Complete Your Bio

Finding out more about you as an artist is very important to art collectors who are considering buying your work, as well as to Yikuo Art when selecting artworks for Yikuo Art’s featured collections and special series.

Your bio should include such information as where you were born and raised; where you currently live; your education; prizes and awards you’ve won; exhibitions that you’ve taken part in; and collections (both private and public) that include your work.

We recommend that you include the following info in your bio:

Where you were born and raised
Where you currently live
Your artistic influences and where you draw inspiration
Your medium(s)/technique(s)of choice and why
Whether you’re self-taught or received formal education/tutelage
Artists you’ve worked under/with
Prizes and awards you’ve won
Exhibitions that you’ve taken part in
Collections (both private and public) which include your work.

In order to update your bio, first select Account Information – to the left select, Profile Information.

COMPLETE YOUR PROFILE + ARTIST STATEMENT

Every day collectors ask us for more information about artists they like. Usually this is because the profile section has not been filled in, so if you have not included any information about yourself — where you studied, exhibition history and an artist’s statement — please add it to your profile information.

Although you don’t have to include a photo of yourself in your profile, we highly recommend that you do, as many collectors are curious to get a glimpse of the artist behind the work. You needn’t, however, provide a headshot. Photos of artists in their studio look great on our profile pages, and they are especially of interest to collectors, critics, and the general public.

Complete Your Artist Statement

An Artist Statement is a basic description of your works and your reason for creating them. A successful artist statement clearly explains the reason you’ve made your work. We recommend that an artist statement be no longer than 200 words.

Some questions that you should consider when crafting your artist statement include:
What is the subject matter of my work?
What is my work about?
How do I make my work?
Where do I find the images I use as inspiration?
How do I want my audience to respond to my work?
How does my work compare to historical or contemporary artwork?

HOW TO PRICE YOUR ARTWORK

Pricing your originals appropriately is critical to selling your work. As an artist, you should always be prepared to explain how and why you have arrived at your prices. Therefore, it’s very important to adopt consistent, fact-based pricing principles and methods.

If you’re new to the market, the following are some basic pricing principles and methods for you to consider.

Price your art based on comparables. Set your prices similar to those of other artists with similar experience and who work in similar mediums. When comparing your works to others, consider factors such as dimensions, medium, materials, and the artists’ achievements such as prizes, exhibitions, press, etc., as these will have a bearing on pricing. Also, when looking at price figures for comparison, always consider art that has sold, not art that has not yet sold.

Price your art like a retailer—at two times the cost of materials.

A common practice for new artists is to establish prices based on time, labor, and the cost of materials. Set yourself a reasonable hourly wage, multiply that by the number of hours it took to make the work and add that figure to the cost of your materials. For example, if the cost of materials is $50, your hourly rate is $20, and you spent 20 hours creating your art, then your work would be priced at ($50 x 2) + ($20 x 20) = $550.

You should also be consistent in your pricing. If you are selling one work in multiple channels, make sure its price is consistent everywhere. Similarly, be consistent about pricing works within your portfolio–for example, your larger works should be consistently priced higher than your smaller works.

Broaden your appeal by offering works at various price points. If someone likes your work but can’t afford a $3,000 painting, they will find a $500 painting more attainable.

You can always increase your prices after you have made some sales and have factual evidence to justify a price increase. Keep records of all your sales and the prices at which you’ve sold works. Remember that it’s much better to competitively price and sell your work now to gain exposure (increasing your prices in the future) than to have your work sit unsold.

If your artwork sells, the cost of packaging the artwork for shipping is the responsibility of the artist. The cost of packaging materials should also be factored into the price of your artwork. Please read our packaging guidelines to review the required packaging materials in the event that your artwork sells.

Oversized Works

Note that for larger, oversized artworks that require a wooden crate, please add an additional 30 – 35 lbs (13 – 16 kg) to the physical weight of the artwork during your upload to account for the crate. Also, if you require professional crating services, note that these services may cost up to $500.00 USD（$20,000NTD）.We highly suggest that you first research your total crating costs, and then factor these costs in when pricing your artworks. If your artwork sells, the cost of proper packaging is the responsibility of the artists.

Packaging + Shipping

Below are all the in’s and out’s to understanding what will happen in the event you’ve sold your artwork. We’ll cover the following topics in this article:
What happens when I sell my artwork
Certificate of Authenticity
Open Edition Print Sales
Cost of Shipping
Packaging Your Artwork for Shipping
Paintings
Flat artworks: drawings, collages, etc.
Sculptures
Crates
Shipping Insurance

WHEN YOU’VE MADE A SALE…

1. You’ll receive an email informing you of the sale. You’ll also receive information regarding the next steps you’ll need to take in order for us to successfully deliver the artwork to the collector. These steps include:

Scheduling a date and time for our courier to pick up your sold artwork. (Courier pick up should occur within 2 – 3 days of when the collector purchased the work.)
Writing us back to acknowledge that you’ve read and understand the to ensure that you know how to properly package your artwork for shipment

NOTE: It’s very important that you immediately schedule a courier pick up date and time after being notified that your artwork has sold.

2. If 48 hours pass and you haven’t scheduled a pick up date, you’ll receive a phone call and email from our Artist Support Team.

3. Within two days before your pickup date, you’ll receive an email from us to inform you that your shipping documents are now available to print from your Sales Dashboard. Be on the look out for our emails, in some cases, you may receive your shipping label via email from our Artist Support Team.

4. A courier service will arrive on the date you requested to collect your package and the shipping documents. Please make sure to hand all labels and shipping documents over to the courier.

Additional information regarding artwork packaging, pick up, and delivery:

All original artworks are shipped to the collector directly from the artist’s location.

Shipping costs are paid for by the collector at the time the artwork is purchased.

You, the artist, will be responsible for packaging your artwork for shipment, as well as for all packaging costs.

You must include a Certificate of Authenticity inside the package with your artwork. Yikuo Art will provide you the template to use. Continue reading below for more information on that.

5. Next, your artwork will be picked up and delivered to the collector. Please note that the transit time can vary depending on the location of your customer. You’ll see your shipment’s tracking number on the label that is provided to you. You can follow along using that tracking number on the carrier’s website directly (i.e. FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc.)

It’s important to note that if shipping internationally, there may be custom delays. This is not unusual and should not cause you any panic. Our trusted Artist and Customer Support Team is monitoring the progress of your artwork until it reaches it’s safe delivery to your customer. We’ll be updating your customer all along the way.

6. After seven (7) days from the date of delivery to your customer, your payment will be available. At the end of the 7th day (PST), we’ll send you an email notification to let you know that your funds are ready for payout.

Open Edition Print Sales

Once you have sold an Open Edition Print, Yikuo Art will email you to inform you that you have made the sale. Yikuo Art is busy printing and shipping it directly to your customer. You’ll be emailed when it is time to request your payment. Please remain patient while your print sale is being fulfilled by our printers.

COST OF SHIPPING

Your customer is responsible for the cost of shipping. The artists are only responsible for the cost of packaging their artworks. Remember your packaging must comply with our thorough Packaging Guidelines so its best to over estimate the cost of packaging materials during your upload and pricing of your artwork. We want for you to still make a healthy profit upon completion of your sale.

The cost of shipping will be broken out to the artists when uploading your artwork. From your customer’s perspective, the cost of shipping is included in the artwork price.

PACKAGING YOUR ARTWORKS FOR SHIPPING

Whether you’ve sold a small artwork on paper, or a 6 foot sculpture, please review our thorough packaging guidelines booklet. You can find this directly attached to this article.

It’s important to remember that our shipping insurance policy is only honored if you have packaged your artwork according to our guidelines. In the unfortunate event that your artwork is delivered with damage, any deviation for our guidelines will result in your sale not be honored. It’s incredibly important to package precisely according to our guidelines.

Certificate of Authenticity

When you’re preparing your artwork for shipping, you must include a Certificate of Authenticity inside the package to be sent to the collector who has purchased the work.

You’ve made a sale. Now what? Here’s what to expect:
Schedule Your Courier Pick Up
Package Art work
Tracking The Delivery
Delivery To The Collector
When Do I Get Paid?

1.Schedule your courier pick up

Once you’ve made a sale, you will receive an email that will announce the sale of your artwork (congrats!), and will ask for you to schedule a pick up date. This is when the courier will come to take your packaged artwork, usually 2-3 days after the collector has purchased the work. It is very important that you schedule a pickup date immediately — if you do not respond within 24 hours, you will receive an email and phone call from our Artist Support Team.

2.Package your artwork and print your shipping labels.

You’ve scheduled your pickup date? In preparation for your courier’s arrival, you’ll package your artwork in accordance with the Yikuo Art Packing Guidelines.

Two days before the pickup date, you’ll receive an email reminder to go to your Sales Dashboard and print your shipping documents. In some cases, the Artist Support Team will directly email your shipping label. For more information about the shipment process, click here

3.Tracking the delivery

Once your courier arrives for your scheduled pickup, they’ll take your artwork and off it goes to be delivered to the collector. Please be patient! You can watch your own tracking progress on your courier’s site. Simply copy the tracking number from your shipping label and use your specified courier’s website to follow along your tracking. Please note that when shipping internationally, there may be holds during customs inspections. These holds are perfectly normal. Our Support team is in close contact with the collector, providing them with assistance and instructions all along the way until safe delivery.

4.Delivery to the collector

Your artwork will be safely delivered to your customer. Success! In the rare cases that a complication occurs, the Artist Support Team will be in touch as they are following the delivery every step of the way.

5.Time to get paid!

After 7 days from the date of delivery. Yikuo Art will confirm whether the artwork has been delivered to the customer, and after confirming that the product is correct, then you can request a payout!