In our previous article, we suggested several platforms where graphic designers could sell their work. A big part of the contemporary design community are comic writers, and these platforms also come in handy for selling products related to your comics. This is why we decided to explore some Instagram accounts that help these authors reach a wider audience across social media, and take them to their online shops. Comic content explored here is not only funny but relatable to our personalities and also tackles some social causes that matter to the artists.
@punkystudio
Punky Studio takes us on a trip that follows our main character, a cat, which explores daily challenges such as anxiety and lack of motivation. The author uses this platform to talk about mental health, and okay, an adorable dog from time to time, but this Instagram account is linked to the Etsy shop where you can buy illustrations or handmade pins about mental health. What makes this account sell is the content which speaks to the cause-driven people worldwide, but also a good brand, authentic drawing and good understanding of the Instagram audience.
@eckyo.me
Eckyo.me advertises an online drawing course by the author Ecky O. This Instagram account buys us with adorable characters and well-developed brand, but this art of visual storytelling is used to share motivational and inspiring short stories. This account is like your daily dose of Kung Fu Panda wisdom on social media, which takes you to their website to learn how to increase your character drawing skills for improving your own work. This account is an example of using Instagram to sell education, while the shared artwork convinces you that they know what they are doing.
@4amshower
4 am shower is an account that represents illustrations created by Guy Kopsombut, who tells us short stories about cute wild animals and their adventures. Every story is sharing a motivational and supporting message, making it our daily dose of cute-things-on-Instagram. For Guy to be able to tell us about love and friendship, he has to receive a lot of support from his fans around the world. Guy does this by rewarding his supporters on Patreon with prints, sketches, stickers, postcards and other perks featuring our favorite love-giving animal of the month.
@handsoffmydinosaur
From a wide green sea of Instagram, a charming Greek humor finds its way to our feed. I am talking about one of the most popular designer profiles Hands Off My Dinosaur – and I do believe nobody want’s to mess around with this guys dinosaur. Teo is selling, by his own words, “illustrations and stuff”, and he does it remarkably. This Instagram account will surprise you with ordinary things in out-of-the-ordinary situations, which will make you laugh till your stomach hurts. His humor is often related to food, but some interesting anthropomorphic planets, chess figures and washing machines make an appearance as well. The link on this profile takes us to his Etsy shop, where we cannot resist to cards, stickers, prints, magnets and other “stuff” we just really wanna pin to our wall and have it make our day every morning.
@safely_endangered
Safely Endangered has been around with us for quite some time, during which it has developed a certain audience type which this account can take to the end of the world with their eyes closed. The audience to these “silly comics” are enjoying the safe environment in which they read the silly jokes which sometimes go all the way to the dark corner of our consciousness and back. Besides the usual mugs and prints, the personal website we are taken to is selling a graphic book of your favorite comics and more, using selling services such as Amazon. A very specific niche of these comics are the reason why this account has almost reached a million followers and is now selling a book worldwide.
@stacieswift
Stacie Swift, or probably the most famous Stacie on Instagram, is our next pick for designers social profiles. Stacie uses this social network to illustrate positive messages and she, just like you, identifies as a color lover! Her account is well branded with bright, chippy colors, which support the background of each post. Her mission is to make your days with awesome sense of design and comforting words, which she is now well recognized by, and most loved by those who care about their mental health. Stacie has a shop for her postcards, but also socks and other items, a personal website and a blog where she shares her thoughts. On top of all this, she also uses Patreon where most supportive fans can reach her.
@steinbergdrawscartoons
In our previous article, we have mentioned Society 6 as a platform for selling your design. Steinberg is one of the artist whose chose was precisely Society 6, while his Instagram account helps him reach his customers. Steinberg is a type of cartoonists we loved reading in our daily newspaper. His critics of society are funny, realistic and relatable. He usually uses simple black and white drawings to tell a story, although sometimes he cheers us up with water colored images and amazingly balanced colors, which reasure us that he knows what he’s doing.
@there.goes.motivation
I don’t know if these full stops in the name of the account are on purpose, but they are really suiting pauses between each word, which describe the account accordingly. Backed with personal experience of a girl in the urban society, Loron really gets people involved. Her characters are also very well developed and animated-like, so we can easily see this turning into an animated show one day, with the right support. For there.goes.motivation Loron uses Patreon and exclusive perks for her most loyal supporters.
@relatabledoodles
Another Patreon user, Relatable Doodles are a super successful Instagram trend, presenting the type of doodles you can relate to (if the name didn’t say it all). This designer tackles burning issues such as use of technology, ecology, activism and activism-wanna-be, as well as anxiety, friendship and relationship inspired topics. Cee has really made it into “creating comics on the internet” as her full time job, but she knew how to develop a responsive community around her work before asking them to pledge on Patreon and support her. A truly inspiring story of an Instagram account, from which we can all learn from.
Written by: Nina Petrov
