Suggestions for an artist?

I'm going to have an artist table at a horror-themed anime convention in November. I've never had a table before, and I suddenly realized I'm not really sure what I should sell.

I plan on making keychains, pins, bookmarks, and prints to sell, but I don't know what I should look into and do fanart of! I know there's the popular stuff; Naruto, Death Note, Sailor Moon, but beyond that, I don't know what would sell. Some outside friends suggested Harry Potter and Invader Zim in manga-esque styles. I'm into manga like Pet Shop of Horrors, Full Moon Wo Sagashite, and Godchild, but I think they're a bit too obscure to try and make fanart of.

What would you love to see fanart of?

Naruto and Vampire Knight

MegaMan NT Warrior, Death Note ,and Yu-Gi-Oh

Vampire Knight? I've read a bit of that. Sounds fun!

I like Megaman as far as videogames go, but I haven't heard of NT Warrior. I'll have to look it up!

Thanks for the suggestions!

Before anything else, make sure you know what is and is not allowed for sale in the Artists' Alley. Some conventions have quirky rules which, if not taken into account, could wipe out a good portion of your viable inventory. For example, I've seen conventions where no stickers were allowed, and other conventions where only flat art (prints, bookmarks) was allowed.

As for the series you should do fanart of...well, that's where things can get somewhat murky. It's important to remember that every convention is going to have a different vibe, and what might sell like hotcakes at one convention won't move at all at another one. So make sure to do some research on the convention before you go. Know what the theme of the convention is, if it has one. If it's a con you've attended before, think about what you've seen there in past years. If the convention has a website--most do these days--drop by the forums to see what people are talking about. This won't guarantee sales, but it will help you figure out what is more likely to sell.

It's important to know what titles are popular, but don't restrict yourself to those titles! Remember, the current popular titles will be well-represented in the dealers' room at the convention, and they will also likely be well-represented in the artists' alley.

Do fanart for the series you are into, and pick a few popular series you enjoy to round out your selection. Con goers tend to hit artists' alley for things they aren't likely to find in the dealers' room.

Finally, make sure you know why you want to be in the artists' alley. If you're doing it to make a lot of money you will probably be disappointed. My first convention where I had table space I sold exactly one thing for $3. That didn't even cover my part of the table. But I had fun watching everybody else and helping my table partner, so it was worth it.

According to the rules of this particular convention, most things are fair game except food and already-licensed merchandise (ie, I can't decide to sell my manga collection unless I buy a vendor pass). I'm planning on keychains, pins, prints, and maybe bookmarks if I can get around to designing a few.

However, this IS the first convention I've seen where the dealer room and artist alley are the same place, so I'm imagining it will be pretty small. (If I can sell anything at all, I'll be pretty excited. I've never attempted to sell my digital art before, aside from a few commissions I did on DA.) I'm mainly asking for suggestions because I want to have variety, and all I've got at the moment is original stuff (except some obscure Digimon and some Discworld stuff), which I don't think anyone at this particular con will be interested in.

The dealers' room and artists' alley being in the same place does not necessarily mean it's a small convention (San Diego Comic Con, one of the largest and oldest conventions in the US, has the artists' alley as a portion of the dealer's room, and the dealer's room takes up the entire bottom floor of the convention center. The art show, however, is in a different portion of the convention center), but it is probably likely that this convention is a smaller one.

Since you said the convention is horror-themed, and largely anime based, I wouldn't rule out Pet Shop of Horrors or Godchild. Both series share a similar sort of vibe with horror stories, even if you may not classify them as such. Death Note art would probably do quite well also, and possibly Bleach. Include some original art, at least in your portfolio even if you don't plan to sell any.

If it's a horror-themed con, Hellsing would probably be a good bet. I personally enjoy Pet Shop of Horrors, but I agree it's not the highest-profile series; might still be worth a shot. A lot of people seemed to get excited when Yen+ added Pandora Hearts to its lineup, so that might be good. The Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series is a videogame series, but I think there's enough of a crossover between JRPG and manga/anime fans for fanart from the games to be popular.

EDIT: Woops! Almost forgot Higurashi - When They Cry. Should also be popular for a horror-themed con.

Trinity Blood is another good one for a horror-themed con.

And if doing video games, Fatal Frame, Silent Hill, Devil May Cry and a few other series might also be good sells.

Whoops, forgot Hell Girl, which would also fit right in at a horror-themed con.

i agree with all the above recommendations and just might want to add Hellsing, MPD psycho and Elfin Lied. Other things that might go down well - Afro Samurai Ghost in the Shell and Paranoia Agent. Good luck!

Yes Trinity Blood and Bleach would also be good