From tarot cards to toys: SCAD grad rolls out products by licensing her art
When Andrea Furtick created a deck of Afro Goddess tarot cards, she hand-painted the art for each card.
The artist and author went on to sell $750,000 worth of those decks from her living room and turned the project into a whole universe of characters in video games, toys and a musical animated series.
Furtick licensed her art to U.S. Games Systems Inc., which she says has enabled her to reach mass markets as an individual artist. Walmart.com recently introduced her line of Afro Goddess Warrior plushies, and she is working with contractors and artificial intelligence tools to create an animated series with original songs.
“Now we’re into animation, and we’re into gameplay. We have an AR/VR experience on TikTok, and we have a chatbot system where you can talk to the girls,” she said.
Furtick attended the Savannah College of Art and Design and stayed in Atlanta, finding mentorship through Atlanta Tech Village and a community and audience for her characters around events like Atlanta Comic Con and DreamHack. She was named a rising star in toys as part of the 2026 Mojo Nation 100 list and shared lessons learned as a creative in the retail space, where to network in Atlanta and big dreams for the future.
Edited for length and clarity.
Q: How has this one product expanded into a larger business for you?
A: From (the Afro Goddess Tarot Arcanas), I have taken the characters and built Afro Goddess Warriors, where every little girl gets to be the star of her own world. Think of Power Rangers-meet-Xena Warrior Princess. There’s 150 characters in Afro Goddess Warriors that really celebrate what women are able to do together, and they go on magical journeys.
I started going to the Las Vegas Licensing Expo, and that is where I learned how to license my character IP (intellectual property). I’ve always been an artist, and I’ve made several things, so I was always smart enough to take that one painting and not just produce a T-shirt. We’ve had coins, sneakers, different types of very cool tapestries — things that you could use. So technically, that was home goods, that was apparel.
I realized I had the ability to actually license these (Afro Goddess Warriors) characters. I have a master plush licensing partner with Beverly Hills Teddy Bear. As a one-person business, when you use a licensing model, it’s very easy to actually create different avenues into retail if you can pull in partners that have that distribution, that have that ability to scale and produce products at a mass market range.
Finding a licensing partner has been a mind-blowing experience that has led me into now creating mock-ups for different categories. We have a pet collection that we’ve mocked up. We have a home collection that we’ve mocked up. We have apparel. So we have all of those things now, and we’re hunting for partners and having some really interesting conversations about how, in 2027, Afro Goddess Warriors can be a huge household name.
Q: What has it been like moving into toys and retail?
A: We have a toy deal with Walmart. I’ve been working on that for a while, and that’s also how I got pushed to create all these other things. A lot of people don’t understand that when they go into mass market retail, the retailer doesn’t just want to sell your product. You have to bring customers into their store. You have to have ways to bring them in, modalities that the customer is interested in. You don’t just want to rely on the foot traffic of that retailer.
So, as I’ve been working with Walmart, we have our Afro Goddess Warrior plush collection. It’s on Walmart.com first.
Q: How have you been able to build so many new types of projects as an individual artist?
A: With (online freelance marketplace) Fiverr, I’ve been able to create a mobile game that people are downloading, so they have ways to interact and be a part of the brand, instead of just creating cute characters that they can buy in the store.
I’ve been a little bit of an anomaly on my own in the industry that I’m in, because people don’t understand how I’m doing it alone. But the reality is, I have found a network of really reliable and wonderful Fiverr contractors that I’ve been able to couple with my good instruction, because that’s very important. A lot of people want to get on Fiverr and say, “Oh, just make it happen for me.” No, you have to give them very pristine instructions. That is how you make a really good project. I’ve been able to do that in the way that makes it work and makes something so beautiful.
I’m not actually alone. I have a network of people that I rely on.
Q: Where do you go for networking in Atlanta?
A: Atlanta Tech Village, regardless of what you’re making, because everyone has tech these days. They have a Women + Tech event every month that I make sure that I try to attend. I keep meeting the most wonderful and just brilliant women, and I’m able to connect with them and exchange ideas even if they’re not in my industry.
Q: Any favorite spots for meetings?
A: I love Girl Diver. That’s one of my favorite places because they keep changing the menu, and it’s so cool.
Q: What’s your vision for the next five years?
A: In one of the accelerators that I was in, one of the guys said, “Dream as big as you can and tell me who you would say you were if you had to describe yourself.” So I always said I was the “Disney you don’t know yet.” He actually laughed at me and made me cry. But I never let that go, because I am the Disney you don’t know yet, and I have been proving that over and over again. … I think (Afro Goddess Warriors) will be the thing that mothers, daughters, aunties and grandmas are all able to bond over together. And I love that for the world because we need that so badly. So that’s what I plan to do with my next five years, is make Afro Goddess Warriors the evergreen property it deserves to be.
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