/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

>>10423080
I don't have much hope for any January conventions. After that, it's all up to whether or not all the dumbasses still want to keep going out without masks (not much hope here either). It's really all up in the air.

Different topic, does anyone have, or can anyone give a little review of Vograce washis if you've tried them recently? I've been reading things about their printing being blurry, the adhesive not being tacky enough, etc. but wondering if they've improved since these older reviews were made, as they so often seem to be trying to upgrade their techniques and equipment.

>>10423080
With cases ticking back up, I have no hope for cons like AWA that are normally super packed. There just is no way they can have social distancing.
I think smaller cons have a chance. One I have planned in December has a lower attendance and a lot of open space.
Idk how artist alley will work. Sure, its easy for print artists, but craft artists where people love to touch and pick up our merch will have a hard time stopping people from doing that unless there are some forced guidelines.

Thoughts&opinions on Vograce's new printing process? Someone in AANI said Vograce fucked up their order and sent half of their charms using the new process and half using the old process.

>>10424032
I haven't seen any examples of the new printing process personally, but I do find the grainy texture to charms sort of... charming. (Pun not intended but I'm glad it's here.)

I don't know, I feel like whenever I get a charm without it it's usually official merch, so I like the difference.

>>10424032
When did they switch over? I noticed my last order from a few weeks ago was much nicer printing than before.

>>10424032
I placed an order about two weeks ago and then saw this and asked about it but I was told my order was done on the old printers since I didn't request it. Not a huge deal but a little disappointing.

>>10424032
The clear acrylic looks like ass with PET printing because it ruins the front/back illusion. It would look so, so, good with colored acrylic - it would even look good with white acrylic. But Vograce doesn't do that, so, y'know. It looks like ass.

>>10424492
I guess I should rephrase before people inform me Vograce does white acrylic and some transparent colored acrylic. The vast majority of business that goes through Vograce is clear acrylic, is all I meant.

>>10424032
I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around the new printing process. I know how the old one works: a layer of opaque white, with the color printed on top of that. How does the new one work, technically speaking?

>>10424552
UV printing generally prints the image onto the rough surface, meaning the printing is right on the surface of the acrylic. the PET style has another layer of the plastic over the top of the image layer. this is the 2nd part of that post that explains the process better.

>>10423080
I signed up for ALA's lottery. Did they say when they'll get the results?

>>10424589
Ew that's going to look ugly as hell wtf

>>10424654
I've seen people post that they got in already, so I'm assuming they already went out. Sadly (or not?) you (and I) probably did not get accepted.

>>10424937
it's just going to be domed on top of the print. it will keep the design from scratching off but will get scratched sooooo.

>>10426002
So if it's double sided and you look any angle other than straight on in front of your face you'll see the edges of the other side's white layer instead of nice clear acrylic...

>>10426151
Yuuuup. It's crazy how much one change fucks up.

How has AX weekend traffic been for you guys? I’ve made a couple more sales than usual, but not too much.

Anyone been selling shaker charms or candy bag charms? Seen more people making them lately, but do they sell any better than normal charms? Candy bag charms especially seem to be a pain to store or travel with the way the puff out.

>>10430098
i think people like shaker charms a lot.

Weird question here, but where about can I buy shit that would be in artist alleys? One of the main reasons I went to cons is to spend money at these little places and now that cons are dead no more stickers and keychains. You all ever think about having a site that holds all your shops online? Or there is one and I just didn't know.

>>10429204
that was about to be expected at maximum

>>10430106
etsy...

>>10430106
>You all ever think about having a site that holds all your shops online?
There use to be an artist alley list of shops in OP, but link has been dead for like a year now and it keeps getting reposted for some reason

>>10430141
Rip

>>10430098
Novelty charms like shakers and candy bags sell really well for me. Better than normal acrylic charms, in fact. People are also willing to pay slightly more for novelty charms as well.

>>10430106
>>10430141
I’m the anon who made the spreadsheet. I think I may have accidentally deleted it while cleaning out files from my cgl throwaway email, whoops. If anons would like, I can make another one, although I know that selfposting culture is dead.

>>10430209
I think it could be nice to have another one desu

>>10430209
people still selfpost here all the time tho.

>>10430236
Still, there could be shops that aren't making new stuff/making new self posts but are actively selling old stuff. I'd be keen.

>>10430106
etsy, storenvy, lots of people host on bigcartel/shopify now, you can also check social media for limited stock (some people sell through DMs)

>>10430212
Here's the new link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iafoS8K8Gh3tutxLavVBw4rKUv3l2eFPF-KuyEBZC_k/edit?usp=sharing
It's open to edit, so feel free to add yourself. I also don't remember exactly what columns I had on the old spreadsheet, so let me know if there's anything you'd like me to add.

>>10431184
needs a "shop description" tab

How do you respond to people having postal problems like an item being marked delivered but they dont see it in their mailbox or any problems that the post office needs to handle? I get a lot of my customers asking to find out about their packages for them all the time and I dont have the time to constantly contact the post office to find out for them.

>>10430106
>You all ever think about having a site that holds all your shops online?
I used to work for a little tech company that was trying to build new platforms, for awhile I pushed something like this, a sort of online artist alley that would maintain the indie artist aesthetics and cut out all the resellers and vintage sellers etsy has, but the tech bro management struggled to understand the value of it and it never went anywhere. Problem is everyone thinks if it's not capable of earning millions of dollars then it's not worth doing, even if you're just a small company with eight people. Really wish SOMEBODY had built this thing by now, I hate etsy so much but I keep going on there because I'm so hungry for artist alley fan merch.

>>10431184
Missing an about/introduce yourself column as well

Best site/program to use for accounting on an etsy business? Quickbooks looks interesting but is it worth it? is there anything you'd recommend?

>>10431279
I think the biggest issue with something like that would be it's just a great way for IP holders to find all the merch in one place and send out mass takedowns.

>>10431279
I feel like Ko-fi is leaning towards this with recently adding their shop feature.

Downside is that they don't have a search in regards to the shops, and they don't have a frigging cart tab, so the buyer can't buy multiple items at once. They have to check out through PayPal for each individual item they want. It's the dumbest shit, and it can also screw up shipping costs that way.

Hi, I'm running a holographic printing start-up for artists interested in selective holographic prints instead of the common holographic overlay types.

I'm having trouble finding print artists that may be interested or at least able to weigh in on their print sales. My MOQ is 200 and I'm wondering if that's too many for an artist to order at once.

I have a quick survey if you or anyone you know who does print sales could share some info. It would be appreciated!

http://printandshine.com/survey/

>>10432177
You might have some takers, but the MOQ is fairly high especially for people who want to just test the waters.

Is it 200 per design or 200 total across a few different designs? Either way I think it might be a little bit too high for some.

>>10432177
fuck no

>>10432189

>>10432189
200 per design unfortunately

>>10432198
>>10432177
>i'm running a startup
>that coincidentally seems like alibaba/taobao resales
you clearly don't have a printer of your own or you'd be able to do smaller MOQs like other successful sticker sites.

>>10432198
Ack. Sorry Anon, I'm a middle-tier AA artist (large portion of my income comes from AA, but I'm definitely not as successful as some.) and I have never once felt the need to order 200 copies of the same print before.

>>10432206
I think it's like >>10432205 said and it's a scam. All the photos and video on the site are blurry as fuck and there's no mention of anything business related such as the process or what products are even on offer. Just "holo printing" doesn't mean anything.

>>10432212
this. wtf does the OP think we are stupid?

So I have a lot of art mutuals on Twitter from back when I would just follow anyone that I talked to for like 3 minutes at a convention. For a couple of them I never saw them afterwards, we never ended up interacting online, and I'm not a fan of their art/not interested in the fandoms they draw for. Is it fine to softblock them if I don't want to follow them anymore? I don't want to feel like I'm burning a bridge, but also don't know if it matters and if I should just go ahead and soft block.

>>10432334
i don't think that should be a problem, but i usually keep everyone on my list for networking.

>>10431979
Too bad Ko-fi bans you if literally anything you make is adult content, even if you never even post it on the site.

>>10432177
This looks extremely amateur, and selling traced/copied pokemon artwork is embarrassing.

>>10430106
In the meantime, if you're on FB, there's a Virtual Artist Alley group that you can post ISOs on or browse people's offerings.

>>10432334
I usually also keep them for networking. You can mute them if you want. But sometimes I see them pop up and see they're not following me anymore, so I unfollow back. Either way, I don't think it's a huge deal whether or not you softblock if you had little to no connection in the first place.

>>10432334
Just mute those people, that’s what I do. Still shows up that you follow them ect

>>10432334
why would you block them? If you don't want to follow someone, just unfollow them. No one is going to get upset they lost a follower.

>>10432380
Nta but Ugh that sucks
I heard that Patreon was going to do something similar, but I’m not sure exactly what.

>>10432474
>>10432481
True I forgot muting was a thing. I'll just do that.
>>10432483
Softblocking, it's blocking then immediately unblocking so that they don't follow you and you don't follow them anymore. It's common courtesy when you unfollow a mutual. Or I assume it is.

>>10432526
>it's blocking then immediately unblocking so that they don't follow you and you don't follow them anymore.
???
what, what is the purpose of that? How is that possibly common courtesy? That makes no sense to me.

is it too late (with current events and market saturation) to get into designing pins?

>>10432726
? That's like asking if it's too late to get into designing charms.

>>10432519
There's rumors every other week about patreon doing stuff with nsfw but so far there are no actual sources for it. It makes up a huge portion of their revenue so they'd have to be facing a massive pressure from higher up in order to remove it from their site. Which is totally feasible, there's just no substance to rumors at this point in time.

>>10432380
>>10432519
This makes me angry if true. I thought one of their questions about what you intended to show/sell was nsfw art... Unless it is there just to ban you if you click it.

Also, why does that one mod of AANI always come up as the first thing in the search/explore no matter what you type in.

>>10432726

its too late for pins for pins sake, but never too late for a novel design.

>>10431243
>>10431341
Added!

>>10432177
>selling bootleg Pokemon buttons to promote your business
>only one example of what your service can do and it’s super blurry
>extremely high MOQ
HMMMMM...

>>10433091
>Unless it is there just to ban you if you click it.
It is. A popular artist I follow recently got banned because they post nsfw on an unlinked SIDE ACCOUNT. Ko-fi interprets any money you get from them as going toward your whole body of work, so you can't even use them if you do nsfw on the side and never even directly link it. It's fucking wild.

>>10433321
Wtf how did ko-fi find art on an unlinked side account? Did they monitor this artist or something?

>>10433422
I went back and re-read and it might have been linked actually, I apologize. It's not linked to their main twitter so I assumed they hadn't linked it there. If you're curious: https://twitter.com/robots_and_lace/status/1252802530054156289

So they may be a stupid question, but it is a dilemma that I have had for a long time now, and a topic that I haven't personally seen brought up. Basically my internet handle was something that I made when I was a teenager, and while it is not something directly weeby, it is weeby-esque. By that I mean, it is not something that means anything and/or direct cringe (for example: it is not OtakuSakura or something like that), but you can tell it has some Japanese influences with how the word is laid out. My question is: is that a bad thing to have as an adult white women, especially these days? Will that hinder my art presence in any way you think, and should I either make a new account and start over or where applicable just change the username? After having for so long, I'm pretty attached to it and find it hard to let it go and move on. Also, because it is glorified gibberish, I have had pretty good luck having the name available everywhere. However, I'm not very good with online presence anymore, which my goal recently is to get my shit together that way, which is also why I'm asking now. Stating that, I don't want people up my ass later about it either, nor look like a "cultural appropriating" weeb.

>>10434362
As long as you're not outright pretending to be Japanese then you're fine. It's literally no different than having an english word/name as an username even if you're not English yourself. The only people who would have a problem with something innocent like that are people you don't want to associate with in the first place, since they'll create discourse from anything they can get their hands on, and that's the last thing you want when building up an online presence.
I will say though, if you have used the handle since you were a teen I'd make sure to check any old/inactive accounts on sites where you might have used it and check whether you should delete them. I for one am glad to be rid of my old username along with the embarrassing weeb past associated with it.

>>10432571
If you’re mutuals, then you are both following each other. If you just unfollow them, they’re still following you. Congrats, now you look like one of those scummy people who follow and unfollow a large quantity of people to mine for followers. Being polite means softblocking and making sure they don’t follow you anymore. A clean break, if you will. If they still like your content, they can refollow you.

>>10435163
>now you look like one of those scummy people who follow and unfollow a large quantity of people to mine for followers.
literally who the fk cares? I'd be upset over you blocking me and forcing me to unfollow you, not you simply unfollowing me.
Not wanting to follow me is understandable since you might not like what I actively post, but blocking or softblocking takes things personal, like you have something against me personally, not just what I post online.
I've never heard such a convoluted thing before.

>>10435163
>If they still like your content, they can refollow you.
NAYRT and this is so roundabout and makes no sense. When I follow people it’s not because I expect them to follow back, it’s because I want to see their content. It’s fine to unfollow me without any fuss, don’t force me to unfollow you back and make me have to look for you again to follow you and act like that’s the logical and polite thing to do.

>>10435252
>>10435181
I agree with these anons. Forcing a mutual to unfollow you implies you don't want them to see your posts anymore. If someone did that to me and I noticed it, I'd be a little offended. People can decide these things for themselves, you don't need to decide it for them.

>>10434362
I think that you should probably just pick a new name. The other anon is right in that most people probably won't care because weeby usernames are super prevalent in the con scene so people probably won't think too hard about it. I'm Asian though and most of my Asian friends find it really cringey to see white people with random Japanese sounding online handles so I'm sure Asian con-goers and artists might similarly. If you're just starting to build your brand, it's much much easier to just pick something new (maybe something similar sounding but not as obviously Japanese?) for your professional identity and keep the old handle as your personal account.

>>10435284
i find it cringy to see other Asians using Japanese names too. maybe more than white people, because white people aren't really tricking people.

>>10434362
I don’t think it’s cultural appropriation or pretending to be Asian, but it is cringy as fuck. Imo weeny Japanese usernames are no longer acceptable once you’re older than 15.
>t. someone who’s half Japanese

So I have a question that isn’t really artist alley related, but more commissioned-art related. Is writing “To (name)” on the front of the art a thing??

My fiancé and I have been getting to know our neighbors in our townhouse complex. There’s one couple that lives a few doors down with a 3 year old daughter who loves Frozen. My fiancé bragged to the neighbors and told them I was an artist and basically put me in the position to offer to draw a picture of Anna and Elsa for the couple’s daughter.

I didn’t mind drawing it as I’ve been in a funk and can’t think of anything to draw lately, so I saw this as a way to motivate myself to draw and as something I can upload on social media.

So I finish the picture. It was an inked and copic colored piece on 9 x 12 bristol board. Today, the family was walking by our home, so my fiancé alerted me to present it. Long story short, the little girl loved it and even hugged it. She didn’t want to let the picture go but I had to imply to the parents to take the picture in the house so it doesn’t get crumpled. It felt good to make this little girl smile with my art.

An hour or so later, my fiancé alerted me that the neighbor wants me to write “To (daughters name)” on the front. I find this weird because I feel “to name” is usually followed by a message, and the way it’s drawn, there isn’t really a lot of space to write a message. I walk over and just end up writing “to (daughter name)”, and the mom seemed to be pleased, but part of me feels like that ruins the image. I guess I’m thinking too much into it since this is a drawing being framed to go on a little girl’s wall, but I’m wondering if I should’ve added a message along with “To (name)” if it was going to a little girl.

Thoughts? Opinions? Do people write messages or names on the artwork as if its a card? Should I have written “To (name), may all your dreams come true” or some other inspirational quote?

>>10435951
it seems like you're expected to treat it like an autograph. i guess the parents don't realize that putting a signature on art is not the same thing.

What’s the difference between doing taxes July 15th versus end of the year each year? I’ve been doing them at the end of the year, but should I be doing them soon instead? I run an online store mainly.

>>10435284
Imagine gatekeeping Asian names this hard
Literally NOBODY gives a shit original poster, anime/Japanese names is normie tier now you’re totally fine.
A certain cringlord on Twitter who can’t post anything more interesting than “muh Korean culture!” might try and call you out though. A majority of the people who have actual shit to deal with won’t care and you shouldn’t either.

>>10435951
>To (name)” on the front of the art a thing??
Not usually, but for kids it's pretty understandable. I actually did the same thing for my mom's friend's kid with Ariel, and lo and behold, just like your situation, she wanted me to write "To (name)" on the front, too. I wrote something cutesy (I think it was "Always follow your dreams!") too just so it wouldn't look so weird, but yeah. I wouldn't worry about it being ruined. You just gave a drawing to a kid. SOMETHING is bound to happen to it at some point. That's life.

>>10436003
>gatekeeping Asian names
please tell that to every cringy non-japanese asian who pretends to be named yuki, sakura, hana etc.

>>10436010
Yeah that’s cringe but it’s not hurting anyone. Too often people think “because I cringe and feel physically discomfort from cringing, this person must cease to exist/act upon the thing that’s making me cringe.” Worry about bigger shit

>>10436016
>it’s not hurting anyone.
lying or being deceptive to people definitely hurts others. whenever people do this kind of thing it causes people to doubt eachother. pretending to be japanese or asian or mixed is lying, and that's shitty. it's equally shitty to be purposely deceptive to get people to think a certain way. especially when most of these weeb asians are the first ones to ree at white girls for "appropriation", it's extremely hypocritical. no one is saying you can't be interested in certain cultures or even dress and eat and live a certain way because you like them, just don't pretend and make shit up.

>>10436016
What >>10436023 said. You're an idiot if you don't think that using Japanese names is more often than not trying to be deceptive, especially by other Asians. I can't count the sheer number of times an Asian or even a non-Asian had a Japanese name on their profile and wrote "Japanese" or "haffu" or "1/4th Japanese when it turned out they were just lying. Hell, the anime club president at my school refused to be called his real name because he wanted to trick women into thinking he was Japanese, and I've known atleast 2 other men who try to monopolize on being Japanese to trick women. Not to mention that this hurts people who are actually Japanese or haffu or part Japanese, they end up having to go out of their way to prove it, when it shouldn't even be an issue.

>>10436023
A username isn’t pretending to be anyone, it’s a pseudonym?

>>10434362
I feel like if you're still attached to it, you can continue to use it. Your issue isn't going to be 'accused of cultural appropriation' since it's just a weeby username, it's other people who first see your handle trying to decide if it's a red flag to approach/befriend you because those types of names are common with REALLY cringey yellow fever/ "I'm Actually Japanese!" people in the convention scene that >>10436023 and >>10436025 immediately thought of. Overall, it's not a big deal and once people know you I'm sure it'll be fine.

>>10436061
>being this obtuse

>>10434362
I think if you are worrying about it, and you are at a good place to change it even if you are attached to it, you should do so. I made the mistake of carrying a name I came up with as a young teen to every place I went online, and it ended up becoming my brand; I've actively tried changing it with some people I've worked with and they pressed me to continue using the old name since it has more recognition. So I'm stuck with it. You're lucky you have this opportunity and you should think really hard about it and what you would want your identity to be tied to, if you end up being more successful than you expect.

>>10436003
Can you read? I said most people online won't think too hard about it. The problem is more generally along the lines of what this anon said>>10436119 - at a first glance it'll come off cringey and weeby to some people - especially from a networking/first impressions POV. Hence my suggestion that they pick something new for their professional handle but keep the old name as for their personal accounts since they have an emotional connection to it.

>>10434362
I've removed my Japanese name from my business cards/my website/my SMS because I was afraid that there would be people (either customers, fans, or even just haters) that would think I was pretending to be an ethnicity that I was not like >>10436025 mentions. Even though it is my actual last name, I didn't want to give off that vibe of "oh look, yet another white person using a Japanese name to pretend to be Japanese when they're not". It sucks, but I have to recognize this issue as someone who is white-passing, that this assumption will be made about me (as it has already happened to me in the past).

>>10436016
>not hurting anyone
I’m the half-Japanese anon and my name is one often coopted by weebs. My last name isn’t Japanese (thanks dad) so people always think that I’m a fucking weeb who gave myself that name for attention, but no, it’s my actual fucking name and it gets tiring having to explain it to literally everyone who asks.

>>10436213
This is not a good way to do it...

>>10436238
Maybe not. But I got tired of the behind-the-scenes harassment even from people I thought were my friends. Regardless, I quit doing AA almost half a decade ago.

>>10436025
I think there's a big difference in using an actual japanese name to refer to yourself both online and in private, and using a japanese word as a handle online. The former definitely gives the impression of trying to seem Japanese, the latter is no different than using literally any other word in any language as a nickname. Just like there are Japanese artists who use english words and names as their handles, and I've even seen a published mangaka that used a word native to my language as their pen name. I'd also imagine no one gets bothered even if, for example, an american artist used a french word as their handle, as long as they're not doing so to claim to be French.
But again, introducing yourself as Sakura, posting in broken english/japanese, and purposefully hiding any actual information about yourself that would compromise your pretend Japanese-ness is the problem. Simply using a foreign word as your handle is not. Refusing to aknowledge that the latter exists simply because the former does is honestly just looking for drama in places where there wouldn't originally be any.

>>10436005
Well damn, now I feel weird for not adding a message along with just “To (name),” but there was literally not enough space on the artwork to write a full message within the art without writing over the art. The neighbor seemed fine with me just writing “To (name),” only tho

It was also pretty awkward in the moment because my parents had literally just stopped by minutes before my fiancé announced to me that the neighbor wanted me to write her daughter’s name. My mom spotted a garage sale across the street from my place and wanted me to go with her, and was impatient about me signing the name because she had just got there, but that’s a whole other thing. I had the pressure to sign something with an embarrassing impatient boomer mother in the heat of the moment. My life is full of awkward bad timings.

>>10436306
^Huge agree here.

I don't like my name all that much and would rather go by a cute nickname online. I've definitely thought about coming up with a handle and I've studied Japanese for maybe over 7 years and like anime, so a lot of the gibberish handles I come up with that I end up finding cute have similar phonetics/pronunciation structure to Japanese words.

Even if I did end up using a Japanese-sounding, gibberish handle I would absolutely never claim to be Japanese or pretend to be Japanese. That is a whole separate amount of creepy, weird, appropriation issue imo.
If I could've learned my own ethnicity's language I sure as hell would've probably gone with something more inspired by that or maybe if I still remembered middle school Spanish I probably would've thought of an idea closer to that.

If someone wants people to call them Sasuke or Ren or Kuu or Usagi just leave them be. I mean as long as they're just using it as a nickname and they aren't disrespecting anyone, the culture, or trying to pass themselves as something they aren't I think it's fine.

>>10436504
you're literally arguing the opposite of what she said anon. she's saying a username like pinku_hime or sakura_milk or something is fine, but using a name as a literal nickname is cringe.

>>10434362
Okay I dont actually give a shit if you're gonna name yourself something weeby.
But, as a potential buyer, I find it cringey. For example, there's a doll customiser called "Rakeru Sensei", her name is Raquel. So she's essentially translated her name into Japanese, as well as given herself a title that implies you have to respect her, which is conceited and tacky, so I wouldn't use her because I can't get past the name.
But if you're worrying about it, prolly best to change it because it'll niggle in your mind if you don't, since there will always be people who find it cringey or annoying or cultural appropriation or something.

>>10435951
To me, while I don't normally sign art in that way, I do sign gift art, even if it doesn't have a long message after. So, sounds acceptable to me.

>>10436532
being upset about that kind of name is unironically autistic. my cosplay page has the word hime in it but i'm not trying to assert royal authority over you lmfao.

>>10436534
^
anyways
>>10434362
if you draw anime or make japanese style stuff, then a japanese or japanese sounding name is going to help more than it hurts. Names should be rememberable and recognizable. If someone can guess what you do based on your name, its a good name.

>>10436442
I mean this in a sincere way, but it sounds like you might be overthinking it a bit. It seems like the girl and her family really adored the drawing and wanted it to be a bit more personal with the "To" address on the picture, which kids really like! (being addressed/having something personalized) I'm sure they don't feel that the drawing was ruined for it, and if your mom or whoever feels that it's pretentious or something then that's on them, it's not like you had insisted to sign it yourself. I think adding an extra message would be sweet, but they also didn't ask for it, so they probably weren't expecting it. You're doing fine, anon!

>>10436511
>. I'd also imagine no one gets bothered even if, for example, an american artist used a french word as their handle, as long as they're not doing so to claim to be French.
>But again, introducing yourself as Sakura, posting in broken english/japanese, and purposefully hiding any actual information about yourself that would compromise your pretend Japanese-ness is the problem. Simply using a foreign word as your handle is not. Refusing to aknowledge that the latter exists simply because the former does is honestly just looking for drama in places where there wouldn't originally be any.
I’m literally not? Reread? I’m agreeing that using as a handle is fine, using it as a handle and then trying to pass off as that ethnicity is not?

>>10436842
>If someone wants people to call them Sasuke or Ren or Kuu or Usagi just leave them be.
Ayrt. That's what I'm saying is wrong. Usernames and nicknames aren't the same thing.

>>10436843
I guess I was using them interchangeably so sorry about the confusion.

Anyone hear back from AWA yet? Im thinking about asking about my artist alley application status.

Does anyone know what's happening for ANYC?

You know, I've been thinking about the exchanges had over the weeb names discussion that was going on a few days ago. No one asked for it or cares but I'm going to put my thoughts out there regardless.

This speaks to an issue deeper than usernames. I used to know many people who--some to this day--do very well in Artist Alley and are really incredible artists. Like, there's so much amazing talent in Artist Alley, it always blows my mind when I get around to doing some quick rounds.

That being said, some of you have really shitty and ironically problematic outlooks, which are perfectly outlined in the above discussion. How many times have I heard "oh, xyz person is annoying," and upon asking why recieved the response "because of their style/name/appearance." Y'all. Get your heads out of your damn asses and stop cannibalizing each other over such stupid, petty shit.

Who cares if you dont like someones name, or art style? That doesnt make them a bad, or annoying person it just means their content isnt for YOU. Its incredibly narcissistic to label someone so negatively only because of your own hangups. This aloof attitude, elitism, general disdain towards those you arbitrarily deem "others" and two facedness is so fucking tiring. I guarantee you that a bunch of people who bitch about those with "wrong sounding names' in this thread will be nice to your face, and be talking shit about you as soon as you turn around.

I guess the point I'm trying to get across here is Artist Alley as a community is toxic enough as-is. There is absolutely no need for this childish, immature tearing down of each other over the most minuscule of reasons like "that person doesnt have a username I agree with" or "this persons style is one I dont like so I think they're annoying."

Stand up for what you believe in, but dont devolve into such petty dialogue and spread baseless negativity because someone "rubs you the wrong way."

>>10441138
Fucking this. Tell it like it is

Is promare still actually selling as much as it was before? I feel like I’m constantly seeing artists push out Promare, but not really seeing many people talking about it as much.

>>10441139
>>10441138
Shut the fuck up. Have a weeby username if you want to, but it's not going to stop people from feeling how they do. If you want to coopt someone else's profit that's your choice but no one has to be nice to you if they don't want to be.

Personally I talk to few other artists because like any other community there will be friend groups and drama but I thank God every day I'm not a cosplayer.

To get back on thread topic, is anyone else worried about holmat? I don't want to forfeit my rollover booth but there's no way in hell I'm going to Florida until covid is suitably handled/contained/vaccinated.

>>10441395
Co-opt someone elses culture for your own profit*

sage

>>10441138
>t. white girl with sakura hana chan fb name

>>10441138
If you have one of those names I'll tell you to your face that I don't like it. Just because no one initiates that conversation in person doesn't mean they're two-face, it just means they don't want to bother.

>>10441409
>If you have one of those names I'll tell you to your face that I don't like it.

Sure Jan.

>>10441409
> If you have one of those names I'll tell you to your face that I don't like it.
Your autism is showing anon.

>>10441138
Obviously it's all petty bullshit because it's nonquantifiable preferences batting up against one another.

But an anon asked for opinions.
So people gave opinions their opinions. Some peoples opinions don't need to go further than "it sounds cringy so I steer away" because that's enough?

What are you sperging about?

Vograce listened and now the new PET charms wont have the printing gap. I just ordered some more charms from them about a week ago and wonder if that method will be in place.

>>10441141
I don't see many people still working on it besides a few big names, but it's still selling decently well. Not as much as before, but the anniversary gave it a good boost, and I'm predicting the US anniversary should give another boost. It helps that its Trigger

>>10441138
>People having boundaries re: cultural appropriation is "childish"
How do you have friends?

>>10441486
>>10441629
NAYRT but genuinely hope I don't run into you two while tabling. You sound exhausting to be around.

>>10441696
I'd be interested in seeing photos of them when they arrive, anon! It's really cool to see the Vograce is taking feed back because while I appreciate the longevity/image quality of the PET charms, the image alignment issue was pretty glaring.

>>10441696
this method seems so useless??? why have an acrylic and epoxy layer?

>>10441896
>why have an acrylic and epoxy layer?
This has been an option forever... it's for the rounded dome effect.

>>10441868
As long as you aren't stupid to my face, we wouldn't have a problem?

>>10441868
I can do a comparison photo when they arrive if it's the new layering method. I actually wasnt as bothered by the image gap with my last order as I thought I would be, but I can see how glaring that gap could be if trying to do something like transparency. I do love the way the PET colors look though. Way better quality.

>>10441898
i mean over the pet retard.

>>10441898
Domed comes from the epoxy. The acryl is basically pointless.

>>10441141
My promare merch is still selling relatively well. Trigger is making new merch like books, figures, collabs, etc. which helps too. I think most fandom hoppers are done with it, so it's just dedicated fans left now. Not sure how long that'll last, I'm still into it so I hope it stays for a bit.

>>10441905
might want to type that in the first place then champ

>>10441868
> NAYRT but genuinely hope I don't run into you two while tabling. You sound exhausting to be around.
>actually tabling like a third-grader in a barn stall and not living solely off of that sweet online store only money

>>10442164
Teach me your ways, I want to never have to leave my house

>>10442008
Anon, we were explicitly discussing the new method.

>>10442164
Nta but I have a question for all of you online store anons: how/where do you store all of your stock? My apartment is tiny and my work room is tinier (seriously like 6’x10’). Ideally I’d like to transition to doing online stuff, but I can’t figure out a way to get all of my stock to fit into my closet sized room.

>>10442173
what all are you making? it depends on that i think. i have a big craft room though with cupboards.

>>10442173
Tiny apartment anon here that basically only has a bedroom to keep my stuff in. Invest in vertical storage.I keep my prints in pic related and charms in plastic partition containers under my bed. Granted I don't have a huge inventory so it depends

>>10442173
Wow 6'x10' is pretty painful to work with..vertical storage like those modular cubicles are your best bet, but you can also stack storage bins from the floor if you don't mind the hassle of lifting them up to get to the stock you need.

>>10442164
lmao I made 76k through online sales alone last year, but go off

>>10442173
I have everything on metal shelving in my garage and in a giant cubby storage in my living room. But before I moved to my current place, I also used to live in a tiny apartment too and relied mostly on the cubby storage.

I'm not sure what kind of merch you sell since storage solutions will depend on the volume of your items. If you carry a lot of larger things, I really recommend cubby shelving if you have an open wall to set it against. You can even get those nice fabric organizers so it doesn't look messy. If you have smaller stuff, use plastic storage bins under your bed.

>>10442219
>I made 76k through online sales alone last year
Holy cow anon! I'm steadily making more money each year from my online store, but I dream to make that much in a year. May I ask how long it took to get to that many in sales? What to generally sell?

>>10442221
I started selling online around 8 years ago and I started seeing numbers similar to this about 2-3 years ago. I sell a healthy mix of things so I carry paper goods like prints but also 3D goods like charms!

It's really a combination of having a style that appeals to both normies and weebs, steadily gaining returning customers at cons, and building an online following who are willing to spend money on your preorders. I highly recommend IG and Twitter over Tumblr if you want an audience that actually spends money on your art. I really started seeing a jump in numbers once I started heavily promoting on IG and Twitter. Even marketing directly to FB fan groups works really well compared to Tumblr. And don't forget to run Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sales. I can make 10-20k just over that one weekend. Good luck, anon!

>>10442229
Thanks for the advice! I'm currently entering year 3 and sell much of the same thing. Been trying to gain traction on instagram and twitter, I just have to get better at uploading more frequently. I did notice Etsy promoting my stuff on Pinterest and gained a ton of orders and views from there which is strange but most welcome. Congrats on those numbers anon! That's really awesome!

>>10441696
man, if they would do double sided epoxy with the 3d effect, I'd be all over them right now. Sad they don't, though. I've been having so much trouble with my current manu, ugh.

How do you guys deal with problematic people (AKA art tracers) joining your group order (or group orders you're in, but hosted by another artist)? I just found out that another artist in this GO server I'm in has been called out multiple times for tracing and copying art amongst other shady things. I'm not sure if I should warn our GO server leader, but at the same time even if I were to warn them I'm not sure what they would even do about it.

>>10442872
I'd be super uncomfortable with that, so I'd probably share the info with the host. Ask them what they think about the situation, they might outright say they'll kick the person from the order.

>>10442910
My friend went ahead and DM'd the mods about it. It's a fairly large server so it was nice that they took it seriously.

How do you guys send stickers/sticker sheets? I usually send mine in stiff mailers but I recently purchased a few from others that were just mailed in an envelope and a stamp. They were all intact. So I've considered maybe I could do this too (then I could potentially offer free shipping). I've always been concerned about this method looking "unprofessional," but if it works for other people...? As a consumer I've found that I don't really care if it arrives this way, as long as the contents are undamaged, but as a seller I get anxiety that something will go wrong...

>>10443831
I use a bit of washi tape to stick the backside of the sticker to a little piece of cardboard or card stock, depending on what I have on hand. I just use regular envelopes, if it's just stickers I'm shipping.

>>10443831
Individual stickers I send in a plain envelope with some spare cardstock/old cut up prints as backing or folded around it. Previously I sent sticker sheets with a rigid mailer but I think if I make new sheets I'll do just a stamped envelope too.

I do actually offer a tracking upgrade though in case people do prefer an actual protective mailer but so far no ones taken me up on it (unless by accident when they have a bigger purchase that includes other merch, but those are always shipped w tracking by default)

>>10442190
I mostly make paper goods and charms

>>10442204
>>10442211
>>10442219
I did some more research and pretty much everything I've found just echoes exactly what you anons said. I'll definitely look into vertical storage and see if there's any good wall-mounted stuff I can find. Thanks for the advice, friends!

>>10442231
Ngl I find it super hard to gain traction on Twitter. How do you anons do it? Instagram was easy for me and I got 14 followers on my first day of posting.

>>10443984
Twitter I think is still a mystery to a lot of artists. The thing that's gotten me the most traction is doing art related to what's trending like the sailor moon redraw challenges or those introduction tags like "nobody artists" or whatever it was called. This era of social media is just too fast with it's info feed compared to the days of deviantart. Twitter is constantly throwing posts and accounts with tons of views already into people's faces the moment they open it up and they don't even need to be following said person to have them pop up which leaves a lot of smaller accounts in the dark.

>>10443984
>>10444035
>tfw my art has decent traction on Tumblr and very little on Twitter
You have to chase trends and tags, and game the algorithms much more aggressively on Twitter. I post very infrequently and can throw whatever on Tumblr anytime and it will usually get a number of notes, but on Twitter things go pretty much unnoticed unless it's retweeted by the correct accounts at the correct hour.
I'm thinking about just posting a lot more of sketches and WIPs just to have something I can post often, but admittedly I haven't been been trying very hard and I'm not fond of jumping on all the """challenges""" and hashtags that trends. Twitter is just a platform that requires you to interact and follow it more intently.

On that matter, how is it to build a following in Instagram? Is it also as sensitive to posting times, frequency, hashtags and replying/interacting with others?

>>10441896
>>10441905
>>10441919
I have some charms with both an acrylic layer and epoxy, and gold foil in between. It adds a nice layer effect while encasing the gold foil and I'm glad they have the option, though I question why they can't offer the epoxy directly on the pet too.

For those of you that make enamel pins, is it normal for the screen printed part of the pin to scratch off pretty easily? My manufacturer said that’s normal but I don’t know if it’s just that they’re just shitty or not.

>>10444268
>Is it also as sensitive to posting times, frequency, hashtags and replying/interacting with others?
I'm >>10443984 and I've found that posting at the right time and with the right hashtags is more important that posting frequently. Interacting with others is really helpful and doing s4s in stories help as well. The thing that I like about Instagram is that you can post to stories so you don't overwhelm your account with WIPs/sketches.
YMMV, of course. I know people who are mysteriously successful on Twitter but can't seem to gain traction on Instagram even though we share tips with each other.

>>10443002
Let us know how it goes, ngl I'm curious to know if it's something that get's acted upon in case it comes up for me in future.

>>10441696
I'm wondering, are these two things linked? Is this new printing method what this particular artist is talking about?

https://twitter.com/faunna_/status/1286747180443807745

>>10444521
That's the PET printing before the changes to the acrylic layering.

>>10444436
Did you print on the metal portion of your pin? I have no issues with my own screenprint, but I hear printing on the metal makes it more susceptible to getting scratched off.

>>10444581
No, it was on the color part. Should I try looking for a new manufacturer? It’s pretty much if I take my nail and scratch at it it comes off.

>>10444697
NAYRT but yeah, anon. My screenprinted pins don't scratch that easily.

>>10444697
Yes, definitely do. That’s not normal.

>>10444697
chiming in to say yes that is not normal your manu is lying

>>10444697
There is supposed to be a very thin layer of resin on top of the screenprinted portion. You usually won't notice it unless it's absent, like in your case. They cheated you.

>>10444850
>>10444965
>>10445211
>>10445248
Thanks everyone!! Yeah they just said it was normal so casually so I thought I was the one who was in the wrong haha.

>>10445328
actually this looks like they are telling you they sent you shitty samples on purpose.

How do you respond to people having postal problems like an item being marked delivered but they dont see it in their mailbox or any problems that the post office needs to handle? I get a lot of my customers asking to find out about their packages for them all the time and I dont have the time to constantly contact the post office to find out for them.

>>10445768
Didn't you ask this last thread

>>10445834
No one replied

>>10445768
I would direct them to the post office themselves

>>10445768
If you constantly have the same problem have you tried to figure out why? Like your packages are so small they are easily forgotten somewhere. Or someone in the office just takes your packages themselves and just marks them delivered some days afterwards.

>>10445896
At least in my country the post office won't search packages if the client is asking for it. They tell you to contact the sender and sender has to file a complain.

I'm all for using yourself as a model...but when you can see your makeup/sweat you may want to do a pick of editing.

>>10446167
Agree...
This doesn’t bring across a very clean image and subconsciously makes the customer (or at least me) think that the shop might not be the most sanitary even if the sweat is a stupid reason.

>>10446167
>>10446238
That hair is soaked, too.. I really hope that was a personal one and not one she sold..

>>10446167
Is this voldee?

>>10446733
nope, some unfortunate gal on AANI trying to sell shitty fandom berets.

I just got this email. Is it a scam? I can't figure out what its saying

>>10447228
what email address is this from?

>>10447228
sarah.wilson@autoexpoleads.com

the weird subject, bad grammar, and weird email makes me thinks is a scam. Not use to seeing targeted scams though.

>>10447235
meant to reply to you >>10447240

>>10447228
Yes, absolutely a scam. It happens a lot with events period, first time I've ever seen it with AA stuff. I used to see a bunch of emails like this when I worked in interior design (lots of shows for that one). You probably will get a list even if you do pay, actually- it's just that whatever show/convention would have provided you the list free of charge. Just delete it without replying.

>>10447228
>>10447477
I doubt that a con would provide you with the emails and telephone numbers of every single vendor, and that's if they actually meant vendors and not what they said, which was attendees. Providing the names/emails/phones associated with every single attendee isn't something a con should be passing out. This email sketchy as fuck.

>>10447228
>>10447477
Wtf would vendors need the personal information of attendees for? Do they think people will use them to directly advertise to them or something.

>>10447812
Older vendors who still think in email blasts would absolutely use it to advertise.

>>10441696
Have they ever sold art sent to them?

Does anyone else constantly feel an immense pressure over how fast people move onto things? I always feel like I'm one step behind, and even if I do like what's trendy, I draw too slow to produce merch. It's frustrating and I'm really in a rut because of it. My original art sells way worse than fan art, so focusing on ocs only isn't really a choice for me.

>>10448064
I've never heard of Vograce selling someone else's art. They've been a pretty trustworthy source for quite a few years now.

>>10448471
I feel you anon. Everything in general is moving much faster thanks to the internet. Aside from MHA everything seems to only be popular for like a year tops. At least there are those timeless fan favorites like Sailor moon and Pokemon.

>>10448471
There's always classics. They might not sell as well as the anime of the season but at least you can sell them longer. Also do some research which anime get renewed for S2+. If S1 was popular the others will be too. Sometimes there's at least half a year to draw from the announcement to the actual season.

>>10448471
I feel you, though at least there are always the classics. You could always check out video game trends for inspiration. While they also move faster than before, the trends still last longer than seasonal anime.

>>10448471
>>10448548
Especially if it's a multigame series that people invest a lot of themselves into! If it's niche you can usually get a few sales just from that too but if you like games definitely try to look at which ones have the potential for emotional bonds with players, or high replayability.

Has anyone had a shitty group order experience? The more GOs I see from the fb group or discord, the less appealing they look. Most don't even have actual photos of the products they're trying to make, but still get a a good handful of suckers. I'm also super weary of the GO hosts who try to do multiple things at once.

>>10448471
I agree with this immensely. I do feel like my best buyers are loyal fans of older series though. Like the other anon said, long running game series are great

>>10449158
I joined a GO once where the host asked for a service fee for acting as the host. Their demand was insane too, 10% of your order cost before shipping. This was through AANI many years ago though (it was a GO for holo prints, that’s how old this order was). I’ll see if I can find the posts about it.

If I wanted to start making my own pastel barf dresses/tights etc. Who are the companies I should be looking into? I've looked online but can only find places that way a go-between agent or want to charge $50 for a dress or want a minimum of 25 orders for a single size. I know for a fact these stores aren't buying 25 of each size. so what is it I'm missing?

Can someone give me a recommendation?

>>10449996
dropped my pic

>>10449996
Drop shipping

>>10449996
artkau

>>10449158
my last one this year soured me so badly i dread doing restocks at all. i look on AANI GOs and 80% are people i've already had negative or unprofessional experiences with. smaller low-key ones are good if you can find them.

>>10450148
I feel like the overall quality of AANI, the art posted there, the GOs, etc. has degraded so much in the past few years. The group has just turned into a breeding ground for petty fights over pointless shit like traditional vs. digital or newbies asking the same 5 questions ("where do I get prints made?", "should I start an online shop?") over and over again.

>>10450151
It's a shame. Engagement has lowered a lot as well. It wasnt perfect before but it was a heck of a lot better.

I feel bad that you guys have to deal with so much to stay relevant in the artist alley sphere. If it's any comfort, I usually prefer to see people selling art of stuff they genuinely like instead of FOTM show #321245.
Sadly, I am also aware that I am in the minority.

>>10450151
I think I've seen multiple people asking about taking out loans to start doing Artist Alley and I just scratch my head thinking about what they're on that they want to take a loan out to sell shit? And asking strangers online about large financial decisions like taking out a loan? Haven't looked at AANI's FB group in a long ass time though. Not sure if the discord is better in comparison or almost the same.

>>10450042
>>10450006
Neither of these answers are helpful. Artsco-w wants me to download an obsolete microsoft program to fully use their horrendous design interface - no image tiling and it autofills image scale to fit, not to mention the same image on 1 pattern piece, such a skirt fits entirely at 100% scale yet on the smaller shirt pattern piece needs to be scaled to 150% to fit the entire piece and causes the same image to then be multiple sizes on the same garment.

Drop shipping isn't a company

>>10450585
Very few people on cgl (and artists in general) are willing to help you find manus. They might say to avoid using someone, but few people are going to give competitors resources. You will likely get more help on another site where people are doing it for funsies instead of viewing it as part of their business

>>10450585
god you're fucking annoying.

Has anyone had the problem of ordering from vograce recently and the charms arrived without the plastic cover? I made a small order that was, luckily, for myself, but it's scratched af.

>>10450585
Sounds like you need to learn how to tile your pattern. If it isn’t big enough you just tile it? Also agree with other anon, people aren’t just going to hand you their clothing manus. If you want one so badly then look on your own. No one is going to hand you a perfect manu on a plate sheesh.

>>10450585
What >>10450650 said but also people won't hand you their clothing manus because different people have different standards for what they want, and just because you know their manu doesn't mean you'll be happy with what you get. You should just order samples from a bunch of manus and pick the one that suits you the best.

>>10450585
the images you linked are likely made with artkau. are you the same idiot who doesn't know how to make graphics for tights?

Has anyone here gotten into 3D printing phone charms or making simplistic anime figurines using digital media?
I kind of want to get into it, but I'm not sure if the quality is going to be good or if I should utilise other methods.

>>10450687
3d printing phone charms sounds like you're more likely to lose money than to be able to pay yourself fairly. You have to factor the time you spend modeling the charms, the time you have to wait for the charms to print, the time you spend sanding/filling the print down, and the time you spend painting it. Idk how many people would be willing to pay a lot for a 3d printed phone charm either, since 3d printing has unfortunately been mislabeled as mass production that doesn't take a lot of time.

>>10450701
Sadly you're right! Seems like I'll do it for myself and include only my own interests instead. The idea has been on my mind for a while now and I was trying to think of a way to capitalise on it lol

>>10450701

There are 3D printers besides plastic fillament nozzle type ones. Like resin or other methods that can make small detailed things that need minimal adjustments besides painting once complete

Anyone used to doing group orders and have recommendations for shipping out bulk charms and mouse pads? I've run them before, but it's always been in-person pick up between friends or at conventions. Not sure what the best shipping option would be since all I've ever shipped are small orders from my store.

What's the stance on helluva boss and hazbin hotel fan merch? is that fine to sell?

>>10432997
Why have no artists migrated to onlyfans? Honestly asking. They seem to have their shit a lot more together.

Good way to cover up the back of a prints info? With the label for where it was printed (ex. amazon printing)

>>10450792
Just use somewhere that doesn't do that.. I've never even heard of this happening before..

>>10450784
Mostly I think, their fees are twice what Patreon's are. Patreon takes 10%, OnlyFans takes 20%. In addition, my personal impression has been that it's more for camgirls and irl porn. The first time I heard of onlyfans it seemed like it already had a stigma attached to it, and I know a lot of customers of adult art aren't the typical irl porn customer and might feel uncomfortable subbing to a site like that. At least with patreon your CC charge could arguably be for podcasts or youtubers as much as it could be for porn. Plus, because there is so much art there already, it actually feels like a site where art is welcome.

>>10449158
>>10450148
>>10450151
palms sweaty reading this cos i just dropped a few hundo on some new merch in a GO

please tell me its gonna be ok

>>10451718
Lol which GO anon? There are more reliable ones and no-gos. In the future I suggest you lurk around their server (if they have one) and keep an eye on how smooth or rocky they are from researching to ordering to sending out to participants and how the GO lead deals with mishaps, etc.

>>10451766
it was a washi tape one, i already paid up and we're all waiting a month or two now for stuff to get made and shipped hoo

the organiser seems alright but damn this thread got me worried

>>10451775
i never use GOs cause of shit like what's been said itt. would rather spend a little extra than lose hundreds.

>>10451775
Hopefully you'll be fine. Nothing else you can really do now, but wait. I've been in quite a few GOs that were smooth going, but I always make sure to check up on things like if they've ordered from the manu before and what the quality was like, if have they done group orders before, how quickly they respond to questions or update asks.

>>10451801
I know the feeling, but sometimes there's products that have too high of a MOQ to order on your own like notebooks.

has anyone gotten washi from vograce before/recently? I've heard their washi is not sticky at all but i was wondering if it's any better now.

>>10444521
Sadly it seems that they haven’t done anything as of yet according to my friend. They’re still in the server. But their in an ongoing order which could possibly be why?

For those of you who sell charms, are you ok with people reselling them if they lost interest in a specific series or would you rather have them thrown away if they don't want them?

>>10454693
resell. Just as long as they're not marking it up. I've come across someone reselling my charms before, and ngl it does kinda sting a bit, but then I realize it isn't really anything personal since I also have a lot of merch I don't particularly want anymore either but would like them to go to a new home.

how long do you damage-test jewelry before considering selling it? do you just try it in daily wear or do wacky things to it?

>>10454829
i do wacky things. jewelry breaks from daily wear eventually.

I see anons talking about using twitter, tumblr and IG but has anyone tried using tiktok to advertise your art/products?

>>10454878
>tiktok
Pointless now if you're in the US

Found out that I missed a package when I did my delivery drops last Friday. Just dropped it off this morning, but should I contact the buyer on Etsy about it? Or do I just wait and see what happens. Worried that they might leave me a bad review, but also not sure if I should be offering them a coupon or something as an apology. Technically it's not outside the time they were supposed to get it since I have a certain shipping window, but Etsy likes to give customers their own time frame starting from when you make the label :/

>>10454878
not personally, but there's one product I've seen (and bought) on Etsy that had ~500 sales in like 2 days. Couldn't find their socials, so asked for them..Apparently they did all their advertising on tiktok. I guess when something gets popular on there, it gets really popular, since it reaches a lot of eyes, and I'm not surprised, since all of my friends spend like 70% of their free time on it lol.

>>10455065
Curious if there's any consensus among your friends as to which platform to shift to after the ban?

>>10454889
Honestly I think you'll be fine. I've dropped something in the blue box over the weekend before where the mailman apparently didn't pick it up until a few days into the week. Stressful for us, but in the end as long as it's within the time frame you should be ok.

As an add on, I really wonder if typical customers are aware that the USPS is undergoing crisis at the moment. Do normal people actually know what's going on? It's definitely not being covered by the news unless you are on social media (specifically Twitter).

>>10455070
>Do normal people actually know what's going on?
They don't. As someone who works in shipping/receiving I can tell you that for sure. They also aren't really aware how much a strain the wuhan virus has put on shipping in general.

>>10454878
tiktok is honestly great for advertising. The organic reach is still strong unlike other social media. I recommend lurking and using it a bit first before trying to think of content.

I know the whole thing with the US is kind of crazy right now, but I honestly don't think its going to get banned in the end. In the chance that it does its not a huge deal bc you can always export the content you've made onto another similar app (instagram now with reels) so its not a complete waste of time.

>>10454889
Unless you promised to have it delivered by a certain day, it doesn't matter. No one is gonna complain about it being a day or two late.

>>10455082
The Wuhan virus? What are you? A Trump supporter? Call it what it is, the coronavirus or COVID-19. Wuhan virus promotes xenophobic behavior.

>>10455070
I really can't grasp how normal people aren't noticing. I'm trying to get ahead of holiday season and buy presents early, focusing on small business getting hit by the con cancellations, and literally everything shipping through usps is taking several days and sometimes weeks longer than the estimated dates on the usps' own site. I know that's not the typical experience, I guess if the only online shopping you do is amazon you might not notice, but literally everything else is getting impacted.

Speaking of which, what can I do about usps not picking up my packages? Last week they skipped my scheduled pick up two days in a row, and today I put a few small packages in the mailbox with the flag up, and they skip it. This all happens regularly, i've gone to the post office and complained many times now.

>>10455247
>Being this mad about the kung-flu

>>10455330
>Thinks it's cool to be racist

>>10455319
Was it happening more than a few months ago? It's happening now because they're not delivering mail to everybody for multiple days at a time due to the asshole in charge abolishing overtime. Complaining about it right now won't get it done any better since they literally can't work enough hours or hire enough people to get to everyone. Call your representatives and consider making a weekly post office trip instead.

>>10455600
>Was it happening more than a few months ago?
yes, and I see them drive past my house

>>10454889
so literally yesterday i posted this in response to you >>10455098
and, today, someone did just that, complained that their package was a day or two late. Estimated to arrive after 5 business days, and on the 6th day they file a missing mail claim and message me asking where their package is.

>>10455685
Well Sat/Sun aren't business days, and 6 business days from last Friday haven't passed yet?

>>10455738
i'm an anon that replied to her, not the first one.

>>10455252
It's kind of freaking me out, honestly. On top of all that, it's not just with small businesses/package shipping, which is already stressful, but with the whole voting situation too.

So, for people here that are in states that are vote by mail (for example CA), vote EARLY, and remind everyone else around you to do it too, cause no one is actually paying attention. Sorry to get political in here but we have to save our own asses.

>>10449458
I've been part of someones GOs for a while now that's doing this but not as high as 10%. However, the host is super organized and responsive and it's for a product that's usually hard to come by for GOs, especially in terms of quality, so I can't really complain.

>>10450635
Never, and I've ordered thousands of charms from them at this point. Are you sure the plastic film isn't just super clear/tightly pressed on there?

Alright. TIFU. I was selling anime fanart on my Etsy that were very good sellers, not crazy good sellers but one of my best ones. I received a DMCA notice and the items were deactivated by Etsy.

Here is where I fucked up. Like an absolute fool I submitted a counter notice and realized my horrible mistake later on. I tried to contact Etsy to have the submission reversed but to no avail. Today I got a call from a representative from the company asking about the country notice and if I had a licence for the IP. I told them the truth, that I did not nor do I own the rights. Then they asked to confirm that that counter notice was invalid and I told them it was. I'm not sure what this means for me now but I may have may a grave mistake that'll land me in court. I know nobody here is a lawyer but how fucked am I?

>>10458045
i'd tell you the answer but you're too fucking stupid if you haven't atleast googled to find out already.

>>10458049
I practically lived on google for several days trying to find out but only get very basic information about counter notices.

>>10458045
>>10458063
RIP. Good luck in court.

Do any of you guys sell washi tape, and how do you price it/how well does it sell for you? The price range I've seen is pretty big, anywhere from $5-12 (though the upper range is obviously for more specialty washis, and lower is probably influenced by the planner comm's low prices) and while my friends all sell standard rolls at $10, as a consumer I'm not sure how appealing that is. But at the same time I don't want to undersell myself.

>>10458080
Price it however you like anon, cause people are paying for the art. Artist Alley prices are subjective

Typically how I'd price things for myself is "would I pay that amount?"
also
"If I price it as $XX and no one buys it after a few days/cons I can lower it to $X and still retain a profit

>>10458063
they're just going to send a formal c&d, that's all

>>10458045
Why on earth did you think you had legal claim to file a counter notice??

>>10458287
The email of the person claiming to be authorized on the company's behalf looked suspicious and the email they replied back to me with had weird grammar and spacing errors. Not long before that another etsy shop stole and was selling the same artwork that got taken down and I emailed them to delete it.

Does anyone in this thread do NSFW stuff too?
I imagine most people have two separate accounts for that to be safe.

>>10458360
Yes and yes, though it's less about safety and more about separating content for follower bases. Plus current social media algorithms tend to punish you for posting nsfw if the weak minded are continuously marking your posts as sensitive. My nsfw accounts don't even show up in searches anymore.

>>10458294
Oh, you thought the person who you reported was revenge DMCAing you? There were probably better ways of handling that than filing a legal document, but I'm sure you realize that now. Most of those thief accounts don't usually bother with retribution, they'll just start another ten accounts and start selling the stolen art again.

Anyone got tips for packing small (non-tube) prints with keychains/small items? I'm thinking of backing the print with a piece of cardboard...but not sure if that's sturdy enough or if I need to sandwich it so that the item doesn't end up becoming a lever to bend the cardboard.

>>10458427
I would sandwich the print in cardboard. If it gets pressed, the keychain could leave an indent in the print, if it's not protected.

>>10458427
Agree with the other anon, I’d do charm, cardboard, print, cardboard.

>>10458425
Yes exactly this. I want to reverse the notice but Etsy hadn't replied back about it nor do I really think they have the power to do so. I really shouldn't have done that but it seems so easy for people to claim they work for someone they don't and just DMCA away. I want to fix this asap.

Was anyone else planning to finally raise your prices this year and then the whole virus mess happened?
Now I'm not sure about raising prices since I feel like it could go 2 ways when we get cons back: people have less money than before cause of covid unemployment OR people have more money than before because they've stayed inside and not been spending it. I've been trying to research this and have found lots of articles saying this is the first time in decades that many Americans have had so much money in savings, so I'm kinda hoping that's true.

>>10458795
Other than online shopping, what are people spending their money on anon? vacation? Traveling? Conventions? Clubs? Going out shopping and dining? Online shopping is the only thing keeping people going and happy right now, so keep that in mind.

>>10458045
What was the IP? Hope I have nothing of their brand.

>>10458704
that's not how dmca works. if you, a small company wants to file a notice, you need to show legal proof of copyright (different than simply the innate copyright from creating something), and then contact etsy yourself with your legal info. for large companies such as funimation, nintendo and the like, they pay etsy to track IPs and submit the notice on their behalf. they will have sent all their legal stuff to them before hand and etsy has an algorithm which tracks things like listing names and keywords. in this case i wonder if the DCMA was triggered by you sending the request to the other shop to take down your work. it's really hard to say tho.

>>10458877
>>10458917
Etsy actually does not check the legitimacy of a claim or if it's valid. The only thing the report feature lets you do is say an item is infringing, what the item is and signatures saying you are the representative and believe the work is infringing.

Regardless though after getting the phone call I'm convinced they really are working for the company and now I'm afraid I put myself in huge trouble signing things without thinking. I just want to take back the counter notice. I dont even care if Etsy kicks me off the platform, better than being taken to court.

>>10458951
Honestly a company will probably not take you to court unless they stand to profit, and as you are likely just a small business/individual they will probably just drop it. I don't know if there are fees associated with a counter notice, so I could see a company sending a payment request for something like that, but they're probaby less interested in going to court than you are. It's not profitable for them.

>>10458917
Entirely incorrect lol, I've filed DMCAs, you just have to link to your own work on another site, you don't have to prove shit. It's great for shitheads that repost art because it's really really easy but yeah, very easily abused by bad actors who lie about owning art they don't own.

What diameter of mailing tube should I use for 11x17 prints?

>>10458983
roll one up and measure it

>>10458983
3" is what I use! Smaller diameters ted to leave creases in your prints if you have thicker paper.

>>10459013
nayrt, but do you recommend any brands? Sorry, hope this isn't spoonfeedy. I'm looking into the rectangular tubes but not sure if they're sturdy enough, and can't seem to find any circular tubes that I can get without having to raise my existing shipping prices (although I suppose I can incorporate that extra cost into the print price itself).

>>10459106
ntayrt but you might try triangle tubes, though I eventually went with round tubes and just raised the shipping price. If anyone has been unhappy with the shipping price they haven't said anything.

>>10459106
I get my tubes in bulk from Paper Mart.

>>10459164
I would recommend against triangle tubes. The cyclindrical ones are much sturdier and the triangles ones are more likely to get messed up during transit.

Has anyone ordered from Zap recently and had issues with shipping? Kinda worried about their delivery times (not an urgent item, but I hoped to open my store within a few weeks) and lack of tracking and am wondering if I should just shell out the money for their courier service even though my order is small.

>>10459402
Yes and yes, although I always use courier now and it was still troublesome. It goes to DHL to get to me and they struggled a lot getting it through customs, it seemed like everything was just bogged down. I wouldn't even dream of not paying for courier at this point.

Man, online sales are keeping me afloat decently, but I'm still itching for those impulse buys at cons. If all the canceled cons that let artists carry over their spots to 2021 end up canceling again, I wonder if they'll just clean the slate for 2022.

>>10459725
>clean slate
That’s such wishful thinking, you think conventions really want to refund everyone’s money just to fill up the slots again for tables for new people? Are you retarded?
We get you’re salty and don’t have a table, But that really screws over people who responsibly bought a table in 2020. That literally makes no sense.

>>10459402
For me I just had long delays because of COVID (approx 1-2mos of waiting instead of ~2 weeks) but now with all the USPS stuff going on if I were to make an order again any time soon I'd probably just pay for courier.

Sorry in advance if the questions are stupid, this is my first time on this thread.

Recently picked up drawing again (I used to draw on a daily basis until a bad depression made me drop it for a few years aside casual doodling), got myself an ipad and been slowly learning my way through procreate.
Because of covid-19, I was slapped across the face with redundancy and while I don't find new work, I figured I could try to do simpler commissions/fanmerch. I've gotten a couple paid commissions through a commission-specific site but I'm quite insecure about my art and figured maybe trying to make fanmerch for sale would be less stressful, as I'd be drawing for a public and not for a specific person.
For years I had seen people I knew selling prints and fanmerch at cons and making some decent profit, even those with artwork I didn't care much for. I considered many times to try it out as well but never really had a "need", as I had work.
Now, it feels like it'd be a good time to start, even if I'm aware it won't pay my bills out of the blue but I'm a bit stuck on a detail... At cons, you don't need to have an online following to sell your stuff as long as it's appealing, as people will walk through AA and eventually see your stuff.

But how do you get started with a little business online without an online presence?
Did all of you have a high number of followers already prior to opening online shops? Did you rely on people finding your merch just by looking up more popular fandoms you made stuff for on sites like Etsy?

Also, what is best to invest in to start in small quantities? I was reading the replies on the thread about a healthy mix, just wondering what attracts more attention when you're just beginning. I was considering mostly stickers and charms for starters since it's what I personally found myself buying the most at cons?

(1/2)

>>10460341
Is it okay to ask for estimations of the costs you had to put up front when you first started, just to have a rough idea?

I'm going through all the spreadsheets atm and bookmarking all resources I can use, thank you in advance for those documents.
I'd love to hear any sort of advice to get started, and if any EU based artist could give recommendations for other non-US resources, I'd greatly appreciate it as well.

Thank you very much in advance!

(2/2)

>>10460342
If you're already having problems with money you probably won't be able to able to afford to buy merch to sell online with no pre-existing following. Starting an online store from scratch with no prior experience of selling your art as merchandise rather than individual commissions will just put you in the red.

I'd recommend sticking to commissions for now, because you don't have to pay manufacturing costs for something that you won't even know will sell, and probably won't have to deal with shipping either. Start posting your art online too, to gather some interest before you even consider opening a store and burning your money on it. Making a profit instead of just breaking even (or simply ending up with a loss) is a lot harder than it might seem, and it's really not worth the risk if you're already struggling to make ends meet. Just take advantage of this free time to improve your art and gain a following, and consider it again later at a better time.

>>10460341
I'm really biting back my usual frustration at newbies coming in and saying "making profits off fanmerch looks so easy" because it sounds like you're in a rough spot. Echoing what other anon said, if you have no experience in this then it's REALLY not a good time to start, moving merch, even fanmerch, isn't as easy as you seem to think. You should also consider that people will buy fanmerch at cons that maybe has a lower quality because there is a particular energy at cons that encourages that spending. Online, people will have more scrutiny, since they have time to think about it, and have to pay the shipping too. If you don't like your art, if you can't see what other people might like about your art, you can't depend on the fact that it's a popular character to sell it. You should focus on commissions if you need money, focus on building a following online, and focus on getting to a place where you like looking at your work. This can be hard and a lot of people don't get there, but I guarantee most successful artists like looking at their own work.

Asking someone to pay money for something that you don't think is good is slimy, and the idea that you can monetize crummy art by taking advantage of characters that people already like is also slimy.

>>10460342
Seconding the other anons who recommended commissions over merch. I only started doing cons/merch when I had money to invest from my main job. Charms, pins, etc. are costly. Prints are really the only thing that are cheap to produce with high returns, but they don't move as much online compared to at a con in my experience. If you still decide to try merch anyway, set up an Etsy, their search will bring you a wider audience when you're just starting out.

If you want to build an audience, it depends on the social media platform you're interested in. Twitter is difficult to grow without a network of artists imo, but I've seen people jumping on trending tag art challenges to gain followers. Instagram is pretty easy if you post consistently and use tags properly (I've been told to avoid fast-moving generic tags, target small/medium sized tags instead). Make sure you engage with people on any platform if they take the time to reply to your posts.

>>10460341
Agreeing with previous anons on that you should focus on doing commissions and building a following prior to trying to make physical merch. Commissions are no risk, no fees other than PayPal. Selling online you need to sink in costs for shipping supplies, online storefront, plus manufacturing costs. Even with conventions, it took me a year to start making a profit and get out of the red and I know a few friends that never made it out of the red even after a few years. Selling merch is much harder than you seem to think it is, even if your art is good to begin with.

Also, as a heads up for if you decide not to take our advice, as much as newbies now think that charms are a good item to start out with, they are still a much larger investment than stickers or prints and will run you much farther into the red if they don't sell (a couple hundred dollars vs $10-50 on stickers/prints).

So Im finally making the move to open up my own storefront after selling on Etsy for 3 years. I currently have 1500 sales on Etsy and a number of repeat customers under my belt. The main problem is I'm not super popular on social media, I currently have 500 followers on Instagram and 250 on Twitter. 80% of my customers come from Etsy and 20% come from social media marketing like Pinterest, Facebook, Instgram etc. I plan on keeping the Etsy store up but with a limited stock while my store front will have a full selection. Do any of you have any tips to get my current etsy shoppers to migrate to the new store? My plan right now is to include the store in business cards with my orders, a store opening discount and a banner on my Etsy page(not sure if this is against TOS on Etsy)

>>10460573
why are you doing this?

>>10460638
I want a more professional looking storefront with features that Etsy just doesn't have, an email newsletter, a news blog for updates, more control over my shop. Etsy was always just a starter shop for me to see if I could make sales on what I make online.

>>10460692
Honestly 1500 sales don't seem like enough to have a whole website. There's going to be a lot of fees even if you design it yourself. Also you have to consider how people are getting to your products. Is it through social media, or is it through searching on etsy itself?

>>10460573
Didn’t switch to my own storefront until I had 5k sales on Etsy, consider just having both of them and having Etsy more expensive than your personal site and include a business card in the Etsy orders saying to use your personal site.

>>10460730
The plan is to keep both Etsy and my own storefront. Im not too sure how long my Etsy will last though since Im on my third DMCA takedown.

>someone posts a 'is this copied?' post
>other commentator mentions FB group
>That Weird Art Group

god what a trash fire

>>10459759
Oh, my bad I wasn't clear. I'm in the boat of having a good number of cons rescheduled to 2021; I agree with you. I was worried about them being wiped if things don't work out again. Sorry for triggering you anon lol, I'm sure we'll be okay. I at least hope we get to keep big stuff like AX.

>>10448471
I feel like people only buy OC stuff is if it's aesthetically pleasing and is also put on something people can actually use.
Having a style that appeals to both normies and weebs also helps a lot.

>>10460806
How are you on your third dmca take down? Are you using logos or something?

>>10460573
>>10460692
whoa, are you me? I did the same thing but a few months ago. Basically in the exact same position as you too.
Right now i'm basically keeping my old and cheaper stuff on etsy, and all the new and expensive products, plus everything else, on my new site.
Etsy is killing me with these random 20% fees from ad clicks.
Anyways, some of my stuff appeals to furries, so I bought an ad spot on furaffinity, and that brings in 30 to 60 people per day for just $25 a month. Its super cheap marketing.
You can try out twitter ads too. Its easy to set up and might get you a few followers and buyers.

>>10461025
>I feel like people only buy OC stuff is if it's aesthetically pleasing
This. OC stuff can sell well if it looks nice. I've noticed goth demon aesthetic and fairy kei style art both sell well. So going for one of those extremes will do well if you sell OC art.

>>10461105
Turns out you guys aren't the only one because I'm also thinking about doing that too. I've been thinking about how much I was losing to etsy...and I have an okay-sized following, so I was hoping to maybe do a soft transition by advertising to my followers. I'm guessing that with all the etsy fuck ups lately a lot of people are thinking about their options.

>>10461134
Same, I'm that anon from last thread that only just starting seriously listing on my etsy (rather than the casual 4/6 listings I had prior) and made around $700 the last two months, this month I'm at around $2k in sales so far. Around half of my traffic this month was self-driven so I am seriously debating on opening my own store on bigcartel or something so I don't have to pay fees on those self-driven sales. I don't have much of a following to be honest though so I'm a little hesitant. Etsy is really convenient, but their recent mishaps are making me antsy.

>>10461212
Sorry that was $700 each month, not combined.

>>10461214
>>10461212
ffs you guys are dumb. this isn't nearly enough.

>>10461217
What would you say is enough? Bigcartel only costs $10 to list 50 products. The fees on Etsy this month alone were over $100, even with half the traffic and half the income I would’ve had $1000 in sales and paid $10 for bigcartel? What math are you looking at that I’m too “dumb” to see?

>>10461217
There's no point where you're not making "enough" to switch out of etsy, pretentious anon. Etsy is a shitty website and literally the only benefit is the search engine.

>>10461223
you clearly haven't researched enough because you'd know that you get charged other fees through the payment processors that end up being exactly the same as etsy.

>>10461244
how am i being pretentious? big cartel, like anon mentioned is the same shit as etsy with payment fees and it lacks their search engine and visibility. other freestanding sites aren't going to be cheaper than etsy either and $700 a month isn't that much to counter cost increases.

>>10461246
Maybe do your own research? Etsy's fees are almost twice that of the fees you get through the fees you get charged by BigCartel.
Etsy's fees: "Once an item sells, there is a 5% transaction fee on the sale price (including the shipping price you set). If you accept payments through Etsy Payments, we also collect a 3% + $0.25 payment processing fee when an item is sold." Plus a $0.20 listing fee/relisting fee on every item that you sell.
BigCartel's processing fees: 2.9% + $0.30 for PayPal and 2.75% for Stripe

>>10461253
Nta but that's not only $10 a month. Plus you're only allowed to have 300 listings, max, there's no higher options. I agree with her that $700 a month in sales probably doesn't amount to a very big audience. And most people are surprised when they realize people often want to buy because it's on etsy.

>>10461246
ntayrt but I was under the impression that stay charged %5 plus another 3% plus $.20 fee and for shopify you're paying the monthly fee plus paypals 3% plus $.30
This is just what I googled about fee's I'm not familiar with selling on etsy personally so I'm probably missing something but it seems like 1k in sales is right around the threshold where places like shopify might start making sense.

>>10461246
bro do you even etsy?
For a single $12 charm, Etsy takes about $1 in listing/sale fees, and this doesn't even include transaction/shipping fees.

So yeah, all you need is 10 sales of a charm before you're out that $10 Bigcartel would have charged. Is Etsy's marketplace worth it? It depends. But come on, don't tell people to do their research when clearly you haven't.

>>10461051
No but my tags were most likely the culprit.
>>10461105
Never thought of twitter ads. I've heard instagram ads are useless and the instagram crowd arent really spenders. Anyone use pinterest? I've gotten the most off etsy views from them.

>>10461246
>you'd know that you get charged other fees through the payment processors that end up being exactly the same as etsy.
uhh.. you know etsy charges those same fees too, right?

So as far as bigcartel goes, its ok for if you intend to stay small and have simple products. I went the Shopify route since, with their app integration, you can do just about anything with your shop. The flexibility is so nice. Etsy's limit of 2 variations really set me back on a few products I sell.

>>10461295
I just really HATE how item descriptions on etsy got shoved of to the side on listings instead of being underneath like before. Way to make it easier for people to completely miss valuable information about a product Etsy.

>>10461051
Speaking of DMCAs why are companies so inconsistent when it comes to takedowns? You'll hear about some nobody fan artist getting their stuff pulled but then you go on places like Etsy, the very first page is filled with listings that straight up takes the manga panels or promo art and slaps it onto a product and it stays there. Makes no sense. You'd think they'd be the first to get nuked.

>>10461051
nayrt but i got hit by two dmcas in one go a few years ago just from funimation going and searching up their biggest names, I guess. if you use the series name at all you are at risk of being in their radar.

>>10461297
ME TOO!!!!!!!!
So many people message me asking me questions that are clearly in the description, and I have short descriptions too.
It annoys me how often the UI is changed. I'm always having to figure out where everything is located again.

>>10461105
>Etsy is killing me with these random 20% fees from ad clicks.

why do they do thisss

>>10460505
Thank you very much for your input! I have money saved up which I could use but I understand what you mean.
I am not chucking commissions out the window of course, and you're most likely right that it'd be easier to continue that path for now rather than jumping straight to making merchandise.
I made a twitter for art and I'm considering instagram since it seems easier to get a "picture gallery" display of artworks, though twitter seems better to interact with the fandoms. Would you recommend having an account on each platform or try to keep more focused on one?
I'm definitely using this time to continue improving my art, yes! I've tried my hand at a couple new techniques to me so I definitely want to keep experimenting and bettering myself.
Thank you once again!

>>10460531
I'm really sorry that I made it sound like profiting off fanmerch is easy..!! I worded myself poorly, it's harder to express my thoughts in english and I apologize for that.
I am very aware it is not something easy, I've been watching several videos of distinct artists who run their own businesses and seeing all the work they put into it.
What I meant from "having seen people making profit even with art I didn't care for" wasn't meant to sound like it's easy, it was more like feeling my art is at a higher standard than a lot I have seen and feeling like I could produce nice items with my art, not that the whole process is easy. Sorry once again!
You are right in that cons do have a specific energy that makes people spend, and I had no put that into account.
It's not like I don't like my art, and considering I did get commissions from the single time I listed a slot, I assume at least someone else does too. I'm just extremely self conscious and have bad habits like spending extra time on smoothing out tiny imperfections the client would probably not even notice because I'm just scared my art won't be good enough.
(1/2)

>>10461520
>>10460531
I'll focus on my art, building an online following and and continuing commissions, as you and the other anon said, and then see how it takes off from there,
Thank you!

>>10460550
That's really interesting information! I did not know prints tended to sell less online, for example. I was considering stickers to get a little start since they seem more inexpensive and one of the things me and most of my friends tend to buy the most both at cons and online, I appreciate you recommending Etsy for whenever I give it a go.
And huge thank you for the tips on social media! I have twitter and notice it's quite difficult to get followers, I can get a fair amount of likes but few people follow after. I might try instagram then!

>>10460568
I really appreciate you input as well! I'll keep giving commissions a go, like all of you recommended. I am aware of all the related costs and I appreciate the warning against charms vs stickers/prints as a beginner item. I might give it a small try with stickers just to test things out but continue commissions, even if I don't manage to sell them, I personally like using them and can just gift them to friends, so it wouldn't really be a loss.
Thank you very much!

>>10461520
nayrt but just a warning that I've also been watching artists vlogs on youtube lately for fun and they seem to make selling their art on etsy a little more glamourous and easy than what it looks like for the average artist. Many of them have fairly decently sized followings that they had before starting their stores so selling merch for them was much less of a risk. I can also think of at least one or two off the top of my head that seemed to be very careless when they first started out and needlessly wasted a lot of money.

>>10461557
I did definitely get the feeling a lot of them glamorized the whole process and had a lot of "just give it a go" sort of speech. I am well aware they already had a following beforehand but thank you for the warning anyhow!
I did watch one video of someone who seemed more "honest" on the difficulty of the process and gave better advice because she did plenty dumb mistakes when she started out. It was "refreshing" to hear someone speak about their failures, rather than just make it seem like a smooth, easy process. It still got me interested in giving a couple personal ideas (rather than fanmerch) a try just to test the whole product creation process and even if I don't sell anything, I'd keep them for myself to use and to gift friends, so it wouldn't be a loss for me.
Thanks again!

GO organisers really out there charging $123 for 50 washi tape,

That shit costs like $35 per 50 with shipping with the amount of people joining in the order

Fucking scammers

>>10462704
I mean if people weren't absolute dipshits they'd do their own orders so.... price of laziness/idiocy

>>10462704
Tbh I'm someone who only join good friends' GOs so I trust that I've never been scammed but I haven't done washi in years so I'm a little surprised that the price is that affordable now..? I definitely paid the $100 for 50 a few years back when washi was harder to find manus for.

Where does everyone get printing done for their buttons? I've been using fed ex's regular printing but it comes out a but dull and dotty. Would getting it printed on different paper make a difference or does fed ex just suck?

>>10463479
Fedex is mediocre to decent depending on the employees working there and how often they manage their printers. I would recommend Minuteman Press in your area or shop around for a local one in your area. If you're bulk ordering, online printing places like Catprint is also available.

>>10463500
I've never heard of minuteman but it looks like we have some here, thanks. I'll try them next time.

How do people do taxes for group orders? I've seen people mention it so I'm assuming you're supposed to do something to write off the influx of money coming to order other people's products for them rather than the government thinking that it's your earnings/profit. Sorry if this is basic, it's hard to find information about it through searching AANI with all the random SPS posts that pop up in the search and didn't find anything on HowToBeAConArtist tumblr. Looking to run a group order myself so need to learn.

Do you guys bubble wrap your charms before tossing them in the package? I do this only because I've had an order arrive broken before, but as I've gotten a few unprotected charms myself I am thinking maybe it's not necessary and would like to cut down on waste. Also would save a huge amount of time for me if I didn't have to individually wrap my charms.

>>10464036
Hmm typically mine have been fine. I just put them in a bubble mailer. I do usually put it between some folded paper (invoice)

>>10464036
It depends on the size of the charm for me, if its larger, or especially long I'll bubble wrap but I do tend to put everything in a bubble mailer anyway.

>>10464036
Given that my button pins have gotten wrecked in button mailers until I wrapped them in an extra envelope in the mailer, I'd say trust that your stuff will get damaged without a little extra protection.

>>10464036
If I'm sending multiple large charms (~3in) then yes, if only because I'd be worried about them being pressured against each other while being tossed around by the post. Other wise if it's just one or two then I toss them in loose in a bubble mailer.

I have bigger acrylic pieces that are like ~5in and those will get extra bubble wrap no matter what just because of the size.

>>10464049
>>10464208
>>10464375
>>10464412
I see, thanks everyone! I definitely would do extra bubble wrap for larger items but seems a little too much for a tiny 2" charm alone in a bubble mailer. I'll probably still do it for multiple charms so they don't push against each other though. Recently I've also been seeing people use alternative packaging (tulle(?) bags, tea bags, etc) so I was wondering if they added any protection for those since those seem especially vulnerable.

>go to buy a few supplies from papermart
>shipping is either 100-something or 300-something dollars

Is there any Canadian-based site that I can order these things from? ;n;

Man, I guess DA is completely dead for commissions now? I thought it was because of corona but could it be after the eclipse everyone fucked off the platform?

>>10464604
Definitely don't think that those thin fabric bags offer any kind of cushioning. They're mostly for aesthetics imo.

So question about prints. When you sell prints at cons, do you sign them? What if the signature from the artwork was already in the print? If you sign them, do you sign on the front or back?

The last time I sold at a con in person, I was signing my name on the back. Reason being I figured if customers want to frame the art, the signature won’t be distracting. Especially since I’m not a big name artist and my signature is kinda ugly.
But now I’m wondering if maybe I should’ve been signing on the front.

Should I ask customers if they want it signed and if they had a preference if they want the sig on the back or front? Or does that come off as awkward?

>>10464782
At a con, people who want it signed will ask you to sign it. By default none of my prints are signed.

As for online selling, if you really want to you can add an extra dropdown option and ask if people want a signature at the bottom/front/back etc.

>>10464656
Deviantart? Hasn’t the platform been dying for years? I can’t say that I’m someone who’s good at keeping up with times, but everyone posts their art to twitter and Instagram now.

>>10464782
If it's at con, you can just ask if the person has a preference... it's just a short interaction. But 9/10 I'm sure they want the front. If you have a print with margins (rare, but better for framing) then I'd sign the margins.

Online, I've just had occasional people asking in the order comments. I always signed the front and no one complained.

I don't print my artwork with my signature on it but desu I don't really like my signature so it's something I don't even think about unless asked.

When you guys order epoxy charms, do you check them? If so, do you notice a lot of them are dented or are yours mostly okay? I love the look of glitter epoxy but I'm so turned off from ordering epoxy charms because every time I do, at least half of them have noticeable marks and dents from being packed before it fully cures. I'm just tired of dealing with it and I don't know if it's because of my manufacturer.

>>10464782
I like having the sig on the front. The reason people ask for sig is to make the art more personal for them since it creates a token of the memory of when they met you, and that the artist touched it with their hands, unlike a print they could buy from redbubble or something. It doesn't ruin or distract from the art, it enhances it. A digital signature will never equate to you putting your pen onto the piece of paper they will walk away with. I think people who ask for sig on the back only care about some perceived value, they don't actually care to see your mark on it when they frame it but like the idea that it's there.

>>10465563
Who are you using? Because yes, a lot of mine have come dented/defective before. I didn't notice this problem before with my other manu, so recently I switched back and am waiting to see if they do it any better. It's honestly infuriating, even if they are pretty generous about replacements, because even with the replacements it's the same defect rate and a waste of materials, space, and time for both parties.

I don't know if you have the same manu as I did, but you should let your rep know, and make your frustration clear, because a 50% defect rate is not acceptable. Maybe then they'll actually look into it and see if they can fix the problem.

>>10465870
I use Vograce. I did ask about this and they've been generous about the replacements but it just shouldn't be happening in the first place... I even told them I don't mind a longer wait time if it means the resin will harden more, but they kept reassuring me it will be fine.

I even joined a friend's order at Juno to try their epoxy and a decent number of them had large dents as well, so I'm at a loss. Thanks for your advice, I'll try talking to them again.

>>10465870
>>10466114
I havent ordered epoxy before, I'm wondering if it'd be safer to do it yourself? I do resin crafts as is, so already have the materials and space set up for that production. Are epoxy coated charms special in some way, or just regular acrylic charms with a resin dome?

Do companies share how long they wait? coz I'd say they should wait a week for things to set before trying to package.

>>10466114
Yes, I completely agree--maybe it's because they're busy and try to send things out early? I don't know. When did you place your order with Juno? I unleashed hellfire on them for this several months ago but I don't know if they got any better. If I could stop doing epoxy I would, but I have certain charms that rely on the extra effect and I also prefer not to have restocks that are completely different from previous restocks.

>>10466116
If you're already familiar with the material, you could give it a shot on some extra charms you might have. I'm pretty sure the factories also do it manually, so if you know what you're doing it might turn out, who knows.


Side note, the fact that all of them are done manually also irks me because you have people doing all of this manual work but you can't just wait for them to fully cure?! I want to be more lenient because it's done by hand but by sending them out before they're cured, they're just wasting literally everyone's time.

are zap wooden charm samples worth getting? do they usually get your design right first try? i was just gonna go all in and order all my charms first go but now i'm hesitating and thinking maybe i should get samples first... i just dont want to end up waiting forever for a sample and/or spending a bunch on shipping.

>>10466295
Yeah- I think especially around con seasons they must have been eager to get things out as soon as possible, I don't know how much space they even have to leave things laid out for them to cure properly. So many artists use epoxy and whenever I buy a charm from someone else I also check to see whether they have dents as well (they often too, but quite minor ones... I wonder what the average defect rate is for these).

I ordered with Juno probably three months ago? But it seems on and off. Epoxy not only looks nice but gives customers the impression that the charms are more durable, and high quality (I guess due to being more weighty), so it's a shame, but I likely won't be doing it anymore.

>>10466570
I've never had a problem with Zap's wooden charms but to be fair I haven't ordered from them in a year. I used to get them a lot, though. From what I've heard it's best to avoid the birch plywood though, it's thinner and cheaper quality

>>10466570
Seconding other anon, I've also had pretty good experiences, and I also have ordered in the past year. I might suggest skipping samples just because of the long ship times, unless you're actually located in the UK.

>>10466570
Tiny note, if you're designing charms with small details sticking off, they're more likely to break with wood.
I had a friend do wooden charms with zap, I can't remember what type, and she had 2/10 arrive with a portion of a rifle either chipped or broken off, whereas the acrylic versions didn't have the same issues. Just something to keep in mind.

>>10466725
>>10466866
>>10467317
thanks for the tips guys, i think i'll probably just go for it then. i think my shape is pretty solid so i'm not too worried about breakage, and i got cherry wood thankfully since i read that the birch was 1mm thinner (and the cherry wood colors seemed nicer to me), so i hope it turns out.

Anyone doing a labor day sale? Is that a thing for artists?

>>10467590
I rarely have discount sales in general. usually just once a year.

>>10466116
>>10466724
While we are kind of on the topic about defective charms, do you guys sell them at a discount? I have a few pretty bad charms that I'm not sure if I should even try to sell, but would people still want them if I put them up for, I don't know, production price, ($3 or less) or should I just throw them away? I wouldn't say they're B-grade, more like C-grade, because even if it's only one defect it's usually something like a small but deep dent, or a visible scratch. It seems very wasteful to just toss them so I'm reluctant, but I don't know what else to do with them.

>>10468237
I'm in the same boat. I'd say it really depends on the defect, but you can sell them at a discounted price you're comfortable with. I'm thinking of selling some at half the price they're supposed to go at. Maybe 1/3, or 1/4th of the price even for the ones that are particularly bad (which still covers production and a little extra). Still need to look through my stock and see. Most of my defects are minor cracks, scratches, and misprints.

Hmm I know it's common to underprice merch, but have you ever come across artists overprice their merch? I understand that it's a "luxury" but occasionally I'll buy a pricier item from an artist and find that the quality of the item's manufacturing is lacking (not referring to the art) in which case the materials feel cheap like flimsy zippers/fake leather, loose threads, etc. Even without these defects, how much is too much? Is "overpriced" really just determined by if people will buy less of it because it's priced too highly?

>>10468292
Sorry when I say "flimsy zippers/fake leather" I mean both flimsy zippers and flimsy fake leather. I'm not expecting to buy actual real leather weeb goods. This is just referring to the fact that there are nicer quality fake leathers vs poor quality, cheap fake leather.

>>10468292
>>10468294
Keep in mind that mainstream goods, even cheap ones, are manufactured in massive quantities, meaning you can get nicer materials for a lower price. Artists generally have a much lower order quantity which means they pay a much higher price per unit, and this means usually the nicer materials aren't accessible to them. Which means you could end up paying 60$ for a bag you could get in target for 15$. Even if artists are charging a lot for a product with a complicated manufacturing process they're probably not making a huge amount of profit, so I don't know if you would define that as "overpriced".

Personally I think that if artists can only afford the cheapest level of manufacturing then they probably should not be making products yet. Why do it if you can't afford to produce a high quality product.

Has anyone else heard of this absolute psycho Eric Green from remove your media? I thought he was a legit 3rd party business for companies but now he is harassing the shit out of artists and DMCA noticing fanart not even for sale. He even DMCA a bunch of videos and articles with anime screenshots that fall under fair use. If you sell fan art on Etsy he's going on a rampage and has gotten some shops suspended and closed.

>>10468323
Do you have screenshots or something for proof? Not I don’t believe you just that sounds insane and I want to see it for myself

>>10468344
Recent instance with an artist on AANI. Most of the screenshots were just of the didnt DMCA emails. This one was from their portfolio site with no art being sold.

>>10468377

>>10468378
Other instance of them claiming to work for someone they don't.

>>10468378
https://anime.frikafrax.com/2015/10-3255/remove-your-media-llc-uses-inaccurate-evidence.html

>>10468237
I do, but cost depends on a few things.
For example, if my manu has replaced these defects with good products, and these defects are thus a surpluss, I take off 75% of my profits. I still cover production and tax costs.
As long as you're VERY Clear about the defects, I find people don't mind buying defective products for a lower price. As long as they know what they're getting.

>>10468323
It's not that I don't believe you - people are fucking stupid - but has this been happening recently? My quick google search and the article you posted all seem to be quite old.

>>10468464
not op but i've also seen these posts going around the facebook groups the past two days

>>10468323
>>10468344
The name Eric Green rang a bell and i just went to check, and every dmca I've ever gotten from Etsy has been from him. Pic is my inbox from as far back as February.

>>10468668
Kinda salty now since the early stuff that got taken down was some jojo fanart i spent a million hours on

>>10468668
>>10468669

So is he ACTUALLY affiliated with any legal companies or is he just an asshole trying to stop people from doing stuff?

>>10469058
Who knows. He got some stuff taken down from kickstarter as well which require proof that they are rights holders or work for rights holders, Idk how kickstarter Dmca process goes. He also doxed a bunch a bunch of people that counter claimed his dmca one time in the past. He acts incredibly unprofessional, the address on the site leads to a empty shopping mall, the linkedin says less than 10 people work for this company that supposedly worked for 1500 companies. Not to mention that one image of a guy getting DMCAd by him claiming he represented HIS band when he didn't. Something just feels really off.

>>10469097
Yike. It certainly sounds like he's just some idiot on a high horse; no legal rep would dox an artist because that's fucking illegal and thye know that.
Wonder if there's a way to get him to stop, false DCMA claims are technically illegal, but it's hard to do anything more than end in a "he said, she said" scenario without yknow, paying lots of money to litigate false claims.

IIRC, Kickstarter would be more likely to act on false claims because, if they didn't, KS would be the one who ended up in legal trouble for hosting illegal content. So it'd make sense for them to take something down with the bare minimum of proof, and I doubt the KS legal team is looking at a kickstarter for anime enamel pins and going "hang on" when the legal rep for the ""US"" isn't from the company that actually owns the copyright of that anime.

Ugh. Hope I never come across him.

>>10469112
>dox an artist because that's fucking illegal
how is that illegal?

>>10469120
Nayrt it’s literally illegal. Google it

>>10469120
If you can't think to Google "How is Doxing illegal" to educate yourself, I'm not gonna explain it to you because it'll probably go over your head.

>>10469185
>>10469226
not being able to explain why something is illegal just tells me you don't actually know why its illegal yourself.
doxing isn't illegal unless its done with intent to cause violent harm, such as directing people to physically attack someone.

like, do you guys think phone books are illegal too? lol

>>10469341
Doxing in itself isn't technically illegal, the intent behind it is the main issue like you said. This company posted the information of counter notices without redacted information on a now defunct tumblr page as a response against Lumen Database for its transparency DMCA notice reports

https://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-group-reveals-personal-details-of-counter-notice-senders-160730/

Remove your Media was stupid enough to leave a bunch of personal information in their report. It happened years ago but with this recent harassment case it sounds like this dickhead didn't learn from the first time his over aggressive practices can fuck over the companies he is working for.

Why are AANI admins such fucking pussies that they lock any thread discussing semi touchy subjects?

>>10469341
>doxing isn't illegal unless its done with intent to cause violent harm
That's like saying following people around isn't illegal, even if stalking is. It is illegal if it becomes harassment.

>>10469364
>Doxing in itself isn't technically illegal
mmhmm

>>10469410
>That's like saying following people around isn't illegal, even if stalking is.

right

>>10469407
lol sometimes I wish I could see the drama unfold too, but desu i think the mods are doing the best they can what with the amount of people in there. things probably get crazy fast.

>>10468323
Kinda concerned about my own listings now lol Who exactly is he claiming to rep? Aniplex? Funi? I know when I got my first DMCA years ago it was by an official person from the company, not sure why (if by chance this is "legit") they would turn to some shady guy whose company is literally named "Remove Your Media LLC" lol. These are huge companies...why would they need to hire someone like this

>>10469341
>>10469364
Acquiring info that has never been posted online and sharing is illegal, at least in my country.
I have never posted my mobile phone number online, nor my address.
If someone acquires that information and shares it, they have to prove it was acquired through legitimate means, which they won’t be able to, and thus they have gained private information of mine through illegitimate means, thus a crime.

Malicious intent behind compiling and sharing public info is illegal, which most doxing falls under.

Acquiring non-public info and sharing it is illegal, which in depth doxing falls under.
Like that kid who set the turtle on fire. Technically, the people tracking her IP were committing a crime. Recognising landmarks around her home and sharing THAT info was not illegal, since it was a public recording of public space.

Children, seriously, it’s not that hard.

>>10469450
Yeha, honestly, most companies who are actually making an effort to have fan-media taken down have the clout and funds to hire their own people in house, they don't need to outsource the task.

for those of you who sell pride merch, what do you think the absolute essential ones to hit are? also, which flags sell the best for you?

>>10469728
Rainbow, trans and bi flags sell best for me but prepare for drama with the lesbian flag since its kinda up in the air.

Prepare for people to have a problem if you're hetero and cis tho, it's kinda bad optics and could be seen as profiting off marginalized people.

>>10469728
Yeah if you aren't part of the lgbt comm, I'd avoid selling stuff for us. Makes you seem shitty.
I've seen a lot of ace stuff selling as well, but maybe that's because I hang out with a lotta ace people.

>>10469785
What's the tea re:lesbian flag? Are Pedos trying to coopt it again?

>>10469669
>they have to prove it was acquired through legitimate means, which they won’t be able to
but thats not doxxing, and not relevant in this case since i'm not seeing any evidence that the info isn't gathered legitimately.

>Acquiring non-public info and sharing it is illegal, which in depth doxing falls under.

Name, address, phone number, and ip address is all public information. Unless you want to some how argue that information you share with dozens, if not hundreds, of people and companies is some how "private".

>>10469785
>Prepare for people to have a problem if you're hetero and cis tho, it's kinda bad optics and could be seen as profiting off marginalized people.
i really don't see how its not bad optics for non-hetero/cis people too. Its an obvious cash grab no matter who is selling it. It always feels dirty to me seeing people selling a huge array of lgbt flag designed products. They are just preying off vulnerable people, feeding into the idea that you *need* to buy their product to show your real support for lgbt people.

>>10469830
>What's the tea re:lesbian flag?
I think the original lesbian flag's creator (with the lipstick) turned out to be a terf, so I believe multiple inclusionary flags surfaced. Just don't do the lipstick color combo and you'll probably be fine.

>>10469902
>Unless you want to some how argue that information you share with dozens, if not hundreds, of people and companies is some how "private"
Does that big corpo boot leather taste good? You know this is exactly what these dumb fuckers are supposed to do when you share this info with them right? Protect it? It's only because we've become so desensitized due to multiple, regular data breaches that you think having your info out there is normal.

>>10469946
what are you talking about? corporations and data breaches have nothing to do with what is or isn't public/private information. I also made no mention of what I believe is or isn't normal.
You've just gone off on some weird unrelated tangent.

>>10469902
>but thats not doxxing,
Do you not know what doxxing is? You can doxx someone by gathering private information through illegal means too. Doxxing might not be done through illegal means, but it can be too. You act like it's definitely legal, while there is no such definition that information gained through illegal means somehow doesn't count as doxxing.

>>10469954
Doxxing is practically always referred to as posting public identifying information. Doxxing isn't illegal, stealing private information (things you don't share with anyone, like passwords, banking info, etc.) and then posting it is.

>>10469950
You're saying that info that we give to companies is public, like phone number and address. That might be so in a local context, but there is a reason wholeass local phone books aren't online. No one who is putting that info up online in public means well by it.

>>10470074
>You're saying that info that we give to companies is public, like phone number and address.
So let me get this straight, you think information that your give to a large number of individuals and companies are *private* information?
Do you know what private means?
>there is a reason wholeass local phone books aren't online.
but it is..
you usually have to pay a small fee to access some of the info, but its there.
>No one who is putting that info up online in public means well by it.
Name and address is literally public record. Maybe every county doesn't do it, but I can go to my county government website and type in my name, and it'll show my address and property taxes paid

>>10469830
>>10469785
i'm a lesbian so don't sweat

>>10469909
am aware its bad optics, don't care, want that sweet $$$$ gay nerd cash
(and i want to make pride merch that isn't hideously tacky, which almost all of it is)


Is it worth doing the pan flag if i'm already doing the bi flag @ anons who have already sold pride merch? I know some people can be painful about their strict preference for one or the other

>>10469909
You probably aren't queer, huh? No disrespect, like it's fine not to be queer, but you obviously don't understand the experience, and that's why you can't understand why queer people enjoy presenting themselves with things like pins or tshirts and shit. Literally, pride.
And then, to top that off, we tend to prefer supporting our fellow gays where possible. So if a gay person sells a gay flag, they're probably doing it because they understand that other gays want it.

Sure, there will be those who do it for the hot dollars, but a lot of queer people just want to provide a service, that they themselves want, to other people.

Allies, hets and cis people aren't required to buy queer merch, no one is telling allies they need to, esp since ally merch is so fucking rare.
There are one million "I am gay" stickers, and... what, 2 "I support gay" stickers??
Idk where you feel like people _need_ to buy things to show their support??

>>10470266
yeah it's worth it because by nature if you leave a single flag out you're always going to get people wanting to start shit with you "excluding" them, plus some people are hardcore about being pan and not bi

>>10469944
Oh my god I didn't realise the one with the lipstick was real, tacky as fuck.
Also why is everyone outing themselves as a TERF lately? I'm tired.

>>10469902
Look, you obviously don't care about the actual legality of the issue, but just know that your understanding is very narrow and black and white. The law doesn't function like that. It's broad as fuck and full of grey areas. All of those grey area's say doxxing is illegal, but proving either intent or unlawful gathering of data is difficult, so it never gets litigated.

And if you think that information you share with companies, WHO HAVE THE LEGAL OBLIGATION TO PROTECT THE PRIVACY OF THAT DATA, is public information, you show that you don't understand the basics of this situation. I'm guessing you've never worked in a company that keeps data of it's clients, because if you did, you'd know we go through long training sessions to ensure we understand that this shit is private.

>>10469960
Words evolve. Grow up. Stealing private info and then posting it is doxxing.

>>10470082
Do you share you full name and county online?? For people to be able to look up that information? Or do you understand that doing so would be a risk to your personal safety, and thus keep them either very restricted or completely offline?
Also, Murica, stupid stupid Murica. I feel bad for you.

>>10470266
I've seen people get antsy about not having one or the other.
I'm queer and I still don't FULLY understand the difference between the two, desu. But I still usually include both since they're both kind of the "big" sexuality.

Selling fanart is kill guys. Time to pack it up and get big boy jobs.

>>10470335
>you obviously don't understand the experience

what does that even mean?

>queer people enjoy presenting themselves with things like pins or tshirts and shit. Literally, pride.

yea, thats what I meant. You've fallen for the marketing ploy. Its a cash grab preying off vulnerable people, feeding into the idea that you *need* to buy their product to show your real support for lgbt people.
Same is true for straight merch too, but thats another topic.

>>10470341
>And if you think that information you share with companies, WHO HAVE THE LEGAL OBLIGATION TO PROTECT THE PRIVACY OF THAT DATA, is public information, you show that you don't understand the basics of this situation.

private means to keep to your self. If you give information to dozens or hundreds of people and companies, it is by definition, not private.

>>10423080
New thread:

>>10470586
>>10470586
>>10470586