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I've been to cons where one print sells out, and then fails to sell at all at another convention. Sometimes it can be strange and fickle... different conventions have different tastes.
The same can be said of fanart. It depends on what the fanbase is like at that particular convention.
Here's a few general tips from me from my AA FAQ xd (The full thing is about twice as long)
PREPARATION
Consider your market
What sort of products will you be selling, who do you expect will want to buy it, and how popular do you think it will be? Balancing the budget-book and being confident in your sales are important things; the market for selling cosplay accessories or badges will be different from the market for a Naruto Doujinshi, which in turn will be different from the market for an original artwork or publication.
As a general tip, cute, cheap and accessible merchandise sells well. Things such as badges, accessories, postcards and bookmarks are always popular because they're fun and inexpensive for the consumer. Fanart generally sells better than original art because the customer has already developed an attachment for that series or character. However, fanart relies on fanbases, so expect fanart from big popular series to move faster than an obscure niche title. Original artists fear not, for there is always an appreciation for great original artworks. If you're unsure what people would want to buy, a little market research never hurt. Ask around on convention and other online forums for feedback and advice.
Budget
The main priorities for your budget will be: a) the cost of the convention and table space itself, b) printing costs, and c) working out what kind of margin you can afford on your goods. It also helps to plan a guide of how much you need to sell in order to break even, and keep track of your sales during the convention. Remember, a lot of that cashflow on the day is covering costs you have already outlayed. Avoid the temptation to spend the cash in front of you unless it's profit.
Setting prices for your goods can be fickle; some customers may buy it at whatever the cost, but you should consider precedents set by other artists, the quality of your work, comparable merchandise prices, production costs, and the spending budgets of the people who are most likely to buy your products. Avoid underselling yourself; do what you feel is reasonable to yourself and the customer.
PRINTING
The basics – DPI and CMYK
DPI is 'Dots/pixels per inch' and refers to the resolution quality of an artwork. 300 DPI is the standard minimum for print design. This is important because it's really hard and time consuming to scale a picture UP for print quality. Therefore, it is always prudent to work at a high resolution for artworks that you want to print. An A3 picture at 300 DPI is roughly 3500x5000 pixels, whereas the average size of an image you put on the internet isn't going to be more than 1000 pixels in any one dimension (Around 72 DPI).
CMYK is Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (Key). Unlike monitors and televisions which emit light and output to RGB (Red, Green, Blue), CMYK is an absorption of light on a surface. It's the colour method used by printers, and importantly, there are some colours which RGB can project but CMYK cannot (Such as extremely saturated colours). This can create problems when you go to print pictures from your computer, only to find they look duller on paper. This is most likely because your file is in RGB and some of the colours are outside of the spectrum of CMYK. For this reason it is important to either work with your files in CMYK, or save them as CMYK before you send them off to get printed. The option for changing colour format in Photoshop is listed under 'Image' -> 'Mode'
THE DAYS BEFORE
Get monies
And not necessarily of the spending kind. It is important to organise sufficient change for patrons; banks can easily provide you with bags of coins. Do this beforehand, as you will not be able to go to the bank on the day of the convention. Gold coins and small notes are the most important, but it's also good to have a buffer for when someone has a fifty dollar note to break.
Make sure you have what you need
Print off/write up any price lists and signs beforehand, as well as making sure you have all the equipment you need for sticking up said signs and display prints. Most fabric backing boards hate bluetac and stickytape; masking tape is your friend in this department. Invest in a box of rubberbands and consider how you are going to organise your notes and coins on the day (Cashbox, tin, waistpouch, pencilcase, etc...). Unless you're going to bolt it to the table, it's probably not worth investing in anything fancy to hold your money. Something inconspicuous and easily taken with you is often best.
Also know how much space you will have at your table in terms of organising your display. If you have a half-table and want to put postcards, badges and a display folder for your prints, it makes more sense to have an A4 folder, not an A3 one.
Plan how you'll get you and your stuff there
The last thing you want is to be half an hour late for the opening of the convention, or get stranded in the middle of nowhere on the wrong bus with several kilos of prints and folders hanging off one arm. Bump-in times will be advised by the convention organisers, but you will need to get there at least half an hour before opening in order to set up your table. Get some sleep, eat something for breakfast, and make sure you know how you're going to get to the convention. And importantly, how you'll get your stock there.
ON THE DAY
Eat!
This should not be understated! You would be surprised how easy one can forget to, well... eat food of substance when sitting at an Artist table. Especially on the first day, you'll have to get an early start in order to be at the venue on time to set up your table. So you're looking at a full day from 7am wake-up to 6pm pack-up. And unless you have a friend who can cover for you at length, chances are you'll be spending a lot of time at your table. Therefore I advise you to bring a trusty old bottle of water, something to snack on, and plan a time to take a break and eat a good solid meal. Artists cannot survive on Ramune and Pocky alone.
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