Seller Spotlight: Pixaroma

Join us for another exciting installment in our Seller Spotlight series, where we celebrate the array of talented independent designers selling in our marketplace. In this edition, we chat with Ioan from Pixaroma.

Image Credit: Pixaroma

Ioan's shop caught our attention after seeing his 100 Heart Ornaments Bundle trending in the Laser Cutting Designs category. Laser designs and 3D cut files have become quite the rage as of late, and seeing the amazing files that Ioan creates makes me wish I had a laser cutter, so I could craft in a new and fun way!

Read on to discover Ioan's creative process, top tips for other sellers, future goals, and so much more.

Hey Ioan! Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Ioan Decean, and I live in Arad, Romania.

I got my start with design back in 2007, messing around with Adobe Photoshop, and later on became acquainted with Adobe Illustrator. I've done all sorts of design work since, from logos to game graphics and digital paintings to studying for three years at Art School.

Since 2012 I have been designing full time, and I love it. I discovered that I can have passive income selling in different markets, and that is how I discovered Design Bundles. I'm trying to learn more about 3D design and Photography in my spare time.

Image Credit: Pixaroma's Meditation Mandala SVG

What is your favorite product to design, and how did you discover it as a niche?

I like to design all sorts of files, and in the last few years, I've designed: mandalas, illustrations, cartoon characters, seamless patterns, mockups, cutting files, well, pretty much everything, really.

Mandalas are really enjoyable to create. They are almost like meditation.

And also, I like to do SVG cut files in special 3D layered designs because you can see them in real life; your designs are no longer just confined to the digital world but also come to life when people can touch them.

I've been apprehensive about cut files because I didn't know what to do as far as design and technical parts go, how to organize it, what format, if it will cut well.

I searched for crafters to collaborate with and found many people all around the world with Cricut, Silhouette, Glowforge, Laser Cutting Machines. I learned a lot about how to design them, organize and save them, so now my customers can easily use and cut my files.

For example, I opened a group on Facebook called pixaromacrafts, which we can use to exchange ideas, learn more about crafting and the design process.

I try to show my customers different color and material combinations so that they can get inspired to craft beautiful products.

Image Credit: Pixaroma's Passion Mandala 3D Layered SVG

How would you describe your style?

I would say my style is a combination of cute, cartoon, and decorative.

What (or who) inspires you to make new designs or create your products?

I get my inspiration from different places:

• Pinterest - I usually create boards with different ideas and styles; from illustrations to photos.
• Videos - YouTube and documentaries can help me find more info about a subject. I can also see different objects or animals from different angles
• Nature - I like to travel and take photos in my free time, and that also helps me find new ideas for projects and also for doing a better presentation, from composition to colors.
• Sketching - sometimes I just sketch random stuff to generate new ideas.

I usually don't have any trouble finding inspiration as I have so many ideas. The problem is time, as sometimes I just need to choose the ideas that look like they're more likely to work.

Image Credit: Pixaroma's Dog Love 3D Layered Animal Lover SVG

What does a typical day look like for you behind the scenes?

My typical day begins at 7 AM with the sorting through my messages and emails. I start designing around 8 AM with short breaks thrown in here and there for checking messages, my Facebook group, and page, or Instagram. My workday usually ends around 5 PM.

Some days after work, I'll explore the city and take lots of photos. Other times I'll sketch out plans for what to do in the morning. In the evening, I watch a movie, TV show, or a YouTube video about design or art.

Weekends are free for travel, taking photos, relaxation :)

What is your designing tool (or tools) of choice?

For me, it all starts with a sketch. In the beginning, I did my sketches on paper and then took a picture of the sketch and used it as a guide for the next steps.

Now I do all of my sketches digitally, using only my tablet, either the Samsung Tab S6 or Photoshop with the Wacom Intuos 5 M tablet.

After I have the sketch done, I save it as JPG or PNG and use it as a guide in Adobe Illustrator.

I place it in Illustrator, double-click on the layer, and check Template and I dim Images to 15-50%.

I make a new layer, and using the pen tool and basic shapes, I redo the entire design in vector format.

Then, when the design is done, I save it in different formats Ai, EPS, JPG, PNG, DXF, SVG, PDF.

For 3D Layered designs, I also do an assembly guide to help them assemble the design.

Then comes the presentation part, that is done mostly in Photoshop.

At the beginning, I have used a lot of mockups for presentations. Now I either take my own photos where I can, or I do the presentation in 3D.

It is hard for customers to see how a flat cut file would look in real life; that’s why I do all kinds of simulations in 3D with different materials, from Card stock to MDF or Wood. Some color combinations look better than others, so it is easy for me to combine colors in 3D and show them examples for inspiration.

I use Blender to make the 3D model from the SVG file; then, I use Maverick Studio to render and play with materials and colors. Then it all goes to Photoshop, where I adjust colors, add text and finish it up. After that, it comes the part that I don't enjoy so much :) publishing, finding keywords, adding text descriptions, and marketing.

Image Credit: Pixaroma's Mom Love 3D Layered Mother's Day SVG

What's your best-selling item?

My Christmas Village 3D Layered SVG Cut File.

Image Credit: Pixaroma's Christmas Village 3D Layered SVG

What's something you wish you knew when you started designing or creating?

I wish I knew:

• Presentations are very important; sometimes, doing presentation take more time than creating the actual design.
• Title, keywords, and description - can be a perfect design, but if people can not find it, then it will not sell.
• How to opitimise the time so I can do the design faster and better - for example, on mandalas using MirrorMe plugin help me create mandalas faster, or on exporting file I can create actions to do the repetitive part for me.
• Learning new stuff each day, checking the trends, don't be afraid of new things, learning to draw, color theory, photography, 3D all combined can help create better design and presentation.
• Organizing the files - use a cloud service to have backups for files, keep them organized to find them easier, save the file in different formats (at the beginning, I saved in Ai, EPS, PNG but then SVG became popular, and I didn't have it).
• Marketing - sharing everything on social networks can help bring more sales. I still don't enjoy that part, but it is a must to get your design out there, so people can find it.
• Communication between client and designer - I wish I started sooner to collaborate with Crafters to understand what they need and how they need it.

What tips would you have for any new designers or sellers wanting to start?

• Do quality designs and presentations.
• Save your files in different formats, organize the files, if it has a different design like in a bundle, create a catalog with previews.
• Check the trends, market your product, have patience because it takes time to grow, post consistently, do research for keywords and titles.

Image Credit: Pixaroma's Christmas Magic Keys 3D Layered Laser Cut Files Bundle

Do you have any future goals for your Design Bundles shop?

I think when it comes to markets that are focused to help the designers to grow and get sales, the Design Bundles is the best. I have been selling my files on different sites, but from all of them, Design Bundles is the best. That is why I added my Instagram, website, Facebook, and other website link to my Design Bundles shop because it has the greatest potential. My goal is to add a lot of quality products to the shop. This year, I am focusing on cut files and 3D Layered designs. I am proud that I have been selected for bundles more than 16 times in the last years, which means I do designs that are worth it, and my work is appreciated.



Where can we find you online?

My Shop on Design Bundles: https://designbundles.net/pixaroma

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pixaroma

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pixaroma/

Facebook Group for Crafters: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pixaromacrafts/

Thanks so much, Ioan, for taking part in the Design Bundles Seller Spotlight series. We loved learning more about you, your creative process, inspiration, and top tips. And a big thanks to our wonderful readers and designer community. Stay tuned for the next installment of the Seller Spotlight series.