At nearly every large fan convention, there’s a section of the expo floor known as “Artists’ Alley” — rows and rows of tables and artists selling their wares. Some artists make a living from tabling, traveling from place to place to sell. Some only sell at conventions or other fairs occasionally. Either way, there’s always plenty of work to see, buy, and sell.
At fan conventions geared towards anime, comic books, films, etc., you often see artists selling fan art — art which keeps guests excited by seeing their favorite characters reimagined in a new style and new settings. But I’ve noticed a climbing trend of artists in Artists’ Alley selling their own original concepts, designs, characters, comics, and books. Walking up and down the aisles of Katsucon, an annual anime and cosplay convention held in Maryland in February 2025, I noticed more artists selling their work beyond fan art.
Fend Hamilton has been selling their artwork at comic and anime conventions since 2016. They’ve been obsessed with comics their whole life and started drawing at a young age “out of spite” to be better than their cousin, who was drawing pictures of Tweety Bird from Looney Toons.
“Comics, I just kind of got into because all of my drawings began with storytelling, single illustrations, and storytelling, and then went into sequential from there,” said Hamilton.
In terms of selling, for Hamilton, it all started with small press events like Chicago Zine Fest and the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo.
“[Small press] is a pretty good way to start out because these [large conventions] are super expensive, and it’s getting harder and harder to find the ones that don’t require you to already have experience with having a booth, like where they require you to say which places you’ve already been,” said Hamilton.
As Hamilton began to succeed at tabling and grew more familiar, they moved to conventions, starting with Heroes Con in Charlotte, North Carolina. Hamilton explained that Heroes Con was a good way to start at conventions since it only requires payment by a deadline and doesn’t require experience and further screening to get a table.
“From there, I accidentally walked into MomoCon in Atlanta, but you guys have a lot more options for small to mid-sized conventions. So I’d just start with the smallest ones and maybe even start your own,” said Hamilton.
Hamilton even recommends selling on your own college campus, saying, “That’s where a lot of anime shows start is just a college campus saying, we’re a bunch of weebs, let’s make this happen and then going from there. People like buying merch.”
Students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago have the opportunity to sell on campus through the two annual art sales each year. Students can apply and be randomly selected to table and sell in the MacLean Ballroom. This can provide a free experience to get a feel for tabling and begin to gather materials that can be continuously used for display. With enough luck, students can table at every art sale during their time as a student. Events hosted by other nearby universities such as Depaul’s Zine Fest, started by the DePaul Zinesters Club, are also open for students from other schools to get experience and learn about self publishing.
Pricing for all conventions will vary depending on size, location, amount of sellers, and more. You also have to be conscious of expenses for producing your work and traveling to the convention. Many conventions can be anywhere from one to four days long.
For Katsucon, Hamilton broke down the expenses: $400 for the table, $300 for travel (driving), $800 for hotel, $500 for printing artwork, and emergency expenses like replacing a flat tire. For those just starting, decorating will be another expense.
“All of the table wares have just accrued over time. [There] are plastic shelvings that you can get off of Amazon. You want to build up. You don’t want to leave everything flat on the table, it’s not eye-catching,” said Hamilton.
If you are selling prints or comics, Hamilton also recommends printing your own work. They work at a print shop, which has saved them some money. Many other artists in Artists Alley have expressed that they utilize their own printers. A common printer mentioned was the Canon PIXMA PRO series and the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-300.
Tabling at small press events and conventions could be how you get started selling your artwork.
Hamilton loves talking about comics, printing, and selling. They speak at seminars and schools frequently and open up their contact for anyone who has more questions. Hamilton can be found on Instagram @fend13th and on their website fineokpress.bigcartel.com.
