Hi! I'm an independent artist who does conventions, mostly selling prints and occasionally keychains (so none of my products are causing the smell).

I've noticed that at a lot of anime conventions, especially when they're crowded and warm, the air can get pretty rough from sweat and body odor. I know that's kind of inevitable with so many people packed into one space, but i was wondering if anyone has found good ways to make their booth a little more pleasant to work in.

I'm hesitant to use strong air fresheners since I feel like they'd just mix with the existing smells and make things worse. Has anyone found something that actually helps without being overwelming?

Hello! I paid for a print of a tattoo flash sheet on June 20th. When I paid, the artist let me know that they would need a week and a half or so to ship it out, since they still needed to make the prints and had some tattoo events coming up.

12 days later (July 2nd, Thursday ) I reached out asking if there was any word on how prints were going. They let me know they were aiming to get the prints done the next day and would ideally ship them out “next Monday”. By next Monday I wasn’t sure if they meant the coming Monday (the 6th) or the Monday after that (the 13th), so I assumed the latter to give them more time.

Both mondays come and go with no update. I waited all the way until this past Thursday (the 16th) to ask for another update. They let me know they’d gotten the prints done on Monday, and was rushing to finish a client’s tattoo so they could get to the post office before it closed. I said no worries and to keep me updated. It’s now the 22nd, I’ve gotten no update.

I feel like a jerk continuing to message for more information, and I don’t know if I’m unreasonable in being extremely frustrated by this point. I really do understand that these things take time and they have a full time job, and I wouldn’t mind if I was told the process would take this long from the beginning. But now plans and promises aren’t being kept and instead of being kept updated, I’m having to be a bother and continuously ask for updates.

Any advice and perspectives would be appreciated :) thanks everybody

I've been experimenting with a monthly collectible postcard club for my artwork.

Each month subscribers receive a different postcard featuring one of my paintings. Every card is signed, embossed, numbered and never reprinted.

I've had a few people join already, but growth is much slower than I expected.

For those of you who sell art:

Do you think the issue is the concept itself, the pricing, or simply that collectible art takes a long time to build momentum?

I'd love to hear your honest thoughts.

I never went to art school, but I’ve been drawing and painting since childhood. I have a sociology degree, pre- law, and walked away from it to paint full-time.

A decade-plus later: my work has ended up in diplomatic and royal collections, I’ve lived and worked abroad, and able to support myself full-time doing what I love (studying, making, and teaching art). AMA

Sharing anonymously, but happy to connect as well!

hi everyone, i’m an emerging artists who’s been painting seriously for 3 years.

i’ve seen some advertisements for Mostra, which is created by the Holy Art Gallery. It’s extremely new but i’m wondering if anyone else has heard of it and what their thoughts are? Especially if anyone has experience with online art selling websites, does it seem worth it/legitimate?

i have some larger works i’ve been wanting to sell and im looking for a reputable place to do so online.

Hi,
I am traveling from Vienna Austria to the west coast of the U.S. for an art show. I’m bringing a 30x40 inches (70x100cm ~) canvas rolled in a tube with a shoulder strap. What airline is most likely to let me bring this in the cabin with me without hassle? I always used Turkish airlines in the past and they never said anything but right now the Turkish airline flights are too expensive.
Thanks in advance!

I am looking for a recommendation for a really solid tea towel printer, ideally someone who can attach my own custom labels to heavyweight, high quality stock. I worked with a few companies years ago but everything print related has changed in the last decade and I am extremely interested in hearing about new suppliers. Thank you!

Not sure if this is the right place to ask but I'd like to ask advice and tips about making proposals for an art residency, I've been so overwhelmed with the different kinds of residencies I plan to apply to or want to rather and a lot of them require a proposal which I'm at loss at to what to do or where to start on. Are these Solo Gallery/Show of mine that I can propose or a workshop? I'm almost graduating Fine Arts and I'm trying to get a headstart on this and pump my applications out in 2027.

Hello!! I recently got asked if I’d be interested in selling a print of an artwork I posted. I’d love to sell prints of my art but I honestly have no idea where to start. I know there are ways I could order from print shops online or use my own printer, but I’m just not sure what would work best quality, cost, and time wise. I have a good printer (not sure what kind it is but I know it’s Epson) but I have no clue what kind of paper I would need if I were to print from home. Does anyone have any advice? Like what works best for you? I’d appreciate any tips or suggestions :D

Hello!! I recently got asked if I’d be interested in selling a print of an artwork I posted. I’d love to sell prints of my art but I honestly have no idea where to start. I know there are ways I could order from print shops online or use my own printer, but I’m just not sure what would work best quality, cost, and time wise. I have a good printer (not sure what kind it is but I know it’s Epson) but I have no clue what kind of paper I would need if I were to print from home. Does anyone have any advice? Like what works best for you? I’d appreciate any tips or suggestions :D

I'm currently working on a portfolio, and I've been painting people in my city. I think this is fine if someone wanted to commission me for art. But I think that those pieces would be difficult to sell if they were hanging in a gallery, since they are of specific people.

I remember showing my art at a group show, and one artist told me that in her paintings, the face is cropped out and only showing the body, and that made it easier for the viewer to self-insert themselves into the artwork. I think this is fine advice, but to me, faces are incredibly important for me to paint since I've been practicing to paint them for years, and it just feels wrong to leave out such an important part of the human figure.

So, what is everyone else's opinion on this? What do you do that's successful?

Hi all, I’m Nic, the founder of ArtStage.

We’re putting together an interview series for ArtStage Media focused on the practical side of selling art and building a career as an artist.

We plan to speak with artists at different stages of their careers, working across a range of mediums and from different parts of the world. We’ll also be interviewing gallery owners, people behind online art sales platforms, marketing professionals who specialize in art, and other key figures in the industry.

I’d like the series to move beyond generic advice and look at what actually works. This could include pricing, finding buyers, selling online, working with galleries, marketing and creating a more consistent income from your work.

Before we shape the interviews, I’d really value input from the artists here.

What topics or questions would you like us to cover?

Are there any parts of selling art that you feel are usually overlooked, avoided, or not discussed honestly enough?

I started selling these silly magpie stickers last summer and I’ve done a few markets and they’re my best sellers! They also went a little viral recently and I have lots of people asking for them.

There are ten variations, and the largest number I’ve printed at a time (for a single variation) is 60 stickers. It’s not enough and I am restocking often! It looks like the demand will continue so I want at least 100 of each variant to last me a bit longer.

I’ve been ordering from sticker beaver, and the quality is pretty good and I can pick them up in town. But I’m wondering if there’s any more cost effective options, like going through bigger print manufacturers that don’t just specialize in stickers. I reached out to one company but they said it was too expensive to die cut but I don’t have time to cut things out on my own.

Anyways, tldr; i want to print 1000+ stickers, with 10 different variants, vinyl and die cut. Any recommendations, best practices, etc?

For context, I commissioned a popular niche artist back in may and I didn't get any updates until I messaged them two months later. I messaged them almost two weeks later after that just to see how it was going and they said they were redoing the sketch because they weren't happy with it and would send me an update later. It's been a week now and no update.

Would it feel too overbearing to message them again or should I wait a bit longer (maybe another month because I assume they're busy) to reach out to them again?

hello! ive recently been getting some sales for custom posters(8x11in) and wanted to get some advice on how to ship it.

im going to be using rigid mailers. is it okay if i dont have a cardboard backing such as a chipboard or will my print get damaged?

i feel as if my mailers are thick and require a decent amount of effort to actually fold and create a crease so now im stuck wondering if i should spend extra bucks or skip this step

Why are people doing this? At this point you're paying the client. And there are so many of these online. These are typically smaller paintings which makes things a bit easier but still, anything under $100 is a huge gift to the buyer.

You spend money and time to buy the materials, you plan the painting, you spend hours doing it, then you take photos of it, market it, package it, pay for shipping, drive to the post office, wait in line and then send it.

And I have seen some that come with a solid wood frame included, all for $30.

I'm trying to understand if this has a strategic or marketing reason behind it like a way to reach an audience?

My first thought was, can you not? But then I realized maybe there is a reason that I'm missing. So I'm asking.

Edit: can these paintings be imported? Made in sweatshops?

Facing a dilemma after finally starting to get momentum / attention online which is driving interest in sales.

I have a prospective buyer who is interested in three illustrations, two are smaller and priced at $750 each and one is larger at $1,500. The total would be 3k without shipping. He offered $2,500 for all of them.

On one hand, I really need the money. Times have been tough! On the other, I am worried that I am not getting the full value of my work if I let it go for less than what I originally priced. Especially since I’m starting to get more of a following, I don’t want to send off an original art piece to be gone forever out of fear I won’t get another chance to sell it, but on the other hand I don’t want to lose what would be my biggest sale ever….

I am also extra hesitant since these illustrations have sentimental value to me, but ofc I understand business should be the priority.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I just placed an order on Lumaprints, I was looking forward to it but it has been cancelled by them. I guess they need a picture of my divers license and credit card to confirm the order? I have never had to do this before for an online order, are they a scam? Has anyone else had a similar experience?

i havent used accgoods yet as i dont have any keychain designs yet lol but if i were to use it to sell stuff online, could i order a bunch of stock to keep and sell in person? or is that less cost efficient than other producers? thank you in advance ^_^

I tried IGbut it didn’t work out as I planned it would . So where other platforms can I go too ???

Trying to make a few bucks extra since I have 2 babies 2 under2 , and giving birth soon but I need a few things to buy still 🥲

I’m trying to start up taking commissions, mostly as a side gig, and it looks like PayPal is the most widely used platform. Do yall usually make a personal or business PayPal account for your art and how much does a business account actually cut your income through its fees in the long run?

I'm planning on getting into selling tote bags and possibly clothing with my art on them, but all of my work is rectangular (12x18 format) and I think the sharp edges look pretty bad design-wise. Is there a way you've bordered or softened your edges to look more organic? I'd love examples!

Hi. I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask for advice, but I'm in a bit of a bind.

During the spring, I completed a large painting that I am very proud of. I had a friend who worked for an organization that does annual culture conferences in a sister city overseas (in Asia), and I was able to have my art shown over there. Of course, this required that my piece would get shipped and whatnot. During the entire process, I did state that I expected the piece to return to me, and the organization agreed to this. I have all of this in writing.

Fast forward to now; it has been months since the event happened, my friend quit their job, and I have asked the president of the org about the status of my painting. I had to bother them a few times to get a very vague answer--"will check with the college's mail room and with (city) to see if they have shipped it already or status." This was over a month ago, and I got no update from there, and I asked them again a week ago, and got no response.

I am going to ask them again, and am wondering about how to escalate. They effectively are withholding my art, or at least lost it. I am wondering if there is any financial compensation I can mention, especially to really really drill it into their brains that this is a serious matter. The piece took months and months and a lot of thought and effort, so I am sad that this has happened.