If you know my art series, Tiny Moving Place, you know it’s been a journey.

Finally, a major collaboration came in. This is a big step for the series. As an ermerging artists, getting my IP licensed for products is a huge milestone.

The deal works like this: the company sells the product at a wholesale price, and my royalty is a percentage of that figure, usually around 5-7%. This is on wholesale price not retail, it’s about 35% from retail price

I don’t license my IP much but usually, licensing means I only provide the artwork and concepts, but for this collab, I have to do the 3D modeling for production myself. It is a lot of extra work.

They know I can do it. We’ve worked together before. They trust my skills to deliver exactly what the toy-making process needs and know I can handle the rounds of changes. This saves them time and money because they don’t need to hire another 3D artist or spend weeks on revisions. Normally, a company should handle production while I only supply the concept, so in a way, I am underpaid for the extra labor.

But when running a business, I’ve learned I can’t always “win all.” Sometimes I don’t get the highest royalty or a big upfront payment. I need to find a sweet spot. For me, that spot is gaining something other than money: the chance to collaborate with big brands and be published by an established corporate name. I can leverage this to open doors for more projects in the future.

This first big deal is about more than money; it should help boosts my IP’s visibility. It gets Tiny Moving Place into more hands and more homes. This is marketing for my brand and for me. This exposure leads to more collaborations and future deals.

Toys don’t just make money from one-time sales. They make money as they sell subsequent batches over a long period. The goal of the first batch is to make enough to pay back the initial investment of the mold. After that, we can change the livery or make small modifications for the next batches. My job from now on is to create constant interest and “attention marketing” so Tiny Moving Place keeps selling.

This helps the partners, it helps me, and it will keep my dream afloat for a long time.

Ok, that’s my rant. Time to work on those proposals. I can’t wait to show you the outcome.

— Lai