Artist Alley: Generally Speaking

What do you guys do on the 'off' season? I sold at my first con this summer (also attended an art show) and now I'm excited to do more but con season is pretty much over. I've been working on new merch for next year but it just sucks. I applied to the few winter cons in the area but I waited too long and ended up waitlisted.

>>9254341
Have you considered looking at smaller fairs? I've done a couple and I'm doing my first AA in January.

>>9254342
My problem is that my work doesn't usually fit in with most of the smaller art fairs. Everything here is mostly fine art or craft shows. My work is more horror oriented/surrealist and it's hard for me to find shows in general. I get into the anime cons and I recently tried a sci-fi con. I haven't been rejected from anything as of yet but it would be nice to find some place that I felt my work was more suited to.

>>9254341

I finally graduated from grad school and have all this off-season time now that I'm trying to find things to go with. I've personally decided to work towards a zine or art booklet and have been working to grow my follower base on Tumblr. Whether this turns out to help come con season or not, I'll wait and see. I've done one new print I will definitely sell next year but I'm also waiting to see what new shows pique my interest. I'm discontinuing a lot of prints and don't know if I want to just draw the same pair better or try to fill with new shows.

Also, I'm going to finally try to do business cards that reflect me as an AA person and not simply "I'm a graphic designer." Do y'all tend to put your best fanart on your card or do an original illustration? My cards now are very nice, but don't fully reflect the art I draw (because they have no art at all, just type). I don't want my cards to get passe in 6 months because of the fandoms on them, but I also don't want original work to be overlooked. Thoughts?

>>9254347
I do not put art on my card because i don't like encouraging people to get a free card instead of buying art. Idk i'm weird like that.

How do you gulls feel about artists with tip jars?

I feel like I've been seeing more artists with them recently.

>>9254359
>>9254347
Do people actually take business cards just for the art on them? I mean, it's so tiny and there's text on it, it's not like they can display it.

Anyway I'd put a little bit of art on them, might as well since you're selling yourself as an artist. Usually of something original, something that reflects you.

I was wondering do you guys do well selling things like magnets, decals, window clings, etc....?

I know things like prints and stickers are the most common stuff, but I'd like to have a variety of stuff for my table since it's my first AA table and don't want to just do stickers and charms.

>>9254361
Eh I don't care. If people want to tip/donate, they're welcome to. I personally don't have one but I don't see any drawback to having one.

>>9254369
Magnets and decals do pretty well, but I've noticed that 99% of decals are just ripoffs of official art or logos.

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>>9254487
I'm planning to do stickers and stuff of my own art. I've got some stuff that's more vector style that could probably look neat as a decal. Places like walmart and staples sell inkjet window decal sheets. I thought it might be cool to print some up. Though I'm worried they may fade over time since I don't think you can really add a protective top coat to it since they usually cling inside the window facing out.

For the plush artists, what do you do when you spend a fair amount of time on something but you aren't quite happy with it. Like, you think its got a bit of derp and you aren't super proud of it but you think it might sell. Do you just suck it up and take a loss or do you try to sell it?
I am trying out a few different patterns and styles right now and I'm having trouble getting myself to where I want to be but I don't know what to do with the casualties.

>>9254506
Always try to sell it. Throw it in a grab bag or mark it as reduced if you're unhappy with it and just want it gone, but always try to sell it because sometimes the imperfections are only noticeable to you and someone might love it. I had a friend who sucked at making plush and gave up halfway through, hot glued the shit out of everything, hated the end result, but sold out of them in one con. If it makes you feel better just think about how the profits will go to new materials so you can make something better.

>>9254361
If it's sitting on the table and subtle, or has a cute note attached that doesn't sound super desperate like "Coffee fund" or whatever I don't mind it. If it's really obvious and obnoxious and the artist is making a point of directing you to it then no, get that shit off of there.

Somewhat related but does anyone have one of those tip boxes where you put a coin on it and a cat/panda pops out to grab it? I keep seeing a ton of those but I can't imagine they're all that profitable.

>>9254571
I imagine the little cat box brings in at least some change since they're something cute that people can put a penny or two in. I've been wanting one.

>>9254578
My friend who draws a lot of kaiju stuff has the godzilla version and people really like it, but of course, it's themed to the majority of his table.

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>>9254506
Try and sell it.
If it's a design defect, there's always someone with different tastes. Market it differently.
If it's an issue of structure/craftsmanship, someone's always willing to settle for less. Lower the price.

>>9254636
why did you have to bring back my old shame?

>>9254364
A lot of people come to cons with little/no money and just collect every single free thing they can find. I see a ton of people every con just hit and run my business cards and add them to a huge stack without even glancing at me or any of the work on the table. They're just collecting. I could see how a plain card with just info would discourage that kind of BS. I also just stopped keeping my cards on the table.

When do we know whether or not we got into Fanime?

>>9254364
Some people make double sided business cards. Art on the front and info on the back.

Sometimes I wonder if that's the reason why almost all 500 of my business cards went at the last con I was at.

>>9254802
any where from early january to april.

>>9255010
Is it really that bad? This is not gonna be good for people flying in from out of state.

>>9255023
Well, 2014 - April 2nd (First year of this jury system)
2015 - April 8th
2014 - January 23rd

ssooo... yea. I fly from out of state so believe me, i know it is Not Good.

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I sell apparel and plushes. I can't ever seem to make my tables look good. Does anyone have any good table inspiration for that sort of thing?

>pic related, not my table but mine is just as basic and boring

>>9254369
I decided to do magnets for next year because people kept asking me so I'm hoping they sell well. I've sold two on Etsy so far and I'll add more designs if I think they'll make me more profit

>>9254347
Ha, I made my first zine as well! Guess it is the perfect time for it. My business cards have my logo and business name on one side and my info on the back. They're not super flashy and I personally don't mind if people just collect them. I wouldn't do full fan art though.

>>9255165
Can you get some prints of your tshirt designs or whatever to have displayed maybe? Unless by apparel you mean hand made clothing and accessories?

>>9255547
I don't sell t-shirts or any sort of prints, hence my difficulties in displaying them or finding good examples. I sell handmade skirts, scarves, hats and multitudes of varying accessories. Almost everything is OOAK as well.

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>>9255557

>>9255604
>>9255557
yeah you need some kind of pretty backdrops for your things. maybe even tiny fairy lights n stuff.

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>>9255557
Consider things like your booths color scheme, your signs, decor like fairy lights or flower garland to make it pop. Maybe something like tiered displays.

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>>9255671

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>>9255675
Also if you can't add a bunch of decor. Consider a bit more eye catching colors for your table cloth and sign?

>>9254347
I do double sided and put art on my cards just so the one or two people who actually do want to use me for stuff remember what my art looks like. Ive gotten 1-2 jobs from people who later remembered my art from my card and commissioned me. I know most people collect them at cons tho but im not too bothered by that desu

>>9255165
Try to find a good minimalist fabric to use as a cloth over the top of your usual table cloth,attracts the eye. Nothing too jazzy, maybe with small stars/pastel pattern. Commission an artist/draw yourself a cute mascot looking thing and make it into small posters listing off what you do so you can stick em on the side. Im not sure what you could do with the mesh though.

Will say for artists with very pastel work, black backing boards are your best friend for displaying your works.

>>9254336
tfw when Jill's set up is great but her art is fucking terrible.

Is anyone uncomfortable about artist they follow now? The election happened and I'm sad along with a lot of people, but I've seen mutual artists attack rando trump supporters on social media. tl;dr how to handle

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>>9255165
I like the way 1%talent sets up his booths. Just make sure it doesn't bother your neighbors I guess.

Did any AA anons go to PMX and was it worth it? I heard that the con was pretty much dead the entire time besides the fashion portion of it.

>>9255828
They're talking about it on lolcow

>>9255828
A lot, yes. It's a bit off-putting that a lot have shown their more SJW tendencies and are hypocritically preaching love while automatically judging those with opposing views. I don't want their political views shoved down my throat, especially since majority of them know close to nothing when it comes to politics.

>>9255859
is it? I looked at their version of /b/ and can't find the thread

>>9255961
It's on /snow/. There's a thread about AA lolcows

>>9255604
cover wire cubes with a piece of fabric/sheets of decorative paper. I never find them to be good looking and makes the whole display look amateur. the banner by itself looks pretty bad imo, maybe try hanging a row of pennant banner across?

>>9256002
That's not the anon's display. It's a random image pulled from google.

>>9255850
A friend's company was in the dealer's "hall" which was 2 rooms split between two different places? They made no money whatsoever, it was dead.

Hello, gulls.
I plan on doing commissions for the first time at a booth coming up soon, so I was wondering, what paper do you guys use? Just regular sketchbook paper?
I plan on doing b&w and watercolour commisions, should I use fancy paper (I have watercolour paper lying around) or just stick with regular paper?

>>9256325
>watercolors
>on regular paper

have you never used watercolors?

>>9256325
watercolor paper isn't "fancy paper", it's not even that expensive. i don't wanna bite your head off dude, but if you don't even want to use the right tools for the job, why would you sell commissions?

>>9256432
not him, but the point is that he's asking what tools to use so that he can do it right. at least from what i gather? granted it's kind of a silly question, but it's a question nonetheless.

>>9256458
It's a stupid question because who wants to pay for a shitty wrinkly watercolor? An artist should know their tools and bring what they're comfortable using and what looks good.

>>9255828
>>9255859
>>9255880
I have a hard time understanding why you guys don't just unfollow or confront them? Why are you just complaining to each other about artists and then refuse to just unfollow them all?

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This is a long shot, but does anyone know the artist who makes these? I bought it last year at Comikaze and I've since lost her business card. Google and etsy have failed me.

>>9256464
>>9256464
Because the artist community is small and any ripples can have negative consequences? Why is that so hard to understand?

You are also making leaps in assumptions of the situation, perhaps you are that type of person described in op?

>>9256693
Negative consequences for who? Are you trying to say you guys talking about them is their negative consequence so you have to keep talking about them? Or are you afraid of them talking about you if you say something? Either way, seems like a lot of drama that doesn't belong in this thread.

>>9256723
Welcome to /cgl/. A massive head trauma of unnecessary drama.

>>9256726
why can't we just all talk shit about that hemorrhaging unicone

>>9256723
I think that this line of conversation isn't causing drama as long as no names are dropped. Having a conversation about what is going on within the community is important and healthy instead of staying quiet.

I mention negative consequences as being confronting these people will result in ///BANNED FROM CERTAIN ARTIST ALLEYS/// I don't know why you're projecting something else

>>9255604
>>9255651
>>9255671
>>9255675
>>9255689
>>9255718
>>9255830
Thank you so much for all the good advice!

>>9256745
i feel like being BANNED FROM ARTIST ALLEY for being a trump supporter is kind of laughable lol

>>9256800
I'm a Hillary supporter though? Do you just automatically assume people who don't agree with you are Trump supporters? This is the type of attitude that plagues all artist social medias right now and it's toxic

>>9255828
No, but to be fair I come from a background of small press of the Inform the Masses / DIY variety so... the artists I follow as well as my own social media presence have always been somewhat political, and while I'm certainly seeing people talking about the election I haven't seen anyone outright attacking anyone else. But.. given the state of the internet, I'm also not surprised to hear of it.

>>9256325
Use the watercolor paper, it will hold the medium better.

>>9256821
I'm laughing at you thinking random artists have power over who's getting banned or not. A sjw artist runs just as much risk being banned from an alley or even more so than someone who's saying everyone shouldn't be so ~~~toxic~~~ from what i can see and who runs alleys

>>9256325
>>9256417
>>9256432
playing devil's advocate here but I've used watercolor and gouache on sketchbook paper before with no noticeable distortion. Decent sketchbooks are going to have thicker paper.

Also really depends on how much time is being spent on these commissions/how much you're charging. If these are going to be quick paintings then I don't really see the problem with selling them on regular sketchbook paper. Hell, I saw someone sell a commission made on a sticky note before.

>>9256859
>random artists
I never said that? The people I'm talking about in particular to my situation are artists and the head of certain conventions to my area. Why are you personally getting invested into this?

>>9256723
To be honest if I were to have spoken up, especially the 2-3 days after the election, I would have lost tons of mutuals. People I enjoy talking to. I don't even like Trump but even if I were to simply say "the world isn't ending" I would have gotten so much shit.

It was kind of amazing really. It was like the apocalypse had just happened.

>>9256938
ngl the few days after the election was a difficult time to exist as an artist/business person on social media

if you post trump hate, you lose followers
if you post hillary hate, you lose followers
if you post other content like art, people think you don't care and you lose followers

i just made a sort of ambiguous post about being concerned for america and i still lost followers

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>>9256733
You called?

>>9256938
But you probably didn't say that because you knew people were really upset right? And you knew saying something like that would be like saying "get over it, stop feeling bad" so you didn't because you're not a jerk, right? I assume you enjoy talking to them enough to know not to shit on them if they're distressed?

In my experience, people didn't unfriend others because "difference in opinion", but that they were assholes enough to tell them to stop talking and stop feeling angry. Are you really surprised a weak ass friendship like that would survive anyway?

>>9256953
Pretty much, I posted a simple comment to at least show I knew what was going on and I still got shit.

>>9256959
Of course not, that said I'm not American so I only know half/half what was going on and was more confused then anything.

I have seen people overreact though, not everyone they'd block or talk shit about was being a dick. I've seen people who tweeted neutral stuff get attacked because they didn't say "america is done for" or something.

>>9256953
I only gained follower lol. I made ambiguous posts in a language other than English and slowed down on the art posting, but still posted art. Also direct comfort posts at people instead of America as a whole ie. I hope you will feel better vs I hope America will be okay. Either way, I think politics are a touchy subject. It's hard indeed.

>>9256958
yes thank you

Does anyone have a link to an alibaba custom washi tape supplier? Or is pundy the way to go?

>>9255850
they need to stop putting shit in different rooms.

>>9256981
Found this one though I never ordered from them before.
https://beautyplus.en.alibaba.com/productgrouplist-803471227/Masking_Tape.html

>Pundy
I'm pretty sure the people from AANI were looking for another supplier since Pundy wasn't that good.

>>9256958
Can't believe I'm nostalgic for this simpler time.

>>9257007
Pundy wasn't good? Details?

>>9257074
I didn't follow the thread that closely, but most of the designs were too dark and others too light, some parts were misaligned and the person who did the GO complained they didn't provide clear instructions.

>>9257007
thanks! Even without being sure this one is good w/ its minimum it might be worth just trying.

>>9257125
No prob! Let us know if you inquiry them! I think some AA use them because of the sample designs they post on their page.

Who helps you with your table? I'm going to a con next month that is 4 hours away and 3 days long and I might not have anyone to help me with the table. What do I do? I've done one day cons by myself, and it was absolutely terrible, I can't imagine doing a 3 day con by myself....
The person I use to do tables with, I'm no longer friends with, and others have moved or have no money or work.
I can't do cons alone. I'm stressing over this.

>>9257356
Do you have a S/O, friend, or family member you could trust or has some kind of experience working a booth or artist alley table?

>>9257360
Only one, and I'm not sure if she can go yet. Only other people I know live over an hour away and can't drive, so I'd have to pick them up which I REALLY don't want to have to do since I'll already have to be driving for over 4 hours for this con.
Everyone I know I either stopped being friends with, live too far away, or under 18, which would be awkward since I'm 21.
Tried making friends with other artists at cons, but they always end up just ignoring me. Every time I do actually end up making a friend at a con, they end up being super young, like around 16.

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hey guys. I recently made a choker with snap buttons, but the raw edge of the leather I used looks so bad. I want to use these clamp on enders like in the pic but I can't find them anywhere. I can only find the clamp ends with the loop for a jump ring.

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>>9257386
I'm not sure if this is right, but are you looking for something like this?

This came up as a clamp buckle. Though I'm having a touch time finding anything like it on other site.

>>9257386
I'm searching aliexpress and seeing if I can find things that work.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/High-Quality-Inner-Size-20-3-5mm-Leather-Magnetic-Clasp-Connector-Bracelet-Clasps-Buckle-DIY-Jewelry/32520961729.html

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Newest-Clasp-Matter-Silver-Gold-Plated-Leather-Bracelet-Magnetic-Clasp-Buckles-Jewelry-Findings-Components-JJAL-C78/32521301698.html

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Most-Popular-Stainless-Steel-Fold-Over-Buckle-For-Wrist-Bracelet-10mm-3mm-5pcs-lot-sold-by/32628263414.html

I found a few things on ali. Also try searching flat leather clasp buckle or some variant, you might have better luck since some stuff was popping up on google and ebay with that search term.

>>9257394
>>9257404
thanks guys. the ones you posted are connectors. i just need something to cover the raw edge of the leather. basically like this picture. i need those clamps without the little loop at the end. you just squeeze them shut with pliers. i see them on chokers in store a lot, but i can never find them at la fashion district or online

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>>9257445
Do you mean something like these?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Metal-DIY-Ribbon-Cord-Clamp-Ends-Crimp-Clip-Beads-Connector-Silver-Tone-500PCS/

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>mfw watching people in the AANI actually liking and defending Rob Liefeld's horrible anatomical work.

>>9257456
oh wow. didn't expect to find them at walmart. i need them 25 and 30 mm wide though. thank you, i can try searching using those keywords. not knowing what to call them was making it difficult to find.

>>9257493
Yeah. You can find all kinds of odds and ends at walmart. Was surprised when I found them on walmart's site through google search.

>>9255828
The only people that unfriended me this election cycle were other artist alleyers, including people from here lmao. Everyone else has been pretty civil, even if they're dissapointed or angry at the results.

>>9257460
But anon he works SO HARD and he's in the industry unlike those JEALOUS LOSERS who have to put other people down! He is so dedicated he even draws while he's driving, everyone should strive to have his work ethic and crank out page after page even if he makes mistakes omg like haven't you ever made a mistake?

>tfw people actually think that way

>>9257460

Are the people posting in AANI all there in hopes of selling what they are working on? That can't be. It just can't.

Did Acen ever send out their "second wave" of emails after day 1?

>>9257460
Man, the principle of the post is such shit though. Think if it was Thumbcramps or some tumblr shit.

>>9258609
It wouldn't make sense with someone like that though, the post works specifically because it's punching up at someone who is paid very well for shit art.

>>9258576
Well they're waiting for people to cancel, drop their tables etc and then they'll send out the next round of emails. For now I think they just added people to their mailing list

>>9258644
This. Liefeld has been paid as a professional for doing really bad art with shit anatomy because he works quickly and makes his deadlines. The "omg u guys are being so MEAN" over Liefeld art is just eyeroll worthy.

Has anyone in this thread had an issue with their art ending up on eBay and AliExpress? I just found my own merch floating around being sold by multiple Chinese sellers while I was looking for cute, cheap shit. What do?

>>9259461
I've also heard he's a real blast to work with and be around. That goes a long way in that industry.

>>9259948
Do you order from Alibaba? That's kind of the risk of it because they have your files.

Also, somethings people from China just steal shit they find on the internet, and I don't think there's much anyone can do about it.

>>9259970
Yeah, it was probably from an Ali order I made. I don't upload the files of things I plan on selling. I'll only take promo photos after I have the merch in hand. That sucks. I guess it's time to retire that design. Only Trump can save me now.

>>9260165
Sorry to hear about this, anon. I've been paranoid about this happening to me, too. Do you mind if I ask what series they stole your merch for?

>>9259948
Could you tell us the company you ordered from because chances are they will do this again to anyone else using them :/

>>9259948
what >>9260917 said, it's always a risk but it would definitely help mentioning what companies are actually doing so

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Maybe a dumb question, but what's the general opinion of selling perlers? I've recently fallen in love with them and noticed some people at cons pricing them pretty high up depending on the size. Looking at how little it costs to make one, I couldn't really believe it. I've cross stitched all my life and it seems the process of counting squares/color is pretty much the same, so there's no way this is super time consuming either. I've thought about picking it up to sell them at cons, but I'm unsure.

How do people feel about pokemon/similar game related perlers? Is it "wrong" to use the in game sprites and sell them? I've seen people sell every form of pokemon sprite, balls, ect, but to me it sort of seems like art theft. Is it generally considered to be alright to do, or should someone selling perlers be making all their sprites from scratch?

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Does anyone here have a table at NJ Comic Expo this weekend?

This was my first time I've held a table here but it was extremely slow and quiet and I've barely sold anything today. Is it usually like this?

Not just me but other artists, except for the super famous ones, we're barely getting people. Even the super famous ones only got a couple handfuls

Sigh... hopefully it goes better tomorrow. A table cost $250 and I only earned $56 in sales today.

>>9261117
Don't rip off sprites, like the ones you posted.
A lot of conventions are starting to deny artists that do that because of all the sprite-ripping.
If you can make original art with Perlers, you should be fine.

I personally think they look cheap regardless of how you twist it, but that's me.

>>9261117
>what's the general opinion of selling perlers?
"oh look, yet another perler artist."

I like them, they're ok, but there are just sooooooooo many people doing it.

I have no idea how good they are with selling, but there is a lot of competition, and its not like artwork or crafting where everyone has their own style, all perler art basically looks the same.
I think you're a little but late to pick up with it, but idk, I've never sold them. I've honestly gotten kinda tired of seeing them.

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>>9261117
I think they're okay depending on what you make. The market is drowning in a million different rip-off sprite art. If you want to, try to make something useful or different. If I ever do make perler stuff, I'd like to make a few things like tissue boxes or piggy banks.

>>9261133
I don't have a table, but I was wondering if you had any recommendations/advice for NJ cons? I can only find info on Anime Next and Castle Point Anime Con (which already had its AA sign-up deadline even though it's in April). I'm looking for spring/summer conventions that are worth tabling at that haven't closed registration yet.

Also I hope you can at least break even, good luck with Sunday! Sorry it turned out to be crap.

>>9261410
Nj anon here, most of them are crap.
I would reccomend kogaracon at Rutgers and chibi con in Montclair if you're just starting out, those are both one day cons and if I recall the tables are free. I also like kotoricon a lot but it's juried and they have a decently high standard so it might be hard getting in imo. With that said I wouldn't jump straight into animenext, with the move my sales have plummeted and the cost of the hotel and transportation have risen becouse I can no longer commute. Unless you're local to Atlantic city I don't really reccomend it unless you're confident you can break even.
Don't ever do any of the comic cons or derpy con, they are terrible for sales.
Hope this helped somehow, good luck anon!

>>9261515
I was looking into Kogaracon and NJIT MiniCon since their tables are so cheap and the venues are near me. Thanks for the info about Chibi Con and Kotoricon! I'm doing this with a friend who is also new, but I know our art styles/fandoms at least cover a broad range of what sells well (I sell online and she does commissions).

We were planning on doing a few of the small college cons first in the spring and hopefully splitting a table at AN if we can get one. It's a 2 hour commute to their new location, and we have a helper. Were you able to split any of your travel/hotel costs? It sucks that they had to move.

>>9261117
>How do people feel about pokemon/similar game related perlers? Is it "wrong" to use the in game sprites and sell them?
It's the same thing as tracing over official artwork, it's just been ignored as an issue for so long.

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>Someone on AANI whines and says they don't share suppliers

>Next post shares a supplier

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Has anyone here tried selling stamps before? Did they do well or was it a complete flop? I'm not really sure how many to order since nobody talks about them.

>>9261117
A lot of big cons have banned Perler sprites altogether. I agree with >>9262115 here. It's 2016. Move the fuck on from the Perler beads.

>>9262212
I have never seen these before, but I would absolutely buy a few. That's such a cute idea. My only concern with something like this is that the out-there ideas generally either do amazing or crash and burn.

>>9262212
Not sure but I would definitely buy some if I saw them at a con!

Where were you planning on getting yours made? I've been looking to have a stamp made so I can have them on the back of my prints

Does anyone have any suggestions for companies that will have no problems printing adult art?

>>9263112
I got my adult comic printed at Createspace.
As for prints, you can try local shops, as it all depends on the people working there. But I haven't tried adult art. I am also looking for places that print adult work that aren't insanely overpriced.

>>9262212
I made three designs, and I've sold out of both enough that I had to restock but I didn't order very many to begin with. I order 5 per designs, and then restocked 10 of each . They move but they move slowly it's kinda hit and miss, some cons people will be completely fascinated by them other cons people won't care for them at all.

>>9262212
I feel like stamps are kind of an odd thing to try and sell at cons. I don't think the cost of getting custom made stamps would make it worth it. I could see doing it for craft fairs but even then I'd make it a limited thing.

>>9262838
I've seen people do it for prints and packages which definitely seems more practical

>>9262212
friend ordered a couple different designs and sold out of all of them. they were for a niche fandom, but a lot of people seemed interested, since she left some display copies out on her table to play with. i think they'd sell best if suited for general use - things that would look nice in a planner, decorate mail and letters, etc.

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>>9262838
From here! Normally they're too expensive to even fathom but now I can finally pursue this passion project.

Thanks for the input everyone! I'll try a few of each design with some on the table and hopefully all goes well.

>>9263614
Wow this is really awesome?? Did artsmoo just add these recently or were they just a hidden gem?

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I really hope someone can please help me with this, I'm desperate.

I've been searching for something like the picture for weeks, and I can't find anything like it anywhere. I've tried looking up Aliexpress but all of my searches come up with the same cabochon settings, nothing like this particular type with connectors on the sides.

I found this one by chance yesterday at a bead shop in town, but this was the only fucking one they had, and I combed through their entire mess of a store looking for more. Oh, and they charged me $3 for the thing, which pissed me off but I needed to at least have one that I could show people what I was talking about.

Does anyone know where to find these? Or even what they're called? My google-fu doesn't seem to be as effective as I had hoped. PLEASE, I would be so incredibly grateful for the help!

>>9263629
They've had them for awhile I believe. I've heard some mixed reviews but I think the problems caused were from the design and not so much the product itself

>>9263614
How much would you price them to sell? Thinking about picking up a handful, not sure what people would pay for them though.

>>9263701
I saw someone on tumblr pricing them at $10 each. I don't know if this is actually a reasonable price or not but maybe the anons that have previously sold them can let us know.

>>9263714
hm that's not much profit

>>9263726 With the current bundle they have it would be $2 per stamp w/freeship

>>9263740
Damn, thanks for pointing out the thanksgiving sale, I was only looking at their normal shop n tell discounts. Definitely going to order some now!

>>9263751
No problem! I wanted to point it out in text earlier but the system kept saying I was spam and wouldn't let me post LOL.

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So I'm thinking fo getting into quilling again. I'm thinking of making something like in the pic (not mine), how should I price those?

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Opinions? Having difficulties choosing which color suits a stamp better.

>>9264801
red for sure

>>9264801
Seconding red.

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>>9264801
I'm digging the red more.

Also question. What height do you guys generally have your vertical display space? I'm doing my first AA and can't find any rules for the con's AA's display rules. I was thinking of maybe doing something like this about 4ft tall(sorry having trouble finding a better image)

>>9264816
As high as I can get away with. I would always rather have the obnoxiously tall booth that everyone can see over the tiny, wallflower booth. Worst case scenario, the con tells you to lower the display a little. No big deal if that happens. You just lower it to what they want. Until then, higher, higher, higher.

>>9264830
Not really contributing here but I personally tend to avoid tall booths. It's like overcompensating for something. My eyes glaze over them, especially if it's just a tower of fan art prints. It's either really good shiny artwork or just a bunch of low quality prints from every single fandom that's popular atm. But out of curiosity, do you do well at your cons?

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>>9254336
I'm visiting a con next month and I'm really excited. However I have social anxiety (trying really hard to overcome this) and I always find it pressurising visiting booths with >1 people waiting for you to buy something. So;

1. How can I be more normal in interaction?
2. Do artists appreciate little gestures/cards or should I just buy stuff and leave?

hey guys what paper weight do you normally choose for your large prints? i want it to be thick enough to justify selling for $15, but thin enough so it doesn't weigh me down too badly

>>9264943
dude, it's like going to a store. just treat it like you're going shopping.

>>9264943
See I always hate shopping at tables that don't have anyone at them, it's like I can feel the artists eyes on me even when they're not looking at me (which I know is stupid). I always hurry past empty tables, even if I love the art I try to come back when it's busier

>>9264919
I do very well! I mean this in the nicest way possible, but it doesn't matter what other artists think of my booth. That's not who is going to come over and spend mommy and daddy's money on prints and keychains. My big customers are the younger crowd who come over to my booth because it's so obnoxious. Other artists will generally just buy a print or two, and I'm the same way when I'm shopping. I think once you get to a certain skill level, you're kind of like "Oh this is really nice! But I can also do something like this myself, so I won't go too overboard with my purchase here."

>>9265173
The majority of prints I buy from other artists these days are more "artsy" kinds that I can frame and hang on my wall at work.

>>9265186
Same here! It's funny. I actually wouldn't buy anything I currently sell, but when I make stuff that I'm proud of and would buy, no one fucking buys it. I think your average customer really just cares about a good looking FOTM anime print. They don't care about your amazing use of color and composition. They just want holographic prints of cute anime characters doing cute anime character things.

>>9263714
I sold mine for $12

>>9265200
>They don't care about your amazing use of color and composition
>tfw I care but most artists don't bother with it for the reasons you mentioned
One con I went to a few years ago had this amazing artist. The designs looked like fanart but I didn't recognize any of them, it was either original art or ridiculously-obscure series'.
Anyway, that artist employed a lot of interesting color schemes and composition, but their table was pretty dead all weekend; they priced everything really low on Sunday to help move it. It made me so sad.

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https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/899406476/acrylic-chibi-badges-575-adorable-characters

This shit is scammy AF.

>>9265396
Wtf all of those chibis look like they're exactly the same base with different clothes and hair.

>>9265396
>yearly commissions for 50 years
What the fuck kind of goal is this

>>9265396
WAIT FUCK I REMEMBER THIS CHICK
She was at Oni-Con. Her table was just this massive display of a ton of laminated chibis. She tried shilling some to me but the fact that they were laminated turned me off so bad.
Not to mention, like the other anon said, they all look exactly the same.

>>9265410
They approached my friend at a con saying they were getting this machine to undercut charms in AA. They want to sell charms for 3 bucks.

>>9265411
With their disgustingly-large inventory, I can see why

I don't think they're keen on improving the quality, though, just churning out as many as possible.

>>9265396
Wtf all of those chibis look like they're exactly the same base with different clothes and hair.

>>9265396
I'm kind of assuming that tier is more of an "IT'S OVER 9000" joke than anything else

I think they're genuinely underestimating how much of the kickstarter money is going to be eaten up by shipping, though. They'll probably crash and burn.

>>9265409
i'm imagining a sixty year old arthritically opening an envelope stuffed with shitty anime charms

>>9264943
Artists in a crowded vendor's hall appreciate a cold bottle of water and a handful of leftover Halloween candy.
Going to conventions have helped my social anxiety by leaps and bounds. Go up to tables that have merch from series and genres you're interested in. Ask the artist how they feel about the latest episode of whatever. You're halfway to finishing the conversation.

>>9265289
I go out of my way to but unique, original work because it's so rare to see in AA. I spent my last con chatting for quite awhile with one artist because her work was so nice and I was kinda shocked that nobody else was buying anything but it was mostly original characters. I went to my first AA with mostly original work and a handful of fan art. I was surprised by how many people were interested in my work and, idk, it made me feel good that people liked my original stuff even if I mostly sold fan art.

I've never been into drawing fan art and, if I do, it's always stuff that's been over for years and doesn't have a HUGE fandom. I'm in AA mostly for the experience (though of course I want to make some sort of profit) so I don't feel too badly about it. My goal is really to get a bigger following so my online stuff will move.

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>>9265396
God I saw their booth at Saboten, it's just all the same pandering garbage that'll be ruined and thrown away after the con. WHY.

>>9265476
I'm dying lol the imagery is 10/10

>>9265677
i sat next to them at a con recently! Pretentious and rude as hell, very little common courtesy.

Also they sell homestuck.

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So I didn't realize that the cutoff date for the thanksgiving bundle was midnight...I missed it completely. Which is ironic considering i'm the one that brought it up in this thread. I've been searching around for other stamp suppliers but does anyone have any leads? I'm hell bent on getting these stamps to see the light of day now.

>>9265047
100lb

How do you deal with people that go to cons to steal things from the booths? I'm going to have my first one in a comic convention and I'm kinda afraid on how to prevent this kind of thing.

>>9265906
Secure your things to your table if you can! Be watchful of those who touch your products, make sure you have a table helper who does the same. Go around your table every now and then to make sure nothing is missing.

Take small mental notes of people who come by your table in case anything is taken so you can describe them to a staff member. (What were they wearing? Was it a cosplayer?)

Don't be afraid to yell/call out for help and point out someone who is stealing.

>>9265906
Say hi to or acknowledge everyone that approaches. Look like you're attentive enough that you're paying attention to them. If you're really busy, helpers are good. Don't have too many small, loose things that are easy to nab.

>>9265936
>>9265938
Thanks a lot!

>>9265396

They're aiming to price their ~2" acrylics for $4 a pop, so yeah, this is going to be fucking obnoxious to deal with.

I've seen a burst of AA artists selling small 10-20 page art books.
Anyone have any idea where they are getting them done?

>>9265906
Make sure you can see everything on your table. If you have items that are small and are meant to be touched and picked up then put them closer to you. Also, be attentive and let them know that you've acknowledged them. It's always easier to steal something when you think nobody is paying attention to you. Don't forget about the things under your table as well! Sticky hands can sometimes make their way underneath and nab something of value too.

>>9265396
Gross but I liked their KS video.

>>9265476
I don't know whats funnier- that, or the mental image of somebody in their 70s drawing shitty anime chibis

>>9266066
Oh, thanks a lot! I've been considering tying things like keychains with rubber straps, so people can take a look and touch it, but it'd still be tied on the desk, and numbering everything on the desk so as to keep better track of it!

>>9265872
Anon, I just placed an order for the bundle at 11AM PST and the coupon code worked fine even though the coupon page didn't show the offer anymore. Maybe you should try again? The coupon is definitely still working!


And thanks so much to everybody who posted about stamps! I've wanted to make stamps for so long but they're always too expensive to be able to turn a profit. Even if these don't sell well I'll still be happy to have something unique to put out.

>>9266146
I've seen a lot of people use zip-ties to tie merch to their displays
And then if someone wants to buy one, just go get it out of a storage box.
Nothing makes me more nervous than when artists have most of their inventory just laying out on the table.

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>>9266250
It keeps telling me to select shipping for 141$ ? Does that go away or? I've never ordered with them before so I have no idea

>>9266388
Your entire order total is $100, do the math and that should be correct depending on the amount of items you're getting.

>>9266461
The code includes free shipping

>>9266479
Yes? The amount of the order is 459.50 + 141.50 = 601. The discount is for $501. The ORDER TOTAL is $100. 10 items for $20 means you're getting 50 items at $2 each. How is this that hard?

>>9266483
>Yes? The amount of the order is 459.50 + 141.50 = 601. The discount is for $501. The ORDER TOTAL is $100. 10 items for $20 means you're getting 50 items at $2 each. How is this that hard?

Oh jesus. Sorry I got thrown off because I kept thinking that the shipping option should say 0 there instead of the 141.50. I've done a derp. Thanks for clearing that up.

>>9263632
$3 at a bead shop is pretty average...
Did you try asking what their supplier was? Or if they'd get more in?

>>9266018
I'm getting mine printed locally.

Any good Black Friday sales going on for merch? I know zap is doing 25% off clear charms but that's all I've found so far.

>>9264801
The red one is great!

Anyone want to share there AA table at AX? I think I'll have like....6 prints and won't take up much room! And I'm nice and share my chips with you.

>>9267282
*their. Ugh.

>>9258367
Hi pixel

Any Canadian artists here? I got into an american con and I'm not really sure how to go about selling in the states. Any tips, stories or pointers would be really helpful.

I'm sure most artist alley anons know by now how fast anime trends come and go. What are some titles you guys are working on now for merch? Seeing as how suppliers seem to be having year end sales on their stuff, i want to make merch now but there are no cons in my area during the first half of the year. I know everyone's on that Yuri on Ice money train atm, but what else? Are there any "safe" year round title sellers? Any anticipated titles for next year? OPM, BnHA, SNK are all having 2nd seasons so i'm sure those will be the safest for now.

>>9268623

Crazy idea, but maybe you should make merch for things you like instead of hopping on bandwagons for shit you don't know anything about and don't really care about.

Barring that, though, and assuming all you care about is getting with the latest fad, MyAnimeList is a good reflection of what's highly rated and popular, and you can sort through lists of airing/all-time anime there to get a good idea of what the most people have watched and what's hot at the moment.

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So, I have noticed lately a couple of things in AANI that seem to be slightly modified copies of other artist's concepts. Is this common? It makes me want to avoid posting any of my own original ideas. Like, it's not as if the concept of cat mermaids/catfish or cute hamsters with baked goods is something groundbreakingly unique, but they are specific enough that it seems kind of rude for other people to use those ideas after certain artists revealed their projects and designs first. Maybe I'm just being weird but I immediately thought of the projects on the left when I saw the projects on the right in my feed. I also wanted to be a huge bitch and tag the Sweet Ham Ham girl in the other Ham Ham artist's post and say something like "She'll draw them for you! In fact, she already has!".

>>9269393
Technically everything is based off of something and nothing is completely original, so don't take it too personally.

It is funny when something's a direct rip-off of something else, but I mean, as long as they're not reprinting the artist's work or anything, there's not much to do about it.

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I'm trying to make some stickers like pic related but haven't find a nice service that make this kind of custom sticker (with various shapes) and laser cut besides that one on AliExpress on the top sheet. Does anyone have any recommendation? (Specially with worldwide shipping, since I'm living in Brazil now) Thanks in advance

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>>9269438
I've also been looking for this kind of service, anon, but for something a little more refined, like pic.
Up until know I've only had luck with NyanFire, sry
The one in the sheet, with the tumblr url, seems to be pretty good with it.

>>9268623
I'll give you some advice since this has worked for me. Draw what you like. If it happens to be a popular series, great! But do not draw something BECAUSE it is popular. Every fucking artist for the next six months or so is going to be doing Yuri on Ice, Overwatch, Pokemon Sun/Moon, and whatever the next few crazes are going to be. Someone is going to have better art. Someone is going to have better prices. Someone is going to be so passionately into whatever FOTM thing you decided to draw for money that their passion will just shine on through in some half creepy, half inspirational manner. These are the people the customers will go to, not artist #572 who watched the first two episodes of Yuri on Ice and decided to draw six prints thinking they were going to make mad dosh.

>>9269591
>tfw you like all the popular fandoms and are going against a shitload of competition

At least I have my idol stuff as fallback.

>>9269125
>>9269591

I agree with y'all that someone shouldn't draw something just because it's popular and they want to make a quick buck, but to some degree "draw what you like" doesn't always pan out. We're trying to make things people will want to buy. If you've got super super obscure tastes, maybe what you like isn't something that will actually sell. I'm not saying artists have to draw fandom of the month but there's a balance between what you like and what's realistic for your business.

When you're starting out it's hard to carve out that niche for yourself. We're selling to make money, so sadly I'd have to say that if you can make more money selling fandom of the month vs. perhaps something super specific and obscure, then go where the money is. To be honest I've just heard so many people say "draw what you love" and it just doesn't seem to work for everyone. I've never seen someone buy a print for a show they didn't like or recognize but happened to like the art. Maybe others have had different experiences, though.

Also, be prepared that if you do find a niche, it might not be as high paying as doing fandom of the month even if you DO have a steady customer base.

>>9269393
I would love the purrmaids on the left. They have a such a cute "furry" aesthetic without actually being furry

>>9269603
Guess it depends on the niches that you want to fill, it's really a gamble but if you do well it pays off. In my experience I've been drawing stuff for a manga that I'd say quite a few people have read so its not quite obscure but definitely not as popular (but it's been slowly published in English so that may change) and actually a lot of customers have bought the prints or charms because I guess they liked the art style. Sometimes it feels like I get asked what manga it's from quite a lot during cons, I hope some people went home and read it!

On the flip side I definitely had a few failures when I first started out but I think I'm better at choosing what content to make stuff for now.

>>9268623
code geass, it got a third season called "revival of lelouch"

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>>9269393
Both are just copies of the hamuco figurines

>>9269393
This is why I avoid AANI like the plague. Artists will copy one another, it's inevitable, but posting on AANI seems to open the gates for them and they latch onto anything that gains attention.

>>9269393
AANI anon? Sorry I am unfamiliar

>>9268623
You should do Animal Crossing: NL theme due to the new welcome amiibo update and new AC series of cards. That is an incredibly underserved fandom that has universal cute appeal.

>>9269857
Facebook group. Artist Alley Network International.

>>9262212
My friend made and sold stamps at a con, and they actually did quite well if the design is cute. Some people didnt even know the series and stuff bought them.

She put one of each as testers so people could try for themselves out the front

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>>9265476
fuckin losing it over this mental image

>>9266014
>>9265411
Really? I've met them before and they don't seem like the kind of people to charge $3 or $4 for an acrylic when they've charged $4 for a laminated charm in the past. I feel like theyre going to at least charge $7 if not $8-$10 like everyone else. Hell, you can find some artists selling charms online for $6. I feel like that $4 number is probably only for the backers.

>>9269438
like small die-cut stickers? I used ZapCreatives for mine and some stickers were seriously tiny. They printed from RGB, idk if they changed their method recently, which made the stickers print darker but i luckily asked them for printing proofs before they went into full production. They were the best as they didnt have a minimum size for stickers and didnt charge by the kiss-cut

>>9269591
To add on to this: if you want to jump on a popular fandom, watch the show/play the game. Everyone and their mother will have merch of the main characters and popular ships, so focus on minor characters/certain arcs/whatever that you enjoy the most. In big, popular fandoms there are enough people that EVERY character will have fans, but not all characters are easy to find merch of-- passionate fans of minor characters will snap everything up. I have a lot of Fire Emblem Awakening merch, but I focus on minor characters and pairings that I personally enjoy, and I constantly sell out because people are so happy to see their pet OTP rather than the same four characters at every booth.

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I was considering redrawing all of the Triple Triad cards from FF8 and selling them as actually playable set at cons. Is this a bad idea? The frames and numbers would be the original styling, but the character/monster art would be my own.
Pic is of original cards, not my art.

>>9271834
Fuck yes, but i'm just a nerd who enjoyed playing with the original set myself. I would buy your deck in a heartbeat anon.

>>9271834
I don't like the game but that's a neat idea anon. I always love it when I see less popular merch options like this since I personally don't like using money on prints or charms. Like the stamps mentioned previously.

>>9271834
Absolutely a great idea. I'm a big spender at artist alleys, but goddammit I can only buy so many prints before I run out of room. I love keychains, charms, wallets, and all of the more unique choices. I would absolutely buy a deck.

>>9271851
>>9271915
>>9271968
It's great to hear that this isn't a terrible idea! Maybe I'll even make boosters of newer monsters and characters if my initial set does well.

Anime Boston artists, Can I pick your brain for a second? On the website it says

"Even if you obtain a DOR Tax ID, you will also be required to have all other necessary documentation including, but not limited to, a work permit. Work permits are issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services department, not by the IRS or DOR." Under the section for foreigners to get tax IDS. I just wanted to ask, based on past experiences if they ever actually asked you for it? Do all american cons ask you for it?

>>9272416
Do you really want to risk being detained at the airport for avoiding our paperwork? America is not a nice place to end up without documentation right now.

>>9272416
Huh that's weird. Is this common? I signed up for SacAnime and ALA and I don't believe this was asked.

Wonder what's the purpose of asking since the permit should be more than enough.

>>9272944
*selling permit should be enough

Also, for stickers would it be better to sell them by piece or by sheet?

>>9255165
Try adding lots of fake flowers onto the mesh. Flowers make everything better :)

>>9272560
There's multiple ways to get through. In my case it's through an American representative. So I wouldn't have a working permit to show for it which is why I'm asking if this is common because I wouldnt need one to begin with.

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I know this isn't exactly AA related. But I get Uline catalogs and was looking at stuff for my table and stalls and saw this.

>now you too can order sexy zebra print box cutters.

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Anyone have phone charm display inspiration?

I'll have 25 double sided charm designs by the spring. I'd love any tips to prevent stealing and still have them easy to flip over.

>>9272954
Depends on how big and where you plan to sell? If it's on etsy or something then you defs wanna do sets to cut back on listing and shipping fees. If you plan to sell in person and they're big then you can sell single ones if you want.

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>>9273139
This is a really cute way to display them though I dont know how many you could really arrange like this before they get too crowded

>>9273116
Gross are you another Canadian proxy seller?

>>9273166
Elaborate? Do you mean a artist that send someone else to sell their work without them being there?

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>>9273160
That's such a cute display, wow. It looks like they managed to fit 20 idolmaster charms in one of them, so I'm sure if I separated some of my charms I could figure it out! Thanks a lot.

Printing newbie here. I just bought an inkjet printer on Black Friday for printing 2.25" pins. I use regular plain paper to print but the images come out kinda grainy, I had some glossy heavy photo paper left over and the image came out really well but the glossy paper was too thick to make into pins properly. Any way to avoid the grainy-ness?

>>9273612
What printer did you get? Also what printer settings are you using and what's your DPI set to?

>>9273622
Epson Expression Home XP-330 inkjet, printers are set to A4, plain paper, standard quality (highest setting) image DPI is 300, so most people just use regular printer paper for 2.25" buttons? It feels cheap when the images come out grainy

>>9273652
You should take a picture of what the print comes out looking like vs what it looks like with the mylar over it. Might as well try a test button to see if it really affects overall quality.

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>>9273656
Left is printed on Glossy photo paper, Right is regular printer paper, top is regular printer paper made into a button.

>>9273676
Never mind, figured it out, I just need to print on a different paper setting to print as "best quality" instead of standard.

>>9273725
they're cute buttons! glad you were able to figure it out.

Those of you that have multiple social media accounts for your art/crafts, do you post the same things on all of them? I'm having trouble coming up with different types of content...

>>9273676
make sure you're using the right paper profile for your printer so it knows what kind of paper you're using and can adjust the print accordingly!

>>9261117
i think its pretty cringy and dated. i always see one perler booth with no decoration and just some rando old person behind it.

>>9273746
Deviantart/tumblr for finished pieces, though the former is more "portfolio"-ish stuff. Twitter for WIPs. Some pieces I post multiple times, based on how I feel about them.

>>9273166
wait, how many Canadians proxy sell?

>>9274033
A lot. There's practically a whole community of them. Their tables pop up at a lot of cons, but the actual artist is nowhere to be found. Making the good US money without having to actually go through the trouble of traveling. Lots of cons either overlook it or they lie on their applications.

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I've been lurking the Lolita scene for about 5+ years now, but I've always had one question that I've never been able to find an answer to.
What is the general attitude towards older prints of brand items? (Prints released +6 months ago).

>Pic related.

>>9274213
>I've been on cgl and therefore sort of exposed to lolita fashion for the last 5 years but I've never bothered to actually read anything unless it was drama, which is why I don't know the answer to this very basic and stupid question
ftfy, also why tf did you ask that in this thread

>>9274213
>>9274271
I'm going to charitably assume a misfire.

>>9274033
I've been in the Canadian AA scene for a few years and I know almost all artists have sold in the states at some point. Not always by proxy but that's the easiest method since selling in the states is legal hell. I know for sure at least the bigger and more popular artists have been selling by proxy for awhile now since I'll meet them at the con yet see that their studio is also set up somewhere in the states at the same time.

Can you really blame Canadians tho. We have like one big con and it barely scratches the surface of american cons.

A LITTLE GIRL JUSY WALKED UP TO MY TABLE AND BIT ONE OF MY PLUSHIES. what do

>>9274610
Bite her back.

>>9274033
We need to do something about getting proxies banned, it's really unfair to other artists and generates competition for tables and artificially creates more of a demand for tables which cons see and go like "let's increase the size of our artist alley" while attendance stays the same and everyone makes less money overall.
look at what's happened at cons like awa,megacon even ax where the aa was doubled in recent years. A lot of people (not all) noticed a decline in sales.
It just hurts everybody and is straight up illegal if they're from another country.

>>9274610
Sanitize it.

>>9274640
>artificially creates more of a demand for tables

how is it artificial? Those tables ARE in demand, otherwise they wouldn't sell.

>>9274640
>>9274798
The problem is that the demand for slots to sell is higher than the demand of customers purchasing product. The convention is the one with the responsibility to regulate their available slots to match the size of their audience - and sometimes they fail to realize that the desire to table is not synonymous with their ability to sell.

>>9273746
I post WIPs on Instagram, speed paints and sketchbook videos on Youtube, and finished products on Facebook/Tumblr. I don't really post much on Tumblr and I there is some overlap on Facebook and Instagram but not much. I also tend to post more store/sale stuff on Facebook than anywhere else but I'm trying to remedy that next year

>>9269603
I personally hate drawing fandom stuff because I'm not into any newer fandoms and it's boring for me. I do draw fan art from series that I like and it makes me feel even better when people buy it because I know they really appreciate it.

I think people can tell when you're just drawing something for money and trying to make a quick buck. The number of similar poses/styles I see gets repetitive very quickly and that's just seeing the same character over and over again online. It's even worse in AA.

I say do what is going to make you happy because someone WILL want to pay for it. Nothing is going to be easy and it takes hardwork. I'm not saying spend a ton of money on product that might not move quickly but don't hop on the bandwagon just because other people are doing it. Having the same stuff as everyone else isn't going to generate sales either.

We have this "Flavor of the Month VS Favorite Obscure Fandom" conversation Every. Single. Thread. Can we not lay it to rest for a month or two? There are valid points to be made on both sides of the argument, and at this point there is nothing new to add to the conversation.

>>9274834

This, but I don't necessarily think proxies are the reason for it. I think in general con culture just expanded and for a while, some cons were growing exponentially, but like you said it doesn't mean people will buy stuff. I think people keep wanting to get in on AA money and that's causing cons to think "let's expand our AA size" when in reality, based on this year, I think most AAs need to shrink by 25% or more. Profits were terrible.

Which, on that note, do y'all think the decline in profits in 2016 is because of over-filled AAs or were there outside factors (this year being a year of hell politics-wise)?

>>9274875
I know for where I live, we're going through a recession and then the heart of our province nearly completely burned down so it was only expected that we wouldn't be making the same kinda money in AA as we did the previous years.

>>9274870
Not while there are stupid newfags who are trying out for babby's first table. I wish we could just straight up ignore these posts, but there's always going to be some other idiot who's gonna indulge them.

Just do your best to ignore them and move on.

>>9274501
I feel you. But some Canadian artists really abuse it though. It gets to a point where there are greedy enough artists that have multiple proxies at 3 different cons in one weekend, all spread throughout the US. They know what they're doing; it's a lazy and dirty method of selling.

>>9275306
Not defending this but some American artists do the same thing. Sat next to a girl at a con and started chatting about her art, tells me it's not hers and the original artist is actually at Anime Boston while she's selling for her at Wondercon.

>>9275306
>I can't imagine it being lazy, Doing one con is enough for me. I can't imagine organizing multiple conventions during the same weekend.

>>9275354
whoops! didn't meant to green text
but there are so many cons all lined up during the same weekend, while there would be nothing on other weekends. It makes the most sense to send proxies if I were to ever make this into a business, that is if I'm lucky enough to get in...

>>9275306
Unless a con specifically has rules against proxying (some do), how is it abusive? Please explain.

>>9275306
I don't really see it as lazy. It's still all their work. If anything, they're trying to maximize profit.

>>9275546
Most cons do.

>>9275645
>>9275645
most cons don't and actively allows artists to send in proxies. what are you talking about? The ones that do they go them selves. Why do people assume so much and make out business savvy artist to be terrible. You guys are personifying their action with an unfair outlook.

>>9275645
I don't do proxy selling but even i know most cons do not.The ones that do explicitly call it out in their rules, so unless you're saying all proxy sellers are selling at cons where it's disallowed you sound like you're just assuming they are abusing some weird standard you made up.

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Just finished this sucker up.

Thoughts?

>>9275320
That's my main issue with proxy selling. Like when someone has nice art or a rare fandom that you're into and you want to talk about it, only to find that that's not the artist.

Do you think its rude to note privately someone who had reserved you a commission slot but isn't coming back to claim it?

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>>9276059
There's a group dubbed the "Korean Leaguers" at AAs at the big cons. They are a group of 6/7 girls from Korea that draw pretty much the same style and all have the same airbrushy color job. Pic attached.

They have prints of all the popular champs, and always sell out of stuff. So not only are they all agreeing to be under one artists name, they also con hop at one time. How the fuck is that fair. That's when you have them sell at the Dealers Room or something.

>>9276068
6/7? I heard it was like 15 of them. Half of them draw it out the other half color it. They have their own little sweat shop. They must make a really good living off it.

>>9276068
You sound like you both have no idea what you're talking about and super bitter. Your "Korean Leaguers" aren't "from korea", the picture you posted is drawn by Ippus, who is korean but lives in canada, and they.. don't sell as one entity?? Like, if they sold as one entity they would only get one table, that accusation makes no sense.

http://kalce.tumblr.com/post/119426367600/plan-your-routes-summoners-alley-of-legends-hits

????

>>9276030

That looks sick. Now make it with an anime character and you'll sell out quick fast.

>>9276075
actually now that you mentioned it, the whole alley of every alley looked Korean to me. No wonder America's in a recession right now, it's not Canadians that we should be blaming, it should be those darn Koreans taking our dirty otaku money.

We need more whites in the alley. All I see them doing are crafts. Where the artists at?

>>9276191
Careful or you'll summon skimlines.

>>9276079
seconding this, what the fuck are you people talking about? I'm a fan of league and sell my own league art so I'm aware of other artists in the community. But I've never seen or heard of these "Korean Leaguers"
I'm pretty sure these guys >>9276068 >>9276075 >>9276185 are making this up to stir up shit

>>9276059
If an artist has a helper running the booth while they're in the restroom or enjoying some event at the con, do you have an issue with that? This is such a silly reason to disagree with proxy selling

>>9275320
I assume that's because Wondercon doesn't actually have any rules against proxies. A lot of comic/western-themed conventions don't have proxy rules. Especially since a lot of artists who work in the comic book industry will send a "representative" or an "agent" to man their tables while they run panels/signings/etc. So as long as you use the proper phrasing (representative/agent/etc) - Western cons don't care if someone is proxy-selling on your behalf. You paid for the table after all.

A lot of anime cons, on the other hand, DO have proxy rules. Which is why the proxy seller was at WC and the actual artist was a AB.

I personally don't have a problem with proxy-selling if it's within the rules and you aren't taking up multiple tables at an event.

>>9276185
>what are Korean-Americans
>what are Korean-Canadians
lmao anyway... have fun trying to make money with your shitty art. Stop being so butthurt that you can't make product that sells well. Maybe if you were Korean you'd know how to draw.

Knowledge wins again

>>9276185
I'm going to ignore that i'm 100% sure you're trying to say all asians are korean, but I want to point out how stupid you are to think actual living-in-korea-korean artists would bother fucking going to your shitty american cons that aren't AX lol. keep looking for an excuse for why you can't make money though

I guess I wasn't sarcastic enough in my comment lol sorry guys

>>9276276
I am pretty sure that it was sarcasm.

How screwed would I be if I sent in a vograce order by next week? I need them by late January but they go on holiday soon right?

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I realize in advance this is a dumb question, but moomoo won't upload your designs for sale unless you open a store and put them in it, correct?
>pic related

How do you guys manage tabling on short notice?
Due to an acceptance email not showing up and it taking me inquiring on the status to get an answer, I suddenly only have a week until a convention to get all my shit together. I'm splitting the table with a plushie artist so that i don't have to bring as many prints, and so far the plan is to bring a lot of old stock so that theres less to have rush-printed.

... any tips?

>>9276413
i mean you kind of answered your own question.
bring old stock and only get printed what you can manage in 1 week.

find a local place that does prints so you don't have to wait for someone like catprint to ship stuff.

maybe buy some sticker paper and print and cut your own stickers, or get bookmarks and postcards printed for more product variety

>>9276416
thank you for at least confirming i had the right idea.
I always cut my own stickers, but I have a few new things I'm working on so I'll be cutting them out on the train ride there, I expect. yay for sticker printing the day before being an option.

Thank you for suggesting variety- I'd actually not thought about that.

What printer would be advised for printing stickers?

>>9276365
>vograce
fuck, is their vacation that long? I also need stuff by the end of Jan. and now I regret not prioritizing new charm designs.

>>9276723
Different Anon here but I shot them a email asking about their vacation times. I think they'll reply on Monday so I can let you guys know? I can't imagine that they'll be gone for that long.

>>9274610
Was it a food plush? Because then it was kind of asking for it

>>9274610
should've suplexed her

>>9276723
Not sure, I just assumed they would have at least a week long vacation.

Though would vograce be swamped with orders during winter? I know it gets bad during summer con time but I'm not sure if there's a lot of winter cons.

>>9276853
in what world does this make sense?

>>9276508
Seconding this question. I've seen recommendations for Epson Aritsan 1430 from artists before, but it's wide format and kind of unnecessary for just buttons and stickers. My current Epson Stylus NX420 is frustrating as fuck.

I was hoping to get something around $125, is that too low budget?

>>9274610
Call her/her guardian out on it and if they give you shit for it, report to AA staff?

>>9276853
Do you also eat the menus at restaurants? Since there's food on it I guess by your logic, they were asking for the menu to be eaten.

Hey guys. So I got a table for my first con but I'm stuck as to quantities of charms to bring. I'm guessing that if I have a big variety of charms, I should bring less of each design? Or is that a misconception on my part?

>>9277040
>>9277292
guys i think they were joking

>>9277365
for your first con, having a large variety is probably more important so you can see what sells the quickest so for the next con you know what to have more of.
When ever I make a new design of something, I never make very much of it. I don't want to be stuck with a bunch of things that don't sell.

>>9276853
It was a bone
>>9277090
The mother was definitely embarrassed and I thought it was too funny to be mad.
>>9277377
Jokes aren't allowed on this board, anon.

So they're (vograce) apparently gone from Jan 15 to Feb 5th. So if you guys get your orders in soon then it should be fine.

>>9277446
Thanks anon, I think I should be ok if I get it in by Saturday then? Is there a way to ask Coco for expedited shipping?

>>9277453
Yes, literally just ask her for expedited shipping.

>>9277453
Yup. I do DHL shipping to Canada and I can get it in about a week and a half (Including production time) so you have plenty of time.

>>9277499
Sorry for the dumb question, you can really tell that this is my first time ordering.

>>9277524
Thanks!

What's everyone's plan for this summer's conventions? Any predictions on what might be popular around that time?

Also how's everyone's sales on Overwatch merch? I'm wondering if I'm late to the party but I was thinking about making some new prints for it

>>9277657
ow is so oversaturated now.

>>9277657
Attack on Titan's second season will be airing by then, so expect to see a lot of AoT cosplayers.

>>9277657
Between Arise and the Ghost in the Shell live action movie, that'll probably maintain a decent following. It is extremely under represented too, I never see ghost in the shell stuff at cons.

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It's just hilarious when people post WIPs of their factory made plushies.

>>9278086
this looks like angels made it compared to the unicone ones

>>9278086
I never want to see a food-animal portmanteau plush again.

>>9278086
This looks like garbage in americas crane machines.

>>9278317
You'd better keep your eyes closed then

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I just wanted to say thank you. I've struggled with motivation and depression for so long.I loved graphic design at school and was put off perusing it by cunts.

I designed my boyfriend a really cool jumper (he occasionally lurks so no spoilers yet) and threw it on Redbubble for a quick turn around.

This is the first time in... I have no idea, I've committed to a project and created it. I want to continue to design cool and cute stuff, and honestly I only started seriously considering this when I saw your threads and people doing it for fun.

Thank you, gulls. Hope to see you in the alley soon.

>>9278086
has this person actually ever seen a rabbit

You guys ready to get rekt by Fanime results?

What is this artmoo printing site(i assume?) everyone is talking about

>>9278906
I thought I had a pretty decent chance of getting in from the waitlist this year, but after seeing those numbers, I know there`s no hope.

What's everyone's go-to brand for sticker paper? I'm looking to upgrade my stickers for next year (I just started selling this year so I've been using Staples brand). I've seen a lot of different brands get mixed reviews so I'm wondering if anyone has one they recommend.

>>9279101
Are you retarded? You didn't even bother to Google "Artsmoo printing", because if you had, the site we're talking about would have come up.

Any gulls with art youtube channels? Looking for some new ones to follow

>>9278906
When are the results coming out? Did they ever say when?

>>9279684
Dec 9, it's on their site. Prepare your butt.

>>9279688
Thank you! I totally didn't see that part.

>>9279101
We have to dance around the name because they used to spam 4chan with ads. As the other anon says, it's the first result if you Google "artsmoo printing"

Mm that big anti proxy thread on AANI, i guess we know who those people were a few days ago in thread are. Also that they are probably a little racist lol

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>>9279688

>>9278086
why is there a leaf stuck to its ass like a piece of stray toilet paper?

>>9279825
funny how a lot of the people who are anti proxy, save room for artists who are truely "respecting" their fans in AA, have the most generic borderline tracing art/prints on their facebook pages

>>9279825
>>9280097
where? I can't find that thread in the group, even tried searching for "proxy" and "proxies" but they're all from July and earlier

>>9280596
try searching "artist just hired someone"

Has anyone had any experience with chargebacks in PayPal? I use it in conjunction with Storenvy.

To keep it short I had mailed out a charm to a valid address sometime late August, tracking numbers and all. 2 months later I get an email with the buyer claiming that it was an unauthorized transaction. Now I've lost the cost of the charm plus a $20 chargeback fee, and I don't think I'll be getting the item back. I'm planning to call PayPal first thing tomorrow.

>>9280097
As someone from Europe, thinking of getting a friend to proxy at a con in the US, is this really a big problem to other fanartists?

>>9281173
no. If you ask me, this is one of those issues only scrubs whine about. It's like how only scrubs whine about "print walls", but by and large 99% of customers don't care. Likewise, 99% of customers are thankful your art is there for them to purchase, they would rather your art be there for them to obtain than your art not be there at all because they aren't fucking irrational.

>>9281173
No. My favorite artist ever is from China and a few years ago they got a proxy at AX. Without that proxy I never would have been able to get a print!

>>9281173
No, local artists can't get a table because the system crash or they are lazy and can't be bothered to sign up right when the con opens, not because of the influx of proxies ( there's maybe 1-2 a convention ).
just follow the rules and sign up at cons that do allow proxies.

>>9281173
Do it Anon, people complaining about proxies taking away sales and spots are just butthurt.

How long does it usually take Acorn Press to review files and send an invoice? I put in a charm order a few days ago and haven't heard back. Are they on vacation and I missed that notice?

>>9281173
I think it's only a problem when it's taken advantage of (artists who have mediocre art but still try to take up as much space at multiple cons as they can for the meager $$$ they can collect). In your situation, sounds reasonable.

How decent are sticker profit margins? I want to make merch of non-popular fandoms but don't have time for prints so I was considering stickers since there's too many characters for charms. I'd be printing from home with decent sticker paper but the cost of ink makes me worried about whether the profits would be worth it.

Anyone else nervous about the Fanime results? I know I won't be getting in but I'm still nervous.

>>9282872
Well i paid for my registration because i need hotel so nervous is an understatement

>>9282686
If you're doing it yourself, there's not much of a profit at all. If you're getting them made, huge profit.

>>9282912
Isn't is the opposite? I always find getting them made by a company is way mire expensive. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong companies?

>>9280002
That's the tail

>>9281173
I think people are mostly concerned with artists who are doing multiple cons in a weekend and having a proxy there for some of them. Like people who could clearly physically be there at all of these cons. It's a totally different situation to be in another country and physically unable to be there in person in the first place. If you have the audience for it and it's NOT against the rules at the cons you want to "go" to, I say go for it.

>>9282872
Same. My biggest unrealistic dream is to get off the waitlist quickly, and my biggest nightmare is getting off the waitlist when it's too late and I've already had to make other plans for the weekend.

>>9282912
You and I must be looking at really different sticker suppliers, then, because I barely make any profit on them. The only places with really cheap prices have insanely high minimums for a single design.

>>9281173
I would much rather see a proxy seller for a solid overseas artist in any given alley than some local dipshit who hasn't put any proper effort into their work.

>>9282872
I'm mostly nervous because they uncharacteristically judged so quickly. I have a nagging suspicion that they merely glanced at everyone's stuff just to shut up any complaints about tardiness. 1000+ applicants? That's crazy.

>>9281802
weird considering i put in an order less than a week ago and they responded a couple hours later. I'd say contact them.

>>9283108

Dude, it’s pretty much a guarantee at this point that they only glanced at each image and sped through. What you should anticipate is that there is a basic level of quality check and anyone under that is getting rejected for sure, and if you are at a decent level or above you should just take the results as a crapshoot/lottery. It's not worth being nervous about because with the # of applicants and the fast turnaround, the quality of your art is only a tiny factor, ironically.

>>9283146
Yeah, I feel like they should just convert to a lottery system or back to fcfs at this point (though fcfs would probably wreck their system). Too many applicants to do jury.

>>9283170

I think the jury system would be fine if they didn't leave applications open so long. right now it gives people WAY too much time to suddenly remember or scrape together a shitty last-minute portfolio. they shouldn't have the applications open for more than a day.

>>9283177
That's true. It would filter out the weaklings!

>>9282912
Do you have an insanely generous supplier? All the companies I've looked into are either too expensive or require ridiculous moq.

>>9282924
>>9282972
Yeah I thought that printing it yourself would be the best bet. Do you guys sell for $1-2 and make ok profits?

>>9281802
I'm not seeing any orders on my end older than a day that hasn't been invoiced (or contacted about issues). Did you receive an automated email with the information you put into the googledocs form? Definitely toss us an email!