Whether you fell to the peer pressure of buying a Hydro Flask or not, stickers grew into a large way of expressing style within the past year. More and more people walk around with crammed water bottles leaving less and less room for sticker real estate and more space for creativity. Of course, these small pieces of vinyl have endured a couple of decades prior to today, but the convenient stylized designs which have popped up from existing brands and celebrities have made an indent in the e-commerce world. From laptop covers to the rear-view window of that jeep that just passed, this style of art helped launched new platforms that would make it easier for creators to push their products onto the market. The next means of business? Teaching you how to start up your own sticker company in ten simple steps.
All artwork and photos are courtesy of artist Paige Williams

(1) Brainstorm the design you want to create and sketch it out onto canvas paper (this is the most precise way to prepare for later transferring).

(2)Take a photo of your sketch and upload the file into any type of digital art app. The one used here was Procreate, which you can purchase on the Appstore.

(3)Create a layer on top of the file you uploaded and turn the opacity of the original sketch down slightly.

(4)Outline your sketch on the top layer you added, be sure to stay as close as possible to the original lines and to delete the bottom layer of the photo (an apple pen was used in this example).

(5)Once the piece is now a digital copy, go in with different sized brushes and opacities to add depth and dimension to the 2D drawing or illustration and save the file as a JPEG once done.

(6)Locate any sticker distributor, the one used in this example is Stickerapp.com, and create an account if necessary.

(7)Choose your desired cutline, size, quantity, and material and proceed to the uploading process.

(8)Send a JPEG file of the work to the device you’re using to create your sticker and upload it into the site, making any adjustments like holographic letters and adjusted outline sizing.

(9)Insert your payment information and choose the shipping standards that you desire.

(10)Once your stickers arrive in 2-9 business days you are ready to reach out to your target demographic and create social media accounts on Instagram and Twitter that resemble your brand.