a gallery that shows the work
Every piece gets a card that turns over to tell its story, and a large viewer for the detail.
You choose the part of each picture that stays in view when a card crops it.
for artists
a site like this one, for your art
I built unigon pics to show my work, sell prints and merch, and take commissions, all from one site I run myself. I can build one for you.
- gallery, prints, merch, commissions
- you update it yourself
- ward@unigon.us
what you get
everything this site does
prints, with no stock to keep
Each print is made on order on archival cotton paper and shipped to the buyer. Signed prints come to you first to sign.
Buyers pay by card on a secure checkout, and sales tax is worked out for them.
merch on your own pages
Shirts, mugs and mats through Fourthwall, each with its own page on your site.
Merch and prints of the same piece link to each other, so a buyer sees every way to own it.
a commissions studio
Clients sign in with a code by email or a passkey, describe what they want and attach references.
You send a quote, they pay the deposit by invoice, and both of you follow the piece in one place.
you run it yourself
Add a print, change a price, tag merch or move a picture's focus from your own studio pages.
Changes show on the site at once. No developer, no waiting.
built for speed
Built with Eleventy: every page is made ahead of time, so it opens at once, anywhere in the world.
The fastest possible pages rank better in search and feel better to use.
email that works with yours
Sign-in codes, quotes, receipts and your new-art email list.
It works with your favourite email sender, or I can recommend the one I use.
private, and yours
Your own domain. No ads, no tracking and no analytics.
The payment, print and merch accounts are in your name, so the money goes straight to you.
Try it: open a gallery card, a print, or the commissions page. It is all running here.
behind the scenes
the studio
Where you and your clients work. Shown with test accounts; click any to see it big.
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a client asks for a commissionThey sign in with a code by email, pick a tier, describe the piece and attach references. -
you see the request and quote itEvery request in one place, with its history. -
the quote: price, licence, finish dateDiscounts, rush and the deposit are worked out for you. -
the client gets an emailPlain, branded email for every step: codes, quotes, messages. -
the client reads and accepts itThen pays the deposit by invoice, by card. -
your printsPut a piece on sale, set sizes and prices, upload the print file. -
your merch, tagged with its artEach product names the art on it, so prints and merch link up. -
where each picture's cards lookClick the part of the picture that stays in view when a card crops it.
behind the curtain
what it runs on
You don’t need to know any of this. I set it all up, and you just use your site. This is what runs unigon pics today: a starting place for yours, not a rule.
- “I want it to load fast and be found.”
- Every page is made ahead of time, so it opens in a blink and shows up well in search. With Eleventy.
- “I don’t want to think about hosting.”
- Your site, your studio’s records and your clients’ files are kept safe and served worldwide. With Cloudflare.
- “What if I break something?”
- Every change is kept, so any one can be undone. Updates go live in minutes. With GitHub.
- “I want to get paid.”
- Buyers pay by card. Invoices and sales tax are handled for you. With Stripe.
- “I don’t want to pack and post prints.”
- Each print is made on archival paper and shipped to the buyer for you. With FinerWorks.
- “I’d like shirts and mugs too.”
- Merch is made and shipped for you, from your own pages. With Fourthwall.
- “I want to email my fans.”
- Sign-in codes, quotes and receipts go out for you, and you can send new art to your list. With the email sender you like, or the one I recommend.
- “No more passwords.”
- You and your clients sign in with a fingerprint or face. With passkeys.
Already use a shop, a print lab or an email list you like? We start from what you have. If you never want to hear these names again, that’s fine too.
your options
how we might set you up
just like this site
For complete control of every pixel.
The same build as unigon pics: the fastest pages and your studio and shop. Every change is kept in GitHub, can be undone, and goes live in minutes.
a CMS in the cloud
“I just want to manage my content. Make it easy for me.”
A content system in your browser for the whole site: pages, posts, art, prints and merch.
I already have a site
“I’d love commissions and a shop, but I want to keep what I have today.”
On WordPress or elsewhere: I build the commissions studio and the shop to work with the site you already have.
ideas
or we build you something a bit more bespoke
A few things I could build for you. Just ask, and we'll talk through the details.
limited editions
Numbered prints in a fixed run, each with its own certificate, sold until the edition is gone.
originals, with offers
Sell the original painting, and let buyers make an offer you accept or decline.
conventions and events
Your table schedule, with pre-orders to pick up at the show.
licensing your art
Let a business licence a piece for a book cover, a game or a product, with the terms in writing.
drops and early access
New work goes to your email list first, before it goes on sale to everyone.
classes and critiques
Book and take payment for lessons, workshops or portfolio reviews.
working together
three ways to do it
We can talk through which fits you best.
costs
what it costs
Prices start here. Every artist's site is a little different, so I quote yours once we've talked. Your accounts, your domain and your code are always yours.
your gallery
from $1,500
“I want my work to look its best, and to be found.”
- Gallery with turn-over cards and a large viewer
- Posts, your story and an about page
- Your email list sign-up
- Your domain, fast pages, made to be found
gallery and shop
from $3,000
“I want to sell prints and merch without packing a box.”
- Everything in your gallery
- Prints made and shipped on order, card checkout and sales tax
- Merch on your own pages
- Prints and merch of the same piece link to each other
the whole studio
from $5,500
“I want commissions, prints and merch in one place.”
- Everything in gallery and shop
- Commissions studio: requests, quotes, deposit invoices
- Client sign-in with an email code or a passkey
- Your own studio pages to run it all
other ways to start
- a CMS in the cloud
- add from $1,500
- commissions for the site you already have
- from $2,500
- commissions and a shop for the site you already have
- from $4,000
- something more bespoke
- from $12,000
I look after it, monthly
- keepHosting, backups and updates. Watch for problems, and fix them when a service changes. Replies within two business days.
- $49 a month
- careEverything in keep. An hour of changes a month. Replies the next business day.
- $149 a month
- studio careEverything in care. Two and a half hours of changes a month. Same-day replies, and help with print drops and conventions.
- $299 a month
Extra work is $150 an hour. Pay for a year and get two months free. Stop any time with 30 days' notice; you keep everything.
paying for it
- A free 20-minute call to see if we fit.
- A $350 planning session, which counts toward your build.
- Half to start, half when it goes live.
- Or spread it over three or six payments, with no interest.
- Running costs are small and paid straight to the services, usually under $10 a month, plus card fees when you sell.
How it compares. A site builder, a shop app, an email tool and a commissions service often run $700 to $1,000 a year, and marketplaces take 10% or more of each sale. Here you pay card fees and keep the rest, and your buyers and your list stay yours. A few commissions or a season of print sales can cover the build.
Founding artists. I'm building a shared platform for artists, and I'm taking three to five founding artists to help shape it: $750 to set up and $29 a month while it's in beta, then $39 a month locked in for three years. In return, a monthly call to tell me what works and what doesn't. Ask me about it.
for free-range, organically grown art
By day I'm a CTO in applied AI. I won't build a site that sells AI-generated images dressed up as hand-made art. These sites are for artists who make their own work, as I make mine.
the process
how we'd build yours
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we talk
Tell me about your work and what you want to sell: prints, merch, commissions, or all three.
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your work comes over
I bring in your art and posts, from your old site or from your files, with their titles and stories.
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your shop, in your name
We set up the payment, print and merch accounts as yours, and I connect them to the site.
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you take the keys
We go live on your domain, and I show you how to run it.
before you write
what helps me quote
- Where your work is now: a site, a portfolio page, social accounts or folders of files.
- What you sell, or want to: prints, merch, commissions, originals.
- Your domain, if you have one, and roughly when you'd like to launch.