Multiple Streams of Income With Your Cartoon Characters

Record labels do not make their money solely on album sales. Albums are primarily marketing mediums to make the artiste known to the world and propel him/her to fame. Once famous, multiple avenues of income become available - such as product endorsements, advertisements, concerts, movie deals, etc.

If you are in the business of character licensing, you should consider looking upon the management of your stable of digital characters just like the management of real-life artistes as described above in the case of the record labels.

Character Licensing

Licensing your characters is a good way to generate extra income out of your characters. If your game is about to or has already hit the shelves, you should consider getting a licensing agent to manage the rights of your characters. Good licensing agents are often well-connected and able to look for suitable partners who may be willing to license your characters for their merchandise. Such licensing deals can result in anything from plush or clothes to books or even credit cards!

The publication Total Licensing is a good resource for learning more about the latest trends in licensing and merchandising and also looking for licensing agents.

Producing and Selling Your Own Merchandise

Previously the concept of producing and selling your own merchandise can be daunting due to the prohibitive costs of production and distribution. Now it is entirely possible to do this at an almost negligible cost. Websites like Café Press and Zazzle provide the opportunity for you to upload your own designs, match them with a range of products, set your own prices and sell it off their website for just a few dollars per month! You don't even have to worry about production and logistics because Café Press does it all for you!

I have also compiled a short list of great industry resources you should check out if you are interested in this area.

The Licensing Business Handbook is a comprehensive introduction to licensing for property owners, product manufacturers and agents. It is jam-packed full of information on how to get started and what to look out for in the complex business of licensing.

Total Licensing Limited is an independent publishing company dedicated to the licensing, merchandising and intellectual property market. It is the only publishing house to cover this massive industry on a truly worldwide basis. You can find a huge listing of potential licensees and licensors in the Total Licensing publications.

LIMA is the grand-daddy association for companies and individuals engaged in the business of licensing - both as agents and as property owners. There is a wealth of resources and help available here and you should always refer back here.

You can visit the Mediafreaks blog to pick up more tips on anime character design

This article was contributed by Aldric Chang - a creative businessman who is active in music composing and production, internet marketing, casual games production, animation production, cartoon production and character licensing. His 3d animation studio - Mediafreaks - is focused on producing high-end animation work for documentary producers, advertising houses and cartoon animated series - with projects ranging from the animation of dinosaurs to the visualization of natural disasters and something as chic as 3d jewelry animations [http://www.media-freaks.com/animated-commercials.html]