Artist Alley General: Everything sucks edition

Will the Alibaba resources spreadsheet be up again someday??

>>9518082
unsure. I'm hoping someone had saved it before it was deleted by whomever had it in their drive.

I'd be more than happy to host it myself if peeps want to repopulate it.

So I wanted to try working with a manufacture again so I submitted an inquiry to Vograce for rubber charms. Decided to order a sample since I didn't want to screw up and end up with 50-100 messed up charms.

The sample was around $50 for the mold,shipping and then I was charged a PayPal fee. Vicky asked me if I wanted to confirm the design before they made the mold. I said sure.

Received the photo and there are two issues. I asked if I could submit a revision and she tells me they already created the mold (why even ask me to confirm if you're just going to do it anyways). The sample had the two errors from before, but. Ow with an addition two errors that were not part of my design or the orinigal mock up they sent me.
I could have possibly lived with the two mistakes since they were bad bad and I could have probably fixed one myself, but they filled in half of my design's face with the outline color..

Good thing I'm ordering early I guess....

I don't know about anyone else but I enjoy watching normies gawk in confusion and worry at all the con attendees whenever a convention takes over their town.

Why are people blaming Akon for shit sales? Like what could Akon do to even fix that? It's not their fault people don't want to buy.

>>9518297
I mean I'm agreeing with the anon from the last thread; I'm not paying $20 for some mediocore print of the same fandom everyone else is offering.

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>>9518297
A good artist sold her prints at only $5 and they're blaming the loss of potential sales on her. I assume they want the staff to fix that for them.

>>9518297
I'm sure sales wouldn't have been as shit if a-kon didn't double the amount of available tables, or move artists behind dealers instead of in front, or raise their prices during a move since if you just take a quick dip into the A-Kon thread, a lot of long time attendees dipped out. At the very least, don't do everything that could possibly hurt sales all at once.

I mean, I didn't go, but the warning signs were all clear. All the artists I talked to at Fanime knew A-kon was going to suck this year. It wasn't a case of people rebelling against $20 prints.

>>9518326
Honestly this. There was just way too many tables with little space for con-goers to casually browse each table. It was too overwhelming and it was easy to miss out on certain things even if you were looking for it.

>>9518326
I agree. Even from a customer point of view, if I'm just casually looking for a print of, say, Tracer, AA was so big I was likely to just buy the first one I saw that I liked and likely skip any others after that, because why spend another $20 on the same thing? AA this year was just so huge and so over saturated with the same overwatch or yoi shit, so if you sold the same flavor of the month stuff as everyone else, you were really nothing special and I'm not surprised sales were bad.

>>9518368
>>9518326
It didn't help that AA was sandwiched between Dealers and Autographs. Is it normal for volunteers to not know where anything fucking is? My tablemate asked a volunteer how to get to AA after parking and he pointed her towards the opposite end of the convention center and another friend told me a volunteer said someone had to come out of the exhibition hall to come and get her so she could check in and ended up making her go to the Con Patrol room. This was our first A-kon and our first big out of town con and it was really disappointing.

>>9518321
I'd bet that the only people who really lost sales to her were mediocre FOTM artists anyway. The combined factors that >>9518326 mentioned are more likely to have had an effect on all participants in the alley than one low-priced good artist.

I've been getting really interested in the idea of printing and cutting my own acrylic products. In the far future, when I have more experience and success, I'd want to become another business for AA members to get acrylic charms from.

From the last thread, I found out what kind of equipment I needed but I'm still lost on the how and where to start. I wouldn't mind going back to school to learn but I'm not even sure what major to be looking for or if this is more of just jump into the industry and go for it? It would be so helpful if I could find a community to help out a newbie but I'm not sure if there is one.

I have enough money to invest in this type of project, but I just don't have the experience to back it up as of yet.

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>>9518379
>why spend another $20 on the same thing?
You underestimate the waifufag.

>>9518394
Uhhh most of the people here get their charms made from other companies/manufacturers, so I don't think you're gonna get a lot of advice here.
Also pretty sure people don't go to school for that, if what you're thinking about is just laser cutting acrylic charms. Try finding a company instead (which will take a lot of research as well) and ask if you can work for them or something, then get to know your way around the ropes.

>>9518441
I was hoping to find an education course that could give me a headstart to what I want to do, not necessarily just learning laser cutting only.

I've been looking up companies and seeing what kind of education they were looking for their future employees but they all seem close-knitted which is why I consider getting an education to get my foot in the door first.

>>9518453
My engineering school works closely with laser cutters and 3D printers of the type, but the printing-related degrees in the same building are probably close to what you're looking for. Degrees that involve color profiling and packaging files for work on industry machines. I know a few artists get their stuff done through our printing department. My uni combines design majors with engineering majors, so something close to that would be good.

>>9518394
>I have enough money to invest in this type of project
How I envy the financial stability of being able to invest $20-30K USD in entrepreneurship.

As for where to start with education, I don't really think there's a degree for this kind of thing, especially if you're starting from scratch without any production experience. You need education/experience in Pre-Press and manufacturing. I'd suggest looking for a local Create Space (Sometimes called a Hacker Space) and playing with their equipment before you invest in any of your own. Many Create Spaces also offer classes on how to use the equipment, so you can learn the intro course for the CNC in like one big four hour block instead of puzzling it out yourself over a period of weeks.

I'm the same anon who was answering questions for you in the last thread - if you'd like to bounce more questions on how to find resources in your area or anything, feel free to drop me a line.
> [email protected]

And if you want to connect on Twitter or anything, I love production stuff, so if you're going to take the dive in learning some of this it'd be fun to watch your progress!

>>9518379
>>9518398

Seriously. Check out the itabag thread if you ever wonder what people will do for their waifus
9517427

>>9518467
Haha, it was actually another anon who asked that in the previous thread. I've always wanted to look into it but just as >>9518441, I assumed /cgl/ wouldn't really know about it so it sat in the back of my mind for awhile until that other anon asked about it.

And thank you so much for the info! I have heard of Hacker Spaces before and will look into it again. I was hesitant about it since I was a lot less financially stable back then and people had mix feelings about the value and pricing. I will definitely give it a try before investing any large amount of money.

While I have the money, I'm not financially stable enough to drop it all at once, that's why I've been extremely hesitant to start on it for so long.

>>9518461
Thanks! I've been trying to research what education would be best suited for what I want to do and a print-related degree seems closest to what I want to do? It's hard because acrylic printing/cutting doesn't neatly fall into a single category.

how do people like their romantic prints?what is the general level of affection that sells the best? this pearl/rose print i'm drawing is going a bit unintentionally lewd

>>9518394

In my city we have a workshop that's connected to the university, but anyone can enroll in training courses there and use the equipment. They have laser cutters and flatbed printers which are pretty much all you need to learn to use in order to make charms and other cut acrylic/wood/etc crafts. You don't need a whole lot of education to learn to use the equipment, so honestly, getting a whole degree just to make acrylic charms is a bit overkill. Also keep in mind that they're already saturating the market at pretty affordable prices, so there's not exactly a gap you'd be filling, especially down the line a couple years.

My personal opinion is that it's almost never a great idea to insource your items when you can outsource. You might think it saves you money in the long run but you have to take into account all of the time setting up files and managing printing/cutting and doing maintenance and etc. If you offered other artists the service as well then you'd be spending a lot more time making other people's stuff, which can also be discouraging, and not to mention the kind of CS nightmares you might encounter with artists who are super picky. You'll never beat China's prices so business would likely be slow unless you offered unique materials or services, which would cost you more. I don't want to discourage you if it's something you really want to do, but just be really sure it's something you really want to do.

>>9518494

If it's targeted at girls (pearl/rose I'm assuming yes) then too lewd can really discourage sales. Girls like more innocent stuff because they're too embarrassed to hang really naughty stuff on their walls, even if they're into it. I sell BL stuff and even though my fanbase is into my lewds they actually prefer my soft stuff over everything.

If you're targeting men then go nuts, dudes hang all kinds of nasty shit on their walls, they don't give a fuck.

>>9518543
Honestly it hurts, but this. I work at a printing shop, and we honestly can't compete with huge Chinese companies that have a much lower wage and business costs for things like business cards etc. We considered getting a fabric printer, but went against that idea because China is doing it and do it cheaper than we could, at a much bigger volume. Not to mention that my country's shipping works against us and probably for you too. We'd lose. People are like "oohhh you gotta suppose those small businesses", but at the end of the day they don't really care, and artists are the same. Actually I find some artists are ironically entitled because they are like "support local!" But not only do they go for the cheapest product but advise against shopping local themselves to people looking for advice on printing x, which since you'd be small, that'd include you.

Sorry for starting to get off topic, but my advice is don't. That ship has sailed anon. Anyone that is interested in getting acrylic charms knows where to get them for cheaper than what it's worth for you to make them and ship them, and normies don't have a huge use for them. Your biggest bet is to go around the local businesses in your area and asking if they have any business use for it. You'd probably get some local artist business and some international, but not enough alone to warrant the time and money.

>>9518545
ah, thank you anon. i'll go for a fluffy utena-y vibe instead.

Does Otakon not have an art auction this year? I wanted to do it since I don't have enough art to sell at an actual table.

>>9518588
While I acknowledge the validity of these jaded outlooks, I'd also like to chime in that I would absolutely love to have an American source for charms that's an alternative to Acorn Press. They're too fucking busy to keep up with their orders, and I hate dealing with international vendors if I don't have to. You always end up with either a language barrier or extensive shipping fees and it's a pain.

I think there's also a market for more cool printing methods - AP offers specialty acrylics and foreground printing, but I haven't seen anyone in charms offering spot gloss, spot matte, or spot embossing.

>>9518731
Chillypig and inkitlabs. Both are more expensive than AP though.

Spot glossing is possible with inkit since their template calls for a separate layer for gloss.

>>9518731
It's not jaded, it's realistic. They mentioned the far future, the gap that AP created won't last more than a few months before they either get back on track or another company fills it. Maybe another gap will open in the far future but it's not something to depend on.

Besides, Glowforge is supposedly shipping this month and everyone and their mom is gonna have custom cut acrylics when they do. In a few years it's possible EVERYONE will be able to home print charms. The window passed.

>>9518326

Don't forget that badges for attendees were up. I think the badge prices were comparable to other top 5 cons but people aren't used to paying that much around here for badges. I think a lot of younger attendees probably had those costs cut into their spending money.

What A-kon should have done is held prices steady for a year to see if the move itself affected things. As of now there's too many factors with prices up, vendor #s up, and the move to really know what's what.

I checked back the older threads, but when ordering from Vograce, do most of you only order in the hundreds? Are they better for ordering really big batches of keychains for AA?
If so, I'll probably just wait until Acorn Press opens up orders again so I can get smaller batches.

>>9518900
I usually order about a hundred at a time, but my charms don't really move that fast.

>>9518787
Yeah, agreed. I was trying to be realistic about it. I couldn't on good conscious just pretend that all would be good, and go "buy the machines, they will come" type mentality. This isn't like giving advice on going to some convention or whether or not someone's are style is good enough for AA, this is thousands of dollars and life changing. Some 14 year old going to AA before they are ready and failing and this is completely different.

I wish it was different. I would even love to work with the machines at my own job, but competing against people that can produce it much cheaper is an uphill battle, so if my boss asked for my advice I would tell them no too, and she knows the same thing anyway. I wish them luck and would love them to prove me wrong, but between costs and people's mentality, it will be a tough battle to make it actually making a decent profit

>>9518326
but they all knew that before signing up, by paying for the table they acknowledged that and people still went right? How is it that any of akon's fault?

>>9518900

At this point I'm only ordering 50-75 charms at a time. For reference I do 2-3 cons a year and my charms don't move that fast (I also don't have too many designs). It's been much cheaper even at that low run to go through Vograce than AP.

>>9518955
Yeah, it's cheaper through Vograce, but I don't want to have that much stock. I think I'm going to order a small batch from AP and if they do well, I'll order more from Vograce. Keychains are something new I'll be offering, so I'm not ready to take a big risk yet.

>>9518393
Don't forget that it's usually mediocre FOTM artists who complain the loudest about these things. AANI consists almost entirely of them, and we all know how they are with opinions.

>>9518943
People knew about the increased table cost and doubling the amount of tables, sure. But they didn't know how fucked up layout was going to be. We were actually told we'd all be getting 8 x 8 spaces with pipe and drape. We received something like 8 x 5' instead with those giant divider walls. Artists were put behind the dealers which also completely messed the traffic flow.

I do think other people are being a little over the top blaming A-Kon staff for everything but there definitely were some administrative missteps this year.

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Foil washi anon, since my original supplier increased prices on me twice, I redoubled efforts to find another supplier. This one's cheaper, and I know someone who's used them before, so now slots are $100 for 100 rolls, 1 design.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wC68G3-9sZUIuNn72ReIfWfaSQPlN_h_ydT8VBoxdAo/edit#gid=0

Pic related: these are samples I ordered from them.

I know we're all busy making things, but what are you artists looking forward to buy from other artists?

I've been really into enamel pins lately and hope to find more original ones to put on my bag and jacket. Other than that, I'd love a new splatoon print to put on my wall, especially with the new game coming out.

>>9519125
I feel like I never really got into enamel pins. I've seen few that were sort of cute to me but have only bought one set so far. Kinda sad because I keep telling myself I wanna get some. That said, I'm eternally on the lookout for mushishi stuff in general but it's kind of a rare find at the best of times.

>>9519125
I really wanna get some cute stationary and washi tape! I also would like to see some more custom plushies with original-ish creature designs.

>>9519125
I've been looking forward to collecting those hardcover sketchbooks with the artist designed covers!

I've been getting pretty confident in drawing in perfect bound sketchbooks lately (usually use spiral) so I'd like to draw in sketchbooks that look nice on the outside and aren't just blank or have generic branding on it.

Only thing is that I dislike dot paper, and a lot of sketchbooks I find in AA that I like happen to be dot....

>>9518321
That whole thing in the last thread was a shit show. Like wow an artist can choose what to sell their work for???

The whole thing really reminded me of tumblr SJW policing and was just dumb as hell. If a ton of people approached me the way they were saying they did to her, I'd want to keep my prices at $5 just to spite them

>>9519164
Most of the places I get my sketch/notebooks produced from either have the dots or lines option. The only place I've seen offering pure blank pages have had really low quality covers. Though I 100% feel you on that and would love to get my stuff made with pure blank pages

>>9519164
I have one by Punimelt with blankpages and its nice. I also know http://store.mayakern.com/ has them but they arent up right now. Might be because they are at a con?

>>9519170
While a lot of the salt was directed at her, there is a serious issue when that one [potential customer] ranted about how artists overcharge for their prints, and y'know we don't actually make that much on our art usually, sorry for us pricing our stuff so we can make a decent wage? If an artist feels their art is worth $5 or $20, that's up to them, but pricing cheaply still ends up perpetuating the idea that artists have to sell their shit for dirt cheap when we usually work really fucking hard on it and we'd at least like to earn something decent for our efforts.

Most of us aren't making bucketloads of money, and spent years gaining a certain level of skill that others will deem worthy of spending their money on. So when shit like $5 prints happens, it basically makes it seem that all of our stuff is expensive and we're just greedy fuckers, when really we're just pricing our stuff at market rate.

>>9519160
They're very hard to find in an anime convention's artist alley... Are you in California? There are a ton of indie crafts conventions and small comic or zine conventions that usually sell a lot of enamel pins in very nice designs. I'm still picky though and only buy ones I REALLY like lol
Good luck finding Mushishi merch. I know the feel of trying to find any merch of a less popular series.

>>9519161
Washi tape is always fun to shop for. I'm also all for original plush designs. It's hard to make handmade plush look good, so when I see one it's hard to resist. Though the only person that fits this criteria that comes to mind is Onelani.
Sort of related. What are your thoughts on cushions? I personally don't see the appeal in flat art on a flat stuffed cushion, but if I saw one with a really nice drawing in a series I'm into I'd be sold.

>>9519164
Those are really nice, I agree! I forgot they existed but now that you mention it, I'd love to get my hands on one too.
I actually like the dotted lines in sketchbooks because I like taking notes but single lines are distracting. That's just me. My sketchbooks end up being multi-purpose and not just art, lol.

>>9519185
I REALLY want to like cushions but ultimately they just look and feel like low-quality throw pillows haha. I think that's maybe because none of the printing I've seen has been especially crisp or decent looking and that's not even talking about how weirdly unpleasant the actual texture of the cushions are. I'm not closed off to the idea of printed character art on cushions but I don't think they're at the point I would like them to be.

>>9519180
I totally get and understand that (I am an artist and tabler myself) but everyone going full chimp on this one girl was really uncalled for imho.

>>9519180
While I don't like her pricing either, shit like fiverr and elancer already exist, so lousy pricing isn't really something new. I'd rather just stay the hell away from her and associate with top-performing artists who actually respect themselves and their own time and work, instead of attempting to shove my views down the throat of someone filled with that sort of unchecked self-loathing.

>>9519196
I'm glad someone else is on the same boat. I wish I liked them, I feel like a picky asshole because I don't. They're such a unique and cool merchandise that few artists are doing, but I just can't get into them.

I'm wondering what could make them more appealing for us who don't like them initially. Maybe if they were bigger it would feel more like "cushion". Maybe designs that could be cool flat, similar to how artists took advantage of clear charms to make those characters in a bottle or teabag.
Hell, I think I'd like a pattern cushion more than a character one because it would feel more like a design made for a cushion rather than a cushion made out of a design.

>>9519125
I second the enamel pins. I want more stuff I can actually wear (my room can't fit any more prints). It's also kinda dumb but I've been into those handmade horns lately. Think they'd go well with a lot of my wardrobe

>>9519218
Thank you for understanding.

>>9519180
Would you be willing to pay for $150 t-shirts all of the time?

>>9519295
It's not even self-loathing, though.

>>9519320
This is a hilariously off the walls comparison because 150 for a shirt and 15 for a print is nowhere in the same vein, but you do realize there are people DO pay 150 for t shirts?

Seriously if 15 for an art print is getting you this salty, go review your finances. Or you're 16 years old and that 20 a week mom is giving you just isnt cutting it.

>>9519320
>It's not even self-loathing, though.
You must understand that's what it looks like, yes? If I see $5 prints I think either the art is stolen, or the artist feels like shit about themselves/their art. Of course laymen with no art experience will just go "oo it's cheap gimme!" though.

>>9519453
Also this. DESU $25-35 for a shirt and $15 for a print are a more realistic comparison because shirts have pretty cheap production values these days.

It seems like the $5 print artist from A-kon did so very intentionally, and according to her partner anyone who raises issue with predatory pricing and undercutting is just "her enemies talking"
>>>9519318
So, good luck to anyone who tables in an alley with them in the future! If I ran an AA I'd blacklist them but what do I know, I am naught more than the enemy!

>>9519486
And do you have a source?

>>9519517
They're literally in the texas thread.

>>9519527
Sorry, somehow overlooked that!

>>9519486
>>>9519318 →
Honestly though, I wouldn't have known about her before but now I certainly know to "look out" for her, and not in the good way.

The whole $5 print thing saving money for other artists does -kind of- make sense, though, in my experience, so I -kind of- get where they're coming from. I very specifically remember being a 12-year-old at AX and finding a $5 print booth, spending about $15 dollars there, and being really happy that I got so many prints and could still have money for other things. BUT the whole idea kind of falls apart because I also remember it being a very impulse buy; unfortunately I'm one of those people who buys things because "they're cheap and I can't miss a deal" rather than because I really need/want them. I'm sure there are more people like me out there.

Then again, everyone has been talking about the mediocrity of the Akon AA, so a booth like hers probably had double the temptation since her art looks (from the pictures) pretty good.

>>9519320
It doesn't matter to me what it actually is, just like how mine and others' opinions about her pricing don't matter to her in the end.

While I appreciate that she sees this whole thing as a non-zero sum (which is actually true), her methodology ensures that I will be placing her on my list of "do not seat me next to these individuals". Skipping over the price part, the fact that it created a situation where her neighbors were blocked off with no crowd management and the general flow of that row got screwed is enough proof for me that she lacks consideration or respect for other artists.

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MYDOO is going to offer printed fexible PVC charms if any of you guys want to jump on this.

So question. What do you do with old art you've commissioned that you don't want anymore? I got a lot of art done of my ex's and mine characters together and he was abusive to me. So I don't want it anymore, but I feel bad throwing it out because the artists worked hard on them.

>>9519604
The artist did work that made you happy at one point which means their job is done and whatever you do to the work won't matter. Don't hold onto something that can hurt you the more it stays around. Toss, give away, or sell anything that reminds you of the bastard and wash it out of your hair!

>>9519604
You paid them for it, it's yours, shit just burn it if it makes you happy

>>9519604
I've burned art that I commissioned but came out ugly lol. If it was just individually character art you can sell the character design on da or something though.

I like all this blame on one artist undercutting everyone as why everyone sucked at A-Kon. Has no one looked up that in 2016 there was only around 140 artists then in 2017 there was close to 300 artists? A-Kon would have to double in attendance to justify that kind of expansion. I was there which it felt the same size crowd as in 2016.

There was a lot more AA tables fighting over the same amount of money brought in to the con. So stop fighting each other. Tell A-Kon they fucked up hard, not each other.

>>9519732
Did you even read this thread or the last thread?

>>9519732
Did you miss all the posts citing the increase in tables and the venue change as reasons why A-Kon sucked for people this year? No one's singlehandedly blaming Melly for everything. No she didn't ruin AA sales all by herself, but that doesn't mean people can't criticize her pricing decisions.

>>9519732
No one is blaming Melly alone for poor AA sales, everyone is just saying her undercutting really wasn't helping matters, either.

>>9519604
Do this
>>9519622
>>9519629
But for GODs sake don't ever let the original artists find out about it, it's totally justified on your part but I could see that being really hurtful to them no matter what the situation is.

>>9519808
I would be more than happy to let someone destroy a commission I made them if they were in that situation. Then again, I don't value my art much.

>>9519808
>>9519875
Yeah my fiend asked me if it as okay to wreck something that I was commissioned after his girlfriend and him broke up. I was fine with it, but it would be weird if some random came up and asked at a table.

You paid for it, it's your property to do with the piece of paper/ etc. itself what you wish as far as I'm concerned

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>>9518060
hey gulls! i apologize in advance if these are silly questions, but i will preface this with some exposition:

i have wanted to table at cons for a while and it only just now hit me that that is something i can do for sure. from lurking for a few months i already have a decent idea in mind of what to do (where certain vendors are, not to undercharge, how to decorate, things of that nature) but i don't like to do things unless i am absolute 100% certain of them and trust the judgement of the more senior members here:

based on my art style, do you guys think i could feasibly sell merch in an artists alley? i still need to actually create stickers and prints of that nature, but here are just a couple examples of my art.

and secondly, i am not at all into anime. could i still do well with regard to selling merch? i plan to target some more successful tv shows/ movies/ other such series that i'm into and make more merch for those rather than for my more niche fandoms (but still having some merch for them), but from what i've seen at aas i've both attended and seen pics from online, most seem anime oriented. could i do okay without having any anime merch, or should i try to get into at least one popular anime and sell merch for it?

third of all, do my prices seem okay? i was thinking $1 for printed stickers with some sort of "buy x amount get one free" gimmick. i was also considering $10 for sketches, $15 for grayscale and $20+ for full color / watercolor comms. i also do sticker commissions irl (just silly little things on those free usps priority mail stickers) and tend to charge $1 each for those, but i feel like that would be undercharging in the context of a con.

sorry if any of these are silly or stupid questions!!!! i'm just totally new to all of this and want to avoid making mistakes as much as i can!!

>>9519929
ohhh no i accidentally put too much art from the "person facing left" category. i'm a dummy please ignore that

>>9519929
Try comic cons or indie press events, sorry but your style would flop pretty hard at an anime convention because it's not conventionally attractive and not really "anime-ish". I can't imagine anyone would buy these unless you had a humor based print or if people were buying it for ironic reasons.

You'd do okay I think at indie events or comic cons if you had a comic or zine but no guarantee of any major success.

>>9519303
Yeah, I think that's why I am preferring smaller merch too. My room is stuffed with prints.

I like practical merch. I want to see more tote bags and mugs as well.

>>9519929
I really don't rec tabling at an anime con if you're not into anime. Not just making money back but if you're not interested in it do you really wanna sit for hours with weebs asking for fanart. I've seen tables with just Western series before but they look out of place as fuck.

Your art is cool though I'm not sure the general demographic would want art of their fav in that style. I can see it looking alright with kinda scummy characters, like Reigen from Mob Psycho, but indie cons are probably a better bet.

If you have a blog or something you could always see what type of reception you get to your fanart on there.

>>9519929
I was actually thinking the same thing as >>9519948 when I saw your art. I don't think it is to the tastes of anime goer, and since you said you don't really like anime, you're 0/2 of that front. I've seen style in a similar vein to yours being sold before of anime, I don't know how well they did but it's very possible that they created a niche, but you have to have a finger to the vein of what people want, anime series wise, as well as clever prints (in order to do this you either need to have a really GOOD understanding of the fandom's jokes, or be very skillful in angles etc.) to pull it off. I still believe that to do well, you need to like what you are drawing subject matter of in AA, and you said you don't of anime cons.

Comic con may work but depending on your subject manner that you eventually do, profits may be nothing to write home about. You might do well, I don't know, and AA is always somewhat of a risk

>>9519929
I like your top left picture a lot and I think that sort of style could translate very easily into stickers. (I love the muted colors.) The rest of your work looks a little unfinished though, so I'm not sure how comfortable you would be making prints. Consider drawing stuff from the same series in that top left style (little chibis) and then putting them all together for a group print. You can still sell the individuals as stickers but still make sales if anyone wants a print.

I agree with the other anon that I think your stuff would do better at a comic convention than it would at an anime one. Especially since you don't watch anime at all. If you hit up some popular western shows like X-Files, Twin Peaks, The Office, etc - I think you could make decent money. I do both anime and comic conventions and prints of Western TV shows sell pretty well!

Your prices seem fair but I might bump up your full color/water color commissions to like... $30~$40. Most full color watercolor stuff I've seen tends to go for $40~50. Although I guess if you're doing something like simple busts, $25~$30 isn't that bad. You could also probably do $2 stickers and get away with it depending on how big you make them!

>>9519948
>>9519975
haha whoops i totally failed to mention that all the cons i attend / would hope to table at are just general "fandom" conventions & are more geared towards comics and fandom culture in general than anime, but that the output of most artists in the artist alleys seems to be anime and anime fanart, even though the con isn't anime specific.

thanks you for the pointers!!

>>9519925
>>9519875
>>9519604
At least the breakup happened after the commission was finished and paid for and not say when you were almost done with it after pouring hours into it didn't get paid beforehand... I was young and dumb>>9519612

>>9520104
Ahaha... actually my friend broke up with his girlfriend and didn't tell me. Since he wasn't a douche he still paid me, but as he didn't even tell me as I gave him the commission. I was wondering why he wasn't exactly acting like people usually do when people get a commission. It was only two weeks later was the mystery solved. I guess I was lucky

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This dude in AANI posting this paintover of Norman Rockwell and not bothering to mention it's a mod until someone recognized it.

What is ethics.

>>9519929
I agree with everyone about avoiding anime cons but I can see this style doing well at comic cons where people tend to look for work that stands out (at least I do).

My first AA was at an anime con and, while I got a lot of people interested and a few sales, it definitely wasn't amazing due to the fact that my style isn't anime related. Definitely start with an event that you'll enjoy and also do well at!

This is probably a stupid question, but has anyone here ordered enamel pins and can give their advice on choosing a manufacturer? Is alibaba/taobao not worth it or unsafe?

What do you guys like to see for AA business cards, design wise? There's a big difference in the audiences that most "Top 10 Business Card Design Tips" articles have in mind, and even between industry artists and non-anime indie artists imo.

I wanna cry every time I see a table with great art but a card that just has a randomly placed chibi or bust portrait on a white bg... And then there's the really 2000's weeb ones with bad serif text. Granted, most of those people are probably new, so at least they're trying, but sometimes you see the same bad card at multiple cons and it's like... oh. If it works, props to you, but also, why can't things be anime and still graphically appealing?

My faves are the cards with neat repeating patterns, or good portraits that they actually incorporate with their text and bg--font choice matters! They're just so clean and aesthetically pleasing, and still have that AA charm to them. I always make sure to pick up a card if the artist doesn't include one with their merch just to save as wallet deco and admire later (and ofc, for future site reference).

>>9519929
You have the makings of an interesting style right now but you should probly wait another year or two and work on improving before trying to make a profit off of anything.
Your stuff is nice at first glance but your anatomy is wonky and your faces are crooked.
If you were to table at an anime con you would not break even.

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This is the Black Butler picture I'm working out that I thought about posting last thread in wondering if anyone could reline, please? I struggle a lot with the backside of characters.

>>9520348
Redline*

>>9519580
do you mean like a group order?

>>9520348
You should post to /ic/. It's not really at an AA level, and it looks like you need a few more years of practice.

>>9519929
Zine fests tend to be far cheaper (sometimes free) than anime or comic con artists alleys, and are better suited to your style. I'd also look into indie comic cons (APE, SPX, etc.), or even local comic shops if they carry self-published work. You'd probably find an audience at conventions that are similar to Designer Con or Renegade Craft too, but prices for those types are higher since they charge by booths and not tables.

>>9519929
I might be in the minority, but i personally would buy characters i like in your style, or originals by you. I prefer unique stuff like that

>>9520348
It needs a lot of work. the super-thin line art isn't doing it any favors either. the line on the left shoulder is the wrong way for sure. the proportions on the shorter guy are very off.

>>9520348
I'm doing con crunch so I don't have time to redline this but some advice:
- your line weight is ALL over the place and has no real purpose
- their heads are too big for their bodies; just look at their shoulder widths in comparison to the heads
- it looks like you made the torsos too long too - this is especially evident on Ciel

>>9520366
>>9520352
>>9520360
Thanks.I know it's p bad. I'm nowhere near finished. I still do another lineart level and then the rendering, but I wanted to try to work out the basic poses first before going any further because I know it's way off

>>9520348
not a redline things that catch me right off the bat
-the angle/perspective of the dish seb is holding seems really off compared to the tea pot
-the heads are not only too large, but the hair feels plastered on. ciel especially looks like he's 6 years old
-ciel overall seems just all over the place, the left hand also seems too small.

>>9520348
...I honestly don't think this is that bad compared to most of the crap I see in AA. Needs some improvement but it's not horrible

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>>9520348
Sorry for the sloppy. Main thing that jumped out at me is the general pain of holding that sort of pose. Did you try doing it yourself in the mirror? To turn your head that much while keeping that much of the back showing is pretty painful.

Also I'm not sure where your eye line is versus the plane they're standing on and where you're choosing to crop.

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Fuck off AX..........

>>9519612
>>9519622
>>9519808
>>9519925
Thanks for all the advice and thoughts. I guess this is on the same topic as the whole $5.00 art thing too and people thinking it's not worth a lot.
Part of what my ex bf did was constantly degrade me about my art and doing AA.
His favorite line was "I go to work and work while you sit on ass all day and do nothing."
(As I was literally drawing all day for AA work).

Anyone else have any stories they can share of unsupportive family members or SO's when it come to your art and AA?
How do you deal with it?

Even though he's out of my life now, I still get the third degree from family members sometimes, and it's super hard for me to charge over $10 for a 12x18 print because I've had it drilled in my head so much that art isn't worth a lot and I'm shit lol

>>9520446
I seriously love your colors, the shading and highlights in her hair look amazing. Good luck with prep!

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>>9520348
>>9520366
Not really bothering with perspective here, just pointing out the cropping/composition is awkward.
see this: https://ginamilicia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/cropping-illustration.png
mid thigh, mid calf = good, the rest of the limb is implied because you kept part of it.
at the knee, at the ankle = bad, looks like you amputated them at that joint.

see pic related,
1.) if you want to crop out their feet, it's probably better to keep Seb and Ciel at roughly the same straight on angle, not keep Ciel further down the plane as seen in >>9520392, because the crop makes Ciel look like a midget.

2.) if you really want them to be standing further apart from each other keep Seb's feet in and make him smaller so we know Ciel's simply standing further down the plane/standing closer.
sorry shit explaining

Neat tut for line weight: http://michaelmetcalf.deviantart.com/art/Line-weight-Tutorial-384281679

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>>9520495
oops forgot to add this to help show what's going on in the image

Anyone got a decent way to store large prints for convention stock? My friend and I sell 13x19 prints and right now we just sort of, stack them on top of one another and hope for the best when we put together people's orders. Please help our current system is so shitty lol

>>9520446
Been checking your paintings in the AA threads, keep it up anon! They are sweet works

>>9520457
Anyone else have any stories they can share of unsupportive family members or SO's when it come to your art and AA?
How do you deal with it?
I'm sorry to hear that anon. I pretty much learn to take things with a grain of salt without getting salty, but I hope you find people who share your same interests and would be better at understanding in what you do to support you.

I don't have any bad stories. Whenever my mom asks how much I sell for this or that, I tend to get mixed reactions of it being expensive or cheap, mostly since she doesn't know how the AA scene is like - and when she visits me while I'm tabling, she'll say the exact same thing about all the other artists' goods, haha. Doesn't affect me too much really. At the end of the day, she has her way of caring about me, and I have customers who appreciate and buy the stuff I make.

>>9520457
Ex told me that he's always disliked my art and other people didn't think much of it either in the same conversation as when he dumped me. And that was on top of years of gaslighting me with, "all of your friends think you're a bitch" and then calling me paranoid when I demanded to know who said those things.

Seriously though, getting dumped was the best thing that could've happened to me. I wish I had better advice for you other than you're better off without him, and that working toward getting away from your family will probably be the next best step you could eventually take for yourself. (none of what happened to me had a detrimental effect on my self-esteem because I'm an arrogant bastard, hah)

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>>9520348
The head can't rotate that much around the torso, try it yourself, so I suggest opening up his shoulders more if you want a view of his face. His left arm should be mostly obscured by his torso. Like other anons have noted, your crop is awkward. Cutting it off mid-thigh would be less jarring. What throws me off the most is probably your faces though? The placement of the features is odd in a lot of spots. Ciel's left eye is way too close to the center of his face and his ear should be further away. I can't tell if we're looking up or down the nose. Another thing, the teapot Seb's holding is tilting. And the pot's handle is looking kinda phallic lol.

>>9520557
Not me, but my friend, had an SO that emotionally abused and gaslit her in the last year of their relationship. He convinced her that her art was bad and that no one would want to buy it, and that she was spending too much time on it when she should be taking care of the family (he meant HIM of course). She tabled at a small con around that time, and sold a few things, which gave her a boost, but later during a fight he said he sent the person to buy those things from her because he was "worried she would feel bad when she didn't sell anything". We're still not sure if he was lying but either way that fucking sucked.

They split now thankfully. I try to give her boosts whenever I can to help her get her art back on track. She just makes whatever makes her feel happy, and doesn't worry about whether it's marketable or whether anyone else will like it, and I think that helps her more than anything.

>>9520600
>>9520457

Oops sorry replied to wrong post.

>>9519527
There is no actual proof in that though. Pretty sure it's just some random trying to stir shit up

>>9519125
Sketchbooks! Zines, mini books of wonderful artworks. I LOVE collecting them, but I wish that there was some notes by the artist/their thoughts on the artwork etc. Just to give it more depth!

>>9520348
Honestly it can be reputable if you have that nice jazzy bright color generic anime style, lots of glaring lights will distract from the perspective/anatomy.

>>9519320
>$150 for t-shirts
>spent at least $120 to buy 3 shirts of the exact same design but in different colors because I'm trash and each shirt's base price was $60 anyway because it was official
>laughs

If people want it and are willing, they will pull out their wallets anon.

>>9520457
I think we just live in a society that cheapens creative professions. Because anyone can do it, it shouldn't be valued. The thing that people always forget is while anyone can do it, not everyone can do it well. I came to terms that most people will never consider me successful no matter how much I make as a creative and that's FINE because I'm enjoying myself and my craft. I can stop anytime and go into something that makes more money easily - you just need to get a confidence boost in yourself.

My dad basically disowned me early into my life because I decided to pursue art. He told me I didn't have the drive for it and it was just a phase. And that my art wasn't good to boot. I've basically been saying fuck you ever since that point - no one can be that bad afterwards.

I still have confidence issues in my art since I don't think I'll ever be good enough but I'm making money so I have to be doing something right.

>>9520713
[encouraging claps for anon]

>>9520457
My mom always chastised me ever since elementary school to knock off the drawing and would punish me if she caught me doing it. I'd start getting more rebellious in little ways like drawing when she was sleeping and stealing a pack of copy paper from school so I could draw without her noticing the paper was gone. Little 10 year old me thought, "I'm not hurting anyone. And my grades are good and this makes me happy. What's the big deal?"

I haven't spoken to her in a long time, but I think she'd be baffled to know I can pull in a couple thousand with my art alone and not just chump change.

I don't plan on doing conventions forever, but hey, I'm doing what I do, and I do what I like. Don't gotta prove anything to her.

>>9520457
I'm similar to >>9520734 but my mom never chastised me. She wanted me to focus on school and while I was a good student, I didn't do so well in certain subjects and she would freak over it.

To get me to stop drawing she would toss all of the copy paper including a huge stack that was gifted to me from family. Then I started drawing on line paper (ugh). My extended family on my mom's side was very supportive. They would give me stacks of copy paper, colored pencils, art sets etc. I was different from my cousin's who wanted to talk about boys, singers, or wear suggestive clothes and do suggestive dances. Since I kept to myself and just did my own thing quietly, my family didn't mind supporting me when they saw things that reminded them of me.

My dad's side on the other hand never took an interest in me as a child. I heard the same story about how my aunt was so talented and was offered a job and Disney but rejected it because she "didn't want to draw Goofy for the rest of her like" It was said so many times that it started to feel more like a mock than actual story.

Since I started doing Artist Alley my parents are very supportive. My mom gets excited when I do new merch, suggests ideas, helps me conprep etc. In this year she started driving me to conventions (long story) she's the ONLY parent outside the convention center hugging their child goodbye like I'm off to summer camp or something. My dad does the same too, but I'm not embarrassed because I know so many people are struggling to find family acceptance with their art.

Since I started doing AA my dad's family have made several purchases, but I don't think they still get it. At least I'm not teased anymore for always having a sketchbook in my purse.

>>9520457
I'm a faily successful AA artist and have a decent internet following that ive amassed over my time freelancing. I love what I do and pay all my bills with my art alone but I don't have a single person in my life outside of the internet whose supportive of my career.
Even my friends who I hang out with on a regular basis always single me out as the butt of a joke when we go drinking or something. Its always "lol anon draws pictures on the internet" and make jokes about my social media pages and the moniker i operate under.
Noone ever takes my career seriously and I think I'd be a lot more sucessful if I didn't have such horrible self esteem issues because of years of being treated like this.
I'm a shut-in and I don't really get out much and I've been single since highschool (im almost 30 now).

I don't mean to make this into a blog post but I do know how it feels to not be supported by your peers when it comes to art. Like I said, I love what I do so so much but its very very hard to feel validated most of the time when all my IRL peers treat me like some kind of loser when all I'm doing is making a career out of my passion.
I'm very lonely, anons.

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>>9519929
i really like the black bottom one. looks like a regency dressed guy. you could do kinda gothy/occult stuf, that could work with your style

>>9520783
jesus christ, ditch your friends and get some new ones anon. I'm sure there's irl AA people who'd be down to hang with you and also be better friends who respect your career and the value of your art.

>>9520787
I have some con friends irl but I live in a really isolated part of the east coast and my closest friend ive made through conventions is still a few states away.
The friends I have rn are old part-time colleagues and college roommates. Its hard to find new people where I'm at, much less, keep ongoing irl relationships with people from conventions aside from when I see them when I table.

>>9520783
You've probably heard this many times online but rn honestly I can only feel respect for you,
and seriously a part of me thinks they bag you out of some misplaced envy, because you're paying your bills with something you love.
Knowing how hard that is to achieve, how is that not something to admire??
Don't listen to those assholes, you're doing great, anon. Keep doing your thing.
Possibly try any art clubs/meet ups or life drawing classes or sth where you might run into a fellow kindred spirit. You have my (however anonymous) support.

>>9518998
Why do you keep using other people's group order washi tape as examples for your order when it's not the same manufacturer and you weren't the organizer for that one?

>>9520457
My mom used to ask me when i was getting a "real job" until i started hitting the high 4 digits and low 5 digits for cons and now she doesn't have anything to say. Part of what helped me hit that though? Being brave enough to raise prices. $10 prints practically guarantees you will never make a sustainable / comfortable living. Artists aren't required to work themselves to death just to barely pay the bills, don't let scrubby assholes make you buy into that myth.

>>9520783
Definitely get new friends. All of my friends are in some sort of creative field and we all sell both online and at shows. You have to be around likeminded people that are supportive and understand the work that goes into it.

Have you not met anyone through your art following that would make a good friend? I've met some amazing art friends via instagram

>>9520297
What is it about enamel pins that makes people afraid to google or search AANI for resources? I don't even make pins and I'm sick of these questions.

>>9520297
I'll throw you a bone. I don't do enamel pins myself but a CCS wand pin I bought had the website www.gs-jj.com on it and the quality is nice.

>>9520791
I don't know if you like boardgames, but maybe try to find a boardgame group that meets up around you? Boardgame people are usually pretty cool and not assholes to artists.

>>9520457
Now my mom is a grade A POS for a ton of reasons, but she's always been an asshole about my art. It particularly hurts because she's also an artist with an art degree, with a lot of skill who only isn't a professional artist because she's to incompetent to make a business out of it. She's always picked on my art and still does, and now that I've been able to make money off of it, she constantly tells me she thinks my prices are too high. Like the first time I broke 4 digits and told her, her words were "Oh, maybe you should stop spending so much time on [your art] then."

I've been printing my charms with Coco for years but she's really pissing me off lately with her tardiness, and I know for a fact that's it's not because she's busy since she completed a friend's separate order which was placed a day after mine. What the fuck. My current order is taking 2 days just to communicate for a sample print. 2 fucking days. She replies in 4 hour intervals and it's incredibly frustrating. I really can't comprehend why since I've always been patient and polite with her. Is anyone else having the same problems, should I just move my correspondence to Vicky or someone else from vograce?

>>9520378
>>9520392
>>9520495
>>9520496
>>9520595
Thanks so much for all the time and help! I really it appreciate it, and these are things I will surely try to work on and keep in mind for other pieces as well so I can hopefully not make as many as the same mistakes. I really need to buy a fully body mirror haha

>>9520791
Anon, this is the person who asked for the stories. I also live in an isolated part of the east coast. Can I ask what state? It'd be funny if we were in the same area. I really want a friend to hang out with and draw with.

>>9520975
how often do you message her? i placed my order on june 8th and received the charms today, but i was on a time crunch and i messaged her each step of the way asking for progress

>>9520872
You make a thousand bucks on your art and she tells you /not/ to focus on your art??? What is logic???

Hey guys, I have a question on fairness. I had another artist proxy for me in which I paid for all thier expenses (hotel, table, food, gas, parking) and in return for selling for me I let them split the table to sell their own stuff. Now they're asking if I can pay them $50 per day for selling for me. I've never proxied before so I'm wondering what you guys think is fair. I would be more than willing to pay them if they went solely to sell for me but I was thinking since I let them have half my table and paid for their expenses that the would be good enough? I don't want to be unfair to them.

>>9521149
You've completely covered their expenses and you're letting them have 50% of your space. I think you've been more than generous. If they've agreed to all of that plus they're asking you for more money after the fact, they're being greedy.

>>9521131

She might be worried once the fan art stuff flat lines and she wants to do something else, she wont have any other skills.

Ive actually never seen an artist in AA over the age of 30..I wonder why that is. (Besides the 60 year olds that sell shirts)

>>9521149
When will people learn to stop biting the hand that feeds them? No, you shouldn't pay them anything extra, considering you've paid for all of their other expenses and you're letting them split the table. They're going to basically start out a con only needing to make back money spent on merch? Fuck them and their greed.

>>9521192
I know several, and I also just turned 30.

>>9521192
Probably because there wasn't much of an idea that you could make decent money from AA until recently. It used to seen by almost everyone to be a done thing to do for the weekend, and a way to make a little spending money by drawing things similar to what you would be drawing anyway. The would leave as cons lost their interest and they had better things going on in their lives then making a few hundred dollars in a weekend. The people that started into this mentality that artist alley is a serious, semi full time thing have only started to be "older" like >>9521254 has.At least that is my prediction

>>9521254

Do you do it for a living?

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>>9520457
>>9520591
>>9520600
>>9520713
>>9520734
>>9520773
>>9520783
>>9520821
>>9520872
All of you who kept drawing despite your parents and/or SO not supporting you, you the real mvp and I'm proud of you. Art is difficult enough to do without the people who are supposed to be most important and supportive to you shitting all over it. You deserve to be proud of yourself for not giving up! <3

>>9521324
Nayrt, but I'm 26 and I do it for a living. I'm the primary breadwinner for my family and support my parents. My con earnings currently pays for the entire monthly rent on my family home, car payments, and groceries. Even when I was in college, con earnings helped me pay off my parents' cars and help somewhat with rent. I'm saving up money to go to grad school eventually, but even after I get a primary job, I'll probably still hit up my local cons. I know several 30+ year olds who do this for a living and support their families. But at the same time, I know some people who are in their 30's doing this without a clear direction in their lives, barely breaking even because their parents are funding it as their hobby? So I guess it's really up to the person.

So as an attendee who saw stuff about A-Kon's AA spill out onto A-Kon's facebook comments and the texas convention thread, I just wanted to make a few comments. I had $500 set aside for the dealer's room/AA and went home with over $400 of it when in previous years I've gotten more from the ATM.

First of all pricing is a major thing. When your prints are the same price as an official framed lenticular, or your large prints are priced above official silk screens, I'm going to go for the official goods every time. As others have said, your prints are fanart. They're more or less glorified bootlegs and when your bootlegs are priced above the official goods, it makes no sense to buy them. Even other trinkets like acrylic charms have to compete with official goods. Either your work has to be superior or something interesting that you can't get as an official.

Buy two get one free and cheaper when you buy more schemes are just annoying. Let your customer decide how many prints they want to buy. I saw a couple of prints that I might have purchased at $10 but the seller had nothing else that interested me at all. Not even something that I would give to a friend as a souvenir.

The other two issues I have is saturation of popular series and the same old prints I've seen for the 3+ years in a row at multiple cons. Yuri on Ice is popular, but is your YoI print going to look better thant the other 50 artists that are making YoI prints? When people keep bringing back the same goods year after year, I don't have a sense of scarcity that if I don't get something I won't have another chance.

Of the money I did spend this year, I bought a grand total of ONE print in AA and that was from a VA to get it signed. I purchased some graphic novels and comics from vendors that I knew who they were before I attended the con, mainly to get them signed. Consider creating original content that you can be recognized for rather than just fan art all the time.

>>9520975
Well, it took literally 6 working days for me to get my outlines from Coco.... and I was asking nicely everyday.

>>9521104
whoa that's fast.... I contacted her on June 7th.... and it took literally 6 days to get outlines! Mines haven't even shipped yet.

>>9521412
>artists use the same formula they've used for other cons/previous years
>A-Kon changes some variables
>sales suffer at A-Kon this year
Yet it's because of the artists. Even though they're doing the same thing at other cons' AAs with more positive results. What even is your logic, anon.

>>9521412
You said what was on my mind. I'm not an artist. I just lurk these threads so I can see ~the process~, but I have the exact same complaints as you. Why would I buy a $10-$15 acrylic charm (that will probably chip off in a month anyway as all of my fan charms have) when I could buy a better looking, better made official charm for even cheaper? I think a lot of artists have spent too much time behind the booth. You've forgotten what it's like to be a customer. You listen too much to what other artists think is a good idea, then wonder why no one is buying. Well, you're not really marketing to other artists in AAs. They're right there next to you selling. Listen to what the customers want. We don't need amazing museum-level quality art prints if they're going to be in the $10-$20 range. For $10, I could get a giant poster of my favorite series instead of a small print. I also hated how pretty much every table had the exact same series there. There were so many good videogames and anime that came out in 2016. Are you seriously only going to focus on the same few series that everyone else is doing?

I ended up only buying from three artists this year at A-Kon, and one made jewelry not even drawn art. I think the AA community as a whole needs to take a step back and reevaluate things.

>>9521412
Most AA artists are still putting in a lot of time and effort into whatever pieces they sell. With fanart, you have the characters designed, but composition, technical skill, etc. is all still up to the artist. Ofc there's some that are rip offs, or some that don't look good, but that's not all there is. The way you put it, everybody might as well be charging $50 for traced images. Sometimes, official art is boring af--a lot of people would rather go for something that looks better even if it's not official, even if you wouldn't (and they're not even that expensive!)

Buy in bulk for cheaper merch is a staple of how making $$$ works. Again, you might not like it, but it's a good way to bring in more business overall. It's literally just a tactic that you can spot in any store you go to, it's not just artists being greedy...

Third point is the one thing I'd agree on, but you're talking to the wrong crowd. People here have talked before bout AA being full of the same YOI print. But also, they're popular series, so what'd you expect?

Your last suggestion is just bad lol. Unless you've got a really damn good style and a big name presence, fanart is gonna outsell original art at an anime con. Maybe if you were talking bout an indie comics con or craft fair that could work, but most anime con attendees are there for their faves and their faves only, even if you wanna be all high n mighty bout "Official merch only"

Feedback's good n cool, but your comments are sorta really useless and off base lmao. If you wanna post about something you know nothing about, fine, thanks for trying, but also damn you sound like some entitled suburban pta mom whose barista messed up her order

>>9521104
I message her whenever her replies lag by hours, but she still takes at least 4-5 hours for each message. It's really time wasting when she takes so long just to reply.

>>9521456
Did she reply to your messages everyday and still take 6 days for your outlines? How many charm designs did you have? I'd rather just do my own outlines at this point if it means I can get my shit faster jfc

>>9521412
>>9521504

You two are exceptions, not the current rule. The AA system in the US has evolved very specifically to be more fanart print-driven precisely because it's what was rewarded consistently over time, year after year, convention after convention. If this actually begins to shift then that's when you'll see the sellers adjusting their strategies accordingly. Most points made are valid.

>We don't need amazing museum-level quality art prints if they're going to be in the $10-$20 range.

I will say fuck you to that though, I've got pride in my work and pride in quality of my materials and finish, you're the fucking reason American consumers put up with bullshit like fast fashion and our entire car industry's inability to produce a vehicle that's actually reliable. If you've got a problem with the pricing speak with your wallet, discouraging us to produce quality is just downright disgusting.

>>9521504
Official charm for cheaper? Lmao. Official charms in dealers can run you up to 30 bucks at times.

Obviously artists are listening to what customers want if they're doing well outside of A-Kon. Take your shit opinions elsewhere especially since you don't understand ~the process~ well enough.

>>9521412
Lol @ glorified bootlegs
You've already disqualified yourself from the conversation...but anyway.

The buy two get one free things are there because they work. If the artist is mediocre, then yeah it sucks, but the fact of the matter is that it's a very convincing deal otherwise.

And good for you, but you probably wouldn't be part of the crowd that we're primarily catering to anyway. Fan art will almost always out sell original art any day, and that's how it's always been. People don't have to make original work just to get recognized...

>>9521412

So you'll always buy official merch over fanart but you bought a print in AA to get the VA to sign. That's tacky as heck. You had someone who works on the show sign a glorified bootleg and that's okay?

>>9521539
>Official charm for cheaper? Lmao. Official charms in dealers can run you up to 30 bucks at times.

Lol I was wondering where they're getting official posters for only $10 too, those things are usually like $20-25... I think I paid $15 once for a folded magazine insert poster I really wanted... Dealers are ripping customers just as hard as AA if not harder.

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Having a tricky time quoting stuff on mobile, but thank you anons for the kind words. Have a lot to finish for now but having people to share it with helps with the process a lot.

>>9521624
I got one of those giant vinyl Walking Dead promo posters for $10 at a comic con once, but it was an obvious fire-sale item. If it were a FOTM animu poster it'd be $25 at the absolute lowest.

>>9521149
you shouldnt trust this person to proxy for you in the future, they may have been taking money from you if they're this greedy

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Ok, I can't work on this anymore. I started it over a year ago...two? And I actually forced myself to finish it. I REALLY like the way it came out though. I'm not a painter, nor do I understand how to color things, but I like the way it looks.

Thoughts?

>>9521155
>>9521631
Thank you for your inputs! I don't believe the would steal from me but I just wanted to make sure I wasn't in the wrong here and treating then unfairly.

>>9521357
>My con earnings currently pays for the entire monthly rent on my family home, car payments, and groceries

So you make like 10K doing this? Do you travel around to different cons? Are you always making new products? Do you just sell prints?

>>9521626
Those are very cool! I haven't seen a non-digital piece of work (that wasn't utter shit- hurdur look at my REAL painting of Tenchi) is forever. Those would indeed look really cool on a wall with a big ass gold frame or something hipstery like that.

>>9521635
That's also fucking cute. But there are so little things that I hope you go back and touch up. If you've been looking at it too long you might be missing some of the smudges in the white. As if you skipped that part when cleaning it up.

Also I can't decide if I like the fact the center is so busy or not. I was going to complain that you should give it some negative space, but on the other hand, it makes me at it longer and it kinda flows. It looks like a children's book illustration.
But PLEASE fix that big candy cane in the front. I looks like it was done in two seconds because of the shitty shading and the angle is wrong I think. I can forgive the other little mistakes, but not that glaring one.

>>9520309
The two most important things for an artist business cards are 1. good graphic design 2. uniqueness.

Especially to those people who pick up everyone's business cards, the ones that really stand out are the ones that succeed.

>>9521149
I occassionally proxy half of my table for a friend and we split 50-50 and I have never asked her to cover my expenses. It depends on who you're dealing with but I wouldn't trust anyone to proxy for me unless we're really really close and they are trust worthy.

That said, 50-50 split actually makes way more than 50 bucks per day. Do you have a revenue sharing agreement with her? If you don't think it's worth it, consider not doing proxy with her in the future.

>>9520872
Just ignore her. My dad is the same fucking way but he seems to be legitimately worried everytime I fly out of state. He thinks I can't make back the expenses and that it's a waste of time but everytime, I prove him wrong.

You do you. If you are successful and make a shit ton of money, don't ever let anyone else put you down. Even if they're your parents.

>>9520975
Coco said that she was out on vacation around that time. I don't like her reply time either. Takes forever and also made me miss out on printing shit in time for a-kon. A-kon sales were abysmal anyway, so I don't really care but having it would have been nice.

>>9521602
You're selling artwork of an IP that you don't own or have a license for. The only reason you're allowed to sell it at conventions is because the event is "private to members" which creates a legal loophole that says you aren't selling it to the public. You are selling bootlegs. Get over yourself.

>>9521713

Hate to be that guy, but pretty much this.

There really is no real grey area besides "no one wants bad pr for swatting a fan. I do like me some cool bags and keychains and stickers, but we really have to have some kind of conversation about getting something mass-produced over Internet orders and selling them.

I dont care about the prices and who has what premium, but I found it incredibly fucked up that YoI keychains and acrylic stands were being produced by episode 2, way before the official merch even had a chance to come out. It's absolute horseshit that an ambitious production that clearly needs support can't have first dibs on sales of its own goddamn IP.

>>9521713

I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about the fact that you can't be bothered to spend money on an artist's work because to you all it is is a "glorified bootleg." The IP issue is a different story. If you want to support official merchandise so badly, go ahead. We can't, and we won't stop you. But if artists work hard on a piece of fanart, and it is a product of their own talent, they shouldn't have to be looked down on by people like you. Maybe it is a "bootleg" in concept, but if you're doing it wrong if you're viewing artists' work like some cheap bootleg rubber strap that was made in China and doesn't deserve to be paid market price for.

People don't buy things in AA because they can't find official merch--most of the time they buy things because they like the art, or the composition, or whatever.

>>9521504
> I also hated how pretty much every table had the exact same series there. There were so many good videogames and anime that came out in 2016. Are you seriously only going to focus on the same few series that everyone else is doing?

The reason everyone has the same stuff, is because the fans of those series are actually willing to purchase art. I made a print for Saga of Tanya (Youjo Senki) because it's the best fucking thing that aired this year, but I only sold two of them. People would stop by my booth, comment on how happy they were that I had a print & how much they loved it, and then walk away without purchasing. My Fire Emblem merch did much better because everyone wants their waifu.

>>9521717
> an ambitious production that clearly needs support
Tracking DVD & Bluray sales, Yuri on Ice is the 4th best selling anime since 2000. That doesn't count any of the cash they've made from merchandise, which they are churning out extensively. I think they're doing alright.

>>9521738
>like some cheap bootleg [...] made in China
>can't be bothered to spend money
>made in Cuina that does not deserve to be paid market price for

What is vograce but oh-fucking-kay my friend.

Also just because you blow your time and assets on any kind of art(by this I mean fanart for now), you are not entitled to someone else's approval. If that is your day job, more power to you, but does not make someone obligated to buy your fucking chibis.

Fucking baffles me that when China does it, it's bootleg trash made for shits and figglez and when American fanartists do it, it's artist alley and a real job because and you you you have bills to pay.

>>9521759
Vograce is a manufacturer. They do not create or sell art, they manufacture items to others' specifications.
All official merchandise is manufactured. All of it. Do you think George Lucas hand-whittled every Star Wars figure in existence?

>>9521764
Funny you bring up star wars when it costs literally millions to purchase the rights to make fucking board games with the ip. People pay out the ass to have the necessary permissions to make their official merchandise. So no, he doesnt whittle shit by hand, people threw a fuckton of money at him for his permission for them to whittle fiurines. and the they pay his ass in royalties on top of it. Take a fucking class, people.

They are a manufacturer but the practice of.mass producing fanart is flawed. you can mass produce ocs and shit and that is a completely different story.

>>9521759
Are you fucking stupid? It's not okay when China does it because they take the exact same product and slapped it in a mold. Your point about vograce is completely invalid, because they do a completely different kind of work. Mind you, no one looks down on Chinese artists either. And no one is asking for your approval, no one's saying anyone is obligated to buy anything, stop getting mad because artists won't lower their prices for your cheap ass.

>>9521768
People aren't mass-producing fanart in the kind of numbers you're talking about.
Maybe 500 people out of a population of billions are gonna own a copy of someone's charm they bought at Artists' Alley. That's if the artist made it is one of the minority making stupid money like a few of the people in these threads do and can spend it on manufacturing.
It costs millions to get the rights to a Star Wars board game because the company is going to make shitloads of copies of it, it'll be distributed to stores all over the country and it'll make millions of dollars in turn. A limited run of a product that's only being sold in one or two places at a time couldn't dream of putting a dent in a franchise's sales. Mister Yuri On Ice isn't crying into his sacks of money at night because some college student made $1000 in charm sales one weekend.

>>9521772
They are mass producing merch that virtually matches official work, and people have every right to be bothered about that. It isn't a matter of being "cheap". Good for you for spending 700+ on Persona 5 acrylics but we don't need to support that hobby of yours and we are not obligated to pat you on the ass for a goddamn thing. I have nothing against fanart and fanmerch. I do not think you are blind to this, just so wracked up in denial and hawking up internet-borne excuses from people who have no legal standing in what they are talking about, and you take comfort in that grey area because it saves you from habing to deal with job applications and interviews and having to wear dress slacks to work for 6+ hours a day.

Thats okay though, go thrive in your community where you print Metal Max fanart on 10 moleskins and then get fucking uppity when someone asks you for the printer source. Real productive fan community there. Go ahead and undercut devs from money on their own IPs because the acrylic keychains they spent literally tens of thousands of dollars to produce now have to compete with your Persona 5 keychains. Real supportive fan community there.

I do like and enjoy fanmerch, printed or not, but staying this tonedeaf to the effects of your eshop with flavor of the week shiy is goddamned annoying and making artist alleys worse.

>>9521799
Do you know that anon personally? Can you see through the screen? How are you so certain that they even have enough capital to make moleskines or keychains? This argument started with prints, mind you -- an entry-level product that just about every AA artist sells.

>>9521799
Okay, I get what you're saying, but I'm not really sure why the conversation turned to this. I don't think anyone here is blind to the fact that they don't own the characters they draw. I understand the effects of fan art and why it might be bad for IP holders but we were talking about AA prices. Do you expect AAs to turn to all original art, and that's when artists can justify their prices? Because that's not going to happen.

>>9521799
You're projecting something awful, anon. As another gull pointed out bootlegs are different because those literally take the molds/designs of existing official products to create exact copies. When artists draw fanart, it is largely transformative. You can argue about the morality of it all you want but the big companies don't care. I've worked in licensing. They don't give a shit about small fry artists. And the ones that do will send C&Ds. What they're mainly concerned with is merch bootleggers who make tens of thousands of copies of their licensed products. I do agree that we're entering into murkier waters with this new surge in merch production vs. just prints but you're being overtly aggressive.

>but why don't artists just pay for licensing???
This has been discussed in these threads before. It won't work. Companies won't want to work with you unless you have the means to mass produce (and by mass produce I mean in the thousands with retail in mind). Convention artists do not have the means of manufacturing at that scale due to the sheer amount of capital it would take nor do they have the connections to get the finished product into the retail market. No artist could afford the licensing fees up front anyway. Look at the statement Funimation put out about fanart - they know it's pointless to go after convention artists. All they care about is you not using their official logos.

>>9521806
I definitely got too carried away there, so I will try to mince my conerns a bit:

1. Fine with printed paper. I unserstand digital artists need a format to distrobute as well, and they arent all that harmful compared to other mass produced merch.

2. It's not so much about being blind to the fact that the characters do not belong to them, but rather in strong denial that the practice of producing 25+ copies of fanart per character of some character couldnt possibly have effects on the people who slave away to make IPs work. a lot of people are involved in any production, so the idea of a Mr.Moneybags walking away with all the bluray money isn't fair at all. Hell, even in the US, music artists hardly see a dime until they actually hit platinum.

3. I didnt say all original, but I wouldnt mind going back to small print runs and handcut stickers and laminated keychains. That stuff isn't conflicting with a dealer's hall only meters away. Dealers also spend a fuckton of money on merch to sell and I think they have a right to make their money fairly too. Once fanmerch crawls into "real merch" territory, it turns me off on an ethical level.

4. I think you are glossing over the accomplishments of the artists who do take on being original-content only and paying the same money you and everyone else is to distribute stuff withzero ip recognitiom before it. Those handfuls or artists deserve a high five.

5. It isnt 1 college student making a 1000, it's like hundreds of college students making money each, and that definitely adds up.

Again, I'm sorry for getting too heavy in my last post. I do think the topic of mass production warrants a deeper conversation, especially in a thread as intensive and dedicated to artist alley culture as this ine it.

>>9521192
there's a lot... they just don't look it ;)

>>9521799
I thought we already went over the fact that most of us do have day jobs on top of doing AA earlier in this thread too. The one artist who has mentioned being able to support themselves and their family is literally one in 83 posters on this thread.

Soooo while we're on this subject, my webcomic is kind of getting popular and I'm not comfortable with people selling art of it. I didn't release my comic for free so other people could make a profit off of it, you know? How do I make a statement about not selling fanart without coming off as an asshole?

>>9521828
Try looking into how other small IP creators handled it (undertale, homestuck, bendy and the ink machine, etc.). Anyone who gets pissed at a small IP not wanting fanmerch made is a dick, most of your fans will be understanding about it.

>>9521512
She did respond everyday and actually shed respond pretty much immediately half the time (but I did always make sure to msg during reasonable working hours their time) and I also asked her if I could make my own cut lines. She said even if I did, they would have to redo it because the cut line has to be done on their program so the machine can follow the cut line, meaning they'd have to do the cut line regardless of if you did it or not. It might be a tad faster though if all they have to do is trace but coco didn't comment on whether or not it would help speed up the cut line process. I had 30 designs.

>>9521823
We're not saying anything is wrong with being an original artist. Most anons in this thread table at anime conventions' AAs, and for an original artist it's simply not the right environment. People at an anime convention want merch of anime and manga from Japan, and mangaka don't really do AA tables. If you were a prominent enough original artist to be recognized at an anime con, you could easily be a guest at a pop culture con or a comic con instead, even if it were a little one.
>>9521828
Your fanbase will be more comfortable with restrictions they have wiggle room in, even if it's goofy. What's something you know you wouldn't make if you licensed your comic?

>>9521828
Just say you don't want people selling fanart of your series. Who cares if you sound like an asshole. Trying to profit off an small developer is a shit thing to begin with.

>>9521828
I say make a gentle blog post thars as indiscreet and honest as you just said. Perhaps approve it on a commission-only basis, but that's it.

Also, be sure to update every single oage of your webcomic host site, if you can. Having it on the splash of your blog helps too. The major thing is making sure everyone can see it. I think one of the reasons people accidentally do more mogekko and such and such art is because it was mentioned in a post like ages back and his tumblr is ghost

Anyone have links that imgur anon posted before? The galleries are helpful for inspiration.

>>9521837
>http://imgur.com/a/SffFE
I just have this one, I'm sure someone else saved the couple other links.

>>9521836
>I think one of the reasons people accidentally do more mogekko and such and such art is because it was mentioned in a post like ages back and his tumblr is ghost

This is very smart. Thank you, anon. I was going to just stick it on a FAQ, but most people don't really read those I guess haha.

>>9521834
>>9521831
Thank you. It helps knowing that the other big little guys (does that make sense?) have similar wishes regarding fanart.

>>9521833
>What's something you know you wouldn't make if you licensed your comic?
I just don't want any merchandise made at all. It's not their story or their characters. They can enjoy it, but I don't want them making money off of it. I'M not even making money off of it.

Hell yeah, thank you anon. Also has anyone had a good experience with painting grid wire cubes? I accidentally bought black instead of white and now I have no idea how to make my charms stand out other than painting the whole thing white or something.

>>9521828
Start off with a "thank you" message for people reading your webcomic and for being fans. Transition into how you love seeing fanart of your characters and how you appreciate how many people love them. Mention the problem of people making money off of your IP, stress that you put a lot of hard work and care into your webcomic and that you are only one artist. If you plan on making official merch yourself, mention it. Thank people again for their support.

>>9521840
Just back the wire with a brightly colored fabric? That seems much easier than trying to paint them.

>>9521828
Just make a news post saying you don't allow it. Fans will see it and that's really all you need, they'll take the policing into their own hands.I don't even mean this in a negative way- The only reason Homestuck stayed out of AAs is because the fanbase was very adamant about informing AA artists that they aren't allowed to sell it.

>>9521839
>just stick it in a FAQ
Definitely put it up as a footnote on most places you post. I always double check for smaller IP's stances on fan merch because I want to respect their wishes, but some of them make it so difficult to find the info by having it only on one hidden away page.

>>9521840
I use black wire grids for my charms. I saw an AANI post suggesting felt/fabric backing squares that go inside your cube so stuff stands out and you have privacy inside for supplies. I was thinking of trying scrapbook patterned paper instead. I haven't had any issues of people not seeing mine yet even without the backings!

>>9521713
lol anon companies get their official merchandise made in china the same as fan artists, the only difference is they own the IP

>tfw employees from riot literally have my AA merchandise sitting on their desks at work
>tfw one came back to my table the next year and asked me to make a keychain of one of the new champs

Yes this stuff is technically bootleg, but a lot of companies just don't give a shit. And a lot even silently encourage it, and that's why they don't go into the AA and issue C&Ds at every table. But they can't just go, "Hey fanmerch is totally okay!" because other companies capable of producing merchandise at higher volumes than a convention artist will take advantage of that.

This is from a western perspective btw. My merch is mostly video games.

However it's very dickish to produce merch of a series that has strictly said "NO FAN MERCH IN AAs" like ladybug, RWBY, and homestuck.

>>9521823
Are you a vendor? You kind of sound like a bitter merch vendor.

>>9521828
If I were in your shoes, I'd make a post emphasizing that as a small artist, every dollar made off your IP counts, and anything that isn't going to you hurts you financially and affects your ability to continue your comic, so for the sake of stability, you want to be the only source of merch until you hit a financially stable place were fanmerch wouldn't dramatically hurt you (like Undertale level). Fans should be able to understand this (I mean they're fans, they want you to continue your comic right?) and if they bitch, that means they weren't really fans and were in it for the money in the first place.

Me again >>9521412 Just wanted to clarify a few things.

Calling AA artwork glorified bootlegs was something said in the other thread. As offensive as this may sound, it is just the reality of what you're selling. Then people in this thread talk about fanart is what sells. People here seem to make no qualms that they're here to make money, yet I'm told that they deserve money because they're an artist despite the fact that they don't work on their own IPs. The people who made the things that you make fanart of are artists too and you're just mooching off of their success.

Part of the reason I didn't spend more money at Cyanide and Happiness is because I already kickstarted Joking Hazard. I already own the plushies from two lumps. They didn't have anything new for me to buy! The one print I did buy was from Amber Lee Connors who was the original voice (not a dub voice actor) of a character from a game that I liked and I got her signature for free.

As for the returning artists that I did buy from before, when everything you had was new to me, it was easy to find three prints that I wanted. When you return with 3-5 new pieces this year and I only want one of them, the buy three pricing scheme is annoying. Think about your returning customers.

When I say work on your own IPs, I don't mean stop selling fan art, but work on something that you can be known for as an artist. I would throw money at Vivienne Medrano's face if I found out she was tabling at a convention near me! Sure she does fan art, but I'm much more interested in funding her own IPs. Same goes for the graphic novels I bought. Have you ever considered teaming up with an author and doing artwork for a LN to sell at your table? Pull em in with the fanart and sell them something of your own!

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>>9521864
>Pull em in with the fanart and sell them something of your own!

You just revealed my master plan you fool!

>>9521867
Me too, Anon

>>9521864
I'm pretty sure 90% of the people here have a plan to move onto original stuff/a bigger company. AAing is not stable.

Listen, if you want to get mad at someone, get mad at the consumer base. "Bootlegs" sell. That's that. If I could make a living off of my webcomic, I would. But the fact is people are far less inclined to buy something original of mine. I could go against the man and stock an entire booth of original prints, but then I would make far less sales than I do now. So instead I sell fanart so i can feed myself and work on original in my spare time. This is the case for most of us.

>>9521853
I had a guy from Nintendo treehouse buy a Nintendo lanyard from me no one cares. Obviously these sort of people aren't the copyright holders we should be worried about but they're not exactly ratting artists out either.

>>9521864
Man, your heart's in the right place but like >>9521874 says, it's a two-way street. I did purely commissions for the first 9 years of doing AA, and the total loss of those years came out to roughly 2k. No fanart, no merch, just wanted to make art for people who'd ask because that's really the best part of AA for me. Mind you, it was actually doable for the first 2/3 of that time, but around 2009 and on was when fanart prints started getting more sophisticated and by 2011 with AX's expansion there was no way in hell anyone would give a fuck about your table if you didn't have a print wall.

First year I did some fanart prints was the first year I ever saw profit. So in my own defense, I tried the alternative already. Now, you could argue that I should've been pushing my own IP at the time, sure. I can't argue with that and that was my mistake. But don't assume that none of us haven't tried to play the game differently.

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I screwed up and I need at least 200 white charm straps (no lobster clasps) by late next week. I can't find anywhere online selling them within the US or with shipping faster than 30 days. Does anyone have an idea of where to get some? Michaels and Hobby Lobby don't seem to have white or more than 5~10 in a package.

>>9521909
https://www.etsy.com/listing/42148741/sale-100-cell-phone-charm-chain-straps?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=white%20charm%20strap&ref=sr_gallery_2

>>9521909
https://www.amazon.com/Mini-Factory-Colorful-Mobile-Lobster-Cellphone/dp/B017OT3NRQ/ref=sr_1_9?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1497595474&sr=1-9&keywords=straps%2Bwhite&th=1

can't you just remove the lobster clasps, if it comes down to that?

>>9521864
I'm mostly a customer, but have recently started AA. Honestly, while I see some of your points, most of what catches my eye in AA can hardly be called bootlegs. In a strict sense, of course they are, but most, if not all of the actual companies are not making what AA offers. Some series barely have any merch to begin with and others don't have it in "that" style, with that interaction, coloring, etc. Then, barring series that are marketed as romance, you're not going to have a lot of shipping merch, and certainly not if you ship a "rarepair".

Sure, there are popular series that will have "similar" things, but ultimately, AA offers something fresh for the right person.

I've also both been guilty of ignoring original art and making ignored original art. People are more likely to look at that if they like the rest of your booth or your style stands out /that/ much.

>>9521828
Other anon's advice is good. You should keep in mind that it could possibly stifle your fanbase slightly. It seemed like it happened with Homestuck, where the base kind of died not too long after he completely disallowed fanart being sold. Whereas a solution like Undertale's, where he allows only print sales at cons and no competitive merch like shirts/etc, keeps the fandom alive and active and keeps the game visible in AA and cons where it wouldn't be otherwise. In the end, it's more important what you are comfortable with, but I think it's something to keep in mind. You should also consider that if people are willing to pay for fan merch, that means there's a need in your market that you're not filling, so maybe consider some plans for merch you can make yourself if you do start seeing fanmade merch pop up. Even if you aren't in it for money it's silly to ignore your fans' desires.

>>9521946
Canvas anon, I enjoy occasional art updates/WIPs as much as anyone but /cgl/ isn't your blog. Unless you have specific questions about pricing or want crit, maybe you can stop posting so many updates. Your work is as phenomenal as always though!

>>9521948
Yeah that's fair. Was originally going to go to bed but the thread was hitting some vitriol while I was working apparently. I wanted to throw it up and pad that out. But you're right, I'll stop with the updates. "÷o

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does anyone here have any experience with diy screen printed tees? or any opinions on those types of products in general

Saw a kit on sale and it looks neat. Thinking about whether or not its worth my time/ money, and wanted to see what you guys thought.

>>9521959
I've screen printed a few shirts for fun, and it's hard to promise as a good investment for shirts unless you take a semester or two of it...or just spend a lot of your free time on it.

You could try it with smaller projects like fabric pencil bags or what have you in the meantime and see how you feel about it. With shirts there is just a lot to worry about.

>give someone their commission of a rarepair from an unknown anime
>she nearly cries

its things like that that keep me going sometimes

>>9521946
Sort of agree with the previous anon, but would love to see them all when you're done for AX!

>>9521959
My friend does mostly hand screenprinted t-shirts for her AA table. She does much better at comic/general fandom cons than she does at anime cons. She has a huge screenprinting set up at home though and has experience helping out at her parents' t-shirt company. I agree with the other anon that you might want to take a class if your local college offers one!

>>9521959
>>9521978
Solid advice, I'm glad I asked! I thought it was something I could easily pick up, but I stand corrected, lol. I'll probably still pick up the kit, so I can play with it, but I'll shelf the idea of selling that sort of thing in the meantime. Thanks y'all!

>>9521959
I really like the idea, though I once bought a hand-screenprinted shirt at an art show, and the design was completely gone by the 3rd (very careful, and following instructions) wash. I guess If there's a way to make sure the design stays, it'd be good to look into it to prevent that, or at least test a few first.

>>9521867
I had that happen at a con. I went to a booth because they had Dungeon Meshi prints and ended up coming back at least three times to buy more of their original art because I loved it so much.

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>>9521864
lel wtf is this artistic morals bullshit you're spewing? if you have so much shit to say just stop coming to artist alley. we're not idiots who need a lecture from an attendee who's never tried the business in the first place. its not that deep go do your thing and we'll keep doing ours.

>>9522052
Nayrt but some discussion is fine, anon. They don't sound completely unreasonable, and it gives others an opportunity to give them more insight.

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Sorry that this is a stretch, especially since this concerns an Aussie artist.
I was looking through the prints I've bought over the years, and there's a few by an artist known as Chobble or Chobbling. I remember they tabled at Manifest some years ago, but I've only been to Madfest since.
Although their work could be a bit rough, I loved their stuff, but their deviantart seems inactive. Does anyone know if they're active elsewhere or still do artist alleys?

>>9521149
When I have people proxy for me, either I cover all the expenses, and give them a portion of the table to sell at, or I give them a comission. Not both!! You paid for the full cost, and are giving them half the table to make money for themselves that is plenty.

>>9521131
I have no idea?? Like when I was in school it was the whole 'you should focus on school' but at that point I also had a high paying job I was doing well with so I don't even. Needless to say I don't share numbers on what I make nowadays with her.

>>9521192
I'm 100% original art, my mom's just a dick. If she had any concept of how to do business she'd be a successful artist herself

>>9521351
<3 <3 <3 thanks.

>>9521706
Yeah I do, because she's awful -.- I'll be so glad when my last sibling moves out of her house and I'll never have to talk to her again.

>>9521832
I do message her at reasonable hours as well (same timezone) but she still takes hours to reply. Not sure if she just has something against me, though she used to reply to my messages immediately 2 years ago. I only have 4 designs this time round but it's still taking her 10 years for the outlines.

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Does Vograce make charms with dents to wrap cables around like pic related?

>>9522400
I mean you can just add that into the design yourself?

>>9522491
I always thought that Vograce decided where they cut? In the tutorial it says you can choose where the hole is adding another layer with an X where you want,and naming it "hole". So I guess that I would have to make another layer with the cutting outline,and naming it "outline" or something like that??

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>>9522541
But you're not making a hole if you're trying to make a charm like this, you are just creating the shape yourself and you have control over where the indents will be due to how you're designing your charm.

Pic related, the item becomes a cord wrap due to the shape of the item. You tuck the ends between the legs and wrap the cord around the torso. Vograce has nothing to do with this part.

Can anyone recommend a 3D printing service that will start from scratch since I have no idea how the files even work? For figures, possibly NSFW things.
I'm just not finding much that at least give you a ball park idea about price or have examples already made.

I can sculpt myself but I suck at symmetry.

So I'm using some grid cubes for my display, but I've decided that I don't really like the way it looks my charms just hang out on it. I wanted to use some kind of board (fabric covered cork board or something) to display them, but how do you guys attach charms to boards without them being susceptible to theft? I don't really like the idea of using push pins because of how easy it would be to just pop one off, but maybe there's a way to keep them more secure?

>>9522860

lol you have no idea how wild of a request this is

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>>9522867
Have you considered a clip system? Like maybe you could hang them using D-clips. That way they can be removed if need be, but it takes a bit longer then if they were just on a pushpin.

If you want them display only, maybe you could do some split rings?

There's nothing like watching an internet argument on AANI

>>9522919
Anon you can't just bait us with juicy internet drama without screenshots.

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Could I get a price recommendation for something like pic related? I'm making a few different fandom related ones like that, that have two or more characters and each is made from scratch (no molded pieces) and then hand-painted.
I'm asking here because a friend of mine recommended $60 and she does sell at cons but she sells high-end plushies and I'm wondering if her recommendation is too high or not. Sorry for what is probably a dumb question but I thought I should ask first.

>>9523002
Being real honest, if I was a customer and saw these and were interested in buying them, I'd be put off by the $60 price point, specially since they look too fragile for every day use.

Realistically, I'd pay $30, maaaaybe $40 if I really wanted it.

>>9522867
I use tape to tape the straps onto the board, and unhook my charms at the end of the day so they aren't stolen overnight.

Most charm thefts happen when the AA is closed surprisingly.

>>9523002
How much time do you spend on them, and how much do your materials cost?

>>9523009
That sounds a little more down to earth and was kinda what I was personally thinking, glad I asked first so I didn't make an ass of myself before the con, thanks anon!

>>9523015
I can make a set of 4 that only have two characters in each in 6 hrs from start to finish and materials cost is right around $6-7 each.

>>9523009
>>9523002

Holy shit, you would pay $40 for one of those!? Why am I trying to make prints that would hopefully stand out in a sea of other prints at AA when I can make these type of stuff instead.

I'm sure I would have a lot more fun making little sculptures like that anyway.

>>9523031
I'm just being generous, and I'm also a customer/artist that values people's craft and acquired skill. 8/ Like I said, I'd pay $40 if I REALLY wanted it.

The trade off is that I'm insanely picky about what I purchase, which makes up for me actually having the money to pay decently. So good luck trying to sell boatloads of those kinda charms cause that probably isn't going to happen.

>>9522541
Anon, I'm sure you could just send that YoI image to your vograce agent to give them an idea of what you would like, then on your artwork file draw some x's on a separate layer where you'd like the indents to be. Ask for a photo of a sample before production begins just to make sure everything's the way you want it.

>>9523031
Plus the craftsmanship on >>9523002 is really nice. At least from this photo, no fingerprints, symmetrical details, small delicate pieces and painted strokes. That actually requires a lot more skill and practice than you may be assuming.

Still I think the $30 mark is more realistic than the $40, but less than that range would be lowballing yourself. Making some simpler ones as well for the $10-20 range will help draw in more customers across demographics.

>>9522900
Is it really when I wouldn't mind spending 200-300 bux? I've z-brushed some things before but I am lazy and just looking to buy two of each things I want made so I can cast them.

>>9523110

There's a reason no one does it. If that technology were accessible then everyone would be making them. You can probably expect to pay a lot more than that.

Think about it. Depending on what you start with, you're either paying someone to 3d model your figures for you based on concept art, OR they have to 3d scan something you made, which requires you to go to a place where they have 3d scan equipment or send it to them (which I haven't even really seen a service for desu). Then they have to clean this up for you and do the actual printing. Then, I don't know if you know this, but 3d printing is actually not real high res; unless you're using an extremely high end printer, you end up with something that needs lot of touch up sanding and painting, which adds onto the cost. You also wouldn't be able to get a very complex pose/design, unless you're planning to design it in pieces and assemble it. More cost.

Most of the services I've seen for 3d printing are either for "selfies" (figures of yourself) or premodeled TTG figures that you can mix and match. I don't think I've seen any for custom designed figures, probably because the cost is just so insanely high. I can't even IMAGINE finding one that is okay with NSFW work as well. You're lucky to find people who will print nsfw on paper, the even fewer number of people who own the equipment for a job like that are even less likely to be okay with nsfw.

It's just... kind of insane.

>>9523002

Don't make it jewelry. Present them as mini sculptures that are more meant to sit on shelves. People are more likely to pay a higher price for that. Probably not sixty, but around 40 possibly. She could charge 60 if she made it about twice as big and complex. If you want to do jewelry make it much simpler, like a single figure, and charge around $25 max. If people are gonna wear it around and potentially break it or lose it they're not gonna pay $60 for it. But you could easily charge $25 for a single simple figure in a bubble, like a single totoro on a leaf.

>>9523002
$10 because this looks like something you can buy off taobao / easily copied by taobao. I'm on the cheap side but I think if you sell it for $20, people might still buy it.

>>9522860
https://www.shapeways.com/create#scale-models

Most likely what you'd have to do is commission a 3d artist to make you a model and then print it through something like shapeways. But they have other vendors so you can see how much printing at certain sizes costs, at least.

>>9523002
Considering the time and materials cost, 30-40 is the right range. $60 isn't completely unreasonable but I doubt you'll move many at that price. Make sure that your signage notes that they are hand made and hand painted, because that price is ridiculous for mass-produced items.

>>9523118
>mini sculptures
This is a really cool idea anon, thanks. I think I'll leave some without the necklace caps and tell people at the con that if they want I can add them for no extra charge (and the chain could be like $1 extra or something idk).

>>9523121
I'm being careful not to do anything that would look like they could be mass produced stuff, the Totoro pic was just a reference.

>>9523154
Will try $40 at the beginning of the con and depending on how things go, drop the price down to 30 on Sunday if need be. Thanks so much for the tip on the sign too, will be sure to do that.

>>9523116
Not quoted anon, but isn't 3d modeling a figure rather simple? No animated bits to work on

All the other points still stand of course, I'm just wondering about this one in particular

>>9523162

No, it's not really simple? First of all even if the concept art is perfect with like a full 360 for the character with no mistakes, there's still a lot of tweaking you have to do to get it right. And with an amateur who is not used to concepting for 3d it's gonna be hours of work to model something passable from scratch; the modeler will probably get a single front view to work with, MAYBE side views and back view if they're lucky, which probably won't match, and they'll have to consolidate those and also figure out what shape everything should be for those other 356 degrees. Even ruling out rigging and animations, it's hours of work. Anon could easily pay their whole $300 budget just getting their concept modeled, depending on how complex it is.

>>9523162
who tf is this jabroni who thinks 3d modeling a figure is simple? If it was, wouldn't you think there'd a bigger market for it?

I can't believe this. I decided to have a $1 bin of really old stock, in there were shrinky dink charms with straps or keyring. Someone seriously told me I should only be charging 50 cents for them. Rude.

>>9523760
i had a 1 dollar bin of stickers and unpopular pins at my last con. a few people scoffed at the price, but i also sold out of all of it by the end of day 3.
you gotta take every comment with a grain of salt. some people are just greedy assholes.

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I think once in a blue moon I see gulls posting their plushies

>tfw trying to git gud and make handmade plush to sell

One day

>>9523760
Ignore that dick. They'll sell.

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Does anybody know where I can print pens like this? Just the designs over clear, I don't mind even if the pen is blue or black. No luck over Alibaba.

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>>9523776
I can't believe these still exist. I can't believe they still look like that.
>pphbbbtt

>>9523776
these things are so fucking ugly

>>9523776
>achieved my vision
>so many draw-overs

THEY STILL LOOK THE FUCKING SAME, not to mention as butt-ugly as ever

>>9523889
Sorry for the caps lol, these plushes make me rage too hard.

>>9523776
>whoever thinks plush manufacturing is simple

Does anyone think this? Enamel pins and acrylic charms maybe but I've never heard anyone claim plush are easy

>>9523889
>>9523893
I know how you feel, I wish I had the proto pics of these when they were first posted, I honestly thought they were pigs or something when I first saw them until she said they were ice cream horses.

>>9523923
I thought they were pigs this whole time ...

>>9523878
"My anus is bleeding!"

>>9523923
>>9523929
Oh fuck, I knew they were horses but somehow I forgot and thought they were pigs again lmao

>>9523776
These are so unappealing. Isn't the point of these to be cute?

>>9523776
I'm sad that this saga is over but I'm glad that it happened. I will cherish the memories of countless cringes forever

Con Tabeling Costs?
So I always see posts asking about how much profit you made, but that's of course going to be different for everyone. You can make a 100% profit if you sell one thing and you didn't have to pay for your prints and your parent/friend/significant other covered your table fee. I'm wondering, how much do you spend on your whole con weekend?
Table? Food? The prints (or pins or materials for whatever your craft is)? How much was your con pass? Do you get invited and it's free? Do you get the pro-pass for cheap? Do you get your ticket a year in advance so by con time the cost really doesn't matter anymore? Do you pay for hotel rooms? Do you live close but Uber to avoid the parking fees?
Give me your most detailed average tableing bill! I'm just curious to know where your money goes before you make any of it back.

>>9523997
$600-1000+ in expenses depending on my flights. If I tabled at the most local con to me (unfortunately have never gotten in though,) it'd probably only cost me like, $400ish depending on how much stock I'd need.

I usually see about 2-4k in profit. Not as much as some other people I know, but I can still make a decent amount with the excess stock online.

A bit of a long shot but-- Has anyone who applied for GeekGirlCon heard back yet? I know they said their goal was to get everything out by June 15th, and that's come and gone. It's my first time applying so I'm probably just overly nervous but, idk.

>>9523997
Table (no help from anyone) $300
Prints (stacks of 20ish each of my 22 pieces) bulk order of $400ish (But tend to have a lot left over so I don't have to re-order for any least three more events)
Food $50ish a day because food trucks are hella expensive to eat at three times a day + I get snacks and cokes through out the day.
Travel (So far I just do local cons and I'm lucky to have at least one friend traveling my way so I bum a ride) but I can get an Uber sometimes and those cost me like 5 bucks cause I live so close.

I think I spend less than $1000 per con.

>>9524048
I haven't heard back yet, nor has anyone I know. I think nobody has gotten anything about GGC yet.

>>9524048
>>9524080
Just got the email, I've been waitlisted. What a bummer.

>>9523997
For an average con
$100 or $200 for a table, ~$100 a day for hotel, $0 to $40 for gas, $0 for food since I just make sandwiches from home. Sometimes I'll spend $10 on pizza or going out to eat on friday or saturday. 15% to 25% of profit goes into material cost

>>9523997
$75 - $300 for table
$15 - $30 per day for food
$30 - $80 gas if I'm driving
$200 - $300 if I'm flying
$30-$150 hotel

I think on average I spend $500 or less per con, but A Kon cost me $700.

This isn't counting my material costs though, which are ~7.5k a year or more

Do any of you use a gashapon machine? I was thinking about buying one for my table. How popular are they with customers, and what would be a reasonable price to charge?

>>9521853

Well, a lot of people working at the companies who hold the licenses are okay with fan art and fan merch. I have so much fanart hung up in my cube at work and I also do AA and despite working in the anime industry. I've made and sold fanart for shows I work on. It's just that the company's stance as a whole, and especially legal's, has to protect the license and licensor. For anime it's almost certainly because there is pressure from the Japanese licensor.

>>9521853
post your art

I'm looking for an east coast con that is still open around Sep-Dec. Is Roccon worth it for an artist that does just kawaii anime style stuff?

Only cons I can seem to find that are still open are general fandom/comic/scifi/etc.

I stick to purely anime cons before and usually take in around $400. The couple times I've tried "comicons" I struggled to even get $100. So I don't know if doing a multi genre con would be a good idea.

>>9524412
Oh, absolutely. I don't deny from a strictly legal perspective, fanmerch is technically not allowed- And if someone gets a C&D for a certain type of merch, they need to respect that.

It was mostly a rebuttal to some folks earlier in the thread who were talking like fanart in AA the absolute bane of a company and we're robbing them, when most people who are actually associated with the company don't care. But there are a few people at the company who DO care (because it is their job to care) and will issue takedown notices.

Im canadian and Im thinking more and more of traveling to the USA for cons. I understand the not so legal matters of it and how to get my merchandise there (mail it to a friend or UPS store before hand).

But how do you guys take your display stuff? Do you mail it as well or just buy some stuff while youre in the states? I use a wire cube set up so would it be best to just buy them from a local walmart or something since they're so heavy? I just dont want to look suspicious when crossing the border with a ton of table display shit.
And if I do do that, how the hell do I dispose of them after the con?

>>9524630
Not Canadian, but for a while when I traveled to cons I would buy my setup at the location I traveled to to save weight in my suitcase.

Pole setup is easiest and cheapest for the buy-on-the-spot method. Go to a local home depot and buy 7 to 9 pieces of 2ft PVC, and connectors- This will make a non-winged setup (If you want one with wings just get 6 more pieces+corresponding connectors.) It should cost maybe $10 total. You WILL need to carry the two clamps in your luggage because buying them on the spot every con is too expensive (I paid 40 for my good clamps) but it shouldn't be too suspicious. I doubt they'll go through your luggage, if they do and for some reason care about the clamps you can just say you are visiting a buddy who is a woodworking fanatic lol.

After the con is over, just throw them away. Easy as pie.

I would strongly recommend against buying wire cubes and throwing away because that can get EXPENSIVE depending on how many you use. But if you really like the wire cubes and make enough money to cover tossing them every con, then go for it.

>>9519580
how do you order from them?

>>9524658
my pvc pipe setup cost me about 14 dollars here in the US, but like double that in canada (taking currency exchange into consideration and everything).
still better than losing luggage space and still better than wire grids, but depending where you travel to, the cost of those pipes varies. i have NO idea why either, they were both bought at home depot. you'd think the prices would be standard

Anons with card readers, which service do you use and do you use a dedicated device or just your cellphone?

>>9524858

I still have the old Square reader (not the chip reader) and just keep the app on my phone. I bring a back up battery charger just in case I run low on my phone battery but I try to keep my phone just for card transactions during the day at a con.

>>9524551
Hama-mini con and Yama-con

>>9524858
Etsy card reader. If you have an etsy shop, it is nice since people can review their purchase after the con.

>>9524341
They're surprisingly popular but only bring one if it's a relatively local con. They're not worth the hassle of trying to fly with them or getting it shipped to your hotel, but they are worth bringing if you're driving out and have the room.

I always place my machine out facing the aisle and it draws in a good amount of customers. I charge $1.00 (4 quarters) for a random pin. I also have a bucket at the foot of the gachapon so customers can drop their used capsules in there since A) I can save money on reordering them and B) most customers wind up leaving the capsules on my table anyway and this saves me the hassle of having to clean up as often.

>>9524658
Unfortunately I make jewelry so I don't do the print wall set up. I'll have to think about if I can do another set up without cubes. Thank you so much for the information!

>>9524551
Anime Weekend Atlanta is late Sept/Early Oct usually. It's a medium-sized anime con.

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AA gods, hear my cry for help.
I want to buy a button maker, but I don't even know where to begin/what are good or bad points to look far. I'd like to be able to make different sizes with it if that's a possibility, but I await your wisdoms to teach me. What do you use, what do you like?


Also: I've noticed some larger heart shaped buttons in AAs lately, are those from a special machine or a site?

>>9525068
>Anime Weekend Atlanta
>a medium-sized anime con.

wut. It is literally the 6th biggest anime convention in the US.

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>>9525086
You've got two main options. Badge-A-Mint and Tecre. Badge-A-Mint are cheaper but shittier, have a tendency to mess up. I've heard the error rate quoted between 1-in-20 and 1-in-50, which sounds like not a lot but really adds up and is annoying. Tecre are fucking solid, but also fucking heavy and fucking expensive. Very rarely if ever error and ruin badges.

There are two main tools used to cut out paper circles for badges, since this is a pain in the ass to do with a pair of scissors. Punches like the one in my photo are the easier method, although also generally the more expensive one. There are also these little circles with a blade in them? I've never used them, but some people like them, they are cheaper.

Badge makers are one machine, one size. If you want multiple sizes you have to buy multiple machines.

Yes, heart buttons are made from a special machine. Same for square or oval badges. Don't have much info on these, but I think they tend to be more expensive to purchase.

>>9525086
I think tecre is the most well known and the most reliable. My friend got a badge-a-minute and couldn't even get one good one. For me, with tecre, if a button got messed up it was entirely my fault. I'm not even really sure what other brands there are though, besides some China branded ones that I haven't seen any reviews for.

>>9525089
Is it? I do a lot of huge conventions so I tend to mentally file AWA as a "smallish" con since it's only about 28k. Whoops.

>>9525089
>>9525119
I'm having like a crisis comparing AWA to other cons now. AWA feels really intimate to me, I do not know why I thought it was so much smaller than other cons. Jesus, this is a night of revelations. I apparently have zero concept of attendance.

>>9525119
>only about 28k.
uhh, what cons do you go to where 28k is small? I only know of three conventions total, Anime Expo, Comic con, and Dragon con, that have significantly more attendance.

Anything with over 20k is large. 5k to 19k is medium.

>>9525097
I have a Tecre and it can be used as a blunt weapon in an emergency. I've never had it make an error in buttons aside from human error. We also use the circle cutter and it's kind of a pain in the ass, but its very flexible and keeping it + the machine behind the table for emergency button making is pretty handy. I bought them as a set on ebay a while back and it paid itself off fairly fast.

>>9525125
I'm a fucking idiot, just ignore me. I don't know what I was talking about.

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>>9525131
Its ok, anon.

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>>9525086
I used to have this (UMakeButtons) and I loved it? Doesn't fold down like Tecre does but it's actually a little easier to push, and I never experienced any problems with them unless it was my fault (accidentally using two button parts, etc).

I used a $12ish dollar circle cutter from a craft store. It's a tiny bit smaller than the suggested design size for buttons, so you might have to be a little careful when aligning your buttons in the machine, but it was way smaller/cheaper than the circle cutters offered on button sites. Easiest to use too because it's for scrapbooking. If you're not worried about misalignment/can just make sure everythings fine before you push, I'd actually go for this to save money/effort.

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>>9525235
https://www.amazon.com/EK-Tools-Circle-Punch-2-Inch/dp/B0090JVF1A
This is what I used to use. I believe I had 1.75" for my 1.5" buttons. Like I said not a perfect cookie-cutter fit in the button maker but it got the job done and was super cheap in comparison.

>>9525068
AWA apps are closed now.

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Anybody recognize this brand of button press? Ebay listings for it come up around $75 and it looks pretty solid from the pictures, but I don't think I've seen anyone with one before.

>>9525257
Don't get that one, AANI frequently complains that that one breaks or doesn't punch correctly. Just go with Tecre like everyone else.

>>9525086
I use a 1.25" Tecre and it's been used by our friend group for over 5 years, and it's solid. Rarely ever fails, and if it does it's usually my fault for misalignment. As mentioned it's really heavy but it's built well and able to take a lot of use, so it's a good investment. Just be careful not to pinch your fingers in any of the parts because it's very painful.

Some AA artists with blogs and vlogs I've been following have been saying that AA overall has been much slower this year than past years, and that the bubble is bout to burst with more and more conventions raising prices, adding more tables, but not having much more traffic or potential customers.

I've only just started this year so I don't have anything to compare it to.

>>9525385
I think this is a problem easily fixed by convention staff listening to critique and realizing they tried to expand too much, and scaling back next year's AAs to be fewer tables again. Of course we'll see if that actually HAPPENS, but it's not impossible.

>>9525385
It's also because 9/10 cons are juried now. Either you actually have a lot more competition because it's not a matter of picking you over the person who can't draw well
Or
It's just the AA heads friends getting in, so it's the same people/shit over and over again that the consumer is tired of.
>>9525552
I'm curious about this. I rebooted this year after taking a couple years off. I definitely noticed a huge price increase with tables. Is it because they are getting better guests that want more money or the venue is charging more, or are con organizers getting greedy??

>>9525557
I can't speak for everyone but the convention I staff for is planning on raising our table prices by $10 next year and another $10 the year after that (upping from $100 to $120), and it is entirely because the price of the venue increased and there's nothing we can do about it. It's the only venue in the area for an event our size.

>>9525385
Slightly related but I am very interested in any AA Vlogging channels you follow! (Sorry if that's been mentioned before)

>>9525385
Tables have gotten a lot more expensive this year, more so than other years and out of all the cons I've done this year only about half were actually worth doing, unlike before when almost every con was decent unless someone really fucked up.

i hope y'all are prepared for the great charm shortage of 2017

>>9525667
How so?

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>>9525667

>>9525257
i use that kind, and have nothing but good things to say about it? Except I bought it for 150. 75 sounds suspiciously low.

I have access to a Canon Pixma Pro printer, which would cost me way less than ordering prints online. Would buyers be put off that I didn't order the prints from Costco or Catprint, etc? I've never actually been asked by a buyer where it was printed, but I have been asked by other artists.

>>9525711
The only people who care where you get your prints printed at are people who want to make prints themselves and know how.

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>>9518060
while the doc is broken, i'm wondering if anyone can toss me a line to manufacturers of sticky notes and printed stationery; on alibaba it seems a lot of vendors use the same fulfillment centers as the die-cuts are all the same, but the option for printed packaging is really varied and TANTALIZING. pic related, sorry to be annoying, but i'd happily browse through a huge database if it'd lead me to what i'm looking for.

>>9525724
Second this. I saw a place that does dye cut custom shaped sticky notes for companies like Disney that looked interesting. I may test run some places and write a review for those interested in stationary goods.

>>9525732
PLEASE do, anon. i'm trying my hand at small consignment arttoy/stationery stores, not even AA, so these paper goods are my final frontier.

>>9525711
The only way a buyer could be put off by anything to do with how it was printed is if you printed it on shit paper.

Going to sound odd but where would I find bulk assembled badges? Like without any design on them, just already assembled so I can decorate the top with glued-on stuff. I'd love some heart badges but so far all I can find is bulk lots for pieces and I don't have a machine to assemble them.

If you guys have never proxied before, make a damn written agreement first. Even if it's between you and friends. I was totally just burned and it's really my fault for not writing everything out clearly and thinking it would work out because we were friends. Don't make my stupid mistake gulls.

>>9525795
I don't know any Chinese-like suppliers, but you could probably go around AA with people that have buttons and ask them. Since they are basically just doing monkey work with no skill involved you'll probably find someone to do it dirt cheap and you'll save on shipping.

Heart badges would be harder though. But you can at least go for the circle and see how they go before going with the more expensive heart ones.

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>>9525699
That's what I was worried about. The 1.25" machines are listed for ~$130USD and the 1" ones are ~$75USD. Which seems crazy low compared to Tecre.

>>9525263
It's my first year of Tabling and I'm only at the break even point, so the price tag on a Tecre is hard to swallow right now. I've had access to one before a few years back for something unrelated to AA, though, and I know they're super nice.

>>9525848
Are you >>9521149?

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>>9525892
That seems a little rude to just ask people to make me buttons though, even if I am offering to pay them for supplies+time. I was just hoping I could find blank ones already made or even bulk ones with a plain color design or something.

I plan on fully covering them with crafting material so maybe I should try one of those cheap 45piece lots with cartoon/random designs on them like pic related? No one will see what's under them but I wasn't sure if that was an ok thing to do or not.

I now have an envelope maker randomly given to me by my mom. It's pretty cool, but I really have no idea what to do with it art-wise. Would people appreciate a stack of custom envelopes with my art on it in a stationary set or something? Anybody ever seen anyone selling unique envelopes or otherwise using them in an interesting way?

>>9525917
This is probably going to be both your cheapest and best bet. It's not really questionable as long as you do make it into your own thing and cover the original pin completely.

>>9525795
Are you just looking for a pin-like base or do you have a specific reason you need the mylar base? Because you can just get bases like https://www.etsy.com/listing/487988689/20pcs-25mm-wihte-k-brooch-pin-base-bezel or https://www.etsy.com/listing/192886066/40pcs-antique-bronze-brooch-safety-pins instead.

>>9525917
I don't really see it as rude since you are paying for them to do it, and if people do they could say no. But, it would get whoever you commissioned some extra money in an unexpected way for not much effort. You're simply paying for a service, but then again, I work in a place where I made shit for other people all the time, but slowly but surely my job is getting screwed over from people getting it "online", or big name places that do a shittier job.

As for your other question, that would probably seem fine, since you are covering it. I've seen more borderline things in AA before. But as your stuff ages and gets wear and tear, the original image will show through. Fine if it fits the theme, not as much otherwise.

>>9525940
What's the size of your envelope maker? Not quite sure if it'd be worth making your own stationery set with a unique envelope liner. Otherwise maybe you could make envelopes for random blind "bags" for prints?

>>9526061
It can make envelopes to hold cards or whatever else up to 6 x 8 1/2 inches. So 4 x 6 blind bags for prints would work at the very least.

>>9525914
Yep

>>9526146
Oh I'm so sorry you had to find this out the hard way anon. Between friends is in some ways worse. A long time ago I proxied with a friend of mine. While no one got burned, other complications made it so that the friendship was ruined. The same probably happened to you on that front.

>>9526082
Ohh that's a good range of sizes - just make sure if you want to make envelopes for 4x6 or 5x7 prints, make them roomy, at least 4.5x6.5" or 5.5x7.5" respectfully.

I helped too many customers who come in with very oddly shaped invitations/cards that don't fit any regular sized envelopes, so they had to compromise with too big or uncomfortably snug ones. It's a lot easier to shop for envelopes and then make/print cards for them, than the other way around if people aren't up for shopping online.

>>9526146
Do you mind me asking what happened? Did she steal your money?

>>9525711
I used to print on one of those and the quality was actually a billion times better, but customers didn't actually give a fuck so I use a service now so I don't have to spend the time doing it myself. They literally don't notice the difference.

>>9526160
>Oh I'm so sorry you had to find this out the hard way anon.
I am too. I really should have known better but I put too much trust in people sometimes since I'm a softy. Sorry about your friend as well.

>>9526212
>Do you mind me asking what happened? Did she steal your money?
She didn't steal anything as far as I know (I don't believe she would ) But she demanded to be paid more money after I already paid all expenses and let her have half the table to sell her stuff (which I took as a fair trade as she didn't request payment beforehand). I couldn't say no because she had my money in her paypal account and I'm afraid of not getting it back. Confrontation also gives me severe anxiety so I couldn't deal with it any longer ... so lesson learned I guess

>>9526272

Given how hard it can be to get into cons, letting her have half the table is really generous. Especially if the con was juried. Sorry it happened to you anon.