Artist Alley Thread

Reposting from the previous thread.

Where can I get stuff like notepads/notebooks and card wallets made? Getmeds and jimi agency are pricey and their slots fill up fast, so I searched around alibaba but couldn't find any good suppliers. Can someone please point me in the right direction?

Also reposting, anyone have tips for drawing double sided charms? I get that the back is a reverse of the front, but trying to figure out how I'm gonna get the lineart for the outer edge to be exactly the same (unless you're usually just supposed erase the inside??).

>>8809007
Yeah, you erase the inside and basically "fill it in" for the backside. If you're worried one side sticks out a little, you could always overlay each side on the other as a mask. Then they'll match up exactly.
I usually put an extra stroke around the outside because I like the look of it, which also makes it easier to match front to back.
(This is only an issue for clear charms, anyway.)

So I've seen a lot of artist with a little bigger than 8x11 prints at cons, and some square prints 12x12 or 10x10 maybe instead of the usual 11x17, does anyone have any experience with these? They're usually priced around $8-$10 which is nice specially for those who lack wall space, they would also be easier to carry around and print, opinions/experiences?

For a little interactivity print artist out there what size are your prints ? do you have multiple sizes? what have you found sells better for you personally?

Half my merch for Ohayocon is missing. Thanks UPS. FML

>>8809007
If you're using photoshop, I find it's easiest to do this:

>Finish side 1
>resave as "side2" file
>lock transparency on drawing
>Edit > Fill, 100% black
>Flip Horizontal
>Create new layer on top
>Fill with random base color
>Create clipping mask
>Work within the new shape

Has anyone paid customs when ordering from vograce? I want to avoid customs but I have no idea what customs is like for merchandise/non-personal items.

>>8809021
>>8809259
Thanks guys! I'll try to do that. I'm going for clear charms, so we'll see how it goes haha.

Has anyone used shortrun posters? Their pricing for 18x24 is pretty awesome, just under $3 per poster. I wanted to go large scale with some of my stuff, just wondering if there is a dip in quality.

>>8809449
I have! I used to used them for a lot of things. I've done large format posters from them as limited run gallery pieces and also used to put two 11 x 17 posters on them and cut them out when I first did cons.

A word of advice - the printing process/ink they use make it so that the ink lies on top of the paper. You can scratch it off with your nails or any sharp object really. The printing is really nice but that's why I'd only really sell them as like limited edition runs. The ink isn't like... printed into the paper as it is with normal prints? If you get what I mean.

I can try to find some old posters and take pictures if my description wasn't very clear.

tl;dr - wouldn't use them for like regular convention stock but limited edition/runs might be okay as a specialty

Where can I find the cellphone dust plugs. Not online though. I've got 4 days until con, and I don't have enough time to ship them.

>>8809470
Thanks for your input. My art is based in mostly academic topics, and as an ex-teacher, I was considering selling large posters primarily for sale to educators... consider like how The Oatmeal sells posters on semi-colon usage... mostly teachers would buy that, and teachers need larger than 11x17 posters, so they would be purely online sales.

So it really scratches off easily? If it doesn't survive being rolled up, it wouldn't do me any good.

>>8809499
Well, it would help if we knew which area you live in if you want something local...

>>8809499
Hobby Lobby has some basic cellphone accessory stuff, but dunno about dust plugs specifically.

>>8809508
>>8809508
Vegas. Sorry, forgot that part. I keep hoping a Michaels or something will have them, but all I've found are the straps, and no one has those phones anymore.

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>>8809507
Not super easily but easier than like a regular print you could get from Office Depot. I think rolling them would be fine just for shipping purposes and if you're selling them to teachers who will display them in classrooms it'll be okay - than say a congoer who might fuck it up while carrying it around at the con. I just tried to do a scratch test with my nails on a really old poster and it held up fine.

You can see that the green ink is noticeably printed on top of the white paper bc of the shine on the white symbol but no shine on the colored bits bc the ink itself is matte!

>>8809570
But yeah (sorry to doublepost, hit post on my phone a little too early) - I'd worry about scuffs/scratches from storage + carrying it around to cons but if you're planning on an entirely online transaction, I think you'll be safe. The paper and the printing itself is pretty quality.

>>8809570
Neat, thanks for taking the time to take the picture. The printing looks pretty cool up close.Good to know there's an affordable option for large prints.

BTW, is that the Green Lantern emblem?

>>8809585
Ahaha, yeah it is! No worries, I like getting reviews before I order from a place too! I'm happy to help.

How thick are Vograce's charms without epoxy? I'm selling online so I don't want them to snap in transit.

>>8809516
worth asking other artists going to the same con to bring you extra, not everyone needs one but having like 10-20 on hand will let you offer them to people who complain they can't use them on their phone.

Since we rarely get a German thread working:

Are there any German artists in here by any chance? Any experience with German cons, recommendations on AA/cons? After a few years I'm trying to get back to the German Con scene, I want to check out cons and consider doing AA myself but since animexx is pretty much kill it is hard to find a specific German platform for me.

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Did the anon in the last thread ever come back and say where they found that holographic film they got? I've been looking for that stuff myself for so long.

So we can't use funimation titles in AA, but can we still use them for our online stores? Because otherwise, how are we supposed to advertise and get traffic?

>>8810095
They're okay with you selling fan merch at AAs at cons as long as you follow those rules. They'll still C&D online store if they want to.

>>8810095
>>8810243
But I've seen plenty of people selling funimation titles online? Heck, I do too and put title names in the listing. Is this a big no-no?

>>8810095
Iirc it's best not to use them on Etsy but there's nothing stopping you from using them on Storenvy. A few threads back people were complaining that there was hardly any merch for certain series/games, like TF, and that went into a discussion about companies getting merch taken down because of copyright or IP issues.

>>8809919
same...

Really embarassing question, but how many of you guys have OCs?

>>8810328
i have my own characters for my own original story that im gonna make into a webcomic at some point, but i don't make fancharacters anymore

>>8810328
I have a bunch of OCs! I only really draw them for posing practice though, I'd never sell art of them at a con. A friend of mine thought she could make money at cons by drawing people's OCs, which wouldn't be a bad idea if she wasn't shit at drawing or planning to use a pad of lined paper and scented gel pens. Thankfully, she never tried to go through with it.

What are your commission prices? Hoping for some input since I want to raise my prices a bit but I don't want to scare off people either.

>>8810328
I have OCs, but they're primarily made up of characters for my writing projects... novels, screenplay, etc.

>>8810328
I do... and she's actually a fancharacter for a popular game franchise? I've been asked at cons why I don't have prints of her and a canon character by a couple of people and I thought it was kind of weird.

Doing commissions for OCs/fancharacters is a big market. I actually specifically advertise that I do game OCs and their love interests for the game that I like to play and always get a shitton of commissions at cons.

>>8810328
I do. Why would it be an embarrassing question? I'm sure more artists have OCs that they doodle and think about in their free time.

I'm sorry if this has been asked before, but I didn't see anyone replying to the question from another Anon in the previous thread, and I was also curious to know the answer.

Is there a better GSM to print posters on? My last batch of prints were printed on 100GSM only because the printers screwed up my order, and they were really flimsy and gross...

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>>8810559
>scented gel pens
>lined paper
My sides...

>>8810328
See it this way, every fictional character has started out as someone's "OC" in some way so there's no reason to be embarrassed about it.

>>8810670
Now you have to tell us what game franchise

What's the weirdest thing you've ever seen being sold at an AA? By 'being sold' I mean that someone was putting it up for sale, not necessarily that it was actually selling.

>>8811497
Adult diapers at Metrocon last year. Though I didn't actually see any out, just their display and signs when the "artists" weren't around and I happened to walk past so I don't know if they actually were selling them or it was some kind of joke...? That was the whole theme of their table though.

>>8811122
Haha, it's Dragon Age. OC commissions are always super popular w/ games that let you create your own avatar and date canon characters. Some other examples of OC commissions that I've seen do really well were for Mass Effect and Fallout. I'm surprised that I don't see more artists do the same for Fire Emblem actually. I've noticed that customers don't really think about commissioning their OCs with canon character love interests unless you specifically advertise your commissions as such. I've had people come up to me and look at my commission sign and be like "You can do that? I can pay you to draw my Inquisitor and Iron Bull?" So it doesn't hurt to aggressively pander to people's OCs/fancharacters.

>>8811497
My first AX, some girl dressed as an Eyeshield 21 character across the aisle from me was selling photocopied prints of her pencil drawings. Not cleaned up or anything. Literally like glossy photo prints of badly scanned pencil drawings on lined paper. She didn't sell any that weekend but she would stand in front of her table and try to yell "in character" to customers to come check out her artwork. It was embarrassing.

>>8810973
I'd try anything between 190-290

I do my own prints on 190 entrada rag paper and it works pretty well (11 x 17)

I find anything over 250 is a pain to roll up (if you need to ship it)

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>>8810559
>which wouldn't be a bad idea if she wasn't shit at drawing or planning to use a pad of lined paper and scented gel pens

>>8811497
what the hell?? i tabled at metro last year and i didn't see this, oh my god.

>>8811611
>do the same for Fire Emblem actually

Same anon you replied to, and funny you mention it, I actually had a requester ask for his character from fe:a with a different fire emblem one.
Fun commission, wish I got to draw more player characters from fe:a

>>8811881
I should have taken a picture because I can't find any evidence of it but I swear they were there. I even stopped to read all the signs because I thought I had seen wrong. They were near the cosplay photography table by all the windowed doors that lead outside. On the side that had the raver gear.

>>8811883
Man, I'd love for someone to draw my Robin with my family. I can't believe I've never thought of that, I've done Dragon Age and Skyrim OCs before though, those seem to be very popular.

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>>8811881
After some intense googling I found a picture! Also, my bad, I thought they were adult diapers but it looks like they're not. Like I said I passed by when the artists had left and there wasn't anything but their setup, and somehow I remember the signs making me think they were for con-goers. But I guess they were cloth diapers for children. Still incredibly weird to bring to an anime convention.

A coworker of mine keeps telling me that getting stickers made is expensive.
This can't be true. Where do you guys get yours done or do you do it at home?

>>8811913
A con I went to this table had these marvel themed baby bibs - really crafty looking. dunno if she sold any, had a lotta strollers going around too, but afraid it's a niche that didn't pick up unfortunately.

>>8811896
I'd like to do it though I only draw chibis

>>8812315
if you make it at home (and either hand cut yourself or have something like a cricut) it's pretty cheap, depending on what material you use. Ordering them tends to be expensive since almost every place has a large (for an independent artist) MOQ with only a few different designs allowed. Check the resource doc for places that manufacture them, though.

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May I please request some feedback on some art I'm working on?

I planned to make these as buttons, since I just bought a button-maker, but I thought they came out pretty cute, and was thinking of making them into acrylic charms.

My usual colouring style is textured like crayon, though. You might not see it here, since it's so small, but I also use a textured Photoshop brush that makes the lineart look like pencil. Do the more artistically-inclined Anons here think it would look better in solid blocks of colours, though?

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>>8812696
It's hard to say without the actual colour. Even when I zoom in I can't see any texture at all though so your lineart would probably end up looking solid when resized for printing.
I have to say your lines are pretty weak though. Looks like you traced over a sketch with the pen tool since everything's pretty much the same width and it leaves the art looking flat. Thinning and thickening lines can change a piece dramatically. I did a quick example but lineart tutorials would probably provide better information on how to create impact.

>>8812598
ah, thanks!

>>8812726
I think the lineart looks good as is! The "weak" lineart won't be that noticeble with color and shading imo.

>>8812582
>I only draw chibis
Sub-human scum

>>8811611
>Dragon Age
This reminds me that there's a girl I follow that incessantly draws her DA OC. Her art is great but I quickly got sick of seeing her OC, and of course it's rude to tell someone you're tired of seeing their OC hump Iron Bull in every other picture they draw. So I guess this is a cautionary thing: while everyone loves original characters, some people get burned out when people draw their characters obsessively. Don't forget to mix up your interests if you feel yourself starting to obsess over one or two of your characters. (Not directed at you specifically, obviously, but just a general thing.)

>>8813246
I follow someone who constantly draws their DA OC. I really like her OC and she's very talented as an artist, so it's interesting to see her art. She sometimes draws fanart, but she's very detailed about character design and does very intricate breakdowns of historic costumes and stuff. So I don't really mind so much that she mostly posts the DA OC. I get more irked when my friends draw nothing but their video game OCs or one specific fandom, to be honest.
I also mostly follow only illstrators over fan artists, so I guess that's why I don't mind original work or characters as much.

>>8813228
For commissions I mean! I'm just not confident enough in the consistency of my normal drawings.

>>8813246
Same, except it's their fire emblem OC, ever since they got into that, it's like 80% of what they draw and I never even see them do any more incarnate works either it's just doodles and sketches now.

>>8809882
I don't participate in artist alleys, but I know that it gets harder and harder to secure a spot at the "big" conventions. For this year's Dokomi, I've heard they had 450 applications for 180 seats... and that's the con who has the biggest artist alley in Germany, afaik.

>>8812696
Agreeing with >>8812726 about your lines. These are really cute, but some variation in the line weight would make them look even better, especially with a thicker outline. Some people might not even notice the lines once you have your colors down, but it'll look better.

Is anyone planning on tabling at Metro this year? They just announced that the AA will be in the same hall as the vendors this year, meaning you're going to need a badge to enter. I'm pretty pissed about this.

>>8813246
>>8813255
See, I think there's a difference between what you market at cons v. what you draw for your accounts. I was specifically talking about marketing commissions toward other people's OCs/fancharacters because everyone has that indulgent middle school side and will pay to get guilty pleasure drawings of their self-insert + canon character.

I do agree that it's much more interesting to follow people who post a variety of things but I think there are virtues (lol as much as there can be in self-indulgent fanart) in OC drawings as well. I feel like - at least withing the DA fandom - OC culture is really really prevalent. And people enjoy seeing other people's OCs interact with theirs. It's a really easy way to build rapport with your followers (taking requests for their OCs, doing giveaways of OC/canon character drawings, etc) and increase follower count.

I see a lot of people asking in these threads on how to gain followers and maintain an online presence. And I think if you're in any fandom with a big OC culture like the Bioware games/Fallout/Fire Emblem, doing OC requests is a really easy way to start building a follower base for yourself.

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I am making sticker designs that say I <3 boobies on them with league of legends characters. The picture is what I have drawn already. Do you think the convention will allow this type of art? There's no nudity but I never done a table before and I really want to soon.

They're going to be stickers but I don't want to spend money on making them and putting them into my convention portfolio to only be rejected.

>>8813710
I don't see why not.

I think they're cute.

>>8813714
I was just super worried. I haven't seen a ton of "sexual" art in AAs so I had to double check!

>>8813710
that looks really bad. I hope you're going to at least color the background?
Why are all your blacks purple-ish but the baton is a pure black?
her tits look weirdly saggy and deformed, and she looks like she got bee-stung on her lips.

>>8813710
I do not envy you for the customer base you'll be dealing with!
I would advise drawing a centre line down the face before planting the features, as it is it kind of looks like on of those fish that has their whole face one side. You've also got one breast that's perky and 'up' and one falling 'down'.
I assume the heart and text is only placeholder for now.
Try to add an intermediate colour between block colour and very bright dodge highlight on everywhere, especially the hair.

>>8813734
This is a wip... But thanks for your input?

>>8813453
Wait, seriously??! I loved the open space they used the last year, what are they going to do with that area?

>>8813741
So I'm not an ecchi artist nor do I plan to be and I also have not been in the con scene enough to be placed next to one, what exactly are their fanbases like? and by that I mean how are they so bad? I've heard someone on here say they complete wrecked nearby artist's displays at one point which I can't understand how that could happen.

>>8813925
Idk if they're referring to LoL or ecchi stuff. From what I've seen/heard, LoL is pretty cliquey, and most people will gravitate toward big name fans or e-famous artists. The good news is that it leaves you with the casuals who don't take the game as seriously and are therefor (possibly?) way more chill than heavily invested fans.

>>8813710
your facial proportions are really off, even for an anime style, and you need to consider a light source instead of 'shiny white highlights' everywhere. Saying this because it is a wip not a finished work.

also, regardless of whether a convention will allow it or not (probably? ive seen some super skeevy loli shit get into a 'family friendly' con here) as a consumer I probably wouldn't buy something like this. Fanservice is fine for trying to sell to a particular, horny audience but this is hella cringey.

>>8813760
I...really don't see anything wrong with her breasts and face. You should at least have a color background, but as you said, it's wip.

>>8813943
Since we're talking about her her proportions and the light source, I have a question. Kind of off topic though. This actually looks ok to me but some of the really popular tumblr and AA artists have really wacky proportions and use weird highlighting that doesn't consider a light source at all. So what is it that works for them and make people buy their stuff and praise them so much? It really confuses me sometimes.

>>8814039
Fanart. tumblr fangirls will go nuts over anything from their fandoms, regardless of technical skill. Or it's 'diverse' and therefore interesting, even if the art is crap.

>>8814031
You have terrible fundamentals then. Style isn't an excuse for having awkward, skewed features that mismatched each other.

>>8813925
Honestly I have no idea what he means. I guess it depends on where you go but as far as I see you get normal people and sometimes weird creeps that like to be too personal with you. Other than, its the same experience when I look online.

>>8814031
I am already fixing the bobs but this is just a wip. I said in my post that I didn't want to finish them if they weren't allowed. I don't really see much wrong besides left tiddy. I do have bg done though!!
Sad thing is that the advice given to me is what I already did to establish the sketch so I tried (line in center and even horizontally and drew both eyes too). I think it looks good and I already have buyers. There's always someone who will nit pick. I did what I could to the best of my ability and I am content with that.

>>8814144
>but this is just a wip
>I don't really see much wrong
>I already did what you said
>I think it looks good
>I already have buyers
>There's always someone who will nit pick

jfc what a load of excuses
expect criticism/appraisal when you post your art on this board, and try seriously think about how they are trying to help improve your work.

>>8814144
I would love to see the end-product, anon!

>>8814066
I actually meant professional artists with tumblr blogs. They aren't that great in terms of fundamentals, but they still make a living off of their art. Which confuses me even more.

>>8814066
Ok, maybe I do have terrible fundamentals. But unless you want to go for a very realistic style, I think being a little "off" is ok as long as the overall image looks aesthetically pleasing (it's a subjective matter, but yeah, I think anon's art is cute). Even things drawn by great manga artists look weird at times when you try to draw lines and box figures to check anatomy. But they look nice overall and I think that's what matters.

why does ohayocon treat their artists so badly?
it's definitely one of the worst treatment I've ever gotten tabling at a con.

>>8814242
This. Jesus, stop being so defensive, anon. The image isn't horrid, but with so little elements in the drawing, you could at least make an effort to screw the least things up as possible.

>>8814039
>>8814252

I think you're asking the question backwards. The comment is in response to an artwork that received 3 somewhat negative comments and only 1 positive one. So it isn't "this artwork has whacky proportion, therefore automatic fail", it's more like "this doesn't seem to be a successful artwork, proportion might be the problem". It's given as a suggestion for improvement, it's not saying the art is bad because it didn't tick off the "proportions" rule on some checklist.

As for art in general, distorting proportions can be useful for certain effects, for eg moeblob animes are basically distorted since the characters have super huge eyes, which is used to convey innocence. Another example is the fish eye distortion, where perspective is distorted to make an ordinary scene look surreal. Manga and videogames like to distory females with longer legs because they think it looks sexy (in real life it looks like spider legs).

However, just because distortions are okay, does not that you can claim everything is a distortion and therefore good art. Art doesn't work on logic. You know it's good art when you like it, it's bad art if you dislike it. All the talk about proportions, lighting, composition, etc, are ways to discuss why an artwork is good (or bad), and if you improve on them they can certainly make an artwork more likeable. But you can't march up to someone and say "you must like this drawing because it meets all these criteria". If they hate it, they hate it. They might tell you they dislike it because of the composition or even personal reasons like they hate the colours you used, but you can't force a painting into "being good" because of some list.

In a similar vein, an artwork is not bad just because it has distorted proportions and fantasy lighting. People probably like those tumblr artists because they used the distortions well to convey a feeling, or they used nice colours, or the composition of the artwork is good, etc etc.

http://jackieloart.com/blog/category/angry-artist-alley/

yikes

>>8813925
The kind of customer base that would buy 'I love boobies' stickers tend to be immature and noisy, that's all I meant.
However agreeing with >>8814242 that to step up your art gains you really need to utilise the crit you've been given. On /ic/ people would have just told you to study loomis and die, you've been given some genuine information here to work on so use it to better your work.
>Even things drawn by great manga artists look weird at times
This isn't an excuse for leaving her face completely lopsided. This isn't a stylistic choice, it's a flaw. Re-draw it, you'll feel prouder of your work for it.

>>8813933
get out.

>>8814290
anon, there's a huge difference between quirky features and bad ones. stylization still needs a certain foundation of atleast basic proportion.

honestly i'm going to be harsh and say that the only nice thing about this pic is the shading elements, everything else is sloppy at best and the clothes look like total noob ass. like someone who's never drawn before, sees 'anime' and thinks it looks easy. also all of your comments are the same as shitty first year art students who think anime doesn't need good anatomy.

Hey guys! I was wondering if anyone had any good tutorials on light and color? I'm trying to step up my game in my art, and was interested in things like
>http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/store/product/472/Color-Theory%3A-The-Mechanics-of-Color#.VplD6MArK2x

But was wondering if anyone could reccomend any free videos/tutorials, etc. I've read a bunch of very basic tutorials on tumblr, but was hoping for something a bit more indepth.
Also I guess general art tutorials you swear by!

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>>8813710
Hi anon, like what >>8813734 and>>8813943 and >>8814066 said this needs some work, but i don't think they said so in a very constructive way. Your anatomy is off. I did a really quick paint over of some things. You'll notice that I bumped her nose and mouth over to the right, try drawing a guideline if you have trouble figuring where things fall on the face. The ear got bumped down, it was way too high. It's easiest to remember that your ear is generally at eye level for further reference. Your line quality and highlights are a bit weak, so you'll see where here boobs are I outlined it in a more natural tone since it makes things pop rather than flatten it like black lineworks tends to do. You were using shape dynamics on the highlights, which is not very natural. Try a more round highlight. The bra strap was distracting in that she has a push up bra on. Her boobs are the main feature so think of it realistically, if her boobs are pushed up that much, then the strap must be on rather tight; it would just go straight back instead of curving up her shoulder.

Colors were a bit all over the place. This isn't the best fix, it's very fast, I adjusted her skin and hair tone to make it more interesting. Threw an entirely new shade of blue in there that fits better with the background color I chose. The heart is too thin, you should try making it thicker in the "3" part, and get rid of the outlines around it since it's distracting. I didn't think you needed all that text inside the heart, and feel that you could practice your handlettering more, or use a font.

The style of the work itself is a bit odd, in that her face shape is oddly pointy. Practice your anatomy. Your shading is honestly very good for the level you seem to be at, you have a very good grasp on skintones and colors, but it could still use work. Try messing around with "comand + b" if you are using Photoshop.
All in all, I think these will sell really well, you just needed a bit more help.

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>>8814504
Not a free book, but I learned all of my basics from here. I've actually seen the link you provided and it's a really good lesson, it discusses how colors look and act differently next to one another. So say you have a character wearing green, depending on the background color and lighting, you'd use a blue, and that would infact look green because of the other colors. I'm assuming there's probably free tutorials on youtube somewhere.

>>8814290
it's not for 'very realistic' styles. It's for literally everyone. Consistency and arrangement in how you exaggerate your proportions and features is critical regardless of whether you are drawing in the tooniest looney toons style or going for semi-realism. There is a difference between things looking 'off' and looking wonky and amateur-ish.

>>8814554
god forbid people don't baby and fawn over every mediocre artwork posted on 4chan. There were some obvious shitty flaws. They were pointed out. Your edit is better but the artist needs to fix the pimple nose and lip placement, at the very least. The whole face shape being redrawn would probably be best, since it's kind of turnip-shaped. And I really don't know what you and the other anon were talking about, their shading is that terrible 'shade everything from the edges out and add random highlights everywhere'. pillow shading?

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fanservice art is the easiest kind of art so it bothers me when people can't even put the minimal effort into making their wank fuel actually look okay. also try googling what glasses look like instead of making it up.

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>>8814689
I think I'm onto something

>>8814701
>>8814689
considerable improvement, but those lips still bother the fuck out of me and she's missing the front half of her skull (if her hat war more forward, maybe?)

Also, am I the only one who thinks it would look way better just to have the entire character INSIDE the heart than having the titties wedged outside?

>>8814618
Do you not understand basic color theory? The picture itself had good tones chosen for the skin. Anon who did a quick redraw actually gave a critique other than IT'S GARBAGE. Yes, it's a mediocre piece, but you're just being a salty shit by not pointing out WHY. People are going to get defensive when you just give a blanket statement of IT'S SHIT. The artist could do with a better attitude towards criticism but holy fuck you guys are tearing apart that person's stupid boob picture when in reality it's mediocre. It's not god awful but it's not good either.

Anon should look at >>8814689 for anatomy and >>8814554 for color. There, done. They got their help, move the fuck on already.

...To get the thread back on track, are you guys risking the c&d and making star wars stuff for the upcoming con season? I feel like kylo ren stuff especially has the potential to be good sellers, online and at cons, if loki/benoodle cucumber/current tumblr husbando stuff is any indication!

Also, how do you guys find moving acrylic charms? I haven't sold them before and they're relatively uncommon in my local artist alleys, but I really want to. Are they harder or easier to sell than prints?

>>8814714
I don't think anon even mentioned colour. They're right about the pillow shading which is what people tend to do when they have no idea what they're doing. Also they're just being honest about the work while also critiquing it. It might not be the nicest way to do it but they don't have to be. They're telling them what they see is wrong and that's all that needs to be said for the artist to try and get better.
There has been a lot of responses to it which is a bit much but if you're going to be selling these things then you need these kinds of people telling you their different opinions. Lots of people here seem to want to start selling when they don't have basic anatomy and lines down.

>>8814714
if you post your work, you are going to get reactions. Nobody owes that art anon critique, politely phrased or otherwise. They could've just said 'I want to sell stickers with big but non-nude tiddies, is this going to be allowed?', but they posted their art, which to me indicates they wanted some kind of feedback. If you aren't comfortable with your art being shit on....don't post it to 4chan?

>>8814725
I plan to. Whatever, get the C&D and just stop selling it. That said, I still prefer drawing pre-TFA Star Wars stuff more. Kylo Ren was a fun character, but may sell one print of him at best. I'm not one to jump on trends just for the sake of profit.

What are the odds Fanime will be more organized than last year when it comes to AA? Sure would be nice to know who's in more than some two weeks in advance of the con.

>>8814714
But >>8813741 was good crit and they completely disregarded it and then posted a list of excuses after more crit. I think at this stage we can assume that even by totally mollycoddling them they aren't going to even try to get better. Redraw anons wasted their time.

>>8814725
I'm excited for all the art of a grumpy baby kylo ren. I know it will be so overplayed I'll get sick of it, but for now I'm not.

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This might sound silly but does anyone have advice for drawing chibis? For some reason I can't wrap my head around drawing human characters disproportionate but appealing for the purpose of smaller items like charms. Attached is example of an attempt, it just feels stiff and awkward to me, or maybe I'm just being paranoid because I'm not used to drawing like this..?

>>8814868
Yeah, it's a lil stiff. Chibi is all about exaggeration. Not just the proportions, but the pose/expression and the props too. I think a bigger scalpel would push the cute appeal, and have him doing something cute instead of just standing around, posing for a pic.

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>>8814868
You go to make his body shorter and fatter otherwise its not cute its just weird.

>example

If I've only been drawing for about 6 months, is it too soon to get an AA table? I applied for a table because I want to gain experience and meet other artists but would they just make fun of me? Cons say AA is for all levels of artists but I've seen some artists get mad when beginners get accepted to a con, saying that crappy artists took their tables. Am I being overly anxious or was it a mistake to apply for a table when I'm still a beginner?

>>8814868
Drew a rough sketch.
Like >>8815292 said, chibis (particularly chibi charms) work better when their whole body is more rounded and the overall silhouette occupies a rounder shape rather than a long one. For proportions, I recommend 2 to 2 1/2 heads for the full body.
As with >>8814894, chibis really are all about exaggeration. Look at what are the defining features of Law. You did a good job with the eyes, but his smile could be exaggerated more. From references I googled, Law also tends to have a particular way of smiling that has his eyebrows come down at closer to the eye at diagonals (see in pic rel), with a wide smile. His hat is another defining feature, so I exaggerated it by drawing it a little larger. The pattern on his pants and hat read better as a chibi when they are simplified too. The same applies for his goatee, try simplifying it to four triangular shapes on his chin, rather than lots of small lines. I would say to avoid small details - rather, simplify them. The shading too could be in larger/more prominent blocks for better readability.
The chibi probably feels stiff because the pose itself is stiff. I'm not really sure how to explain except to think in terms of curves than straight lines/angles.

>>8815377
Depends.
Do you have a preexisting fan base?
Are you confident enough in your art to sell it?
Is it actually good or is it only good to you and your friends/family?
And above all, will it sell?

If you're comfortable with it, post an example of your art here. It's hard to give you advice without seeing it.

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>>8815381
oops dropped pic

>>8814868
Make him more dynamic. Bigger head/hat and scalpel would make it look better. Also consider adding more highlights and brightening the colours because they look flat and kinda muddy.

>>8815377
it depends on how good you are. by 'drawing for 6 months' do you mean 'prior to 6 months ago i only drew stick figures' or 'seriously started trying to improve 6 months ago' ? If you have bad, amateur art that doesn't sell and gets pitying looks from other artists, you're going to have a crappy time.

I doubt artists themselves would actually be mean about it (at least to your face) unless it's a really popular con and tables are hard to get. If it's a juried con (with a selection process) you have as much a right to apply as anyone else.

>>8815384
not the OP but fuck your redraw is so cute

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>>8814868
I did a lot of playing around to find a proportion I liked. I definitely approach drawing chibi as basic shapes and simple proportions first, then dress it up as need be. Bodies like these >>8815292 tend to be the chibi norm for anime stuff, but you aren't held to that. There's other ways to shorten the human form and have it still look cute. I'd say look around and see what sort of "chibi" style appeals to you and try to modify it a bit.

>>8815377
I don't mean to make it sound like an exclusive club, but AAs aren't really for beginners. You need to have a decent product that will sell or else it's going to be a big waste of money. I don't know what your art looks like, but if you've only been drawing for 6 months, I can't imagine you'd be ready to sell you work just yet.

>>8815384
Good job, anon.

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>>8815394
ditto this. the round bodies are cute and have decent appeal but I personally have a preference for ones that have a more interesting silhouette than just round. You'll be mucking around for a while; building a workable chibi style took a long time for me and I'm still not entirely consistent about it yet.
Also, >>8815384 is very nice with lots of good points.

>>8815377
please don't. my very first convention (where I had been drawing for 4+ years) i was sat next to a beginner. He had tons of really amateur, 'how to draw anime' esque prints, which he was selling for 50 cents each....and he made one sale, on a girl who felt bad for him. It was excruciating to watch and while no one said anything to his face it was a pretty abysmal situation. Look at the artists who sold last year at whatever convention you applied to and see what the basic standard is. it's true anyone CAN table at an artist alley (unless it's juried) but if you don't have the skills to have a desirable product it's going to be a pretty miserable experience for you. This isn't meant to dissuade you from ever applying to a table, but please make sure that your art is desirable enough to warrant one. A good indicator for when you're 'ready', if you're totally unsure, is that you get serious - aka not deviantART points or a couple of bucks or whatever - inquiries about commissions from people who aren't family or friends.

>>8815395
It's not even making it "sound like an exclusive club." At this point, it's the truth. AA's have gotten extremely competitive, so it's unrealistic to expect to do well just because you can push a pencil across paper.

I mean, fuck, getting a table isn't what you would call easy anymore, and more and more shows are moving to a juried model.

>>8815384
fuck, your redraw is so cute

>>8815390
I started to get serious 6 months ago, so I'm not a beginner-beginner. I applied for a lottery based con. If I do get chosen by luck, do you think I still have a right to be there?

>>8815449
Do you know where I might get serious feedback from?

>>8815497
I have no idea what the quality of your work is like, so I can't say. That's purely subjective, though. You have as much of a 'right' as anybody else who applies. For feedback, if you're not studying art and don't have a teacher or instructor you can ask for critique, there are a ton of art improvement/feedback groups on facebook, deviantart, etc. Just make sure you pick one that gives solid advice and isn't just dedicated to stroking your ego - read critiques they've already done and try and judge whether or not it was actually helpful. Also -- there will be non-artists or shitty artists trying to give critique. Ignore them. If they're too lazy to git gud they'll give crap/biased advice. Always learn from people better than yourself.

>>8815507
Thank you very much for your reply. I'm not an art student, so I've never really had anyone to critique my work. It's actually scarier to get critiques from an anonymous board for some reason, so getting critiques from feedback groups sounds like a great idea.

>>8815514
Are you kidding me? If you're scared of anon critiques, you're probably not good enough for an AA. Save the table for someone who deserves it, anon. I only draw as a hobby, but I love buying art. It frustrates me so much when I see some amateur taking up space with a table all for themselves and a great artist having to split a table with someone else.

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>>8815514
You'll get honesty here, and that's best.

You don't want to waste your money if you aren't ready. Post a few of your favourite pieces.

>>8815514
Sounds like you're scared of us telling you your work is bad. People here sell at AAs so it's probably a very good place to get an opinion on if you would fit in.
Also if you're not confident in your work then I would suggest you not even think about AA. Get to a point where you're making things you're happy with and you're not thinking about people judging you.
Remember you have to put in money to make money back so you should have a table that you think will stand out and be good competition. If money isn't an issue then i guess you can try it out one time to see how you compare and how your sales go.

Woah, thanks for the feedback everyone! There's a bunch so I don't think I can respond to everyone, but-
>>8815381 >>8815384
I can't thank you enough for how helpful this is, your sketch definitely has a lot more character and appeal and I can see what I need to work on.

>>8815292 >>8815394 >>8815410
I think part of my hangup with chibis is that I want to try and develop a more unique approach them. I feel like a lot of standard anime style chibis just feel like awkward chubby babies, but at the same time I don't feel so negatively towards them when they're executed well.. so I don't know if I'm just put off by all the extremely amateur chibis out there. I do think this >>8815292 is cute. I'll try incorporating more of the roundness and head/body ratio, in the end there's no point to "unique" if it just looses appeal.

>>8815659
It can be hard to be unique with chibis. You don't have to go full moe blob but definitely take the advice about the exaggeration. The detail and colouring will be what make your chibis unique as someone out there will always have a similar approach.

>>8815514
>It's actually scarier to get critiques from an anonymous board for some reason
if someone is an unhelpful asshole, just remember they're probably a swaggering fourteen year old in a meme tshirt and just ignore them

Anyone else here who keeps putting off tabling at a con?

I really want to but I keep fearing that I won't be able to get enough merchandise done, and I don't have any friends to table with me. Which sucks because I really don't want to sit alone.

>>8815721
i wanna do it, but i don't know where to get a tablefriend. should i just...make a sign and hang it in the design studio or something..?

>>8815731
If you think someone might be interested, go for it!

For me the issue is that I know a lot of artists. Except none of them are from the same European country as me, most of then are from NA. I mean I got offered to table with them if I ever went to America but I just don't have the money to spill on a 1000 euro plane ticket.

>>8815659
I have very limited roundness to mine but I still think the design is relatively pleasing. I'll have to post one to the thread later when I get a chance.

>>8815721
Heh, I always tabled alone AND my hotel room friends were crap about being helpful to me. No one would come by for 4+ hours by the time I was starving or needed to go take a walk, piddle, whatever. Every time I've gotten a table I've ended up getting a bit dehydrated too.

In the end, you don't need a partner, make friends with the people around you if you need someone to talk to. Or talk to browsers.

>>8815885
this, when i first started doing cons it was solo and i still do them solo. just take your money bag when you pee and bring snacks if you're not able to fast. Food is actually a lot easier to manage than you think, neighbors will often do food runs etc.

Didn't get in to ACen or Anime Next, I'm really keen on going though. I'm thinking of looking around for someone who wants to share their table, but has that ever actually been fruitful for anyone? And where did you post asking for table shares, forums/fb/twitter?

I doubt anyone would be willing to share with randos

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>>8814144
Did you really go on AANI just to complain about us critiquing a sticker anon?

>>8814144
>I think it looks good and I already have buyers
Fuck off then. If you don't want to get better, get out.

>>8815987
>>8813710

Seriously, I was on FB and read the post and thought "....r e a l l y???? is this real"
@Anon: Don't post your work here and expect only praise. If you think that's how it works, well, you already know how it goes. Going on AANI just to ask about that just shows that you can't take criticism. Yes, it might have been harsh criticism, but its stuff that you should consider because they're different perspectives, and all of your customers will have different perspectives--people here are just more blunt about what they feel about your work. And if you really don't see what's wrong with you can just ignore the advice, because now you just look like you're trying to justify being stubborn, lazy, and a bad artist.

Applying for my first big con AA (Megacon)! There's no guarantee I'll get in, but I'm already pretty anxious... I've only sold at one con before, and it was very, very small.

I've been reading everything on these threads, and I just want to say you guys are so helpful. That being said, I do have a question... Is it better to have too much merch, or not enough? I know you have to spend money to make money, but my day job isn't exactly paying mad stacks. So I wonder if I should stay humble and try to conserve costs, or bite the bullet and try to go all out with lots of merch from lots of series. Sorry if this question is a little strange...

Any other advice for beginners would be appreciated, but I've picked up a lot just from reading everything here.

>>8815987
Anyone have caps on the replies?

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>>8816021
lmao the thread just got deleted.

I capped it last night because I found it so ridiculous, but decided not to post because it was uninteresting . The rest of the thread was pretty much people saying "you're the artist, do what you want" over and over. Not super interesting.

>>8816019
most would say not enough, since if it is your first con and you haven't made a lot of prints before

>>8816028
i guess these are the buyers s/he's got lined up already.

>>8816028
i love how she's just saying 'thread' and replies seem to think it's on there.

>>8816035
Haha, I've NEVER made prints before! I've been doing the art thing for years, but physical product is a very new thing for me. *If* I get in, this is going to be a very stressful time, but hopefully it'll be worth it. Thank you for your input!

>>8815987
ahahaha holy shit

>>8815987
Hahaha I love when people think people in an artist alley thread wouldn't also be part of a big AA group

>>8816019
Not enough is better than spending a ton of money at once and having a ton of unsellable merch.

If you're trying to maximize profits while keeping down the number of things you have to draw - try making things in sets. I've noticed that a lot of people might not buy one print of a single series if it were alone but end up buying the entire set when there are matching prints?

If you focus on a couple of your favorite fandoms and maybe 1-2 "popular" ones and made items in sets you might do better than if you just had a ton of varying prints across the board with no theme.

>>8816019
Too little is better because you don't know enough about what sells and what doesn't. Once you've done some 4-5 cons, assuming you've kept track of your stock, you can work out what you need to make more of and what won't sell. If you do prints and acrylic charms, they'll sell as long as your art is good.
Don't make a million different things because it'll be hell to display and it'll clutter your table.
Try doing simple commissions- unshaded chibi sketches or something similarly easy- for a fiver, if you're confident enough in your art skills, because you'll draw attention to your table.
Post examples of your art here, it'll be easier for us to give you concrit on what you should do before you order stock for the con.

>>8816028
If your sticker is so tiny you can barely see the features then there's no point, but if you're shading like you're blindfolded and wearing boxing gloves then you should really expect criticism. If it's boobies girl, the concrit was all solid and absolutely necessary. Grow up and learn from your mistakes, ffs.

>>8816019
If it's your first large con, it's better to sell out than have tons left over. Once you're an established artist you can usually rely on an online store to take care of overage, and the more you table the more you'll know what you can rely on to sell. My first con I had 4-5 copies of my large prints and sold out of some late on Sunday; a few years later I can rely on some prints to sell 20+ copies per con. Good luck!

>>8816028
when will people learn the golden rule: if you ask for critique, you take it. it doesn't matter if you agree with all of it or not. don't argue, don't make excuses - no matter what, just smile and nod, and then silently take into account the critiques that you do find valid.

For my first con, is it ok to only offer chibi items? Like chibi art on buttons and stickers and display my other non-chibi art in a portfolio. I heard that it's better for beginners to stick to chibis but is it strange to NOT offer any prints at all?

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>>8816170
Funny you mention that: I did commissions at my first convention. Again, it was really small, but I broke even (barely) on commissions alone. I had no merch, and my art was quite a bit worse compared to where I am now... Even though I'm by no means a master!

Pic related, this is back from early November but it's pretty consistent with the stuff I'm doing now. (And obviously, since it's Undertale, this won't be sold...) I'm sure I can take what you guys throw at me... At least, I hope so, hahaha!

Has anyone made an actual tutorial on how to order from vograce and all their options and shit? It would be helpful for tards like myself who will spend weeks being confused before figuring it out.

>>8816219
I finally caved and ordered a sample of their keychains and received them on Thursday. I'll take some photo samples in the next couple days and maybe create screenshots on how to order from Vograce from a first-timers perspective.

>>8816205
Try to work on your shading. You could do with having a more contrasting colour for your lineart, it looks like it's blending into her and the background. BG colour needs work too, the saturation looks a bit off (but that could be my monitor) and it doesn't work well with the main piece. Also, the lines look strangely wobbly at points, like you were going over them and got the thickness wrong.
I'd say colour theory and shading are the two things you most need to work on right now. If you play around with the background and saturation, and look at some shading tutorials, you should be able to fix your stuff without any major headaches.
It needs improvement, but this is by far not the worst thing I've seen being sold at an AA. You should probably do smaller cons for a while, though.
Can you make any crafts at all? Even basic plushies and simple jewellery would sell at a con. Charms are a lot easier than prints to draw and colour (for me at least) and you don't have to worry about the background.

>>8816280
I think the artist anon was using the photo as an example? Since she/he can't sell example art because undertale.

>>8816280
You got me: I'm really bad at color theory! I can't seem to wrap my head around it, which is pretty ridiculous. I'll find more tutorials and work on it, though. Thank you!

Hmmm. I never really considered making plushies. I'm really worried they'd come out wonky, I'm not exactly... the best at sewing. I was planning to make buttons and keychains, stuff like that, which would be done using a different lineart/coloring style. I don't have a very good reference of that right now, sadly, but it's just a lot more, uh, solid? I don't have a very good example of that style right now, sadly...

>>8816298
I know, but I meant in general. Shading and colours are things they need to work on regardless of whether they're planning on selling it.
>>8816306
More solid sounds good. And you can definitely just do buttons and things, you don't have to force yourself to sew, lol. I'm glad you're taking concrit well, you should improve pretty fast.

>>8816276
That would be amazing of you! Maybe OP could link it in all the threads too so you guys don't have to keep answering the same questions about it.

>>8816219
I just made my first order as well. I should receive it in a week or two max, I'll try to do a full review/walkthrough then. It'd be really handy to have one place to refer to for vograce info, as plenty of people have said over the past few threads. It’s about time we actually put something together.

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>>8816357
Yeah, like this! This is the world's wonkiest horseshoe, but I wanted to whip up something that illustrated what I meant by "solid". I, uh, hope this makes sense.

Honestly, I need it! I don't get too much of it, and 2016 is the year I told myself I was going to draw more than ever. I might as well get better while I do it!

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>>8816205
the bunches and the face are cute. i honestly really like the big cartoony hands, they're not what i'd have picked first for muffet but they're appealing

study anatomy, but you knew that

first thing i noticed here is that it's not very readable in silhouette? bottom left arm has a tangent with middle left, middle and bottom right overlap at a joint, leg is obscured by a teapot etc. compare something like this where you can immediately tell what it is from far away.

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>>8816519
ah wrong picture. but hey that's true of marc davis too.

>>8816519
Oh, thank you! It is kind of a confusing silhouette, huh? I'll do my best to get better at that, it's pretty obvious that I need to. And, yes, anatomy. I appreciate all the concrit! You guys are very helpful.

Oh, I'm glad you like the ham hands, too! They're very fun to draw, honestly... Even if they look like sausages, sometimes.

>>8816306

Here is a video that is probably a good starting point. It makes sense of color theory with physical representation. It blew my mind when I saw it awhile ago because it made things click that never clicked before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOVXP6ILtrM

>>8816200
Many stalls just do chibi work. Its a overused gimmick IMO but you can definitely do it. There's an audience for it, but to be honest I personally tend to skip over chibi-focused stalls.


For my own question, how often do you guys retouch old prints (if you retouch at all?) I sold at my first convention about four months ago and I did well enough on all my prints that i'll use all of them again, but I can see so many things I want to fix about them. It bothers me because I feel like they aren't representative of my actual ability. At the same time, it feels like it would be a bad use of time since I want to produce more prints + keychain + button + sticker designs that I didn't offer last year.

>>8816561
>For my own question, how often do you guys retouch old prints (if you retouch at all?) I sold at my first convention about four months ago and I did well enough on all my prints that i'll use all of them again, but I can see so many things I want to fix about them. It bothers me because I feel like they aren't representative of my actual ability. At the same time, it feels like it would be a bad use of time since I want to produce more prints + keychain + button + sticker designs that I didn't offer last year.
I would also like an answer for this because I am so bad about it, haha. It's really difficult for me to sell prints that I did more than a year ago because I just hate how they look.

>>8815987
the hilarious thing about this baby ignoring all the criticism about their shitty titty art, beyond crying about it on AANI, is that they call themselves a 'professional artist'.

>>8816561
>>8816570
I had a print with a pretty decent concept, and it sold moderately well, but the anatomy was disgustingly atrocious. After about a year and a half I touched it up- fixing a few body parts, and it's back to being one of my best sellers. I've seen the same results with a few other pieces, but it might be line work or color or whatever. If a print still does well, even being horrendously bad by your current standards, that means you did something right and it might be worth it to go back and fix it up a bit.

>>8816561
i go to about 4 cons a year and i touch things up maybe once a year if the errors are really bothering me.

>>8816541
Holy shit, this actually is really helpful. I would have never thought of it this way! Thank you so much!

Do any of you get people trying to be your friend for free things or discounts?

Do you have friends that you've known for centuries that you give free/discounts too?

I find sometimes it's good to keep the craft low key until you really know someone well enough.

>>8816825
>Do any of you get people trying to be your friend for free things or discounts?
YES. All the damn time.

>Do you have friends that you've known for centuries that you give free/discounts too?
Yes, but only to those really good friends, other artist friends I've known for a while, and customers that come to buy things from me at every single con.

I'd like to do tshirts for an upcoming con and I'm thinking of doing simple order forms instead of bringing a whole bunch of stock with me, has anyone ever tried this? I'm kind of afraid that people wont want to buy something they have to wait for in the mail.
I can get one off shirts pretty cheaply where I work but ordering a bunch of shirts to haul around just isnt feasible

>>8816825
>Do any of you get people trying to be your friend for free things or discounts?
I would honestly be surprised if anyone answered no to this, and if you're reading this and answering no- be a little more aware.

>Do you have friends that you've known for centuries that you give free/discounts too?
Yeah, but only other artists. They usually end up giving me something of equal value as well (print for print, small plushie for a nice sketch etc). I think I've unconsciously started to only make friends with other artists thanks to being used so often.

>>8816825
>Do any of you get people trying to be your friend for free things or discounts?
Yes unfortunately.

>Do you have friends that you've known for centuries that you give free/discounts too?
Yup! My friends and I always trade product or we just give them to each other since we have similar interests. For friends who aren't artists they usually pay regardless even if I don't mind giving it away.

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>>8816205

The biggest issue I see with your drawing is the shading and your color choices. Close up, your drawing looks fine, but from a thumbnail it doesn't read well at all. I tried making a few changes to the colors and your shading that hopefully make your drawing read better than before.

The hue of your background is too similar to the character's, so they blend into each other, and it actually kind of hurts my eyes. I changed the hue so that it's still pink (I assume that's the character's color?), but has a big enough contrast that it's not completely blending in. I also changed the shadows to make them cooler, and added some warmer highlights. I would also suggest not trying to blend out your edges, if you don't quite understand edge hardness, and have issues with shading. I also tried to add more depth to your character by pushing back the arms in the back by blending it with the background (which gives the illusion of it going farther back in space).

Color theory is a pretty difficult concept, but you can cheat your way by mostly just making your shadows a cooler tone (more blue or purple), and making your highlighters warmer (more red or yellow). When I was first starting out, I would just use a multiply layer with a blueish gray to shade.

Something else you should work on is forms. Forms is basically breaking things into basic shapes and planes, and being able to draw them in perspective. The way you shade makes the arms and hands look oddly flat, so I would suggest practicing shading spheres and cubes for a while until you get the hang of 3D shapes.

>>8816886
I would answer no because I don't have a lot of friends who aren't artists themselves. I'm not unfriendly, but I'm... unsociable? I don't talk about my hobbies to many people.

>>8816897
You know... I'm starting to wonder if there's something off about my monitor's color. Not that it's an excuse for the very viable advice you're giving me, but the character's color is more purple/plum. She's not really pink... I should look into this.

All that aside: thank you! I appreciate the fix up as well, that was really nice of you! Although, I don't really understand what you mean by "edge hardness" (I guess that's kind of the problem, though)... Do you mean the way I have it set on my brushes? Sorry, I'm a little thrown off by that sentence. Everything else, though, I hear you loud and clear!

>>8816385
Ok, here's a Google Doc I wrote on how to order from Vograce based on the one sample order I made. It's not 100% perfect, but I hope it helps.

I also did quick shots of the different sample types I got. I'm putting them in a google doc so I don't spam post 6 images, unless people want me to post them here as well

>>8816993
derp, here's link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/18UxKnpgrmeb82NnW5e4YIEX-eZ3zHt178Mp6i0A5gME/edit?usp=sharing

>>8816019
It's hard to say. Mainly because how steep the price is for that con. A table at Megacon is going to set you back $300 plus the cost of merchandise, hotel (unless you're local), and parking. It takes a bit more to break even there. But what others have said is accurate. Just bring enough to cover your cost since this is your first big convention.

>>8817046
Ah, I actually have enough for the table. One of my blog followers actually gave me the money to cover it. Which was... incredibly unexpected, but I'm glad.

So! That cost is out of the way, but everything else is still up in the air. Thank you for your advice!

>>8816897
not op but this was really helpful to me as well.
it was only the shading/colouring, but your edit suddenly looks a lot better

>>8816993
thank you so much!!

>>8816993
I contacted Vograce exactly like this over a month ago, no response. Ugh. I guess I'll just never have charms.

On the note of first AAs..

I'm looking at $380 for the table, $99 for Public liability Insurance (Haha fuck you, Supanova!), no travel/hotel fees and very little capital for the merch because I hand-make and print all of my own stock.

If I'm already making ~$350 a week in online sales, is it pretty safe to say that this is worth dropping almost $500 alone on one con?

It's one of only three conventions in my area.

>>8817108
it's likely they have a lot of inquiries? why not just send a little follow up message after a week or two to ensure they've read your messages?

>>8817130
Definitely, the fuck are you selling to make $350 in one week? Do you have a huge inventory or like $100 bodypillows or something? No hate, just jelly and curious.

Does anybody know what Acen's table sharing policy is? I'm trying to find someone who is willing to share their table but I don't see any info or forums out there.

>>8817130
WOW, I would think so. I make maybe ~$20 every two months or so online, but I'm planning my first AA this year. If people like you are hesitant, maybe someone like me should reconsider...

>>8816985
it's not the brush setting, it's erasing the brushstroke at the edge to make it hard

http://www.ctrlpaint.com/videos/hard-and-soft-shadow-edges

explains it better, the whole library is good.

>>8816897
No offense, anon, but I think that maybe YOUR monitor is the one that's slightly off?

Your edit blends into the background much moreso than the original.

>>8817130
Oh shit, that reminds me that I have to get that stupid insurance for Melbnova. Which 'nova are you doing, Anon? I could only afford my table by sharing with two others, but it's going to be super squishy.

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>>8812696
>>8812726
>>8813215
>>8813449
Thanks for the advice, guys! I tweaked the lines a little bit from the original to change some of the widths - the outside has a slightly thicker line than the rest, and I've also tapered some to give it a bit more impact.

Once I put the colours over it, I feel like I lose some of the effect, but I think it still looks better than the original. Any concrit on the colouring, please? (I decided against using my regular 'crayon' style of colouring and went for a simpler, flatter cel-shading style)

>>8817393
Brisbane! Three to a table sounds so squish.

I did just realize that AAMI does $99-for-3-months public liability insurance specifically for market stalls/indie sellers, which is AMAZING compared to the $500 I thought I'd have to shell out before.

>>8817394
I think the colours aren't bright and saturated enough to be eye-catching on a button, and there's something about the way you shaded the hair that just doesn't look very good, just randomly putting light and dark strokes.

>>8817404
Thanks, anon! Colouring really isn't my strong suit - what would you suggest I do to fix this?

>>8816993
You are a blessing, thank you!

>>8817409
The colours seem pretty washed out so even just upping the saturation would make a huge difference. One thing that I'd suggest is maybe pushing the different hues in the colours you use to shade. The skin, for example, could possibly benefit from shading with a more reddish hue.

I'm pretty new to understanding colour theory and stuff myself, so just take my opinion with a grain of salt! Also I haven't slept all night so sorry if there's any weird wording, haha

>>8817316
OH. This. Okay, now I see what you're saying, thank you!

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>>8817394
My suggestion

>>8816875
Honestly, that sounds like something that would sell better online. If you want to bring shirts to cons then maybe do 2-4 designs, with 2 or 3 shirts in each size for each design. That would give you enough stock for the con without being super bulky, especially if you pack them into vacuum bags. People tend to make impulse buys at cons so order forms would only be a good idea if they were super quick and simple to fill out (size, design, paypal, basically). If you don't sell them at the con, Etsy is your friend.

>>8816875
Most shit people buy at cons is impulse buy. You could maybe have order forms for nonstandard sizing and additional designs but really people want to walk away with something.

>>8816993
You're a saint. Thank you so much!

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>>8817394
I think that it would liven your piece up if you shaded with colours that aren't just a desaturated version of the reference colours. So I added a bit of red in the skin and some purple on the apron. Also boosted the saturation up a bit on the hair and pants.

>>8816993
Thank you so much for this!! I've been afraid to ask because people would jump on me for wanting to be "spoonfed" or something.

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>>8817394
The issue is that you shaded with too much grey. In the hair and face, it just flattens and makes it look blah because instead of using a color it's gray. It's a very common mistake people make. Here's my crappy quick edit for reference.

>>8817944
OH wow, sorry I just realized how bad my english was in that. Instead of using the color gray, try using shades more to the upper right in the color selector, they are more saturated and make things look less muddy.

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>>8817394
Bringing in some warmth would be nice but it seems like the character doesn't actually have any in their skin so avoiding too much red might be a good thing.
I added in warmth but you could probably also do the opposite if you're not a fan of it. Bottom row is random levels of contrast and brightness. I was looking at anime screenshots to match the colours but looking at art of him I could have made his hair more yellow.

>>8817172
Same anon here. I'm preparing for my first AA but I barely have any online following and as you can see from my previous post, I barely nake any sales online. I'm hoping to make some sales by tabling, but is this a mistake? I know I'll be losing money becuase it's not a local con, but I'm willing to take the loss for a learning experience. Any advice on this?

Also, people say not to take too many products to your first con, but some people also say that if it's not a local con, it's better to take a lot even if it's your first time. Both sides make sense, so I'm a bit lost. Any advice would be appreciated!

>>8817394
Just stopping by to say this is so cute, anon! I'd definitely buy it if I saw it at a con!

>>8817994
Genos has artificial skin which is just like skin, so I don't think a bit of redness is unwarranted 2bh.

>>8818007
>>8817130 is spending 500 but that's proportionate to her income. how much does the con cost? worst case scenario how much money will you lose?

>>8817394
Please get rid of those white dots in his eyes, his eyes do not reflection since he is a cyborg. In fact, a better idea is to have his gold parts of the eye glow a bit since I find the most attractive and noticeable part about Genos is his eyes.

Where are you going to sell this btw?

>>8818007
Having a following helps because people will be looking for you but I also know some people who keep to themselves online but are skilled enough that their art catches the eyes of passersby who don't know them and still do really well. Online sales can be a weird metric for success in that situation. I'd say see what other artists have been in attendance at the con in question. If you're more or less on par, you can try but be ready to work for success knowing you might not do great

>>8817994
It doesn't matter if the character is artificial. The colors are infact muddy because the hair and skin were too grey, like what >>8817944 was talking about. Even if he's part robot or whatever, the fact is the colors weren't very cohesive and looked muddy in the areas because of the grey. That is why you shade with reds, blues, etc. I think a mixture between your newcolors and the one I just linked to would be good.

>>8818048
I will probably spend about $800 (hotel, transportation, table, some merchandise and table display supplies), but of course I don't know how much I can earn back, so I don't know how much I will be losing.

>>8818074
I think I'm on par with at least some artists but I know I can't compare with other amazing artists. Should I just be ready to lose money and still try?

>>8818007
Online is a bad metric for those without followers, your art in the end is what matters at con. I've only ever had 1-5 people TOPS say they know me per con i go to, but i still make plenty from strangers (And then they become repeat customers the year after, whether or not they find me online).

>>8818007
What do you sell? Prints are really hard to sell online compared to cons, so if that's what you sell, you might be pleasantly surprised. If you make crafts, or charms, how's your photography? A bad photo will turn people off like you wouldn't believe. It doesn't mean the product is bad though, and because cons are more for impulse buys, people will snatch up anything that looks relatively well made. I used to see those :3 faced Fimo food charms sell like hotcakes, even when there were thumbprints all over the wonky, badly-mixed clay. I don't know how big the con is but I know you should sell something.
Oh, and post your stuff here. Or at least post your store. We can't help you unless we know what you most need help with.

Has anyone ordered shirts (t shirts, cap sleeves or maybe tank tops?) from arts bovine and know how likely stuff is to be aligned to their diagram? The dotted red line and what the mock up with model shows is pretty different haha..

>>8818836
I got a tank top when there was a discount, and it was only a dollar. I'm a size small, but when I got it, a lot of my art was cut off the sides. I think their templates are for the largest size, and they just trim everything down for smaller ones? Definitely don't put any important designs on the sides, or the bottom.

>>8818007
I don't even have a tumblr and I make a killer amount at cons. People aren't showing up to cons for you specifically (usually). They're in the artist alley for artists in general. Your art is what's going to sell, not muh follower count.

>>8818007
If I see a print I really really like, I'd buy it right off the bat regardless whomever is behind the counter, could be the artist mom holding up the fort for all I care. I'd check back later though just to see who it was so next time I can follow up if they show up somewhere in the future.

>>8818007
i had a tiny presence online but I managed to make back 8x ish my initial investment at my first con. You have to understand that convention sales are spontaneous and impulsive maybe like 80% of the time - very few customers buy something because they planned to buy it beforehand. I don't think having a lot of products is a bad thing, but more merch = more of an initial investment. If you have no idea whether or not your stuff will sell in a con environment, it's always, always a better idea to take less and sell out totally than to have a ton of leftover stock. It may feel like you're 'missing out' on potential $$$ if you sell out, but there will always be more cons.

>>8819196
Adding to this (and everything else)

I think it's better to have a small amount (3-5?) of a lot of different items than a large amount of only a few items.

Especially if you're doing prints; You want to cover your display in as many different options to choose from as possible.

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>>8819179
>tfw my two table helpers at my next con are going to be my tiny asian 15-year-old niece (who looks about 10) and my huge, bearded boyfriend.

has anyone made pins/badges from acrylic charms? like i was thinking of getting some "charms" printed but without the hole, and then add the attachment part on the other side. i thought they could be quite cute. (sry my first language is not english)

>>8819332
wear matching outfits

>>8818904
ooh.. dang, i wanted to do a t-shirt but even on sale their shirts are $16, probably not worth the risk.. Do you by any chance have an image of the actual product you got vs the preview they showed you? TY for input either way

>>8819400
Could be popular for itabags if you do the right characters. I think it sounds cute.

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>>8819400
I want to do this as well as get charms with two holes to turn them into necklaces. Perfect for the jfashion crowd.
I was thinking this would work well if you'd print straight onto solid-colored acrylics instead of clear, like pic related. Vograce does it, but has a very limited range of colors. Gimme pastel pink, dammit!

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>>8819400
Vograce does this for you. I've definitely made badges with them before! Pic related. They've actually become one of my more popular items as of late.

>>8820151
oh nice, thank you for sharing! i'll definetly have to try making them, yours look very nice.

>>8820151
that's a super cute idea!

I'm really curious what they can do with the acrylic bits now other than the charms.

Does anyone have any ideas/photos on how to display body pillows for sale? I can't hang more than one without infringing on my print space, but if they're folded I'm worried people will miss them.

>>8820277
Make prints of them and have like a sign or note that says full dakimura available. You can also just sell the prints as well.

Or use one as a tablecloth and make sure the important parts aren't covered up by the merch on your table.

>>8820277
Like Tim said, make paper signs. I just print out letter sized signs for each daki. You can also have a flip book/portfolio if you have enough designs.

>>8819332
>gigiddity

Suddenly I have a desire to make custom printed band aids but alibaba is only giving MOQ of 10000+ RIP

>>8820814
holy shit that's a great idea, I wonder if any shops would do a smaller min order if you messaged them?

>>8820814
>>8820850
I looked into bandaids years back but I couldn't find a shop with a MOQ under 1000. I did find one that had a MOQ of 750 but it was one color printing on brown-ish plastic.

>>8820814
>>8820850
>>8820907
http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Free-Sample-Best-price-high-quality_60395662412.html?spm=a2700.7724838.30.23.zKuF5x

When they say MOQ: 10 outer carton, hoiw many are we talking?

>>8820925
It's right there anon. 100 pcs per box, 100 boxes per carton.

100 x 100 = 10,000 pcs per carton. So 10 cartons is 100,000 pcs.

>>8820925
100 pieces to a box, 100 boxes to an outer carton. So 10k.

>>8820933
>>8820929
>>8820925
10k per carton...my bad!

For buttons, is it always better to do chibis? I was thinking about putting full sized faces of characters on my buttons. Hope that makes sense. Would something like this work on say, a 1.5" button? If that's too small, 2.25" is my only other option because I own a 1.5" button press and the person I sometimes order buttons from don't do 1.75".

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>>8821248

I think it really all depends on how you format your drawing onto the button itself. I provided a small example from the buttons I've gotten as trades & gifts from friends ranging from: chibi, stylized, and regular bust shots. All of them ranging from 1''-1.75''(?) I think. I personally think 1.5'' should be decent if positioned right.

>>8821614
Thank you for the examples! This is just what I needed to see! Positioning is the key, I see. For bust shots, would it turn people off if some of the hair/head got cut off? I personally don't mind and sometimes I see official merch cutting off 1/2 of a character's hairstyle, but I'm curious.

>>8821654
I never saw that as a problem before in the past? I think as long as you can recognize the character I don't see it as an issue.

>>8821654
I would probably prefer it as it means there's more character in the actual button but it might not be good to do that if they have an important feature on their head.
Like in >>8821614 I think there's too much space around the Kotori button but she's wearing a hat. It probably could have been moved up a little and maybe a bigger body. Mars is a good size but then her hair takes up all the space. I guess you'll have to experiment a lot and then maybe ask in another AA thread what people prefer.

>>8821654
It shouldn't be an issue as long as it looks natural. If it looks more like a closeup than an awkwardly cropped photo, it's fine.

>>8819929
what other colors does coco actually offer? the necklace idea sounds really cute though!

been working on a charm design for link, but im not sure if hes looking good in the triangle shape, is there a way to make him look like he fits better, or is he fine as is? concrit on the actual art would also be super appreciated! Also the actual background is plain since im stil not sure if i want to put it on metallic acrylic or something yet.

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>>8822393
ah crap heres the pic, it didnt attach right

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>>8822396
Your main issue is the legs. The top half looks great! It's the anatomy of the bottom half that's way off. Remember that he's hypothetically sitting on a surface, so his buttcheeks would curve up from the same spot. You'd see the curve of the calf over the curve of the thigh. He looks like he's sitting kind of daintily in my redraw though so idk if you want to mess around with poses or anything? The colors are good, I just shrunk him a bit to fit him in the triangle more.
God, I love OoT Link. Are you going to do Zelda and Ganondorf as well?

Hey, just wondering if any Australians/other oceanic people have ordered from Vograce, and if so how long it took from placing your order to it arriving at your address? I think I'll have about a month of time if I really hoof it with my designs, but I would like to know other's experiences.

>>8822503
aa that looks so much better, thank you heaps for that!! i'll def. fix the legs, kicking myself for not noticing them sooner! and yeah i am doing zelda and ganondorf as well (providing i can make ganon cute lol)

>>8822549 im in victoria and my last vograce order took 2 weeks from placing the order to get to my house! they turned out great and the shipping was fast and pretty cheap

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>>8822396
There's a lot happening on the left which leaves the triangle looking a bit too open on the right. Previous anons reply might help a little with that but you should try to leave a similar amount of space on each side. Also your triangle isn't even as the tip isn't directly in the middle of the canvas.
I resized Link a bit to create more of an even space as his head is nearly hitting the sides and I threw in a shitty background and a white stroke just to experiment.

>>8822549
I haven't ordered from them specifically, but I order a lot (a LOT) of supplies from China using free generic Airmail and they always arrive almost exactly two weeks (including weekends) after shipment.
If you're paying for EMS/DHL it'll only take 3 days.

I have no idea what their processing times are like, though..

>>8822564
>>8822568
thank you guys so much!

How many prints/other merch did you guys have at your first con? A girl I know has been asking for advice but I started my first con with a very full table, since I'd been selling online for about two years prior...

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>>8822567
>>8822503
ok i tried fixing him up based on what you guys said! i tried putting in the sword in to fix the empty space a bit. the white outline was a good idea too anon!

>>8822723
Maybe have the sword pointing the other way? Everything is pointing towards the left, but it's all inside a symmetrical triangle, so there's a feeling of imbalance?

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>>8822736
so more like this? i can see where you're coming from though, thanks for that!

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How do you guys feel about selling needle felted things? I've only seen a few needle felting booths before. I guess just by themselves, they're kind of useless. Maybe if I added a keychain ring or added a pin to it?

>>8822896
do they last very long? how durable are they? If they're gonna be keychains, they gotta be

>>8822896
i kind feel about needle felted stuff the same way I feel about perler bead stuff... sure, some people create amazing stuff with it, but a lot of the time it's shit anyone could do.

>>8822896
anything that looks good in needle felt should be priced a lot higher than it is at an artist alley and everything else is basically really ugly ._.

>>8822896
I don't think what you posted is a good example to show your skill if it is yours because of the blob like shape. Not sure what that character it is but if it's popular then I guess it's okay to sell but people are going to be drawn to detailed felted things.

>>8822965
I think that's a bit harsh. I get what you mean but with perler beads there's no effort and I imagine lots of people would put a lot of care and time into felting even if they're not very good at it.

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thanks for the feedback guys
>>8822924
true, keychains are probably not a good idea. I follow someone on instagram charms and earrings with needlefelts. I've never tested it myself yet
>>8822965
I can definitely see that. The needlefelt tag on IG is painful sometimes
>>8823004
I bought a really cute owl at comic con that was about 4 inches tall and it was $15. needlefelting is really tedious, so the price makes sense
>>8823051
I did make it. it was popular awhile back. it's from animated music video of Ghost by Mystery Skulls. I posted it because I mostly felt little animals. I like to keep them really simple, like spherical birds or snow bunnies I don't know how popular that would be.

>>8822743
I think what's bugging me about the anatomy is that the thigh is too long. If you bump his legs a few more tics to the right it should fix that, but yeah, it currently looks awkward because the thigh part on the leg is much too long.

Also, I know that anon reccomended the white border but I don't think that looks good. Probably because yours is too fat, compared to the very slim white boarder they added around their redraw?

Does anyone here make neko atsume merch?

>>8823104
Not a gull but Shunao has charms of the cats.

>>8823088
I mean i feel like for the good stuff, it should be priced even higher, but i don't know that people would buy it. It just seems like a waste of time as an artist, how long would it take to make that 4 inch owl? Better be less than an hour because if it's two you're making like 7.50 hour right? but i guess i don't know what the time commitment is like.

I hate to shit up the artist alley thread, but does anyone know anyone who sells Borderlands or MGS fanmerch they are huge fandoms but I never find any merch

>>8820151
Hey anon, how much do you sell these? And what size are they? I'm selling 1.5 inches badges from Vograce at 7 bucks...And I was wondering if that was too cheap or expensive.

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does anyone know where i could get laminating film, similar to pictured? i found some listings on alibaba but they have very high MOQ or just one roll of 50 meters of it and the shipping to europe would be waaay over my budget due to the weight.

This is just me ranting. I have only one artist friend so I would be so thankful if she reblogged my art, but she never does. But she's always reblogging commission info and store updates of random artists she doesn't even know to support them. I'm always reblogging her art and compliment her, but I get not even one Like from her. It sometimes frustrates me so much. She's the one who got me into AA in the first place so I don't know what the big deal is. Am I just being dumb?

>>8823614
My friend who is fairly popular stopped Re blogging my work too. It's probably about keeping up appearences. She is popular for fanart which I don't make so my stuff has no place on her blog I guess. I get notes without her though.

>>8823623
That I would understand. But my friend and I are in the same fandoms haha. It hurts to see that she shows so much support for artists she doesn't even know but doesn't do that for me, who is her longtime friend.

>>8823614
Maybe she doesn't like your art.

>>8823126
I have a Big Boss dakimakura and keychain on my shop site
http://smashpansy.storenvy.com

aaaaaand there is nowhere near as much fan merch for MGS as there should be. Especially with how rabid the fanbase is and how much of a meme Kojima is at this point.

>>8823614
no one is obligated to give you notes/likes/etc, friend or not. This is just being petty and self entitled.

>>8823614

I'm gonna be frank here and say that it's probably because she doesn't think your art is good and/or have you checked if she's following you lately?

>>8823158
They're 3 inches! I sell them $10 for each or $15 for two online. At cons I do $8 each or $15 for two because I've been too lazy to make a new sign for them. (I sell my small single sided charms for $8 so I just display it with those.) But soon I'll raise them to match the online price.

It sounds to me like $7 sounds fine! You could probably either raise them a dollar and do a 2 for $15 deal or keep them at $7/each.

>>8823614
I understand how you feel. I have a friend who I reblog to support and what not and he never seems to offer support to me. He used to ask me to apply to artist alleys with him all the time until he started dating an artist who does AA frequently at which point, he just stopped asking entirely.


It's frustrating, especially since you two are friends, but there's not really anything you can do and it's not really worth stressing about. She's not really obligated to offer her support, just as you're not obligated to offer yours. It's not that big of a deal, so just focus on promoting your own work and don't worry who's not.

>>8823104
i'm planning on it, not super sure how i'm going about it since I want them to be recognizable to normies but I also don't just want to rip the official art, haha..

>>8823822
Not at you specifically but it reminded me. People who are keeping really close to the official cats are striking a sour chord with me. I mean, there's so much official merch and some artists are not bringing anything new to the table that you can't get from the devs. I get there's not a lot of other places to go with it considering what the game is, but I wish people making stuff would put in more creative energy, even if it is just a new cat toy.

>>8823822
just in passing I saw famous cats from horror series in the style of Neko Atsume, and that's something I would buy. You know different cats from various series in that style could be something people might catch on to.

>>8823827
that's what I feel, you know? like it just seems lazy and to be honest pretty heavily on the side of 'counterfeit' for me.

>>8823843
this was something else i considered. i've also seen people mimic the Neko Atsume but for other species (birds, dogs etc).

>>8823597
I bought some from taobao, but lost the link. It should be somewhere in the /cgl/ archives. The MOQ was still pretty high (though less than Alibaba), and it's still pretty heavy.

>>8823855
I want a bird version of the game so badly. But if you were to go that animal route there would have to be a few more context clues for the game, or you'd just be selling cute animal things (which is fine too, it's just a different bunch of bananas)

>>8823827
Lol this is how I feel lately. Lots of artist will probably have the rip off look since the source is already cute enough as it is. They're competing with (good) official merch that's slowly churning out though. Too bad Hit-Point is based in Japan and I don't think they'll do any Undertale-level bans.

>>8823827
yea i forget who but someone is basically just boot legging official merch, making acrylic charms that link together in a chain just like the official stuff. w h y?

>>8824030
Shunao on tumblr I think? But yeah, there are so many more ways to make Neko Atsume merch without copying the simple style of the actual game.

>>8824048
yea it's basically the same style with less polish and then it's the same chain linking concept. makes me think less of the artist i guess. am i being petty? maybe.

>>8824030
hmm.. I've been adding simple cutesy cats and never heard of Neko Atsume until now. I just looked it up and it's how I've been drawing them in some prints of mine. The style is very very basic and simple, outline - fill - curve and color, hardly a recipe original IP that I think any artist themselves would have drawn themselves. I mean a simplified cat drawing.

>>8822704
If you sold online you a) knew your products would sell at least reasonably well and b) already had the skills needed to make larger batches of items to a reasonably high standard. If your friend is terrible at drawing, I'd say 10-15 simple prints (altogether, not of each design) and some similarly simple stickers/buttons. If she can craft, a few charm bracelets or necklaces would be a good idea, people tend to impulse purchase small things at cons. Buttons are a really good idea no matter her skill level imo, they tend to sell really well.

>>8824102
Nah, I agree. It is kind of questionable. I personally prefer the gijinka or realistic cat routes people have been taking with these.

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>>8824124
yeah, here's a piece of fanart I've seen around tumblr a lot that I like. of course, the key thing with this approach is that it is the sheep cushion that makes it recognizable as neko atsume fanart, so you'd have to stick with featuring the more unique items in the game.

>>8824145
Dang this is really nice. Source?

>>8824160
http://rejamart.tumblr.com/post/136839599714/in-my-game-princess-is-obsessed-with-the-sheep

>>8822896
I sell them as plushies at an absurdly low price. It really isn't worth it unless you actually like needle felting as a hobby in and of itself.

>>8822965
Hey, you're welcome to burn your own time doing it. I consistently sell out of my shit at cons.

>>8823614
I'd be pissed too.
Maybe she doesn't like your art, or, if you are in the same fandom, she doesn't want any competition with you. Maybe she takes you and your support for granted and reblogs only unknown/less known artists because she tries to be friendly and be on good terms with others? It's always good to try to lick ass on tumblr for popularity and more exposure.
I'd try to talk to her about the topic if it bothers you enough to post it here.

Sage for OT.

Have you guys ever dealt with art theft at an artist alley? maybe not specifically your art: possibly a friends, or some artist on tumblr that you follow.
At my local cons there used to be a bit of a problem with tables selling posters ripped straight from popular tumblr artists, and last year I encountered some (very old) pixel art I did in perler bead form. I asked the 'artist' to remove the products and tried to prove I was the original artist, but he refused and became very snappy with me. Con staff basically told me that they wouldn't do anything about it since he had 'recreated' it. I'm pretty sure they didn't sell, but the whole experience left me feeling pretty sour.

>>8824553
usually in an artist alley your best bet is to get staff on your side but it sounds like your staff is a bunch of incompetent idiots. Assuming the perler stuff is fanart, your only course of action might be to bring it to the attention of all the other artists in the alley that the staff doesn't know what art theft is, be that on their facebook page or whatever so you can band together to make staff change their minds.

Basically if the staff doesn't realize they're being idiots then there's really nothing that can stop those "artists" at the con itself.

If you find their work online idk if it's like the US but you can issue DMCAs via most websites (Etsy, deviantart, tumblr etc) to tell them to fuck off online sales.

>>8824553
That's a really shitty move of that artist. On the other hand, plenty of perler bead artists just recreate official sprites, and if they're allowed to do that because it's "recreating", I can get why they're allowed to "recreate" your art. This has to be a grey area if I ever saw one, though.

>>8824678
It shouldn't be a grey area though, perler bead shit that's just sprite rips should be banned at all cons really.

>>8824553
Not art theft, but there's a Florida deco artist that goes by the nickname Sami who will steal from artists and merchants alike. Keep a close eye on your product and money around her.

>>88249165
I think she makes soaps now, but she's changed her shop name and theme like six times the past few months so I'm not sure. But yeah she's very scummy.

>>8824957
Meant this for >>8824916

>>8824906
Yeah, you're right. And rethinking my original comment, I don't think it IS a grey area in this case. Since the original artist is right there, they can say they don't want derivatives of their work sold in this manner. So really, the AA staff was in the wrong.
But if it's fanart this is questionable, because the legality of the original work is already questionable.
It's shitty behaviour, regardless.

Have any of you setup a table at A-kon recently? I did their alley years ago before I got my 9-5 job, and now I'm getting back into the art sales game game. Problem is I absolutely despise A-kon, but I know there's potential for money there. Any good/bad experiences? Advice?

I'm trying to find info on their website about artist alley registration, but seeing nothing at all other than concerns over bootlegs. What a shitty and sparse webpage layout.

>>8825035
IIRC they haven't made any announcements about AA registration for this year.

>>8825035
Their AA is a cluster of people in a room, they have a new hotel the past two years or so, and the AA is a badge required area now from when they where at the sheraton. If I recall it was a foot or less between the booths for areas? I could be wrong.
Also, glad I'm not the only one to hate A-kon. tempted to do AA for that sweet weeaboo cash, but god damn I don't think I can. Same for shit stain animematsuri. Feelings>Money.

>>8825114
That's what I figured, thanks. I've seen other cons sell out in under an hour so I'm paranoid.

>>8825118
Blargh. It felt tight back in the day when it had lots of space. The artist tables went on forever, which I assume hasn't changed.

Yeah, I'm an old fart,... A-kon in 2000 being my first anime con, back when it was "Airport con" but way more pleasant. I've also done cosplay masq. at A-kon and that alone makes me hate them. Also, was one of the fortunate people in the masquerade audience who had glass rain down on them when those idiots shot a tshirt cannon in a room full of chandeliers.

I just have to decide if it'll be profitable enough, coming in from 8 hours drive. I have friends in the area, but not having a hotel room seems like a pain in the ass if you do a huge table setup.

>>8824957
Did we perhaps meet at Umicon and make noose jokes about the experience?

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>>8824553
Unfortunately, the only immediate way to deal with it is with the con heads, and they're usually rubbish.

I've seen these assholes at several cons already. When we reported him at sacanime, the head just shrugged and said the guy was an "official reseller." I finally pulled the trigger and sent Disney a tip about them, since we know the mouse is a fcking nazi about this shit.

If con heads won't do anything, rally online fandoms or try to go straight to the copyright holders.

>>8825386
Ah yes, I saw your tumblr post. I'll make sure to clog the Florida con tags to make sure even the buyers know they're frauds.

Hey guys, I've been doing some research to buy acrylic keychains from Vograce, but I just need some advice, please.

I couldn't see what the minimum number order is on their site. Does anyone know?

Also, how would I go about using a proxy? I'm really sorry for my stupid questions, but I'm fairly new at this board, and any advice would be greatly appreciated!

>>8825447
If you bothered to just F3 this thread, you would've seen this >>8816993 >>8816996

>>8825157
a-kon AA sells out in 14 seconds, good luck

>>8825447
They don't have an MOQ. It's worth ordering at least 25 because of shipping, imo, but you can just order one.

>>8825471
Yeesh. So many people running to crap con. Stupid finances.

On rare occasions, I've seen a tiny number of people that buy a print and later in a day or so ask for a refund with some sad story. Basically one could tell they are being cheap, and went to the nearby copy shop a block away and copied it. Anyone ever put a ALL SALES FINAL tag on their table, as corny as it sounds, may have to I suppose.

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>>8825751
>Basically one could tell they are being cheap, and went to the nearby copy shop a block away and copied it
People do this??? What the fuck?

>>8825764
I wouldn't have believed it myself if I wasn't sharing the table with her, and I we looked at each other - sorta hmmm, and just chalked up the loss. I saw it happened a few times too, made me wonder if one guy buys one, later returns, another picks another print - and same returns, I lost track but it was a couple, always a single print when I think back.

But I'll remind her to simply write it in on our table, all sales final. Working in retail it had been easier to point to that sign when someone tries a return. But yeah wanted to share it could happen, and we were like didn't want to make a scene by scolding a customer with our ideas of why they are doing that.

>>8825751
that is so fucked up.

I've only ever had one customer try to return something and it was a friend of a friend. She claimed she didn't save up enough for food and I just responded with "oh, that's too bad". I offered her some of my granola bars and other snacks but she refused which made me even more weary.

I found out from my friend that she wanted the money back so she could buy a Paranorman/Dipper Pines commission from another artist.

>>8825751
What the hell, I can't believe stuff like this really happens. Gotta remember to put that "all sales final" tag next time.

hey I know that business cards don't seem to be very successful (in getting more followers/sales/etc), but they still seem to be a staple for artist alleys, so I wanted to redesign my own very outdated ones.
Wondering if anyone could share pics of theirs/others' business cards for ideas/inspiration - what ones have stood out for you?

>>8825929
I think what realllllllly works now is just make a small print and stick it on your table like a display a with little camera icon and say "take a picture" and list whatever contact info - web links etc. It's cute and interactive in a sense - instead of take and grab card (which I've done and watched ppl take a card and don't even talk to you - wtf, shoulda just held the cards and only give to those that seem interested after some convo - ugh - packing tape business card to table lol "say how do I get a card like that - not taped to table lolol"

>>8825997
>>8825997
ohh, I've never heard of that before, but that sounds like a really neat idea! I know what you mean - loose business cards seem to be a grab and go thing. I'll definitely try your suggestion out!

>>8825751
this is actually really stupid considering most artists put their work online with minimal watermarking, just fine to print out

>>8825997
sometimes i do the 'get a card w/o talking' thing if they're looking at me expectantly but i dont wanna buy anything. i look at their website when i'm home.

>>8826398
not that you should print it out yourself, but its gotta be less effort than buying and returning all that shit and it'd get you the same quality image.

>>8826398
I don't understand why some people don't put any watermark at all. A er determined person will still steal/print out a personal copy of watermarked arteorks, but it's always a good idea to put some kind of a watermark.

Regarding the "all sales final" tag, would you strongly advise against this? It sounds like a good idea to avoid unnecesary drama but does sound a bit cheesy.

>>8826467
water marking kinda fucks up the art/composition generally.

it's a balance between water marking to prevent theft and not looking so cocky that you think your art would even be stolen. artists just can't win

>>8826531
But why would it seem cocky? It's your work and even if it sucks so much that noone would steal it, I think it's always a good idea to mark what is your own (unless maybe you're so good and famous that most ppl would recognize your work). It's really not much different from putting your signature on it. I understand why some people wouldn't use it for compsition reasons, but I don't see a harm in putting your blog url and name somewhere on your work...but god do people really think it's a cocky thing to do?

>>8825860
What the heck. If I were in your shoes and the girl had just told the truth, maybe said something like "Hey, I'm sorry but I commissioned an artist here and I realized I don't have enough on hand to pay her, would it be possible to return these and I'll get them from you again at a later time? " I would probably have taken pity on her. That was sweet of you to offer her food but hot dang why do people lie?

>>8826588
Also, save up more for a con or don't make so many impulse purchases instead of lying to get her money back from an artist.

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New thread >>8826738

>>8822308
Whoops, forgot to answer. See pic. There's a few colours that seem usable, but the green is weirdly inconsistent between the photo and the swatch on the right, which worries me a little. Maybe I'll order samples sometime soon. I'll post pictures if I do!