People are paying to have their favorite pop culture icons immortalized in drawings, painting, and illustrations. Of course, you do need to have artistic ability (but hey, you can always call it ‘abstract’).
According to Life Lounge, “There’s a whole lot of 20 somethings out there with disposable income to thrown around. They’ll pay BIG BUCKS for an ironic portrait of Sesame St, Saved by the Bell, 1970s cigarette advertisements, whatever.”
One prospering fan art maker is Dirk Erik Schulz, who has created artworks featuring the Mario Bros series. Click through the gallery to see his work!
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Fan Art Collecting
- Creating and collecting fan art is becoming a popular hobby, with people willing to pay high prices for unique and ironic portrayals of their favorite pop culture icons.
- Generation Y Consumerism
- Millennials are driving the demand for fan art, with their disposable income and willingness to spend big bucks on nostalgic and ironic artwork.
- Artistic Entrepreneurship
- Artists like Dirk Erik Schulz are capitalizing on the fan art trend, using their artistic talent to create unique and profitable pieces that resonate with Generation Y.
Where This Applies
- Art Market
- The demand for fan art is creating new opportunities in the art market, with artists able to sell their work directly to consumers for high prices.
- Entertainment Merchandise
- Selling fan art can be a lucrative business for entertainment companies, as they can license popular characters and enable artists to create unique and authorized artwork.
- Nostalgia Merchandise
- The fan art trend opens up opportunities in the nostalgia merchandise industry, with artists creating ironic and nostalgic portrayals of retro icons that resonate with consumers.
