/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

For those of you who run online stores, how often do you update with new products? I'm afraid of dumping too many products at different times so instead I end up saving them for a bigger update all at once during the month. Dunno if that's actually effective or anything though.

Also curious how many drawings for merch (of any sort) you guys can crank out in a time crunch. Just trying to get some metrics compared to my own process which is probably woefully slow and needs a good kick in the ass to get moving.

Does anyone happen to be selling Kaiji or Umineko merch? Or know of someone who does? I will pay out the ass for anything.

Still shocked that kidchan and eu03 didn’t get into Fanime

>>9771700
I think it is better to have a constant stream of new items so you stay relevant, rather than have large patch of time with no updates, with huge updates randomly.

All that salt about fanime. Git gud and you get in. Easy as that.

>>9771751
I know this is bait but how much better does kidchan have to get when you look at what was posted last thread LOL

>>9771756
NAYRT but that makes me sad bc kidchan has been my idol since I was what, 13?

>>9771756
It’s not about being better it’s about variety too and what we think the attendees want at Fanime.

Has anyone sold at Anime Midwest and how was it? Asked last thread but it got buried under Fanime results.

Instead of having a mysterious jury to determine what people want to see in an AA why don’t Fanimecon or other cons just let people vote for what they wanna see?

Like a simple yes/no voting system for if they think they’d wanna buy the art at con.

Then all the con has to do is count up the +\- votes and you have the perfect AA.

Also also, if you’re worried about an artists fandom fucking with the vote, limit the vote just to con attendees that have badges already.

Look at all these sour grapes. If you go through twitter and see who did get accepted, you'll see that plenty of talented artists will be selling this there year. Just because you and your friends didn't get in doesn't mean the judges are blind or that Fanime is mediocre. I mean, if it was that mediocre none of you would care so much.

What’s shitty about Fanime is that they rejected artists like myself who regularly make like 10-20k there so clearly those are artists that attendees have proved they want to see and buy from. Their jury has no idea what attendees actually want.

>>9771789
If you think more peole want what was posted last thread more than kidchan (and eu03 and other really crowded tables) you are delusional and it really sends a message that fanime has no idea what attendees want or what good art is

its funny how no one sees that if people spend less money in AA than they spend more money in dealers and dealers pay more so fanime likes them better

>>9771745
How constant are we talking here? A few times a month?

>>9771799
Kek the things you people come up with. Loving those tears.

>>9771794
Don't be obtuse, obviously no one thinks the talented artists don't deserve it. No one is complaining about them.

>>9771816
I think Fanime may have also considered price for each item/print for the attendees. Everything on the right is double or triple the price of items on the left.

>>9771836
Where are you getting your numbers? I've seen some super talented artists selling their stuff at the same AA sizes and market prices that everyone else has.

>>9771836
>>9771838
AFAIK your product pricing wasn't even requested during the application process. It seems like they just decided to throw a bone to some newbie artists, or to artists who are friends of staff.

>>9771790
I sold at Anime Midwest last year. Did fine sales wise,but the con organization was a mess, and not to mention it's run by Kopf, who's not a good guy.

>>9771745
agreed
>>9771807
At least once a month, but try to time it around special dates (holidays, etc)

>>9771807
I try to aim at least once a month

>>9771793
then it would just be a popularity contest. Not everyone with great art has a great social media presence.
No random person is going to look through 200+ applications, they are just going to look at and vote for whoever they follow on instagram or whatever.

>>9771882
People are popular because their art is good anon...

>>9771432
Yeah, I'd read that a lot of people didn't do particularly well, but mostly I'd be happy if I could even break even. I'm local, so I don't need to worry about traveling or getting a hotel.

Anyone else have thoughts on Kumoricon as a first con?

Not that it matters, but i have not seen a single artist who got into fanime that was impressed by. More of the artists I actually like or admire got waitlisted.

>>9771816
that genji hanzo is so good im crying

I guess the good thing about so many more good artists getting rejected this time is that more people are catching onto the bullshit. I feel like some of the comments I'm seeing were complacent, they just expected to get in again, and some were probably secretly thinking they were genuinely better than the others who got rejected.

Not that it really matters in the end because there's no way to hold the jury accountable for this decision, but it's nice to see.

>>9771892
I've seen equally talent artists who just never managed to win the viral social media jackpot

If follower count was all that was needed to get into cons, a bunch of unknown gems would be lost.

>>9771917
I just dont get how this is a problem? I have thousands of followers now but that’s just over years of ALWAYS having my twitter and tumblr posted at my booth prominently unlike other artists that have different social media names or dont have any signage in their booth. All it takes is posting once a day, even my WIP and sketches and letting people know what cons I’m at, I never even got viral for anything, to me it’s just part of my work.

>>9771922
Just curious, how many cons have you done in the last year?

>>9771922
[shrugs] Some do art as a side thing, or are busy with jobs/schoolwork that aren't related to art.
I hit 2-3k regularly as a part time convention artist/full time student but my follows current flounder around in the 300s. Then again I haven't been doing cons as long as everyone else so...

>>9771892
That's not how that entirely works and to think that other factors like networking or getting lucky (with certain algorithms or in general) versus other artists seems pretty ignorant. Social media isn't an equal stomping ground.

>>9771892
but my point is that it doesn't go the other. Everyone who is popular might have good art, but not everyone who has good art will be popular.
I'm a craft artist, I make thousands of dollars at cons and etsy, I do this for a living, but across all social media, I have a total of, like, 200 followers. I only even created dedicated social media accounts less than a year ago.
I'm actually only just now getting new business cards with my social media info on it.

>>9771892
Wow, that's incredibly untrue

>>9771922
I've been around for ages, and do really well at cons, but due to the nature of my schoolwork I can only upload a few times a year. It doesn't have a huge impact on how well I do in person so I don't think it really matters?

Part of me agrees that your online count is not necessarily related to how well you do at cons, BUT I think there's a threshold where your popularity will simply net you a big crowd of people seeking you out at every con purely because they're a fan. Basically guaranteed money per con. Just don't buy followers because that shit is sad and some people give in to it.

for those following the fanime saltyness, does it seem like there are fewer crafter types getting in this year?

i ask because it's really felt like fanime has been squeezing out crafters since they went to juried, and i'd hate seeing a 100% print AA.

>>9771999
From what I've seen and heard, at least 5 pure craft tables got in. But majority are print artists, not even a lot of "other goods" artists, like those who focus on making keychains, stickers, pins, etc

What it takes to have a social media presence is consistency. Period. A base level of skill is helpful, but what draws audiences is a regular feed of content. Some artists who sell at cons don't draw consistently because art is their hobby and real life responsibilities do exist, but they do draw well.

>>9771898
Kumoricon isn't great for profit but it's a nice con. If you're local in driving distance go ahead, but it isn't worth traveling for.

>>9771999
Every year people complain about the lack of craft artists because every year it's like 5 Crafters who get in

>>9771999
Fanime has always seemed to heavily favor print artists.

That said, I'm a print artist who's gotten rejected from maybe 10% of other juried cons I've ever applied for, and my Fanime acceptance rate is now an even 50/50. It feels like once you get to the level of "not complete garbage" it's basically a lottery.

>>9772001
>not even a lot of "other goods" artists, like those who focus on making keychains, stickers, pins, etc
well that's a huge bummer...i love getting that kind of stuff in the AA. i don't have much space left for prints on my walls at this point.

Judging from who got into Fanime, a select few people will get a lot of foot traffic just based on how much better they are than everyone else who got accepted lol. They DID take in a handful of good artists, then kind of just flung in random shit for "diversity". If you got in and you're honestly good, congrats because you're gonna make a lot of money since your competition will be weak.

With all the fanime salt flying around, it makes me wonder: at what skill level do you think artists should try to put themselves out there?

I've read a lot of honestly pretty nasty stuff from friends and AA acquaintances about "bad artists" who got in. I'm all for lamenting a missed spot at a juried con, or picking apart something really dreadful, but for the most part I really don't shit talk other artists I consider "bad," especially not new/young ones.

I forced myself to start posting/selling things even though I didn't feel confident (and they weren't great), because I know that I'll probably never feel "good enough." If I didn't do it then, I probably wouldn't be doing it now.

>>9772049

It's more about the fact that Fanime claims to be judging on a skill based rubric and clearly there is a discrepancy in skill level between those rejected and those that got in. It's more about Fanime's hypocrisy than putting any blame on those artists. Many of the ones people are complaining about are mediocre but they are absolutely at the level where they should be trying out for AA and putting stuff out there. It's unfortunate that innocent artists are being caught up in the bitchfest but it's the clearest way to complain about the issues with the jury system.

The important thing to do as a young artist is to develop a tough skin to criticism. You will get a lot of unhelpful comments and it's important to be able to let them roll off and pick them apart for actual useful critique.

>>9772066
That may be the case, but I've seen people be like "why does so and so even try- they're shit!" or "look at this useless fucker that got in and I didn't!"
It seems like a lot of the gripe is being directed at other artists, when really people should just be asking fanime for more transparency.
Maybe the people I know/follow are just assholes in private, idk.

I'm one of the rare people left that only sells prints. I don't want to start making merchandise, but I can't help but feel that's one of the reasons I don't make as much as my friends. Is it that bad to only sell prints anymore?

>>9772142
Adapt or perish anon

>>9772142
A lot of Chinese/Japanese artists only sell prints and they make a lot. But you have to be crazy good/popular make top money doing prints only.

>>9771816
It's pretty obvious they have some kind of quota for 'certain' types of art or artists that they try to meet. So the top end artists are competing for a fixed number of slots against other top end artists, and not against these artists

>>9772155
Do you think the top end artists prefer it more when they have less competition or when the rubric really is as skill based as they want it? I feel like a lot of artists would be singing their tune if they were the ones to get in instead.

>>9772132

This is true, some people take it too far. Just keep in mind that it's related to their own frustration and not to you as a person.

Also everyone tries asking fanime for transparency every year and they just ignore us. They're not accountable at all and they never have to deal with any consequences for their bad system. If the AA is bad then people spend more money in Dealers. Hardly anyone will pass on a con they considered attending because a specific AA artist is not going to be there. It makes waitlisted artists feel frustrated and they direct their frustration at other people.

Also yes almost everyone is an asshole in private lol

What tends to sell better at AA, flavor of the month or nostalgia? I feel like people want to see oldies but it's getting pretty saturated now. At the same time, new shows will sell like shit at the next con.

>>9772169
I didn't apply to fanime and so have no stake in this, was just commenting on what I saw and wondering what is "good enough" if so many of these artists are so bad that they shouldn't be tabling yet.

The idea that people with cruddy art may get into cons because theyre "new" is kinda frustrating. Some people aren't new, just bad at improving. I don't see how jury people would be able to tell the difference. I hope that it's not really the case.

>>9772179
nayrt, in my opinion "good enough" is when you've worked up the nerve to sit next to your stuff and be judged for 8-10 hours a day for three to four days in a row by thousands of people who have little to no background in art. If you've got the stomach to do that con in and con out, apply to all the AAs you want to. Whether or not you can financially sustain it is something you have to find out one way or another anyway.

>>9772158
Fanime's AA is so small that filling it all with top tier artists wouldn't do anything to their over all profitability. I'd rather be in there with all of them than not, that is a kind of silly question.

>>9772155
Well if that were true i think that's why people are complaining. If you have a quota/point bonus for "amateur" art, put it in your rubric. That's what it's there for.

>>9772171
It depends on the nostalgia. For example, Sailor Moon, CCS, and Pokemon are all in the "nostalgia" category but most cons are still super oversaturated with them. If you go for something a little more niche, you can make a ton of money from it.

I do a mix of both so that i have enough FOTM to sell to general attendees while hooking in niche fans with my more obscure stuff. Make sure it's FOTM that you actually like though. Like I know everyone has Overwatch and BNHA but I actually like those.

>>9772132
I'm one of those people who bitch about lesser skilled artists getting in, because it's honestly a slap in the face.

You spend 8 a day for sometimes every day of the week working on a piece, and then these people shit out a doodle and sloppily color it and get in?

It's especially frustrating when this is your only source of income too, and now you're competing against 500 casual tumblr artists who usually have other sources of income too.

You have to spend a lot of time and money producing art, and for what? Yes, for yourself and pleasure and all that stuff, but if you're sitting there with 50 charms and 30 pouches with no con to sell them at, then you wonder if you should even try.

I know people who are print only who are amazing, but refuse to do the plop your art on everything from bags to pillows because of production costs AND room, because they haven't gotten accepted to any con. The reason if given? Not enough product variety.

Then they do put out $500+ to make trinkets, and they still get rejected/wait listed for lesser skilled artists. Why??

Wouldn't the con jury have told them they don't meet a fundamentals requirement rather than, "Not enough product variety."

I absolutely cannot wait for the day when there is hard proof evidence of people getting in through who they know, and it gets around everywhere.

>>9772171
I think it's better to spend time on oldies stuff? I really like seeing Legend of Zelda stuff, I think Fire Emblem (classic games) also does well. With FOTM stuff, like you mentioned they do bad at the next con and people move on too quickly.

>>9772238
First anon, you seem like the type to spurn smaller cons. This is a business, take the opportunities as they come, not every con is gonna be a big payday. As long as you cover costs and wages for yourself for the day it's something.

Secondly, it's good to have weaker artists at shows, then you make more money because people are more likely to spend at your table.

>>9772238
Sincere question anon, why is this your only source of income? I don't see the point in getting frustrated that other people have other sources of income, it doesn't magically make anyone's artistic skills better in either regard.

Putting out $500+ for trinkets seems absurd when it costs much less to test out the waters if you know what you're doing. It's basic supply and demand.

I don't disagree that it must be frustrating but I'm confused as well. I figured most con artists also do non-fandom freelance and other ventures.

>>9772238
>but if you're sitting there with 50 charms and 30 pouches with no con to sell them at, then you wonder if you should even try.

Anon you could try opening an online store or take preorders you know.

>>9771702
> Umineko
I never thought there would still be demand

Is it tougher to get in Fanime?

>>9772238
Okay first of all, you're making a lot of assumptions about other people SIMPLY based off your own bias. I'm sure there are plenty of "shitty" doodlers that are young and just see the con as a fun thing. Not everyone is like you and you are not owed a spot any more than anyone else simply because you decided to do this for a living. If you're doing this AS YOUR JOB then it's YOUR responsibility to find ways to make ends meet when you don't get into a convention. Like a previous anon stated, have you tried selling online? Have you tried doing commissions online, or networking at the cons you do attend to make passive income for yourself?

I mean, come on. No one is going to feel bad for you for making bad choices. Especially if you're one of those people who DOES sink 500$ into merchandise simply for "varities" sake. Do things you care about and invest in yourself, not arbitrary things to try to fit into some mold that you don't even care about.

Anyway, I'm probably being too salty over this but you sound very entitled. And you're not going to make it far in AA if you are entitled (and wasting time bitching over "shitty" artists instead of drawing.)

>>9772273

..................

>>9772273
Ya, their AA got capped in size a long time ago since there's no more space for it to expand into . . . . unless they use a super shit tent outside and not even connected to the con center.

>>9772238
Anon, I think you need to take some deep breaths.

Why do you assume that you're working so much harder than other artists?
I personally know that I used to have to work twice as long to produce half the result that I can now, so time/effort isn't what's being judged, and neither is the fact that you're a "full time" artist.

I know a lot of people in AA who work kind of shitty day jobs so that they can make a living while doing AA as a hobby. I think either way is fine, but if you're struggling to live on it or get into enough cons to move product, that's on you, not any other artist or con.

>>9772238
What >>9772277 said... Just because you choose to do this as a living doesn't mean you're entitled to a spot because "you have to do this to live!!!" AA started out as a fun thing, what's wrong with people who want to keep treating it that way? Yes, there are those people who get in to get a quick buck but those people will be weeded out soon enough... Not everything will go well for you but you shouldn't put all your coins in one pouch (or whatever the saying is).

Start a patreon if you're that good, sell online, do commissions, do freelance, but we all know the system is fucked and more and more competition is cropping up so you'll have to get over it.

>>9772238
You should not put money into product with out getting an acceptance letter.

Also I'd like you to put your art where your key board is. Show us your art.

Are there any artists who actually got into Fanime that draw bl/male fanservice for women? I notice many of the people I see get in do either generic cute art or pretty art of girls, but many rejects are good artists who draw handsome men... Considering going still to buy things since it's only an hour from me but I don't see many artists I will like if this is my interest...

This is probably beyond petty, but if we operate under the idea that fanime AA jury picks their friends to get in, then randomizes everyone else, I think it just follows that the selected artists suck because the jury consists of such tacky and tasteless people. When I think of the people I associate with fanime staff, it completely checks out.

>>9772444
If that's the sort of filth you enjoy then you probably have much more fun at Y-con than a family friendly convention like Fanime

>>9772464
Oh my god lmao?

>>9772464
teenage/tween girls are all lesbians pass it on

>>9772467
pretty sure that's bait but it's pretty funny.

>>9772444
I would recommend you some people but none of us got in this year haha. I'm sure you'll find some though :/ it's something like 300 artists...

>>9772488
>I would recommend you some people but none of us got in this year haha

I was also asking because I'm wondering if it could be a bias of the jurors. None of my favorite artists who draw guys got in either, even ones with cute styles like the artists who did get in. Almost all the artists I see on twitter only draw girls....

>>9772464

BL and handsome male art is not the same as porn anon.

>>9772463
Same, anon. As much as I hate to sound like I have my tinfoil hat on too tight, I wouldn't put it past Fanime AA staff to pull something like this. The community is closer knit than most people think.

>>9772517
>>9772463
Wait, are you saying that the jury helped their bad friends get in or picked their friends and then let in a load of shit to drive up their friends' sales?

>>9772523
It could be either, but I don't think they have that kinda foresight or strategy.

>>9772444
Two of my friends got in who do tons of "fanservice" male art. I also have some male fanservice at my table, and I got in (Though I also have female sexy pictures.) I don't want to drop our names for obvious reasons but we'll be there. I'm sure there's more if you do some digging around the accepted artists.

>>9772444
I wonder if it has anything to do with the latest hot take being that m/m romance for a female audience is always disgusting fetishization perpetrated by evil fujoshis. Might have nothing to do with it, but that is something I've noticed lately.

>>9772538

If cons start slinging that excuse for blocking m/m content then they'd better start blocking lewd/sexy shit in general because that's fetishization of a persecuted class of people as well. This argument is just a way for straight men and shitty women to be homophobic and also misogynistic under the guise that they're actually trying to right some injustice. Really it's just an excuse to shut down gay content and attack women's spaces. These same people aren't fighting against the fetishization of women/lesbians in pretty much, oh, everything.

>>9772533
Who do the three of you know at fanime? What did you put in your portfolio?

>>9772550
i dont think u realize all sexual depictions that objectify people both lgbt and cishet are issues that need to stop - making money off sexualization is literal objectification and profiteering and is not something real allies do for the community

>>9772571

Good luck stopping the porn industry then. And also mainstream media that shows women's and some men's bodies off to sell tickets and clothes.

People sexualize each other and they will do so til the end of the human race. Learning to be respectful in that sexualization is the best we can ever do, not suppress it completely like you describe. Targeting specific already vulnerable groups isn't going to stop the problem you're describing, only continue to oppress vulnerable groups. Plenty of LGBT people make LGBT porn too, do you think they're also contributing to the problem? Or is it specifically only women?

Women who think two fictional men would be cute in a relationship aren't fucking hurting anyone.

Sage for OT.

>>9772571
>All sex is bad
Tumblr Teens are the new Concerned Christian Moms.

>>9772590
>>9772649
>sexual depictions that objectify people both lgbt and cishet are issues that need to stop

neither of you even read what i wrote did you? you can have sexual depictions of a loving or caring relationship that doesnt degrade people down to the level of objects and this applies to all people no mater gender or orientation

>>9772571
oh yeah im sure those 100% fictional yaoi boys are SO OFFENDED by some doughy straight chick shlicking it to fanart

objectification only applies to real people, dipshit

>>9772653

I read it. You are obviously not into any m/m ships because a lot of women in those fandoms treat those characters with a lot of respect, even in sexual situations. Teens don't do a great job but it's because they are teens who aren't even really self aware yet, of course people are objects to them. But the adult women who I see constantly being attacked for objectifying men and fetishizing gay relationships are generally extremely respectful of the characters they're handling, because they love them. That is not degrading.

The cultural problem of objectification is that 99% of men jerk it to barely legal borderline rape porn, not that some women like to write and draw about men in love. Have you ever seen a straight porno that emphasized the love between the characters? In 95% of slash/yaoi it's about 1000% important that the characters are in love and want to get married and adopt a baby together. Fuck off with your "fangirls fetishize and objectify gay men" bull crap.

>>9772653
Dude. Porn is okay. If it's not your thing "don't like don't read" but adult content created by enthusiastic parties for other adults isn't inherently bad, and indy illustrations and comics are a section of the sex industry you can always be 100% sure no one was being taken advantage of in it's creation.

>>9772677
This isn't necessarily true either though. A lot of BL works are rapey as fuck, and to disregard that is to be willfully blind. There are porn works that depict love and vanilla and the like, but there are also porn works that (regardless of whether it's het or gay) fetishize/objectify.

But as long as the violence is directed towards fictional characters, I don't really see the harm in it? I really dislike how people aren't allowed to enjoy problematic material anymore. Yes there are people who internalize bad stuff from problematic media, but I think the solution is to educate those people and fix their toxic behaviours rather than blame the problematic media itself.

>>9772712
>A lot of BL works are rapey as fuck

I guess this is true, you're right. I'm mostly in western fandoms and it's not quite as bad as BL from Japan, generally rape/violence is uncommon. I forgot that so many doujins and yaoi manga have pretty poor consent negotiations.

>>9772444
I mean, I got in and soft fujoshit is basically my entire booth so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

>>9772571
>implying I care about being an ally

Anime North updated their information page. This year, Comic Market will allow the sale of acrylic keychains and vinyl stickers! Also the payment method has been modified. The changes seem like a step in the right direction, though I wished that buttons without pin backings and character pillows/dakimakura would also be allowed in CM.

>>9772855
Why were these items not permitted before, what the hell?

>>9772858
I don't know what to tell you. AN has a lot of stupid rules.

>>9772860
I kinda get stickers since people can use them to deface property, but keychains, buttons, and pillowcases? What is their reasoning behind the ban?

>>9772862
Oh stickers were allowed, but only the thin papery kind. As for why, your guess is as good as mine.

>>9772862
Anime North separated their 2d and 3d artists iirc. it wasn't an outright ban so much as really restrictive categories.

>>9772855
>This year, Comic Market will allow the sale of acrylic keychains and vinyl stickers! Also the payment method has been modified.

Holy shit, freaking finally, online payments.

>>9772891
>Holy shit, freaking finally, online payments.
I still can't believe they let that go so long. I got into AN a few years back (I'm from US & table partner was in Canada, but they would only take the payment from me) and I had to expedite a check twice so they could get it on time. Glad to see they've finally updated their system.

Commissioned an artist on a friday for a simple 4x6 sketch, and they didnt even finish it the weekend of the convention despite continually offering more.
Is this common? Do any of you do on-the-spot commissions without actually finishing during the convention you're tabling at?
I'm just flabbergasted that they'd do this when I was always under the impression these kinds of commissions were supposed to be quick and convenient (not necessarily good... just to be able to get something hand made from an artist over the weekend)

>>9773117
Depends on the artist. I offer mainly fast pet commissions and will openly tell people if I don't think I can finish by the end of the con. Sometimes they don't want it and sometimes people are willing to pay extra for me to mail it to them. Usually artists that wont do the commissions there will mention as much because they need info like your address or phone number.

>>9773117
At my first convention I made the mistake of offering two people at-con commissions and ended up way too busy to actually have the time to finish them there. I made sure to request their contact information when they paid me just in case, though, and when I realized I couldn't do it I offered them the option to either let me ship it to them or to refund their cash.

It depends on the artist of course, but if my name is going to be attached to it, I want to make sure it comes out alright.

>>9773117
I commission many artists and 95% of the time they are all finished by the end of the con. It’s understandable depending on the reason that they didn’t finish. Sometimes people end up taking on more commissions than they complete by accident, or some they thought would be simpler take more time, or an issue with a friend comes up and they aren’t able to get around to it.

Did they offer you a reason along with a refund or offer to mail?

>>9773117
I had one occasion the second convention I ever did where I couldn't finish a commission by the end of the con. I had their # so I just explained and offered to ship for free. Now I've just built the cost into my prices and offer to ship to anyone who doesn't want to carry it around con with them/come back to pick it up

Is there a place online where I can sell the art supplies I don’t use? I’ve always used Ebay to sell other stuff but recently I keep getting these buyers that have accounts with almost no feedback, and I’m not sure if they’re just kids or something but they don’t pay. It’s frustrating to keep canceling sales and relisting.

>>9773376
etsy

>>9773117
That seems unusual.
I took commissions this past con and finished them, but I cap myself at 2 so as not to burn myself out and work on them while people browse my table. I still try to smile and make eye contact at passing customers, but I think people like seeing the artist work on stuff too so it's a nice activity if you're by yourself. I try not to let myself get too distracted if I'm working on stuff and will ask a friend to help me watch my table if I feel that I'm getting overwhelmed. Also, I try to ask if the customer is going to be at the con the next day so I can work on things after AA closes as well - just makes it easier.

What do you guys do when you want to run a table but at the same time want to explore?

>>9773404
Have a trusted table buddy, take some time to explore.

Is Anime Boston a big con?

>>9772653
Okay yeah sure Karen, go back to your book club

>>9773418
Did you even read the OP? Or do a google search?

>>9773404
I usually have a friend watch the table, if not I take off anything that can be easily stolen and put a "BRB" sign up and let my neighbors know I'm exploring for a bit. Some conventions will let you have a staff member sit behind the table to make sure nothing gets stolen and can let attendees know you'll be back later(I've never done this but doesn't hurt to ask)

I try to time for slow moments of the con. I think you should always give yourself a little bit of time throughout the weekend to be able to do something else, if you miss a few sales I don't think it's too bad, if someone really wants something they'll come back.

Anyone applying for A-kon? Didn't get in their AA last year. They said they were redoing the AA layout since it went, so bad last year. Hoping it'll be good

>>9773376
AANI

>>9773404

I usually contact at least 2-3 friends and check if theyve got any open time-slots at the con.

Before con - have a sheet printed out with prices as a reference, and an inventory tally for items to be marked down when you sell them. I also organize things behind the table and clearly mark them with post-it notes.

I contact friends who I trust handling money to watch my table for me and leave them those 2 sheets to reference/fill out. I'll also make sure business cards are readily available.

Otherwise, as someone said just secure your loose items and put a 'brb' sign up. I just... sometimes want to take a (long-ish) break so I try to prepare as much as possible.

>>9773620
probably still going to suck but as a local it's just fun to hang out with friends

>>9773620
I was considering, but hearing horror stories of last year bc of the location move kinda irked me.

>>9773117
I normally do watercolor. 9 1/2 x 12. Finish 2 Friday, 2 Sat, 1 Sunday. Anything else is mailed. I have it down to a science now, so everything gets completed.

>>9774093
Yeah I'm skipping this year after attending last year. I don't exactly trust them anymore after the big mess that was last year's AA. If this year is nice, great, I'll apply next year. But I'm not taking the risk.

Crunchyroll Expo and Sacanime are gonna be on the same weekend??? wyd???

>>9774662
That is some bullshit, although maybe demand for CRX will go up because news has spread since last year about how well it went.

Just having 2 major cons in the NorCal area seems a bit foolish, I think CRX is banking on Bay Area locals preferring to stay in the area, but if it's at the San Jose Convention Center it's likely to be more expensive unless people just go to it as a day-con.

bottom line - more likely to table SOMEWHERE that weekend, but possible lower attendance numbers at both

Super late to the party on what happened to international shipping through USPS. How can I send out small pins without charging $13 for shipping?

>>9774706
Some countries (like Canada, Mexico) don't fall into a bracket that high. But otherwise yeah, you're fucked.

>>9774706
>Super late to the party on what happened to international shipping through USPS.
???

>>9774662
How dickish would it be to sell at both, just sell by proxy at one of them.

>>9774793
Not that dickish if you get an exhibitor booth at one of them since vendors are allowed to proxy.

Is anybody having issues with completing the fanime table process? I bought my ticket but it won’t let me proceed to the next step.

>>9774910

No one got in so no one will be able to help you lol jk

>>9774910
It says on the site:
"We are still completing testing on the back-end of the site. The rest of the site will open within a few days. We'll email you when it's ready!"

This was posted on AAIN and now I can’t find any info, so I’ll post it here to:

Someone contacted me asking for free business cards, stickers, tags etc for their collection. They said they would buy from me, but they don’t have a lot of money. I replied saying I don’t give away for free, but if you make a purchase, all items come with a card and any other freebie I have at the time. I also stated my items are pretty affordable.

From the post on AAIN I knew this person wasn’t from the US. So she responds saying my shipping is too high $13 for a button. International shipping sucks, we all know it. She asks me to put the button in a small envelope and ship it that way saying she has bought stuff from artist before like this.

I’ve seen post of people saying items never reached their destination when they were packed in paper envelopes. I’m wondering if I should even bother? If I do I plan to make her full aware that I will not be sending a replacement for lost mail since were doing cheapest shipping, but I wonder if anyone else has any advice?

>>9775239
I've done it before, but this situation seems a bit sketchy so I don't know if I would. Personally, I would just have her buy a sticker if she wants a card (since then it can be shipped safely as lettermail).

>>9775239
Don't entertain her trying to go cheapo on your stuff. It's not worth it.

>>9775242
It does seem sketchy. I wish I could find the post so I could read the old comments, but it's just more digging than I'm willing to do. I've tried searching with keywords and I keep pulling up everything but.

The sticker idea is a good idea!!! Thank you!!

Does anyone know of a company that prints fuzzy stickers like this? I don't know if I'm not searching with the right terms or if it's too niche. I found one seller on Alibaba that offers something similar, but it's the fuzzy scratch and sniff kind with something like a 10,000 piece minimum order.

>>9775239
I remember this exact post you are talking about. It's someone who collects business cards, it's really weird because they do legitimately collect cards and are very happy / thankful if you send them cards and even sends people small letters and gifts in return. But they are also very persistent and oddly entitled and rude if you do not? I honestly think they have some kind of disorder. If you have business cards or backing cards to spare you could try to offer her to ship it with a $2 stamp from the post office or something. From the way that post talked about her she doesn't even care about the merch so much as collecting business and backing cards.

>>9775385
>>9775239
Actually wait here it but i can't link it so after the aani URL number string add this: permalink/647445948760732/

>>9775239
I agree with >>9775385 . Let's be real, business cards etc. really aren't that much to make, since you are sending them free with purchase. If someone just wants a business card and offering shipping costs, I don't see any reason not to send one. Just ask for the shipping costs obviously, and a fee of the all costs associated with it with whatever small profit you want for going through the time and effort for this (this can be what you want but add like .50 cents to shipping costs or whatever). It's not a huge profitable gain, but cash is cash.

If they (as in this person or anyone else) straight up want free stuff and don't want to pay that, then fuck 'em

How did you all go about designing your logos and signatures? This is something I'm still struggling with, I guess because I still don't feel like I have a very cohesive image of myself. My fanart is a lot different than my original art, too.

I also worry about changing it later, but I need to figure something out now.

Did yours evolve over time or did you pick something and stick with it?

I'd also appreciate any tips or good examples!

>>9775564
I changed my logo 3 times before getting something I really like. I'm a craft artist, so its harder for me. I actually had 2 friends + someone from the /cgl/ AA threads help me create my final logo and business card. Took a lot of time and work.

A logo (and business name) doesn't really even have to make sense, it just has to look good and be recognizable. Just do something cute that you can slap onto everywhere such as business cards and social media icons.

>>9775545

The only thing I would argue about this is that it's also just not worth your time. Depending on your shipping process, it might just be a minute, for some people it might be a whole process of printing a label and taking it to a post box, and $2 for shipping doesn't cover that expense, particularly when you know for sure this person is never going to convert to a paying customer or get you new customers.

>>9775600
Yeah; you're right about that. Since we don't know OP's circumstance for mailing is, it's up to them to figure out what is the opportunity cost vs. profit on it is.

The sticker/any flat paper item idea if OP offers them is also a good idea if they want to have it mid-way.

How many zines do you bring to con with you? I just participated in my first zine and I'm trying to decide how many to order so I can resell later.

>>9775769

It depends entirely how popular the property is and how popular you are. I've brought 200 copies of a zine and sold out, and I've brought 10 copies of a zine and left with copies.

Since it's a presumably a collab zine, you also have to take into account the overall quality of the artists and whether they've already sold it online, and whether other artists in your areas are going to be selling it too. If they sold online then they probably already reached the core fan group for that zine. Generally people are less interested in multiple artist anthologies at tables, unless it's a property they're really crazy about with a clever theme.

If it were me, no matter what property it was, I'd only order maybe 10-20 copies. More than that is a lot of books to try to move that most likely contain a lot more of other people's work than your own. It's honestly more of a novelty item at that point, for the few people who missed the online sales or buying it from another artist.

>>9775780
This helps a ton, thank you! Yes, it's a collective zine. It has very good artists and pieces so I have high hopes for it, but I might play it safe ordering about 20-25 copies.

>>9775769
>>9775780
idk how much people take this into account since I've never heard of a con coming down on people for it but. I know at least Sakuracon had essentially outlawed multiple artist zines the year I went (requiring multiple artist zines to have express written permission from every participating person who had work in the zine) So there's that to think about as well.

>>9775814
NAYRT but I know the zine I'm working on the entrance paperwork required a statement saying you granted permissions to print and sell (specifically in the format of the zine) to the other artists involved with the work so the organizer could make sure everyone had a copy for cases like Sakuracon. It's probably a good idea for most zine organizers to do something like that in the future, too.

OT but do you ever wonder if art mutuals or people you admire post here? been curious myself. though i doubt people want to out themselves because of the 4chan stigma

>>9775906
Joining the discord "unmasked" a lot of the mutuals I thought were here but didn't know for sure. Although the discord isn't entirely seagulls these days so that doesn't really apply anymore.

>>9775906
>people you admire post here
There are some for me, a few active here, a few not but that is fine. One of the latter is having their own success and it's cool to see their growth from their earlier tables to now.

It could be too early for me to think, but what does "art mutuals" mean?

>>9775906
I've made some art friends recently that are a little bit older and so I do wonder if they browse around here or at least are okay with it here. As far as I've seen the younger people are the more reactionary they tend to be to places like 4chan etc. Just a generalization though.

>>9775906
we have an artist spreadsheet in OP.

>>9776124
Art mutuals just means you follow each other on a social media site.

>>9776161
I feel like most people just assume every board on 4chan is like /b/. It can get catty in these threads sometimes, but it’s on the same level as any other site imo. That’s how I explain it to friends who think every part of 4chan is a cesspool at least, most seem to understand.

I feel like if Melly was smart she'd do a raffle for Square gift cards that people wanting more AA spending money could use.

This was posted in the last thread and it’s super cute! Anyone know the artist?

>own work has improved a lot and get accepted into Fanime
>feel pretty good, ignore the "its basically a lottery" meme
>browsing AANI, topic about who got into Fanime comes up
>oh must be really cool artists I can follow! maybe some good ones I've met before will be with me too!
>mfw aliexpress-tier ita crafters
>mfw it really was a lottery

I'll hold a vigil for the rest of you poor saps that lost to these hotgluing, pastel-vomiting, almost perler bead level, crafters.

>>9776358

That's the exact attitude I was referring to in >>9771915 lol, people keep getting in and thinking it's because they're genuinely better than everyone else and that everyone who didn't get in is just salty and jealous. As someone who tabled there regularly before and made good money, and has been rejected every year they've had lottery, I am glad to see others are recognizing it's actually bullshit.

Anni-con is 20 days away and still has a few tables left. If you live nearby, get a table. It is a seriously underrated con to sell at. I genuinely made more money there last year than I did at AWA.
http://www.annicon.com/vending.html

>>9776530
What type merch you sell? Can you ballpark "better than AWA"? If its that good, I will make a special trip there.

>>9776545
Craft artist. I made ~$1,400 revenue at both cons, but annicon has cheaper tables and only 1 day, so less expenses.

The con is free to attendees, so people have more money to spend.

>>9776530
I did well at Anni the one year I went, but I've since moved so it's too far from me now. I highly recommend it for anyone a few hours away from it.

It's not better than AWA for me by any means (but AWA is my top con so...) but it's great, and Alabama convention attendees are the nicest.

>>9776530
The section to buy the tables say "sold out" but the map still show spaces available. Do they set it that way so you send them your portfolio first?

Thanks for the heads up, anon! I had no idea about this con.

>>9776237
shavostars

>>9776612
ah, they must have just sold out. I actually checked a few days ago and there were still some available, but I didn't check before posting the link today. Either someone got it after I posted the link, or right before.
Send them a message if interested though, maybe see if they have a wait list.

>>9776907
Ahh I see. Yeah, I emailed them about it, hoping they might have a spot or a waitlist available.

>>9771915
What sucks is that there's a possibility that they'll just keep hobbling on with this shitty system because there's no way to actually give them actionable feedback or, like you said, keep the jury accountable. The overall quality of the AA will decrease but in such incremental amounts that there won't be enough attendee complain about it- maybe a few comments here and there about how the AA isn't that good, but nothing really substantial, and god knows the AA doesn't actually consider any artist feedback, much less of artists who didn't get in.

They've solidified themselves as a mediocre alley which is probably fine for them. Sucks for everyone else, though.

If you draw anything Amu Hinamori (Shugo Chara) related, I will buy it off of you guaranteed.

Anyone vending at Anime Pasadena? It's the same time as Fanime AND their first year. The tables are cheap, but I'm not sure if it's worth it.

>>9776530
I'm going! I'm wondering how I'll do there compared to kami-con lmfao. I figured because its a free con, that no one there is gonna bother bringing a lot of cash. I've never been so idk.

>>9777496
Ok, Kami-con, for me at least, is a crazy anomaly. I make between $1,000 and $2,000 at every single con I go to EXCEPT kami-con. 2017 I made a $2,500. This year I made $4,000. I have no idea what it is, but I make 2 to 4 times more money at that con compared to hama-con, momo-con, AWA, etc.

So yea. don't expect to make what you did at kami-con, but annicon is very good for how low-key it is.

>>9777433
I would probably wait on it (let a year pass and see how the feedback was - unless you're popular enough that you are confident you can break even). I did see advertisements for it pop up on my feed but I'm definitely wary even though I'm local. It doesn't really seem that good, that's just the vibes I'm getting based on their social media desu. There are other cons around that time that have been around longer like Ronin Expo (Ninja Con previously) in Little Tokyo and TitanCon at CSU Fullerton (if that counts...) which I think would be more reliable.

Why does anyone care that popular or amazing artists don't get into AA? People act like it's a huge injustice just because they're talented. Besides, sales won't be as miserable if they're not there.

>>9777708
For Fanime it's because it's under the pretense that their jury is standardized and that a jury system was put in to ensure a level of quality control while also handling the overwhelming demand for tables. All that goes out the window when you have shitty artists getting in.

I don't think people would care half as much if there were some transparency or if fanime just said "hey we're just gonna pick what we like" instead of pretending that it's about quality. I think people are also salty because overseas popular artists get shafted in favor of shitty local ones.

>>9777708
Because I'm amazing and my sales aren't miserable and therefore it's a fairly significant blow to my income?

>>9777708
It's the lack of communication

Fanime used to have an official Facebook group for artist alley but understandably, Fanime artists are the loudest cunts in the alley and complain so fucking much they cut that line of communication

>>9777708
So you're saying there's no point in developing skill, knowledge, investing in growing your base, and cultivating a professional reputation? Why get good, struggle, and work hard for years at when you can go super low effort fresh out of the gate and be better off in every way.

>>9777839
Some people do this for fun. Just because someone has a bigger following, it doesn't mean they should get dibs.

>>9777806
So you think you're entitled to a space just because you make more money than others? Are all artists this greedy and self absorbed?

>>9777844
Yes, of course.

>>9777844
nayrt but generally if someone makes a certain amount (say 10k+) it's safe to say con goers really like their table so someone who only makes 1-2K, isn't it fair to say the table more people look forward to deserves a spot, especially when 99 times out of 100, that 10K table actually is more skilled and it's a a self labelled jury by skill?

>>9777844
Artist Alley's was not invented or intended for those who "just want to have fun". It was created for budding and established professionals. If you have fun during the process, that's fantastic! But don't distort what it exists for and oppose those who deserve the right to be there because you aren't taking it as seriously.

>>9777890
>Artist Alley's was not invented or intended for those who "just want to have fun". It was created for budding and established professionals
Not the other anon, but in my opinion that’s a mentality that only started showing up at conventions in the last six or seven years, especially with the growing popularity of using businesses in China for merchandise production and artists using social media to advertise. When I first began going to anime conventions there were artists in /aa/s ranging from complete newbs to booths for college anime and art clubs. It feels more like a consumer culture now.

>>9777900
Also nayrt but anon might be talking about the history of artist alleys in U.S. cons in general and not specifically anime cons.

Artist alleys at comic book conventions absolutely 100% started for professionals as the other anon mentioned. They were supposed to be for up-and-coming artists to promo their comics and work for a cheaper price than a vendor's booth. It was a way for less established artists to get their names out there and network with other people in their field. (Comic convention AAs still usually work like this. I have friends who were able to get studio jobs in animation because there are industry professionals walking the floor.)

I disagree with the idea that AAs should be juried on how much money you make though. Sometimes skill doesn't necessarily translate into money. Someone with really good original art might not be able to make as much as someone with super mediocre fanart for a popular series, etc. Less skilled artists also deserve a place in AA and ideally, judging should be tiered based on skill level. Everyone starts somewhere. If you looked at my art when I first started tabling, you would have wondered how I even managed to get a table. And I say this as someone who brought in $10k+ at multiple cons last year so I'm not just being salty because I don't make a lot of money.

>>9777900
If your only experience is anime cons, I can understand your perspective- its partially true. Anime cons adopted the majority of its format, including exhibitors/AA, from comic conventions which flourish from an established industry. Early on, in the 90's and early 00's, there were very, very few anime or manga professionals in AA because, hey, they didn't exist state-side. Anime was only then catching on in popularity. AA is partially an attempt to foster and raise a brand new industry where it hasn't existed before.

>>9777591
Thanks for the input! It's local for me as well, but what you said are valid points to wait a year. Their social media presence seems off.

>>9777844
The question was "why do people care." That's why I care. But also, yes.

>>9777925
Yeah, like to me, it seems like they're overreaching themselves based on their advertising. It honestly feels like it's run by normies who only kind of barely know what anime is. There's no guests but they're projecting the attendance to be really high. I also get the feeling they're using photos of cosplayers without asking or crediting? Might be just be me though. But if they are successful, great, they'll be able to put it on another year. If they aren't, they'll flop. There are so many events in SoCal that it's hard to break into the market with just a vague sense of what the anime/con community is about.

So I just had a thought a while ago. Anyone remember Ramy and his Otakon shenanigans of buying 14 tables. I vaguely remember a lawyer getting involved and ended up accidentally getting most fanart getting banned. I also heard Otakon 11 or 12 was a disaster but I would like more details if possible.

Do you use your 11x17 prints mostly as advertisements to draw people over to your table? I find my 5x7s and even 8x10s sell way more than my large prints. With a new con season about to start for me in under 2 months, I'm wondering if I should put as much effort into big prints this year.

>>9778125
My 11x17 prints are my best movers, but I'd say my 24x36" are my best advertisements to sell those, and don't actually tend to move much themselves as compared to how much it draws people in. My 4x6s barely move, and I stopped offering 8.5x11s.

>>9778125
I got rid of all my smaller sized prints since they were cannibalizing my 11 x 17 sales. After I got rid of all my small prints my profit margins jumped by 2-3k easily so... that might be something you might look into.

To be fair there are downsides to this as well since some people don't have room for big prints.

You should also look at your composition and such in your small prints vs your big prints as well. What about your smaller prints are more appealing than your big prints other than size? It could be a multitude of different things (people preferring single character prints over group shots, people preferring simpler compositions, your color choices in the smaller prints, etc) and then you can apply those principles to your bigger prints to make them move more. Unless you're selling the exact same image but in different sizes, this should work.

>>9778109
I remember this but for some reason I thought it was Anime Boston and not Otakon? It wouldn't surprise me if Ramy did this at multiple cons though.

AA anons, I need some help :c

I bought some items from a seller on Saturday of ALA (he was in the exhibit hall, but it was all handmade sculpted stuff, mostly Zelda, he had an amazing deku sprout sculpture at the front of his booth), but since a couple of the items had paint damage he offered to touch them up for me and I could come grab them in a few hours. I paid for everything up front, but a few hours later I was trashed from cosplay exhaustion and booze and had completely forgotten to come back for them (and didn't go to the con Sunday). I'm honestly only remembering them now because of my bank statement - it was meant for a gift.

- Does this seller sound familiar to anyone, and if so, can you point me in the direction of his etsy or website, or other contact info? I'm happy to pay for shipping on top of the cost now but I really want my sister to get those presents.

>>9778609
Pic I snapped of the booth setup if anyone recalls. I believe the guy sitting at the booth was indeed the artist because he started working on one of the damaged pieces right away.

>>9778609
Oh, I totally walked by their booth like the one time I visited the Exhibit Hall.

There weren't a TON of vendors at ALA though so you can probably google their names and see if any of their stuff looks familiar.

>>9778617
>>9778614
Wait I think I found them for you anon right after I posted the map. Is this it? https://www.etsy.com/shop/GizmoForge

>>9778617
>>9778619
Thank you so much anon it was https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThePropsShop !! I've messaged them on etsy and hopefully they can help me out <3

>>9778601
He did. I think he tried to do this shit at AX and I saw right through him but he decided to go to Exhibitor's instead for the sweet sweet space. Lots of people flock to his booths and I don't get the appeal, he hasn't improved in years.

they're all the same weekend. crunchy, sacanime, LBCC or san japan
which one do you guys like best?

>>9778829
Crunchy being the same weekend and location(only 2 hours away from each other) as sacanime is going to cannibalize both of their sales and attendance imo. I'd shoot for any con that's not them

>>9778829
You also forgot Dragon Con.

LBCC sucks fucking ass though. I bet you can make more at CRX or SacAnime desu even if they're so close to each other.

Forgot that AX form submissions were today since they kept fucking up and I eventually lost track. Anyone know if time stamps on submitted forms have an effect on your location in the AA?

>>9778940
They do. They confirmed via Twitter because a bunch of artists asked them last time.

>>9778125
>>9778240
>>9778478

$0.02, As a buyer, rather than an artist, I'll always buy an 8x10 over an 11x17 because it's easier to find a frame. But I'd happily buy any other standard size, like 16x20, and whew do I loudly bless AA artists who bring standard photo sizes to cons. 11x17 frames (and poster frames generally that don't look like college dorm room ass) are fucking impossible to find.

>>9778956
seconded, but... make sure you back it with something flexible and strong. waists and hips move a lot, even thick craft foam won't last long as a belt.

>>9779008
did you post in the wrong thread?

>>9778994
11x17 IS a standard size though, anon? It's the tabloid size. I haven't had any trouble finding 11x17 frames - where are you looking?

>>9779014
I'm in CA. Standard photo size, not standard poster size. Poster frames are generally more lightweight/less classy looking, have plastic rather than glass in front, are stocked less often, etc., and nobody wants to pay more for the frame than they did for the poster, so it's gotta be in the like $5 range.

There's a glass 11x17 Walmart makes that I can SOMETIMES find, which I really love, but when I'm shopping in AA, an 8x10 or 11x14 or 16x20 is automatically more attractive to me because I know I can frame it attractively for almost nothing right away when I get home.

>>9779019
You can find a 3-pack of 11x17 frames on Amazon for like $20. I bought mine for about that much the last time I needed frames. They're not elaborate but I prefer minimalist frames to begin with so that might be your problem here. I also haven't had any trouble finding 11 x 17 frames at Wal-Mart, Jo-Ann, and Michaels and am located in California as well so it might just be your specific city.

>>9778940
Due date today or did they just open?

>>9778994
Do you really need them in a frame? If it's storage you're looking for, I highly recommend getting portfolios.

>>9779019
most people who purchase prints in the AA either pin them directly to their wall (usually in a plastic sleeve), they keep them in portfolios, or they use those plain plastic poster frames.

while your opinion and tastes are totally valid, they are far from the norm, and i hope no one is seriously considering changing their print lineup because one anon out of thousands wants to be fancy

>>9779082
Umm anon I'm sure some people just stick them up, and I've seen a few here or there, but 80% of the time someone tags me to show me they have my prints displayed, it's framed. I'd say it's way more than 1/1000 sales. Maybe closer 1/20? I mean I guess that's negligible enough for you but I still make sure my stuff works framed

>>9778956

Ah shit well I hope I'm still in the first group of people to submit the form, not sure how diligent the rest of the 500+ artists are at submitting. Just paranoid I'll end up in the back area of AA.

>>9778829
>>9778873
LBCC is being held Sept 8th to 9th this year, so no conflict with Crunchy or Sacanime

I actually made like 1.7k profit from LBCC last year. Aiming for about 2.5k profit this year with more western merch ready. Its a very local con for me so money and time commitment is very low.

>>9778994
12x18 frames generally work for 11/17, since the photo white edge on 12x18 photos leave about an 11x17 area left and a lot of frames clamp down on that area.

>>9779139
I've done like 3k at LBCE (run by the same people, just during a different month) before and I'm still not ever going back. It's just generally so slow and poorly organized.

>>9779104
I feel like fandom/art style/composition also plays a factor. To me it feels odd to frame an very animu style FotM poster unless it's a shrine or something.

>>9779019
>>9778994
>>9778478
>>9779154
>>9778240
Thanks so much for all the answers!
I don't draw FOTM, and i don't buy it either, which i think is why frames and making for frames seems to do better for me? I agree that it does feel weird to frame anime stuff, but I know my partner and I both like framing things we purchase too.
Drawing mostly orignal work likely plays a factor in people buying our larger prints too, I think. I've seen friends of mine buy bigger fandom prints, but they always get super excited about my smaller prints that are cute animal shit.

I hate it when a big fan collab project is announced and people who aren’t even fans of the source even apply. I get that you wanna put yourself out there for exposure and all, but can you say that you can put your best work forward if you even admit that you don’t like the original work? Go apply for a spot in a project that you actually care about goddamnit. You’ll have a better time.

gotta wonder her line of thinking

>>9779321
People who want to make fast cash in AA, but have no artistic talent. I wonder if she’ll pull the ‘oh wow I’ve never seen those stickers before! What a coincidence!’ act before a mod deletes it.

>>9779321
Lul. That's just lazy.

>>9779321
This fucking group I swear

>>9779286
I feel like zines aren't even that profitable lol. If you wanna get popular off FOTM stuff just draw that regularly as your own fanart imo

>>9779321
My god. How fucking stupid are you to blantantly trace stickers from a popular app?

>>9779286

That happened to me over a book with a particular genre. A book was announced that had invited a ton of artists who weren't even into it. It was basically a book full of artists experimenting with drawing that thing for the first time. It's most of what I draw but I guess I wasn't visible enough because I never got an invite when people around me did.

>>9779321
what was the end of this? cant find the post now

>>9779611
Mod disabled commenting before anyone could say anything else

Did anyone who applied to March Toronto Comic con hear back?

>>9779611
Mods disabled and deleted. Looks like she's not in the group either. So she either quit or was booted.

>>9779642
thats some funny shit.

>>9779321
What a dumb cunt. How do these people think no one will know when they post it?

Is there a good list or breakdown of scammers/copiers and drama over the years?

>>9779670
somewhere on lolcow i'm sure.

>>9779019
Nice 11x17 frames are incredibly easy to find at a craft store. I get mine at Michaels, the ones I like are matte black painted wood frames with glass windows and I stock up when they have sales/coupons.

>>9779082
>>9779104
>>9779154
I think there's a bias that the kind of person who would take a photo and show you they hung up the artwork is also the type of person to go the extra mile and get a frame for the art. Casual fans will tack up with pins and shrug and move on. Hard core fans want to take care of the art, prominently display it, and let you know how much they loved it.

But it also absolutely has to do with art style - all of my framed prints are either more artsy or more graphic in appeal, and the kind of thing I can hang up in my living room or at work. The shiny weeaboo stuff is pinned to the wall in my bedroom and I don't bother with frames for it.

>>9779505
Zines are absolutely not profitable for the amount of work. There's a bunch happening around twitter right now that openly admit to wanting to capitalize on hype and it's so stupid because there's probably a million easier, more profitable ways to do so.

>>9779638
Yup. Most of us got our acceptances today- if you haven't heard back, shoot Gurmeet an email. He'll give you a flat yes or no.
I have no idea why it's like this, but god i can't wait til most toronto cons catch up with the rest of north america's way of applying for conventions.

Does anyone have tips on how to make cuter chibis? Ive always struggled drawing them and making them 'cute' :S

Is anybody considering applying for EVO's artist alley this year? I've had a lot of friends attend evo and they always like it, so I'm thinking about applying this year. It looks really small though so I'm kind of cautiously optimistic?

>>9779778
Even as a consumer I don't really buy them. If I like a particular artist's style I'll buy directly from them, but zines are like 80% art I don't care that much for and only have it for increased page count/artist count.

>>9779778
What the hell is happening with the zine drama? Where are people getting the impression that it's profitable and not a passion project? Doing anything else for the amount of time spent would make more money (as organizer)

>>9779812
My only investment in zines both as a consumer and as an artist is for one specific character. I'm mad obsessed so I buy every piece of merch including prints, charms, and zines. If I see a zine accepting artists then I app in because I draw a crap ton of them anyways, so it's an easy free copy of the zine.

I imagine most other zine consumers are super fans as well, because I can't think of any other good reason to buy a book of illustrations when you only vaguely know the content.

>>9779810
bigger eyes is not always better

>>9779810
>:S
Save yourself some trouble and don't use emotes here.
Just a few things:
Right now your chibi looks like an alien. Your eyes are a bit too big imo, and the placement could use work. The mouth is also a bit big. If you're going for a cuter look, the mouth is generally smaller.
I can't redline at the moment but might be able to later.
Softening and varying your linework can really affect the feel of a piece. Here you could go for lighter colors, thinner lines, etc.
Your colors need work, too. The skin is makes her look sick, the shading is bad, and overall your colors could be more cohesive.
Look at artists you admire, see what they do. Study, imitate, and take what you like, blending it with your own style.

>>9779843
but anon you just took the emote and made it angrier

>>9779843
>>:S
super anger now

>>9779286
Which zine project? Deets and salt plz.

>>9779810
Here's a quick edit. I tried to stay true to your style/what you've drawn. The other anon is right - you need to pick a different color for her skin. Right now it looks like she has jaundice. Pick something a little more pink and add some sort of blush to give her more life.

Move the eyes down - right now they are a little far up on her face. Use less saturated colors - heck you can probably even colorpick from the official images if you need to. The green of her eyes and the red of her bow clash a lot with the current color palette. Pay attention to details - Monica doesn't have a bow like that and don't forget her blouse and vest.

>>9779778
I kind of can't wait until the hype dies down, I did two zines this year after the first one I participated in did really well. The drop in quality has been obscene as time has gone on. The last for profit one I did the mods decided they'd do a bundle with 3 2" charms, a sticker sheet and 3 postcards and only bumped up the price by $15. Surprise surprise we get our cut of profits and everyone made a cool $23 each
I mean, live and learn, but I figured someone organizing a zine would have some inkling on what they can charge for merch.

>>9779937
point got lost in me wanting to complain but really there's just a terrible part of me that wants a zine to do so terribly that it legit scares off the idiots who have no idea what they're doing.

>>9779915
dang nayrt but this advice and crit is really helpful, thank you! Especially the small details in how you fixed the jacket and bow.

>>9779915
>>9779843
>>9779841

this advice is really helpful, thank you! I redid the sketch completely, does this look better?

>>9779953
There's been a lot of Voltron related zine drama and a lot of people have been talking about being embittered about zines in general. Some of them are pretty interesting cases of laypeople not understanding the zine process at all. The back and forth around the Shiro pinup one comes to mind as the most recent.

>>9779963
This looks a lot better. Maybe make the eyes even a teeny bit smaller?

And you could deform her even more by chubbing up the body and making it shorder, and making the hair a little more simplistic and rounded

>>9779778
Zines for profit are the wrong kind of zines

>>9779915
Just wondering. Is color picking official art looked down upon or is it acceptable? Sometimes I want it to look more like the style.

>>9780136
I wouldn't use the exact colors less for artistic integrity's sake and more because the lighting will be different and the values might change depending on what you're drawing. You could probably eyeball it though, especially if a character has large blocks of color

>>9779998
>Shiro pinup

deets?

>>9780136
>>9780145
Lifehack: color pick to your heart's desire and then just adjust the hue/saturation or just use a colored overlay layer with low opacity. Boom, mood lighting, or easy dawn/evening lighting.

>>9780152
basically: the zine did way better than they expected it to and the organizers originally ended up taking a cut of some $1.4k each and all the artists got $45 flat rate (which they signed an agreement to at the beginning). Word got out and people started crusading about it. A bunch of orders got cancelled and refunded and the organizers got enough flack they decided to split the profits more evenly. They tried to direct some heat off themselves by letting artists to donate part of their cut to charity but chose a shady one at first. Somewhere in there, there was something about not mailing out copies because of exorbitant shipping to most countries and tweaking artwork without artist's permission but those details are muddy to me.

>>9771665
I got a question for artists: What do your expenses usually look like?

>>9780175
The answer is gonna vary wildly. It depends on so many things for each individual man. Supplies for your craft, supplies for your setup, shipping, travel, hotel, gas, food, online listing fees, booking fees for tables or dealer spaces, not to mention the time.

>>9779812
I heard from a few of the artists friends that went that if you have gaming related merch you could make some pretty good profit. How ever the AA is open like till midnight or something so you have to stay there all day I'd you want to maximize sales and also prevent theft

>>9780174
This one felt so stupid, if the artists weren't okay with the $45 or whatever the should have discussed a percentage cut instead. Also people started piling on the organizers almost immediately after they realized they sold way more than they anticipated without any private discussion as far as I could tell. Just straight to twitter to imply the organizers were trying to scam the artists when they never anticipated selling that many in the first place.

This is why i do not invite strangers into my zines.

>>9780239
Zines should really just go back to being projects with a few friends at most and then calling it a day. All these open calls and people crying about being rejected are just getting annoying.

>>9780136
Thirding the other anons who said color pick and then adjust from there. Keep a swatch library of your favorite adjustment colors, throw one on there and set it to soft light, bam, you're a color theory expert.

>>9780175
Merely counting travel (bus or airfare plus taxis), hotel, and table/badges, anywhere from about 300-1200 per con. But usually in the 600 range. I keep track of inventory expenses separately.

>>9780239

I saw the pay when they were still taking apps and was just like "that's a shit rate, pass" even though it was super in my wheelhouse.
Though they had to have known they were going to get shit after a point when they sold on an etsy with all their sales public.

>>9780239
i agree it's stupid for the artists to have taken a $45 flat rate, but it's shady af for organizers to just take the rest of the profits for themselves without contacting the artists first to increase the pay, UNLESS there was specifically a contract that stated "you get $45 flat rate, and we get whatever's left over, no matter how much it is."

while it's true they didn't promise they'd increase the wages if the zine did better than expected, it's assumed that's the honorable thing to do. to not do so puts people off, the same way lying by omission puts people off.

and if a real business did the same exact thing with its workers, you can bet people would be boycotting it. it's not limited to a handful of salty zine artists

>>9779963
Your eyes are still too big. I realise most people equate huge eyes with chibis, but at some point she stops looking cute and starts looking like a bug.
I can't judge your linework or colors from this, but it's a step in the right direction.

>>9780243
As someone with few friends to make zines with, I like the greater collaborative approach, but I prefer smaller, fun projects rather than ones out to sell a ton of copies.

>>9780335
Maybe I'm just old and cynical but I would always default to 'flat rate' meaning 'no profit sharing' no matter how much money a project makes.

Is it still the norm to sell 11x17 prints for $15 or did it inflate to $20 now?

>>9779963
Yeah! It’s better! I recommend making the iris of each eye smaller as well. The whites of the eyes help to give it depth.

Making the pupil a bit darker might help too.

>>9779963
It's better but still not very cute. Pay more attention to the size of the forehead, space between the eyes, and the back of the head. Also I'm not familiar with who this is so I googled refs, did you choose to omit her ribbon trail or did you forget to draw it in? Anyways good luck anon!

>>9780407
I think it's still the norm (I still sell them at $15 at least), but I noticed that bigger name artists that are usually at most cons sell their 11x17 prints(or slightly bigger like 12x18) at $20.

Artists need to stop scrambling over each other to get into zines. Just because someone says "I'm making a zine!" doesn't mean they have all the necessary experience to organize and print and pay for a book with 20-30 contributors. Artists seem to be under the weird impression that it makes their work or their presence in the fanbase more legitimate somehow, like it's proof that they're the best. But then these books are almost always organized by randos who can't draw that well if at all and are just looking for their own kind of legitimacy.

>>9780756
I've seen an ton of randos try to start zines because they got rejected from a different one. They're always sloppily run as a result but still get traction thanks to other randos who just want to be in a project. I can't wait for organizers who think 'fake it til you make it' mentality will suffice for a large collaborative project where hundreds of dollars move in overhead alone get their rude awakening.

And then people wonder why the zine scene is shit right now.

>>9780407
I sell mine at 10$ a piece and notice a greater amount of sales when marked at that as opposed to when I'd follow the weird rule all AA artists enforce against eachother that they all HAVE to price their prints at 15-20.
But it's all up to you and what you think the demand for your prints is.

>>9780779
I always check the preview pictures to see if the art looks good, but I won’t buy one if it has like 50% stuff I know I’ll hate

>>9780812
I used to sell mine for a similar price and bumped up to $15 in the past year or so. When they were cheaper, I did have a lot more attention and people at my table but I now make more per a show with the higher price point even if I physically sell less copies. The added bonus is I'm now significantly less exhausted at the end of the day because I dealt with fewer people. You can do what you want because lol snobby artists should stfu about anything inside the booth space you purchased with your own damn money but you may want to experiment at one convention someday and see if it works out for you for your own sake.

wtf is a zine? Google doesn't help.

>>9780936
Its basically a small print publication or anthology that usually has a unifying theme. It could be an artbook, collection of comics, collection of prose, or a mishmash of all those things.

With all the zine talk going on, anyone have any horror stories? I've heard of several zines where mods/organizers ghosted contributors after the final deadline for submissions had passed, or even ran away with the money after pre-orders ended.

>>9780957
The only real zine horror story I'm familiar with is the recent Mchanzo scandal where one of the organizers stole a bunch of money from the zine's paypal to buy voltron itabag stuff, and was exposed by the other organizers when she refused to provide paypal receipts of preorder sales.
I happened to spot her post on the itabag facebook group just a few weeks after the initial blow out too, posting pics of the bag she had used the money to make. I'd post the screenshots if i still had them but im sure there are others who capped it when it happened because she was quickly run out.

>>9780957

I was part of one that went on for about 2+ years. After most of the contributions were done, the organizers came in and said "actually, we can't run this because we're in delicate financial situations and don't want to deal with the tax/legal situation with the kickstarter money" and fucking dipped. We were talking about like 30 artists, because they'd curated the book, and then kept bringing in more and more artists to do new rewards for the kickstarter, instead of just using the artists they already had in the book.

I hijacked it, got everyone to pass me their art, and finished it myself. Book came out beautiful, but it had taken so long to finish that we missed the hype for the series and it didn't sell very well.

>>9780335
Just wondering, what is actually a good pay rate or fair way for artists and organizers to split the profits for a zine? ie. Profit split during pre-orders. And then organizers and artists who order copies and sell the zines get the remaining of proceeds sold after pre-orders?

>>9780990
I'm curious, how did a fandom book get stuck in production hell for two years? I feel like after even one, a bunch of people would assume it was just not happening and post their art and then the project would disintegrate on its own.

I posted several months ago here about just starting up AA and only being able to get to 1 day shows with less than 200 people... So I was only making $100-$200.

I got into a con in a city that is still small show, but I'm guessing even then a lot more people will be there compared to this country town I've been doing shows in.

It's also 2 days. Luckily my dad is very supportive of me and my desire to do this. I eventually want to do it full time, but I'm in a bad living situation right now that makes getting places difficult.

My dad and I figured out the expenses for this upcoming con, and since I have to travel and get a hotel, it's going to cost around $750 (including food and parking).

He said he'd pay for it all, but I feel really depressed about it, because I don't see myself making more than $400 at this con since it's first year, held at a school, and I am still relatively new to the scene, so I don't have a lot of different inventory to sell yet.

Even though he's not asking for the $750 back, it upsets me because I feel like this is pointless for me to go and do the con because I wouldn't be making anywhere near that... So hypothetically, *if* I were paying for this myself, I'd be in the negative.

I understand accepting help, but this situation is just making me down, because I have it in the back of my mind that I'm not good enough to make a lot or to do this full time and my dad is basically just throwing $750 down the drain.

How do you deal with this psychological hurdle of making money, but in reality not making money because someone else is funding you?

>>9781001

They were actively updating the group for over a year. They kept pushing the production deadlines, at first it was something like 4 or 6 months to produce the art, because it was a comics zine where people were producing multiple pages. Some people asked for extensions when the deadline came, and this happened multiple times. Most of the art was done but there were still a few people bonking around on WIPs, when they said they weren't going to print. So that was about a year.

When I took over I set a new final production deadline, giving the last WIP group something like 3-4 months. Then pulling all the art together from the various artists, some of who had vanished by that point, and figuring out what to do with the extras artwork, took several extra months. Again, we're talking about like 30 people. I had experience with printing but I don't do management, and I was working full time elsewhere, so it was a struggle. Figuring out what everyone had been promised to be paid, who had already been paid, etc. The books were printed from china and took an extra few months to ship and clear customs.

A clusterfuck. Never again.

>>9781015
>and since I have to travel and get a hotel, it's going to cost around $750 (including food and parking).
Are you flying to the con or something? That is an insane cost.

which con are you going to and show us your work, anon.

>>9781015
Youre gaining experience and exposure which are both important. Not making back the price of cons is sucky, my first con i made like $30 and it sucked really bad emotionally but I worked harder on my art and at my 2nd con I made like 1300 (profit). So hang in there youll get it.

has anyone ordered enamel pins off alibaba? are there any known names for pins like vograce is for charms??

and speaking of vograce, has anyone ordered from another supplier? just curious if vograce has the market cornered or what

>>9781029
If they're not sharing the hotel, that cost sounds about right to me

>>9781029
It's the hotel... And sadly it was the cheapest in the area. $120/night, and then tax bumped it up to $315. Then they charge $80/night for parking, and I'm staying 2 nights... Add gas and food into that for 2 people...

And I don't want to post my art because I want to stay anonymous.

>>9781033
How long was it between your first and second con? If you're a print artist, how many prints did you have compared to your first con?
Thanks for the encouragement too

>>9781057
You don't HAVE to park/valet at hotel, I'm sure there must be other parking solutions around anon, check online.

>>9781015
Think of it as a person investing in your success, you start small, and they pay to get you jumpstarted.

Not every business works out, but investors take the risk to try anyway. If you want to pay him back, work hard and keep at it.

>>9781057

So your dad is going with you? If I were you I would think of it as half a test run and half vacation, you're basically going to get the experience of tabling at a bigger con and figure out what you would need to make it work. Meanwhile you're also having a nice trip with your dad (or whoever, if you're going with a different person). If you keep tabling and keep learning eventually you'll be able to earn enough to pay him back, if you're really nervous about it. It's nice that you respect your parent enough to not just take his money without question, just make sure he knows that and if he's still willing to pay for it, you shouldn't feel guilty.

>>9781057
At my first con I mainly had stickers like...20 different designs or so and only 10 prints (2 of which were 11x17) It was partly my lack in stock to blame but also the convention was ridiculously small, something like 100-200 attendees. My 2nd con was about 6 months later and i focused very hard on prints and had about 15 11x17s. The 2nd con also had roughly 1.5k attendees so still pretty small! Obviously without you posting art we cant judge your skill but ive seen really low-skilled do well at cons as long as they have merch of popular characters and use like bright colors and shit.

>>9780990
>2+ years
Holy crap anon, I'm sorry you had to deal with that.

I've only joined a few zines so I don't have a lot of stories but I think the worst was getting an email after submission deadline had passed that basically told us we had to pay for our own copies (not even at production cost). This got sorted out thankfully but I'm still a little bit miffed that we weren't told beforehand we had cover all these costs.

>>9781056
What hotel are you staying at that is $500 a night?

>>9781057
>$120/night, and then tax bumped it up to $315. Then they charge $80/night for parking

dude, stay at a different hotel. $400 for 2 nights is crazy. Find a nearby hotel for ~$100 a night with free parking.

I've gone to 20+ cons as an artist and only once spent more than $600 for a con, and that was with ticket prices being $200 and staying in a hotel in downtown Atlanta for 3 days.

> I don't want to post my art because I want to stay anonymous.

Well, you aren't going to make money doing that.

>>9781116
nyart, why wouldn't they make money by not posting their art to cgl?

>>9780812
>>9780907
I price mine at $10 as well, and I make higher profit at that number than when I priced at $15. For me it's because my skill level apparently is just low enough it's not "worth it" at the $15 price point. I try to make up for it with aesthetically appealing composition and backgrounds etc, but it is what it is while I'm still improving.

>>9781117
Spreading your content around is fairly important to get people to know you exist and buy from you. You can't sell your art if you hide it from everyone.

>>9781126
Okay but we all literally chose to post on an anonymous board here my dude

>>9781126
i think the objection is specifically posting it to cgl, not to posting it other places

>>9781143
yes, and
>You can't sell your art if you hide it from everyone.

>>9781147
I mean. I really don't see an issue if they post their art to their own social medias but don't post it to cgl? Most people like to stay anonymous here. This is coming from someone who has posted their stuff to the AA threads before... I got exactly zero new followers from doing so, they're not missing out on anything.

>>9781154
i've actually made multiple sales from selling to seagulls after posting my content here.

Either way, you shouldn't be picky to where you post your art.

>>9781162
There's a deserved stigma to being a regular on 4chan. Not wanting to be associated with the website is reasonable.

But more than that, this person is posting exact profit numbers and we almost NEVER post art or distinguishing information when it can be linked to numbers whether they are good or bad.

>>9781162
it sounds like you're sticking to your guns just for the sake of it; >>9781171 is reasonable and correct. not wanting to be associated with cgl or attach your numbers/family situation to your name is completely reasonable.

Can someone point me in the right direction concerning search terms for beads I can attach to acrylic charms? I can just search beads because I get a bunch of different results where the hole isn't placed right to hang off the keychain.

>>9781184
'acrylic bead [item]' gets you a whole bunch on ebay. I spent like 2 hours going through different little add ons to put with my acrylic charms the other day after my partner said "oh wouldn't it be cute to have little leaves and shit with our reptile charms?".

>>9781015
I think it's incredibly supportive and kind of your dad to offer to pay for everything for you. Congrats, you're already at a good starting point than most artists were when they began. However, why would you do a first year school con that'll run you $750 in expenses (excluding your production costs) + you're new and don't even have that much stock? As much as I want to say yeah, go for it, I can't justify the circumstances. Sure, it means you'll gain exposure to the scene and definitely learn from the experience, but you rolled a really bad combo of factors here. If you budget well, $200-$400 can fly you and two checked bags into nearby states that probably have better cons than yours, and then add $100-$200 to cover any shared hotel costs. This would all be less than $750 for a dinky high school/college con.

If I were you, I would rather keep improving for a few months, network online more, build up potential inventory, and then seek out decent sized cons that you want to travel out to. Sure, do your small cons here and there because it seems like you're already snowballing at a good pace that way. But spending so much to travel to a con just because it's not in the country is such a bad decision if you yourself know you don't even have that much to sell to make back the $750 and more. Are cons so rare in your state that you really want to do this small one for a price that doesn't match its size?

Orrrrr yeah, the mental and emotional easy way out is to just take your dad's gracious offer, take the plunge, and see how the school con goes. Treat it like a test run, like someone said.

>>9781171
>>9781179
you people will never get anywhere being ashamed to post your art somewhere.

>>9781398
Not either of those people, but can you please post your art since it’s good for exposure and you shouldn’t be ashamed?

>>9781398
why are you like this. it's not like this is a bustling marketplace people are missing out on. if anything, people aren't as desperate as you to hope they might land a few sales by posting it on every single place on the internet and then feeling insecure when other people aren't as desperate as you.

>>9781398
Too many con staff stalk this board. This place has a bad, bad rep with them and will put you at risk even if you've never, ever, ever said a negative thing towards their con in your life. No way on earth will I ever reveal myself for a small chance at a few dollars.

>>9781398

If anon posted their art they would forever be labeled as that first timer who blew 750 on a con. Worse than that, a bunch of anons will probably take it as an invite to critique, degrading their obviously already low self esteem. The situation seems difficult enough whether they decide to go or not, they don't need to add onto it. It gains them literally nothing except proving to you, a singular anon, that they are not "chicken".

New thread >>9781682

>>9781398
>somewhere
>/cgl/

anon... if posting to /cgl/ seriously made such a significant difference in your sales, maybe you're the one who's not making any cash off your shitty art without spamming it everywhere