I been using the pen tool in adobe illustrator with a computer mouse to draw for years.
Recently, wacom has launched a new INTUOS PRo and i am thinking abt getting it.

Is Wacom any useful for me who has been using the pen tool in adobe illustrator?

What is PP?
I joined Istock not long ago as a illustrator, my sales/ downloads are not increasing daily, but earnings/payments are increasing alot dramatically.
Not too sure how Istock payment works , perhaps it is the "PP" you mentioned.

You have nice portfolio, but i personally think the commercial value is limited. You should shoot more themes.

I have joined there few mths ago. Sales is OK.

But you would need to fill a Japanese TAX form like W7 or W8 ben form in order to receive yr payment.
The form is much more complicated than the W8 form.
I have submitted 3 times but still get tax at 40%.

I have seek their help in filling out the form correctly, but they couldnt provide any legal advise.
All they ask me to do is to go to the Japanese Tax centre website to look for accurate info.
Unfortunately the website is only available in japanese language.

If anyone here have any knowledge in filling out tha japanese tax form, pls help by providing some info here. I have googled everywhere without results.

Thanks you for sharing.
Does Alamy offer buyer subscription sales like SS as well???

The prices of the illustration does'nt come cheap from what I see. Probably need High quality illustrations to be sellable.

Sales is poor becos most ppl go there and download photo and drawings for FREE!
Click the zoom button and you can get a 300dpi A4 size photo for free.

An amateur photoshop user can easily remove the watermark if the photo is on a Fully white isolate background.
Dun believe, try it on any isolated images!

It looked very likely that those Powerhouse illustrators will become independent based on the Royalty cut Istock announced today.

Those illustrators who did design/label elements will probably have a tough time out jumping to SS or any others since the competitions are too stiff.

Illustrators who mainly do cartoon/lifestyle drawing are probably going to do well since there are not many good ones on the market. The only drawback I think they have is the number of files they have. Most Quality illustrators doesnt have more than 1000 files over there.

yes it does apply to all agencies, only from USA sales not overall

Thank you!!!

I was asking becos Zazzle tax me 30% from overgross sales, and not US sales which is very strange.
I am going to ask Zazzle staff what going on?

Dear fellow Illustrators,

I would like to seek advise from veteran stock illustrators here whether should I join the rest of the agencies?

You see, i have joined Istock on Jan 2013 and became an exclusive in 2 months time. I was delighted to become an exclusive at first but somehow the 30% royalties for exclusives seem like a joke to me. So I left and join GL and other microstocks site that offer 50% commission.

During this 2 months, sales were not as good as i expect like Istock. It seem to me the traffic at this sites are moderately low.

Right now, i am considering whether should I join the top 3 sites and the rest of middle tier and best 4 low earners?

If i am a photographer, i would not hesistate to join all the sites but for a illustrator, it's kind of a ego thing.
Illustration takes years to hone yr craft and plenty of moment to create a good artwork. Selling yr artworks for 30 cents is hard to swallow. But with money dun come yr way, then what the use of having Good skills?

Can any ones advise what the advantages and disadvantages of selling at other agencies in the long run?
Does selling Raster version of yr vector work at all sites a good move or a bad move? Or is it wiser to sell yr vector  at all sites?

Any advise is welcome and I really appreciate yr suggestions.

Seriously, all microstock site that offer subscription should be all destroyed.

But as long there are contributors who are unwilling to lose their miserable earnings and Cheapskate Buyers with limited budgets, subscription sites will still be alive.

How . Jon Oringer manage to convince everyone in the whole world to join shutterstock for a meagre sum of 25 cents per Dl is magical.

What are the dumb contributors around the world thinking at that time?

And now at present, we have someone that offer 50% and everyone is complaining abt this and that.

Спасибо!

Thanx a lot!

I think it would be best if you can allow us to set our OWN PRICING ranging from $3~$5 for simple designs to $20~$30 for complex design like characters design.

DO keep us informed when you start accepting artist officially after yr price is set.

As a new exclusive contributor, i am very disappointed with them. What is the differences between 20% for non exclusive and 25% for new exclusive like me?

Istock should be named Iquit since many valuable contributors are leaving.

Clipartof
Drawshop
Toon Vectors
Self-Hosted

I like Clipartof, but the problem is How do I join them? I cant find any contributor info on their website.
Toonvectors belongs to Cthoman's brother, and i definitely contribute. I do actually hope Toonvectors has better features, like Group/categories section like Animals, kids, education.

I am not expecting big income, but just passive earnings to save for a rainy day.