&A sessions. And now, post Covid, she’s teaching in person again!
You don't need to build a massive online empire to teach. You can start by leading a small workshop at your local library. Or hosting a craft night at your kitchen table. The point is that the skill you learn today can become something you share, and get paid for, tomorrow.
5. Subscriptions
Here's one that might surprise you. What if you created a monthly subscription service for your art? Maybe it's a set of greeting cards. Maybe it's a curated box of products featuring your designs.
Mary-Ann LeClair has always been creative, and when she couldn't do in-person paint parties during Covid, she didn't just wait for things to go back to normal. Oh no. She created a whole new business: a monthly "Favorite Things" subscription box. Each month, Mary-Ann curated a box full of specialty items with her designs on them and ships it to her subscribers.
And Natasha Zahn, a wonderfully talented artist living on Kodiak Island in Alaska, expanded her business with a greeting card subscription. She sells her work in a variety of ways, at local markets, at retailers around the state, and through wholesale, and the subscription became yet another income stream. That's the magic of this industry: there's more than one way to make it work.
6. Retail Stores
This one isn't for everyone, but don't overlook it. The benefits of having your own store include showcasing your products beautifully, having direct interaction with customers, and being able to host in-person events.
Remember Maria from the teaching section? She's also been running her own retail store in Sweden for years, on her property, in a space that used to be a general store. She sells pillows with oversized florals, tea towels featuring her watercolor designs, trays, a growing line of linen dresses, art prints, and greeting cards. The space is big enough for in-person shopping events and paint parties too.
And Mary-Ann? After launching her subscription box, she went and opened her own retail store in Sudbury, Ontario. Now she can showcase her products and offer in-person workshops again. These women keep proving that there's no limit to how you can build your creative business.
7. Commissions
This one surprises people, but it's become one of the most rewarding income streams for my students. Once you start putting your artwork out into the world, people notice, and they start asking for custom work.
Pauline Reilly used to own a nail salon in Wales and was told by a teacher in school that she didn't have any artistic talent. Sound familiar? She didn't pursue art at all until she discovered surface pattern design. She's incredibly talented and creates amazing commissioned products for friends and family, baby blankets, onesies, you name it. She even designed a beautiful blanket for her nephew Noah. Each piece is truly one of a kind.
And Natalie Rotman Cote, a photographer, painter, and animal lover, started posting her dog-themed pattern designs on social media. Friends and family began reaching out asking if she could create unique designs using photos of their own pets. What a serendipitous blending of her artistic talents, love of animals, and surface design skills. Neither Pauline nor Natalie started out thinking they'd get commissioned work. But that's what happens when you put your art into the world.
The Common Thread
Here's what all seven of these paths have in common: They all start with a simple doodle.
Not a masterpiece. Not a portfolio-ready collection. Just one small, imperfect drawing that gets scanned, digitized, and turned into a seamless repeating pattern. That's the bridge. That's the moment everything changes.
Every woman I mentioned in this post started in the same place you might be right now. Wondering if it's possible. Wondering if it's too late.
It's not. I promise.
Your Next Step
If reading this lit a spark in you, even a tiny one, pay attention to that feeling. Don't let it pass.
I've got something coming very soon that's designed for exactly where you are right now. It's my Doodles Coaching Week, and it's the place where everything I've described in this post begins. Eight days. Step-by-step guidance. A supportive community of women just like you. And by the end of it, you'll have created your very first seamless repeating pattern.
Early bird pricing is available now, and I'd love for you to claim your spot.
Join the Doodles Coaching Week! Early bird tickets are just $10. Click HERE for details.
Because seven ways to earn income from your doodles means nothing if you never take the first step.
And that first step? It's just one simple drawing.
You can do this.
Xo,
Anne
It’s Never Too Late to Create®
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MEET ANNE
Hi…I’m Anne!
My creative inspiration comes from a lifetime of observation. I grew up in Paris on the Place St. Sulpice and walked to school through the Luxembourg gardens. And that was only the beginning… Learn more by watching the video on my About page.
