Advice for Selling Fanart Prints?

[Rohinar 72]

Hi everyone.  I've thought about starting to offer prints of my art for years now, but up until recently I've only had very personal and not always relateable images that I haven't felt could really sell.  Then I discovered MLP, and I've started to draw pretty complex fanart, especially from Rainbow Rocks.  I'm thinking these might actually be something people would want to buy prints of, unlike my previous work.  I'm looking for advice on several points, especially from people who have sold fanart before.

 

1) Are there copyright infringement issues in selling prints of Hasbro's characters?  So far, it's only character designs I'm using, and the drawings themselves would be 100% original.

2) Does anyone know a good platform for selling prints?  Has anyone had success with DA's prints option, or Etsy, or another site?  What about printing and mailing things yourself?

3) Has anyone had issues with art theft?  How did you deal with it?

4) Please give me any links that might help answer my questions, if you have them!  Or any other points I haven't thought of.

 

Thanks!

 

[Pineapple Bloom 511]

I've seen plenty of people sell merchandise with their own MLP fanart on. It should be fine!

 

Here's a technique I've seen other people use. Try using RedBubble or a similar website to make your print available on T-shirts are various other merchandise. Then, upload your art to deviantArt and give a link to the print on RedBubble. You could also make a deviantArt journal entry linking to them.

[TurningBronyese 9]

I don't know if you have the time or the funds but cons are a great way to sell prints

[Rohinar 72]

I've seen plenty of people sell merchandise with their own MLP fanart on. It should be fine!

 

Here's a technique I've seen other people use. Try using RedBubble or a similar website to make your print available on T-shirts are various other merchandise. Then, upload your art to deviantArt and give a link to the print on RedBubble. You could also make a deviantArt journal entry linking to them.

 

Good idea!  I will probably do this or something very similar... I like the idea of people having options for what they want to get the picture on.  I think there are a bunch of sites like that... I should research it.

 

I don't know if you have the time or the funds but cons are a great way to sell prints

 

THAT would be fun/cool.  I think I'd test the waters online first, though.  Since it is a pretty significant time/money investment.  And probably scope out a con so I know what I'd be getting into... I've been to anime cons but never a pony con. ^^

 

Thanks! 

 

Anyone else?

[Eloquence 2,076]

I'm not an art seller or even a visual artist, but my mother has a very large Etsy shop that I used to be pretty involved in, so I'm familiar with that at least. It's a really good place, pretty much like an enormous craft fair that runs 24/7. I'll give a few suggestions for it, though I suppose none of them will be that much of a secret.

 

• Use watermarks to protect your art from theft (this one's probably extremely obvious, but I figured I'd say it just in case)
• Etsy gives you 13 tags to use for each listing, if I remember right. Use every single one. Tag it with every variation of MLP, tag it with every character, tag it as art. Just use all the tags, they are so important.
• Organize your shop so that there aren't too few or too many things displayed on any given page. Too few and your shop won't look professional, too many and the viewer will get overloaded.
• The first image for an item is the single most important thing. Make sure it looks as good as it possibly can.

[Rohinar 72]

 

I'm not an art seller or even a visual artist, but my mother has a very large Etsy shop that I used to be pretty involved in, so I'm familiar with that at least. It's a really good place, pretty much like an enormous craft fair that runs 24/7. I'll give a few suggestions for it, though I suppose none of them will be that much of a secret.

 

• Use watermarks to protect your art from theft (this one's probably extremely obvious, but I figured I'd say it just in case)
• Etsy gives you 13 tags to use for each listing, if I remember right. Use every single one. Tag it with every variation of MLP, tag it with every character, tag it as art. Just use all the tags, they are so important.
• Organize your shop so that there aren't too few or too many things displayed on any given page. Too few and your shop won't look professional, too many and the viewer will get overloaded.
• The first image for an item is the single most important thing. Make sure it looks as good as it possibly can.

 

 

Wow, that's good advice.  Even if I don't end up using Etsy.  Thanks!  I think I can apply most of that to other places, too.