[mbfloyd]

What are the most popular characters for artist?

Who do the people want art of?

[adenread]

Easily without thinking; Naruto, Bleach, Full Metal, Inuyasha.

[Blues]

how about putting most of your best effort into something you're interested in?

appealing to the crowds is alright for trying to break even but it really shouldn't be your biggest priority.

[kero]

Female characters are mostly bought by (of course) from males.

Girls like Yoko from Gurren Lagann, or Winry from FMA comes to mind. Hatsune Miku might also be a good choice.

[LiL Moon]

I agree with Blues, if you work best with animes you are interested in, then you should do those. If some just happen to be popular at this time, then it's a win-win.

But, I'll still list some popular things anyways: Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, Gurren Lagann, Vocaloids. Those are just off the top of my head.

[Lowah]

I also agree with Blues. I really don't like the thought of drawing only to attract the masses, but if it's what you need to get enough money, then it should be off to the side.

Durarara is getting pretty popular lately. I think drawing something from that series will be alright. If the Axis Powers Hetalia craze is still going on, then i'd also suggest that one. Being up to date with what's popular lately in anime will really help. ^^
Drawing from popular videos games is also a good idea. Final Fantasy 7 is a classic crowd pleaser, and Final Fantasy 13 was just released so it'll soon capture a big fandom; at least i think it will. Kingdom hearts probably is still pretty popular so i'd suggest that as well.

If it'll help, you should go to deviantart and look at the fanart section and see what's been really popular in the last couple months.

[RivetSPOOn]

I'll chime in with this: EVERYONE does anime. Yes, this is an anime con, but we apparently now have 350 tables for Artist Alley? According to the registration system. That's a lot of anime artists.

Consider doing some non-anime themes that are popular right now (Avatar, anyone?) and adding an anime twist to it. Nightmare Before Christmas goes over well, for example, and that movie came out how long ago?

Like Blues said, do what you like first, and you don't have to "like" anime, either.

[Lowah]

RivetSPOOn, on 04 March 2010 - 06:52 PM, said:

I'll chime in with this: EVERYONE does anime. Yes, this is an anime con, but we apparently now have 350 tables for Artist Alley? According to the registration system. That's a lot of anime artists.

Consider doing some non-anime themes that are popular right now (Avatar, anyone?) and adding an anime twist to it. Nightmare Before Christmas goes over well, for example, and that movie came out how long ago?

Like Blues said, do what you like first, and you don't have to "like" anime, either.

hahaha oh !@#$! There's that many tables this year?? Efffff XD;;;

Then yeah, there's gonna be a lot of anime this year. It'll be a good idea to figure out how to stand out ^^;

[Ren-tan]

What people most want and what are you best off selling are two different things.

Most obvious answer would be the biggest bandwagon animes. But as others said before there are hundreds of other bandwagon artist just being tools for the masses making 100% naruto, bleach, Lagann ect ect.

If I were to say anything, It would be to keep your artistic integrity. If your artwork is something you truly love and is unique then people will buy them. And trust me people can tell. So the better question is not "what do people want to buy?" but rather "How can I make my art stand out?" And the answer to that is put all your effort into your art and make what you love the most and not what you think others want.

This post has been edited by Ren-tan: 04 March 2010 - 11:47 PM

[Blues]

i mean.. lol, just to elaborate, fans will start talking to you about your art. it's great, you can nerd out as much as you want about your favorite series or art style because of something you drew that made them laugh or caught their eye or just recognized because "hey, i like that series too!" and for buyers in a specific fandom (naruto, gurren lagann, kingdom hearts, WHATEVER), it's really easy to tell if the artist doesn't actually like it and is only drawing a series for the attention and money. if you drew up a few prints of yoko or hatsune miku or sasuke, are you going to be able to respond when people excitedly ask what you thought about her crazy timeskip outfit, what's your favorite vocaloid song, what the heck is kishimoto doing lately?

i spend more than half the time at my alley table TALKING about hetalia and ace attorney and whatever else i draw, the rest of the time resisting talking about my fandoms because i have commission obligations or something. sure, some fans are gonna be a bit shy, point at what they want and shell out a few bucks, but that's not the point of artist alley. think about how you see yourself as an artist before asking what's the best way to sell out.

[Ctrl_Z]

I don't know who's the most popular, but I love to art from TMNT and of Legend of Zelda characters. Those seem to be the ones that always catch my attention in AAs

[mbfloyd]

my best work is the medium that I work in.

I make balloon art. Sculptures made of several dozens balloons.

I make a lot of anime, video game, and other characters.



I just wanted to brush up on characters that people may want. ( it helps me grow in skill to try new things)

[mbfloyd]

Some more of my work

[XanimeXscientistX]

trinity blood,bleach,trigun,hetalia

[iluvnekokunsmile]

mbfloyd, on 05 March 2010 - 09:41 AM, said:

my best work is the medium that I work in.

I make balloon art. Sculptures made of several dozens balloons.

I make a lot of anime, video game, and other characters.



I just wanted to brush up on characters that people may want. ( it helps me grow in skill to try new things)

From a crafter's perspective, I think that looks pretty cool. But as someone with globophobia, they'd make me incredibly nervous to be around >.< (is afraid of balloons).

[Jess_chan]

Since I'm very much against drawing for popular series just to make a quick buck (unless of course, I'm into them myself), I suggest focusing on what YOU like. Because even if the fanbase is small, it exists, and if you're the only one in that room selling for THAT series, chances are, anyone who likes it will buy it, no question. Yuugiou, Zelda, and Vocaloid - that's what I like, that's what I draw. Hasn't failed me yet.

But, if you must know... Naruto, Bleach, Kingdom Hearts, and Full Metal Alchemist. Hetalia was pretty popular last year too (America, Russia). And you can never go wrong with L. Still, understand that the artists next to you, across from you, and behind you will most likely be selling for the exact same series. More competition = less money, if that's what you're concerned about.

[Ctrl_Z]

If someone is wanting to sell their product then they're probably going to want to cater to what the people want. Doing what you want is ok but it's good to be versatile and adaptive.

Another way to look at it. Imagine a person gets a booth in an Artist Alley. If they only focus on the characters they want, in stead of having a verity, then they're bound to get less sells, let alone attention. That would ultimately affect their morale and in turn would hurt they're strive to create things.

Telling someone to stick with what they like and not worry about what people want, when they are trying to sell something, is the worst advice you can give them.

[RivetSPOOn]

Ctrl_Z, on 05 March 2010 - 12:54 PM, said:

Another way to look at it. Imagine a person gets a booth in an Artist Alley. If they only focus on the characters they want, in stead of having a verity, then they're bound to get less sells, let alone attention. That would ultimately affect their morale and in turn would hurt they're strive to create things.

Telling someone to stick with what they like and not worry about what people want, when they are trying to sell something, is the worst advice you can give them.

How is "only doing the characters they want" not a variety? Are we only allowed to like 3 characters? I love me some Bleach, but I like all of Squad 11 more than Ichigo and Orihime. Hell, I rarely see people with Blade of the Immortal fan art, and I jump for joy every time I find it (AND SO DOES THE ARTIST!). If the 5 artists around you are all doing the same two characters from a series, wouldn't it behoove you to try a different pair from the same series? Especially if you prefer those two in the first place?

While I can attest to the morale thing (I went for more than half the weekend and didn't sell a damned thing; it was demoralizing.), you do tend to get more loyal customers if you cater to the less than mainstream and they know it. Loyalty doesn't mean more money, but it does mean you might have a more fun time chatting with them, and they seek you out every year AND are more willing to commission you for stuff they like that almost nobody else in the Alley seems to have heard of. Being the 300th artist in the Alley that draws Naruto and Sasuke together doesn't guarantee you anything, either.

And I'm sorry, not everyone is capable of pouring their blood, sweat and tears into something they have no heart in. I know a few artists that can and yeah, they do very well for their efforts, but then again, they also thrive on commissions first.

[Ctrl_Z]

RivetSPOOn, on 05 March 2010 - 01:20 PM, said:

Are we only allowed to like 3 characters?

Sure you can like more than three if you want. Go ahead. Why did you ask me that?

What you say is all well and good, and I'm sure works for you.

Seems to me that the person that started this thread is just looking for some information that would help them grow in their craft. So I'm just assuming that they're willing to go ahead and create things other people want. Why come into this thread and discourage that?

You also left out the fact that I said, "Doing what you want is ok but it's good to be versatile and adaptive."

[LiL Moon]

Your balloon characters are awesome. You'd gain a lot of business by that alone because I think you might be the only artist with that type of style. Maybe make a balloon Miku from Vocaloids. I think that would be popular. Or a Naruto one.