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Feb 2019

Hey, fellow artists! I've been trying to prepare for an Artist Alley for an upcoming anime convention, but I'm a little stumped. I know a lot of artists sell prints, and those look to do well as fan art. From where I stand, I don't like selling fan art. I want to sell all original stuff. What kind of merchandise would you guys look for in an artist alley? I was planning on doing buttons and some posters - but is there anything that would pop out to you guys, or is there some kind of unique merchandise that you think would work best for selling original stuff?

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    Feb '19
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    Feb '19
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Can you post some examples of your art? Sometimes, certain styles work better for certain merchandise.

Since it's an anime con, CHARMS, and stickers to a lesser extent.
Since you don't want to do fanart, I suggest making generic animal things that can appeal to a wide audience, like cute corgis or shiba inus, and CATS. People eat up that stuff.

That's a good point. Of course, there's a lot of work to do with learning how to color a little better and getting some more finished pieces, but hopefully this helps give you an idea of the style. I'm wanting to try and sell some Tom and Shelldon knick knacks as well, but with it being an anime convention, I'm not fully sure how well that would pan out. Luckily I've got until April to gather my merchandise to sell.

Stickers! Especially cutesy stickers!

Prints- you could go either large size(11" x 17") or keep them small at 8.5" x 11"....

Do you have enough of your comic done to print? My issues/books have always been my top seller. People like content. See if you can get like a run of like 25 to test it out, maybe at most 50... whatever you feel comfortable with.

So, the thing with prints is, there are so many out there at this point that you kind of have to wow the customer (especially for big ones that take up a lot of space). I would suggest starting out smaller with mini or mid-size prints. Here are common sizes:

small - 4x6" or 5x7" (sell for $5)
medium - 8x10" or 8.5x11" (sell for $10)
large - 11x17", 12x18", 13x19" (sell for $15)

I recommend only doing one from each category, and like I said, maybe skip out on the big ones for now. Find a print shop in town (not office max or fedex, a legit one) and ask for quotes. You can also look at prices at Catprint.com, but you'd have to know what kind of paper weight and finish you want... I think it's better to feel it yourself, personally. Don't order blind. They might have a sample pack or you can just feel examples at the local print shop. (as a point of reference, I do 80lb satin, but there are both thicker and thinner varieties)

And only get like 5 of each piece to start out, especially if you're doing original only. You don't want to invest in a lot of inventory and then find out it doesn't sell. Treat it like a test market. This goes for any other merch you get, too, if you can help it. 10 of each thing at MOST.

Like others suggested, stickers are good starter items. Pinback buttons are good. Maybe find someone on Etsy that will do them for you since they'll have lower minimum quantities than big companies. These do require you to be able to use template files and work with transparency though, so make sure you have programs that support that.

I personally feel like acrylic charms are more intermediate, so I'd suggest trying out a few events first before investing into those... I do think your art would do well with them eventually, though!

I would shoot to have at least 5 designs of each item you're stocking. More if possible, but don't feel too much pressure your first time around. If you end up doing it more often, your inventory will grow naturally as you build on past years and figure out what works and what doesn't work.

One more important question, if you're going to print ANYTHING: do you know how resolution, DPI, trim lines, and bleed lines work? Because thaaat's important. Anything you make for merchandise has to be the correct resolution so it doesn't print blurry.

Another thing you can sell is commissions. These are a great way to pick up extra money if selling merch isn't doing it... just don't overload yourself. People will usually order it from you and expect to pick it up by the end of the day, so keep it simple. When I did them, I only did busts and had maybe 5 slots a day... but if you can do them quickly, you can have more slots or do more kinds of things. Just be careful not to have your head down drawing for too long, it makes you look unapproachable to customers :sweat_smile: Get their contact info, references, and money upfront.

Man there's so much to be said for vending, but I think I've been wordy enough for now. If you have any particular questions or want to learn more about something, feel free to ask!

That is great advice. Thank you for that. I didn't even think of bleed line or DPI and resolution. I was planning on doing chibi commissions similar to the one that I posted in my mini portfolio up above. Just starting out I was thinking of doing them for cheap, especially since they're just simple things that wouldn't be very big. I think the biggest thing I'm nervous about is not breaking even or making a profit. Is that pretty hard to do with only original work?

You can go cheaper, just don't go so cheap you're underselling and burning yourself out. No lower than $10 for a sketch, even just a chibi one. Go higher for ink and color if you want to offer that.

Realistically, yes, it's going to be more difficult for you to make a profit with original only. But, even when people do offer fanart, their first couple tables often are either at a loss or they break even. It's normal, especially because you have a lot of upfront costs in starting inventory and display. I was in the red for my first con despite doing very well, but that's largely because I got way too much inventory... don't be like me xD

Original stuff does best when it's either content (like a comic) or broad, general appeal items. Like Joanne mentioned earlier, pets are great. A lot of people do themed artwork like zodiacs or dragons, or they'll combine things to make something new (one person I know makes lolita cat illustrations, for example).

There ARE people who can sell original art regardless of concept, but they have a very strong aesthetic and design sense to rely on. I don't think you're quite there yet (heck, I'm not) and that's a pretty specialized niche.

When people buy original stuff, it's usually because they relate to it somehow or consider it a label to their identity. When designing something, think about who the customer IS and put yourself in their shoes. What would make you buy something? What labels do you associate with yourself, and what imagery is common for those labels? Once you can hit on that, you might have something really worth selling.

Those are all REALLY good pointers. I'm gonna figure out some more questions to ask. :slight_smile:

No problem! I'm glad it's helping.

To add, I unfortunately don't have any experience selling purely original art. I have about 2/3 fanart and 1/3 original, and the original is everything for my comic. So I can't speak very well for what to expect... but I want to really convey that it's not impossible and I know SEVERAL people who do only original art and do very well. It's just a bit harder because eventually, you're going to need on point branding and your own aesthetic/theme to really capture people.

Yeah, that makes sense. I'm hoping to get my manga started at some point. The convention is actually in October, and the applications start in April. So hopefully I can get selected to be in the Artist Alley and go from there. My brother was going to split the table with me, and his art is REALLY good. I love the way he colors and shades, but he kind of backed out.

Do you have any other friends you could maybe split with? Just as long as you guys wouldn't get jealous of each other or something if one does better. It would definitely help keep costs down.

Even if you can't find someone to split with though, try to bring along someone to help and keep you company. Your bladder will thank you. :stuck_out_tongue:

That's a good idea. I know of a few people that could hang around with me, but not anyone who could sell art with me. Our original plan was to just split the money down the middle, no matter who sold what - just place it all in the same money jar. I guess with him not in it anymore, I'll just have to see how I do. :slight_smile:
I'm excited. I'm hoping to get a button maker pretty soon. The main things I'm wanting to sell are buttons. you can also make zipper pulls and simple things like that with it.

Sadly, as a con attendee (not a table artist!) of over 10 years, I have to say that only selling original art will be a tough sell. Fans of anime go to anime cons to buy anime-related merch of things that they are fans of. It's easier to break even in your first year in an artist alley if you minimally make some fan merchandise of a popular series.

I'm actually doin my first table in March m'self! (Generic comic expo, not an anime themed one)

So I am here for ALL the advice

@Kimoisempai it depends on the con. Some shows are cracking down on that, because they dont want to be hit with lawsuits...so check the terms of the con first.

So far for our local ones, it's fine as long as all art is done by the artists themselves.

This might largely depend on the style of art, but my comic actually does way better at anime cons than comic cons! I feel like anime fans have deeper pockets and are way more open to trying new things. It's hard to get comic con audiences to try anything alternative, in my experience...

Certain aesthetics do really well in the anime market too, like cutesy, goth, steampunk, lolita, or related styles.

This all depends on what audience your work attracts, though. And that's something you can't really find out unless you sell at enough events.