The Origami Forum

hi everyone.

i have created my original design of an elephant. i wish to make a couple bucks off of my design.
i wanted to know how i could go about selling my copyrighted design.

thanks for any advice.

This is your first post and also given the question I'd rate you as "Newbie".
There are several things you can sell: instructions, photos, folded models, the entire design. The latter is only possible for established, professional origami artists. For all other purposes posting a picture of your model won't harm and then we might be able to tell you if people will find this design interesting.

Instructions: First create a video or diagrams. Those you can sell for a few bucks on various platforms, e.g., at OrigamiUSA https://origamiusa.org/guidelines-for-download-sellers
But given the amount of freely available instructions (e.g., on youTube) and the amounts of existing elephant designs, I'm not sure how well your design will sell (or how many views and hence revenue you'd get on something like youTube). Personally I'd suggest you consider submitting your diagrams to one of the origami conventions instead, then you won't get a few bucks but rather a free copy of the convention book (and people will get to know your name).

Photos: There are various stock photo sites, no idea how much money there is in this for origami designs.

Folded models: E.g. https://www.etsy.com/

My best guess is your design and about 3 bucks will by a cup of coffee. I could be wrong, since I don't really know the price of a cup of coffee (never drank the vile stuff).

When selling a piece of origami you have to look at the type of things people want to learn..A famous elephant from a cartoon would sell better than a standard wild subject since most of those models have been covered fully by the established folders..If it's a complex model you'd need so many subscribers and views...on vimeo..bilibili or YouTube to get monetised..is before you get advertising and they send a cheque..It actually isn't difficult for you to have contrasting paper...good light and don't have your hands in the way through your the complex parts!##
Ive read comments under all Flickr and such posts so I already have an idea of what models ppl would like variations of..where they get stuck and straight requests for tutorials..considering all of that with a little time you could build up a lot of views just from doing that..but note you need permission if it's somebody's work##
For example look through the questions on here where ppl get stuck ..that could be quite lucrative if you realise the potential in helping frustrated novices out
Kusudamas and tessellations sell at about 3-5 dollars per download...there are loads of obscure sites you can Google from your browser by searching e-book downloads ..individual origami instructions maximum $5..

People have given you great advice. I wanted to add something extra to the idea of selling folds of your model. Etsy really is an excellent place to do it, you could also try in a crafts fair, or simply promote the folds you're selling among friend, and family. You can do that face to face, but also through the web and apps, for example Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

About the actual folds, I recommend you consider carefully the material you'll use, which doesn't necessarily have to be paper. An attractive and good quality material can help a lot. I for example love how simple folds look when it includes a layer of fiber tissue paper:

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=79&p=150107&=p150107#p150107

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=13595

Aside from that, adding a base under the fold can make it look a lot more attractive. It could be made from wood, but you could also simply fold the base from origami. Here is one example sold on Etsy with a wooden base: https://www.etsy.com/es/listing/615407437/

You could also add somewhere, for example under the base or even on it if it's big enough, different fun facts about elephants (remember to write them down yourself instead of copy/pasting them) and/or some information about your elephant model and how it came to be. You could even add your name or artistic signature and the date of when you folded that one in particular.

Well those were the ideas I wanted to contribute. Hope they end up being helpful .