Artist Alley General: A Little Less Dramu Edition

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(I have worst timing, reposting from dying thread)
wanted to know people's thoughts on this:

I was thinking of making a bunch of handmade zines (printer paper, staples) of scanned pencil, pen & brush sketches
quickly grabbed off google images, something like pic related, only anime style, arguably better skill
is printer paper + staples seen as too cheap nowadays? also I'm not sure about pricing, thinking of 5 A4 sheets folded in half (making a5) plus a thicker paper cover

another consideration is a friend I might be tabling with is selling their own zine, but it's perfect bound and professionally printed. I really just wanted something simple and fun, but I wonder if I should follow his suite instead..

>>9474609
Oh boy that sure is making me reconsider tabling there. Is it normally a profitable con to table at? London's expensive af and I'd have international travel costs as well, not sure at all if it'd be worth it like this.

>>9474804
>handmade zine
Rachel Morris tried doing that a couple years ago and it went disastrously, I think it'd be a lot easier to have them printed unless you've already had experience with binding or self printing.

>>9474804
I had a friend who made a left handed zine that was basically this for five bucks a pop. It was a hit but it was also intentionally meant to look really shitty as a joke. For something serious, it probably won't be as easy of a sell, especially considering there's one with proper finishing also on the table.

>>9474804
If it's cheap, someone will buy it.

>>9474804
Honestly it'd be easier to go get it printed. Binding you own zines sounds like fun until you're 40 copies in and realize you still have 60 more to go.

>>9474804
if you print them yourself, just collate them with the cover on top bring it to a print shop and ask for saddle-stitch (stapling down the center) it's dirt cheap. You may ask to get the ends trimmed to even it out since paper when folded gets uneven on the side, should just a single cut fee....but seeing your work u need to leave a 1/2 inch margin (the left and right sides of the print) to be safe as it looks like it would cut into the images

>>9474823
>Rachel Morris
haven't heard of her, but curious what happened?

>>9474836
that does make sense that this kind of handmade zine lends to less serious content

>>9474896
I'm guessing cheap is $5 or less?

>>9474900
Haha I wasn't thinking of much more than 50 copies, but I'll keep that in mind

>>9474906
That's a really great idea, hadn't thought of that!

thanks for all the replies!!

>>9474929
Yeah, $5 or less BUT you could also try starting at $10 and marking down if no one bites. I've had to make handmade paper booklets for classes before (lecture based so I had made 250). It's not that bad. Like the other anon suggested, get some help from your local print shop.

>>9474811
i'm not from the uk so you can guess i had traveling + hostal costs on top of it all. i liked it a lot and made some money back last year (only didnt make more because i was stupid enough to go to have my prints printed at an expensive place). i kinda reccomended it to everyone i knew because on top of fanart i also sold some originals so i was really happy. dunno about this year though, we will see.

>>9474804
where i am from plenty of ppl do this for smaller run sizes. choose good paper though it makes all the difference.

>>9474989
i meant smaller run zines but also less conventional sizes also apply i guess.

>>9474804
I'm the person who made the zine you used as an example.
I made all the sketches for that zine in one night and had the pages printed the day before the con, hence why it was hand made, and I sold it for only 3€ a piece, which gave me close to no profit. There was just no time for better printing/bounding since I made this on a whim in just a day and 2 nights.
If you have time, I would advise you to actually have it printed professionally, since I also found that, funny enough, it comes out cheaper than how I made this one.

>>9474994
RE: Anon asking about selling at A-Kon on Thursday

Thursday is a full day. They have made a million announcements on this, so I'm not quite sure how you've missed it. This year, A-Kon is a FOUR day convention, so yes, you sell on Thursday unless you hate money.

>>9475143
It says in the rules doc it's an optional day

>>9475194
Nayrt but they only made it optional because it's their first year doing 4 days and some artists complained. Last year was the optional preview night that was open from like 6-9. This year it's a full day like the other anon said. I still made several hundred last year so i'm sure it'll still be worth it. All my artist friends are setting up Wednesday and plan on selling Thursday.

>>9475143

It's worth it to have a more relaxed start to the con. I'm even doing the Wednesday night setup just so my Thursday can be less stressful and I can kinda enjoy myself if that makes sense?

Thursday also gives me time to work out any kinks in my new booth setup or with the con center itself so I'm not running around on Friday not knowing where food is or things like that.

>>9475143
Ehh I can see why some artists would want to skip out or wanting to know if you REALLY need to be there. A con I do is a four day and Thursday is quite slow comparatively and is to be expected. Some artists their regular job would be more worth it especially once you factor everything in, but some conventions are more anal about you being there the whole time vs not.

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>tfw I got accepted into my first convention but the table cost is 300 dollars

>>9475516
$300??? What con is that?

>>9475198
>>9475444
>>9475506
I'm the original question asker; I'm going to be out of town from 5/24 - 6/6 for other conventions, so if I can skip the thursday I can have some more time at home not dieing. If it's a $200+ day then I'll suck it up, but if it's like momocon's thursday and I'd be looking at $75 tops I'd like to stay home with my dog for an extra day.

>>9475553
Comic con, lel.

>>9475558
Girl, you gotta get mo' money. I would do it, even if it's stressful. I can't tell you how many days I went to class on 3 hours of sleep and sometimes no sleep at all. Yeah, it's shit, but I did it. If I got paid for it, it would be even better.

>>9475558
I made just over $350 last year on Thursday and the AA was only from 6-9 then. Skip if you want to, but know you'll be fucking yourself over if you do so.

>>9475558
IMO if you're a good artist in a good spot you should go because people will want to buy your shit and this just gives them more opportunities to do so, and if you're a bad artist in a bad spot you should go because people might actually come to your table if not everybody's set up yet and you're ready to roll. So basically you should go. If money's not everything to you, though, take the day to relax.

Do corner tables really effect sales?

>>9475630
depends on their position on the con floor and your display.

>>9474929
>haven't heard of her, but curious what happened?
She deleted her tumblr a while ago but went by rachelelm (her flikr, instagram and gumroad accounts are still up though). Basically a lot of people asked if she could publish something with her art, and she decided to do handmade sketchbooks but it sounded like it went way over her expectations and she couldn't keep up with the amount of people who ordered it. They also paid before the books were done so everything was mailed out really late and she said she'd never do it again.

So I think the lesson that came out of it is that if you do something make sure you set a limit of how many you're selling, which would be a lot easier at a place like a convention.

>>9475644
Doing the research, it's actually a lot cheaper to have books printed at a printing place than it is to do it yourself.

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Has anyone been to Wondercon before? What is the demographic like? More anime? More videogames, more western comics?
Just wondering. I don't want to set up a big mostly-anime display and later find out people preferred western art.

>>9475657
Wondercon's demographic is more comic book based.

I was wondering. How long did you wait to move from smaller cons to bigger ones?

I'm in my first year of AA so I'm still working to improve and get the kinks out of my display and so on. I'm doing a single one day con each month for the next three months.

I live in SoCal so we have such a surplus of cons, I feel like it makes it easier to build up steam for eventually doing bigger cons.

>>9475700
I'm starting with bigger cons, actually. Unless you are literally retarded I don't see how a larger con would be that much more difficult than a smaller one.
I'm not picky, as long as I get into something, I'm okay.
For reference, I live in socal as well. I don't really see many "small" cons like people do in their states. Every convention I have looked up (besides two) has around a 2-300 entry free. Almost all cons here are big in comparison to everywhere else.

>>9475700
Just go for it. If you've already been an attendee to the big cons you already know what to expect.

>>9475657
Seconding >>9475697 it's definitely more western-style art. A LOT of disney, comic book, and TV shows fan art. I have been an attendee but haven't sold there so I can't say from experience how well anime does.

>>9475737
Hm, I thought that Disney was infamous for blackballing fanart at conventions?

Is it more profitable to pander to males or females? Just curious.
I could draw cutesy pinky BL stuff, or I could draw sexy girl pinups.
I like drawing sexy girls more, though. Are there a lot of males who buy this stuff?

>>9475740
They are. But people still do it, which is risky

>>9475822

Probably target men. My general impression is that women are more likely to drop large sums on something they really care about, but men have more money in general and have less taste so they're looser with their wallets.

>>9475822
Target men with prints and women with keychains, buttons, and other small merch.

>>9475737
I've been an attendee at big con for years. Part of the building steam comment was including volume of product(since everything I make is handmade). I'd hate to go to a large con and be woefully understocked. Also I figured it'd help me gauge pricing for products.

>>9475822
Guys. Guys go crazy for their waifus and will buy stuff that's not that great/creative if it has a female character they like on it, but I feel like women have more specific/discerning tastes.

>>9475657
Wondercon is heavily comic/superhero based with a smattering of western pop culture/video games. If you're doing anime only, it might not go that well for you. But in my experience, mixing some of my anime stuff with western stuff works out pretty well since anime fans still attend comic cons and will buy from you. 100% anime booths are going to turn away customers though.

>>9475822
You can do both? As long as you don't overdo it either direction you can pander to both markets without driving people away. If it's cute BL and classy pinups, you'll make sales either way. Just don't do stuff that's like sweaty hardcore manmeat or super sexualized tits out women if you're gonna do both because it'll alienate people. One of my friends can draws really well but they also did a series of super sexualized male pinups and ended up doing really poorly at a con because they were trying to appeal to a very wide audience and people avoided their table. If you're gonna go full sex appeal, go full sex appeal but if you have cute/normal stuff mixed in, it's gonna send mixed messages. Also keep in mind what sort of a convention it is because that can change your audience demographic as well!

>>9476151
I'm attracted to character design mostly. Do I have to draw popular waifus? I like drawing sexy girls with good design, not flavor of the month animes.

Will I do well? I like girls like Samus, Jill Valentine, Midna, Shantae, Cammy, SpiderGwen etc.
Or do I have to draw a bunch of League and overwatch girls? Really popular girls?

>>9476204
The characters you like are all very popular. Don't force yourself to draw something you don't like, especially when what you DO like is going to be making you money already.

>>9476204
You should draw overwatch because you like overwatch. Do you realky want to draw stuff for quick cash grabs.

As >>9476221
Said. You already have characters you like that are popular. So you should be fine. You'd probably be in trouble if you had a niche fandom that didn't sell well.

>>9476221
I guess the characters I like are legacy popular characters (probably since they have good designs). I was just wondering if flavor of the month trumped old favorites.

>>9475644
thanks, fortunately I was planning on selling at conventions, although normally wouldn't you set a preorder limit for online sales?

>>9475024
wow, in one night?!
after hearing from you and other anons, I've decided to go to a professional printer to put it together, thanks all again

>>9476240
Those characters have decent designs but their popularity is more because they're from some of the biggest properties in gaming (and comics in Spider Gwen's case).

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Do they not have rulers in Australia or the ability to google "inch to cm"? Why would you buy a size of an expensive button maker based on "this is half of what I understand the male penis to be but I still don't know how big this is"??

>>9476461
I discussed this in the last thread but there are few people in AANI who have an IQ above 75.

>>9476461
So they thought 2 buttons is the length of penis (male)? I mean it's understandable if they don't have a penis (male) themselves or haven't seen one in person to understand the dimensions.

>>9476461
you literally just convert to cm........

>>9476473
Why would you buy an expensive piece of equipment if you didn't know the dimensions at all? I don't have a penis, I'm not going around buying things based on that as a reference.

>>9476461
Common sense isn't so common after all

>>9474804
I think it really depends on the content size and how many. If it's just a small batch of a dozen or two, sure, print them and staple it yourself. I think it'd be neat to write what number of stock it is too, like 1/20 and sign it. I'm sure if you have fans that'd be a nice touch.

Sacanime tables apparently went super fast this time around. Thank god for PayPal.

>>9476572
Reg was up by 10 am, gone by 10:02. FCFS is bloodthirsty

>>9476461
>>9476473
This is so fucking funny holy shit, what on EARTH were they thinking

Anyone know when AWA will be e-mailing people? applications closed about 2 weeks ago.

Did it really? I submitted at 10:00am and didn't get in, so if people got in at 10:01 and later, that would be unfair.

>>9476835
My friend said they submitted at 10:01 and didn't get in? Another friend reg was up a minute earlier and they were able to submit at 9:59.

>>9476902
yeah I refreshed the page a couple seconds early and go tthe reg page before it hit 10

>>9476461
lmao fucking aussies at it again

>>9476835
>>9476902
>>9476911
for Sacanime? Saw people complaining about it going live 30 seconds earlier than expected, but I thought it was the norm to start refreshing even 2-5 minutes before a supposed launch time. Do some people really wait for it to turn 10:00 (or whatever time) ON THE DOT on their own clocks to hit F5?

I'm selling at A-Kon. When should I start hyping up my table and what I'll have? I feel like it's too early right now. Should I start on June 1st?

Oh... are all conventions as hard to get into as SacAnime?
What is the usual time frame?

>>9477180
I'm a newb, but I'm used to systems that open EXACTLY on the dot and not a second earlier. In my experience refreshing before would only make getting in at/after the specified time slower, so I did wait till 10:00. I mean, I got in, so...lol

>>9477197
Not all. A lot of different cons have different systems. SacAnime has just hit critical mass in terms of demand and availability so it's sounding unbelievably cutthroat, but it's no different from, say, SakuraCon or A-Kon that have some sort of FCFS implementation.

What do you mean by time frame? Like the time it takes to sell out? If the con uses FCFS, most cons worth selling at will sell out in seconds to minutes

>>9477180
I was caught off guard last year because the year before that, they put up reg manually and it would NEVER go up on time, but they switch to a proxy service that would also put up the reg at the time specified exactly.

I think a lot of people thought it would be the same this time.

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I've never done this before so I'd appreciate some input

The con is next month. My table partner dropped out, but said he could message his friend and ask her if she wanted to do it. That she signed up for another con so she should be prepared to do this one so I said ok.

I sent her a message on Facebook saying 'hey, has (table guy) messaged you about me, what are your thoughts". That was Wednesday, yesterday I checked and she hadn't even looked at the message.

I asked (table guy) to message her, he said he would again.

Today: she's been on Facebook to post a status update but still hasn't read my fucking message.

Would I be out of bounds to write a message on her Facebook wall asking her to reply or fuck off(in nicer words)? Or am I overreacting?

>>9476461
Most rulers here have cm/mm and inches there is no excuse for being this stupid lol

>>9477312
Are you friends on FB with her? She won't be notified by your message if you guys aren't already friends. I think it's some sort of default spam filter.

I had the same issue twice with trying to talk to friends of a friend.

>>9477326
I am, though thank you for the insight.

I've sent her an email on the email listed on her personal site instead. :/

>>9477182

Let all the big May cons finish and then plug A-kon heavily. If all you're going to is A-kon then it seems fine to mention it when you post art? I always put WIPs leading up to a con, use the con tags, and mention I'm going as a way to remind people but not seem like too overt advertising.

How did you guys get into doing this stuff? I have some uncultivated artistic talent I'd like to put to good use somehow

>>9477717
>uncultivated artistic talent
>put to good use

you mean make money? most people find a local con, apply to the AA, make some prints of stuff they like/ is popular, and try to make the price you paid back plus a little extra

>>9477717
open an etsy store and sell stuff. Go to a small local one day con and sell stuff. If you actually make any money at all, then continue.

Anyone have any experience selling at furry cons?
What typically sells the most (IPs, types of animals, type of merchandise etc.)?

>>9477821
Commissions, lots of people do them on the spot. Only recently have popufur artists been trying to include merchandise that is similar to anime cons (keychains/straps, enamel pins etc). Buttons also sell decently if geared towards furry fandom and lgbt things. I find a lot of attendees usually like customs items or at least generic enough things to where they can picture/pretend it's their own character in the work. Sometimes generic sexy works too (dakis and prints for example).

>>9477312
why so aggressive though? just post something like "hey ___ I sent you a message,can you check when you have the time".. also,she might be busy or simply not want to table with you anyway?

Kind of an odd question, but what is the lowest amount of charms you've ordered from Vograce and about how much was it? I'm thinking of making a limited amount of charms, mostly for myself, because the series is older and not that popular.

>>9477953
1.

They don' t have an MOQ. You can literally order 1 charm if you want.

>>9477821
As far as specific animals, shiba inu, fox, and wolf are the most popular. Sergals and Dutch Angel Dragons are popular fictional creatures.
Furries like custom badges too.

>>9477821
I agree with >>9478000. If you have a button machine, you could do button commissions on the spot and have them ready in an hour, or even take commissions online and have them picked up for anyone attending the con. It'll be different and probably pretty exciting for customers.

>>9477877
That's fair. Always assume the best intentions and etc. But con's in a month and idk when they print up the flyers/maps and I don't want them to have the wrong names on. replying is just good manners even if she wants me to go die imo.

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A gift, cgl

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>>9478697
That daki is so damn ugly, it actual makes me angry.

>>9478697
For half a second I thought she had a hilter mustache as well

>>9478697
>>9478699
>that hand
Holy shit.

>>9478697
I can't decide if I'm upset that you forced this upon my poor eyes or if I like you because this is fucking hilarious.

>>9478699
As someone who sells dakis... they're such a specialty item for a niche market. Most people maybe buy 1 daki ever so I'm wondering how she thinks she's gonna compete with all the husbando/waifu dakis out there with an OC that doesn't have broad appeal to the general con audience. I can understand original charms/prints... but original dakis???

>>9478699
>primary audience for dakimakuras are men who like cute/sexy waifus and some women who like cute/sexy husbandos
>remove all cuteness/sexyness and put in literal tumblr seacow, and not even a well drawn seacow

This will absolutely not sell.

>>9478711
It would be hard enough selling an original that is cute/sexy and well drawn, let alone something ugly and not well drawn.

>>9478697
>>9478699
>that nasty messy linework
even if it wasn't a fat whale I'd imagine she'd have a hard time selling something so unpolished

>>9478699
I can't say I mind people like this. They lose money, they get discouraged, they stop going to AAs. Tumblrinas will reblog art like this until their hands fall off, but good luck getting them to actually spend a dime.

>person breaks the rules of AA
>AA still lets them in

Artist alley why this

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>artists post in AA with a blatant copy of a manga panel.
>selling it for $20.
It's a redrawn panel but they could have done more then a redraw challenge.

>>9478928
I saw that too. I was wondering if anyone was going to point it out to her.

>>9478841
Do you actually think that Thumbcramps is gonna get discouraged though? Their entire brand is fat mermaids drawn slightly cross eyed.

>>9478935
It was shown to one of the mods. Is any of their other stuff rips? Or just that one?

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>>9478928
I hate how Ito's art is always a victim to this kind of shit the other day I saw someone selling enamel pins of the same goddamn ripped panel and don't get me started on etsy

>>9478941
And it's always THAT panel too. Of all of his work. It always seems like people rip off that panel specifically.

>>9478928
>Pokemon
>Overwatch
>Undertale
>Meme prints

I really don't expect much from these people. Pretty much everything they do is for quick money

>>9477759
You're probably not going to break even at your first show. I honestly say if you get some genuine interest and sell a few things, you at least know you aren't wasting your time

>>9478941
>>9478945

They should at least rip off and sell the "It's my hole!" panel

>>9478711
i think you can get away with oc dakis as long as they're commissioned and one-of-a-kind. i wouldn't dream of outright selling ones of my ocs.

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>>9478945
Yes!
I always felt bad for him, he has very limited/rare merch and the merch that is out there is rip off work people are trying to make a quick fucking buck off of


>I'm so fucking salty about this

>>9478979
RIGHT

>>9478928
>>9478936

Is this the actual artist that does the Reapfield comics or are they ripping off fan art, too?

>>9479492
considering that markraas is finnish and they use the euro, i'm doubting they're him.

>>9479497
er... at least i think they're finnish. at the very least northern yurop.

>>9475576
Don't go to Comic con for the your first convention. If you are not a big name comic artist already nobody at Comic con will care that you are there.

They price tables there under the assumption that you are a professional artist in the industry, not an amateur. The people attending the cons want to see famous names in the alley, if you haven't been published by Marvel, D.C., or similarly big name publishers they don't give a shit about your table.

>>9475630
Anything that increases your visibility on the show floor will increase your sale accordingly. People buy from the first table they see something they like. Personally speaking being a front facing table near the entrance of the alley is a MUCH BIGGER iinfluence on sales than being a corner table is, but being a corner table does result in more sales.

>>9475740
Disney is infamously litigious when it comes to fan-art, but at the same time it's a super big moneymaker due the fandom around Disney. So do it at your own risk.

>>9479636
Disney doesn't care about it in-person. A friend of mine was only approached by a disney rep looking at her disney fanart in order to see if she was interested in working for disney as an artist for their products and costume design. As long as you're not matching the disney style 1:1 then you shouldn't have an issue at cons.

>>9479639
You say that, but I've had Disney lawyers show up to do spot checks Spanish Inquisition style before.

While you're obviously small fries and unlikely to get more than a slap on the wrist/told to stop selling it, it's still important to recognize that there is a risk, if only a minor one, because unlike the majority of companies, Disney doesn't 'copyright' their characters; they TRADEMARK their characters. That's difference between asking nicely and showing up with a SWAT team.

>>9479688
How can I trademark my art like Disney then so they can't complain about me?

>>9480250
You can't really trademark muh style. It's got to be a specific design, character, logo, etc.

>>9480250
This must be the dumbest question I've seen today.

>>9479639
>>9479688
Disney cracks down less hard on their acquired properties like Marvel and Star Wars. But if you're doing something of their princess line I'd be super wary. Some cons even straight up won't let you have Disney prints at their cons. And to be sure, there will be artists who report you to Disney for having Disney prints.

Neopets doesn't care about fan merch, right? I've decided that what my lineup is missing is a set of Neopets faerie prints/keychains.

>>9480339
Technically, no, but considering how the site is right now, I don't think they would be able to do something whether they wanted to or not. The site is in total disary.
Good luck. I don't think I've ever seen Neopets stuff at AA.

Anyone tabled at Anime Impulse? I was going to apply but I'm a bit skeptical after reading the AANI comments about it.

>>9480250
Don't listen to those other ppl...Just put post-it label..write with your opposite hand "Not Like Disney - No Stealies!"

>>9480339
Please make them UCs and I will buy like 12 of them.

So maybe I'm a bit apprehensive about filling out all of these AA registration forms with my real ID attached.
Has there ever been any security risks associated with cons and leaking artist/vendor identities? Any spurned volunteers leaking the identification of artists/dealers they don't like?
It seems like a legitimate fear to me since I'm probably paranoid. If anyone has any information about this please let me know, thank you.

>>9480790
what exactly are you worried about?

>>9480815
My personal name becoming public. I'm wondering if it is at all possible or if it has ever happened before to another artist.

>>9480842
Well, they can't really have have a legally binding contract if you don't give them your legal name, now can they?

>>9480843
I'm not as worried as giving out my name for business purchces, transactions, etc.
I'm mainly worried about stuff like "Oh your name is Samantha Smith?" *plasters my name on my booth* *lists my name on their website when showing registered artist's table locations* *puts my full name on my badge and won't allow me to cover it up*
Or, they don't do that stuff, and worst case scenareo is somehow some volunteer gets beef with me and decides to leak my info to the public (are they even given that information?)

idk, all of that shit in the last few threads about that one volunteer has me really paranoid there are a lot of really bad volunteers that are just more quiet about it :(

>>9480850
It depends on the con. Some cons make you put your legal name on your badge (this goes for both artists and regular congoers). I find that, usually, you can choose to just display your pen name though. As for the list, I believe only staff for the AA and registration has it. It's not readily available or anything, but theoretically someone could fuck up and have information leaked. But we're edging into tin foil hat area here.

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>>9480858
>But we're edging into tin foil hat area here.
I'm willing to believe.

>>9480850
I'm actually way more paranoid about professional firms able to google that information when they run a background check. I get panic attacks when I see my real name on weeb websites. It's an absolute no for me since I don't even use my real name on my weebing facebook.

>>9480850
If you didn't do anything wrong, you have nothing to fear anon.

>>9480875
honestly hun I dont think youll be able to cut it in the art world with that sort of paranoia killing your prospects and growth

>>9480879
>If you didn't do anything wrong
Yeah, nah. I'm mainly worried about stalkers and freaks. If some person is crazy enough to try and kill an artist with needle cookies there ain't no way in hell I'm flaunting my real name.

>>9480850
In my applications/emails to cons, I mention that I'd like to be listed as my pseudonym in anything public, and I've never had a con have a problem with it. I tell them it's the name associated with my art, and people would otherwise have trouble finding my shit.

>>9480842
personally information like what? Name? Address? Stuff that is already public information? What do you think is going to happen if people know that?

>>9480901
you need medication.

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>>9480954
Well the needle cookies are absolute worst case scenario but I don't see why it's crazy to not want your real name to be on display at a convention. I see many artists with their online handle on their display.
An ounce of precaution is worth a pound of cure.

>>9480891
Not everyone is trying to make it in the art world. Some of us want actual jobs, and selling in the AA is just a way to make money on the side.

>>9480875
If you can't stand the thought of having your name out there, you should probably not be trying to sell your work. AA and art shows usually require a name along with your studio name. If you're so paranoid about some mythical stalker or something, I don't even see how you could be considering it.

Bad shit happens sometimes. Obsessing over it isn't going to do you any favors

>>9480957
>What do you think is going to happen if people know that?

>>9480958
I'm not sure how having your real name shown on a convention site would prevent you from getting an "actual job". And as other people mentioned, most conventions allow you to use studio name. Your legal name is required for documentation with them for shit like taxes/permits/legality/records, so there's not much leeway for that.

People have done far dumber things under their real names with identifying photographs on Facebook and Twitter and still go on with their lives.

Finally, it's pretty difficult to find archives of artist lists even with archive.org or digging through previous versions of websites considering most cons update their sites annually or disappear from view if the con becomes defunct.

Has anyone here used Ko-fi before for their online art stuff? I've been wanting to try it out but I'm not sure if it'll show my real name or not. I have a business account though.

>>9480901
Not to scare you anon, but if someone really wanted to stalk you and do harm, they will find out your information regardless. Being completely anonymous is a thing of the past.

However, it is extremely unlikely it will come to that. For someone to care enough to get your information leaked, you'd have to have the combination of pissing someone off, they being a combination of both smart and dumb enough to do anything about it, and them not having enough going on in their lives to actually carry out the plan. Virtually everyone that goes to cons have at most two of these three things.With harassment being such a big "worry", I can't imagine artist alley coordinators handing out real names nilly willy anyway.

For people that are psychopaths, there is much bigger fish to fry than you. At most they'll find your tumblr or whatever, send you anon hate, and call it a day. Don't worry beyond that. There is a chance of people dying falling out of the bed too, but that isn't stopping me from using it.

>>9480971
I have one and a few of my art friends have them on their blogs, it just shows info you want it to (like online handles + about me). We haven't noticed a ton of tips though even with a few thousand followers each.

>>9481091
Thanks for the heads up! And yeah nobody that I know that has it is actually using it because it makes bank. It's just a nice thing to have if someone (even a commissioner) wants to add a small tip.

Anyone here know generally when sign ups for anime detour go up? I'm moving soon and I'll be really close to the con center so I want to apply. Has anyone here done it before!? Is it good?

>>9481097
If you're doing commissions through paypal, you can set up an invoice template that has the option for tipping built in also, might be easier than sending your commissioner to a ko-fi link.

>>9480842
One incident well still ongoing was a volunteer who started basically stalking and coming around like another thirsty barnacle. Next con he again was a volunteer, and what was creepy was aparrently he looked up my name (was a common first and last) and began spewing how he saw videos of me and dancing, non of which were me (other doppelganger had similar physical traits but didnt show any close ups)..but wish AA kept our alias on our tags.

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Quick question. As a customer, do you guys prefer solid acrylic charms (like the picture) or clear charms?

>>9481615
clear

besides that though my favorite are wooden ones

>>9481615
If the picture is one continuous image, solid. If it has details that are separate from it and are meant to be floating or whatever, clear.

>>9481615
anything but white. Either clear or a color that matches the rest of the charm.

>>9480339
If you do them and post them here or in the discord I will definitely buy a couple.

Speaking of more nostalgic stuff, has anyone ever seen Maplestory stuff in the AA? I really want some, and I think I might have to make it to get my fix. But the recognizable characters are all new (except for like... The mushroom) so I'm unsure.

>>9481653
I haven't, but if you do I think most people will have been players of the olden days, so I actually think if you do older characters they might be more recognizable.

>>9481615
Clear generally speaking. Especially with itabags being so popular, you should do clear. It could make or break a sale if your background color doesn't match the itabag or something.

>>9481653
Old games like that have a small, yet rabid fandom. You ever try selling Ragnarok Online merch? I made poring charms a while back and they were gone before Friday ended.

>>9481615
Depends on the style if white works for the charm, though I think the white shows dirt more over time. I wouldn't mind color-coordinated charms for different characters. But definitely print double-sided for opaque charms if that's a thing to do.

>>9478941
I would love to make Ito merch. It's just really tough to make stuff that isn't blatantly ripping off him. Not excusing this guy but doesn't Anime Trash Swag have have Ito stuff?

>>9481653
Ohmonah used to have some maplestory sticker sheets, not sure if she still sells them.

>>9481625 >>9481629 >>9481635 >>9481696
Thanks for all the responses!
>>9481687
I didn't even think of that, good point. Thanks for sharing!

>>9481653
I have MapleStory merch! They actually sell super well, and people pretty much buy it only for the nostalgia value. If you want to make your own I'd say go full steam ahead

Does anyone know where these mini body pillows are being made?

So I want to make my own holographic prints.
I was thinking the best way to do it would be to buy thermal laminating sheets with a holographic design.
So far I'm finding big rolls of holographic plastic on alibaba and, well, I'm just a little confused.
Any reccomendations?

Do I need to provide a receipt for cash purchases? Do I just print out some kind of template or do I need to get a handheld receipt printer?

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>>9481871
Alibaba or Getmeds if you fear the Chinese.

>>9481918
With all due respect, I'm confused on why you insist on making them yourself when it would be cheaper and easier to go through a printing service. It's one thing if you know how to go about it, but it seems that you don't even know that much.

>>9481919
Most people don't give receipts out for cash purchases (or any purchases- even in the dealers' room), but if you're worried, your local dollar store carries those receipt booklets. The receipts look something like this. Also available at Walmart, Target, OfficeDepot, etc.

>>9481871
alibaba, as with every product that is a print, charm or button

or you could print fabric and sew them suuuper easily

>>9481925
Well it's because I already have a printer and make my own prints... I don't know of any service that laminates prints for you, and even if they did I imagine I could do it myself for cheaper :C

>>9481925
Thanks, that's perfect.

How do you guys do your sales tax when you use square or paypal credit card readers.

Do you do your base item price ($15) then charge an additional 9% sales tax on top (or however much the sales tax on your state it), or does your $15 include the sales tax and you just take it out from your total price.

If that's the case do you manually calculate taxes when the customer pays with cash or do you just not charge them sales tax?

I know I've definitely bought stuff from tables where they have a 'discount' when its cash or they will charge more if I use credit card, so I'm just wondering what's considered 'standard practice'

>>9481944
I always incorporate my sales tax into the cost of the item. That way people know what they're paying when they want to buy something. I don't see a reason to do extra math or make the customers do extra math when I can just take my total receipts for the day, cut a chunk out for taxes, and then just set that aside.

>>9477312
>>9477877
>>9477326
It was exactly the Facebook thing, she replied to the email and explained. i feel dumb now. maybe i need a breather from this site.

>>9480875
rebecca sugar drew ed ed n eddy and ratatouille porn and still got hired by cartoon network, if that makes you feel any better

>>9481871
If you wanted a low MOQ I would suggest getting printed fabric and seeing them yourself. The mini dakis usually have an MOQ of 50-100 last I looked.

>>9481955
I didn't know know she also drew Ratatouille porn. Was if of Linguini?

>>9481944
they probably charge more for credit because the card readers take a percentage out of your profits for fees

i think calculating tax on top of a base price could be a little too laborious and maybe even slightly off-putting to customers.
i work retail and even though sales tax is ALWAYS added onto purchases upon checkout, every 1 out of 10 people gasp and wonder why you're charging them more than the price sticker. and that's in a typical retail environment where you're supposed to expect tax to be added. people are dumb.

so it's best to take all of your costs and taxes into consideration when pricing your items, i think. it's faster for checkout and you don't get people balking at the thought of paying an extra fee

I've never made any prints before; when drawing them should I be working in cmyk?

>>9482224
Yes. You can work in RGB and convert it later, but it usually changes the way the colors look and you'll have to do some adjusting.

>>9482241
Ohh, I see, thanks! I'm guessing it's also best to do other things like stickers and charms in cmyk as well?

>>9481944
A lot of customers I've spoken to are accustomed to paying tax and expect to do so. If people pay in cash, I don't charge them tax. I let everyone know that purchases made with card will have tax + fees added on and no one minds. A lot of people have actually given me cash instead of using their card when I tell them that card purchases are charged tax. So it's up to you but people pay taxes literally everywhere else in every day life so it's not a new concept and they're not going to balk at it.

CC readers have a paper trail so it's always better to either charge tax or calculate it into your product price. If you make a lot of sales, the taxes are going to add up so if you want higher profit margins - charge them tax. If you already built tax into your price, you're fine.

>>9482051
yep. not sure if posting a link is kosher here, but if you google rebecca sugar "ratatouille" it's the first link result

on second inspection, i can't believe she went to the effort of inking it

>>9482338

Lol it's kinda cute actually? It's not as lewd as I expected.

>>9475657
I did Wondercon with girly anime stuff. Did way better than I thought I would and sold out of a few things.

Fanime
>Get a "You're high on the waitlist!" email
Fast forward to this month
>Did not get a follow up email
>People who have gotten a "you have no fucking chance" email are getting in

I'm losing my shit, what the fuck is going on

>>9481955
she didnt SELL it tho which is what the litigious part of these companies are more after. They cant stop you from drawing their stuff in general but they do it to stop you from selling it.

>>9482436
>People who have gotten a "you have no fucking chance" email are getting in

Where are you hearing this??

>>9482385
>rebecca sugar "ratatouille
I looked it up and like... this isn't porn? Not everything that depicts sex has to be porn.

>>9482436
Same except
>get rejected
>get email saying im high on the waitlist
>get no email as other people who got told not to hold their breath get offered tables
>ask via email if i can expect a rejection notice, get told they were sent out but recieved nothing
>2 weeks until con, get email out of the blue saying i got in

Hotels are booked full, I'm spending ludicrous amounts of money on express shipping and production for last minute merch and I'm regretting accepting the table

Fuck this con

>>9482451
Idk about them but i saw people on twitter complaining that they were eventually offered tables when they were initially told not to plan on gettin in.
Meanwhile people who got the " high on the waitlist" email were simply ignored

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holy shit WIPW are brig out such trash

I wasn't sure if I should post this closer to the con or not, but better too early than too late. For any A-Kon selling gulls who are going to set up Thursday instead of Wednesday, I'll be at the convention center at around 9AM if anyone needs help setting up. There's no way any panels around that time are actually going to be good, so I figured I might as well be helpful.

>>9482515
Why the fuck

>>9482804
They probably found "problematic" posts like how AX AA staff checks now

>>9482806
Take off that tinfoil hat, son.

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My post on AANI gets deleted because someone decided to call me out for posting finished work (it wasn't), but this guy blantly post a finish piece he did a few days ago and dares anyone to complain and it's still up 10 hours later.... if people are going to micro mod they need to micro mod everyone.

>>9482806
someone who draws tranny fetish porn got it, they do not give a shit about problematic

>>9482806
>fanime
>investing anywhere near the minimal required time to functionally run an aa, much less content-check users

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AANI

Where criticism is not allowed and is a threat to this safe space.

>>9482930
It says non constructive criticism. Either you are a dumbass in not knowing what that means, or you are a piece of shit who enjoys being nasty to people. It could be either or both with 4chan cunts.

>>9482938
Just read the threads next time, much of constructive criticism on AANI is deemed as personal attacks now.

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The girl that runs ArsenicxCyanide (aka that shitty ATS ripoff) is having an absolute meltdown over on her Facebook because Fanime put her next to another hat vendor.

She's been calling other hat vendors "bootlegs" for months and encouraging her friends and customers to "spread the word" about how she's the original, genuine acrylic letter hat vendor.

Now she's claiming that she has not one but THREE trademarks so she could totally sue Fanime and the other hat vendor if she wanted. I'm trying to understand how she trademarked phrases like "shota" and "valor" and how she thinks she has any sort of legal claim to her fandom-related hats. You're profiting off of an IP you don't own. You can't say that you're the original IP holder when you're making Voltron hats.

>>9482977
... Didn't she rip off the idea of acrylic letters on snapbacks from Anime Trash Swag to begin with?

I would love to have the three of those vendors in a hall right next to each other. It'd be interesting to see who comes out on top.

>>9482989
She did. And she tried to lie and say that ATS gave her permission to do so.

I'm just trying to understand how she thinks other hat vendors are "bootlegs" when by definition her fandom hats are bootlegs as well. Does she thinks she owns PokeGo, Voltron, and Haikyuu? She's started selling in Dealer's instead of AA and DH generally has much more strict rules about bootlegs and counterfeit merch. She's saying she wants people to report the other vendor to Fanime for ripping her off but it would be pretty funny if people reported her instead for trying to sell her bootleg fandom hats in the DH.

>>9482994
Honestly, considering her post. I think people should. She's being a bitch about the other vendor.

>>9482989
I always thought the letters on the hats thing was a trend in Korea/Japan/China for awhile before it was copied over here? AliExpress is full of them. So really the idea is original to none of them, maybe the choices of words, but the concept is the same.

>>9483006
They were popular in KPop/KFash but ATS was the one who first started doing anime culture related acrylic hats in the Western con scene. I don't think it's a matter of originality so much at this point as it is the irony of her calling other hat vendors bootlegs when she straight up ripped off ATS's entire word library when she first debuted her "brand". The point IS that it's not original - but she's claiming that it's unique to her.

>>9483002
She's publicly told people on IG and her business FB to look out for "bootlegs" and buy from her booth only. You can't claim to be the official/original when you're not even affiliated with any of the fandoms - that seems like it would be grounds for false advertisement?

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Can't finish these underpaintings fast enough. I want to get into the bigger sizes before June so I'm not pissing myself on might zero.

I also need to clean up my painting corner a bit.

>>9483145
ugh don't remind me of how many wips i have knocking around. i'm doing may we draw daily/sketch a day in may too so i've ended up putting con work on the back burner for the month.

>>9482977
I hate these dumb hats anyway

>>9483148
At least Anime Expo is all about suffering last minute together.

>>9482338
I think it's cute. More funny than lewd really. It's tame compared to some of the gross shit I've seen

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>>9483145
Wow these are all gorgeous, I would be seriously tempted by the Ryoko one. I hope you post some here when you're finished.

Side note tho, is it too late to add a smallish edit? Your Kobayashi has glistening moe girl eyes, and it took me a while of squinting to realize it was her at all, because Kobayashi's whole "look" is her sleepy eyes with small pupils/irises. (I apologize for the nitpick on your lovely progress photo)

>>9483159
Hey, not at all! I admit I was drawing her face at work so I didnt have an immediate reference. I'll fix it now. I actually super appreciate that kind of catch. It's a legit part of her appeal.

I'll definitely be posting later progress. I only have linearts down for the next size up, but those'll be next once I put these fuckers away.

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>>9483145
Underpainting these will probably be my night after today's workshift. Otherwise a few of them are stupid hard to make out atm. 11x14s.

>>9483145
canvas anon! how have your conventions been going?

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>>9483175
Actually haven't done any cons in a hot while. Only do like 1 or 2 a year anyway, but it's rough juggling work and irl people and other hobbies AND be a consistent con artist. Was thinking of making an online profile, but I'd have to move to canvas papers, lest I bury myself alive with these things.

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>>9483173
canvas anon, what do I need to do to obtain that squid sisters painting?

>>9483180
You're the one that does AX, right? (That Kite is A++)

>>9482930
I don't see the big deal? 4chan is overly shitstormy/rude, and AANI is overly protective/muh safe space. I feel like the two balance each other out at opposite ends of the spectrum. It would be nice to have something in the middle, though, where there's genuine crits without shitting on people.

Aiiiight so I'm shit fuck poor. I've had several designs bought by small companies before, so I know what I make is appealing.
I've been thinking about getting into the AA scene, but I do not have the money to copyright my shit. Yep, I'm even lacking $300.
I know.
I know.
You need money to be an AA artist, but this paranoia comes from just posting my shit online too in general.
What happens if some big brand company steals my shit and makes lots of cash, but I can't do shit because I never copyrighted my stuff or name to begin with?? Seeming as this recently happened with Forever 21 to an artist, but I think she had hers copyrighted.
Am I just screwed?

>>9483411
are you the same shitty furry artist who sold "BIGLY IN JAPAN" trying to to post again? if so gtfo

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>>9482977
This pisses me off so much because these hats take no fucking effort.

IF YOU WANT TO MAKE STUPID ACRYLIC HATS, YOU CAN DO SO OVER HERE:
https://world.taobao.com/item/18402146334.htm?fromSite=main

>>9483461
what does G.E.M. stand for? is it an anime?

Anyone hear back from kuronekocon yet?

>>9483466
I think it might be a kpop thing? I feel like I've seen it floating around twitter before.

>>9483466
>>9483474
She's a cpop singer.

>>9483461
Thanks mate! Been wanting one of these just for con wear.

>>9483411

If you've already had stuff bought by companies and are this afraid of the internet, maybe stick to that route and stay out of the AA scene and internet in general. I have some artist friends who pretty much only design work to wholesale or license to companies, and they have zero online presence. They make a lot more money than AA and online artists too, because they're dealing with companies who sell thousands of units. No one knows their work or who the fuck they are but that's the price they pay. So if you're so confident your shit will sell then maybe gtfo these threads and go do it. Leave the AA to the rest of us who can't do anything else.

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Someone just posted this on AANI. If someone can enlighten me on how this relates to AA at all, please tell.

>>9483472
One friend of mine had an invoice for their table sent to them, but nobody else I know has heard anything yet.

>>9478697
>>9478699
Jesus I hope she isn't at Youma this year
I dunno if ya'll heard/saw the drama she started yesterday but damn. Not again please
This does make me confident in making my own shitty dakis

>>9483675
spill that tea, gorl

>>9483675
Well it sounds like she isn't welcomed by the judges for Awesomecon, and she isn't liked by the AA staff for Youmacon either. She's fucked because she keeps opening her goddamned mouth and pissing people off.

>>9483690
Sorry, I meant Nekocon, not Awesomecon. Too many cons in my head right now!

>>9483680
Basically she started some shit on Twitter with other artists at Youma. And then made a Tweet like "come at me. face me in person".
And when they DID come to her face to face, she shit herself and threatened to call the cops and con ops.
Then continued to make "I'm so scared and threatened I can't enjoy the con!!" tweets

>>9483675
I meant last year. not yesterday. shit

>>9483392
Are yo in the AA the discord? I think it's mostly gulls, but because people have names to their words, everyone is pretty nice. I've gotten some great advice from the folks in there. Group orders and stuff too.

>>9483699
wow that's fuckin hilarious

>captcha is inkjet
>stop telling me to work

>>9483705
I didn't even know there was a discord...

>>9483756
There's two. One that's cgl based and one for AANI itself. I think the cgl one is more serious while the AANI one is kind of goofy.

>>9483767
What's the AANI one?

>>9483699
How does one start enough shit online to warrant people to come to them in person

Did she say bi people weren't a thing or something like lohkay? Give me the deets

>>9483756
I'll go ahead and plug the CGL-based discord again.

If you'd like to join, email me at [email protected] with a link to your portfolio/a website where I can see your art and preferably a picture of your setup at a con. This is not a jury, I simply want to verify that you do conventions before I give you the link.

We have channels for con discussion and reviews, art critique, showing off new merch, discussing merch, and so on. Lurking is also totally fine if you are of the shy type.

>>9483594
When you take commissions at cons, a lot of it requires that you find refs and draw from looking at your phone. I seriously hope I never have to be in the same AA as you bitches.

>>9483968
>I seriously hope I never have to be in the same AA as you bitches.

there's no need too be upset <3

>>9483594
I dont really see technical issues with peripherals as too big of an off-topic. But i'm curious why this post and not the bbq sauce container lady post? That was the really off-topic one.

>>9483968
>>9483994
That's such a big leap though imo. It's not like an art software acting up, it's hardware issues. What's next? Someone help me power up my computer, I can't draw my prints without it? Someone help me screw on this lightbulb, I can't draw cut out my stickers with no light?

Also I probably didn't scroll down far enough to see the bbq sauce container, but now I'm curious.

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>>9484003

>>9484017
cooking is a art

>>9484017
>seeing BBQ at the artist alley
I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

>>9484048
Tooru's Spicy Meat Glaze

>>9484048
Imagine a wall of BBQ sauce with kawaii food drawn on the labels.

>>9478928
Are those 11x17 prints going for $20? Is that the standard price now or is it still $15? I'm having trouble knowing how to price my prints.

>>9484017
People sell bathbombs and soaps. Not surprising somebody would eventually ask for food related help.

>>9484132
Depends if your work is up to par with those going for 20. With so many competition, its not uncommon even at ax to find people selling 11x17s for 10 also.

>>9484190
lately 12x19s is being considered large, even if the price bump itself is minuscule, it makes it sound larger lol...

>>9484194
Won't a size that big turn people off? With people having less and less space on their walls and all.

>>9483145
Do you have any social media? These are cool.

Just got my first artsmoo bag in. I already knew that the colours would be slightly darker than the original, but on top of that my image on both sides is slightly stretched. Not that I'm complaining for $1, but is that normal? If so I'll have to keep it in mind for future designs.

>>9478699
unfortunately i think some snowflake will bite this one anons, there is a market for tumblerina art which still surprises me. especially since 'this mermaid is not like all the other mermaid uwu!!!'. i'm all for hot chubby mermaid but this art style is so... she looks too tubby, how could she actually swim. makes no sense, give her a bigger tail.
anyway tldr tumblerinas buy this stuff, i know, especially since how greedy they tend to be about spending money

>>9484566
the colors usually come out darker/saturated, however i don't think the stretching is that normal.

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This is what a clear vograce charm looks like after a year of being kept on a keyring. (Single acrylic layer, no epoxy.)

Get the double layer of acrylic, kids. It's worth it.

>>9484572
I think it's cute, but why a body pillow? No ones gonna buy a body pillow of this unless they have a seal fetish. Put an affirmative phrase and sell it as print or a sticker or something

>>9484575
This is why I refuse to buy from anyone who uses Vograce. You get what you pay for.

>>9484575
Might be stupid question, but how is the surface damaged like tiny holes?

>>9484705
Those aren't holes. It's the paint chipping.

>>9484705
Paint tends to chip if you keep it on your keys, since the keys hit against the charm.

>It happened to me with a Matsu charm, because I was an idiot and thought he looked so cute on my keys until he started to turn into swiss cheese.Took him off immediately, the damage was minimal at least

>>9484800
>>9484575
ah assuming, that anon kept it on a key ring with keys

>>9484803
Yup, that's exactly what happened. I've had a non-clear from vograce on my keys for longer though, and it's absolutely fine. So the double layer of acrylic should do the trick.

acornpress is dying

>>9484957
What happened now? I just submitted an order like five minutes ago, don't tell me their machines failed again.

>>9484957
Shit, I made an order a few days ago and still haven't heard back. Is there something specific happening?

>>9484957
Man I've been hearing way too many complaints of stuff not arriving so I'm not surprised.

Too bad the options are now expensive ZAP with questionable customer service or cheap Vograce with questionable quality

>>9484575
This is actually ideal because then the customer needs to buy a new one from you each year, you ensure repeat business.

>>9485139
>being this much of a jew

>>9485139
Or, the customer sees that it chipped super easy and they decide not to buy from you again because it's cheap shit.

Is the double acrylic board option from Vograce all that more expensive from the single board? I didn't do their clear charms for the longest time because of chipping too. I've been doing the double acrylic boards as soon as I heard they offered it last November and haven't had any complaints from customers. I still think they're a good alternative to Zap especially now that AP is getting a lot of flack for their recent drawbacks. But does this also mean that no one uses ChillyPig or InkIt? My table mate from a con last year did ChillyPig for her charms and the quality was nice, but I wish they offered more designs for their MOQs

>>9485176
Yeah I'm kind of curious about the quality too because I don't want to sell something that I know is low quality.

Mostly the reason I want to use Vograce is because there's less worry about MOQ's

>>9484957

The customer service has been pretty low for months but they at least updated their timelines. Anyone surprised by this hasn't been paying attention to these threads or AANI. They don't communicate yes, and it takes 4-5 weeks for orders, but I've yet to have anything not arrive on time and I've been ordering from them during the last 6 months where the customer service has been poor. Always give them a deadline. I highly doubt they'd be invoicing people if they didn't think they could meet the order because the quickest way for them to go out of business would be to not meet orders en masse.

That said, I've only really been using AP for their custom acrylics and wood. I did my regular acrylic and clear acrylic through Vograce to ensure I'd at least get those charms done quick so I could let the AP ones get closer to the wire.

>>9485139
The AA market does not operate like the laptop market. The customer will go to one of the many other artists in the AA selling stuff from the same series as you and find someone with charms that last. You make them come back by bringing out more charms from whatever the next FOTM series may be.

If I wanted to make a nice sized poster print, what's a more common size? A3 or A2?

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>>9485492 here
Oops, I should have looked at this earlier. Guess the question should be A2 or A1.

>>9484575
Would it be worth to order from vograce and then seal the charms with a glossy mod podge or similar?

>>9485512
At that point, you might as well spend a couple of dollars more per charm, go to a decent charm maker, and not have your charms looking like kindergartener shit on the back.

>>9485512
just get double clear acrylic. it'll sandwich the print so there will be 0 damage.

>>9485518
>decent charm maker
lmao anyway have fun with acornpress's fucked up machines and zap's terrible customer service. the rest of us will be using vograce and asking for extra options that protect our charms for cheaper than whatever it is you spend on ur ~superior~ charms

>>9485496
>A2 or A1
I'd go with A2 - not everyone is going to have wall space big enough for A1, and that's especially large.

Otherwise, I preferably am fond of smaller print sizes (A4-A3) if the picture content is suits it.

>>9485522
Ok? Do that then. Why is there always one anon who gets personally offended every time someone talks shit on Vograce?

also
>implying the only acrylic charm options are zap, acornpress, and vograce
Maybe if you bothered to find your own sources instead of waiting to be spoonfed, you'd have other options too.

>>9485600
oh im sorry should i have mentioned inkit and chillypig too? take your own fucking advice and you do you instead of shitting on other artists who choose a different supplier. at this point all the pros and cons of each charm company have been discussed to hell and back. people are gonna use different companies for different reasons and yet we still get holier than thou assholes like you who want to act like vograce charms automatically are beneath you.

>>9485603
Pretty sure that anon you're replying to is racist-chan from a few threads back that refused to use alibaba because the suppliers are in China lol.

Hope I never run into them in AA.

>>9485607
I don't understand how so many Western artists can be so racist when it comes to manufacturing. On top of racist-chan, I've seen a ton of artists online make fun of limited English too. Either you learn Chinese or suck it up and just simplify your sentences for Chinese suppliers.

>>9485600
Of course people will get upset when someone talks shit on a supplier that has done great work for them. I've gotten nothing but good charms from Vograce, even my first batch which was only one slab of acrylic has fared perfectly fine, I don't have a single chip on it and it's been hanging off my backpack for a year. And double slabbed acrylic is nearly indestructible (and anyone who orders from Vo SHOULD be getting that because it's only a few extra cents per charm.)
Whereas charms my friends ordered from Zap have literally snapped straight in half on me, and they're hanging in the same place as my Vo charms.

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i often hear that its a good idea to sell merch on etsy (or some kind of middleman like redbubble?), to test the waters. but i'm british, and the bulk of my customers would presumably be in america. fellow brits/nonamericans, what do you do?

>>9485607
>Racist-chan
What? My supplier IS from China. I just don't use Vograce because the quality is horrible. Sorry if I don't want to rip off my customers like >>9485139 over here.

>>9485978
sell on etsy? Etsy isn't an American only website and you can ship internationally.

>>9485978
>skimlines and kyandi
Yikes

>>9485978
I'm American an buy from all over from Etsy.

literally go read the etsy handbook

>>9485978
If you have a decent enough item, you'll get plenty of customers regardless of country.

TejaJamilla for example, is located in the UK and the only one that sells their specific tights.

>>9484575
I bought a charm from someone that snapped and broke after about a year. Was pretty disappointed since I really like the artist and I was going to buy a replacement but I'm worried the same thing will happen again.

Is it just expected for charms not to last that long? I've been looking more into enamel pins because I'm just not sure charms are the best route for me to take

>>9486306
A year for an acrylic charm is pretty alright, even some of the official acrylic charms I've owned only lasted 6 months. Granted I keep my charms on my phone, though haha. Since you like the artist I'd say go for it, but if it really does bug you then you shouldn't. Sorry for the mild word salad.

>>9486306
let the artist know that your charm broke.

i had been making stickers on matte sticker paper for a year before someone finally came to me and told me the finish on the paper made the ink rub off after a day or so.
i was horrified and switched to a much more durable paper.

if the artist doesn't know their product is fragile, they won't know to invest more in their merch in the future.

>>9486327

Well, charms are something that can really break no matter how good (especially if they're being used on a keychain or phone) but if someone came to me and said "I bought this last year and want to buy a second/replacement!" I would probably give them a dollar or two discount just for coming back by to buy the same thing again. There's no way of knowing HOW it broke and if the customer is just saying "the charm broke" with the implication that it's because I have faulty product, that's misleading. Maybe the materials could be improved, but you have no idea what the customer did to the charm either.

>>9486306

It really depends on how you use the charm. The ones I put on my keychain I know will be damaged very heavily very quickly. Ones on my phone not as much. If you put it in an ita bag it's most protected.

>>9486261
what's the problem with them anon?

>>9486356
ntayrt but Skimlines is to say the very least, special.

Where do you guys usually get your acrylic charms printed? Or do you do them yourself? Or...just any tips in general? I'm trying to add charms to my table, and shrinky dinks aren't exactly ideal.

>>9486389
Oh my. All you had to do was read like 10 posts up...you must be new here.

>>9484566
Just got mine in and I noticed the same. Though its only noticeable on one side of one of the bags. Annoying though.

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>>9486356
Skimlines briefly had her own /snow/ thread if you want to see more. She is quite .... I don't even know how to explain it. But she is definitely a crazy artist type. Hugely racist to anyone that isn't Asian and then is somehow sort of rude to Asians as well. Is korean but is a huge ducking weeabo and wears Kimonos but if she sees other races wearing them she thinks they are appropriating japanese culture. Believes only POC should be able to write characters of that color even though the MC of her comic is black

Kyandi is a scammer iirc. Would never ship items out on time, took customers months to receive their item if they were lucky to get it at all. Starlightdecodream was here first shop but it seems she abandoned that name after gaining a bad rep. I also noticed that she made these pizza pin recently which seem to suspiciously resemble misskikas pizza design.

>>9486470
Do share

>>9486306
Depends where you put it. If it's on a cork board, that bitch ain't gonna crack. If it's in an itabag, it's going to last for a long time. If it's on your bag, good chance of it cracking if you use your stuff roughly. If it's with a bunch of your keys, good chance of it scratching. I would say a year of moderate usage without it breaking is a pretty decent time frame though, and 2-5 years is good. Anything that lasts 6+ years is kinda amazing.

>>9485176
I made a batch of inkit charms last year, I guess it's time to stress test one of them and report back.

>>9486470
>I also noticed that she made these pizza pin recently which seem to suspiciously resemble misskikas pizza design.
yeah the pizza is unmistakably a derivative/transformative idea off the phone case design, still fair use in a sense.

>>9486664
In a sense ya but for me personally I find it scummy and just adds to another reason as to why Ill never purchase from her

>>9486284
Isn't she in spain?

what size/dimension should you post pictures on tumblr? mine keep coming out blurry

>>9485991
>>9486270
>>9486284
does the shipping make it not worth it? i bought some clothes from america a while back and the hidden costs were yikes. although they came in a box not an envelope.

>>9486688
Her Etsy shop says she's located in Bridgend, UK.

>>9480901
this isn't asia, kid

>>9486818
At least in the US (likely where most of your shoppers will be), shipping is costly but not THAT bad. There are no customs either. For every one person who can't afford international shipping, there will be two who don't mind the cost.

>>9486845
Maybe it's best to let them keep thinking that. More for us, right?

>>9474793
>Hugely racist to anyone that isn't Asian and then is somehow sort of rude to Asians as well.

This drama was internalized within a small chunk of the Korean speaking artist community but she called someone a "dirty half-breed" for giving her advice.

>>9486943
Dammit, this reply was meant for >>9486470

>>9486818
>does the shipping make it not worth it?
I've had people pay $14 shipping for a $10 item. It doesn't matter to some people. Plenty of people in the UK will buy your stuff.

new thread: >>9487220

>>9486470
how else can you design a cheesy slice of pizza?