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The Comic-Con Art Show is open to the public—you do not need a badge to come in and enjoy or purchase artwork. However, everyone entering the Art Show is expected to comply with all terms and conditions expected of our attendees.

You’ll see numerous original drawings, paintings, sculptures, pieces of jewelry, and more “unusual” items, all created and displayed by professional and amateur artists. In 2025, more than 800 items were sold by the 116 artists exhibiting in the Comic-Con Art Show! 

If you want to add something to your collection, many of the pieces are offered for purchase by Silent Auction* or Quick Sale. 

Bidder numbers and Art Show information can be obtained from the administration table inside the Art Show. You must be 18 or older and have legal identification to purchase artwork, and payments may be made with cash or a credit card. 

The Art Show also displays the nominated books and comics for this year’s Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. Come and see the best new works of the year!For your convenience, the Art Show is open one hour after the Exhibit Hall closes on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday to make it easier to bid on or pick up your art.

*Silent Auction final bidding closes Saturday at 6:00 PM.
Winning bids are posted at 9:00 AM Sunday morning.
Any Voice Auctions begin at 11:00 AM Sunday morning.
All purchased art must be picked up on Sunday by 6:30 PM.
Quick Sale items must be paid for immediately and picked up the same day.

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Dear Artist,

We hope you will consider exhibiting your artwork in the Comic-Con 2026 Art Show, to be held July 23–26 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, just a short walk from the San Diego Convention Center.                      

In 2025, Comic-Con welcomed well over 135,000 attendees, making our event the premier event of its kind in the world. Among those attending are professionals from all areas of the popular arts, including but not limited to comic book artists, writers, creators, and publishers; television and film writers, directors, actors, and executives; and artists of varying disciplines.

If you would like to have your work displayed in the Art Show, please be sure to read all the rules carefully—especially note the policy on abandoned artwork. As always, on the enclosed application is a statement that you must sign and date, acknowledging that you have read the rules and agree to follow them to receive display space within the show.

The attached survey will help event staff place every artist within the show to their best advantage so please be sure to complete and return the survey as soon as possible. Artists who have not exhibited at our show previously will need to either email a sample or provide a web page URL showing the type of work they do. If you have any questions regarding the rules, please send an email to the Art Show Coordinator, LaFrance Bragg, at artshow@comic-con.org 

While Comic-Con will provide security guards in the Art Show area, we cannot be responsible for lost or stolen artwork. Please be sure to mat your artwork, or in the case of 3-D art, please place it in an appropriate display. REMEMBER TO INSURE YOUR ARTWORK.

Once the art is on display, it is not to leave the Art Show area unless sold or removed permanently by the artist or the agent. There is no “in-and-out” removal/return of art pieces.

Remember, the Art Show fills up fast, so submit your application early and make your payment promptly. Your information packet, control sheets, and other forms you need will be mailed to you after your payment. Thank you, and we hope to see you at the show.

La France Bragg
Comic-Con Art Show Coordinator

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Art Show rules may change from year to year.
Please READ THESE RULES CAREFULLY before applying!

Your digital signature on your application is your agreement to follow these rules and all applicable laws of the State of California and the United States. If you fail to comply, you will be removed from the Art Show, and entry fees will not be refunded. Signing the application means you will be held to all the rules, whether you read them or not.

A Comic-Con MEMBER ID is required to display your works in the Art Show.
If you do not have a Member ID, please create one at
https://comic-con.configio.com/newaccount before filling out the application.

The exhibitor shall at all times protect, indemnify, save, and keep harmless San Diego Comic Convention (“SDCC,” organizer of Comic-Con) against and from any loss, cost, damage, liability, or expense that arises out of or by reason of any act or omission of the exhibitor, their employees, or agents.

NOTE: Because of the ever-increasing costs that operating our show places upon us, as well as the costs that our credit card processors charge (which, if you were to sell items from your own website, you’d have to deal with those costs as well), we must now charge a 5% commission on all art sales. 

EXHIBITING YOUR ARTWORK

(1) Entries are limited to original works with themes of animation, comics, science fiction and fantasy, or fandom. These may be in any medium that can be displayed in our space.

(2) Reproductions of any kind are allowed, but only one copy of any image may be shown in the Art Show. Computer-generated art will be limited for entry and must be identified as such.

(3) Material created by Artificial Intelligence (AI) either partially or wholly, is not allowed in the art show. If there are questions, the Art Show Coordinator will be the sole judge of acceptability.

(4) If you show artwork featuring a character that belongs to someone else, you must credit the owner/creator. For example, a drawing of Superman or Wolverine must be labeled on the physical artwork “© DC Comics” or “© Marvel Comics” respectively, in addition to having your signature. If an authorized agent of the copyright holder complains about the presence of the artwork in the show, we must (at minimum) change its status to “Not-for-Sale” or “NFS” if you do not have written permission to use the property. We will not show artwork that defames any real person or any fictional character. The judgment of the Art Show Coordinator is final.

(5) Comic-Con’s Art Show is open to viewers under 18 and is subject to the City of San Diego’s adult materials laws. Artwork unsuitable for our audience will not be displayed. Your art, as it is displayed, must be approved by the Art Show Coordinator before your application will be accepted. The judgment of the Art Show Coordinator in this matter is final. Please write or fax the Art Show Coordinator before the show if you have questions.

(6) The Art Show exhibition hours for Thursday through Sunday will be posted on-site and announced in the Comic-Con Events Guide.

    QUICK SALE 

(7) You have the option of allowing pieces to be sold during the Art Show at either a pre-determined Quick Sale price, or for the highest bid in the Silent Auction. Please indicate the minimum bid and whether each piece is available for Quick Sale by writing the dollar amount on the bid sheet in the proper box. The Quick Sale dollar amount should be higher than the minimum bid. After the bidding is closed on Saturday, pieces without any bids will be sold at the Quick Sale price, if one is listed. Once an item has a bid in the “Silent Auction,” it is no longer eligible for Quick Sale.

(8) Buyers must pay in full, including sales tax, and pick up their purchase before the close of the Art Show daily. No art will be available for sale after the convention. Art that has been bid on and has not been picked up by the bidder or artist at the close of the Comic-Con Art Show, and no pick-up arrangements were made with the Art Show Coordinator, will be considered abandoned and immediately following the show will be handled in accordance with our policies. (Refer to policies #32 and #34).

    SILENT AUCTION

(9) The Silent Auction ends at the Art Show closing time on Saturday. The number of written bids required to send a piece to Voice Auction is eight. If we receive fewer than eight bids on a piece, it will be sold for the highest written bid. The Voice Auction will be held on Sunday. The highest bidder, either by voice or by the last written bid, will purchase the piece.

(10) At the close of the Silent Auction, artists displaying art NFS and/or any pieces without bids that are unavailable for Quick Sale may withdraw their art on Sunday before the Art Show opens to the general attendees. Artists and buyers may make pick-up arrangements for their art before the time of the convention closing on Sunday.

    SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION

(11) Every artist exhibiting within the Art Show must sign, date, and submit the application. Each exhibiting artist must pay for at least one (1) Art Show space (no sharing of space unless all is under one artist). You may use an agent for one or more artists—but use one application and one control sheet for all artists represented (you will be assigned one artist number for your use, not one for each artist).

(12) Each exhibition panel, table, or floor space rents for $40. The category in which an entrant applies will not affect the rates charged for display. If you send an application in and have not made a payment, you do not have a reservation—nothing is assigned until your payment is made.

(13) Any person or agent representing an artist(s) for delivery, hanging, displaying, pick-up, or questions regarding the artist or the works, needs to be identified on the entry form as an agent. Written exemptions will be allowed at the convention on a limited basis.

(14) We will accept applications for space in the Art Show until June 30, or until the Art Show is sold out (whichever is first). Walk-in artists will be accepted on a first-come and space-available basis. Walk-ins may pay with a debit/credit card, cash, or check.

(15) We accept mail-in artwork. If you wish to do this, please note your intention on the application so that we know to expect its delivery. (Refer to policy #21)

IMPORTANT! In addition to submitting your application, if you have not previously exhibited in our art show, please provide a website where we may view your work, or email a sample photo of your work to the Art Show Coordinator at artshow@comic-con.org 

    APPLICATION APPROVAL

(16) We will not reserve space for you until your signed and dated application has been approved, and the invoice emailed to you has been paid in full.

(17) Upon payment of your invoice, you will be assigned an artist number and sent an information packet with copies of a control sheet, bid sheet, check-out procedure, etc. You will only be assigned an artist number after your application has been accepted and you have paid in full.

    INSURING YOUR ARTWORK

(18) Comic-Con does not have insurance on any artwork being displayed or stored. You are responsible for your own insurance (check your homeowners or renters policy; you may have appropriate coverage there).

    INFORMATION PACKET

(19) When filling out the forms in your information packet, make sure you print legibly and neatly so that they can be read easily. With 100+ artists, 3000+ pieces of art, and 350+ bidders, deciphering penmanship takes a lot of time that we simply don’t have at the show, and in the last few years, basic data entry wasn’t complete until Monday or Tuesday after the show due to this challenge. Be sure the information on the bid sheet is reflected on the control sheet—yes, we do need to know what your minimum bid or NFS status is—having it on the bid sheet on the panel doesn’t help the person doing data entry at the desk. Number items in sequence starting with ‘1’, and always put your artist number on the bid sheet. All items you wish to place in the show need to be listed on the control sheet (if it’s under our roof, we need to know about it). Please also give us your ZIP+4 (for U.S. artists)—we need it for getting your sales checks to you faster; if you don’t give it, that’s an extra step we have to take to secure the information.

(20) Once a piece is entered into the show, you cannot change its conditions of sale, such as “NFS” status. A piece is considered to have been entered when the minimum bid price or bid sheet is posted beside the work.

    MAILED IN ART

(21) Comic-Con will accept mail-in art and hang it for the artist. If you wish to have us ship your unsold art back to you after the show, please provide a box that can be reused—if the original box provided is too damaged to be accepted by the shipping company, you will be charged for a new box. 

When mailing your art to us, you must include either return postage paid by check (equal to the cost of sending your art to us) or a prepaid return shipping label, otherwise, your artwork may not be sent back to you. We do not use sales proceeds to cover return shipping costs, as there is always the possibility of no art sales, which means you would not get your art back.

Alternatively, you may pick up the artwork yourself and take it to the FedEx Office in the Hyatt and handle your own return shipping.

    WHEN TO SET UP YOUR DISPLAY

(22) The Art Show will be available for artist set-up on the Wednesday before Comic-Con opens, from 10 AM to 5 PM (times tentative), and Thursday morning at 9 AM. 

    PARKING

(23) If you have artwork that you can’t bring down via public transportation, or you have not reserved parking near the convention center, understand that we cannot secure you a parking space. There will be a limited-use loading zone available for the Art Show—but only to unload, and then move your car. You cannot leave your car parked in the loading zone while setting up.

    DISPLAYING YOUR ARTWORK

(24) All artwork must be clearly and legibly labeled (by printing, not cursive). Make certain that each piece has on its back the artist’s name and address, the artist’s number, the piece number, and the minimum bid (in the case of smaller 3-D artwork, a removable dot linked to the bid sheet). You must use our standard forms—one that is larger or smaller will not be accepted, and you will be required to rewrite your forms before artwork is placed in the show. We provide a fillable PDF series of forms so you can do everything on your computer. Use regular paper stock—nothing heavier or bound in some sort of book. You must print out all your completed forms and bring them with you to the show—only mail in your paperwork if you are mailing in your art.

By default, the sale of the artwork does not include reproduction rights. If your entry is a print, it must have several additional statements. If it is an unlimited-run print, it must be labeled as such. For a print in a limited series, there must be the number in the print run, the print medium, and, if the print is an art print (that is, a print made by any of the traditional art processes), the printer used. If the plate has been destroyed, the date it was destroyed must be included in this statement.

Artists participating will have to conform to applicable California laws that pertain to art sales. If you are unsure of these laws, please see the most recent edition of any artist law reference books or talk with an art lawyer if you have any further questions.

(25) Plan to attach the bid sheets to the artwork whenever possible, not the pegboard. Not only does the tape tend to rip fibers from the pegboards, but if the bid sheet is not attached to the artwork, it can get lost if the art is removed from the pegboard. Please use the minimum amount of masking or blue painter’s tape needed to attach the bid sheet to the artwork—dealing with wads of sticky tape after the show is over, when the accountant tries to go through the paperwork, slows the process down. If your use of excess/banned tape damages the board, or you use non-standard hanging hardware that damages the board, you will be charged a repair fee to fix the board.

(26) Two-dimensional works must have surfaces not easily damaged by hanging. This means that these pieces will be mounted and matted. If you feel that your artwork is valued at more than $100 per piece, we strongly recommend that, before it is displayed, you frame or shrink-wrap the art. Please, no glass in frames—it breaks too easily (either in transit or if the hanging hardware is inadequate—use plexiglass).

If your artwork is framed or is in a canvas frame, we strongly suggest you use a hanging wire to put it on the board. A sawtooth hanger works fine for nails, but does not work with pegboard hooks as used in our Art Show. Artwork hung in this way is likely to fall off the panel, and we cannot be held responsible for poor mounting. Using a row of hooks to perch your artwork on is also not acceptable, as artwork will often fall off the panel. If your artwork can’t be clamped with a standard bulldog clip, you must provide secure mounting hardware compatible with a standard pegboard hook. If we feel that your artwork cannot be displayed safely, we won’t allow it on a panel.

(27) Our panels are generally 4’ x 4’ pegboard. If you intend to hang a business card holder, keep in mind that it must not interfere with bid sheets. The Art Show staff will not be responsible for supplying your business cards or flyers. We will provide hanging hardware (binder clips). We will be as careful as we can when hanging mail-in two-dimensional art; however, we will take no responsibility for pieces that are damaged in hanging or shipping. Artists need to estimate their space needs somewhat realistically—an artist that sets up on three 4’ x 4’ pegboard panels and places a single 6” x 6” picture on each, risks having them all re-assigned to one panel (at the direction of the Coordinator or senior staff)—we do not have the excess space to waste. If we are at capacity and are required to reassign/reduce your space, the difference in fees between what you paid and what you used will be refunded, of course. Also, if you send 36 square feet of art for one panel, the laws of physics say that all will not get displayed.

It is the artist’s responsibility to properly mount their artwork. Every year we get artwork that literally falls apart on the panel because the artist did not take the time to protect their artwork. We suggest you read the “Matting & Mounting Guideline” sent to all confirmed artists, to protect your artwork.

(28) Three-dimensional display table spaces (2½’ x 6’) will be available for the exhibitor/artist unless the Art Show Coordinator grants an exception. Jewelry displayed in the artist’s own case will be placed on a full-display table space. Oversized art will be displayed on the floor or on an easel behind pipe and drape (check beforehand—this is on a space-available basis). Please indicate on your application any special display needs, such as electric power, pipe and drape, etc.

(29) Three-dimensional pieces submitted to the show require special attention. The Art Show will not accept mail-in 3-D art unless it is insured. Attending artists or their agents should set up their own 3-D pieces. Display cases for jewelry are highly recommended. Every sculpture for sale should be shown in a protective display case. Please provide individual shipping boxes with packing materials for all 3-D art. This is for your art’s protection and for transport by a buyer. The Comic-Con Art Show staff takes no responsibility for pieces that are damaged in handling while in transit or in the show.

    NO PHOTOGRAPHY

(30) To protect artists’ copyrights, there will be NO PHOTOGRAPHY OR VIDEOTAPING in the Art Show without a release of responsibility of Comic-Con from the artists and with the prior approval of the Art Show Coordinator. This includes cell phones equipped with cameras. Persons taking pictures risk being removed from the show, having film confiscated, and digital images erased under staff supervision.

    BADGES

(31) REMEMBER, EVEN IF YOU GET INTO THE ART SHOW, YOU CAN NOT ENTER THE CONVENTION CENTER WITHOUT A COMIC-CON BADGE. The Art Show does not provide you with a Comic-Con badge. Since the Art Show is located outside the convention center, you can enter the Art Show without a badge. Do not go to a scalper for a badge—badges purchased from unauthorized sources are probably fraudulent, and we will not be able to help you recover anything. Only obtain your Comic-Con badges from official Comic-Con sources. 

    AT THE CLOSE OF THE ART SHOW

(32) ABANDONED ART. UNLESS PRIOR ARRANGEMENTS WERE MADE FOR PICK-UP OR RETURN, ANY ARTWORK NOT CLAIMED BY THE ARTIST OR THE BIDDER AT THE CLOSE OF COMIC-CON ON SUNDAY WILL BE CONSIDERED ABANDONED AND WILL BE DISPOSED OF AT THE DISCRETION OF THE ART SHOW COORDINATOR.

Artwork bid on, but not yet paid for at the time local artists pick up their artwork, is considered “NPU” (Not Picked Up) and should be taken by the artist by the close of Comic-Con. If you leave the artwork, we will need to ship it back to you at your expense if the bidder does not show up (this does not apply to mail-in artists).

    PAYMENT FOR SALES

(33) You will be paid approximately seven weeks after the convention for art sold. No payments will be made at the show. To assist artists in safeguarding their legal rights as creators of their works, Comic-Con will provide each artist or exhibitor with a record of all purchasers’ names in the accounting sheet that comes with their check.

    ABOUT THE ART SHOW

(34) As a reminder, the Art Show is staffed and run by volunteers. In all matters, the decision of the Art Show Coordinator is final. 

Remember, the exhibitor shall at all times protect, indemnify, save, and hold harmless SDCC against and from any loss, cost, damage, liability, or expense which arises out of or by reason of any act or omission of the exhibitor, their employees, agents, or buyers.

QUESTIONS?

(35) If you have any questions about these rules or have any special requirements, please email: artshow@comic-con.org or write to: Art Show Coordinator, LaFrance Bragg, Post Office Box 128458, San Diego, CA 92112-8458, ATTN: ART SHOW

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Questions? Email the Art Show Coordinator:

artshow@comic-con.org
or write to:
Comic-Con 2025
ATTN: Art Show Coordinator
Post Office Box 128458
San Diego, CA 92112-8458