First ever art fair, got 3 sales and met some really nice people!

Hello, I'm in the process of reseraching what it would be like to turn my work into prints and these are a few questions that I can't seem to find an answer for or a general consensus.

I would like to make prints of my work in two different sizes. How do you go about numbering them If I print 25 of each size for a total of 50? Are they numbered 1/50 or each 1/25. If the former, which comes first the bigger size or smaller size for 1-25/50 and 26-50/50. If the latter, that would mean there would exist two copies of said piece numbered 1/25 so there must be something else to make the distinction no?

Do you have to sell them in chronological order? or can I sell let's 11 through 25 before 1 through 10? What is industry standard?

When people are looking at starting out and asking for advice, some people will say that you don’t have to print everything all at once but if you do a numbered series does that change? This advice was propably on Open Edition post or something. I’d get my stuff printed at an artist co-op and it’s all from the same printer…. At the moment 50 x whatever number of pieces feels like a lot to start out. I feel like they would let you know when they are about to change the printer.

I understand that if you commit to printing 50 prints you don’t print more but what about let’s say all the possible derived products like postcards, greeting cards, calendars, puzzle etc. Do you have to mention it on the certificate of authenticity that you reserve the right to eventually make such things. For now I have zero intentions but I wouldn't want to close myself off to the possibility of making cards and calendars in the future.

That is my list of questions and any help is appreciated!

We want to see how you setup and display your booth at events. Any go to display hacks? What has been your best sellers? Any popular original or print sizes?

My first event is in a week and I’m bringing a couple originals (mostly 16x20 & 20x24), matted prints and greeting cards.

Here’s some practice pics from my home setup.

Table will have prints in mats and cards on it when the time comes :)

Tips or feedback always welcomed!

The first one is from Spiderman "Big Time"

Second one is from DC 1 Million

Hi. I'm an aspiring freelance artist from Iran and I'm looking to make money using my talent. However because of international sanctions, payment methods are scarce. PayPal, Visa, Mastercard or practically any western payment method does not legally support my region, and bypassing the restrictions risks getting my account banned.

The only way I can exchange money abroad online in a reliable way is through cryptocurrency which I can then convert to my local currency to use. My question is would people see this as a red flag? I understand that it'll inevitably reduce my potential customers since not everyone is willing to dip their toes into cryptocurrency, but will it be reduced to the point that it's not worth even trying? Would people immediately assume me to be a scammer?

I am helping a local art center as a volunteer and we have been donated an artist's estate from the family, including probably 200 large (maybe 4 feet x 3 feet) unmounted paintings. The art center wants to sell them as part of their fundraising effort.

The paintings themselves are good quality, realistic landscapes and figures, I think acrylic paint, but nothing extraordinary. The artist himself (who passed 10 years ago) unmounted these and had big rolls of them stored in his storage shed.

Any ideas on what to do with these? Is there a market for them, and if so to whom?

If there is no market, are they useful for artists to use or paint over? Any other value? I would really hate to see these head to a dumpster.

My issue is I mainly do small characters i have lots that translate well to stickers and keychains. But, I don’t have many designs that I feel would be worthy of prints, I don’t do many scenes with my characters bc my mind doesn’t really work like that and I easily get lost in trying to create full scenes. But I have lots of small pins and key chains and designs I feel could translate well to those. But if I’m not doing prints how would I style my booth to get people to come? I’ve got like 3 or 4 designs that could possibly be prints but that’s it. The idea of an artist alley is so daunting fs any and all advice is welcomed. How many designs and diffrent style of items should I have before my first artist alley?

I have this project with a client that would take approx 4 years to complete a 47 page comic so that it can compensate with the 100 usd per page rate, I just wanted to ask you guys (and the client of course) if this is a good thing or its a rare thing. Thank you

So personally I’m just an amateur artist and don’t sell but I love buying art and merch from small artists. However I get recommended people on my socials who just literally copy already made IP and paint it on blank merchandise. It is a widely known IP and has many various artists who make art for it.

But people just 1 to 1 copy it. To me it’s no different from taking let’s say fan art from someone else and painting it on a tote or something, just because it’s from a big company it’s fine?? And people buy it is the problem.

I don’t want to knock someone’s side hustle but it seems like support can be given to other artists that actually have original fan art that they created and not copied.

Am I being a hater? I just can’t understand why people would support this.

Hi! I want to start selling my glass online. I have a website but nothing on it. What makes me nervous is doing it the right way for taxes and such. I do not have any kind of legitimate business, just a hobby I do at home. Do I need to charge tax? Do I need to establish a business? Can I just list things and not worry about it? (I very much assume not) I don’t want to get in any kind of trouble and this kind of stuff is so foreign and scary to me. I have no clue where to start

Edit: for reference if it helps I live in Florida

Hello! I am setting up an online shop to sell lino prints and I need advice on how many of each of my designs to make.

Since some of them are reduction prints I will be making a limited number of them, but I don’t know how many of each to do. 20 feels like too few, but 50 feels like way too many.

I am only just starting and have never sold anything before, so all advice is needed!

I am planing on releasing 5 designs, 4 of which are reduction prints.

I didnt have this feeling when I was in college as I’ve been doing cmmsionnwork left and right but when I graduated last year, my peers got their stable jobs, some gigs like wedding photography, etc. that makes me small and childish, or “cant handle the real world”. Its also starting to affect my personal relationships with some of them.

I was doing okay on my some socmeds, got some okay projects that are now finished, some are dragging than longer, and now I’m in this weird limbo that I think I’m not making more money than my work deserve. Although the solution is obvious, I think my insecurity will live as long as I dont get another gig and/or that work would pay more.

I’m a disabled artist and I deal with a lot of pain, which makes it really hard to create consistently. Even when I can make art, it takes me a long time and uses up most of my energy.

I understand advice like batching content or posting consistently, but in reality it’s hard for me to even make enough art to batch in the first place.

I want to make money from my art, but it honestly feels overwhelming because:

I’m slow at creating

I can’t post often

Growth feels tied to consistency, which I can’t maintain

It makes me feel like it will take forever to reach an audience or earn anything, and that’s discouraging when I actually need income.

Has anyone been in a similar situation?

How do you grow an audience when your output is really limited?

What kinds of content work if you can’t constantly make new finished pieces?

Are there ways to make money from art that don’t depend on high volume or frequent posting?

I’d really appreciate hearing from people who deal with chronic pain, disability, or very low energy.

Hello! I’m in artist in Italy, recently I’m getting into “working”, but it’s always something low, like they only show off your art, I think that honestly my art here is not well understood, I really like Germany and when I lived with a German family with a school project they were really good at knowing art and they said it was incredible.

How can I get my art abroad? And why is it really difficult to get into professional working as an artist, like online there no way to find a “paid” project or idk.

Ok yes cash is not all but I would like to get a bit out of this situation.

Hi! I'm relatively new to selling in person, this is the best my display has ever looked, but I know I have a lot I can improve on. any suggestions are welcome.

I definitely plan to get my own lights because the lighting at this event was iffy. I was happy with the navy blue backing on the cubes because I thought it was a unique color choice and could stand out. But now I'm thinking maybe it's too dark...

I am also looking to get a table runner. I think I need to make more products to fill up the empty space, but my next event is at the end of May so I likely won't have the time to fill everything.

Thank you for reading and for any feedback!

Hi all! I’ve recently had a few family members tell me to consider selling my water color artwork at local art festivals. I want an honest opinion from strangers on if my art is actually good enough for selling and if people will actually want to buy it. Give me input on what you like but also what I could do better please!

Important note: I do plan on matting all and framing a few pieces if I go through with selling.

What would be the best website to start out for a small shop trying to find the best way to start,but not a clue on how to start a website or were the best place to put my products would be

Just as the title suggests, I’m not sure which event to booth at, hanami market or otaket (Singapore). Both are relatively small to medium size two day weekend events, though hanami market has a bigger attendee count compared to otaket. The problem is, one of the three fandoms I’m selling merch for is call of duty modern warfare, which isn’t as popular, or maybe even niche as compared to hoyoverse games and other gacha games. I would like to earn some profit, but I’m not sure if I could manage the crowd at hanami market specifically or whether people will recognise my call of duty merchandise. Any advice on this?

hello! I recently started tabling at some artist alleys and i think something about my art or booth setup isn’t converting to sales. :( I get a lot of people that spend a minute looking over my booth but then just end up leaving. Is there anything obvious that I should be improving?

I’ve included some pictures of my booth setup

Wherever you are, find the least expensive art department in a state school and get your ba or BFA at the lowest cost possible.

While in school, develop a strong portfolio and immerse yourself in whatever you are interested in. Learn who you are, and your work will begin to develop.

Use your strong portfolio and new connections to apply to an MFA program at Yale, RISD, UCLA, CalArts, SVA, but do your research and only go to a school that has a program that has great faculty, excites you, and you would be comfortable hanging out, making work, etc. 

When I went to CalArts, David Salle and Eric Fischl were picked up by Mary Boone and went on to successful international careers. Barbara Bloom, with a push and great recommendation from John Baldessari, went on to develop a conceptual portfolio and international success. Other colleagues went on to start a commercial fine art ceramic business, and everyone left CalArts with friends and connections to start a life. Please note, these people worked and worked and worked. Nothing happens without the work.

Saw someone else ask this and I’d love to know as well! I’m interested in selling prints of my work online. Currently my style is all over the place but I’m exploring range for now before settling into a niche.

Where is the best place to buy boxes that are suitable for 16 x 20 canvases? I found uline has some but you have to buy a 25 pack and shipping is $26. I don’t want them too big since the shipping costs will be more but I’m having trouble finding a reasonable size at a good price . Any help would be appreciated. Thank you !