Selling your art at conventions (share your experience)

[DarkSena]

Sooo I have been in the game as an artist ever since 2006. I went to my very first convention as a visitor 2007 I still remember sleeping on the floor because we didn't have any equipment I did draw through the convention as well, sitting in the hallways throughout something attending some con program. Back then I thought how would it be like to actually present myself at a convention instead.

Back in 2009 I got into a contact with the organisators of a local convention, which was the biggest in my country, however the amount of anime/manga fans back then was still very small (the amount of visitors grew over the years from approx. 1k to about 10k) and I decided to host there a drawing workshop and one year after I drew an art during the convention while having a booth to present myself as well, the drawing was auctioned at the end of the convention.

After that I decided to visit some conventions abroad until the pandemic did hit and this year I'm kinda trying to get back to it a bit. Throughout all the years I noticed that I only enjoy attending the convention when I am able to present myself as an artist since I no longer really do consume anime/manga. However... I relaly like the interaction, I enjoy seeing the reactions, the atmosphere and finding people who are able to enjoy my art and buy some as well.

The problem point I do see as an artist the on-going rivalry directly at the event, when artists do envy each and every penny this and the others artists as well as original art vs fanart which is a booming topic when as a solely original artist you always have the shorter side of the rope.

What is your experience as an artist/visitor? I would love to hear your personal stories

[margodraws]

Not much to share, but I'm tabling at a couple local cons this summer for the first time in YEARS so I'm also very interested in other people's replies!

Last time, I didn't sell very much, but I managed to break even by doing commissions on the spot. It was fun but exhausting, so I'm not planning to do any/as many this time around. Also planning to have more stuff to sell! I don't feel much rivalry with other artists tbh. Since both shows are local, there's a good chance I'll see friends and coworkers there, which is always cool. ️

[darthmongoose]

I learned even early on that I'm not a great pinup artist. I'm just better at telling stories with my art or capturing people's likenesses, so most of the money I make at cons has always been either selling books or drawing portraits. I think the first con where I sold things was...hmm... I think it was 2005 or 2006? But it's hard to remember now. I was a uni student, and I know I was in Japan for an academic year around then... I got prints done at a local printer in my home town to sell and took them to...either Ayacon or Amecon (they used to be on alternating years)... It's all a blur! Really I didn't start making decent money off cons until I started doing books though.

I try to avoid rivalries and to instead build friendships with other artists on the scene if I can. I'm always the person who'll mind your stall if you need a loo break! I befriended the Sweatdrop studios people early on, and there are friends from there I'm always happy to see at events. I think on the UK small press scene, there's a sort of camaraderie and an understanding that people buying UK small press comics is good for all of us. My favourite event is Thoughtbubble, and it was at Tbubs 2012 where I had my first date with my partner!

But yeah, prints have always been meh for me. Portraits sell well, but they're tiring, and books are a solid earner. Stickers are good, but small items, so you need to sell a lot.

[DarkSena]

@margodraws Oho? I wish you much luck on the upcoming cons Hopefully you're gonna at least get the money for the table back, it's quite the struggle to get that money if you're attending small conventions where the audience isn't so wide but at leats have fun there, okay

I am going to a Comic-con just next month, the tables aren't set yet but since I haven't been to a Comic-con before as an artist yet (only anime/manga cons) I'm kinda nervous... IDK what to expect but I hope to do a bit more promotion for my comic there too

@darthmongoose I'm your exact opposite lol After doing one-shots I thought so hard that I would NOT return back to comics and I did however... I sill do prefer single illustrations over the comic work. But everyone does what they do enjoy doing the most and it's great that you've found the best way for yourself.

Yes, I'm trying to keep the friendly atmosphere too however... sometimes you just cannot shut yourself from the drama which is going around you. It's nice to get new neighbors every single time, this way you can many new faces to befriend. That's nice

[candiedcotton]

Oh boy.

Well, I haven't ever sold at cons, but I have been to a lot of 'em. I used to cosplay for Shonen Jump. Don't judge. lol.

Anyhow, from the many many cons I have been to, I do think fanart sells better for a reason, and aside from the sketchy copyright issues, I wouldn't put the idea aside entirely. People who go to cons are usually avid fans of certain anime, so they're more likely to buy work of characters they love and recognize than ones they have no attachment to. I've not personally bought stuff, but I have been gifted a lot of stuff while at cons. Usually it's related to whatever character I'm cosplaying. I get the struggle and I respect people who sell original work, but I definitely also get why people prefer to buy fanart.

Goddamn those were some crazy days.

[margodraws]

Both shows have more of an indie focus and free admission, so I'm hopeful! I'm not really interested in fanart so I'm not planning to sell any, but I'll have comics, prints, and small things like stickers and patches.

[darthmongoose]

Well, I haven't ever sold at cons, but I have been to a lot of 'em. I used to cosplay for Shonen Jump. Don't judge. lol.

When I was 21 I was at Ayacon cosplaying as Selphie from FF8, and I befriended a Rikku (FFX-2) cosplayer who lived in the area who needed bus fare to get home (ahh the days when busses took physical money) and so we stood on a bench and started "dancing for gil". We earned enough for the lass to get a taxi home.
I still have the picture commemorating this.

...
...I am in no position to judge anyone for cosplaying.

That's what being in your twenties is for though, right? You can look back on it and go "wow, I was stupid! But I had fun!"

Honestly pretty amazed you were cosplaying for Jump though! That's kind of awesome!

[candiedcotton]

Aw that's freaking awesome! Haha, there are so many crazy things that happen at cons.

I was completely roped into it, but never regretted it. I had a gaggle of friends from out of country who were going to Sakura Con and I let 'em stay at my place, since I lived right down the street. They decided to surprise me with a full costume they had put together of Youko Kurama from YYH, knowing I was a big YYH nerd. So I was dragged along and got approached by some guys who worked for Shonen Jump. I literally didn't believe 'em at first. But yeah, they pay you to dress as certain characters for cons and then you get a free pass and just have to pose for a bajillion pictures. You're basically a walking billboard. Made so many amazing friends though.

I seriously miss those days, man. Getting old is dumb.

[DarkSena]

Completely outta topic but I wanna disagree with you with passion @candiedcotton
Getting older has a lot of positive aspects. For example I would never return to my former self in my twenties. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing with my life in my early 20s, now being much older I can appreciate things much more so personally I wouldn't return neither to teenie years not early adult years. I am at pace with myself the way I am right now

[DarkSena]

@margodraws Oh, stickers. I noticed that many people do really like small cheaper things from the artists. They wanna support you in some kind of way. I made also quite a few stickers from my Insta sketches and those sell quite good. Free admisions sound interesting. I have seen that back in the days, nowadays the table costs are really unholy. You don't wanna know how much I'm paying for the table at Comic-con

[moontokkym]

I'm the same as you in that I don't really go to conventions unless I'm tabling there anymore because I only really would go for artist alley anyway and it's not usually worth the entry fee.

I don't know where you're from but it's really sad that there's such a rivalry with the artists at the events you've been at. I've been in the biggest convention in my region (35+k visitors) as well as much smaller ones, still quite a newbie because I only started after the pandemic but every single one all the artists have been kind, if an attendee said "oh I really like this" and another artist had a fanart of it we would point them there, at the end while packing up we would do art print trades and "free table" for people who had old stock they wanted to get rid of, they'd put it on the free table for other artists to grab, like we've been here since 7am, awake since 5am, there's no point sending daggers with our eyes we're all in this together, a lot of us are friends or at the very least collegues, and conventions are a small world, we're going to see eachother again at local cons and event the bigger countrywide events.

Also the fanart/og art thing might be more of an issue where you are because almost all conventions here limit the amount of fanart you're allowed to sell so everyone has to have at least 50-70% original art or risk getting booted from the convention... It could just be because most convention artists come from like 3 art schools so everyone either is from the same school, knows someone from the same school or is dating someone from the same school (so many artist alley duos are couples), kind of makes it feel like one big (slightly traumatised by art school) family. Like I met a really cool artist for the first time at a con in november, he was really sweet, we talked a bit and found out it was his first con and he was really tired because he came alone (never table alone at a 30k+ visitor con), and then we realised that my tablemate knew him in highschool which was a really fun coincidence. Everybody in this world knows everybody and "omg I absolutely love your art" is basically "hello"

[boniae]

I started selling at conventions around 2017, more seriously in 2018 but dropped off around covid and am sort of getting back into it again. I've only really sold annually at two local anime conventions in my state (I live in the midwest USA) one was small, and the other is a very huge anime convention that actually has a craft fair for the folks that couldn't get into the actual artists alley. I don't like to sell much at anime conventions because I prefer to attend them, actually. (cosplaying and hanging out basically, its like a vacation for me :'D Also artist alley hours are so long!! )

When I did sell at anime conventions, though, I didn't have a whole lot of variety, but I'd basically sell some original stuff (my comics and original t-shirt designs) and then fanart merch (stickers, charms and pins). I'd usually break even on the table and have a decent profit left over, so it wasn't too bad!
As for other artists, I never had any rivalry/drama issues, the ones who did venture from their tables were friendly and I definitely used to network there when I had the chance! It's especially nice in local circles since if you go a few years, you get to know all the local artists and I've made a lot of long time friends from selling. It's really sad to hear though that in some conventions artists interactions are not very friendly!

Because I don't do a whole lot of fanart, the anime convention crowd was hard nut for me to crack, and the merchandise I did have was just not trending or relevant anymore. (I heard a lot of, “Ohh I remember x-series! I used to love that!” from attendants) These days I prefer to sell at craft fairs, zine fests or small press comic cons. There's always a variety in places like these and I prefer to make merchandise that can appeal to different age demographics and non-comic readers. (Small but useful stuff like greeting cards, memo pads, etc) My best selling items in person, which surprised me at first, are t shirts! I can't sell them very well online but they do well in person. That usually helps my table even out, and if I can try, I can get a few people to buy my comics. (I usually like to sell short and cheap $5 zines in addition to my main comic, which is $25.) That's just how I like to come up with merchandise—but there's a whole lot of ways I've seen other artists design their own items, stuff like earrings, zipper bags, tumblers, notebooks etc. The idea is really just to put your art on something useful. Selling is so hard!! I'm also very short so I like to stand up when I sell, which can be very draining haha. But I do notice that saying a quick “hi” to everyone who walks by helps out a lot. When I was at the anime conventions though, there were some people who would literally shy away and leave if you said hi, so sometimes it's hard to gauge. :'D I guess that's all I really have for my experience...selling is hard!! I wish I had the energy to do more, I only do about 2 or 3 events a year, mostly due to transportation limitations.

[DarkSena]

@moontokkym Thank you for your thoughts I'd say that many artists do have it exactly the same way because once you get into drawing and let's say you do it freelance, then you are not left with so much time left to consume the anime and stuff like you used to when you were still a so called "fan". Vast majority of artists I know would go only to a con as an exhibitor, but never like a visitor anymore.

To be honest... during my first cons I was surrounded by friends and I didn't know what to expect at all so your presence there is completely different than if you know what you CAN expect. There are always nice things which happen but those can be very fast taken down if you have a latent bragger around you who feels like they need to rub onto everyone how much they've earner that day. Yes, I experienced that and that person sold ALMOST ONLY fanart. This gets even more bitter because she was placed right besides me, who sells original only.

Vast majority of the cons I have been to so far did not have in the rules that the artists are supposed to sell from this or that percentage original vs fanart so it gets really bitter among the artists but fanartists usually make so much more than if you're selling original. The last part never happened to me, it's very unlikely that any artist I met on convention graduated from the same art school I did

@boniae Same Because the pandemic basically put all conventions on two-years hold. I think I once went through the list of cons happening in the US and it's really a lot, because there are just so many states. A nice vacation, haha. I cosplayed so two times in my life And I got a migraine so it was hard for me to survive the day lol so I let other people cosplay while I'm tabling. This is the best way for me, haha.

Unfortuantely there's a lot of happening "behind the scenes" I heard many stories of artists being a pain for their behavior esp one particular one. It might because I know the orgas from that very specific convention that's how I heard those horror stories

Oh, but t-shirts are terribly expensive to me. I only print these for myself because the cost is just too much and no one would be willing to pay for that. UNLESS you print these in a big bulk to get a better price. I never sold any fanart so my whole perspective is from a person who cries a lot while being placed to a person who'd sell fanart only. If your neighbor gets crowds half a day long it definitely doesn't make you feel good at all Yes, that's true in general it's nice and polite to greet every single person who checks out your booth.

[system]

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