Based on my research into popular wall art listings on Etsy, I discovered Japanese-themed wall art to be one of the three most popular styles sold on Etsy. Japanese culture and Japanese-themed interiors, such as Japandi, have become immensely popular in the United States and Europe, which explains this rising popularity. Therefore, aspiring Etsy wall art sellers should strongly consider this niche. During my research, I also noticed that many existing Etsy sellers are successfully selling Japanese-themed AI wall art. A new seller often struggles with the lack of knowledge about the Japanese wall art market and the AI creation and production process. Therefore, I have written this comprehensive guide that uses research-driven insights to help aspiring sellers learn how to make and sell trending Japanese AI wall art on Etsy the correct way. Specifically, in this tutorial, you will learn the following:
- Which AI model to use?
- What to create?
- How to prompt to get the best results?
- How to process raw AI-generated files to make them print-ready?
- How to size the images?
- How to create listing photos?
- How to produce the prints?
Which AI model to use?
There are plenty of AI models available on the market. However, only two AI models stand out from the crowd when it comes to creating artistic output. These are Midjourney and Adobe Firefly. I am using Adobe Firefly for this tutorial because it offers private generations, commercial safety, and a lower price. You can read about the pros and cons of each tool in the article How to Make and Sell Wall Art on Etsy with AI? — A Research-Driven Guide with a Real-Life Example.
What to create?
Based on the analysis of 500+ bestsellers, the popular Japanese-themed listings depict the following:
- Street views
- Nature and botanical illustrations
- Animal and aquatic creatures, such as cats, frogs, koi fish, and owls.
- Area-specific designs, such as bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen.
Therefore, by targeting these specific trends, you are creating products with proven market demand.
How to prompt correctly?
If you master the art of prompting, trust me, you have won half the battle. If you can differentiate your art at the prompt level, you can be highly successful. Many sellers think that AI art is bad because they input generic prompts. You can really generate highly artistic output with AI if your prompt includes all key details. The logic is simple:
- Generic prompt = generic output, more competing listings
- Specific prompt = specific output, fewer competing listings
You can make Japanese wall art in two ways:
- Adding Japanese elements without a specific art style, examples: a Japanese street view, a cat eating ramen, or
- Specifying a Japanese art style, examples: woodblock print style, pop art style, wabi sabi style. An AI model understands these styles, and you can include them in your prompts.
Real-life examples
Japanese Street View
The screenshot below shows a Japanese street view generated with Adobe Firefly. I have mentioned key details in the prompt, such as a rainy street, nighttime, and water reflections.
Nature and botanical illustrations
In the screenshots below, I have generated nature and botanical illustrations in Adobe Firefly using the Japanese woodblock print style.
Area-specific, animal-based design
In the screenshot below, I have generated a Japanese bathroom frog print. The prompt clearly describes the type of bathroom (Japanese bathroom), what the frog is doing (bathing), and the art style (woodblock print). You can be as specific as possible, including the colors of the walls and floor, the overall environment, sunlight, and any other aspects you want to include.
Correct Any AI Imperfections
Sometimes AI-generated images can have slight imperfections, especially in the hands. As you can see in the screenshot above, the number of fingers on the frog’s hands does not match. In this case, you need to correct these imperfections. You can easily do so using the edit feature in Adobe Firefly. You can highlight the imperfections and enter a prompt to correct them. In the screenshot below, I made the frog’s hands identical and matched the number of fingers on each hand using the ‘Edit’ feature.
Replace Japanese text
Japanese-themed AI images may include random Japanese characters that have no meaning. You can replace the text with something meaningful. You can leverage Google Gemini or ChatGPT to find the appropriate Japanese text for your wall art. There are various Japanese fonts available in Photoshop that you can use to add the text. You can also remove the text completely; however, keeping the Japanese text is a powerful way to convey the theme.
How to process the raw AI-generated file to make it print-ready?
Upscale
AI-generated images lack sufficient resolution for printing. The print standard requires 300 ppi, while the AI output is 72 ppi. You need to upscale the generated images and upgrade them to 300 ppi. Topaz AI or Adobe Lightroom (which also uses Topaz AI) are two ideal options for upscaling. You can also upscale directly in Adobe Firefly and Photoshop, but there is a maximum limit, whereas Topaz AI and Adobe Lightroom allow much higher upgrades.
Process
Sometimes AI images can be highly saturated or flat. In this case, you should adjust the contrast, brightness, and saturation to further refine these images. You can accomplish this with Photoshop or Adobe Lightroom.
How to size the images?
Wall art shoppers look for different sizes. The maximum size typically offered by a print shop on Etsy is 24 x 36 inches. The most commonly ordered size is 16 x 20 inches. Generally, a print shop offers various sizes for each of the following ratios:
- 2:3 – Maximum size: 24 x 36 inches
- 3:4 – Maximum size: 18 x 24 inches
- 4:5 – Maximum size: 16 x 20 inches
For digital prints, you can provide the customer with these three maximum-size PNGs as a digital download. You can upload these PNGs to Google Drive and share the link in a PDF that you upload to Etsy while creating a listing.
For physical prints, you can prepare these three maximum sizes and downsize them for smaller sizes in Photoshop.
Ensure white borders if the image does not have negative space on the edges
To avoid images getting cut on the edges when preparing different sizes, you can create a white canvas template for the sizes mentioned above and stretch the image onto it, leaving white borders around it. This is one of the best ways to ensure uniformity across different sizes.
How to create listing photos?
You can use mockups to create listing photos. There are three ways to do this, as follows:
- Using a mockup website to upload your artwork and generate listing photos.
- Using websites to get mockup scenes where you drop your artwork in applications like Photoshop or Canva
- Creating your own mockups using AI
How to Produce?
There are two common ways Etsy sellers sell wall art:
Physical prints: You can sell physical prints through a print-on-demand (POD) manufacturer. Printify and Printful are two popular POD choices for selling physical prints. This is the most beginner-friendly production route because it requires no upfront investment. You just need to upload your designs to the POD website. These platforms integrate directly with your Etsy store, and they automatically place and ship orders whenever a customer places an order, with no seller involvement.
Digital prints: Many Etsy shops also offer digital prints as direct downloads. You can upload different print sizes to Google Drive and share a Google Drive link so buyers can download them to their computers.