Artist Alley Analysis

[telophase]

This is from a comment on one of maiteoida's posts. Anyone who's sold art at a con recently is highly encouraged to post what they sold and why they think it sold. I'm eyeballing you, pzb, nightambre, and the_z.



My top sellers in prints, from my spreadsheet:

Format	Series	Print	Number sold
11x17	FFVII: Advent Children	Advent Children Triptych	11
4x6	Saiyuki	Sanzo	6
11x17	Naruto	Nap Time	5
11x17	Saiyuki	Boys in the Band	5
8x10	FFVII: Advent Children	Advent Children Triptych	5
8x10	Saiyuki	Boys in the Band	5
8x10	Saiyuki	Can I Keep It?	5
8x10	Inu-Yasha	Sesshoumaru	5
8x10	Death Note	L	4
8x10	Naruto	Nap Time	4
8x10	Saiyuki	Gojyo	4
4x6	Naruto	Naruto/Hinata	4
11x17	Death Note	L	3
11x17	Inu-Yasha	Sesshoumaru	3
11x17	Saiyuki	Gojyo	3
8x10	Bleach	Renji	3
8x10	Saiyuki	Sanzo	3
8x10	Samurai Champloo	Jin	3
4x6	Trigun	Vash	3
4x6	Naruto	Nap Time	3
4x6	Naruto	Jiraiya/Tsunade	3

I could have sold a million of the FFVII boys, and had requests for the heroes of the game and movie as well. L from Death Note was really popular - he was flying off pzb's table - and I could have sold more of him if I'd had them. My Mellos sold out reasonably quickly, but I didn't reprint them and I only had 1 11x17 and 1 or 2 8x10s to start with.

I think I could have sold more of every single 11x17" print above - the ones that only sold 3 sold that few only because I had just that many printed. You can tell that Boys in the Band, Advent Children Triptych, Nap Time, L, and Sesshoumaru were popular in all formats.

Naruto - Nap Time is the Harry Potter/Naruto crossover pic in my DA gallery. It made people laugh and they like to laugh. Of the three FFVII: Advent Children brothers, Kadaj and Yazoo tied for popularity with Loz coming in a far distant third, despite being more fun to draw. I could ahve sold a lot more Saiyuki: Boys in the Band prints, as well as the Can I Keep It? (Goku, Sanzo and kitten) print. People loved the Naruto/Hinata print imitating Lady and the Tramp, and they also loved the Naruto/Iruka one with Naruto as a little boy comparing his hand size to Iruka. The cute, touching moment pics are popular. I actually got a few people looking for Hinata pictures. There were also several people complaining that nobody in the entire artist alley had any Get Backers pictures.

So ... Anything Final Fantasy VII. Saiyuki is popular. Naruto is still popular. Inu-Yasha is still fairly popular, especially Sesshoumaru. Death Note is popular, but it's mostly L and then Mello in popularity.

Except for the Final Fantasy 11x17" with the three clone brothers, wherein the total combined hotness of the three drew people in, people seem to prefer pics that have a little bit of story to them over simple character portraits - the awkward puppy-love mood of Naruto/Hinata, the father-child interaction of Iruka/Naruto, the moment before the world of pain that Naruto is going to have in the Naruto/HP pic, Goku badgering Sanzo about a kitten, the Saiyuki boys in an AU band. I bet if I'd had more of Jiraiya/Tsunade from Naruto, it would ahve sold more.

The portraits that sold well showed the character's personality extremely well - L from Death Note and Sesshoumaru fall into this category.

L and Light in bunnysuits sold well at AnimeFest last year, but tended to scare people off this year. They thought it was funny, but didn't buy. People loved Goku, but didn't buy him - they want posters like rock-star posters to hang on their wall when they're buying single-character pictures, it seems. I think he's viewed as too young to be the subject of adolescent crushes. :)

Nobody bought Tohru Honda, but I think it's too sad a pic. People liked it, but didnt' buy. I think if it had been gently humourous or "Awwwww!" charmingly touching, it would have sold.

Nobody bought Utena and Anthy. They weren't popular at my table, and they were the only two prints left in the print shop, from the 8 or 9 other prints I'd put in.

rachelmanija, looks like I sold 16 copies of Project Blue Rose, more than I expected. :D

Comments

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I loved Utena/Anthy. I'm guessing the show didn't have enough fans and/because it's too old-- and also you seem to have more fangirls buying hot men than fanboys buying hot women, since you don't seem to have sold many of Orihime either.

It's interesting that your Naruto pics sold so well. I like them, but your technical skills have gone through the roof since those were done, so I think those sales are partly because of the storytelling/touching elements you mention, and partly a tribute to the series' ongoing popularity. Did EmoPants not get finished in time to appear, or did no one like him?

In conclusion, for your next con you should bring more copies of everything, draw more Naruto and FFVIIXI, and do more in which characters share touching moments with each other. Lots of possibilities for that in Naruto.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I had three copies of Orihime - one in the print shop, which sold, and two on my table, which took until the end of Saturday to sell. Both of the table ones went to guys; I have no way of knowing who bought the print shop one.

I sold no Ichigos at all, which surprised me.

Yeah, I think people respond emotionally to the pics, and not to the technical skills. I mean, even my incredibly crappy Kenshin from 2004 that's recognizable only for a red cottontop of hair and his X scar still has a few people saying "Wow, so good!" and buying him.

I only printed two copies of Mr Emopants, which both sold, but it took until Saturday afternoon to do so.

I had four commissions: a rendered-pencil Kenshin, a simple pencil "Orochimaru with his shirt off" and "Shino with his shirt off",* and an inked picture of some metal/hard/classic rock star with the person who commissioned it.**


* I had him holding his Konoha headband in front of the lower half of his face - I mean, it's just not Shino if you can see his face.

** I love her reaction - she commissioned it Friday and patiently waited until Sunday for it. When I finally gave it to her, she reverently took it with both hands, softly said "This is the best thing I've ever gotten," and walked away.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Odd... I also really liked Ichigo.

And speaking of odd... um... creepy bug guy Shino with his shirt off?! There is really no accounting for taste. I mean, I like Shino as a character, but if I were to commission a drawing of any ninja in Ninjaland with his shirt off, Shino would be... OK, not last. But that's because the Third Hokage would be last.

Are we going to get to see the commissions? Did you scan the ones you finished at the con?

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Couldn't scan them - I gave them to the people at the con. :D And it only occurred to me that as I had my camera, I could photograph them, after I'd given them all to the commissioners. Ah well. My on-the-spot commissions aren't as good as my usual art, because I don't have a computer to sketch on and work out the problems.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I would have been tempted to give Shino a bug over each nipple.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Hee. I didn't go that far, but I did put a few bugs on him.

[badnoodles.livejournal.com]

Bugs? Where?

Having never heard of the character, I did a quick google. And I have to say, he seems like a guy after my own heart.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

:D Yup, special technique of his family - they serve as hosts to insects and direct the bugs with their chakra powers. He's one of the minor characters in Naruto, but obviously has his own fan following.

[tokyoghoststory.livejournal.com]

i though,

would maim for shino with his shirt off ;D

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

And Orochimaru would be tied with the Third Hokage for the Grand Prize of "Ninja Whose Male Chest I Do Not Wish To Have Decorating My Room."

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I did an Orochimaru taking his shirt off last year - presumably for the same girl. I'd be surprised to know there were two girls commissioning the same sort of thing.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I should maybe point out that I'm also basing my guess that the posters serve as masturbation fantasies appeal to adolescent and young adult crushes because I heard, over and over, the buyers say things like "This is going on my bedroom wall!" and "I'm putting him up next to my bed!"

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Shino and Orochimaru. But not Ichigo. There is truly no accounting for taste.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

To be fair, Ichigo was wearing a shirt.


Oh - beside the point - I need addresses for PBR, and since you have some sort of actual list..?

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

My list is just the names-- I can dig up addresses from the e-mails you forwarded to me, but it might be easier for you to do that since it all went through your Paypal account, so if you go to Paypal, they should all be there.

[maiteoida.livejournal.com]

Ahhh! Thanks for all of this! :D *taking notes*...I need to make some good decisions for auction pieces and this confirms a few expectations I had already. ^_^

[telophase.livejournal.com]

:D Glad it helps!

[sub-divided.livejournal.com]

I think I can summarize all of your reasons for what sold and what didn't under one category: people wanted art they didn't feel they could have bought anywhere else. Sketch-style pictures are popular because even though they're reproductions, they feel one-of-a-kind, and they're very different from official anime art. Similarly, the story pictures sold because they were unique, not something you could google for or pick up at the next table.

This based on what I would have been looking for, if I'd been there.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Probably true, but "unique" doens't help me think of things to draw as much as "tell a story" or "awkwardly charming" does. :D

[sub-divided.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but now you know to stay away from I-can't-believe-it's-not-official stuff. Which, ah, is probably not all that useful if you're drawing specifically for a con (those drawings are technically excellent, and time-consuming, but they don't require the same kind of inspiration story pictures do, and it's harder to manufacture inspiration on demand).

Next time you're preparing for a con, you could ask not just "which series are popular," but "what is a quirky and original fanart idea you'd like to see me draw"?

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's probably a good question to ask. And I ought to be asking it now - AnimeFest is four months away, and there's a couple of cons in the next 6 months that I hope to sent art to...

*not a visual thinker*

[sub-divided.livejournal.com]

The last really good fanart idea I had was Light, L, and Misa sitting on the couch watching a horror movie (L is engrossed, Light is bored, Misa is pretending to be scared so she can cling to Light's sweater), and that's already been done.

This is an old one, but: Noir AU! Shikamaru as detective and Temari as dame. Jet, L, and most of the shinigami from Bleach are also good candidates for detectification. Preferably, these would be in glowy sepia tones, with stong light/dark contrast (hallmark of noir).

Olde China AU, if you can think of someone who'd look good in imperial robes (and doesn't wear them already). Although maybe this is overdone (same with pirate!au pictures and other forms of cosplay).

If you can think of two really similar characters, crossovers where they eye each other in a Who the Hell is this Imposter fashion are always good in my book.

I don't think there's enough Death Note fanart that truly exploits religious themes and poses. Would it be horrifically blasphemous to cast the three shinigami as the three wise men, overseeing the birth of baby Jesus Light? (Proabably.)

Sanzo party at a karaoke bar. Goku and Hakkai are singing, Goku enthusiastically and Hakkai blandly, Sanjo looks both murderous and migrainy, and Gojyo is leering at the ladies at the next table.

Naruto and Gaara at a bar post timeskip, Gaara is a quiet drunk and Naruto is an obnoxious one.

...etc.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you should ask that question now, and then you can start working on some things.

Since Hinata seems popular (I love her, but I would have thought I was in the minority) what about Hinata kicking the ass of some mostly off-page monster or J. Anonymous Bad Guy, with Naruto cheering her on in the background?

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I think the story-things that people like are the ones where they anticipate the next moment. The Naruto/Hinata Lady-and-the-Tramp thing is a perfect example of that, as is the Jiraya-powering-up-a-Rasengan in the DADA classroom. Goku showing the kitten to Sanzo isn't quite so clear-cut, although we all know that Sanzo's reaction is likely to be either hitting him with a fan, yelling at him, or rolling his eyes. :D

Naruto/Iruka isn't quite like that, since it's not the moment before the punchline, but you can construct the moments surrounding it, full of child-babble on Naruto's part and parent-nonsense on Iruka's part. I think that's the sort of thing that the ikkou-as-a-band print is tapping into, too: everyone's supplying their own soundtrack to it.

Hrm.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

* Oh - and yeah, it's pretty much a given (and something noticed by many other artists) that some of the best sellers are things that you threw down in twenty minutes that are crap in execution, while the stuff you slaved over for days molders away in the binder, unwanted.

[pzb.livejournal.com]

Wow. I totally missed this... (going through, showing a friend the pics from AKon.... XD)

Anyway, Yeah...L and my FMA What We've Become (though that I suspect was primarily due to it being in the art show...and bought so quickly, no less.) Sephiroth was a big draw, but few sales. And my Inuyasha Shadows and Light was bigger than normal...sold out of my big prints on that one. But that just has the sex appeal I think. XD

btw, going through that gallery, the one that someone IDed as Kagura from Inuyasha is actually Jakotsu, the cross dresser. XD

[telophase.livejournal.com]

:D Thanks! (on both the analysis and the ID ... now I just have to remember to log in and go change that...)