If I am to buy art from someone I know, I will buy art of their characters.

If it's someone I don't know, I look at what appeals to me the most, either being personal characters or random one-offs. I like both humanoids and furry, tho, so I may not be the best to give advice about a furry con. XD
But still, if it looks pretty/amazing/fun to look at and I wanna keep lookin at it, I will buy it, furry or not.

One thing I've noticed about myself: I'll avoid a table if there's no one there (customer) and the artist may seem to wanna watch my every move of when I look at their stuff. Cuz then I feel pressured! And general anxiety... yet sometimes when the artist starts talking casually I feel more at ease!

From what I've heard, even if you're considered a popular artist online, the vast majority of attendees won't recognize you/your art, hence why fanart tends to do better overall. Which makes sense because you want to spend money on things you recognize. And honestly, I'm guilty of buying fanart over originals myself xD

LOL ive actually experienced that myself haha. I always kinda feel bad about it because im sure they probably want people to look at their stuff. But yeah I usually feel better about it if they're warm/welcoming and not pushy haha.

I've never been to a specific furry convention, but when i buy from furry vendors at regular cons, I always go for pins and acrylics keychains for my collections. I would also buy prints of palatable designs if I had a place to frame and hang them which, I will soon. Designs that are generic-ish like, a cool dragon or mythical creatures. Something that anyone can relate to that is 'furry' but digestible for everyone. No ones personal OC or things like that. I think i'd only buy something like that if it was say, a physical print of a comic I like. But that's just my buying style which might not be the norm. If it's a item, it has to be something palatable to me, not personal to the artist unless it's 'content'. If that makes sense. It takes a LOT of content for me to like something enough to buy merch of an established character. Anything less than a full blown tv series would probably leave me less likely to buy a small plushie/pin/keychain of someone else's characters.
I probably have an abnormal perspective as a consumer being an artist myself haha. Or maybe i'm just weird, dunno! But that's my mindset on con purchases from furry artists.

I'm assuming those designs for pins/keychains/prints are kinda just like, general animal/mythical creature related designs then? I suppose that make sense!

Nah I totally get that perspective! Buying art of someones personal character that you have no connect to is kinda odd. If i ever wanted to promote something with my OCs on it, it probably has to be from a project thats already done haha.

Yeah! Like one time I got a Cerberus acrylic keychain that had a see thru bones version on the back. And I got some pins that were of sparkly dragons that were white and black. And one of a black sparkly wolf! I suppose they /could've/ been ocs? but They just looked like cool designs of something I liked to me haha. And I dont think they were. Just a Black and white aesthetically pleasing collection of pins they had made.

I could see myself collecting goat content tbh (like baphomet or just cute goat shit xD) That's kinda the only "general" animal stuff I collect. Sadly I don't see enough merch of that. :T

Ah yes!!!!! I have a cool black goat pin! I'm sure ppl would be interested in that if you made stuff like that! I would be!

furries love anything with muscles and sexy demons

That works for me xD

I'll say before you actually invest into merchandise, fees, and time to vend at a convention, consider visiting one you'd like to vend at first. Check out the atmosphere of the dealers den. Ask questions about how everybody feel about the dealers den. Most dealers are friendly and don't mind help out budding artists and crafters to enter the scene. This will also give you a real opportunity to see what everybody is selling and what everybody is buying. Also, keep in mind that some vendors already got a large fan following and might appear like they are successful regardless of what they are selling. This might give you impression that you must sell the same type of art or merch but found out later, after investing in a lot of your own money and time, that it's not about the contents but the styles. Different conventions also bring in different kind of crowds. One style or content might do really well at one convention but fall flat in the others. I've vended at many different conventions in the past 10 years and have a business background to help me run things. You can reach out to me by Telegram if you need help getting started.

That makes sense! I plan to do mostly local cons for now, but the only furry cons I know around my area are Furlandia (Portland) and Anthro NW (Seattle), both of which I've never been to. :'D Anything else might be a bit too costly to travel to.
Thanks though! I dont have telegram, but thats all helpful info to know!

I have sold prints and obtained allot of take home commissions from conventions. There is a difference between being in the artist alley and being a "dealer" in the dealers den. Artist Alley you typically can only sell whats on your table top and you have limited room to display advertisements and store front stuff. Dealers den is "all out" though. Allot of people in the artists alley do traditional art commissions that they finish before the end of the show, but I have always taken my commissions home to finish them digitally after the con is over. Furries are very patient with when they receive a commission from you and are sometimes whiling to wait months in my experience.

I guess Dealers Den is more like the Exhibitors Hall in anime cons then? But yeah I plan to start small, so I suppose artist alley is best for me. I could consider doing commissions, but I guess I'm worried about orders piling up and stressing me out haha (all while I'm trying to sell stuff at the same time xD)

You will have no issues being commissioned if you decide you want to do that. Artist's alley is a great way to get your feet wet. A smart thing to do is to bring an ipad with a slideshow of your best work on it and prop it up on your table. Would be a good way to show your animations.

Have a range! Have the stupidest derpy art alongside cool shit ^^ lots of potential ways to go about it. I personally buy stickers since they're a bit cheaper, but that's just me ^^

Stupid stuff is always good sticker fodder xD I personally go for prints or charms mostly since I don't use stickers that much haha

My two cents as an avid art buyer. When I go to conventions I never buy furry art. Am unknown human char peaks my interest and ofc fan art. But buying a furry piece feels like I'm buying art of a fursona that isn't mine

Yeah I think the only furry adjacent stuff that is good to sell has to be very general (like animals/dragons/pokemon). Otherwise selling art of your sona just feels like selling pictures of yourself haha xD

I'd suggest trying artist alley first. It seems like a good way to dip your toes into the water without going all in on the expense, although it does require some legwork. But you can practice your display skills (making that art look good on presentation) and such, and I think most of the time all you need is to sign up and get a tax ID or something, which I think most cons will help you with?

I know some cons require you to have a registered business.. which I haven't done yet. :'D But that could just be for dealers den/exhibitors.

Strangely enough, I'm going to AnthroCon this year for the first time, so I'll get some ideas/advice firsthand for ya!

Oh have fun! And thanks! :) Sadly Anthrocon is a bit too far out for me ahah

One thing I see a lot of artists sell at a dealer's den are con badge commissions. They can either be done before the con where you pick them up at the artist's booth, or done at the con itself, usually picked up the next day.

Of course, you have to be comfortable with doing these sorts of commissions, and would also involve maybe investing in a laminator. However, they always tend to be popular, and they can be big or simple.

Oh yeah I've seen those around! I could consider those too ^^

Things I've bought at AC: Buff Mothman and Moth Pins and a Frog print from my favorite artists. I have the Moths Hanging in the house XD I love them. I'd love if I could get more pins one day. Haven't been able to go to a convention in a long time, sadly.

My Friends often times get a lot of Take home Commissions when they set up.

I guess that would be stuff that would fit into the "general" animal merch category haha. Still on the fence about doing commissions at cons, though i guess if i know it wont be busy i could consider it :'D

as someone who's usually attending yearly conventions in my country (UniCon and Dark Matters in Minsk), i can say that something practical would do a great job as merch. i've seen some artists at art alley selling handpainted and handmade shoppers! these go out of stock pretty fast :3
i hope it helps to spark some ideas~

Sadly I'm bad at traditional arts and crafts (im messy with paints/glue lol) I like to play around with it sometimes but I dont feel confident enough to sell that stuff xD

aw :c
maybe prints then?

Yeah basically anything that can be printed is probably my go-to xD

*shrugs* Draw tons of Renamon porn. XD

That seems too easy lol

Draw questionable fanart of characters like Lucario, Wolf Link, Renamon, and Loona in your style. If you drape these above your stall as dakis or posters, you'll have repeat customers for years, and you can hawk the art you're more passionate about alongside it.

You definitely want as loud of a banner as the convention you're going to will allow - maximize every bit of that space! The more effort you put into your stall, the more consistent you are year by year, the more people will feel incentivized to acquire your products.

I've drawn a few of those characters before, but I dunno, I still feel off about drawing things "because it sells" haha. I do like a good number of things from popular franchises though so its not like my interests are that niche xD Taking up space, I agree though haha. I tend to overlook booths if they're not too decorative.

Furry conventions sell all sorts of wares, be it: prints, fursuit partials, (sometime full) resin items, pins, buttons, leatherwork, 3d printed sculptures, hand made on site character badge commission (very common), metalwork and jewelry type items, the whole lot.

It seems like a lot of handcrafted stuff, though unfortunately id probably have to stick with printed stuff ahah

and maybe on paper sketch and or ink commissions, full colored versions may vary