Artist Alley General

>>9587700
I'm glad someone said it. I personally use a cheap prints, expensive commissions business model. I do a lot better than my friends because everything at my table is accessible to a variety of price points. If someone really wants to ball out at my table, they can purchase an overpriced drawing of their donut steel oh sea from me.

>>9587981
it sounds like you and your friends all just have cruddy prints. you have an edge on them, but you'll never have a financial edge on people who actually move prints.

>>9587981
last con i went to I sold my 11x17 prints for 15, smaller prints for 10 and tiny prints (like 5x5) for 5. most prints were marked at around there so I felt like it was fair pricing.

>>9587981
What this anon >>9588019 said desu. I still move like 150+ prints per con in addition to all my other stuff. Usually my stuff is moving so fast that I don't have time to take at-con commissions. Honestly with the market skewing toward $20 per print now, you're just eating into your own profits. I still keep mine at $15 + buy two get one free but a lot of artists are I've seen are doing $20 now so $10 is at the lower end.

Not to mention re: that Melly girl the issue didn't even seem to be about her raising her price to $10. Weren't the other anons talking about how she's undermining her raised prices by offering a "pay what you want" scheme with that tip jar? It's not that $10 "isn't enough" - it's that there's no point to her raising prices if she's gonna do pay what you want anyway.

Why are all the men in these threads so concerned with our profits compared to theirs and their dick measuring?

I'm just glad that I have people who enjoy my art and that I keep improving each con.

>>9588068
I've been thinking about this too lately. More so with AANI. I've noticed on there and at cons, the male artists are really snotty and lack empathy?
I am anti feminist as they come, but every time someone is a dick on AANI it is a guy... And then the super condescending guys I've been next to at cons are always the typical pin up Marve/DC style artist. Why?

Sorta keeping in line with the pricing topics right now, but me and my pal are just starting out in artist alley, and neither of us really have enough of the same sized prints to do the "Buy 2 get 1 free" deals and still hook enough people in with the variety of series we cover. Should we do "$5 off every $30" for prints so people can mix and match different sizes, or is that weird?

>>9587981
>>9588019
>>9588030
>>9588049
Yeah, after talking with another artist who I'll be sharing a table with in an upcoming con, I'm increasing my 11x17 prices to $20 too.

There's some math involved but you can sell quite a bit less while making the same profit, but it also means less to stuff to carry back and forth. And if your demand doesn't got down much at all then you'll be making significantly more money.

And if you're trying to brand your art as a premium product, which I sort of am with higher quality paper and free print protectors and using framed displays for some of my pieces then having a higher price point reinforces that idea.

Maybe it'll work out terribly but with so many artists changing to $20 model it doesn't seem too risky.

>>9588109
My friend wants me to table with her at her next AA. She's been trying to get me to do AA for a while but I've been hesitant since I don't really draw fanart and my art is more of that generic pretty style (think Audrey Kawasaki) and not an anime/Calarts look. The table itself would be free but I'd have to pay for my own merchandise (obviously). Would you recommend using high quality paper and framed displays for a first time artist or is that something you should hold off on until you're more established? I don't mean to brag but since we're all anonymous here, my art is pretty good. It's just not what you'd see in an artist alley so that worries me. I'm worried that if I price too high ($20 prints) then no one will buy, and it'll look bad/desperate if I lower my prices to $10 just to move merch.

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I'm registering my table for Kumoricon rn, and found this in the ToS.

I've never been to Kumori before so I don't have a point of reference but do they not allow fanart? Is this a purely OC AA?

>>9588125
hahaha..me thinks some original-artist-guy/girl managed to push their agenda into the organizers to take it at that level. Either way, its just a shallow threat or they get to empower some people to gestapo the artists.

>>9588139
on top of that, only trademarks that are of "Titles", names of characters in the art itself is typically where the infringement boundary has been, never the actual artwork or image of characters since the gray area is "fan art". Do they themselves have the authority to call out art that has No infringing titles/names/words. I could call all my fan art original art. What can they say, they need to prove it is a trademark image by finding a 100% copy of it by the publisher, same pose, composition etc. Someone there is really being an a-hole.

>>9588139
Yeah throughout the entire ToS they keep reiterating that they WILL be sending reps around to inspect your table before every morning and on set-up day.
They never mentioned anything about this in the registration though, and all the art that I provided in my application was fanart so I feel like ive been bait-and-switched.
Should I just play it safe and email them and straight up ask or just bring my usual haul?
I have a decent 50/50 of fanart and original but still it feels shady that they wrote all these rules up AFTER we've all been selected and given tables.

>>9588115
So my art is actually pretty atypical of what you see in AA, and so is the artist I'm tabling with, and we both did extremely well at AX despite it being our second convention ever.

I'm only using framed displays because I have a 4 print set that I'm putting in a 24x36 frame and another 2 set I'm putting in a 18x24 frame.

The artist I'm partnering with in the upcoming con lines his prints with black bordered paper frames, which are much easier to handle than real frames but still look good.

Regarding paper, I think its still best to make sure your costs are low for your first con, the paper quality I use is still only 10-20 cents more expensive than your typical paper, but it feels a lot better when you're holding it.

I'd say just go ahead and start at $15 and see how it goes. Also, engage your customers. Most AA artists rely on their art to sell themselves because they're kind of anti-social or just shy, but if you can engage your customers you'll have a leg up even if your art might be atypical.

>>9588125
>>9588139
>>9588143
Trademarks cover things like titles, logos, and so on, not characters, unless the character is a mascot or something. Basically you can sell a Sailor Moon print, but you can't replicate the official Sailor Moon logo on any of your pieces or explicitly label them with "Sailor Moon" since that is trademarked. A trademark is not the same as a copyright.

So I'm planning on going to Fanime next year, but they say "proxy selling" is not allowed.

I'm planning on going with a friend as a circle. In the case that either of us can't make it, can we sell the other's stuff? We're registering as one circle and sharing the table.

Does it still count as "proxy"?

>>9588176
That is pretty much falling right under their definition of "proxy selling"

However AA staff is very unlikely to notice, it's the other artists in AA that will be the ones to report you to AA staff if you have any bad blood or drama.

>>9588068
me too sis
it's so laughable when these guys are in here acting high and mighty about their 'competitive business strategy' like we both selling the same number of prints dude, you just getting $10 less to compensate for your ugly art

>>9588068
>and their dick measuring?
pics or it did not happen.

>>9588263
>>>/hm/

>>9588068
>>9588072
oh look, more man hate.

>>9588448
I like how you try to ignore that the points made are valid

>>9588448
Huh I even said I'm anti feminist. >>9588115
I also don't have the usual anime style that is in the AA. I was charging $15/large print and $5/small print and was doing terrible.
I lowered my 12x18s down to $10, and my 5x7 to $3, and I do...Okay. I'm kind of "medium". Not the best, but I over hear I make more than low skilled artists, but no where near a lot... Like I'll make about $150 in a five hour show, while I hear others saying they only pulled in around $80.

That being said, I've run into what this anon >>9588109 was talking about.

When I had my prices higher, I barely got sales, but I also didn't get any bs.
Lowering my prices got me sales, but the shittiest people too who don't respect me/my art. People constantly asking for bargains, free stuff, telling me I should lower my prices even more, and business card sealers.
(I'm the anon from a few threads back who constantly has people grabbing handfuls of business cards because, "they are free" or "they are just business cards", and "they don't cost anything to make".)

>>9588603
Yeah, it's a perceived value thing. Of course, your art should be at a certain skill level before you can start upselling but pricing higher makes attendees value your art more subconsciously too.

I have a friend with decent/middling art in terms of skill and when he prices his prints at $20, he sells more of them than when he prices them at $15. Higher prices = higher quality to a lot of people.

I'm the anon who mentioned regularly moving 150+ prints per con in addition to other sales and honestly, raising my prices and getting rid of my lower cost items has more than doubled my profit margins. I know this won't work for everyone and not everyone is doing this for the money but cutting the smaller price points out all together has made my life so much easier. I don't have to deal with carrying around a million different buttons and button parts and stickers and miniprints anymore. I offer higher price points (mostly practical merch) instead and found a niche market that's not filled by the 19485729457 sticker artists that already exist for the lower price point audience.

>>9588626
The issue for me though is that I was barely selling anything with higher prices. I know a lot of it is because I'm not that good, but then as I said before... I'm not the worst either. I wonder how the lower level artists are able to price their stuff higher... Unless they aren't doing it for money and have family paying production costs or something.

Would you be willing to post your art? I'm curious what skill I need to be at in order to move a lot of prints. Or if you could post art that is like yours if you don't want to be known.
Also, how many designs do you offer?

>>9588674
I'm a little wary to post my art here in this context. (I generally don't want people to be able to put a number to my art.) But I have posted art in these threads before so you could take a wild guess if you really wanted to.

My art's actually not that amazing but I have a more graphic/western leaning style that seems to go over well and has general appeal. Honestly for me, it was finding a healthy balance of a few niche fandoms where I could dominate the market and the popular fandoms to insure sales. The niche fandoms bring in $$$ from fans who will buy everything related to that fandom (I've had people drop $150+ on buying things from a single fandom at my table.) The popular fandoms are guaranteed to sell no matter what even though there may be competition. At a big con like AX I think I ended up moving like 2-300 prints?

I generally try to stay away from single character busts with nothing else going on. It's much easier to sell prints of character interacting with something/someone. Single character busts are better suited for postcards/miniprints I think. People seem to prefer posters with strong composition + some sort of text or symbol incorporated into it (ex: the Hylian crest from Zelda, tarot motifs from Persona, Rose's shield from SU, etc) vs a random character staring in 3/4 view. I know when I was just starting out and my art was pretty bad, humor is what sold for me. If you can't win with technical skill or creative composition, humor will always sell. I'm not sure if there is a magical formula to selling a lot of prints but that's what's worked for me.

How do you guys push yourself out of your comfort zone? I'm stagnating and want to move forward rather than give in to self loathing/art block. I do take time to look at things that inspire me and I've been grinding fundamentals but it isn't helping all that much.

>>9588176
>>9588180
As long you aren't Emily Hu who fucks people to get jobs and cheats/lies to other artists then you should be fine senpai

>>9588718
.. just draw something you don't normally draw..?
??

>>9588815
I would love to meet you irl. Like I have to see and experience how a vendetta-chan with this much of a hard on against someone is like. I'm just so spellbound by your ability to bring her up at any moment with no connection, it's amazing.

>>9588815
I mean I don't care for her either but what the hell anon? I think you need a break from the internet.

>>9588718
Consider doing master studies of your inspirations? Or if you don't want to make carbon copies of something as practice, you can try incorporating certain elements you liked for your new pieces too! I save things into my inspo folder and title them with what I liked about it. For example if I liked the color palette of a piece, I'll title it something like "color ref". You can do "comp ref," "lettering ref," "perspective ref," so on and so forth. Pick one thing you like and practice that aspect so you can try it out on your future projects!

>>9588815
Yikes. There are quite a few of us on here who don't like Emi but this was way out of left field, anon.

I have a question for those who sell more than 2k a month on esty. How do you pull that off? Do you have a lot of variety or do you have a huge following on social media?

>>9588850
I think I'll give that a go, thank you for your advice! Time to reorganize my insp folder and make a list of what elements are good and what I need to change. Thank you again!

>>9588828
lmao what, she's like the biggest cow in the artist alley

Emily hu:

Fucked a trigger animator -> for a trigger studio tour
Fucked the fakku guy-> to draw their mascot
like honestly she is the lowest, how can you defend that

>>9588477
"all men are bad" isn't a point.

>>9588718
collab with a friend

>>9588893
Make something people want. Thats it. Social media and such helps, but there is no secret way to get a large amount of sells.

>>9589130
I mean, she had to fuck them. That's not exactly enviable.

>>9588145
You're not going to have any issues unless you have the character's names, the IP's logos or insignia, or the titles of the shows on your art. So a print of sailor moon with the logo is off limits. A pin that is just the SNK scouting corps logo is off limits. Labeling a section of your charms display as "Yuri on Ice Charms" is off limits (though this is not enforced very often unless it's a Funimation property).

Fan art is FINE. Trademark violations are not. Copyright =/= trademark.

>>9589145
That's not really a great advice. I have a friend who makes gorgeous merch but she doesn't get that many sales. We draw similar stuff and my skill level is lower than hers but I get more sales.

>>9589125
Yea so big she has a dead lolcow thread that you can't keep alive so you have to waste our time in this thread talking about her. Seriously, would LOVE to meet you. You going to otakon? What's your table? I need to see how someone like you looks like.

>>9589215
lmao emi stan pls, your internet tough guy persona is hilarious

she isnt gonna fuck you honey

I love the reverse sexism in the con scene

nick robinson: sends cringy flirty messages ->condemned sexual harasser, loses job, shunned from social media

emily hu: fucks over her friends, cheats on her exes, steals from others -> feminist icon, strong independent woman, #goals uwu

>>9589145
Wow dumbass, I didn't say all men are bad. I was asking why it's usually guys on AANI that make the dick comments and aren't too empathetic.
Why do I get the feeling you are the same person as>>9589219

Even if that other artist in this thread did turn out to be Emi, the stuff she is saying is a lot more valuable and helpful than your comments. I honestly don't care who she sleeps with and why. If she is nice and helps others, who gives a fuck other than an immature person craving high school drama.

>>9589145
>"all men are bad" isn't a point.
That wasn't the point of any of those posts, the point was that the men these anons have experienced seem to be obsessed with how others are doing and comparing it to themselves instead of worry about their own work and how to improve sales/art. They then proceed to be more critical/vicious with other artists for whatever reason instead of helpful in places that are meant to be helpful (AANI, although it's doubtful many get much help there).

>>9589237
Honestly it's probably because most of those guys are comic artists who look down on anime/fanart. A lot of indie/self-published types and the Marvel/DC rejects who couldn't get hired in the industry have really high opinions of themselves. I'm in a different AA group that has mostly indie artists and you wouldn't believe the amount of belittling that happens in their threads. It doesn't matter if you're more technically skilled than them, they'll dismiss you out of hand based on subject matter alone.

>>9589237
>Why are all the men
and the other comment
>male artists are really snotty and lack empathy

But yea anon, keep telling yourself that neither of those comments are sexist.
>>9589245
yea, big difference between saying "these men" and "every man who in involved with aani/artist alley"

>>9589237
anon you're triggered, u need to take a nap and chill

>>9589130
I'm sorry, I don't see how that matters or is on topic at all?

This literally has nothing to do with AA.

Regarding popular series.

Do you find they sell better because it's the FOTM or do you have trouble selling because you are competing with everyone else's merch of said series?

>>9589274
>More so with AANI. I've noticed on there and at cons, the male artists are really snotty and lack empathy?
Way to misquote the source in order to justify your being triggered. It's up there, you fucking moron, anyone can see that you're wrong.

>>9589359
I honestly feel like I hit peak FOTM sales right as the fandom starts to die out.

>>9589223
have you read the thread at all? where is anyone supporting emily hu? lmao get real dude

>>9589382
triggered bby go home

Apparently people who have a Crunchyroll Expo badge can get into Magwest now. Guess they worked things out. Hopefully that'll lead to better foot traffic for everyone.

>>9589237
that's an interesting idea, i had always assumed these vendettas for emi were salty girls from her homestuck days, but if they were male comic nerds who are jealous of her job that makes it even funnier. I swear, emi is on their minds far more than any of her actual fans. Tough life to not be able to stop thinking about some chick you hate so much.

>>9589520
what sort of crowd are the magwest people though, should I make stuff specifically targetting them?

>>9589761
Magfest has a heavy gaming focus and an older crowd in their 20's and 30's. I'm sure it wouldn't be too different at Magwest.
You could totally make stuff to target them and still sell it at other anime cons if you just pick Japanese games you personally like or don't mind drawing.

>>9589214
You're missing the point. People want your stuff compared to your friend's for a reason. Find out that reason--could be anything, types of followers you have, if you draw more 'relatable' things that her, if your style is more visually pleasing to the average weeb, etc.

>>9589520
What about the other way around?

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>>9589829

>>9589832
Ah so it looks like a bump in afternoon traffic, I'll make sure to eat lunch before then...

Man, what is with these whiny baby 'woe is me' artists on AANI?

>>9588828
Hi Emily :)

>>9590445
Everyone who points out how stupid your repeated posts is emily, ok

sage for off topic

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>>9590445
안녕하세요

Plz stop feeding the troll/s guys. Anything that mentions anti/pro Feminism or whatever surrounds that topic (we have never discussed these fucking things on this thread until the anti-Em-vendetta chan showed up) is obviously from the same goddamn person or group of people. Let's go back to our regularly scheduled griping.


I am super excited for fall and all of the fall themed merch I will be making but tired of the over saturation of witches...

>>9590729
I love fall too!

I want to make a tonne of cutesy ghosts and pumpkins and anything else cozy I can think of. Really wish that stuff had greater lasting power beyond just October though, I personally love it year round.

>>9590729
I love witches but you're right - fall's gonna bring in a deluge of witches. I kind of wish more people would go for variety! I like seeing witches from different cultural backgrounds or witches with very specific themes rather than "here's a girl with a pointy hat dressed in black".

>>9590773
I have some witch-themed things and they actually do fairly well all year round for me! I used to have a little ghost miniprint that moved fairly fast at cons too. I'd love to see more pumpkin and plant things though. Foliage stuff for fall would be amazing.

>>9588975
No worries! I'm glad it was helpful - I hope it can end your art block!

>>9590729
I'm always worried about making season-themed stuff because it may not sell outside the season
Altho Fall is pretty safe since everyone loves it, myself included

>>9590729
As a customer, I'm getting pretty tired of all the "witch" themed badges/charms/etc as well, even if it's usually of my favorite series or currently loved FOTM. I would personally love to see more autumn themed things or like >>9590773 said, ghosts and pumpkins or even just black cat theme. Maybe skeletons would be different?

>>9590794
I think skeletons might be hard to stylized into something cutesy for merch. Although I guess you could take the completely opposite approach and do like scary/realistic skeletons.

I feel you though on not liking an AA trend. I'm honestly kind of tired of all the magical girl themed stuff at cons. I don't mean like... legitimate fanart of Sailor Moon or other magical girl shows. I mean merch that says stuff like "MAHOU SHOUJO" with sparkles featuring wands. Or things like "Fight Like A Magical Girl" with like... punk AU sailor scouts.

While we're on this topic - are there other AA trends you gulls hate?

>>9590799
I've never been able to get my head around the Fanart-Where-A-Character-Has-Kitty-Ears-For-No-Reason trend. I get that catgirls (and catboys) are cute, and I can understand if the character has an existing cat motif, but otherwise it's a complete turnoff for me.

>>9590799
Characters wearing flower crowns. At my last con there was more than one table that had flower crowns featured in almost all their prints.

>>9590799
Photo backdrops, stupid things block everything

>>9590815
Photo backdrops are fine when they're right up against the table though! But I understand what you mean about the people who put it like 3 ft behind their actual table.

>>9590799
Yuri on Ice in general

To keep on topic what are things you'd like to see MORE of? It can be shows and/or themes.

I'm a little curious because I want to make things that people actually are interested in.

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>>9590799
>skeletons stylized into cutesy

>>9590846
Stationary items!

>>9590799
any type of phrase-merch (like shit with random edgy japanese words or character phrases). its so lazy. the only lazier thing is directly ripping off official logos for patches or badges or some shit.

Terrarium/succulent shit is unbearably overdone, even in normie craft markets

>>9590846
different-type merch that isn't something you're unlikely to own more than a couple of (i.e i like lanyards, but i'm not likely to own more than 1 at any given time, same with boob mousepads/bodypillows). I saw an artist doing My Hero Academia themed socks and I thought that was super cute.

Western games. I like japanese games as much as the next person but with the exception of overwatch and league of legends there isn't a lot of attention given to western games.
(MAYBE if something is super big, like the last of us or undertale)

It's not like there isn't a huge audience for games like Witcher, Horizon Zero Dawn, Uncharted, Borderlands etc but at an artist alley with 200 tables i'm lucky to find a few stickers, maybe a print or two

>>9590883
>>9590867
I do western games and I've done stationary items and the reason you don't see it is because it honestly just doesn't sell. I was one of like idk 2 HZD prints at fanime and it sold like. Meh. Didn't sell at ALL at AX. Love the game, loved it enough to spend time drawing a print for it, but in the end it has to be rotated out of my display because it doesn't make enough.

Same with stationary, made sets, didn't sell, rotate out. Love the stuff, but can't justify keeping it around. Sad, doesn't stop me from drawing what i like, but the chances of someone catching it at a couple cons before i dump it is low.

>>9591043
if you do comic cons at all it's worth doing western games imo. I make bank at my local comic cons compared to my more-anime focused friends and every 2nd person is like 'wow you're the only person with *insert game here*'

although it's still generally safer to do japanese games...bloodbourne and mgs outsell most of my other game stuff and are popular with even mainstream western gamers

also
>hzd print
is it of something other than a bland/stationary aloy portrait? If so link store plz. doubly so if it includes any machine. the ONLY hzd prints i've seen have been aloy standing blankly in front of a generic bg.

>>9590883
>>9591043
I agree with this anon saying western games sell like shit. the only thing i can count on to sell is overwatch. saints row, mass effect, metal gear, twau etc? nothing.

it's a shame, because i don't really like weeb games.

>>9591075
shit wait ignore that metal gear that's not meant to be there.

>>9591071
It's..semi bland. I would like to think it shows i actually played the game but i'm not gonna pretend like it's a master peice and I'm not about to link myself here either. But I will explain why I didn't draw machines, I just don't have time to invest that much into a print i'm unsure about. I would have liked to draw a print of Vanasha or sun king avad or elisabet/aloy or gaia or any number of things but I have time to make one print and since it didn't even sell well despite being one of the very scant few prints in the room with a very good location on my print wall, i can't justify doing more. It's a sad state of affairs.

>>9591075
> saints row
Now that you mention it, I'd kill for a Matt print.

>>9591083
not that anon, but that's understandable. The machines are difficult to draw and very complex, even if you stylize theres only so much you can do. I've found the hzd fandom to be very much like the witcher fandom - a lot of people like the games and have played them, but the actual 'fandom' is quite small and online-only.

In saying that, I have a watcher charm that sold insanely well at my last convention (in that I stocked it with the thought of having enough for the rest of my cons this year, and sold out entirely at the first con I sold it at). I think smaller items are better and require less time investment for difficult sellers.

>>9591075
The bioware thing has always confused me because the fandom is RABID online but any bioware merch i've tried has done terribly. The only luck i seem to have with it is offering commissions, because people are so attached to their player character.

>>9591088
if i wasn't so worried about being chewed the fuck out and being told my art is shit, i'd totally link you my matt print. love that hackerboy.

>>9591092
i try to avoid doing sheps too much but even super popular li's like garrus sell awfully. it's weird.

Do artist alleys allow for the sale of hentai? I don't mean putting stuff like bukkake on display, but if you have a product that just happens to have 18+ content in it, can you sell it?

>>9591237
You'd have to check the specific con but some of them are open to it, my friend and I put our 18+ material in a binder so people can leaf through it if they want.

>>9591088
I might bite the bullet and make some stickers or prints of Matt, Kinzie and Shaundi, I love them so much.

Does anyone know what the crowd is like at SacAnime? Hoping I won't get burned again like I did at my last con by pre-teens who don't want to spend more than $5 on a charm
They would see my stuff and be so excited, then go "oh, it's $10. Nevermind..." I thought $10 was standard for large clear charms?!

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>>9585787
Lolita print anon, the violin girl is still holding the violin incorrectly. The neck of the violin goes in the left hand, the bow goes in the right.

>>9591475
Not OP artist but damn I never knew violins were only played righthanded, that sounds annoying as hell for lefties.

>>9591568
Lefty violins exist, but they're a specialty item and very much not the standard.

>>9591450
Otakuthon by any chance?

>>9591641
I've played violin for a decade and never known someone who has played a left handed violin. Including left handed people. It just looks immediately wrong.

>>9591237
sometimes yes, but you'll have to censor it in some way

big time yaoi or dakimakura booths generally just put matteboard rectangles over any naughty bits in their display

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>>9591660
I did say it's uncommon.

>>9591475
Ahh I forgot to include the edited version of the violin lolita!

I've since flipped her around so the violin is on the correct side.

>>9591450
Got this reaction at Sakuracon a few times, along with a girl who commented to her friend, "I just can't spend $10 on a charm on principle." They were 2.5" double-sided clears, so I thought the pricing was pretty standard.

>>9591645
Not that anon, but man, does anyone know why Otakuthon's sign for exhibitors was so shitty compared to the other ones? I missed it at first glance because it was literally just pen scribbled on the card. I heard staff was pissed at artists this year for making the con move registration downstairs?

>>9590867
YES! I would love letter writing sets and want to make them but I seriously worry that it would not be worth the cost of getting it all together.

>>9591737
I have no experience with Otakuthon, but as the person in charge of making and printing signs for a different convention, I would bet you $20 that someone just forgot to tell them to make the damn sign, or that they forgot to order the sign when they made the purchase with their printer.

>>9591237
Different cons have different rules. AX just banned it for example. If the rules don't mention it then it's probably fine. Just make sure to censor anything that's on the table and to check ID when you sell it just in case.

>>9591450
Sacanime crowd is pretty chill, I made the jump to increase the price of my charms to $12 since my charms have been very popular and at first I thought the increase might drop my sales, but I don't think they did, or if they did I didn't notice. 2.5 double sided clears if you're wondering.

>>9591728
I'd love to know what this principle is, aside from "fucking cheap."

>>9591450
The crowd skews young and I've gotten my fair share of "Oh I can't afford this" or "that's too much" but it's never really impacted my sales, which have largely been consistent and solid.

What size do you prefer for small prints, 5x7 or 4x6? Or bigger?

>>9592146
4x6

>>9592146
Seconding 4x6

>>9592146
5x7.
Please never ever 6x8 they're so hard to get frames for

>>9591450
Skews a little younger, and a lot more families than your larger cons. They're fine with spending and I haven't noticed any different spending patterns. I will say if you're on the fringe of the AA room you might run into less crowds.

>>9592146
5x7 but 4x6 is still pretty good and easier to frame.


Speaking of which I wish 8x10 was more popular. It is such a bitch to frame 8.5x11.

>>9592404
For 8.5x11 just look for document frames instead of photo frames.

Anyone else in a shitty spot for Otakon? We can cry together next to the bathrooms.

>>9592420
Yeah actually. My friend has a theory that they organized artists by the order they paid since all the pending tables are at the front and both her and I were pretty on top of our payments and we're both in A block.

>>9592435
>Pay on time
>Get shit on

I just hope this doesn't destroy sales for me. I'm about 1k in the hole for this convention and will probably not make any profit back by the looks of it.

>>9592440
Same, I've never done Otakon and the venue change added with my placement has me extremely worried. Good luck to the both of us though.

>>9592420
Kinda... I feel like by the time people are done with pro row and the first two islands after, they won't really feel the need to explore the rest. The layout is shitty af. I would say 'well people will walk torwards the bathroom but there is a bathroom near the front anyways. I'm just happy I'm facing traffic and it looks like other spots are just as bad... I wonder if they are opening up The wall so AA and the Dealer Room are together.

Anyone done San Japan and can comment on how it compares to other Texas cons! Will be my first time in Sept. I did Akon this year and that was horrendous.

>>9591719
Still looks wrong. If anon goes with "left handed violin" on their print, they're going to get comments that it's wrong for the lifespan of that print. I am trying to save them the grief.

Anons without a huge following, how do you promote your online store?

>>9592768
Look for a tumblr that specifically promotes artist online stores. There should be at least one out there. Then submit your stuff to them

>>9592768
You take advantage of any sort of tagging system on social media platforms - but I understand how that might not be enough in some cases. I've found the quickest way to make sales is just... having a lot of AA friends on Twitter who are more popular than you RT-ing your stuff. When I only had a handful of followers on Twitter, some of my friends would RT from me when they had thousands of followers and it netted me sales pretty much instantly. I've seen a lot of artists put "RTs appreciated" or "reblogs appreciated" on theirs sales posts on Twitter/Tumblr and it makes people RT/reblog at the very least even if they aren't gonna buy something which guarantees that it reaches a bigger audience.

>>9592403
>>9591933
>>9591889
>>9591728
Alright, thanks guys. Definitely gonna hold my ground on my clears' pricing. It's not that I have abysmal sales--in fact they're decent, but those types of comments always get me thinking about what could have sold (which, I know, is a poisonous way of thinking). I do think I might have to adjust my non-clear, smaller charms' prices, though; I've kept them all the same because I thought price variations and their deals would just confuse everyone.

>>9592832
I wouldn't even adjust non-clear charms prices if they're the same size. Smaller, definitely. But most attendees like to have charm pricing organized by size rather than material.

I still sell my 2.75" non-clear double-sided charms for $12. People don't bat an eye lash at that price because it's big.

>>9592445
>>9592420
I'm a nobody in the pro-row next to all these really popular people and I'm worried I'm going to get overshadowed ._.

http://s.aliexpress.com/jUbmUFvi
Whose charms are these? I can't help but feel like I've seen pictures of these in previous threads.

>>9592768
send people with a huge following free stuff so they promote your online store.

>>9593029
Holy shit. Look at the rest of the store. And this is why we stick to TRUSTED suppliers, everyone.

>>9593052
>>9593054
Stores like this are EXACTLY why we get anons in here scared of Vograce. Even though we know they're safe, I can understand a newbie's fear of ending up printing through a place like this through sheer ignorance.

>>9593052
Does this really work? I've had popular people reblog for me but that got me about 3 sales.

>>9593054
>>9593062
But this is also why I don't get why people asking for good Alibaba suppliers for less common items always get bitched out. They want to avoid people like this too and there isn't a direct system for finding places as reputable as Vograce.

>>9593029
I believe the artist is Jrpencil

>>9593070
I didn't get any immediate sales from it, but I got over 100 instagram followers from it (I had less than 50 and just started my account at the time).

I've also had people post my stuff on reddit and post there myself and did get several sales directly from that.
Reddit is tricky though and almost entirely luck. I also usually wait until someone asks where to buy the thing before posting a link so mods don't remove the post as just being an ad or whatever.

Godspeed Otakon artists.
If you get blocked by Yuumei's crowd, post your table here and i'll stop by and grab some swag.

>>9592665

It was my first time last year and I made a little bit less than I do at A-fest. S AA is just really big and suffers from some of the same problems as A-kon in that regard. It seems to attract more popular artists and is less local than other mid tier cons like A-fest.

I'm not going this year so I don't know if they'll fix it but the biggest problem I had was that the aisles for browsing were huge, but the space in the back between artists was rather small. It seemed poorly laid on in that regard so be careful if you have a photo display. I saw a lot of displays fall down because someone tripped over a tripod.

>>9593158
I was pretty jealous of the people with tables in pro row but seems shit can suck ass there too if you aren't extremely popular.

Does anyone going to A-fest know if they have released the setup schedule? I'm trying to juggle a friend flying in, all this YOI crap, and setup.

>>9593158

Isn't yuumei supposed to be a millionaire? Whys she peddling it with us in the artist alley recently? She never used to be there

>>9593029
You art will be bootlegged regardless if you use a Chinese supplier

IF YOU POST YOUR ART ONLINE, IT WILL GET STOLEN. GET OVER IT

>>9593298
I really think she needs to be in the dealers room considering she's not even at her own damn table 99% of the time.

>>9593298
What gave you that idea? Because she had a successful kickstarter? She bungled the shit out of that whole deal and barely made any money from it.

>>9593298
Her table was at some super tiny con this last weekend, I doubt it made like any money, I saw barely anyone purchasing from her.

Was hoping to get some opinions on this if I could, but do you think an entirely monochrome booth could do as well it's full colored counterparts? I work mainly in inks and make a lot of horror-themed content and was thinking about making my booth have a gimmick of being mostly black/white but I was wondering if it sounds like it'd just be boring to most buyers.

>>9593343
The lack of color means that your shading and art needs to be more on point than most others

>>9593052
I've had this one girl who came into my DMs and offered to promo my enamel pins to her 16k instagram and twitter followers or whatever for free, and she's done it for a while but it never nets me any sales.

Once I noticed how many impressions my tweets got and how they were dismally low, despite her influence, I stopped talking to her since she wasn't worth my time.

On the other hand, a couple of my popular artist friends RT'd my post and I got the most attention reach and sales I ever had in such a short time period.

>>9593343

I think it would be interesting. Personally I'm really drawn to booths that have a color gimmick, since so many of them are just all over the place in terms of booth design. Just make sure you really commit to it though, because if you do like, half monochrome and half regular prints, the regular prints will dominate and destroy the branding. I'd suggest even matching your outfits with the monochrome theme for when you're behind the table.

>>9593343
It could potentially work, but from my experience, I tabled with a friend once and we had very different taste in color palettes. I had very bright and colorful work while she had darker tones because she was into grunge or gothic stuff.

I think the color popped out in comparison, and I ended getting a lot more sales, while she didn't move a single print. I don't think it was intentional, but color tends to pop when it's alongside more darker colored things.

HOWEVER, if you were really excellent with your lighting/values, and your entire booth was monochrome with some spot colors, you might end up with the inverse effect where you stand out because you're so different. It's a gamble, but if you're gonna do it, you gotta go hard and make your art look really bold.

>>9593343
I do mostly monochromatic chinese brush style influenced anime art, with a dab of color here and there, and I sold very well at Fanime and AX.

A lot of people told me that my stuff really stood out because everyone else was just a sea of color. Of course I'd say I'm pretty good skill wise, so your mileage might vary.

>>9593029
I saw these sold at a con I went to last week. Really makes me think.

>>9593299
No, if you use a supplier that is committed to keeping a steady stream of customers ordering charms from them, they will not bootleg your stuff. Vograce is Chinese and AFAIK there have been no complaints about people seeing their charms pop up elsewhere after using their service.

>>9593298
I think shes desperate to stay relevant considering shes been sitting on her ass crying about how she cant draw because of carpel tunnel or something blown way out of proportion.
She probly blew all the money she made on the Brookstone deal on hiring contract artists to draw her dumb comic for her, and now she wants to peek back into the industry that she proverbially fell out of like a decade ago.

>>9593082
If I had to get my art stolen a couple of times before finding a good supplier, why the fuck should you not have to go through the same thing? AA is not an art club. It's an art market and I'm not going to give my competition any freebies.

>>9593585
Jesus is there no medium compromise where people can share what companies are BAD? Like you don't have to give your source, but wanting your peers would get their art stolen as well is just.. damn, this is why people here always ask about why they can't make friends lol

>>9593360
That is probably because a lot of those followers were bots. I have a friend who has 5k followets but barely gets 100 likes on her posts because only 100 of them are active followers. Imo sending free stuff is not a good idea.

>>9592795
What if you don't have any aa friends that are close enough to RT for you? Isn't it weird to PM and be like hey we're not close but can you please RT for me?

>>9593608
This is actually true for a lot of social media (and deviant art back in the day), posting anything will probably reach about 10-20% of your followers at any given moment, which is why people have to retweet and reblog their own art a lot. Also why i don't think having 5k followers or whatever is a lot, realistically they reach maybe 500 people and maybe only 1/5 like the art etc they post that time. You can see this happen yourself when you post a poll with a simple question that people would take a second to vote on, it won't be all your followers, not even 1/2 or even 1/4 usually.

>>9593634
Also I have to say 16K from >>9593360 isn't a lot unless those 16k people (lets assume they are people) are 1. active 2. are following that person for the same kind of art you are selling.

Sometimes i get promoted by people with a lot of followers, but if the person who promoted me has a different base with different tastes it won't matter how many followers they have. While a person who RTs me with a similar size fanbase as me or only a little bigger BUT their audience has the same taste as my audience, i see more return there. so yea. many factors, not just bots though promo-only accounts can definitely have bots.

>>9592665
I haven't sold at San Japan and missed the last two years, but as a customer, I really love SJ's artist alley. It brings in a lot of good artists from all around and seems to just have a higher quality feel, making it more competitive even from an outsider's point of view.

A-kon this year as BOTH a seller and a customer was a complete shitshow, I can't imagine San Japan getting as bad as A-kon this year unless they really fucked up. A-kon really dropped the ball this year so it feels like anyother con would be better. In comparison to A-kon, I actually made more money at a smaller convention like Oni-con.

>>9593600
I hope that anon dies alone and unfulfilled. This shit isn't a zero sum game, we all gain when we help each other. Not all of us here are that fucking batshit loco.

>>9593360
Audience means everything. They can have 100k followers and it not mean anything if they aren't the type of people who like your type of stuff

>>9593676
>This shit isn't a zero sum game,
We're all competing for the same limited resource, tho.

>>9593695
Personally, I'd rather compete fairly on merit than wish for my competition to suffer.

I want my customers to buy my stuff because they like it, not because the other artist is busy battling art theft. And I want to make business connections and friendships with my peers.

>>9593695
Yes, it's limited in the amount of attendees that are at a given con, but more and more people are attending cons, cons keep growing and new cons keep popping up, which is why I refer to it as non-zero sum. I choose to see the opportunity instead of the limitations and it's entirely on me to keep opening up my own market rather than just fighting my peers for customers.

Plus I'm with >>9593698 in that my network is infinitely more valuable to me than any customer will ever be. The probability of a customer hooking me up with a 90k+ job versus my network doing so isn't remotely comparable. Learn to play the long game.

>>9593709
>The probability of a customer hooking me up with a 90k+ job versus my network doing so isn't remotely comparable. Learn to play the long game.
I'm pretty sure those kind people would already know not to get scammed by using dodgy chinese sources.

>>9593571
At fanime she was still the most popular table

>>9593695
Except customers can buy from multiple places. Most attendees at a con aren't preteens with 10 dollars in their pocket.

>>9593299
congrats on being retarded anon

>>9593623
Nayrt but don't do this. I had an AA friend vent to me about a mutual they're not close to doing this. It made them feel uncomfortable because they don't talk a lot and it just felt like said person was leeching off of their follower count.

Sometimes people will respond well to those kind of PMs but you run the risk of making the other party uncomfortable and/or see you in a different light. Don't be discouraged though! Getting post circulation is a bitch but sometimes it works out. Good luck selling

>>9593623
I never said to PM them, anon... That's weird and I'f mosy likely mute you if we didn't know each other well. Just put "RTs appreciated" on your tweets and hope that people will RT and work on making more friends at cons.

Are animal skull themed merch items too overdone? I was thinking about making some acrylic charms of a wolf skull and was wondering if it'd just seem boring.

>>9593825
If it's a boring concept like "heres a skull facing the right" and you have shitty art then yes it's going to be boring.
I think playing around with design concepts for skull enamel pins would sell more than a charm

>>9593715
You are very short sighted if you think that the people who are beginning their business and entering the market now are going to remain newbies forever. It also speaks volumes to your character that you would measure whether or not an artist is worth helping based on the size of the work they are capable of referring your direction.

We all had to start somewhere. The connections we make with kindness now aren't only valuable because they will be remembered later, but also because it's a lot more fun to work in a supportive community. I'm building a community I want to work in and be a part of.

>>9593838
You could not have written a better response to this person.

The previous poster and the one bitching about "well I had to spend money to find the right manufacturer" are part of the problem causing a toxic community. I'm not the kind of person to hand out manufacturers, because I've literally found a source for everything that gets asked about often in a 10 minute search. But I do coordinate group orders for friends and share freely with people who have been respectful or at least tried to make an effort. The benefit of being friendly far outweighs the setbacks of being an ass.

Plus, remind me how it adds competitors when everyone has such different styles? Unless you're worried your style is so unoriginal you actually WILL end up with that issue, but there's a larger issue than just sharing manufacturers at that point imo.

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How do you deal with the dissonance between what you'd buy and what actually sells? Do you try to make what you'd buy, or do you play it safe and give in to popular demand for the sake of putting food on the table?

I dislike 99% of all things sold in AAs because the lack of practicality of the items. I don't like posters since I think fandom/anime stuff is tacky for home decoration. Simple keychains are okay, but I'd never buy more than two at one con since an overfilled keyring unnecessarily takes up a lot of space. I like pencil bags, but it gets redundant when you have so many that you need bags for your bags. Well-made metal pins are great for outfits, but buttons are ugly as hell and I'd never use them.

As I was typing this out, I think this mindset is a contribution to the whole "cons are for kids" idea. There's not much practical value in this stuff, so adults are going to prioritize their funds for more important life needs (groceries, gas, etc.).

>>9593874
Yeah, I find myself buying less and less at cons as I get older. Maybe one or two really nice, more expensive things and a pokemon plush from the dealer's hall is normal for me, whereas I used to go crazy with pins and prints and whatever else was cheap.

>>9593874
>>9593878
I understand where you guys are coming from but also just because I'm not going to buy something doesn't mean another adult won't. You're right in that adults prefer things with practical use but you forget that adults have actual spending power. I do terrible at cons if it's mostly children/teens because they only have limited allowance to spend at the con. Adults? Adults will drop $200+ at my table and not even blink.

You don't necessarily stop becoming a fan just because you hit 18 and get a job. Yeah, adults have bills to pay for but they also budget and save up for their con expenses. I personally don't buy prints anymore because the "magic" of them has worn off since I do so many cons but adults who aren't artists still value them a lot. Most of my customers online and at cons are adults and they tend to spend more money at my table on average than teens.

>>9593874
I like to make what I would buy since I think it comes out stronger. I haven't bought prints for years. I see tons of younger kids at cons still though, so even if I'm not interested in those things I think they'll keep selling so long as teen fans keep existing.

>>9593874
I used to be an absolute spending fiend at AAs, nowadays I still spend a decent amount just less on prints/charms and more on apparel but that's because I'll wear it. If it's cute, I'll still get it though, but my disposal income can't usually justify getting a technically useless item - especially since I already own so many.

>>9593874
Hm, I guess I can't really relate on your disinterest in merchandise. I got into this BECAUSE I love merch. I have nice artist alley anime art with great composition and rendering framed in my living room and kitchen. I make itabags, so I always have space for another keychain or button, the cuter and bigger the better. I don't particularly have use for pencil bags or stationary items, but I get such a kick from the idea of someone else getting to use it in their daily life and see the characters they love while doing it - and it's fun to see what kind of art and composition I can create to take advantage of the medium.

I approach life with the mindset that even though I'm an adult with a mortgage, just because I grew up doesn't mean I have to grow boring. I still love all the things about merchandise I loved when I was younger, but now that I have a real career (plus AA as my side hustle) I've got the discretionary income to indulge.

If you really dislike making the products this much, maybe AA isn't right for you. There are other creative and illustrative careers that you could funnel your time towards, and other ways to make money off of fan art if that's the part you care about. Don't keep doing something just because you're invested, life's too short to waste like that.

>>9593874

I just make what I like. I got tired of trying to guess what kinds of things people would buy, so I figured I'd just make stuff I thought was really cool, so even if I end up with some of it left over, I won't hate looking at it. I do wish there was more ingenuity on AAs, with more different kinds of things, but I notice whenever someone comes up with a clever idea, every other artist dogpiles it and floods the market, so I understand why there is not much urge to be inventive and original. You might do well for one con but then everyone and their mom rips you off at the next one.

>>9593917
>I do terrible at cons if it's mostly children/teens because they only have limited allowance to spend at the con. Adults? Adults will drop $200+ at my table and not even blink.
Bingo. I don't care if my art appeals to the teenagers that make up 75% of a con's attendees. They probably showed up with $20 for the whole weekend. I'm making what appeals to me and that ends up appealing to other adults, too.

>>9593727
According to who?

>>9593977
Same. These days if I'm manufacturing something, it's because I want to wear or use it myself, and the leftovers are what I sell. Regarding prints, I get what >>9593874 is saying because the last time I bought a print was over ten years ago, and it was from an art gallery.

The dirty truth is, art in and of itself is a luxury item. No one actually -needs- any of this, but it can sure make life a lot more pleasant.

I have to vent anonymously, because I can't anywhere else without someone knowing I am talking about them.
I had an accident that left me unable to work for years. All I could do was sit at my desk and literally draw from 10 am to 11pm 6 days a week.

I have to pay rent and bills, and so I worked my ass off selling art and doing commissions...sometimes getting into cons of I was lucky enough and my health permitted me to.

For ten years I was ridiculed by friends and family who saw me as having no life and scum for living off government assistance (that was far not enough to live on, thus the constant drawing). I was told over and over that what I do is not real work, despite getting extreme pain in my hand everyday from pushing myself so hard.

The past month I got hired to do small tasks at a mom and pop business down town for 2 hrs 1 day a week. There is never anything to be done there, and I just sit and chat with the owner. Everyone is suddenly so proud of me for getting a job now. Every asks me, "so how was work?" and it makes me cringe, because barely anyone asked about my art before, and if they did? They'd never call it work.

>>9594307
Lol normies and their brainwashing to believe having a 9 to 5 job is considered successful and "having a life"

You keep doing your art if it makes you happy and definitely if it pays the bills. They could be jealous that you get to stay home and work while they fight traffic and wake up at the ungodly hours of the morning.

>>9593825
Hate to admit it, but skulls + flowers are a trending thing that I starting to see pop up from different people everywhere. It's starting to become a oversaturated aesthetic.

>>9594245
Sakimichan and some other big artists were in the Dealers Hall, but in the AA she pretty much always had like a crowd of 10-20 people around her booth.

>>9594307
>There is never anything to be done there, and I just sit and chat
Sounds like a city and county job lololol.

>>9594307
How do they expect you to work if you were in an accident that left you disabled?

Anyway people are shitty. Hope you've found some friends from doing art that support you. Fuck what other people say, traditional jobs nowadays are practically slavery.

>>9594378
it's a shame, because i've always loved the two together.

>>9594307
I'm so sorry that your family treats you this way. My parents were a little similar in the beginning and always considered art a hobby/not a real job. But then I started doing cons regularly to help out with family finances because we were in a lot of debt at the time and I was able to regularly bring in most of the rent we needed every time I did a con. My parents started thinking a lot more favorably of AAs then. Now I make enough to cover all of the rent as well as most of the bills for my entire family of four which has allowed my mom to take time off of work for health reasons. They for sure appreciate what I do as a job now.

I'm not saying that you NEED to be making a lot of art from art before people take you seriously but I just wanted to let you know that it's possible to turn people's minds around. Does your sickness prevent you from attending cons? Like the other anons have said, I hope you were able to make friends who are supportive of your artistic endeavors.

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Would anime/game/general 'cute' themed bath bombs, scented candles, and soaps be something people would be interested in (or even allowed to be sold at) an Artist Alley booth?

I've been making bath bombs, scented candles and soaps as a hobby for awhile and am thinking about actually selling stuff, but would just like to gauge interest first.

In other news, tfw I also am pretty good at knitting but I wouldn't want to sell bath bombs, soaps AND knitted goods at a stall since they don't 'mesh well' together, if that makes any sense.

>>9595089
Booths that sell homemade candles named after weeb shit are just as much of an eyesore in AA as perler bead booths.
also they over-saturate a lot of conventions when actual artists could have been getting in.

Save your weeb soap for conventions like Shuto or other "original work only" AAs.

>tfw get to move your shit spot at otakon to prime real estate because of no shows.

Good ass shit.

>>9595182
What the fuck happened at Otakon? Tons of empty booths and all the artists I talked to were pissed that had paid for premium spots and got shit on. Also the dealer's room full of empty booths.

Are shrinky dink charms looked down upon nowadays? I have a local con coming up but it's only one day and at a college so I don't want to drop money on acrylic ones.

>>9595193
They're more uncommon now and may be perceived as cheap versus the acrylic ones, but I think you're fine. Just make sure they look good, are nice and flat, and are properly water-sealed.

>>9595193
No offense, but why are you making Shrinky Dink charms? It's cheaper and easier to just go the acrylic route these days.

>>9595089
I admit I wouldn't buy any of those from an amateur. It's a really nice hobby but they can be safety hazard for the customer if you make them wrong.

>>9595089
To sell skincare/cosmetics/etc a lot of places require very specific permits and licences, and they can charge a pretty hefty fee to get one. A friend I have sells themed soap, and while she does well, the permit to be allowed to sell them cost her $1500, and there are a lot of requirements about showing proof that everything you're using is body safe and whatnot. For the record, I'm in Canada, so the US might be slightly different.

>>9595089
nerd soap is so oversaturated. i really wouldn't bother unless you're doing something 'different' i.e sculpting your own molds

Where do you gulls get your enamel pins made? Any suggestions on where to start?

>>9592768
not an artist, but if your art is good, I would do a follow, like, and RT giveaway for something. It builds up your follower count like crazy and if you have a fellow artist who's been on twitter for a while RT it, it will get around.

i bet all gulls are shitty arists

>>9595299
People literally post their art in these threads, you can just look through the archives. But then you're probably some bitter newfag who doesn't even know how to do that.

>>9595303
wow ok! why are you salty? i was just stating my opinion you jerk!

>>9595307
>that
>salty
Definitely newfag.

>>9595303
it's shitty bait, not worth responding to

>>9595308
how do you put things in the green text like that??

>>9595278
I don't but check out Alibaba trade manager. I work at a company that sources metal parts from factories in China and this is what they use. Generally factories will produce a sample that you will either approve or require changes. Once approved, they will do a production run. Be advised however that I work with high volume manufacturing so idk how easy it is to find small scale factories

>>9595255
Not necessarily true, I've been making my charms from shrink film for the last year or so in very small quantities to test waters and it worked out to less than 50c a charm (including the shrink film, printer ink, jump rings, top coat and packaging) whereas the quote I got for acrylics recently had them at over $1 each.

>>9595173
I mean they obviously wouldn't ALL be weeb themed, I'm talking more vague references. Soap making is an art in itself when you go into the methods to create them looking like objects, like fruit/cakes/[insert other cute object], but I do get what you mean. Hence me posting here to see what people think.

>>9595266
Fair enough. I actually started making bath bombs and soaps specifically because I have sensitive skin that's prone to allergies and eczema though, so I've done my research.

>>9595271
I live in Australia and it's the same here too, I've already thought about that part. Thanks for pointing that out though, a lot of amateur soap sellers I see are actually unaware of it when I've asked them about it, since it's not exactly a super-regulated thing at craft fairs.

>>9595274
I should've mentioned that my actual job involves 3D modelling, and have/will be 3D printing molds (or just sculpting them by hand).

>>9595255
I haven't been in the artist alley game and are still testing out interest in charms and how they will go. I was hoping to use this small con to gauge interest first then get acrylics of the ones people are interested most in. Shrinky Dinn charms seemed like an easy way to make cheap, small batches of multiple charms without much hassle.

>>9595313
Thanks anon!

Do you guys think full bleed printing makes a huge difference? Just checked with 4 local printers and they all quoted at least $2.20ish for full-bleed 11x17s. I have to print locally this con since I'm out of time, but this is way more than I was expecting (at least compared to CatPrint). Obviously my fault for doing stuff last minute, but anyway--non-full bleed costs about half, and as much as I want it, I'm not really sure that full-bleed is worth paying twice as much. Thoughts?

>>9595342
Does your art look appropriate or sized correctly without full bleed?

>>9595342
It doesn't make a difference to customers like 90% of the time. I've had people thank me for having non full bleed prints because it's easier to frame? It you don't mind it, save yourself the money, anon.

>>9595342
I think full bleed gives off a more "finished" look most of the time, but like >>9595373 says, most people don't really care. Alternatively, more work but perhaps you can get it printed at a bigger size and go cut it down yourself?

>>9595342
that's a high markup. for example if I asked my local printer for a full bleed, they'll charge me extra .10 or .12c of the 11x17 per sheet cost.. I forgot top of my head to upgrade to 12x18, scale it up a tad 3%? and trim it down apx. 4 cuts. Say that was for a hundred prints full bleed, the added cost with the cutting fee was about .25cents per print added to the non-bleed 11x17. $25 extra, easily made up if those are popular prints.

I hope the next thing to be triggered by and to shame are people who just ask for product sources. Tumblrfags c'mon get outraged by something useful for once.

>>9595236
what do you think think is the best way to water-seal them?

>>9595512
As if people aren't already getting super fucking triggered by it?

thinking about selling art at aa.

not much of an animu artist. wondering if animal art sells or fantasy/anime only

>>9595316
>>9595327

Valid points but in general I think acrylics are a better investment because you can sell them for more money. I would never pay more than $5 for a shrinky dink charm but I'll spend $10 on an acrylic one. Plus there are so many new techniques and effects with acrylics it just seems better to bite the bullet and go with acrylic even on a first go. There are group orders for Vograce sometimes so you won't get killed on shipping if you're doing a low quantity.

I've paid some pretty high base costs for acrylic charms but I always make my money back + profit on them even if I only sell half my stock. I don't think I could say the same for shrinky dink, plus I don't have to worry about having time to make them.

>>9595518
Resin.

>>9595089
People are always sluts for Pokémon bath bombs with figures inside, even cheap terrible knock off figures. Doesn't matter what else you are selling. If you tell them they have a figurine inside they'll buy it.

If it's a plain bath bomb it's hit or miss.

>>9595934
I'd be upfront about them being knockoff figures if you go that route though, so you don't get pissy little complainers the next day. I don't mean literally telling people they are knockoffs, but pick a couple of obvious examples and display them with the bath bombs so people know exactly what they are getting.

>>9595599
There's money to be made at furry conventions, not even being ironic. If you also do commissions, you'll be good to go.

>>9595565
Not the vast majority of artists in AA. The only people who think it's rude are those who actually spent some time to research sources. The rest get whiny and think "there's an elitist problem in AA wahh why can't we all hug each other and support other artists uwu".

Fucking leaks just sprung in the Otakon AA and are spilling water everywhere.

I think a sewage pipe just burst or something ??because water is pouring int from the cieling in Ota AA and just ruined a couple of peoples tables
I'm laughing but also I feel so bad holy shit

>>9595996
I just saw that, what a shitshow lol. Seems like so many big cons are just tripping over themselves this year.

>>9595996
>>9596000
I don't think I'll be going next year and I've been going for 10 now. A-at least there's katsucon right?

>>9596000
A friend posted pictures of the mess from her table and it's definitely dirty water. She had a pillow at her table and it's like splattered in like black/brown stuff.

>>9596000
Photos?

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>>9596010

File: Screenshot_50.png (668KB, 716x559px) Image search: [Google]

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>>9596011
>>9596010

She also posted a live feed video of the water pouring in from the ceiling. Its chaos rn in AA

>>9596011
>>9596012
holy shit anon

File: otakompilation.jpg (464KB, 2400x1800px) Image search: [Google]

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>>9596010
Just look through the otakon tag on Twitter - but here's a quick compilation anyway.

>>9595996
>>9596007
>>9596012
>>9596016

Rest in pieces

An attendee slipped on the water and is getting emt attention.

Rip Otakon you had a good run.

>>9596016
man it is one disaster one after the other over there

>>9596020
This con is so shit this year holy fuck

>>9596000
>holy shit
And it rained from above, how appropriate.

>>9596020
The person who slipped is >>9596011 's table partner.

I hope Otakon addresses this because sewage spilling onto artists and attendees is pretty much textbook definition of health code violations.

I feel bad for all the artists whose merch got fucking destroyed + losing profits for the rest of the weekend.
I'd cry out for retribution from the coordinators but they prob can get away with not reimbursing anyone due to the AA contract.
Something about how theyre not responsible for what happens to your shit while youre there.

Fuck that sucks.

>>9596067
Someone posted a video of the "group meeting" they held with the artists and the AA head seemed to be saying that they're going to work things out with artists who had merch damaged? So I'm interested in seeing if that'll lead to anything.

>>9596073
Yeah I'd like to see how they try and smooth this out and avoid a lawsuit.

>>9596074
They can easily be fined by the city just for continuing the event where the spillage occurred wtf...anyway, idk how well the cleanup was if a city health official gave the ok...but if not.

>>9596006
Correct me if I'm wrong - has Otakon had a track record of lousy AA policies over the years? This just seems like the cherry on top of the shit cake.

>>9596020
It was actually one of the artists that got their tables leaked on. Or shit on should I say ;)

>>9596067
>Something about how theyre not responsible for what happens to your shit while youre there.
That's not going to hold. A lawyer could drag Otakon's ass through hell and back. They kept the con going after a sewage pipe burst for crying out loud.

>>9596091
Were you the one that was doing those adorable lolita prints in the last AA thread? I'd be happy to buy some stuff from you tomorrow. This whole con has been a shitty experience

>>9596109
No I'm the one that slipped and ate shit on the pavement, pray for me, AANI thought I died.

>>9596109
It is me. I'm at H08, I'll give 20% off purchases to any cgls that stop by.

AA head confirmed the water was not sewage water but rain water runoff.

Not today Ebola chan

>>9596209
rain water runoff from the roof covered in bird shit

>>9596239
Better than human shit

>>9596248
>>9596209
It's still pretty bad considering how dirty the water looked from the pictures shared on Twitter. People should still take care they don't get infected, especially the people who ended up getting the water on them.

>>9596248
I think you don't realize how much disease even the common pidgeon (aka sky rat) carries

When making DIY stickers at home, what do you prefer for sealing? Lamination paper or some kind of spray? Or do you just let whatever happens, happen, and hope that customers don't complain?

Found some unused inkjet sticker paper packs bought on a whim, but not sure what to do with them aside from making some gifts for friends.

How do you know when it's time to give up? I read multiple times here that you don't make profit your first year, but this is really draining me...
First con I paid $60 for a table. I made $80 (one day con)... $20 for gas, and $20 for food (paying for both me and my table helper.)
I spent around $200 on production of the art.

Next con (1 day), I paid $20 for the table. $10 gas, and decided to add stickers with $30 total. I made $100-ish.

Next con, $10 for table, $20 gas, $20 food, and I made $80.

Today's con, $50 table, $20 gas, $25 food, $60 for a tent (as it was outside), $60-ish restocking.
I made $85. RIP.

I'm so in the negative. Around -$300, I think... Probably more like $-400/$500 for little things I missed to include in my costs too. I have two actual real 3-day cons during September...ones that require lodging, and I feel like giving up.

>>9596285
I laminate mine. A roll of duck brand laminate is less the $6 at walmart for a 20' roll.

>>9596285
Lazer print on shiny sticker paper and no seal. For $2/$3 for a 3" sticker, fuck them if they bitch.

>>9596312
I think it's too soon for you to give up anon, since it seems you've only been to one-day cons so far, and those don't typically bring in a lot of revenue.

I'd say test the waters at bigger cons and cons that are longer than just one day. Typically the people who attend those cons bring cash for the sole purpose of spending, whereas those who go to one-day cons are just browsing and looking for a quick deal.

See how your September ones go before deciding to throw in the towel.

>>9596312
Any examples of your art?

Also what cons are these that have such super low table costs?

>>9596312
if you want brutally honest feedback on your art and if that could be the reason your sales are lacking, post it (there will probably be a couple blatant trolls so ignore them, but honestly sometimes you need to take a couple years improving your art before you step into the convention scene again.)

It could POSSIBLY be the cons you're attending. Do you talk to other artists at the cons? Even if you don't feel comfortable talking explicit numbers with strangers, you can look at their stock - if someone who has acrylic charms, professionally printed stickers, other merch etc generally says the con is going 'good' for them you can assume they are making $$$+.

What are you selling? Fanart, original art? If it's all original those numbers are understandable, it might not be your quality necessarily but the subjects of your art - consider pandering to popular tropes or cute animals or whatever.

>>9596312
These cons sound super fucking small, anon. No wonder you're not making a lot of money. If you want critique, post your art but I think attending small 1 day conventions back to back explains a lot about how you did.

>>9596312
That sounds really bad. Only other explanation other than you having bad art is that you aren't going to the right conventions. You can't sell anime at comic conventions.
That just seems like a lot of conventions in a row to not make money at.

As the others said, post some art, or even better, post your table. We don't bite.

Anyone else having A-fest difficulties already? I'm not exactly happy with the 2 hour window they have for setup on Thursday given that one of the panels I'm running cuts into that time (and I had asked them to move because of that and three weeks later they tell me no, it's not possible). Why can't they have Wednesday night setup? Even if it's to say "all you can do is put up your grid or backdrop?" I don't remember it being this difficult in past years.

>>9596319
>>9596320
>>9596342
>>9596352
>>9596463
(1/2)Thanks for the thoughts. For the anons asking, I'm super uncomfortable with posting my art here on 4chan. Sorry.
>Also what cons are these that have such super low table costs?
I live in the middle of Bible Belt nowhere, where you're not going to find these cons on any major website. The way to find events in my area is that I have to google, "Events in (town and surrounding towns)."
They are either college con, or little location festivals.
That being said, only one of them was an actual anime "convention" held in a college library.
The others have been called things like "Geek Day" or "Fantasy Fest".
All of them bring in around 100-200 people.

I don't know if it is the location/lack of people or my art that is killing me.

>sometimes you need to take a couple years improving your art before you step into the convention scene again.

This is actually what happened! Two years ago I tried the AA scene with even LOWER numbers than I am seeing now (I was making around $40 instead of $80), but again I was stuck with these one day shows, and the cons I could get to had about 2k attendances at most. I was making around $200 there for 3 days, while other artists were pulling in $500-$1k.
(Even the 3 day cons I have in Sept are only about 2k attendance.)

I draw about 40/60 fanart and original. I've been slowly trying to add more fanart because I know that's what sells.

I stopped doing AA because I just felt horrible about my sales, my art, and losing a looooot of money. I feel like I'm falling in the same pattern now.

I'm not even joking when I say I'm super autistic. Like diagnosed, so I could never talk to other artists/people well, and I have always had trouble making friends.

I quit AA and swore to never to do it again, but my whole ONE FRIEND kept pushing and pushing me over the years, and I thought I'd give it another go.

>>9596537
(2/2)
Also I have found most people don't like my art/me. But it's weird because the people who do like my art REALLY like it and will drop a lot of cash. If I would give a number, it's like 1 out of 4 people like my art...which is not that great, and I need more for sales.

Again, I don't know if it's me/my art or the area I live in and the kind of shows/cons I'm able to get to. I lack the money to go to actual real/big conventions, and clearly trying to start out smaller to get money to get to real cons isn't working out too well.

>>9596537
Those cons are super small and of course pretty much anyone is gonna make slow sales anon, are there really no larger cons in your area or ones that you can drive too?

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What you guys think of pic related

>>9596537
What state do you live in? I live in Alabama and there are several one day anime conventions that bring in far more people like Hama-mini-con and Anni-con, both of which I make over $1k at. Also Anime day Nashville and Atlanta.

Any event with under 500 people is going to be trash.

>>9596538
> the people who do like my art REALLY like it and will drop a lot of cash.

No offense, but is that mostly people under the age of 16? Younger they are, the less they care about quality and more about subject matter.

>I lack the money to go to actual real/big conventions, and clearly trying to start out smaller to get money to get to real cons isn't working out too well.

You could sell on etsy or do commissions on deviantart or where ever to get money first.

>>9596589
loading dock fees? What is that?

>>9596597
I don't want to say, because I'm really paranoid, which is also why I don't have etsy or DA. I don't want people to know anything about me, and I also simply don't feel like I'm actually good enough to have the sites. Like I don't even share on ANNI SPS.
>No offense, but is that mostly people under the age of 16?
No...it's really weird. They are older women that are like 40-ish, and the hippy type. Thus they can drop $50+ in one buy at my table.
Someone mentioned about how teens will stop by the table, squeal and get all excited, but not buy anything. That's what happens to me all the time. They complain about a $3 bookmark being too much.

>>9596616
>I don't want to say, because I'm really paranoid, which is also why I don't have etsy or DA. I don't want people to know anything about me, and I also simply don't feel like I'm actually good enough to have the sites.

If you never want anyone to find out even a single bit of info you should just give up right now when it comes to making money off your art.

>>9596619
This. You can't start to get more consumers if you're not branding yourself. If giving people information about your work scares you this may not be the venture for you.

>>9596537

This >>9596619 >>9596621

Also, look, no offense, but the level of your neuroses about this is ridiculous. AA isn't for everyone. Like, I know professional, employed artists who freak out about the idea of tabling at AA or any convention. EVERYONE gets stressed about whether they're not making enough money or whether anyone actually likes their art. Nothing you do is going to mitigate that stress, because it's part of the package. You either power through it and have some confidence in your work, or you quit. If you don't want to do it then don't do it. You won't be successful if you keep doing 200 person shows, or refuse to promote yourself online. The things you're complaining about are literally things you are causing and could do something about.

This is why I don't fuck with self doubt. Learn from your mistakes sure, but be fucking confident while you're making them, life is too goddamn short.

>>9596616
Honestly, anon, it sounds like this might not be good for you. If you're too embarrassed/paranoid to post your art online, why do you think you'd enjoy selling it in person and marketing yourself as an artist? Like >>9596621 said, you need to brand yourself to increase your customer base. I honestly mostly buy from people I already know through social media, not randos who I just stumble upon.

>>9596600
Convention center being a shit and forcing people to cough up cash if they need to load anything more then what can be carried by hand.

>>9596589
Honestly, from what I could tell (reading about the whole fiasco on my computer screen across the country lol) it looks like they did what they could, even if it was really unorganized. But that compensation is complete shit. What about all the artists whose merch got completely ruined? That's hundreds of dollars right there. The whole thing might not have been their fault, but I still think they need to offer better compensation; if there are artists dishing out $1k for a spot I think the con can afford to help them out a little.

>>9596616
How do people like you even function? Fuck off. You're not special enough to be this paranoid.

>>9596616
I agree with the others. Artist Alley just isn't for you. If you are too "paranoid" to even post to DA then you can't be helped.

>>9596746
That very lame. How much? I never heard of a con doing that

>>9596621
>>9596643
You could honestly be right. I know I have a problem with any kind of social scene, but as you also said,
>don't fuck with self doubt.
I've been trying really hard to work on myself, but I don't know if the battle is going to be worth it.
>>9596650
>why do you think you'd enjoy selling it in person and marketing yourself as an artist?

The mentality of what I see many gulls say of, "I give out 500 cards per show but only get about 3 followers!"
I feel like doing art in person is kind of "safer" in that people don't stalk the way they do with some artists online.
>>9596782
Ok but you pls fuck off. I barely function which is why I have a hard time getting to places and making friends. Like I have a reason for being this way, which is 10 years of repetitive physical, mental, and sexual abuse in my living situation. And I'm talking full on beatings and being thrown against walls/down stairs and not mommy and daddy taking away my ipod abuse.

>>9596816
Anon you shouldn't do cons, you should get help instead. I'm a very private person but you're not going to get anywhere if you don't want to even have a site to post your work at.

And if someone wanted to stalk you, they'd do so regardless of whether it's online or offline.

>>9596816
>I barely function
> why do I have a hard time having a successfull business
Huh...

>>9596822
They've already proved that self-reflection isn't their strength

>>9596816
>I feel like doing art in person is kind of "safer" in that people don't stalk the way they do with some artists online.

I've been browsing /cgl/ and been in the AA world for about 3 years or so and never heard of anyone being stalked as a result of posting artwork online. Literally what do you think is going to happen?

>>9596844
Maybe that she'll be another DoopieDoOver. However, I don't think there are any chris-chans interested in her if she doesn't socialize at all

>>9596844
lmao
my question is how far does your head have to be in your ass to assume that your art is so good that someone wants to stalk you because of it

c'mon
>>9596816
this is an AA thread not a sob story thread either get your shit together and take an anon's advice or leave

>>9596314
Thanks anon, I'll try and see if I can dig up some clear contact paper from the same pile before heading to walmart!

>>9596316
Also a fair point, lol, thanks

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>>9596870
Just a heads up. It's specifically for lining drawers. It should look like this.

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Do you guys tend to be more line or tone oriented?

Is it a bad idea to make sticker versions of some of my keychains? Got myself a silhouette and am eager to use it, but I know small items cannibalize sales so I don't know if it's a good idea. I will have other designs, but I really like some of my existing keychain designs so I'm kind of in a dilemma.

>>9597092
Imo people who buy sticker versions because they don't have enough money will never buy the keychain versions anyway. It might cannibalize sales to some extent, but I think it does more good than harm.

>>9596904
Ah, thanks again anon! I found mine and its clear contact paper, so I'm assuming it should work pretty much the same (maybe a bit more grainy, but imo that's a nice texture so I'll take it). I'll check this out when I run out of mine!

>>9597092
Weirdly enough I only have one sticker version of a an already existing charm, and sales for the sticker only start to happen once the charm is sold out.

So idk make of that what you will.

>>9596773
It says in the post that they would be compensated for all damaged merchandise.

>>9597092
I agree with the other anon that a lot of people looking for cheap merch wouldn't buy the keychain version anyways, and that a small sale is better than no sale.

>>9596816
>The mentality of what I see many gulls say of, "I give out 500 cards per show but only get about 3 followers!"
>I feel like doing art in person is kind of "safer" in that people don't stalk the way they do with some artists online.

The anon talking about 500 business cards is me and this is.. some what true.. in the sense that i know artists who do like 30 cons a year and had less than 1000 followers for ages because they didn't keep up an online presence. but it's not because they didn't want to they just didn't know how or they didn't see the value in one because they made enough at cons alone. This is actually viable.

However the way you are approaching it, like clearly you aren't making enough for your standards and you aren't really getting help because you won't show your art, you're not in the same situation. You CAN take a leap of faith and just try a bigger con and it works out and you go on your merry way, or you can send your art to someone and ask for feedback before you waste your money. I'm sure someone can set you a throw away account if you're afraid of being associated with 4chan/cgl but if you aren't even comfortable doing that there's nothing more people here can help you with.

>>9588603
I dont think you know what the word means. Youre not using it correctly in a sentence, so its a dead give away. If youre anti feminist, youre also anti men's rights. Or are you just trying to pin a badge of ignorance pride to your chest? Either way, I have a feeling if you call somebody an asshole, its because they called you out on your stupidity.

>>9597092
I'm actually one of the anons talking about small items cannibalizing sales all the time in these threads. I don't think it applies the same way to stickers and keychains because they fundamentally have a different function whileas bookmarks/miniprints and big prints are all paper goods and thus serve the same function.

If you feel worried about cannibalizing your sales, I would maybe suggest doing sticker sheets instead of individual stickers? That way you can still sell them at a higher price point.

>make art consistently and making good connections
>start making over $5k at every con I go to, still rising slowly
>have friends who have been doing artist alley for much longer than me
>I've surpassed their skill and income level for a good while now
>mfw they try to give me unsolicited advice on how to git gud
>mfw i can't sympathize when they complain about dismal sales
>mfw I have no face

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>>9597908
>start making over $5k at every con I go to

Alright spill, how is this possible?

>>9597908
How do you get to the point to achieve that amount? I have mainly 11x17 prints, couple of enamel pins, and do commissions on the spot and still hit around 400-500.

>>9597908
post your art right now

>>9597965
>>9598026

How is it any time someone mentions making more than like 2K people act like it's impossible lol, like several times in the last few threads now people have been like this. Face it, no one who's making good money is going to post their art here and associate themselves with the same types of people as those vendetta-chans and other awful posters lol

>>9597908
>>9598094

Ok I get it. You're just here to brag

*yawn*

>>9598099
This desu, saying how much money you're banking each con has zero purpose if you're not willing to either say or show how you got to that point.

>>9597908
If you guys don't share exact numbers with each other, maybe they're just not aware that you're making more money than them? At the very least you have the satisfaction of knowing that you're raking in more cash than them, anon! Maybe you can let them know you're not looking for crit on your pieces so they stop trying to give you unsolicited advice.

>>9597965
NAYRT but it's not that uncommon. Several of my friends and I regularly make over $5-6k per con. A bunch of anons in previous threads have also agreed that they make similar amounts. Most people who regularly do 10+ cons a year generally tend to pull in at least that much per con if not more because it's how they make a living.

>>9597990
NAYRT again but what kind of cons are you going to? Small local cons will never net you $5k+ because they just simply don't have enough attendees with spending power. It can be a multitude of different reasons but I've found that having a large variety of fandoms helps as well as offering products in sets.

>>9598026
Can we all stop doing this whenever someone mentions figures? No one is going to post their art on 4chan and publicly tie their art to a number. Asking for people to post art in this context is weird because it's not like they're looking for crit or advice. No one's stupid enough to give out their exact numbers with their name and artwork attached.

>>9598103
Not that anon but here's the thing though - people ask "how did you start making so much money/what do you sell that you make so much money?" every single time someone brings up their profit margins. And those questions DO get answered. Just check previous threads. I know because I'm one of the people who ends up always answering what I sell and how many years it took before I started seeing $5k+ profits regularly. It's a tired question at this point. If you're that curious, just go look at the archives.

And honestly, knowing what type of merch or what fandoms sells best for me or for someone else isn't going to automatically translate into you making sales since there is probably a difference between art style, skill, branding, and fan bases between you and any other artist.

>>9598114
I get that and have seen the answers in previous threads.

What was the point of anon's post is the question. Why bother dropping a number like 5k then getting triggered people want to know what they do, especially since they talk themselves up so much. They came here to brag and it's pointless and annoying.

>>9598118
I didn't read it as them bragging but as rather them being annoyed at their friends for giving them advice they didn't ask for? Each to their own I guess.

I could say the same about everyone saying "post your art/what do you sell" questions. What's the point if you know knowing what other people sell a lot of won't directly help you sell more art?

>>9596616
I feel the similar and keep no social media presence. Sure people will find you that way but inevitably people who don't pay attention to instagram, twitter, etc will stumble on your table. I guess it hurts sales but it also makes people excited to see you next year or at the next con they find you at. AA is more for me to have something to do at cons besides panels and shit than getting my name out there. Even if you're paranoid as fuck it's still completely possible to have a well run table.

>>9598094
>>9598105

because $3k+ is extremely uncommon. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1im5YvarqTcAcooSZ6jCjej7DFfsv3BzHcMbGOK5NWmw/edit#gid=1145087801 Only ~15% made over 3k

1k to 3k is average/common. 5k+ is usually rare and just at specific (very large) cons.

>>9598099
I wasn't the 5k anon i just wanted to point out how predictable and weird you guys are

>>9598143
15% is really not that uncommon, not uncommon enough that people should pretend like it's impossible? Like if it was 5 or 3% or something maybe.. but 15.. 15% is a rather large percentage of people!

Lastly to the original anon >>9597908 , it may not be the case, but just like "making bank" is relative, "dismal sales" is also relative. If i made 5k at fanime or ax that would be DISMAL for me so i perspective i guess, for everyone to consider.

>>9598143
These sample sizes are pretty... not great though anon. Not every artist who does AAs fills out the Kiriska survey. I've only done it like three times tops even though I do like 15 cons a year.

I know my experience is entirely anecdotal so I know it doesn't hold a lot of weight but I'm friends with a lot of artists who do this full time and they make $5k+ easily at most cons. Even people with mostly paper goods. I used to make $2~3k when I didn't do cons as frequently. Now that I do this for a living, I'm seeing $6-7k as my average. If you're doing this as a hobby/once a year thing I can understand the lower average margins but if you're doing this full time with established branding and social media presence, the $5k average is pretty common. I'm sorry I can't provide concrete proof but that's been my experience from the circles of artists who do this as their job.

>>9598151
>>9598159
Maybe it should be looked at another way. Looking closer at that spreadsheet the southeast cons, which are the ones I do, have much lower revenue than other cons of similar size.

If you are doing the cons near the top of the list like Anime expo, Fanime, Otakon, Sakuracon, etc. it makes sense you are doing $5k+ easily, but the southeast cons like AWA, momo, and MTAC appear to not be bringing in as much.

So i guess my question is, where are you doing cons at?

>>9597113
>>9597225
>>9597401
>>9597895
Thanks for the insight, guys! I've decided to make some, if not just for my own satisfaction haha. I do feel like people treat stickers differently because they don't want to use them/have no where to put them (I feel that way also).
Sticker sheets are a good idea! If I can get to know how kiss-cutting on my silhouette works before my con I'll probably try that lol. But a question--if I already have some sticker sheets (done by an outside company) and the ones I make on my own are a smaller size, maybe just like an inch less on one dimension, and on cheaper material, would it be strange to price them the same? Would anyone even notice?? I can only arrange my stuff on 8.5x11s atm so I can do 4x5s, but my current sheets are 5x5.

>>9598172
I've actually pointed out >>9598105 that the convention you're attending can determine your profit margins. But your regional theory is pretty interesting!

I'm California-based and most of my con friends who do this as a job are also West Coast based. I've personally never done AWA, Momo, and MTAC so I can't say anything about them. AX is by far my highest grossing con of all time. I've done 10k+ at 3 cons so far this year and 2 out of the 3 were in CA.

I did Ota last year and pulled in about $6k after expenses, I think? Another anon in this thread said they did $10k. I've never done Sakuracon either but one of my friends pulled in $7k with mostly prints this year. The most I've ever done at Fanime is like $3k but I haven't been able to get into that con in years, so I don't know how that compares with my more recent numbers. At A-Kon before the move, most of my friends pulled in at least $4k with $6.5k being the highest.

>>9598172
That's a better way to phrase/frame it. I stopped doing awa like 2-3 years ago because i wasn't even breaking 3 or 4k every year while other cons were starting to turn in 5-10k. I mostly do the bigger coastal cons and anything less than 8k is like.. almost not worth my time? 10-15k is ideal for me.

I don't think awa would get anywhere near close still so i'm still not returning. I mean i love the people and i love the area (Atlanta!!!) but by the hour i have better things to do sadly.

>>9598172
>>9598203
For people pulling in 3k-6k, what size attendance is the con? I'm guessing around 10-20k people?

>>9598328
All the cons I've pulled in over 5k at have been 50k+ attendees. For cons around 20k, I usually pull in 2k. Less than that is generally 1.2k. I did do THREE cons with about 2k attendees, and made 20$, 500$, and 800$ respectively.

Attendance counts absolutely play a role in profit margins, but so does the amount of artists and your table placement. Its entirely possible to have a shitty con with over 25k attendees if the AA is in bumfuck nowhere.

>>9598328
Attendance numbers means literally nothing.
Awa and momocon have 25k+ attendance and I made ~$1,500
Annicon has an attendance of, maybe, 1,000 people and I made almost $2,000 there.
Kami-con had 5,000 people or so and I made $3,000.

>>9597965
>>9598099
>>9598103
sorry if it came off as a brag, just wanted to vent a bit of frustration anonymously. I mentioned how I bring in as much as I do in the first line in my original post, consistent art posting and networking. Sometimes you just get lucky and some stuff starts trending, both offline and online. People find your shit appealing and that's a major factor. That's how it went for me, anyway. It just sucks not being able to share success like this with your peers (or mine specifically), because it often gets perceived just how it was in this thread - bragging.

>>9598339
Attendance number do mean SOMETHING. As >>9598333 said there are many factors that can go into how much money you make.

What's more important than raw attendance numbers is looking at the ratio of attendees to artists. AWA has a problem with overstuffing its alleys. If it capped artist reg at a more reasonable number, people wouldn't do as terrible there. Look at A-Kon. Attendance numbers were similar to last year, but they added more artists than before which killed the sales. It's about the balance between attendance numbers and artist numbers.

>>9598341
You probably just need to find better friends. I talk numbers with a lot of mine and we do so to help each other. It's much better being able to be open about them and learning from each other's experiences. The fact that people here get so ruffled about numbers already shows why no one wants to make friends with cgl types haha

>>9598339
They do. All big cons on average pull higher numbers. Also did you read the post at all? There are many factors, attendance included, and you can have a shit con with high attendance if the AA is oversaturated.

>>9598179
if they were the same designs on the sheets, say you had rabbit stickers at 5x5 and 4x5, i'd maybe think it was weird that they were different in sizes but the same price. if it's different designs or the stickers themselves are the same exact sizes then i wouldn't think the price difference is weird though

>>9598392
Lmao I made 8k last year at AWA your art just sucks dude. You sound stupid please shut up

File: nicocrop.jpg (320KB, 565x508px) Image search: [Google]

320KB, 565x508px

pretty new to AA
(just added myself to the artist spreadsheet)

is there a discord or anything?

>>9598473
I've never fucking been to AWA, dude. But plenty of artists have said that AWA selling more tables than there is buying interest from the attendees is what's been killing the con in recent years. Cons adding in too many artists when the attendance numbers don't grow alongside it usually make for worse sales. That's a pretty much documented fact all across the board - MegaCon, A-Kon, AwesomeCon, etc.

It's great that you did well but AWA has a reputation for being a not great con for a lot of artists. Stop being a fucking idiot.

>>9598481
so that's why Nico stinks so much
she can't smell

>>9598481
what appeal do people have of large discord chats?

>>9598514
rude
she's just a stank bitch

>>9598529
is aa general really that big?

>>9598537
>>9598529
This AA general has less active posters than the current itabag general, which does have a Discord.
I think a lot of it is just that AA general is much more antisocial and unwilling to create a non-
or semi-anonymous community than itabag general. At the same time, people who are going to instantly think it's a hugbox might avoid it and not shit it up...

>>9598557
There is an AA discord server though. You need to contact one of the posters in the AA general thread to receive an invite code through email

>>9598557
I personally muted the AA Discord because I was too busy with cons to keep up... I keep forgetting to unmute though.

>>9598473
Your experience=/=the experience of the majority

which is something so many people in this thread dont understand, and state their opinions as objective facts. AWA is a shitty con for lots of people. Im glad youre doing well despite being a huge cunt, but your solo experience does not represent the overall experience.

I did fantastic this past Otakon, despite every friend I know doing horrible. Doesnt mean I'm gonna start reccing it and telling people to git gud because they didnt break my numbers.

>>9598576
Maybe we can add this info to the OP post of every AA thread from now on? I think specifics + the email should be in previous threads somewhere. I know they only added the email thing because a lot of newbies were joining the discord and shitting it up with dumb google-able questions.

>>9598623
Heres the information.

Email [email protected] with a link to an art site with images of your merch or a picture of your booth. Its just a verification to make sure you do cons (it is not a jury.)

I havent been talking in it recently due to the summer con circuit but me+the other discorders do chat in it from time to time.

>>9598576
>>9598577
>>9598623
>>9598627

thanks for the info, i'll send over an email then

Animenyc is reaching out to a ton of people on the waitlist for a table.

Check your emails!

>>9598486
doesnt change the fact that you suck

it isnt the cons, or the attendees fault you don't do well. Your stuff just doesn't sell, stop trying to blame others for your crap merch

>>9598619
the majority =/= truth

shitty logic there bro

>>9598690
I never said I didn't do well? All I did was say that there are a ton of factors that go into why someone might do poorly at a con - including things like the attendee to artist ratio and placement. Why are you this upset over an innocuous statement like "many factors go into how much money you make"? I made 20k at AX so like... you do you I guess?

>>9598700
Its no use anon. Theyre clearly not receptive to dicussion. Let's move on.

How have everyones summer cons been? Best one? Worst one? Absolute nightmares youre never going back to? Tell me your con stories!

>>9598707
Best one is AX! Worst is Metro. It was my first time going and it's the worst con I've had all year. I've never even come close to making so little at all my cons this year so it was disappointing. From what I've heard, having TBCC the weekend right before in the same venue really hurt MetroCon. I probably won't be going back to that one!

>>9598713
I was super suspicious during sign ups when they were open for like 24 hours before selling out... I understand now lmao

>>9598713
Why did you even travel to a florida con anon? Florida cons are all shit now. We look forward to out of state ones to make more.

>>9598717
I had some friends who've done that con before and had some positive reviews. This year seemed like a dud for every single artist I've talked to though. I've had a couple of people that it was out of character for how Metro usually goes but that's not enough to make me go back next year. I think you're right that Florida cons are all headed downhill as of late. A lot of artists recommended MegaCon to me a couple of years back and several people confirmed with me that bringing in $10k+ was average for a lot of artists at that show. The year I chose to do it was the year the staff changed hands and my friends actually apologized to me for telling me to fly out for it.

>>9598716
At the very least I broke even and made a modest profit. I'd be absolutely livid if I couldn't even recoup costs. I've never been in the red for a con before.

>>9598094

Before I started doing AAs myself and lurking these threads, I never thought anyone made anywhere near that much doing AA. Most of the info I read outside of here said that breaking even was the most one could likely expect unless they were doing god-tier art of hugely popular series.

for artists who take preorders at con, how do you go through with it? Do customers just pay (for the item + shipping) and then you take their mailing info to mail them their preordered stuff later on?