Artist Alley Thread

Is it just me, or has Zapp removed stickers from their site? I can't seem to find them and I feel really blind.

I know cgl is against people undercharging for art in aa but what about extremely overcharging?
I met a semi popular artist I follow on tumblr at a con the other day and I was set on buying a print...until I looked at her prices. $25 for a big print (11x17) $15 for a small (copy paper sized) Then I asked about her buttons,$3 for a 1.25 inch, I understand $2 but $3? For such a tiny button?
Everyone else at the con,myself included was charging $15 a big print and $8-10 for a small and I would say that some of the art quality was on par if not outright better than hers, it kind of offended me as an artist. Here we all are charging reasonable rates for our hard work and effort and yet this girl thinks her artwork is with almost twice as much as the rest of ours.
It kind of left a bitter taste in my mouth.

>>8754353
If she can sell it at that price, good for her and that also means you can raise your own prices? If she can't, then she'll learn the hard way. Either way, as long as you're laughing your way to the bank, it's fine imo.

>>8754353
DESU I've never sold at a con before (yes yes, I know) but I think it's really up to her. If people are willing to buy at that price, then so be it...I guess one person charging such exorbitant rates might cause others to want to raise their prices, but I think we can trust that everyone else at least has their own experiences and knows what's reasonable.

>>8754406
ok I have no idea why desu popped up there but I wrote "to be honest" lol

>>8754410
> what are word filters
Get with the times, grandma.

>>8754410
It's a word filter. "to be honest" become desu, if you type "family" short it becomes "senpai" and there's one other one I think?

>>8754415
t.bh -> desu
f.am -> senpai
s.mh -> baka
c.uck -> kek

>>8754396
>>8754406
True, it didn't look like she was making many sales honestly and if she did it was only small ones from fans and I guess it's fair if she wants to charge what she charges but what put me off the most was seeing how simple some of her prints were (flat, no backgrounds etc) and then her prices.

>>8754411
they've only been here a month and they're hard to notice because we're all fucking weaboos. chill out
>>8754423
god bless anon

>>8754427
Oh, so you're new. You should accustom yourself to 4chan banter; >>8754411 and >>8754423 are both the same person (me). I was just joking with you. You're going to have a hard time if you take offence easily.

>>8754427
>>8754451
Oops, I misread your post. Sorry about that. Still, the word filters are pretty obviously since barely anyone uses desu/senpai/baka, and they're also often in the wrong context.

sjw was filtered for Halloween, but not anymore I think/

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>>8754353
When you undercharge, you hurt the artists around you whether or whether not you're making sales. If you overcharge, you're not hurting anybody. If you can sell at absurd prices, good for you. If you can't, that's only impacting your sales and not devaluing everyone else around you. There's not much reason to be against it.

Pic related, Peter Mohrbacher successfully sells prints for $75-$100+

Uh
Was anon that posted on last thread about grid walls. It's be nice if I anyone knows the answer to my question and could post a reply;;

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I've seen quite a few prism/holographic/sparkly button badges and I was wondering- where do you even get those done? I've looked into the holographic film in the past threads, but it's expensive as hell and doesn't seem like that would be the way to do it.

>>8754353
holy shit lol you sound so insecure
who cares if someone is selling their prints for more than yours, its hardly going to impact your sales the same way someone heavily undercharging is

>>8755038
jimiagency on tumblr

>>8755057
It just felt very disrespectful at the time, almost like she charges more than everyone else becouse she's popular online and takes advantage of her fanbase to sell an average tier product but after seeing her mediocre art in person it's painfully obvious that she is popular becouse of catering to the Steven universe/sjw/undertale crowd and keeping up with tumblr fads and not the quality of work. As a customer I felt scammed and she didn't even provide a bag for her customers to put their thin pieces of expensive paper into.

>>8755089
People can spend their money however they like. It's really silly to get mad that people are willing to spend more money on something they like especially if it's from an artist they may admire. If you're popular then obviously more people will be aware of you and will want your art so there's no reason not to bump up the prices a bit to make a nicer profit.
Also you can't feel scammed from just seeing expensive products. Everyone knows that drawing for fandoms can get you attention so you can either do that as well or deal with the fact that people like to draw and buy certain series.

>>8755109
not that anon, but this isn't true at all, you don't know much about economics.

>>8755109
>>8755122
Yeah she wasn't making sales apart from small things and the occasional small print, most of her sales came from her $30 commissions which of you account for time and effort cost more to make than a 50 cent print and you lose potential customers becouse you're hunched over drawing instead of helping and talking to people.
On the other hand she's small fry since the only fan art she really had is su and game grumps things that everyone and their mother does prints of mixed with some oc art, I feel like her only customers were tumblr fans and there's only so much they are willing to buy while regular congoers ignore her, if she doesn't budge on her prices soon she isn't going to do very well in aa in the long run, I wanted to message her about it after the con but scrolling through her blog I noticed she recently had some drama with other people complaining about her commission prices (which I felt we're actually reasonable) and her response was basically commission someone else if you don't like my prices and if I charged less it wouldn't be fair to the people who actually pay for my work which is a reasonable response but artist alley is very different from online commissions and she's doing herself more harm than good.

>>8755089
>>8755173
I don't understand how you can simultaneously feel "ripped off" and "offended" someone is charging more, then insist they were making poor sales and not making money.

If that were true you wouldn't be so fucking bitter.

If she actually were making lots of money, then good for her. Maybe instead of crying about it on 4chan you could work on making you and your art worth more instead of trying to accuse another artist of ripping you off with their price tags.

>>8755179
I just wanted to hear other artists opinions on someone like this and an anonymous platform seemed like the best method.

>>8755191

Sounds more like you wanted validation for your opinion.

>>8755195
Maybe a bit of that too lol but I seriously wanted to know if other people think these prices are too high or if it's just me but I guess it doesn't matter she's only screwing herself over.

>>8755089
>disrespectful

If she is charging way higher than the going rate and people are not buying them then that means more potential sales for you.

I say you should be thanking that artist for helping you out

>>8755221
jfc that is WAY too over priced!

>>8755225
Lol yeah you're right.
>>8755235
Ikr

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>>8755221
and if you're a buyer on a budget

Anyone ever accidentally been accepted into an Artist Alley?
Apparently I did last weekend. We got there and they told us we were accidentally told we were accepted, but they couldn't just tell us that we actually weren't accepted after we already paid and everything.

But hey, worked out great for me! I made a record in sales. I also was able to purchase a table for next year too.

>>8755268's art is so much better than >>8755221 and their prices are so much more reasonable.

>>8755285
Was it Holiday matsuri??
Tbh they don't really have their shit together so of its that con I wouldn't be surprised.
I havnt but sopposedly there was a vendor at collosal con last year that didn't actually get accepted but showed up and whined until they got a space not sure how true this is but that's what I heard.

>>8755285
If they were going to let you have the table because of their mistake anyway, why did they bother telling you? Sounds like a dick move.

>>8755289
It was Yama-con.
On the note of unorganized cons, when I went to Magic City Con, they ran out of Vendor/Artist alley badges. I know that isn't much, but idk how you run out of those badges when you know how many vendors there will be...
>>8755295
Its because they had to find another table for us or something. We were also put near the fan tables/convention promotion tables instead of the artist alley tables, but they were in the same room, and our table was right next to the entrance, so the spot we were in was actually better than if we were put where we were suppose to be.

But hey, I guess they seen how well we did, so they let us go ahead and get a table for next year, so it all worked out great.

>>8755221
I'm just laughing so hard because wow

I have a question in relation to the content of art. I'm working on a piece for school that's supposed to be sort of a parody of the Mona Lisa where we draw her in our own art style and I was wondering if I'd be allowed to sell it at a con or if that is something that couldn't be sold.

>>8755369
A parody of the Mona Lisa would be much more allowed than fanart of currently copyrighted characters. Who's gonna ask you to take it down, Leo?

>>8755369

>>8755433
Dubs speak truth; mona lisa is considered public domain so you can sell replicas of it in anyway you want it's perfectly legal. Even if it was copyrighted, if you change the design enough (I think it's around 20% or so technically) it will be different enough that it counts as an origional design. At least that's what I was told when I took an art class a few years ago.

>>8755369
>>8755647
Thanks, guys! This was actually really helpful!

Thinking of making stickers sheets, and since I run an online shop I was considering buying some chipboard to put along with the packaging to make sure they stay flat during shipping. Does anyone else do this and know what thickness is best for that purpose?

Thinking of tabling with a friend but are there any smaller California cons that'd be ok for my first time selling? I don't think my merch will be super terrible but I'm worried about competing with other artists especially since I've been focusing on less popular fandoms.

>>8755728
What part of California? I'd recommend local cons for your first artist alley so you aren't investing too much money in travel/hotels. Though if you're tabling with a friend, splitting costs really helps.

In SoCal, there's ALA, Anime California, Anime Conji, and Hanadoki. There is PMX too but for years I've heard it's not profitable. My first two cons I did artist alley at were Conji and ALA, but that was 5 years ago and things are a bit different now. They're still solid cons to sell at.

>>8755802
SoCal area. Thought of ALA and Anime California but I hadn't about the other two so thanks! Hopefully I can make a small profit but I'm mostly looking forward to finally making merch and meeting other artists since I'm terrible at socializing online.

>>8755191
>>8755216
>>8755241
So you wanted to feel better about your shitty art by convincing yourself that they don't sell well (because if you were actually convinced of that you wouldn't need this validation)

Scrub tier artist if i've ever seen one.

>>8755814
No prob! Those other two are in San Diego. Hanadoki is super new (next year is 2nd year) so it's a really small con. Conji just put their artist alley info up online, so you could get your table now. I know people shit on Conji for being boring but I made a good amount from it this year.

I understand the meeting new artists thing. Hope you meet some nice people!

>>8755726
Are you mailing them in unpadded envelopes or ones with bubble wrap in them? I ship my sheets in a regular paper envelope inside a padded envelope and they've arrived fine. Probably something really thin if you're using just a paper envelope.

>>8755824
calm down, you're way too salty over this. sounds like you're a bandwagon overpricing loser who's just buttmad.

>>8755952
I agree, there's no need to be this salty.
My art is fine, I do well enough and good for you if you do well too, there's no reason to be this mad unless maybe you're the artist I'm talking about, in which case sorry your stinginess lost you a follower.

>>8755948
I was thinking of just using those regular yellow envelopes, so it would be pretty flimsy without anything to back the sticker sheet. Your method is interesting, is it the bubble wrap that keeps it sturdy/flat? I'm just afraid of all the bending it'd go through in the mail.

>>8755221
I could see someone charging this much for some super weird hentai shit, but not... this.

>>8756036
The ones I've used are like this http://amzn.com/B000GHTDH8 and they're pretty stiff on their own. Or at least they won't bend much if you're not purposely trying to.

>>8756036
Personally, I would sandwich them in cardboard and put them in a bubble mailer if you feel that's necessary

>>8755089
If an artist sells work to her fans for the price she sets, she isn't taking advantage of them. Fans decide what they like, if they chose to like her work and choose to buy it for a certain price, then the power is entirely theirs. Obviously, if she has a lot of fans she's creating something that customers like. Even if the art isn't is of as high a quality, if the idea behind the art is good or popular, of course there's going to be more demand and for it and she may be able to sell her work for more than others. I can't really see what your issue is.

>>8755221
This is pretty bad haha. But whatever, people can sell their stuff for what they want. It's silly but it's their loss! (or their gain, if people want to buy bad art!)

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>>8755221
Oh jesus... I wouldn't even pay $10 for that

>>8755221
To be honest, I once priced my commissions really high because I just didn't want to take commissions and was like 'if you want to get me to do it, you better pay me out the ass'. I guess I'm just an artist that doesn't like being told what to draw. I rather just give people freebies and draw prints rather than do commissions.

>>8755221
>>8755268

This seems kind of like a case of popular/e-famous artist vs. amateur. The first person has a pretty large fanbase and is a relatively high-profile artist within certain communities, and since people are willing to pay that much for one of her chibis, she can charge that much. It's also kind of a matter of "stemming the flow," in one way of speaking. This is a little more obvious at conventions than in online commissions, but if you price your artwork high, then it decreases the number of commissions you get, which sounds undesirable to some and is more attractive to others (based on time, laziness, etc. etc.). May as well get more money from a couple commissions then less money from more, if that makes sense.

The first artist is also a "commercial artist" and as such prices her commissions at a "commercial" rate. Basically, this is her main source of income, so no shit she's gonna charge as much as she can.

Idk if the second artist is that popular, but based off of that ad, I'd assume they're an amateur and do this kind of as a hobby, which explains their prices.

If you consider yourself a professional, you will charge more and if you're just doing this for fun, you're gonna charge less. I think it's less a matter of quality or name brand on the consumer's part and more of a matter of professionalism on the artist's part.

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>>8756453
Using the word "professional" next to that art seems so wrong.

>>8756457
It's not bad. It's clean and looks proportionate (for chibi style). Has that dead commercial feeling to it because most of the poses are basic bitch, but not bad.

>>8756457
Again, less of a matter of what you think and more of a matter of the artist's experience and client base.

She's a popular artist on twitch, in the League community and I'm pretty sure she's done commercial work here and there, so to sell herself short based off of a subjective sense of "quality" is just bad business. This is going to sound horrendously snobbish (bear with me), but if she charged based off of what some randos on the internet thought, why on earth would any commercial/corporate/big-wig client take her seriously?

I can think of plenty of other hobbyist/amateur artists whose art I prefer over hers, but she's marketed herself much better than them, so she's able to rake in more money too. Just a matter of business.

>>8756453
>if you consider yourself a professional you will charge more

again you fill the thread with useless shit that is totally wrong.

i always find it funny that you use that name to namefag since the only person i know named tim is an autist retard like you. also pretending you're a ~professional~ doesn't mean shit. AA are a joke because weebs buy legit anything they are obsessed with. plus, if you think that's a commerical rate you're too far gone in this shitty con scene scam art free-for-all.

and before you think i'm bitter? nah, i just hate you, you're never helpful and you tell people to use the worst outlets for buying things cause you're too inept to use the internet.

kill yourself.

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>>8756469
...How do you market like that? I want me some dosh

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>>8756470
>kill yourself.

Jesus, that's a bit rough anon

>>8756469
Tim, I follow you on Tumblr and always wondered how you balance your work with cons. Have any of your students run into you at cons? How would you handle it? I've been thinking about subbing at schools as extra cash in between cons but I don't know how I would deal with students running into me at cons.

Same question for everyone else as well. How would you react to co-workers or someone from outside your con circle seeing you table at a con?

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>>8756479
This artist in particular got popular by doing general eyecandy League art then hit it big with memey posters (pic related). I think it was a matter of jumping on the right train before it gained a ton of momentum (there are tons of popular league artists, for example, but there seems to be this group of more established/popular ones).

I think from there, the way she repped herself kind of boosted her to pro-status (i.e shiny, polished website, legit client work on her resume, etc.).

I dunno, there are a bunch of ways to do it, and each artist finds a way that just "works" for them. There are people like Shinydesu or Quirkilicious who just get super popular from cons and stuff by having an enormous inventory and a modicum of decent drawing ability and there are others who will go through formal training and rub elbows with a bunch of pro artists who will pimp the shit out of them.

>>8756491
>>8756469
Ohh, can I have your tumblr too? I would love to ask you questions/advice if you're okay with that?

Or I can just follow, whatever

>>8756491
Depends on your comfort level. The only time I've seen students at a con is when I actually invited the students myself and bought them 1-day passes because they're pretty artsy, weeby kids and I figured they'd enjoy the con and broaden their horizons a bit. I'm pretty comfortable with my students and would rather they actually go to cons and meet people and see new things than just sit at home doing nothing.

I think as long as you don't have any super questionable or weird content at your table, it's not a big deal. I've also talked about going to cons with a lot of my kids too so it's something they're familiar about. My kids are all pretty much cool and great and awesome, though, even the literally autistic ones, so I have no problem sharing my "con life" with them.

In terms of balancing work and cons-- I stick to local cons that don't require huge inventory or a lot of travel and save long-distance cons for vacations. It helps that I live in an area with a ton of nerds, though, so cons are pretty frequent.

>>8756481
tim's a fucking hazard. this perpetuates the entire 'lets scam dumbass weebs' rap that AAs get. they used to be more about the experience and turning a bit of profit, but people are greedy, try to use them as jobs and then cons raise prices and shit like this happens.

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>>8756496
Yeah! t1mco on tumblr

Sage for double-posting (ish). Posting a nice corner/small-table display to make up for it.

>>8756506
How are con price raises affected by the commercialization of the AA?

>>8756522
Commercialization-> Mo' people want mo' money-> Mo' people buying mo' tables-> mo' cons charging mo' money for mo' people buying mo' tables

But remember, everything I say is wrong so...

>>8755268
That looks like something I would pay 50k for on Gaia

>>8754353
are you, by chance, currently an art student

>>8756470
>you do sound bitter.
>time to update your blog.

>>8755221
Is this real or just bait...I could not find it online using an image search.

>all this tim hate
dafuq

anyway, i was wondering what the next big thing is as far as AA merch
i see a lot of acrylic standups being made, but i honestly think they kinda look cheap and useless, regardless of how good the art is

>>8755221
i've been fiddling around with my at-con commission prices and i'm starting to think i could get away with something like this
i don't know if it would be worth the inevitable balking cheapskates though
my ego is fragile

>>8756673
It's a screencap from the artist's website.

>>8756699
Def. acrylic stands and other acrylic goods. Keychains and cellphone charms are diversifying too as people go to places like vograce or other alibaba sellers to manufacture things. In general, it looks like plastic goods are on the rise.

>>8756699
Acrylic stands still seem too costly to produce compared to how much people would reasonably pay for it. I can see you buying one for display, or a couple for personal use/gifts, but I can't see it exploding in the AA scene because it's just not profitable enough. At least acrylic charms have some use.

I imagine we'll see a lot more people chasing after china manufactured PVC charms, like Digit's.

>>8756710
Yeah I ordered a small batch of stands intended to be sold as whiteboards, and I'm still trying to figure out how to price them since they have quite a high production cost. Might just have to experiment and see.

Washi tape seem like they got a little more attention recently, though I imagine the high moq discourages a lot of artists.

>>8756721
How much do they cost each?

If making Neko Atsume merch, would it be better to include the rare cats with the regular cats or nah? I'm thinking regular cats only would appeal to more people (who don't know what Neko Atsume is and would be confused by their outfits) though since they're all cute af anyway I'm not sure if that would even matter.

>>8755216
IMO she isn't overcharging. But then I'm the kind of person that buys something if I actually like it. 'It' being either the art or the artist themselves.

Hope this is an okay question to ask here but has anyone here been to ohayocon? Did your stuff sell well? What can you tell me about it?

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>>8756699 #
I'm trying out acrylic badges as an alternative to buttons. They're pretty cheap through vograce. I'd love to get lapel pins done since people collect those like crazy.

Currently I'm looking into getting hardshell 3DS xl cases done.

>>8756779
Yes, its a great con for sales but the aa head is awful, she puts her friends with fanart (doctor who,mlp kind of people) in the front under the guise of them bieng guests and the rest of us with original art only get stuck in the back.
You still make a lot though.

>>8756699
>i honestly think they kinda look cheap and useless, regardless of how good the art is

The thing is, is that it's something different coming out for con-goers to buy and they're going to want them if there's a character/series they like. I feel like it's going to be huge for a year or two and then die down once they get cheaper and cheaper to the point that everyone is making them and buyers will be bored of them.

>>8756710
>I imagine we'll see a lot more people chasing after china manufactured PVC charms

I hope so. I love how PVC charms are able to take a beating on my backpack. I've lost/scratched too many acrylic charms to buy any more.

I am so pissed Anime North here in Toronto won't let you sell acrylic charms because of the paper goods/crafting split in the AA.

>>8756807
From what I understand that might be done because technically fanart isn't allowed at the AA. Thanks for the info though. A friend offered to sell my work for me there since I have to way to get there and I was wondering if it would be worth it.

>>8755342
Can I ask how much you made?

>>8756795
way to butcher how cute she is

>>8757062
Ok, there's salty, but you are just the Dead Sea

>>8755967
I'm not the artist but how are you not the salty one to unfollow an artist not over their art or personality, but the fact that they happen to value their art more than you value your own? Is it salty to point out how scrubby that sounds?

>>8757137
She was also rude in person so there was that too.

>>8757140
An artist being rude to customers is a much more reasonable complaint than an artist overpricing. It wouldn't be something you just tack on the end of an argument to try to justify yourself. If other artists were being shitty or impolite in person, that'd be what you'd open with.

>>8756706
oh! haha.. ok found it, after reading her site I think she can charge whatever she feels is worth her time.

>>8757140
you sound like a baby. grow up.

>>8757146
wow, where is this happening at? Normally it's the con-goers who don't realize how rude they are while they are in front of an artist alley table. I can understand why some just pretend to be sketching or playing with their phone while people hover in front of them, ouch.

>>8756753
I think it wouldn't hurt to add some rare cats since they're cute regardless. I'm planning on doing sticker sheets and will probably include Tubbs, Billy, Ms Fortune, etc.

>>8757140
was she 'rude' or are you desperate for ways to make it seem like you're not just incredibly whiny and petty?

>>8757168
>>8757366
Not that anon but can we all agree to just let this go? Like seriously what do you guys get out of dragging on this issue? Like okay anon shouldn't be offended by something that isn't their business, pretty sure everyone gets the point by now.

>>8757415
I agree. I haven't even been reading the thread anymore. Just scanning it and waiting for the stupid to end.


Question: I'm curious how often you all try to roll out a new product, whether that's a new print, plush, sticker, etc. I know consistently updating stuff like your blog is useful for maintaining a following but what about product specifically.

>>8757634
I try to make new prints and merch to add to my wares after a couple of cons. From experience, I've noticed that sales go down the longer you go without adding new merch because people might have already bought your stuff at a previous con already. My sales always have an upwards spike after I introduce/push new merch as well.

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I'm looking for somewhere to get custom printed wall scrolls comparable to attached. I do not want to buy from customwallscrolls.com.

>>8757634
I've been a bit overindulgent with merch orders so that's been helping me churn out new products. Most of the time I make stuff for myself but I obviously don't need like 10 copies of the same standee so...

Also >>8757651 is absolutely right. No new merch means no new sales

>>8757634 #
I try to make a few things new every con I go to. Whether it's new prints, stickers buttons etc. It works out nice if you have a handful of cons because when you return a year later you'll have at least 50% new merch.

>>8757719
Is your art even comparable to the attached?

>>8757634
My friends and I would draw a new print every month or two. Two prints if there's a big con coming up ( ax, otakon etc). It's a lot lower compared to previous years mostly because we now have a large inventory and doing this full time is boring.

One of my mates was approved for two conventions in one weekend and doesn't want to give one his other table with me ( was rejected to both) even though I had shared tables at multiples cons and he can't find someone to go for him.
Should I even be frustrated about this since it's ultimately his decision? There's another convention coming up in February and I'm not even sure if I want to lend table space for him because it seems like he isn't willing to do much for me.

>>8757786
Will they have some sort of proxy selling for them, or will the table go to waste? If they're selling with a proxy, I can kind of understand that. Ultimately, it's business, and maybe your friend just doesn't like to mix business with friendship or favors or whatever you want to call it. Sharing tables CAN cut down on profits for both artists since you have less space to fill with inventory, so it could be a purely business decision, not a personal one. Did he give you a reason why he doesn't want to share with you?

And on the other side, you're not at all obligated to lend him table space if you feel like it'll detract from your sales as well. Not sharing table space because you feel jilted is a little petty if there are more benefits that come from sharing tables with him than not, but, like with him, it's ultimately your decision.

>>8757786
Not gonna lie, if that happened to me I'd be pissed too. I guess I expect people to return the favor when you've done something similar for them in the past. Have you suggested a compromise of sharing one of his tables and proxy-selling for him instead of asking for the entire table? That might be a compromise that works out for both of you.

It's ultimately his decision but I think you're understandably upset. I probably wouldn't lend table space to him in the future especially if you have enough space for your own table or if you can find other people to share with.

>>8757812
Anon said their friend couldn't find a proxy seller.

>>8757048
$1,050
I shared the table, car and hotel with someone, so my expenses were about $150.

>>8757634
I try to have at least 2 new prints every con, and then a new set of stickers or pins. Though recently I got some acrylic products to add to the mix. I do 3-4 cons a year so it's manageable.

>>8757812
>>8757846
He's currently looking for a proxy. except chances are slim of finding one. I actually thought about proxy selling for him except
1) both of us have too much inventory now to sell two artists worth in one table
2) and the convention is a few states away, it won't be worth it for me to sell with half a table if I have to drive this far

I guess it's just my bitterness talking, and it's his decision to share or not.

Does anyone sell solely online, with no exposure from cons? How are your sales? I'm starting to get a little more traffic which is really nice, but not sure if it's just because of the holidays. Pretty happy with my sales, but wondering what I should/could aim for (not that I have control over it sales, but...nice to have a goal)

>>8758015
That sucks anon. I think you're understandably bitter though. I wonder if he's specifically looking for a proxy because the con won't let him to table transfers? At least that could explain why he's reluctant.

I hope you have luck with getting into future cons! Don't feel obligated to share with him next time!

>>8758040
Congrats! What do you sell, anon?

I have a question about money. How much of a flood should I have when going to artist alley?

>>8759443
People are going to have cash, and MOST vendors at conventions are going to charge rounded amounts - $2, $5, $20, etc. Not $2.65 or $21.80.

I'd say at least $300, though.

>>8759443
>How much of a flood
Could someone explain what that means?

>>8759490
they meant float

>>8759496
That doesn't help...

>>8759525
How much you should have on hand to make change for people.

>>8759473
$300? I've never brought more than $60 and never had an issue. Strange.

>>8759538
oh. I literally never heard someone call it flood or float.
in that case
>>8759443
I bring 30 $1, 4 $5, and 1 $10 and that always works out for me.

>>8759443
I take out 40 in 1s and 40 in 5s.

>>8759443
depends on what you sell
if all your products are posters for 15. Then you will need around $150 of 5s.
if you products are mostly $12 or like a weird number then bring a lot of 1s and 2s
my prints are $20. so I don't actually bring any change

How do you guys like to display your buttons? I have a stand that shows and example of the designs I have, and I place an organizer box full of them on the table for customers to pick their own. Lately I've found it takes up quite some space and I might switch up to just keeping the display up only, but I know people like to poke through things themselves.

What did you find works best for you?

>>8759712
buttons on a board... cork.. foamcore..

leaving them on the table is risking five finger opportunists..

How do you guys haggle with suppliers on Alibaba? I kind of want to try because a couple of gulls said they've gotten better deals this way but I don't know how to start.

Once they give you a quote do you just ask if they could go lower?

>>8759816
its fun haggling chinese vendors for lower prices... shoulda try it at a market sometimes make good practice.

>>8759834
A supplier gave me a quote that was higher per piece than my previous orders with them. I asked them about the difference and they said it was because my previous orders had higher quantities. Then I asked if they could go any lower and they said they made a mistake on their part and offered me a price that's about $20 less.

Should I just take it or see if I can get them to push it down to $350 from $380? One of my friends who also works with them said that one of their other customer service reps gives better deals so I'm not sure if I should drop this rep and send a new email to the other one.

>>8759816
Get a quote from merchant A. Get a lower quote from merchant B. Show merchant A, B's price. Repeat.

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How much should I charge for prints, really?
11x17?
12x18?
16x24?

>>8760363
Whatever you want. Look at Etsy and other artists to get a sense of what's normal and then charge whatever the hell you want.

Change of subject, Who's doing WonderCon? Approval's went out if you didn't get an email, you may have gotten in.

Also, Does WonderCon have restrictions on merch like stickers charms etc in AA ?

>>8760363
Don't forgot to add sign that says "convention art does not equal consent" while you are at it.

>>8760363
I see a lot of people do the "double deal" for 11x17s with like one for 15 and two for 20. Your other sizes seem pretty big, though...larger sizes=more money for both you and customers so unless you're sure people will buy them I would keep it 11x17 and under.

>>8760799
That's a norm 1 fer..2 fer.. 3 fer

People don't want to think to much. Pay x$AMT (you want to spend) and pick this many - simple.

Are there any artists here in the GTA? I was wondering if anyone could recommend any print shops. I was told there was somewhere you could get 11x17's printed for like 40 or 50 cents somewhere.

>>8760938
try Catprint

What is the typical height allowed for display stands in artist alley nowadays? I've seen some where there were no restrictions like at some amazing comic cons and the shortened displays at AX this past year.

Was deciding to build one or buy for next year.

>>8760938
Print 3 near where Anime North takes place does great deals and even does full bleed at no extra cost. Thing is you have to go in person and it's the middle of nowhere.

Other than them I've tried local print shops and it's such a pain to find a place that doesn't have shitty quality or is super expensive.

>>8760852
That's true, but I don't think that's really a problem because it's incredibly simple math. If you can't figure out the difference between 15/1 and 20/2 then idk...lol.
The point is that it's a strategy to make people buy more. Who the heck wants to pay $15 for 1 print when you can get 2 for $10 each?
That's the reasoning behind it.

>>8756572
Stuff like that actually goes for several billions now on Gaia, but that's essentially 50k nowadays I guess...

>>8761034
Convenient, I actually live in the Anime North area! Thank you! What are their prices like?

Another question for any other artists there, how much do you usually sell 1.75inch sized acrylic charms for? Does your price change depending on whether you make them keychain charms or phone charms?

>>8761127
I can't remember off the top of my head, I'd say no more than $1.00-$1.50. I know that's still a lot, but the quality and paper stock they use is worth it in my books (plus getting full bleed is really nice)

>>8761162
Is that for the 11x17 sizes?

>>8761096
What's funny is when I started the new year with a new lineup of prints I was undecided and did a $10 for 1 and 2 or more $8 (16 etc.) most went for the single.

Next Con a month later, same prints I used $15 for 1 and $20 for 2, most went for the $20 lol.

>>8761016
It's gonna vary from convention to convention. I think 4'-5' from the table up is the norm.

>>8761261
Might be because of the numbers. Nobody wants to carry tons of change around at a con, so buying just the one print would be the best choice. 2 for 20 is a good deal AND a round number.

>>8761189
yeah, sorry, I should have mentioned that

>>8756453
lol tim why are you talking shit about your friend. awk much

>>8761965
Must be that time of the month eh Ebenezer?

>Picking on poor lil Tim.

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nobody was even calling either studio thieves the whole thread was about how silly it is to think an artist has copyright/trademark on a living animal or fruit or color combo or any of that shit. tasty peach man needs to chill. too bad thread got deleted it was funny.

>>8762601
Did anyone notice the other sea slug joke thread got removed? Why did the mods delete it? Is Nancy just close friends with that tasty peach guy?

>>8762601
Do you have more caps? This sounds ridiculous.

>>8762601
who was claiming the infringement? but yeah, the sea slug thing is funny, an actual slug (had to look it up). May as well put fur on rocks and it paint it with bunny ears while they are at it.

>>8762644
I don't think she is, she probably got asked to take them down since Mr. Tasty Peach is a salt factory.

>>8762765
And unfortunately I only had the forethought to get that one cap, that seemed the most prudent. Both pages seem to have been cleaned up already.

>>8762812
I get the feeling now it was Tasty Peach (or rather, the husband, the gal who runs TP has always been super sweet) accusing Sorbet Jungle of theft, even though neither design is even remotely similar aside from being based on the same animal.

I have a question, it's not exactly /aa/ related but I feel like I'd get a good answer here.

For a secret santa I'm using photoshop to make a pattern for wrapping paper I'll be using on presents. I have a high-res scan of the image I'm using in the pattern, but I don't know how big the overall pattern should be for when I have it printed. It's just going to be on standard size printer paper but I don't want it to turn out fuzzy or the wrong size when I print it out. Any advice?

>>8763310
If you don't want it to be fuzzy, make sure that the dpi is appropriate (300dpi should be fine). And what do you mean the wrong size? Don't you have an option to see your canvas in inches/cm? A4 is around 8.5"x11", I think? If you're printing at home, you can't avoid the white borders so just set it at 8.5"x11" and it should come out with the image unstretched. Then cut off the white boarders.

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Saw these necklace chains mentioned in an earlier thread. They're really cute, but they look cheap and flimsy as fuck. Do they break easily? Are there any good options for something a bit sturdier but still fitting for kawaii crap?

Has anyone gotten clears from vograce lately? I know we bring this up like every thread but I know they've been improving so I'd like to see some actual pics if possible :0

>>8765799
Their print quality took another jump since the last time I ordered from them a couple months ago. I will be sure to post photos after I get my shop's nice product photography done. So later this week.

>>8765799
They have a new option for thicker acrylic and a epoxy gloss. I'm going to get samples soon. Print quality is pretty tops. A bit better than Zap's.

>>8766129
They really have an option for epoxy gloss?

I asked about it but got told it's not possible.. How did you phrase it?

>>8764946
I use them or similar ones. They work fine and don't feel flimsy when worn. But they do cut easily with a pair of wire cutters or even scissors. I wouldn't use it for kids jewelry but handled with a slight amount of adult responsibility, it will be fine.

I usually use small pieces of plastic chain between beads and then use metal extender chains so it looks a bit nicer.

>>8766332
>I usually use small pieces of plastic chain between beads and then use metal extender chains so it looks a bit nicer

Can you show a picture as an example? Pretty please

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>>8766352
Here's a not so great cellphone picture. I've yet to get nice product photos for some of my stuff. But this is an example of what I tend to do with the plastic chains.

>>8766370
Ohh, that's really gorgeous, anon! Do you have a shop set up?

>>8766373
I do! It's rawrtiger. I'm on etsy and store envy. I just don't have any of my resin jewelry up because I have a con in a few weeks and need to keep my product on hand. Once it's over I'll probably put my leftovers online for sale or send some to lolita collective. I know they have some of my shell and pancake stuff right now.

>>8766370
This would look 10x better with a better quality ribbon. Also, the blue star hanging from the clasp doesn't match in colour. The chain works well for fairy kei but a slightly daintier one would be nicer overall.

>>8766398
Not the OP but which chain are you talking about, the plastic or the other one?

I kinda like the different colour star, it's a nice contrast.

>>8766322
It was listed as an option on their newest charm listing.

Anyone hear back from Momo-con yet, or know about how long it takes to hear something back?

Have any print artists here that have raised their print prices from $15 to $20 recently? Have you noticed a difference in sales such as a decline or are sales relatively the same?

How do you guys transport buttons when you have to fly to a con? I put everything in a suit case but they're pretty heavy when you have more than 300+ and they tend to get all scratched up. On top of that I also have to transport prints and display cubes. Any advice on how to transport these more easily?

>>8767054
Same to slightly lower sales, but 25% more money and way less change making. Highly recommend.

I'm thinking of starting to sell candles and soaps and other good smelling stuff of the sort.

Do you think there would be a demand for this? I mostly cater to gothically inclined folks, but would you consider buying a product whose scent, name, and label are reminiscent of a character or something "nerdy" related?

>>8765799
I've actually been thinking about ordering from them soon. Any advice anyone can offer about buying from them? How's their quality for the price they charge? Also, what's the most common size to get and how much do you sell the charms for?

>>8767233
My friend makes nerdy soaps and she does decently selling them. I think as long as they look good (with nice packaging), there will be a demand for them. If you had candles shaped like roses or something, I'd love that.

>>8767233
I did that with bath bombs and had moderate success. The only thing that kind of stopped me from continuing is just how time-consuming it was, and that I'd occasionally have bad batches where I would wind up losing everything. If you have the patience and resources I'd say to go for it.

>>8767298
>>8767303
Thank you for the tips. So do you think differently shaped or decorative candles would be more popular than just scented container candles with a nice label?

>>8767054
I have a couple of friends who raised them to $20 and they've said that sales have actually gone up for them? I'm still a little reluctant to raise my prices as most of the AA still prices them at $15

>>8767065
Just carry the materials (buttons parts + mylar + cut out button designs) and your machine and make the buttons on the spot when people buy them? That's how all my friends who sell buttons do it

>>8767273
Diff anon but I'm actually getting ready to set up my first order with them! My friends have traded me some charms they made with Vograce and I like the quality! I'm ordering about 150 2" charms with Coco but I did a quote with her a few months ago for 50 3" charms (non-transparent) and the total was about $45 iirc. This is excluding shipping of course but I was so relieved since I love zap but can't afford to do high moqs with them

>>8767054
yes, its been great for me. i'm making a lot more but my friends who does it make a lot less. it depends on your skill.

>>8767384
I sadly don't own a button machine, but that's a great idea for someone who does own one.

Dunno if this has been asked but does anyone have any experience with acornpress (with their clear acrylic charms to be exact, but others are fine as well)? I've only ordered from zap previously but their prices are higher than acornpress's and I'd like to find a cheaper alternative

>>8767374
It's hard to tell what would be popular. Would it be too difficult to try both? Some people buy candles to light them and some people use them for decoration. I believe having a variety of products boost your sales, but I understand if you want to keep everything cohesive.

>>8767384
I used to do that but customers got so impatient when I made a big order of buttons. It also wastes time if you do commissions too. I dunno, I just feel a lot better when everything is premade before the con so I don't have to worry about it when I'm there.

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>>8767459
Yeah, it's half because of a cohesion issue - having a line of candles in containers, and then a line of candles with shapes, doesn't match - and half a monetary issue, because the wax I use is appropriate for containers only, so I'd have to get two different types of wax, moulds, etc.. But I ought to test the sales of each if I do go ahead with this.
Pic is just some candles I thought everyone might find cute for inspo.

>>8767445
acorn press is shit, don't do it

>>8767054
about how many prints do you think you have each year? speaking for myself $15 is the market average I've seen which breaks down to $10/print in quantities.
Those that do charge $20+/print I can understand when they are not from your state and need to charge higher - plus they have a style of their own.

I've gone to AX the first time this year and spent little under $400 buying from the AA, I liked what I saw and do felt bad for some that undercharged themselves, but lots of talent to contend with.

>>8767445
It's up to you, Anon. We've been improving, but I mean, we try to keep prices low and whatnot because we aren't a high end professional print shop and we're still figuring out a few things. I've heard a few people compare us favorably to Zap, but don't quote me on it.

Our ink has a lot of texture in it, the tactility can be pretty nice in some cases, but it can interfere a bit with doublesided charms when there's dramatic lineart changes (darker inks are thicker, making a raised surface that might show on the other side a bit).
So keep that in mind. Again, another thing we're working on.

>>8767445
Vograce's clears have been getting better and better, have 0 design limits, and they're dirt cheap. Try looking into them.

For those of you guys that have used Vograce, how long did the whole process take? Just found out I have a con in 5 weeks .

>>8767866
It depends, I think you could do it, especially if you just have a few designs. I would say about 2-3 weeks including shipping time, though some people can get it done in about 1.5 weeks.

>>8766102
Great, thanks! Looking forward to it.
>>8766129
YES I didn't know that, I was actually hoping they would come out with thicker acrylic. Makes it look much better, especially for larger charms. I'm so excited!

Also, has anyone asked if they can do thinner clear borders? I might ask the next time I place an order.

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>>8767714

>>8767866
It takes generally 10-12 days for me. (From submitting my files to getting the finals in my hands.) I live in California though so shipping doesn't take very long at all.

Has anyone ever received a batch from Vograce with a design fault? A month ago I had asked for samples from Coco and was very pleased with what i had received, but when i ordered my actual batch of charms, they did not have the same transparent center as the samples I had approved of. I've contacted Coco but have yet to receive a reply from her. Do you usually have to front for additional costs for a situation like this?

>>8767054
I've always charged $20 and made more at AX this year with less shit. Go figure.

>>8767054
Not an answer, but damn it's been a long time since I've been to a con/physical AA (I'm an online seller) and wow, prices have definitely jumped...is $20 for a single print?

>>8767273
No advice really besides that Coco's awesome and really prompt with answering emails. I ordered double-sided on clear acrylic, about 4cm each. Previously I sold them for $8 but I recently raised it to $10 in my store to see how it'll do at that price.

>>8768168
it's going to $20/print but it depends on the con too. 90% of the alley still charges around 15. most prints at awa are still 12/15

>All of this heated debate on standard prints changing from $15 to $20.

Shit. I've seen anywhere from $10 to $30 for A4 prints in Australia.

>>8768220

I charge $8 for my A4 prints here is Aus. Holy crap

>>8768220
No one was really debating anything - it was just people sharing info on the trend moving toward $20 per print. I remember when I first started out 11 x 17s used to be $10 a pop. I wonder if it'll be mostly $20 by the end of next year?

>>8767054
$15 tends to be the average at anime cons and $20+ I've seen more at comic/media conventions. Hell, Terry Huddleston sells his prints $30 a pop and they're 90% headshots.

on the topic of raising print prices to $20, I currently do a deal of buy 2 get 1 free for my $15 prints which makes them 3 for 30 so 10 each, once I raise my prices to $20 should I still do my buy 2get 1 deal or a buy 2 get 2 deal so that they're still $10 if you buy a lot.

>>8768379
>Terry Huddleston
wait are you sure? I thought his prints were 20/10. why would anyone buy it for 30

>>8768399
buy 2 get 1 free. 2 for 2 makes no sense

Does anyone here sell tshirts ?
What do you think is a good price to charge for an all over print tshirt like the ones from art cow? They cost around $12 to make with the coupon so is $25 fair or should I charge $30?

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Hey, gulls. I've been trying to find these particular beads everywhere, but nothing. Can anyone give me a hand?

>>8768584
Depends on how everyone else is pricing their stuff. If nobody around you is selling shirts, sure, 30. Otherwise, look at the quality (material, print and colours, style) of their stuff and price accordingly. If they're not selling at 30 lower the price to 25 and see how it goes.
>>8768627
What search terms have you used? I'm pretty sure I saw a couple of similar ones on ebay not all that long ago.

>>8768304
For what it's worth anon, I remember buying prints in 2003, 2004 for $15-$20 at 11x17. I charged $10 for 8x10 prints around that time. I don't think print pricing has really changed in the last 10 years.

>>8768584
I've seen people selling them here in Canada for $30-$40.

>>8768627
try "acrylic flower charm" or switch charm with bead.

>>8768145
I had an entire batch of nearly 300 charms that got fucked up after they got a new machine. They weren't exactly unusable or unsellable, but definitely way below the quality I'd come to expect. She ended up replacing all of them for free. I think if you explain things clearly, she'll be very willing to correct the mistake, hopefully at little/no cost.

>>8768284
and here around 6$... almost choked into my tea when I heard how much those are worth in US cons

>>8768304
I remember that too. Those were the prices last time I went to AX...8.5x11s went for like $5-8.

OT, but there's no room thread so I figured I'd ask here. Does anyone know any good sites to look for cute wall decals? I do mural commisions for nurseries, and I'm at the point where some designs it's like...you can easily incorporte some cute wall decals with the intended painting part.

>>8767791
Ah yes, I'm interested in them, but ordering from vogcrace seems just a huge hassle; I'm not really sure how the whole system works and how even start approaching them/what are my options for the merch/etc/etc. And I'm just really paranoid that I get scammed and/or something goes really wrong. Sorry being retard over it but I've never done business with alibaba and not really sure how the stuff is supposed to go down, and I'm worried about the language barrier as well (something going wrong due that).

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>>8768783
Just warning you get what you paid for with Acorn (on the right)

>>8768894
Why did you flip them?

>>8768913
could it be because its a 2-sided charm?

How do you guys, er, "package" your prints? Like, how do you give them to people? Just like that? Chuck 'em in a bag, make it the customer's problem how not to damage the corners? Roll 'em up with a rubber band around them?
First con soon and I don't want to have shit customer service. Hardly anyone around here sells prints, so I haven't been able to look at how others do it.

>>8768996
1 bag and stuff as much prints it can fit, usually they don't care. Oversize bags bigger than 11x17 can hold a lot, and the people will just keep chucking it in there.

Personally I started rolling it into those tubes, thick prints - thin prints, don't matter roll it small shove it in, pack tight. Once I get home, just lay them flat in those itoya portfolios and looks like new again.

>>8769002
Personal prints I buy for myself I meant. No bags, just roll it and toss it in the tube.

>>8768990
Yeah, no, I mean but why not show them both on the same side

>>8768996
I just put them inside a clear plastic sleeve and hand it to them, if they're buying multiples they go in the same sleeve. The cons I've been to provide a plastic bag with the program guide so customers usually use those to hold their purchases.

>>8768996
i have each print put in a snug plastic sleeve with a backing board atm. then i offer small paper bags for any other items they buy like pins or charms.

i don't think anyone cares about the backing boards desu, or at least it isn't expected. most artists i've bought from at cons don't bother with them.
i'm probably going to reserve the nice packaging for etsy customers and lighten up my load for conventions next year, since the sleeves and backings on each print adds up to a lot of god damn weight.

as for myself as a customer, i really hate it when artists don't at least offer some kind of bag to put their art in. i worry about the prints getting finger smudges on them or getting damaged as i navigate the alley

>>8768996
like>>8769002 and >>8769116 said, clear plastic bags that are slightly larger than 11x17 are best. If they buy more than 1 print, make sure the prints are both facing out, you won't believe how many customers I've had come to my table saying "I saw someone with that ___ print and I needed to have it!"

>>8769002
>>8769116
>>8769129
>>8769132
Alright, thanks guys, that's about what I expected. The hunt for clear A3-sized plastic bags is on! (Damn European print sizes.)

>>8769132
>"I saw someone with that ___ print and I needed to have it!"

That's the plan :), I've had several come up and said it was because I saw it from so-and-so.. ka-ching

>>8768706
Thank you! Coco has replied and was really sweet and apologetic about it, and has agreed to replace them for free. Did you have to pay for the shipping, though?

Also, on another note, what did you do with the faulty batch? It seems like such a waste to dispose of them, and I was thinking of selling them at a fraction of the cost, but I feel like it would be rather unfair for customers who had preordered them at a higher price..

>>8768996
>>8769176
If you get the self adhesive kind, do not actually peel and stick it when you give them the print. The next artist they buy from have to unstick it or else provide a new bag and it just creates lots of plastic waste. It's easiest when everyone gives bags and "uses" each other's bags. Be nice to the environment and other artists!

>>8769646
THIS!!! I was literally about to post this. It may look better sealed, but it's kind of just inconvenient. Also, I would always ask if they want a bag instead of giving one automatically.

>>8768996
I've seen artists just rolling it in rubber bands because they were too cheap to buy plastic bags. man which leaves a sour taste in my mouth

>>8769792
I've had customers ask me if I had a rubber band to roll it up, so that it'd be convenient to put in their bag as opposed to putting it in a plastic sleeve. (For some reason, it's always been an either or thing, no one ever asks for both?). It seems to be a matter of personal preference. and I'll probably start carrying both this year since rubber bands don't cost that much more to add.

>>8769822
Customers have asked me to have them rolled up too, but since I didn't have any rubber bands on hand, I used a bit of the low adhesive tape I use to hang up my prints. I should get rubber bands too.

>>8768214
I wanna order single side printing with 1 side acrylic and one side epoxy at 2 inches. How much should I sell those for? I was thinking $3 but I'm not sure

>>8769792
I didn't know where to find the plastic bags/ couldn't afford them when I first started out.
It's also a preference thing

>>8770181
Charge at least $5. Even at that price it's on the low side.

>>8769012
does it really matter that much, it's clear the acorn press one's are way shittier anyway

>>8769395
I didn't have to pay a cent, even for shipping.

I ended up stuffing them in cheapo lucky bags since people like those and I'm not losing any money since they're not technically the charms I paid for. I think I put like 4 charms in a bag for $10, and made sure to label them as "B-Choice" so people knew what they were getting.

>>8769822
>>8770185
I am not saying that as a customer's preference, or an artist's ignorance for not being able to find bags or running out of packaging.
I'm saying from personal experience when I bought a print that an artist ( whom I've seen multiple years of selling, and the business is doing quiet well ) only gives out rubber bands at every artist alley, or even nothing sometimes.
because they don't want to spend the extra few cents to properly package something when their posters are already quiet expensive. it shows lack of respect to their customers and to their own products.

>>8770687
I can understand where you're coming from. I bought a charm from an artist once (who I'm pretty sure goes on here) and they did not offer any sort of small bag. It was a bit surprising to me because they sell a lot of charms and those bags can be easily obtained. I doubt they ran out too, because I purchased it on the first day of the con.

The benefit to having a bag is that you can stick a business card in with your product in case the customer forgets to take one. I know when I buy prints, I like to find the artist online later.

>>8770766
Did they have no packaging at all, or simply no extra bag?

I think that if they have packaging it's alright, whereas if there is none then a small bag should be offered and provided.

>>8771018
None at all, just a naked charm. I had to put it in the little pocket of my purse because I was afraid of losing it.

Speaking of packaging, anyone willing to post their charm packaging designs? :O Looking for inspiration!

>>8770415
Thanks anon you've been great help! I ended up not having to pay for anything as well.

>>8771056
Ouch that's pretty bad..

>>8771056
I dunno, I don't really see it such a MUST TO DO, as in giving out bags with charms since usually the point of bag is that you won't ruin the item while transporting. When I've bought charms, I've just put those into my wallet and there's never been any problems regarding it. I think it's artist's choice to offer that extra service if they like to, and it's of course a plus, but not so important than, let's say with prints

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>>8771224
i don't personally have any fancy packaging for my charms but i've been looking into packaging them like this

I'm looking for somewhere to get those empty photo frame charms that people use to sell double sided charms. I'm finding them for like 3 bucksish on ebay for small quantities but I feel like that's expensive. Anyone know anywhere cheaper to get them?

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>>8771224

The back side, not shown, has a mini print of the chibi design. Charm was also double sided, but the back side is just a pattern.

>>8771357
Glad I could help, and glad it all worked out for you!

>>8770766
I wonder if this is me LOL.

I don't bag my charms but i have bags if people ask. Mostly because in my experience most people put the charm onto whatever they are going to put them on immediately, or they grab it so quickly and throw it in their bag that it's never occurred to me people wanted one. Personally i never want one, i just take out of the packaging to use and throw away everything else too. It's not going to fold or break in your bag like a print (which i always offer a bag for) so eh.

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How did you, my dearest seagulls, that lovely keychains? I brought pic related in a con and I fell in love. I want to do things like this but I don't have any idea

>>8771836
There's a list of resources at the top for companies that make keychains. Look at some of their guidelines for making designs, draw something, then contact them.

>>8771657
>>8771795
Yeah, charms are definitely more durable than prints so I can see why people don't offer bags. I have bags available for charms and buttons and I ask customers if they want one rather than waiting for them to ask. Some people say no, but more say yes. I think they're more important when you buy a bunch of items.

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This is what my new packaging is looking like. Sorry for subpar photo.

>>8771983
Agh, didn't even notice that scrap of cardboard sitting on the packaging there.

Alright, so, printing buttons around here is stupid expensive. It's cheaper to ship them over from the US than ordering them within Europe ffs. But since I'm ordering charms from Vograce anyway, does anyone have experience ordering buttons from them? Seems pretty straightforward, just wondering if there's anything to watch out for. (Absurd shipping prices, for example?)

>>8771944
I do ask if someone buys 3 or asks for a headphone jack, i'd say actually more than 50% of the time they say no thanks because they're about to put it on immediately or just want to toss it in their bag.

And then I feel like if i ask for people who buy only one charm, some people will just say yes just because they can. But i do have like 1000 small bags so i guess i can try to get rid of them like that... are people actually really put off by not being offered a bag? I guess people are really shy or something, but if you're going to be like.. semi-offended someone doesn't offer a bag you could ask too. In my experience i just assumed they were extraneous waste for my customers so I don't want people to think i've been short changing them on a 2 cent bag

>>8772099
In my experience as a customer, yeah...it is pretty much a waste. If I don't get a bag, it's likely that I'll buy something from someone else who does give me a bag, and it starts to build up anyway. I don't know why people are so afraid of losing things when they put everything in a big bag, but that's just me.

Questions for those that use photo drop stands for their display instead of PVC pipes or cubes, pros and cons? also any reccomendations on certain brands?

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have any of you guys tried selling acrylic charm earrings before? Do they do well?

To anyone who makes earrings: please consider making small batches of clip-ons. I would love some unique ones that don't look like they came from an old woman's junk drawer. I've had my ears pierced in the past but they always refused to heal correctly so I had to let them close up for good. I know it's a pretty niche market but I just want kawaii as fuck jewelry without painful ear wound infections.

>>8772439
They'd probably have to be made on the spot, clip on earring finders are far more expensive than regular hooks. Coming from another no ear holes girl

>>8772542
Also every time I put out earrings, nobody buys them. Earrings tend to be things I whip up at the table as an afterthought if I'm bored. I'll go a few cons before someone buys a pair. I've had people ask repeatedly, listen to what they would like to see and honestly, it's not worth the effort.

>>8772334
faster to set up and cheaper over all ( like $40 ). sturdy unless people trip over them, which they do ... a lot if you are at end cap.
can be a hassle to travel with and it isn't as manipulative as pipes. The sections comes in 2.5 inches or 2inches. where as with pipe you can cut whatever length you want.

Anyone apply for Colossal Con and get in? I think emails started going out this week.

Does anybody in the US sell holographic/sparkly films? The ones on Alibaba are ridiculously expensive and most of the listings are rather confusing.

>>8772821
I think Hobby Lobby has some?

>>8772712
I was rejected. It's really unfortunate bc I was going to be in the area, and I did kind of want to go in the waterpark, but whatever.

>>8772712
No 2 on the waitlist.
Praying 2 people drop out or two more tables are added lol.
Did you apply tim?

>>8773100
I think your odds are good! I saw people on aani being like 40+ on the waitlist so..

I can't remember if I actually applied or not. Haven't gotten an email either way.

>>8773088
Same. It's a week after indy pop which I applied for since last year was good. Would've been nice to hang out at the water park on one big midwest trip haha

>>8771944
Using bags for sturdy items is also bad for the environment, so I just stick to offering them for prints or if people ask.

>>8772821
no, al the rejections emails came out

>>8772821
Different anon, but can someone recommend where I could find clear/transparent holographic/prism foil? I can find metallic,but not transparent ones.

Has anyone heard back from Acen? Crossing my fingers here lol.

>>8773810
Haven't heard a peep, crossing my fingers with you anon.

>>8768773
Aliexpress and Taobao are your best bets. Ebay will have some but the selection tends to be limited compared to the other two. Alibaba if you're looking to design them yourself.

>>8770181
Haha no, go for $6-8.
>>8771665
Taobao or Ali, but make sure that you factor shipping in as well. It might be worth going for ebay depending on fees/shipping.
>>8771983
Where did you get it done?
>>8772083
Well, their communication is great, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you asked them about it.

>>8774827
The packaging? me myself and I. Otherwise, that charm on the right is from a vendor that I wouldn't recommend to anyone due to the price, and the one on the left is from vograce, which I would highly recommend.

>>8775435
Err, sorry, left charm is the expensive one. The one on the right is vograce.

>>8773457
This. I know it's pretty shitty, but packaging leaves a sour taste in my mouth because it's just more plastic to throw out.

>>8754775
Hmm I went by his table at Dragoncon last year. Got a 9x12, already professionally matted, for something like $12-15. He charges more than the average, but not too bad as a whole.

>>8768894
Oh shit, do you have a shop? Need those lapis charms

>>8757786
Sorry if this sounds kind of one-sided but your mate sounds like kind of cunt unless there's other circumstances that we don't know about for him saying no to you. It's like when you hang out with close friends and sometimes they pay for you, you say thanks, and keep a mental reminder to get them for next time. Like it'snot being generous like you were, just paying back previous favours. Hope it works out for you anon.

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are there any good/cheap listings for a4 sleeves for prints on ebay/aliexpress?

Does anyone know any artists with online shops that make cute Evangelion or Berserk charms? I remember a few months ago someone was showing some progress photos of their Berserk charms. Is than anon here?

>>8754251
How many of you have shops on etsy and make pretty good money on there? I want to do alley as well (haven't been in an AA in years), but hoping that doing well on etsy first is a good indicator of future success.

>>8776936
We do pretty well on Etsy, but what sells on etsy is vastly different than what sells at cons. Etsy is more for tangible items and trinkets, while AA buyers prefer prints and stuff. I've just found (among friends) that its not common to sell a lot of prints on Etsy.

>>8776955
Yeah I was concerned with that possibility. Was considering making cards and some other not large scale print work for etsy.

>>8776955
Do larger prints do better than smaller prints, like post card sized, at cons?

>>8777060
I can't speak for others, but I actually sell more quantity of small prints than large prints. And I do not offer the large prints as smaller ones (i.e. I don't have varying sizes of the same print). The smalls are just chibi shit I enjoy drawing because I have an awful soft spot for my chibi trash.

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>>8777060
Sorry, I should have added my prices.
5x7 prints $5 ea or 3 for $10
13x19 prints, $15 ea or 3 for $30
(Or two 13x19s and three 5x7's for $30)

>pic related, my shame 2012? vs now

How does getting a sample acrylic charm printed from Vograce work? Do they cover shipping? Is it actually completely free like they say? I'm being offered a sample but I'm not sure how that works.

>>8756494
I got that Jayce poster. Ex left her Darius and my room mate still has his Kha'Zix. We don't even play anymore.

>>8777232
Nope, they don't cover shipping. I live in California, and iirc it was $12 for slow(er) shipping and $18-19 for speedier shipping when I ordered a sample pack (about 5 charms I think).

>>8777261
does the shipping go up when they put in orders for like 120 charms for example? What is the shipping like? Also is there a big difference when you order like 300 instead?

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>>8776911
Was it these?

>>8777060
I sell all of my prints in various sizes, and I've always found that the smaller sizes sell marginally better in quantity, but can't compare to large size in profit. I sell about 4 large prints for every 5 medium sized prints, but that's a price difference of $15 to $8. I eliminated my postcard size a while back since it just wasn't worth it. So while technically the smaller sizes have always sold "better", most of my income comes from the larger prints.
If your pieces are rather simple, like the chibis in >>8777069, you probably won't move as much in a poster. But if your print is more complex, or has details that can't really be appreciated from a small image, people will be more motivated to get it in larger sizes.

>>8777456
Is postcard size expensive to print? People I know get all their prints (postcard to 11x7) from staples and they seemed fairly cheap to print.

Also, has anyone gotten their prints on glossy photo paper? I always go with some matte cardstock but am considering printing my own using my photo printer. Not sure if people prefer matte or glossy though for artwork.

>>8777269
A bit, but someone else might have to answer for larger quantities because I've only gotten small charm orders before. For around 60 charms, it was about $24 for shipping.

>>8777269
Also, forgot to add, but if you pay by Paypal you also need to pay the fee too, so that adds a chunk depending on how much your order total is.

>>8777269
The highest shipping I've ever paid was about 52$ and it was EMS.

Usually it's <35 and I get quite big batches. 200-400+ so far

>>8777632
>People I know get all their prints (postcard to 11x7) from staples

Get new friends

>>8777725
Staples is bad?

>>8778261
it's way too over priced

>>8778261
Even office depot/max are typically way better quality in the office supply store print category.

>>8777384
YES!

Planning for my first co and i think i will need $200 for my merch. I'm only going to do prints and buttons. Now, am I spending too much or too little?

>>8778424
Hard to say without knowing how many prints and buttons you're getting for that $200.

$200 would get me WAAAAAY too much product for one convention, but that's because I buy in extreme bulk from China.

>>8778424
Depends on how many designs and how many copies of each, plus where you're getting stuff printed. And how much button supply you're getting.

>>8778424
depends. usually first con you need a lot of investment. I usually spend about 3-400 on printing and getting merchandise for a 10k+ attendance con

>>8778328
They're from unagicake.storenvy.com, have fun!

>>8768894

Bamping again to see if there's a shop so I can buy the lapis charm

>>8778424
Same anon. I won't have enough money for fancier stuff like charms and other merch...would that make my table look too bare compared to other tables? Other artists have so much nice stuff and that worries me a little...

I'm getting about 100 2" buttons for about $20 and about 5 prints per $1.

>>8778829
No-one has 'all the fancy' stuff when they start. The variety of your table increases when you keep doing tabling for a longer time. When I started I only had A4 prints and postcards, and over the time I've added poster sized prints, buttons, charms and bookamarks. It comes a little by little, and in my opinion, it's better to concentrate on quality than quantity. If the bareness of your table worries you, table with a friend. That's recommended anyway if you just started. There's a lot of things you probably don't know or think beforehand, and anything can happen, so it's a good thing if there's a person with you who can help and share the stress. And if you end up tabling alone anyway, look that the look of the table is tidy and nice (some nice table cloth and some display items you want). If you have only prints and buttons, you can buy a stand for print(s) and show one or couple of your best works and lay the rest on the table (you can buy those stands from ebay or do yourself or buy a local store, those aren't expensive if you don't walk straight into the first high quality art store). And same goes for the buttons as well, but depending on the amount of designs you have, you can just display them all at the same time. Little items like buttons are hard to see from far away, so it's a wise to put those on display otherwise than just lay on the table.

>>8778829
My first table looked barren and empty and I also shared with a friend. These days It's so filled out that I can't really share with another person. Gradually you just learn what sells, experiment, and make more stuff.

>>8757167
so who's that and what's her site?

>>8778790
Thank you so much,

Have any of you braved having a table or selling art in general at Dragoncon? I've gone the last couple of years, but it seems hard to get in on a table at Dc. Huge area but there are so many pros in attendance.

>>8778912
>Gradually you just learn what sells, experiment, and make more stuff.
Yeah, I had done no research when I went to my first AA on a whim with a friend that ask me hahahahaah what a fool I was (I simply brought sketches of my unknown fav. manga/anime art)! I am a product designer by profession so this was humbling to see photoshop barf (what I called it back in '09) splattered all over - and I was oooh I see people upped there game since I last walked through an AA a few years back.

>>8780928
I remember mostly girls at tables doing pencil sketches and I was like oh ok, that's cool I can do that too.
>tfw next year sit across ramie/sylvia table '2010

Anyone going to be at Sacanime AA next weekend? I'd like to say hi to some other cool folks.

Okay seagulls, I'm having a tough time deciding on something.

I sent one of my charm designs over to Vograce to have a couple of samples made because I couldn't decide between what kind of charm I wanted. These were the results.
Left is a clear single acrylic board, single side printed charm while the right is a white single acrylic board, single side printed WITH an epoxy resin coating on the side of the printing.

Clear:
-clear background
-but image is actually sorta transparent
-epoxy resin is not applicable on them because it would ruin them
-more expensive than white

White:
-iffy about the white
-but epoxy resin gives it a bubble like finish
-image is solid instead of transparent+colours are brighter
-cheaper than the clear

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>>8781191
Annnnd I dropped pic

>>8781193
I like the effect the clear gives. I think the white makes it look kinda....tacky?? I'm not sure. Maybe you could use a colored border instead, but I think it looks better clear.

>>8781237
any suggested colours because I really like the epoxy resin finish

>>8781193
I like the look of the clear as well, but I see your problem with the colours being a bit see-through. Does vograce offer an extra white option, maybe? Making it double-sided would solve the problem, but it would be more expensive.
Someone here once said the clears aren't very sturdy, and they could break them in two if they put a lot of force on them. Is that still the case? Do you think they're sturdy enough?

>>8781425
I don't actually have the samples in my hands so I couldn't tell you. I just had pictures sent to me.

>>8781193
Would it make sense to get them both then? Maybe I'd get the white/coloured charm for a phone strap in a small size (like 1.5inch) and the clear double sided as a keychain in a bigger size (2inch). Would it make sense to get them both like that or should I just stick with one of them for both phone straps and keychains?

>>8781193
Another vote for clear. White cheapens some designs.

just wondering, got some vograce charms myself and they've shipped already, but i didnt get a sample photo?? is that normal? coco's been amazing the whole time tho

>>8782456
Oh no, I actually have been asking a lot of questions about the charms and she was like "If you'd like, I can make you a sample and send you a picture if that makes it easier" pretty much. The coloured ones are free, but the clear ones are not since they are a different more tedious method of making charms. Hence why they are also more expensive

Has anyone gotten prints done with UPS?
I'm looking for a print shop in Toronto or Mississauga that does 11x17 prints for less than a dollar and it's getting really difficult. Anyone have any recommendations?

>>8783040
Similarly, has anyone used office depot for prints or any size? Their prices look good but how is the quality?

>>8783701
What are their prices like, if I may ask?

Is Hello Kitty fan art allowed?

>>8784058
If I remember correctly, nope

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>>8781193
>>8781191
I have a couple of charms w/ the epoxy too - maybe try a pastel/light color for the background? I think yellow might work well with the design you've posted.

Have you thought about doing double-board + single-sided printing? Those are pretty nice too.

Pic to show a comparison of my single epoxy charm and my double-board charm

>>8784256
What size are your charms?

>>8754353
Depends on the item. If its a button or a print, that's them being a dumbass. They either shouldnt have traveled very far to the con or they should have taken a lookaround at other prices. If its a simple item, whether its sewn or whatever, its stupid. If its a complex original item and possibly from a popular artist with limited supply, demand and skill warrant the price.

I dont care about undercharging though. Honestly if you feel hurt about sales then dont fucking rely on selling fanart and easy ass plushes. If you make something someones willing to pay for then they will pay the few extra bucks for it. Fanartists shouldnt be entitled to that. If they are threatened they should lower their prices to match. Original artists will be fine unless its just douchey : 3 face drawings of apples and cupcakes and shit, but good riddance.

>>8784677
The single board epoxy Cole charm is 2 inches and the double board Saitama is 2.75 inches. The double board is cheaper than the single board epoxy even though it's way bigger too.

>>8784877
what does double board mean?

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>>8784992
So Vograce offers charms with the images directly printed on the acrylic or charms with the designs printed on paper and then attached to the acrylic.

If you pick the latter option (which is cheaper) you have the choice of single board + epoxy or double board. Double-board means literally just that, they print your design on a piece of paper and sandwich it between two acrylic boards.

You can get single-sided printing or double-sided printing. I dont have any single-side double boards so I'm using a friend's charm as reference. Single-side double boards have a thinner acrylic board on the back, double-side double boards have the same thickness acrylic on either side.

Above is the Edea/Single-side, Double Board. Below is the Genos/Double-side, Double Board. I hope that helps. They explain all of this on Vograce's listings so just check them.

Besides "keep drawing," does anybody have any advice on how to get more followers? I post often, try to draw what's popular (but everthing gets pushed back so quickly on popular tags), do art exchange events, but nobody hardly follows me or visits my online store. My art isn't amazing I know that, but it's pretty decent. My stuff does ok at cons, but I can't go to cons all year long, so it would help a lot if I could make some online sales. It's just so discouraging when nobody reblogs or likes my art for weeks.

>>8785457
Interacting with your followers a lot/making personal posts actually helps a lot. Basically it comes down to having an online "personality"? My fanart posts didn't get a ton of notes before I started interacting with other people in the fandom on tumblr. Taking requests (if you have the time) or doing art for fics etc will help bc people see that as you giving back to the community. The more people feel like they know you, the more likely they are to reblog/share your work if that makes sense.

I just went back to look at a tutorial for something and had the horrifying realization that I skimmed a Key Part and have been doing it wrong for months now.

No wonder my embroidery looks like shit and takes so long. Fucking kill me. I will never get those hours back (and I've been using the wrong kind of thread to top it off).

>>8785467
Thank you for your advice. Interacting with my followers never really worked but I will try interacting more with other blogs in the fandom. Drawing art for fics is also a great idea. Thank you anon!

>>8783708
Their matte 5 x 7 prints are 75 cents per print, but there's no order minimum and shipping is like $1.79. I think it's a bit pricey, but I print my own so I'm not sure if that would actually be considered pricey.