#sticker paper (not waterproof) : online labels ‎OL177WX

[djsadbean]

do you have any advice for making stickers? your designs are all so pretty!!

ahh thank u sm!! yessir here's some tips i keep in mind when i design/make stickers (mostly from the perspective of someone selling stickers but these can be for personal sticker making too):

design:

try to use the same brush size/type if youd like all of your stickers to look similar. i personally have two i like to alternate between whether I'd like a smooth vs sketch look

also try to use the same size canvas if youre gonna make a lot of 3 inch stickers or 4x6 in sticker sheets (for example) to keep everything looking consistent

find artists you're inspired by and that'll be very helpful to avoid art block. for me, i adore artists who have similar taste and it helps me feel so happy and inspired to make my own art.

people like stickers that are all kinda the same vibe! i like to design stickers that are cute and vibrant and either feature characters i like or aesthetics i like. you gotta like what you make! (they dont all have to have the exact same vibe of course. but ive found that people will like getting all my cute fandom stickers bc they look like they all go together for example)

printing:

if youre cutting these out yourself, rotate the paper, not the scissors for better control. take breaks too! you don't wanna strain your hand! also its worth it to have big girl scissors (i am a big girl with big girl scissors btw ahahaha)

if youre using a cricut or silhouette machine to cut, please consider making all of your stickers easy peel (basically making the sticker its own mini sticker sheet so you remove the outer border so it's easier to peel) because this helps make sure that people from many backgrounds and lives can enjoy your work! It would break my heart to find that someone who has joint pain, for example, can't use the stickers they bought from me because they're too difficult to peel. (If you're hand cutting your stickers, I have no idea how you'd do this so don't worry! Maybe in the future if you decide to invest in a machine, this is something to think about)

if you're using a cutting machine, yes it will take up a lot of time and supplies running tests to see what works with your stickers! and yes you will have to readjust how you do things with the life cycle of the machine's blades. augh........ such a hassle sdjfhksd

when printing for the first time, you may need to spend time running tests and adjusting the colors. some printers need help with the vibrancy and stuff!

when printing your stickers, please only have a few pages loaded in your printer if you're still testing (or in general! i have my paper loaded in one at a time JUST in case I forgot a setting)

if you're printing at a print shop, make sure your file is PDF and that they're printing "actual size" bc otherwise it may change. this would be bad especially if you're planning on using your machine to cut later.

i personally would not recommend ordering your first several stickers outsourced bc you may end up with stock that never sells.

i hope these helped! some may not apply bc theyre for like,,, a sticker biz but maybe someone out there wants this info too :3 ill leave my current supply list in the tags so i can change it if i find that something changes and i dont wanna recommend it anymore

basically read op tags for recommendations :3