/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

Feels incoming.

Is it even worth it to try and produce original content? I was finally happy where I was with art, had found a solid niche that gave me pretty great success, but now I'm noticing that essentially "bootlegs" ie shittier copies of my work are starting to be made by other artists.

I know it comes with the territory but it honestly sucks. Like I did the work and they're riding on my coat tails. Part of me just wants to start making the most generic retro pastel kawaii garbage instead. Sells well and it's so generic and shitty that I could care less about copycats.

Sigh.

>>9999564
Do you do apparel anon lol? Or happen to work primarily with watercolor?

>>9999564
You're in the wrong industry if you care about being copied. EVERYTHING art related, from home design to fashion to illustration to games to whatever it is, is going to be copied eventually. That's just the way it is. You get sad the first few times it happens, and then you know what happens next? You realize that your shit looks so much better anyway that it doesn't even matter. The people who care about quality will keep coming to you and the people who don't were never your customers.

>>9999564
All successful niches get copied, especially if it's a technically simple style that's easy to draw.
Either way your stuff should be superior since bootleg artists lack skill, creativity or both, but if it's something like you invented terrarium acrylic charms then you just have to accept it being a trend and move on. People get tired of shit sooner or later anyway.

are charm sets a thing, or do only sticker sets work?

>>9999564
What do you make anon? I’d like to support you and know if I see another artist copying you I can go “hey I know where that styles from” in my head, or say “hey that looks like the stuff @anon makes!” So other people know their copying you as well. I can do either.

>>9999687
kawaii shirts, sweatshirts, skater dresses, in a menhera yamikawaii aesthetix

>>9999688
Anon, not to be blunt but those are all very broad fashion subcultures where a lot of design overlaps exist. People are likely not copying you any more than you are copying actual Japanese menhera brands. Also did you mean... yumekawaii...

>>9999688
No one's copying you.

>>9999688

>whines about being 'copied'
>admits to being 'inspired by' an artist when describing style
>misspells artist's name

kek

>>9999708
No, anon's talking about yumekawaii - the j-fash subculture. Not yuumei...

>>9999696
wait, yami kawaii is a separate thing tho?

>>9999564
>>9999688
Honestly, its hard for me to take artists seriously when they say someone is copying them. I have friends who say and have seen so many random people "This artist stole my design!!!!!", and when looking into it, there is so little similarities. If they are tracing or copying unique symbols or whatever, sure, but 95% of the time its like "I drew a pink bat, and this other artist drew a pink bat, SHE COPIED ME"

>>9999713
what's funny is I prefer thousand skies' version anyway

>>9999713

>>9999719
Please tell me people don't actually think color palettes are protected by copyright.

>>9999599
Unfortunately this is the truth. For example, nowadays EVERY artist has this lazy style. I literally thought all three of these artists were the same person, not three individual people (they also circlejerk and reblog each other’s photos all the time, another reason why I thought they were the same person) Not only are their chibi styles all the same, their regular art styles the same too.
I guess people have just lost their creativity and only care about taking something from someone else it seems.
Also, was the original artist of this style that one that was in eromanga Sensei? I want to know the original one all these people copy.

>>9999713
it still kills me that the pin bat's wings are that fundamentally wrong.

>>9999720
Furries are some of the most uppity people when it comes to designs and colors and shit. It's another part of why I left furry fandom ages ago. The concept of 'closed species' is equally stupid imo.

>>9999688
Op here. This all sounds like super generic stuff. You're not being copied...you're just being generic. This is exactly what I was making fun of in my post. My stuff is more horror and gore meets the pop kawaii bullshit. Pokopokoshopping on youtube is goals.

All of my art theft has been very blatant watered down versions of my own creations. Mainly stuff I create for conventions to be a bit more commercial. I want to say 'original' but obviously we're all inspired by something.

I know it happens. Just sucks. Just have to keep improving and make sure the original is better than the sequels.

>>9999750
Feverworm pls go

>>9999730
I don't think they're copying any one style specifically, it's just a generic chibi style. But the top one looks the most bootleggy or copy-ish if that's what you're getting at.

>>9999730
Uh, in what way are these lazy? Why don't you post an unlazy example of chibis as reference? You're coming off as a vendetta chan otherwise

>>9999718
It's a lot cuter, yeah.
Everyone likes to draw bats (they're almost as memetic as, I dunno, opposums? or pugs/slothes/whatever else animals people are drawing on merch a lot.) It's very possible it's just a coincidence.

>>9999734
oh god yeah that's so fucking annoying. if you're gonna make money off it at least try to get that right (or maybe they did that on purpose to look ~unique~, but ugh i hate that particular super easily avoidable anatomy mistake).

>>9999730
How lazy? I see detailed drawings with nice coloring and successful chibification.
I can understand calling this style generic, but lazy doesn't make sense, the art itself looks good and like it took plenty of time and attention.

just saw vograce's trump tweet, fucking bizarre lmao. a weirdass and nonsensical thing to put on your business twitter for making acrylic charms, even if you do support trump. i almost wonder if they were trying to be funny or sarcastic and just missed the mark due to language barrier? it's just...weird.

>>9999713
this is exactly the image i though of when I saw viria complaining about someone else copying their style

>>9999849
lolol i saw that and i'm so confused. her style isn't that unique/unusual? (neither in symbol language for eyes/facial features/whatever nor coloring style) it's pretty but not dissimilar from many others. i almost think there must be visual signifiers i'm failing to notice if there are people who are agreeing with her and seeing what she's seeing

>>9999849
>viria
lmao, one of the people she accused of copying has their own series and is working on bigger things while viria continues to draw fanart and larp online.

>>9999849
Viria:
>hey guys copying styles isn't cool, but i'll be mature about this
>later - *retweets a passive aggressive post exposing the artist's username that is copying to her 54k followers*
>d-don't witchhunt them though!!

lolwat

>>9999853
>visual signifiers
Well what she herself cited was "hatching and in those exact places I do it, the two lightsources, and the same colours used for those lightsources". I guess she owns the concept of multiple light sources (which...lots of people throw backlighting onto a piece in addition to a foreground or 'above' light source) and shading with hatching (like every comic ever). And extremely common colors of light like blue and yellow (that latter being the reason photographers yearn for golden hour, and many artists minic the same effect) of course.

>>9999769
Ha, I was just thinking this sounds just like her, too. Is she still being a psycho who thinks everyone is copying her, despite the fact that her style is hardly original to begin with?

>>9999863
There's some people calling the other artist a tracer too. Like tracing what...? It's not even an exact copy, it's just that the styles are somewhat similar.

And why are people using the fact that they both draw for the same fandom as an argument, when the fandoms in questions are super mainstream anyway.

>>9999849
I had to look up "viria" and her art style is just generic fandom art? I would never be able to recognize it in a line up. The person who is supposedly copying her has an art style closer to Johanna the Mad, anyway.

>>9999713
My favorite part about this is the fact that the so-called "original" looks way more like a bootleg than the supposed "copy"

>>9999848
i doubt it, they had a lot of early tweets @ing sports people.. i'm guessing just a mix of nativity about social media and an expression of support by whoever was running their twitter... maybe an attempt to relate to their american client base? who knows lol.

>>9999836
>>9999842
Sorry, for clarification I meant like “lazy” as it’s easy to copy someone else’s style like this. Generic probably would’ve been a better word, but I still think it’s lazy for everyone just draw in the same style.

>>9999849
>viria
Jesus. She's complaining about the other artist using warm/cool light sources and hatching in shadows. I know how bad it feels when someone mistakes someone else's work for yours or vice versa, but that just means you need to grow and develop new skills to set your work apart. If someone's truly only learning art by emulating you then not only will it become quickly obvious, but they will also never keep up.

Who is the artist she's accusing?

>>9999967
Viria's yesman deleted their call out post because it violated twitter's TOS of bullying but now they're pulling the "IM THE VICTIM” and "I said not to attack the artist so it's not my fault!"

like literally what do you expect when you unleash 50,000 tumblritas onto some rando

>>9999967
Actually, I found the other artist, and I know I'll be stoned for this but I kind of see it? The way the cooler light source is distributed across the front of the body is kind of a strange choice to make even once you understand why having two light sources in different temperatures is good. I still don't think this girl should be calling anyone out for these very generic similarities but it is suspicious that they're in the same fandom where this viria appears to be a BNF yet the other person supposedly never saw her work.

But they're both pretty generic so who cares.

>>9999730
Generic yea. I can identify the top one based on art, the bottom two I can never tell the chibis apart, despite knowing who they are ahead of time.

Unfortunately, the more popular it is, the more generic it becomes since it just becomes more of a majority. Still looks nice though, I think you're just tired of seeing the same kind of style.

Anmi is probably one of the inspirations.

>>9999974
apparently viria did reach out to them and the artist admitted they are inspired by viria but they won't change their style/take down their art. and honestly why should they? style policing is so petty

>>9999688
>menhera yamikawaii aesthetix
>can label their style to three words
>is assmad people are "copying" them
kys

>>9999974
>a strange choice
I dunno, when I’m feeling lazy I just backlight and slap on a cool+warm lighting combo for illusion of depth. Not really a strange thing to pick up.

Plus I’m pretty sure the person saw her art, but I doubt they actively tried to copy her style. Like what >>9999878 said, the inspiration could very well come from another artist seeing as how generic the style is in the first place.

>>9999974
I'm also in this boat, on one hand yeah they copied the aesthetic but also the entire style is 'overlay yellow/blue and only use the hard round brush in ps with transfer on'

But lol that 'uwu don't harass them' , she's had a massive audience for too long to not know that's exactly what would happen. Fukkin yikes

>>10000024
>when I’m feeling lazy I just backlight and slap on a cool+warm lighting combo for illusion of depth
I mean specifically rendering details like this, if I were glancing at this I would say it was by the same person. Doesn't justify the reaction still.

>>10000047
ajsdklgjlaksdg this is literally what half of semi-popular fandom artists draw like, I could get if it was someone with an actually unique style but at best someone was visually familiar with their art (probably bc in fandom circles the same shit gets rt'd/rb'd over and over again) and drew it into their own art, it's hardly 'imitation' and it definitely isn't 'copying'

>>9999688
Did you get copied by Kawaiigoods? They are a serial copyier it's really frustrating. Can you post what you think was copied?
>>9999712
Not really, they all overlap heavily, and it's easy for something to be menhera, yumekawaii, and yamikawaii at the same time

Any tips for motivation when you're feeling out of it? I haven't updated my store in almost half a year and I thought paying the bills would be enough of a motivation to get started on making products again, but it really hasn't.

>>10000176
That's a long ass time to be unmotivated. Maybe this isn't for you. Get a day job for now.

>>10000245
NAYRT but half a year can pass by pretty fast without even noticing, and the longer you wait around doing nothing the harder it will be to pick it up again.
>>10000176
Have you actively tried getting back to making stuff, or do you give up before even starting? If the former, it really helps just to kind of force yourself to do something, even if it's just messing around without a proper aim for a product. Maybe try a different style or work method just for fun. Once you've gotten over the hurdle of actually starting things it might eventually ease you back into it. However if it's the former and making products just feels like a chore and you can't get anything done, like the other anon suggested it would be a good thing to get a proper change of pace. Whether it's a job or another hobby, but just something to get your mind out of the constant "I HAVE to do this but nothing works out" loop. Taking a proper break as opposed to just avoiding the subject does wonders and might help you figure out why you're having a slump in the first place. It's also possible that you have something else in your life going on and that's affecting your motivation: I can't draw for shit if I'm feeling down about something even if I might not even realize it myself at first. Once I get whatever's bothering me sorted out usually I can get back to drawing just fine after.
Just my two cents. Good luck anon, hopefully you'll get your mojo back soon!

>>10000176
Well, whats making new products a drag? Does it not feel worth it due to not selling enough? Do you dislike the products you find yourself making? Maybe you need a rework to find your enjoyment in it again?
Maybe you're just burnt out rn and need to take a real break (like 'close the shop outright and don't let it hang over your head' kinda break)

>>10000245
I get you want less competition but where did you gather they don't have a day job?

>>10000077
I'm... not going to explain it further because I don't care enough about this lol, but you totally missed the point. Look at the distribution of cool light.

>>10000176
Are you, like...okay? If even needing to pay bills isn't motivating, and you are able to/interested in artwork and merch (which you must be if you do AA and have a store), you might have some executive dysfunction going on. Look up some tips for dealing with that (a common one is breaking things down to small steps -- ex. make a list of three new button design ideas or something tiny like that, then move on from there)

>>10000245
I'm in the middle of school (for a certification that will actually pay well) and living with my parents. My priority is still school.

>>10000261
I've tried but I scrapped designs for things several times over. I just got some stickers done and that's it really. It definitely feels like a chore though...I prefer drawing things for myself and hate drawing chibi-style things just so it'll sell. I also am not a fan of buying AA merch for myself (I only buy things just to support artists I like, but desu I often give their charms away to friends or straight up trash prints unless it's art I commissioned). So it's hard for me to be like "hmm, what would I want to buy and that's what I'll sell", because I don't wanna buy any of that stuff.

>>10000262
I sold plenty before but yeah, it's the products. What sells is what I'm just not usually into. I've been lucky and made quite the niche for stuff I like with a decently dedicated fanbase, but just the thought of expanding outside that tires me out, I guess to the point of not wanting to work on products at all. The shop has been closed outright for these past months...it's been mostly patreon for me lately. Not fond of that either though, but that's what I've fallen back on.

>>10000407
That does sound helpful actually so I'll look into solutions for that, thank you. I don't actually think it's executive dysfunction though because I'm able to do everything else in my life just fine? And I've been able to draw and everything, it's JUST getting products done for my store which makes me recoil I guess.

>>10000336
Someone can't own light distribution

>>10000047
no, yeah, i can kinda see it. look at the wrist bumps. almost no one draws wrist bumps
but im of the opinion that nothing short of literal tracing can be considered art theft so i probably aint the best judge here

>>10000526
Draw what you want first, then make nerds pay for it.

>>10000537
Well, I guess I should clarify. The fucked up thing is it is what I want, but I still don't want to draw it. I don't know. I guess I just need to step back and get my head on straight.

>>10000541
Ah, well it definitely sounds a lot more like burnout the more you talk about it. You'll find your mojo again anon. Take some time and make yourself happy first, so you can happily create

Rola, I love you and all BUT WHY WON’T YOU MARK DOWN THE PACKAGE.

She keeps saying OK, but then doesn’t do it. Vicky had shitter communication, but did it. Hell, if Rolanabsolutely has to mark it higher then she can at least let me pick another carrier- like someone that is not DHL and who will not automatically slap on a crazy fee.

>>10000533
Never said that. Just said I could see the similarities that the artist sees and since they're both in the same fandom of which she's a bnf, she's probably right that it's not coincidence. She still acted like asshole because, yeah. She doesn't own light distribution or hatching even if someone's referencing it from her art.

>>10000564

Huh, that's weird anon.
She always marks down my package without me asking for it. And she always sends my package with TNT.

>>10000541
You're depressed.

>>10000704
I keep telling you guys though, it's literally just the products for my store that I have this stigma with in particular. That's why it's stumped me. Literally every other aspect of my life including my general art has been totally fine and I have no ill feelings about it (other than the occasional art-related frustration because drawing is hard, but overall I've been very happy with my output lately). I just can't seem to translate that into products and feel blocked that way.

>>10000766
Just stop doing those products then? Not everyone has to live off of art, just focus on the things you do like to do and let that be a nice bit of extra income, because if you do want to make a living off of art you'll eventually have to sell your soul to popularity (unless you get insanely lucky with a niche or are some sort of prodigy, which unfortunately doesn't sound like it). You're trying to make a problem where there isn't any: you can draw just fine the stuff you like and can't the stuff you don't, that's just normal human behavior. Seriously, no one is forcing you to do this.

>>10000766
Then stop thinking it is something you need to do and just don't do it.
You mentioned you're studying and are aiming for a job that pays well, so you don't need to do this for money. You mentioned that you're not really interested in AA products and merch yourself so you're not even making stuff that you want to have.

You're still making art you like, you're focusing on school fine, you're satisfied with your life otherwise, you don't want to make merch and you really don't want merch either. Why pressure yourself into doing something you don't want to and don't need to?

>>10000813
I think I have a similar problem to sad anon, in that I can’t pull the ‘what would I want to buy’. I like designing stuff, but I’m a minimalistic bitch who owns like three prints in the world. Is this a common problem?

>>10000826
Nah, I think I'm similar, I rarely want or buy stuff except for the occasional item I take a liking to. That's why I make merch myself though, I often like niche things and fandoms and I like getting my own ideas and stuff into products.

I don't make stuff if I don't enjoy it or don't want it though, I make some stuff from popular fandoms or trends but those are stuff I would like myself.
If you don't design stuff for money, for fun or for yourself then I see no point really. If you're not gonna live off art at least make art you enjoy.

Will the trump China tarrifs affect getting merch made from vograce and other alibaba manus?

Sometimes I think customers / commission clients are the only thing stopping me from killing myself. I keep wanting to attempt, but then I remember "oh I owe this person this thing, gotta take care of that first".

So apparently if you ship something through usps's ground service, you'll be charged for the return.
Best part? You can't intercept the package at any point to correct the address before it gets returned.
My customer is going to end up paying an extra $60 in shipping because she wrote the wrong address. ugh.

>>10001043
Wait how? Did they make you pay when they returned the package to you?

>>10000806
>>10000813
Right now I'm not really paying the bills very well though. So my other option is to get a part time job, which would probably kill me.

>>10001096
mail lady came to my house and told me a package was returned to me and since it was shipped through ground service, I have to pay $30 for her to give it to me now (I had no cash), or pick it up at the post office for $30.
Not sure what would happen if I just simply don't pay for it.

>>10000987
I'm the same but I recently realized my destructive nature and made an effort to finish all my obligations, and then take a long vacation to evaluate my self worth and reflected on my life

>>10001111
Maybe if you start thinking of it as your part time job? Set off some hours each week where you just have to make something. If you're doing it for the money, then you just gotta churn out stuff. Work can be a chore.

Even if you're not completely satisfied with your designs, keep the ones you still think would be a viable product, in all likelihood your customers will be less picky than you.

>>10001043
>>10001123
God USPS is just fucking shameless. I know they're supposedly going bankrupt but maybe they could take that out on the huge corporations they're giving corporate rates to instead of cutting deeper and deeper into small businesses and regular consumers. I remember when I could send a package overseas and it cost $6, now it's 25-30 dollars.

>>10001132
usps is going bankrupt due to the massive amount of pensions they have to fund. they'd be fine otherwise

>>10000698
shipping dynamite thru the postal system seems hazardous, anon

>>10001156
If a package handler kicks your package during shipment, you won't have to worry about him doing it twice.

>>10001111
If you're able to dogsit and especially if you're home all day, sign up for Rover.com. I've been there about 3 months and make about 200-400 dollars a month. Not a shill, it's just easy money and pays for my student loan payments so maybe that can help you.

>>10001111
>>10001172
limited commissions, rideshare driving (if you have a car) and odd jobs on Fiverr or something like that are also options

>>10000262
>I get you want less competition but where did you gather they don't have a day job?
lol you can always tell, anon

Anyone else really bothered when an artist says how bad they’re doing when they’re trying to sell their art? Like “buy this and maybe I can afford rent this month” or even “a single commission will let me buy something other than ramen” or pity partying stuff like that. I bought a sketch commission just because I felt bad for them, but I won’t be doing that again.

I'm getting my files ready for Vograce, but my art is at 340 DPI. I hear that they'll print your designs at whatever they are at 300 DPI but I don't want to risk them resizing them weirdly so I'd rather do it myself.
What is the best method for downsizing in Photoshop? The art is generic anime chibis with smooth shading.
Pic related.

>>10001287
I'm willing to be more empathetic when it's an unexpected incident. I've definitely purchased something from a friend when they have a sale following a car accident or something similar. Life happens. If it's more along the lines of the examples in your post though, then yeah they're gonna rub me the wrong way.

>>10001287
not artist alley necessarily but i follow(ed, stopped because of this shit) a resin artist who not only was doing shit like that but also whinging about how people voted in their interest polls but didn't buy things, and complained about people engaging more (more likes/comments) on one photo than they did on their sob story post. Basically posting huge ass rants about her ungrateful followers not buying enough from her to make it 'worth' doing anymore.

>>10001287
I personally find it really off-putting. If I'm on the fence on whether or not to buy something and the artist says anything like that, I most likely won't buy it. It's one thing to say it as a joke after someone has already bought something, but trying to get sales by getting pity gives a bad impression.

>>10001287
Horrifically unprofessional. I might pity buy a tiny item but it would be so painfully secondhand embarrassing that I would probably remember their table handle and end up purposely walking past them in the future to avoid another such experience.

>>10001287
I can't stand it, it's something else having emergency commissions for something unexpected happening, and usually they will have a limited time, slots and a discount because they genuinely are in need of money fast.
What you're mentioning just feels equivalent to begging, though.

>>10001293
It will only downsize the pixels not the inches if you lower the DPI...

>>10001287
Feels like how a majority of artists are. They know how to draw, but have absolutely no idea how to actually run the business side of it to actually make money without begging.

>>10001614
That's why most business jobs require a degree and art doesn't

wtf does fanime have against artists who do both prints and crafts

>>10001287
like many others have said, i'm okay giving money for sudden unexpected incidents.

I've had nightmares where my table was completely bare except for a sign that reads "airline lost my luggage and all my merch. please commission me." no one commissioned me.

anyway one time i donated $20 directly to an artist's paypal to help fix her car. she has an online store but her art was bad enough that i rather give her the money for free. a week later she went on a shopping spree and posted a pic and included a comment admitting she "should be saving money cause car is still broken XD".

>>10001680
have you met anime north

>>10001787
I would have straight up been in jail for murder.

Begging is bad but to do so and then misspend the charity you were graciously bestowed is...

>>10001787
nightmare as in literal dream?

>>10001860
yes literal dream.
luckily i've never had luggage lost or stolen. or even delayed. but if it ever does happen, i know for sure i'd resort to begging. not like verbally begging but i would put up a sign.

>>10001787
I'm so glad to know I'm not alone in my AA nightmares. I've been doing this for years but I still get a couple of nightmares a year where all my inventory is gone, or they end up not having a table space for me, or most recently — there was no tape. Like, for some reason, all of the tape in the world just dissapeared. Sticker vendors were making bank off of other vendors trying to put their displays together before the artist alley opened.

>>10001991
>Sticker vendors were making bank off of other vendors trying to put their displays together before the artist alley opened.

Holy shit this specific detail is hilarious your dream brain is great

random question: is your tablecloth a yard of fabric from the fabric shop, or did you buy it premade from amazon/etsy/a tablecloth shop?

I always get nightmares about missing my flights before a con. It gets so bad I just started getting the first flight out every morning and arriving at the airport at 4:30 am when the tsa line opens.

>>10002372
I got mine off of Etsy so it has serged hems, I know people who pick theirs up at Walmart and others that have just bought fabric, pretty much most stuff will work. You’re going to probably need more than a yard though.

>>10002372
I've been getting 3 yards worth of fabric lately, since I occasionally end up at 8ft table cons.

Does anyone have any tips or tricks for making corkboard/pinboard stands for displays? I know there's about a million ways to do it, but I was wondering if anyone had a particularly light, portable/travel friendly method.

>>10002476
I use a small-ish square corkboard I buy from Michael's and prop it up with one of those dish display stands. The actual board is pretty light and I make sure to bubble wrap the hell out of it when travelling.

>>10001787
I once woke up the day before my flight to an alarm I had set for checking in to my flight 24 hours prior. Well sleep-deprived me at 6am saw the check-in alarm, thought it was THE DAY OF THE FLIGHT, and thought the flight takeoff was happening right now. Proceeded to panic and wake up the boyfriend and it took him longer than i'd like to admit for him to calm me down and explain the flight is tomorrow, to go back to sleep. orz

Can you sell art of Bowsette? I see people announce that they’re making prints with her in it... but it seems kinda shitty to sell what’s essentially someone else’s fan design. Thoughts?

>>10002915
Thanks for asking this. I posted the same question in the fb group, but I didn't realize that "fanart legality" discussion was banned there and deleted my post

>>10002915
there's technically also this official one, though it's not as popular https://twitter.com/Sakusuru/status/1045688129619980288

>>10002925
Good point, although most of the renditions so far have been of the non official design. And then there’s Boosette and other variations. Not quite sure where those originated from?

>>10002934
i think they're just variations on a theme, i haven't seen anyone specifically credit anyone for boosette

Selling paintings at a con, is it worth it?

>>10002915
The whole bowsette meme is just an excuse for depraved perverts to draw huge boobs, it's not surprising that those same people feel no moral issue with selling fanart of a small time artist's design.

>>10003010
>princess peach with the low-quality bait

>>10002973
like, originals? hell no

>>10002973
It depends on how you sell them and how you market. I have a couple friends who make it work but it's difficult

>>10002915
I’m going to sell some. It would be stupid not to with her popularity, and it wasn’t him alone that made her a fan favorite.

>>10002915
If they do their own design that seems fine to me, it's just a bowser gijinka now anyway. If they just copy the original artist's design though that's .. not great. Not that attendees give a shit.

>>10003074
I think I'm going to just go for it then, but change up the design of her dress (since he only drew her torso). People are already selling stuff of her anyway

>>10002915
I guess I can ask, but I don’t think he’ll care.

>>10003104
Yea just make the design yours. Honestly the only warning i'd have is i feel like AAs are gonna be wildly over saturated with her soon haha.

>>10003154
Oh yeah, it will be oversaturated with all of the whole -ettes, which is why I want to jump in on it now, at least until the end of Oct. I have a feeling people will get sick of it pretty soon (if they're not sick of them already)

>>10002915
Haniwa says: “Go ahead I guess? I haven't made a cent out of this myself.”

>>10002915
>but it seems kinda shitty to sell what’s essentially someone else’s fan design.
I agree. Fanart should just be banned as a whole.

>>10003010
>an excuse for depraved perverts to draw huge boobs

>implying they need an excuse

>>10001043
Maybe she should have written the correct address

>>10003065
if you haven't already printed/ordered merch I genuinely wouldn't, the trend is already dead. It's like people when fuckin pokemon go came out spamming AA with team valor/team mythic stuff. Unless you get lucky with a convention right in the peak of it you end up with stock that doesn't sell.

Not exclusive to bowsette but I really feel like people who try and guess what sells well at conventions don't understand that just because something gets a lot of social media engagement doesn't mean that will translate to sales. People like to laugh at and share things that are relevant and in a matter of seconds will stop caring about. that doesn't mean they want to pay for and own that thing forever.

Is it feasible to start an online store just to get rid of some leftover stock? While I do make good profit from cons, the country I live in is small and thus there aren't that many attendees at cons either, so I usually get left with a few odd numbers of pretty much every item bar few exceptions. Is starting an Etsy store, for example, worth it just to sell off leftover stock, or would the costs of hosting a store + shipping eat away any possible profits?
Also as a general topic of discussion: what do you do with leftover stock that no longer sells at cons?

>>10003528
I would go for it because what doesn't sell at a con might do extremely well online but vice versa
Just price your items a little higher to compensate for those fees and try to be as accurate as possible with shipping so that you're not paying out of pocket for charging too little

>>10003528
>Is it feasible to start an online store just to get rid of some leftover stock?
Sure, got nothing to lose

>what do you do with leftover stock that no longer sells at cons?

First I sell it online for a discount, and if that doesn't work... I just give it away to someone at a con who doesn't have money and want something from the con.

>>10002973
I have but only if the con has a specific art show gallery system, and sometimes also an auction.

Who’s ready for the AX bloodbath

>>10003620
Only the strong will survive.
I wish everyone good luck!

does anyone have experience selling custom printed fabric? either full bolts or by the yard

>>10003620
I'm ready for the salty tears that shall follow.

>>10003620
Is it still supposed to be password protected?

>>10003647
Password is temporary until opening time.

I'm so sick of people saying stuff like "It sold out in less than a minute!!1 How is this possible?! It's not fair people are cheating" What the fuck do you expect to happen, people to leisurely stare at the registration screen mulling over whether to buy a table or not?

Ok so I did not come back with spoils from the bloody AX table war..

Would anyone be interested in selling me half their table for $500?

>>10003668
Calm down anon, why are you getting upset at the people complaining instead of the cheaters? You can't air your grievances and then yell at everyone else about doing the same thing.

>>10003668
So you're one of the like 10 people that actually got in then?

>>10003668
Well to be fair, it did become "unavailable" in about 2 seconds. Some people never even saw the register button lol...

>>10003694
Of course, I always get into FCFS because I don't wait 3 minutes to click refresh and I'm not using a dial-up computer from 1998.

>>10003700
I saw the register button, clicked on it. Nothing happened so I clicked it again and it said unavailable =[

Didn't make the attempt this year but I do wonder how many other people use bots to secure their AX table. I probably wouldn't have gotten in last year without one.

>>10003700
It definitely didn't even get to two seconds. I've always been good at FCFS but I've never gotten AX.

>>10003719
I think it's nearly impossible to get in without using a bot at this point desu

>>10003701
>>10003721
Yeah I know, 2 seconds even is generous. I also clicked as fast as possible, and it was unavailable :( Then at the 10-ish min mark I saw it again, but still didn't make it lmao.

I usually get into FCFS as well, but it's okay. I think I have more of an advantage for signups where you need to fill out a form, bc auto-fill does the work and I read fast so I can make changes/fill in unfilled areas.

Sigh, I can just take this time to polish up my work until maybe one day I get in haha...

>>10003701
lmfao why are you so mad? As someone who refreshed right as the clock turned over and was still met with sold out I think you're more angry than I am.

>>10003727
Half a second is the general consensus I've heard from my friends. It literally comes down to having the lucky refresh, even on the fastest computers and internet. Or a bot, apparently.

>>10003732
Idk u seem pretty salty 2 me

>>10003701
I mean, considering that people in this thread admitted to using bots I don't think it's absurd for people to be complaining.

>>10003733
Yeah it's pretty crazy. AX is way too big to be doing FCFS, especially the kind of FCFS where you can recruit like 15 people to help you. I'd rather lose by lottery or to artists that are juried and way better than me than this shit lol.

(I'm a little salty lol)

But I am pretty curious how they split the ratio for new/returning artists.

>>10003767
Iirc it's 2/3rds returning artists, 1/3rds open to everyone.

Also, they're way way too big to be doing jury as well. Lottery is really the most realistic option for this.

>>10003769
>Lottery is really the most realistic option for this.
I want to see a convention auction off a few tables.

With a con as big as AX, they will NEVER go to Juried. I don't think they're willing to allocate resources/people for that. Same for lottery, they won't waste time on that shit. They got a big con to run, full of industry guests and events. All the small time artists thinking artist alley is such a big draw so therefore we have to be prioritized -- that's a joke. We're a nice feature, but people don't survive the crowd and heat of AX for the AA alone.

>>10003774
Resources and people are hardly needed for lottery. It's barely an extra step.

>>10003772
Imagine if AX did that. 100% guaranteed table, just how high would people go? Even if they priced tables at 1k each, we wouldn't see much of a drop of people scrambling to get one.

>>10003772
Personally would love to see AX do price tiers for prime locations. I’d gladly pay a ton more for a double table package at a corner spot near the front. A lot of dealer rooms charge booths by proximity to the entrances already so it would make sense for AAs to start doing that as well.

>>10003781
Well anime boston's charity auction table went for 4K and AB isn't even nearly as good as AX. AX could probably raise all tables to 750 or 1k, and idk 50 tables for 5K and still sell out of everything haha.

>>10003789
Not sure about 5k, desu. But I'd pay 1-2k in a heartbeat for guaranteed doubles.

>>10003781
I paid 2k for a table in the exhibitors hall because I knew I wouldn’t get into artist alley.
Prices rise each year, weren’t they like $1400-$1600 last year for exhibitors?

>>10003769
oops yeah, I wasn't thinking, just came up with alternative signup options off the top of my head. But you're right. Lottery is barely any work and also kind of mixes up the crowd so we can get some newcomers in as well.

>>10003774
Actually, not that I disagree with you about AX not being willing to spend resources on AA, but I know plenty of people who go to AX primarily for AA, esp if a favorite artist is going and also because so many panels nowadays are really just not worth standing in line for.

>>10003722
I managed to get two separate tables (12:00 and 12:10) for friends without a bot. Do most people really use them?

>>10003835
Short answer: No, one person admitted to using a bot and they didn’t even apply this year.

What was that, ten posts between “one person uses a bot” to “people use bots” to “most people use bots” jfc

>>10003793
I'd pay 5K, 1k is already about the same price as it is right now for doubles, not enough of a raise to lower any competition. it would have to be 1k per table to even start putting a dent in demand. in my fantasy scenerio the 5k is only 50 tables out of like 700-800 tables.. i think there are definitely 50 artists willing to pay 5k for an AX table desu. They wouldn't be happy, but they would do it.

How does the AX waitlist work? Is it fcfs or is it lottery?

Hi! Read the guide on how to order from Vograce and it said that you can make double sided charms by labeling the layers in Photoshop as front and back, I don't have Photoshop so do other programs work as well or can I send 2 separate files? How well does the double sided print work on charms that are different on both sides? Does the images show through each other?

Does anyone know any other options other than Vograce that would have option for double sided print that has acrylic on both sides so the print wouldn't scratch, but they are clear? The ones on Vograce seem to be white.

Sorry for so many questions, thank you if anyone replies!

>>10004052
You can send two separate files. That's what I used to do before.

Images will kind of show if they're very high contrast (like you have black line on one side and the opposite side is white), especially if you put them up to the light. An extra white layer in between will help with transparency issues.

>The ones on Vograce seem to be white.
?

Holy Arceus etsy, we get it, you want everyone to offer free shipping. I'm still not going to do it. I CAN'T offer it. There is a $35 shipping cost difference between shipping a 8 pound item to someone 100 miles ($12) away from me and 2,000 miles ($47). How am I suppose to bake that into my costs?

So anime expo has been listening to our complaints it seems.
Wonder how they’re going to make changes? I don’t even know what would work best in this scenario, other than maybe a juried system. Good to see them finally fucking paying attention to this though.

>>10004227
they're just gonna add more tables lol

AX Question: Considering an amount of tables were already sold to returning artists, how many tables usually go live for newcomers when AA regs go live?

>>10004254
Agree. So far kentia hall has alway been split-- 50% artist alley, 50% table top gaming. But the table top game area has been vastly empty from what I've seen in 2018 and 2017. I think AX will eventually make kentia hall 100% AA.

>>10004428
rip the people who get put in the back if they make that entire hall AA.

>>10004162
>8lb AA items
What are you selling, weapons/props? Because damn

>>10004052
>does anyone know any other options other than Vograce that would have option for double sided print that has acrylic on both sides so the print wouldn't scratch, but they are clear? The ones on Vograce seem to be white.

I feel like they offer it. I posted the images of the samples in that how to order doc a couple years ago now so I'm sure they have what you're looking for. Maybe contact Coco and ask for sample photos?

What is a safe number of tshirts and sizes I should bring if they're not my main products?

>>10004162
What dimensions are your products? I would think USPS Priority Mail Cubic or Flat Rate Priority would be better in some instances

Why is CRX trying to sell us attendee data? Has any other convention ever approached artists/individuals for something like this?

>>10004052
you want to ask for 'double sided double board clear acrylic charms' (x whatever quantity you want). The images don't show through each other, they are very opaque.

How do you price your original artwork? I'm doing Inktober and would like to try selling my pieces afterwards, since I don't like gathering too much paper. I know there are countless resources on how to price original pieces, but not many are written with AAs in mind, so I wanted to know what prices you have found reasonable. (For reference, my pieces are fanart, inked + coloured + shaded, and either A5 or A4 in size. My art is rather average.)

>>10004227
My bets:
> More tables, of course
> Lottery system

Because there's no way in hell that AX is going to move to Jury. It would take too much infrastructure set up and labor to Jury well, and a badly Jury'd con just pisses people off. Even an objectively mediocre jury that states their biases in advance pisses people off.

Lottery sucks, but at least it sucks universally, and would be equally as manageable for staff to put together.

>>10005162
Frankly, I think for an original piece you might as well ask twice the price of your prints, at the very least. Since I assume you price your prints relative to your skill level, doubling that for an original piece is a good idea if you're worried of going too high. But there's no reason why you shouldn't go higher, ask for what you feel is fair relative to how much work you spent, you can always lower the price if none of the pieces sell. Also if you have any following online, it's a good idea to post pictures of the finished pieces and mention that you'll be selling the original copies later, since if you have fans they might want to snag one.

>>10005162
I sell my originals for x5 the cost of their respective print size (i.e an a5 original would be $25) and price up if it's an original I don't mind keeping for awhile

Would these make cute charms? I've never made any merch before, I'm planning on using Vograce

>>10005553
Also sorry for double post but if I wanted the charms double-sided with the same image on the other side, would I have to mirror the image for the other side in the PSD?

>>10005554
There's a helpful guide in the OP for vograce. If it's the same image you can just send one image and specify double sided. Should be fine.

also. RUNE FACTORY MERCH HELLLOO

>>10005557
I've seen a bunch of fan merch for RF4, probably because you could finally play as a girl so you get to actually marry those perfect boys, but I'd kill to get some from the DS games too. Especially from the first one, the boys are so good but super underappreciated.
>>10005553
I think with bust art it's a good idea to make a simple background (like one color in some shape, doesn't need to be fancy) that extends on the sides and top a bit, but also ends when the bust does at the bottom. It'll look a bit more finished that way, and if you want to try double sided you can make the other side just the background with maybe a little something extra related on the character on.

>>10005553
Bless you anon I need 10 Arthurs

>>10005624
>I'd kill to get some from the DS games too
I'm actually dying to make some from the older games 'cause they're my favourites!

Also I tried the simple background idea that you tried and I found that this looked the best, I suck with colour though so I can't figure a good colour for the backgrounds lol

>>10005627
good taste my friend, Arthur is also my man of choice!

Does anyone know how long Vograce will be on vacation? I don't know their storefront, I only communicate via email with them.

I'm just getting back into doing Artist Alleys for the first time in a lot of years and I have only attended Dragoncon for years now as well, so I'm behind the times in general...

I plan to sell the standard art prints, pins, etc... but I also sell decals. I see no specific positions on decals being sold in artist alleys on any convention websites I've checked. Are they typically allowed if you avoid blatant emblems and whatnot?

>>10005657
Quick question, is there a specific DPI I should change my files to? I work at 350 but should I change it to 300? The video on getting your files ready for Vograce didn't give any specifics

Hear Anime Fest is a total ghetto con lmao

>>10005949
it was set up at the last moment just to spite anime nyc, any artist who attended brought it upon themselves.

>>10005962
But they also moved anime artists who were doing normal Artist Alley into it. Feels like they're just treating anime as shit but still want the money. Everything about it is total shit

So how do you handle aa thieves?

>>10005874
Do make sure your con allows stickers at all because quite a few don't and decals would count as stickers there.

>>10005553
Got a good amount of RF4 charms, would love to add more to my collection!

>>10006017
Will do. I've seen a real lack of info about stickers too on their websites. Guess I have to poke the AA heads. Thanks.

How bad is anime fest nycc? I heard people were making fun of the artists instead of blaming the con

>>10006078
how were people making fun of the artists instead of blaming the con?

>>10005989
They didn’t though? I thought it was just exhibitors that happened to?

lol SacAnime

>>10006314
I just checked out the FB page and loooooool. All these whiny ass babies saying "this is unfair ):" yo life is unfair. They should be glad Sac isn't pulling an ALA.

>>10006078 >>10006101
Some people on twitter were saying that the artists were shitty or 'rejects' yeah but it was just rude attendees.

>>10006444
Yikes. Hopefully it's better today (Saturday)?

Anyone have any tips for getting better at drawing interesting perspective/dramatic poses for prints etc?
Every time I have an idea for a pose in an angle that isn't straight-on, the loose sketch looks good but as soon as I start to finalize things, it just looks wrong unless I resort to flattening the perspective.

>>10006466
Something that helped me was to practice by tracing photos of real people that include dramatic poses or perspectives. Part of your issue is probably that your brain isn't trained to recognize what actually makes sense when looking at it in two-dimensions, so everything looks wrong even if it might actually be right. Light and shadow are also EXTREMELY important when working with concepts like foreshortening, so that will also be a matter of practice.
I know this sounds silly, but maybe try it with things like vegetables and other inanimate objects first? Try to teach yourself why light falls a certain way on different shapes and remove the humanoid element from your study first until you're ready to apply that knowledge to something with multiple points of articulation.

>>10006466
omfg that picture is terrifying

>>10005877
300 DPI is really as high as you need to go for printing purposes, but it can't really hurt to keep higher files in case you ever want to size the art up at a later point. Just make sure the dimensions on your file are correct, you should be fine leaving DPI as is.

>>10006314
i might actually consider applying this year since i have the same shot as everyone else for once, but it’d be my first AA and i don’t know if it’s worth the upfront cost

>>10006469
Thanks, I'll try that.
I've been fixated on trying to learn perspective lately but most books focus on landscape/architecture. Just been feeling a bit overwhelmed when reading the type of stuff that gets recommended on /ic/.

>>10006102
Yea it was like this for exhibitors:

Oh you have anime stuff? We don't have your usual space on show floor available, only pier anime space buy this ok? When we declined and said no we really want the show floor main hall space. Then like 1.5 months before the show they were like: OH WE DO HAVE YOUR MAIN FLOOR space here. Thanks because that's what I really wanted.

I heard from a few regulars that it doesn't have much traffic and is actually pretty far from the actual comicon? Makes me wonder how much they charged for artists to be there when its $25 for a saturday pass. Can't seem to find that info anywhere.

>>10006563
That's really shitty?! It's like they were trying to trick you into purchasing a booth at their shitty anime reject event. And hoping you'd get desperate and give up, while they try to sell yours and other anime vendor spots out.... 1.5 months is really short notice and not much time to plan travel, logistics, accommodations, etc....

>>10006563
>>10006563
Yeah, we discussed this in the discord. The other anon was trying to make it sound like it happened to AA too when it wasn’t the case. Artists applied to the anime event separately and were not moved from NYCC’s AA to AFNYCC without notice. It’s definitely shitty what NYCC did to anime exhibitors but they didn’t try to do the same thing to AA. I just wanted to clarify!

>>10006579
It was $250 for a full table at the anime event.

>>10006583
I see, thanks for the clarification on pricing. With it being 250 and the cost of new york I would much rather be in NYCC proper. its only 500usd for a table last time I went? (2016)

This is why I never do first year cons, but I guess some artist bought into the gamble.

>>10006579
It's 20 minutes walking from Javits, but apparently there were shuttles running between NYCC and Anime Fest every 30 minutes. Didn't seem well advertised, I only saw it advertised once on their twitter, but that was just my experience.

>>10006590
I think if they made it so NYCC badges get free admission to the anime event. Then it would be more incentive to go. Otherwise, why would I go to NYCC con centre, then take a shuttle to go to another con where I gotta pay another $25+ to go in.. Easier to just stay at the Javits all day and do enjoy the activities there.

Am I good enough for AA? The only anime con where I live recently opened up registration, and I wanna go, but I don't wanna set myself up for disappointment. Pic related, it's my art.

>>10006673
You aren't currently ready for it, I would say, but you can be with some refinement. Specifically speaking, your lineart is a bit choppy in places so you should work on using more fluid strokes to smooth it out; your anatomy could use some work as well, especially her legs and right (our left) hand; and while you do seem to have the right idea with your shading, it's still very basic in many areas.
I'm a bit sleepy atm so apologies if that wasn't very helpful. I'll elaborate later if you have any questions.

>>10006686
Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. Though, on the lineart bit; this wasn't a piece to sell, so I didn't pay too much attention to making it super continuous. Anything I'd do for money, I'd put more attention into the linework.

I still wanna try going for it, just to see what happens, but I won't get my hopes up.

>>10006691
NAYRT Why ask if the image you showed wasn't representative of what you'd do for 'sales quality' and you were gonna disregard the person helping you anyway

>>10006700
Everything else is, just not the lineart. I'm not disregarding that anon, I was actually gonna totally give up on AA until my boyfriend told me otherwise. I'm gonna work on things mentioned.

>>10006702
>I'm not disregarding that anon
Asking for feedback, getting said feedback, and then coming up with some explanation as to why the given feedback didn't actually apply is pretty much disregarding them. Not to mention they said you're not ready for AA, and you just went welp might as well apply anyway! Just be more honest if you want asspats instead of actual feedback.

>>10005997
Who the fuck would steal a poster in plain sight from artists who barely make any money baka.
>>10006673
You need to work on your shading by a lot and have some more character to your line art. Did you trace this? You don't have the skill to shade or understand color, your lines look weird and wobbly, yet the face look okay. I recommend you stay out of AA because something about you art comes off as fishy and so amateur.

>>10006724
I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intent. I’ll stay out of AA.

>>10006731
I don’t trace, I’m sorry if it seemed that way. If there’s something you think it seems similar to, you’re free to overlay it.

>>10006736
if your con is small >10,000 people I say go for it. i’ve seen way worse that make a lot since people are desperate to buy stuff.

>>10006741
wrong symbol but u get what i mean

>>10006673
Is it a small con with a cheap table? Then do it as a learning experience. Is it a big con? You may not want to take the loss, the competition is fierce.

>>10006780
OT but whose art is this?

>>10006781
I think i can read that bright as sign.. Maobaby? https://twitter.com/maobaby

>>10006673
If its a small con, sure, gotta start somewhere. Just do it expecting to break even or slightly more. Even better would be to split a table with a friend. You'll learn a lot from your first table.
I've seen much, much worse art at artist alleys.

>>10006837
Thank you, anon!

>>10006871
>>10006781
And the other person is fauuna (art on our right).

https://twitter.com/faunna

>>10006673
I can see why other anon said your stuff looks traced. The forms seem solid, but you make really jarring errors (her right hand, the knee, etc.) I know it’s easy to choose a piece you’re less happy with for crit so that you have something to fall back on à la ‘I wasn’t REALLY trying!’, but you should show a piece that you think can/will sell and have people judge that. Right now, I think you should try smaller cons to test the waters. It’s subpar if we compare it to average art level at larger cons.

>>10006673
I actually love this, can I follow you on some social media? It’s a very relaxing style and I personally would buy it. Granted you’d need to draw some background or something.
Not all art needs to be super mega rendered, and I really like your style.

some of my distant friends have signed up to do tables at a art con this september. i said i'd send them some how-to guides, is there any other way i can save them from themselves?

>>10006673
how are you at compositions/visual storytelling? less accomplished drawing is more forgivable in an endearing scenario

>>10007034
Is their art bad or something? I'd say you should advise them not to overstock themselves i.e. ordering more than 5-10 of anything

>>10007034
Been there, done that. The only way they'll learn is if you let them fail.

>>10006673
i think you could do artist alley if you had a small merch focused tabled, not a print focused one.
Although I gotta agree with other anons this does look super traced(neck down).

>>10006673
Ahhh I think your art style is p cute! I do think there are improvements that could be made but desu just go for doing AA if you want to! I started out p bad myself but doing AA helped me grow so much as an artist! To begin, I'd stick to doing low-cost merch, lower quanitites, and doing smaller conventions as well as posting online and selling online. (Ex. Postcards, stickers, buttons, photo insert acrylic keychain charms all can be made for less than a $1-$.25 per piece with low order quanitites and 0 MOQ per design if you look for them!) I've definitely seen a few artists at small cons with art at your level or lower. At the same time, selling it very different for everyone but you really won't know until you try it. Based on what fandoms you're drawing, what con you're going to, what kind of merch you are drawing and combinations of other factors can largely affect your sales. If you want to do AA just go out there and try a small con and get the experience!

In terms of the "tracing" I don't think your art looks traced per se, this just has a generic "cute girl moe" kind of pose that is often seen and your art is a bit stiff. I'd say practice doing gesture drawing for it to be less stiff and to just get more practice drawing the actual human body. This image looks like you typically reference other art/drawings of people drawn in these poses (esp where the left armpit, elbow, and knee are bc of the strange "wrinkle" lines where it's skin although I'm not the best at this so I could be wrong.) Know you didn't ask for critique of your art specifically, but wanted to explain maybe where people might be coming from.

It actually is starting to feel bad seeing how much people are encouraging other people to get into doing AA. So many of my friends who frankly have trash art are being told by their friends that they should do it, then they get all excited and make plans to quit their current career path and coast for the rest of their life, as if AA isn't a rapidly imploding market. They put minimal effort into making merch, apply to every con ever, then when they lose a ton of money they blame the conventions or the attendees. I don't want to risk my friendships by being honest and telling them they have no chance, but I hate to see this happen over and over. Can there pls be a campaign of making the general public aware of how inviable doing Artist Alley actually is for the vast majority of people?

>>10007561
I for one welcome trash people. They only make me look better than I already am.

>>10007561
See >>10007091

>>10007091
>The only way they'll learn is if you let them fail.
Sometimes they still don't learn after failing several times :/
Some people have parents that refuse to accept that their child is bad at something, so they insist they are doing great and tell them to keep going. Kinda sad.

>>10007644
Yeah, from what I've seen people are much more likely to tell themselves the convention was run badly or that the attendees are cheap assholes than to admit to themselves that they're not cut out to do this. Even when they're aware that other people are doing much better than them.

And it's not like they'll actually listen if someone tells them "you should stop", they'll just get pissed and write that person off as a hater.

do double-sided vograce charms have to have the same outline on both sides, or can i have 2 different characters (and just blank acrylic where the outline doesn’t match)

>>10007728
The latter is possible too.

>>10007062
>>10007091
good advice. they're not godawful or anything- one has an "uncute" art style, another wants to make an entire table of merchandise about something very niche.

>>10007561
honestly, before i discovered this general i had no idea people could do this for a living. i just do it for extra money.

>>10007561
Never feel obligated to hold other people's hands or guide them. It'll always be met with "don't tell me what to do" or they'll think you look down on them. Let them suffer so they can grow from it, it's the most help you can give them.

Who else is gonna be at TwitchCon? They released the map and I'm worried we're gonna be thrown somewhere random this year instead of with the rest of the exhibitors.

>>10007561
Hi same person as >>10007396 here
I like to encourage my artist friends to try out doing AA if they’re interested bc I for me cons are a hobby and doing things is much more fun doing it with your friends (this is naive and cliche sounding but whatever it’s true to me) but mainly at smaller college cons to see if they like the experience. From then on they’re kind of on their own but if the ask me for small starter help I’ll help them. If they don’t take it seriously then it’s their own problem as this is a business and they should realize that. The people around me don’t typically blame customers/cons as much as they do their own art so they use the experience to grow imo. If they do blame the con/attendees it’s literally because the convention is small or attendees are mainly into other fandoms that what they are selling. It’s people that are trying for big/high investment cons right off the bat that are making a mistake imo. That’s just bad business strategy and those are the ones that you mainly see.

>>10006780
>that light-up lettering box
I'm seeing these everywhere all of a sudden, is there some reason?

>>10008177
people noticed a popular artist doing it and are mimicking, just like with husbando/waifu shrines at tables etc

>>10008177
>>10008190
also those lightboxes price dropped to $10 at target vs the $30+ they used to be from heidi swapp

>>10007561
Honestly I really admire people who do AA full time. I would absolutely not have the guts to do it myself, especially now that tables are getting harder and harder to get. While it's fun as a hobby once or twice a year for me, I can't imagine the constant stress + preparation + traveling if I were to do it more often.

That being said, some people think AA is easy shit--rake in $5k+ over a weekend!! Lol your art actually has to be good first, friends. And you need to keep up with trends, put a sizeable investment into making quality merch, and compete with other artists all the damn time, even to get a spot in some tiny AA.

Ngl, I went around and searched for people getting AX tables and some art is...questionable--even if AX is a big moneymaker it's not magic, and I think people clearly underestimate what goes into participating in AA. (Also how many times have people said don't make AX your first con?!)

>>10008441
I do AA full time and everything you've said is true, anon. I've had friends hear how much I make in a weekend and immediately assume that it's something they could do too. And after having a miserable show where they barely break even (or sometimes even lose money) they turn around and blame me for giving them "bad advice". Even when I suggested that they do smaller shows first, print less prints, and stick to paper goods for the first few shoes and they refused to follow my advice and spent a lot of money on a lot of prints. Even when I tried to give them advice when they asked me for feedback while drawing their prints, they wouldn't... actually take any of them. None of them actually think their art is the problem.

The thing too is that people who fail at tabling most often don't even put effort into research. I spend time looking at current trends, watching the newest shows/movies to keep up with demand, and whenever I'm at a con I do a walk around to see what other artists are doing better than me to learn from them. I reach out to potential supplier to build business connections and browse Alibaba regularly for new merch type ideas. I stopped being friends with someone because she expected me to hold her hand through every single step of the AA process. (She even wanted me to send her a template of one of my posters so she could... make one that looked exactly like it but with another fandom? How she thought that this was a reasonable request, I don't know.)

Now I just refrain from mentioning numbers at all to most friends unless they're total normies who aren't even remotely interested in this sort of stuff. It's just easier to say that a show went well then deal with people who think this is a get rich quick scheme and plan to use me to get all the info instead of doing the legwork themselves.

>>10008447
Man, the struggle of withholding how much you make has such weird downsides too. People underestimate you to the point that THEY start giving you their unwarranted advice or they don't take yours seriously, meanwhile you hold your tongue knowing you make more in a day than they do in a weekend. An artist friend of mine recently revealed to me how much she makes at a huge con, and I was surprised to realize I've long surpassed her. I would never let her know though, because I look up to her despite her egotistical boasting. I know it would be a blow to a lot of people if they knew my numbers, and I could potentially lose friends due to competition. Another thing that sucks is when your table is packed with customers, and these acquaintances happen to walk by and see how busy you are, and they assume it's a rare occurrence so they mockingly congratulate you for being popular. It's a lonely life I lead.

>>10008454
>>10008447
You guys need better friends;

>>10008447
I've only ever had one person ask me how much I made and I thought it was an intrusive question, so I just said I'd prefer not to share that--and then they said, "so, you didn't make much?" Like lmfao fuuuuck you dude. I'm not sure why people think that's an appropriate question to ask?

My first AA was the culmination of YEARS of wanting to do it someday, so I was prepared and had done all my research beforehand (I thank my younger self for stalking all the Q/As of my favorite artists for whenever they gave AA advice)--and I think that contributed a lot to my success at my first con. I might sound a bit uppity now, but I see people nowadays, who, bless their heart, see how fun AA seems to be...but they want to be spoonfed, expect too much, and/or just don't go in with the necessary preparation.
BUT the thing that bothers me the most is how people go in with STUPID questions that are so easily available on the internet these days. If you put in time to research you will probably find an answer to 95% of your questions about AA. It just shows that people don't want to put in effort...or are lazy, neither of which are indicators of success.

>>10007644
>>10007663
>>10007561
Yeeah it's sad that this is a thing...Also, maybe it's friends who are unfamiliar with art that are encouraging these people? I know when I had less of an eye for art I made some questionable purchases lol. If anything I just wouldn't encourage them myself and otherwise be vague about AA...though of course they could take that the wrong way and it might strain the friendship.

>>10008463
I have a close knit group of AA friends now who are nothing but supportive. I've long ditched the shitty people who just tried to use me.

>>10008454
I can completely relate. There's a person in the discord who keeps talking over more experienced artists and always namedrops their friends while giving advice. I know for a fact that most people in that discord have more AA experience than them and quite a few of them probably make a lot more money at cons. I make 5 figures at bigger cons but I just let this person talk because I don't want to associate my handle with my actual earnings.

>>10008465
Omg I know why do people think it's normal to ask sensitive questions like that

When I did my first convention ever, afterwards this girl I went to school with who also did Artist Alley and had more experience was like "So how much did you make?". Not realizing it was a trap I answered and she was like "Pshhh....I made like a thousand." Like....okay.

Now when she approaches me at cons I just pretend I don't know her

>>10008465
>>10008472
Honestly, I don't mind sharing numbers with other friends who also share their numbers with me because I think it's interesting to see trends between fandoms/art styles and look for what I could be doing better at future cons.

As long as people can be adults about it, it's fine. It gets fucking annoying when people THINK they draw better than you and then get upset because you made more money than them.

>>10008468
Christian Angel? I feel like that’s who you’re referring to in the discord.

>>10008486
No, it's someone else. That guy's super nice and has genuinely impressive work!

>>10008485
It's definitely okay within a certain context, especially if you're discussing how a con is going or if anyone's numbers are abnormally high/low etc. But if you're not within the AA crowd and you just wanna know how much I make then naw I'm not gonna say.

What's good for low investment, high income for start? I got barely any money to work with. I was thinking of enamel pins since they look fairly cheap to make and I can make good profit back quickly. Anything else like maybe posters or buttons? I just want to make my money back quickly so I can invest into other items.

>>10008472
At my first con where I did AA I went to a group dinner with this girl who took out her earnings and started counting it right there in the restaurant in front of all of us...

Now I know she makes garbage at cons and can't figure out why (she traces and hasn't improved her art in years) and I refuse to go near her or interact with her

>>10008511
>I was thinking of enamel pins since they look fairly cheap to make
HA HA HA.

>>10008511
Sorry dude, but the entire convo before this was about how people starting out don't bother to do research. Did you even try? Your first mistake is trying to get a quick start. And as >>10008519
has implied, enamel pins rank in the tier of "most costly items to produce."

>>10008511
At-con commissions. Costs the price of a sketch book.
Otherwise prints or other paper goods.

>>10008465
>>10008472
I love asking people how much they make and have no problem telling anyone how much I make. I don't understand why people get offended by the question unless they are embarrassed by how little they make. I find it very interesting to know how well each person does. Some cons I have done fantastic at that I found out others did bad at, and some cons I did bad at that I found out others did great at. Its very useful to figure out which cons are good or bad and whether it is just me or just a good/bad con.
artist alley surveys aren't too helpful since an anonymous person making $1k at a con means very little without knowing what they sell and their quality of art.

>>10008525
Oops okay maybe not the "entire" convo but in any case...Prints are the crux of AA. Start there. There's a reason why 90% of tables have prints.

>>10008529
There's a lot of people who like to use information like that against you. I don't mind sharing with my close AA friends but I won't tell my numbers to just anyone.

>>10008529
> I don't understand why people get offended by the question unless they are embarrassed by how little they make.

You're not entitled to everyone's personal information anon. Businesses don't just go around telling all their competitiors their earnings either. It's great that you yourself personally are comfortable with it but other people clearly aren't so all you need to do is respect their boundaries. I've personally had other artists try to use me as a stepping stone or just use me for sources and then ghost me so I'm immediately wary of strangers trying to ask me questions right off the bat.

My record number for a single con is 20k. Like you said this means little to you without know which con and what I sell. But if you knew, you could possibly start encroaching on my fandoms or merch types and create an overlap so my numbers won't be as high next year. You could go around telling everyone else how much I made with my name attached to it when I wanted to keep it private.

I personally don't mind if it's with friends who I trust but I'm not telling that info to a complete stranger. Also next time try asking by telling people what you made first and then making it clear that there is no pressure for them to share. It'll make people more likely to share their numbers with you. I know that I personally would only share if someone else shared with me first.

>>10008513
Whenever people do this, whether in the hotel room, at their table, or anywhere in plain sight of other people -- I find it incredibly tacky and make a conscious decision to never share any financial with them.

>>10008543
** Financial information

>>10008543
I feel like hotel room is acceptable if it's with friends. Like where else are you gonna count your money?

when people say they ‘barely broke even’ at their first AA’s, what’s the margin of ‘barely’? under $10, $50-100, under $250? not looking for advice or info on specific cons or anything, just anecdotes

>>10008543
It's incredibly tacky and lets me know exactly what kind of person they are, I try to be very distant

>>10008549
I've shared hotels with several friends and only had one person who did something similar I didn't like (because I agree counting in the hotel room is fine and ideally you're comfortable enough with the people you're rooming with)
But this person was doing calculations based on what they recorded sold and was waving around cash in one hand calculator in the other questioning(bragging) about how they had an extra $50 unaccounted for and had no idea where it was from. For more than 10 minutes. I easily saw the number on the calculator and could tell she was baiting for any one of us to congratulate her for making "so much"

>>10008549
Yeah. Like your hotel room is pretty much your ‘base’ if you bothered to get one (vs just staying at home). I ain’t locking myself in my hotel bathroom to count my money.

I also only room with people I trust though. If I can’t even count my money in front of them, how I am supposed to sleep in the same room as them?

>>10008559
I count it as in I broke even, but didn’t make any significant profit.

>>10008549
Different anon, but I agree with this. If you don't do it in your hotel room then you won't know your day-to-day earnings. As long as your friends are ok with it, it shouldn't be an issue. I do think bragging about your numbers is tacky though. I've had friends do that in our shared hotel.

>>10008559
I'd say +/- $50 would be breaking even depending on the size of the convention. If you're out $100+, I'd count it as going negative. It really depends on what you originally put into the event though.

>>10008543
I'll count my money underneath the table a few times during a convention in order to keep things organized and to make sure I'm not missing anything? Obviously not all of my money, but whatever I have in my "change" pocket. I wasn't aware that this was a problem. I'm just not super organized during rushes (leading to awkward fumbling with change later if I don't reorganize it all) and it's not like it's visible to anyone that isn't specifically looking.

>>10008637
I do this too, anon. I think other people saying that it's only a problem if you're doing it to openly flaunt how much money you made!

>>10008543
I only room with people I trust, but we would still be discreet and count in the corner of the room.

I've had strangers/acquaintance approach me asking me how much i make. I would always have the same reply of " it's fine" or " it's good " and people would get frustrated at me for not flaunting or telling them my exact number and say i'm lying about how I'm doing.

>>10008533
How do they use your earning numbers against you?

>>10008533
>There's a lot of people who like to use information like that against you.
What does that mean?

>Businesses don't just go around telling all their competitiors their earnings either.

Literally every public company does......

> I've personally had other artists try to use me as a stepping stone or just use me for sources

I totally agree with not giving out your sources for things out to everyone. Thats kinda irrelevant though.

>But if you knew, you could possibly start encroaching on my fandoms or merch types and create an overlap so my numbers won't be as high next year.

Ah, ok, I can see that making sense. I typically talk to people who do totally different stuff than me, so I didn't think of that.

>>10008543
I do what >>10008637 said. I'm open with how much I make if people ask, but keep it secret if they don't ask.

>>10008533
>There's a lot of people who like to use information like that against you.
What does that mean?

>>10008540

>Businesses don't just go around telling all their competitiors their earnings either.

Literally every public company does......

> I've personally had other artists try to use me as a stepping stone or just use me for sources

I totally agree with not giving out your sources for things out to everyone. Thats kinda irrelevant though.

>But if you knew, you could possibly start encroaching on my fandoms or merch types and create an overlap so my numbers won't be as high next year.

Ah, ok, I can see that making sense. I typically talk to people who do totally different stuff than me, so I didn't think of that.

>>10008543
I do what >>10008637 said. I'm open with how much I make if people ask, but keep it secret if they don't ask.

>>10008598
>>10008601
>>10008603

I guess I should have been clearer. I think counting it like >>10008654 is totally acceptable. A red flag for me is when people lay out all their money on the bed and count unabashedly.

>>10008661
nayrt but after being in the artist alley game for a while now, you come to realize that not everyone has pure intentions such as yourself. Many start off wanting to make friends and support each other, but once money comes into the equation, people can turn ugly. It's a disgusting truth, but it happens nonetheless. I wish I could go back to being naive and being honest with everyone. But you really do have to put discrete walls up if you plan to do this full time. Sounds melodramatic but it's why a lot of the more popular/successful artists seem guarded and clique-y.

>>10008656
NYART but if your name is even slightly popular whatever number you put out there people will use it against you. Either it's high and they will say "wow this artist sucks ass i can't believe the make over $XXXXX" or "People really have no taste that they like this art so much" or even "Stop sporting them they make $XXXXX PER CON they don't need your money!" and if you make what they consider a low amount they can say "wow they only make $XXXX no wonder cause they suck so bad no one wants their shit art" etc. It's just more fuel to a potential fire that 99% of people don't need to know.

Further some artists don't actually ask with good intentions, they ask just so they can measure if they can brag or shit on you and there's literally no way to tell unless you're already friends with them. Or they can be like >>10008540 said and they are scouting for people to copy.

LASTLY.. some people don't ask with bad intentions BUT they have fragile egos. If they think making 5K is bananas while i made 15k, me telling them that could seriously hurt their feelings if they never even considered someone was able to make that much more than them. Easier not to risk it unless you're already friends with them in the first place in which case i'm more than happy to share and give them tips.

>>10008669
>you really do have to put discrete walls up if you plan to do this full time.
I've been doing artist alley full time for 3 years now....

>>10008675
Woah, I never thought about it like this before.

I feel like it's so petty for artists to be that insecure they're going to bash a person for either making more, or for making less.

I only care to know if an artist makes more so then I can focus on how to work on improving myself. ie. if more successful artist is better at selling techniques, more social media following, better pricing structure, display, etc. But I guess I can see that going back to other anon's concern that other artists will use that info to copy/emulate artist that is more successful. Thus creating more and unwanted competition.

>>10008485
I often share numbers with friends who tend to make similar amounts as I do. EX: If we usually make around the same amount of money at the same cons, and we want to know how a certain convention went that the other didn't attend, we'll share how our profits were.

>>10008700
It is petty, but lots of people are petty that's why a lot of artists would not risk telling just anyone who asks. It's not that people are idk, insecure or whatever but enough of us or our friends have been subject to this kind of behavior so that's just what people learn to keep secret as a defense mechanism.

>>10008529
I'm sorry your parents never taught you how to have a decent convo with strangers.

>>10008736
I'm sorry your parents bought into corporate propaganda that "discussing wages is bad!" and that they spread that propaganda to you. Its just a thing companies decided since they realized that if people talked about their wages, low wage people would realize how low their wage really is and start demanding a raise, so corporate had to make sure that sort of talk doesn't happen.

>>10008754
NAYRT AA profits are not the same issue as wages from a business

>>10008754
Also NAYRT but you’re fucking stupid if you think Artist Alley profits are the same thing as wages. The point of discussing your wages with coworkers is so you are better informed and thus have collective bargaining power. Everyone in AA are separate business entities, we’re not all working for the same company. Your comparison doesn’t even make sense.

>>10008763
>>10008772
I know its not the same, I'm just explaining where the general "talking about wages/income is bad" thing came from.

>>10008778
then don't make that comparison if you know its not the same you soggy walnut

>>10008778
That's obviously not why artists choose not to disclose their AA profits as discussed in >>10008533 , >>10008540 , >>10008675 , and >>10008734

Worker's rights/collective bargaining is completely unrelated to the conversation at hand. I encourage people to share wages in workplaces am pro-unionization. That doesn't mean I'm gonna give every rando who asks me my AA numbers.

>>10008783
>>10008785
I didn't make any comparisons.....

I comfortably share my numbers with friends that make (around) the same, but I have the decency to not share with newbies making a couple hundred bucks a con so that they feel bad (or total randos who come up to my table and demand to know how much I make).

DESU the most annoying people are the mediocre artists who think they're on the same level as you, once you share your profits once they'll never stop whinging and making passive aggressive posts about how they don't understand how you make so much more than them

Speaking of numbers, how much money do you usually make monthly with your online stores? Don’t hesitate to ‘brag’ if it’s high, I’d like to know how high in numbers people actually get, it’s really motivating.

>>10008793
I made about 6k last month but that was because I released a bunch of new merch. An average month is more like 2-3k or so. During the holiday rush it can get up to 10k.

>>10008793
I sell cosplay props and made between $1000 and $3,000 the past 6 months. My worst month this year I made ~$500. Etsy has been really great for me this year.

>>10008793
I sell some artist alley stuff (fanart) but my majority of sales come from resin accessories and charms, make between 3k-5k most months but expecting that to double over oct-dec (already at 4k ish sales for oct)

>>10008793
I make about 4-500 per month. My online sales are trash lol

>>10008796
What type of stuff do you sell? Cosplay props? AA fanart small items?

>>10008898
Fanart (prints, keychains, regular AA fare) and some original stuff.

Since we're talking about online stores, I have a question: in the product description, do you have photographs of the product, or also a sample image of the art itself? Say with prints, I'd feel weird taking a photograph of it when I can instead put a small sample image of the art, but with stuff like stickers, charms, pins, I'm not that sure. How is it best handled?

>>10008669
> people lay out all their money on the bed and count unabashedly.

There's a story behind this, please explain I'm curious

>>10008929
NAYRT I've had this happen to me before too. At the same time though I was more grossed out that they were counting their con money on the side of the bed I was going to be sleeping on rather than how they were showing off how much they made.

>>10008912
I kinda hate when people just post the raw image. I want to see what it looks like printed. Even better is seeing it on a wall or next to a common item for size reference.

>>10008912
For prints I don't particularly care since colors are hardly accurate whether it is a digital version on a screen or a photo with different lightning, but for merch I want to see the item itself.

>>10008796
Do you use Etsy or your own personal shop front?

>>10008986
Oh ew, please don't tell me they were counting on the pillow?
Ironically, money is one of the things I get really squeamish about despite handling it all day in the AA. Gotta love that sweaty boob/butt money.

>>10008793
A normal month can be anything from 3.5-6.5K, months where i drop something huge or holidays can be 10-18k, but the 18k was really outlandish even for me and I do not expect that to happen again. This is my second real holiday season with etsy too so I'm curious if will go up to 10k again even with less new merch.

>>10009309
Do you guys actively promote your Etsy, and do you have other stores outside Etsy? Or do you let Etsy search results bring in your customers?

For me, I've never been able to hit above 2k in monthly sales even though I have alot of prints, charms, AA merch in my shop.

>>10009324
this is what my chart looks like for etsy (this year). etsy does bring in a large hunk of traffic for me. I have no idea what the direct traffic is from to be honest? I use twitter mostly now, but tumblr and instagram a bit too. I closed my other stores so etsy is my only storefront right now.

To correlate with my con sales though, i make 10-15K+ at larger cons. I would consider a 5k con slow not worth returning to unless it was exceptionally fun/local.

I feel that my etsy sales correlate similarly to con sales, if you never make much at cons then your etsy sales might just be in line with your skill or appeal level. However if you make that much at cons and can't make more on etsy there might be something with how you're marketing yourself (or lack of)

All these online sales posts are great, I feel motivated to improve my online store! I make around the 15-20k range at larger cons with 6k being my bottom limit because I would make more at my day job in the time it takes to fully prep for a con (about 2 weeks). I've never really put much work into my online store so I'd be lucky to even hit $300 in a month aside from December.

>>10009337
Thanks for sharing. My Etsy views are alot lower compared to yours. So I wonder if it's Etsy SEO making my search results lower (I'm not based in US, so I'm wondering if Etsy relevance and location based search results are ranking me worse compared to US based shops).

>>10009356
It could be, your SEO habits might not be good too, or maybe your fandoms or merch type are over saturated or too niche etc there could be any number of reasons if you have a strong social media presence and strong at con sales.

>>10009337
>I would consider a 5k con slow not worth returning to unless it was exceptionally fun/local.
wait, what? why? 5k is 5k. Unless you already go to a dozen or so cons a year or something.

>I feel that my etsy sales correlate similarly to con sales

This is somewhat true, but for me, there are some items that just do not sell on etsy, but sells fairly well at cons.

>>10009378
What kind of items do not sell on etsy for you that sell fairly well at cons? I think for me it's prints sadly..

>>10009224
They were counting in the area right below the pillow, underneath the covers.

How do you guys take good photos of merch for your online store? I feel like mine could be improved since they’re pretty plain/basic white background. I really want to have a general theme/aesthetic for my store and table, but I haven’t found anything I liked yet/haven’t explored enough I guess.

>>10009378
I do less than 10 cons but I just don't like to travel so much anymore I guess? If it's local it's not as taxing but basically I want to do only single digit amount of cons per year, and cons that deliver the lowest numbers get the axe and that tends to be the 5k~ cons for me out of wanting a more quiet life.

And yea sorry I didn't mean correlate as in item popularity but just general over all income. Like the more I made in person the more I made online too, but I can imagine if someone only made 5k at the biggest cons, their online sales would also be smaller. So if someone asks why can't they break 2k a month on etsy, but they also can't break 5k at fanime, it makes sense in my mind that it's their skill or offerings and not their marketing specifically.

>>10009383
Absolutely prints. Prints are almost a complete waste of time for me on Etsy. The market on etsy is more "normie" when it comes to prints so prints that are very potrait-y or obviously weeby etc do not do so well on etsy I think. I think stuff like, minimalist ghibli silhouettes or faux movie posters and typography prints probably have a much easier time on etsy.

>>10009354
Yeah, I make in the higher range too but since I use my own personal website that I don't advertise as much, my numbers aren't anywhere as close. This is definitely tempting me to make the switch to etsy.

>>10008793
I bring in around 8-13k per month now (I was bringing in 1-3k beginning of last year) now that it's the holidays I'm expecting a lot more. Last year I got almost 15k each holiday month Oct-Dec and I'm already close to hitting that now so I'm expecting a lot better.

I throw in a lot of free stuff for returning customers or people who spend a lot too. I view cons as networking opportunities to get people to buy from me online because I've hit a point where I can make more in a weekend opening my store than a weekend at a con (I notice a big increase in sales from the state I visit after a con).

>>10009575
Do you usually close and then open your store? Or do you keep your store open all year round?

>>10009577
I close during cons but I stay open about half the year (2 weeks per month) so I have time to ship items out
For the holidays last year I was open the entire time since I had no cons and added new batches of items every other week. This year I don't plan to hustle nearly as much

Do you guys ever run Black Friday sales? And do you find that helps? Or does it make it so people only wait till Black Friday to shop from you?

>>10009617
I do. I think it helps since I get an increase in traffic during it. I feel like some people do wait until Black Friday to get the sale and only shop then, but other people don’t because they don’t want to worry about the item selling out.

>>10009575
>anon makes like 150k a year
jesus fucking christ i'm,,..........

How often do you all come out with new merch? Every month? Every few cons? I’ve gotten really busy with real life and haven’t updated my store in a few months, and my seo/sales have seriously plummeted. Obviously I need to produce new merch, but how often do you guys recommend doing so? It doesn’t help that I can’t keep up with new series much nowadays, but I’m going to try harder.

>>10009628
i try and have a least one new thing each con (whether it be charms, badges, stickers etc), a 'set' of new stuff every season and I try and cycle a lot of my stock year by year. I'm one of those people that lies awake thinking about audiences getting tired of my stock, though.

>>10009632
So you pretty much don't keep any art/merch that's older than a year to sell?

all this talk about etsy: is it easy to open a new account after being banned? i haven't bothered trying.

>>10009640
How’d and why did you get banned?

Anyone successfully found a titty mat printing resource yet?

>>10009637
i have a few personal favourites (mostly original work) I keep to maintain my 'brand' , and some that were selling so well at the end of the year that I keep to try at a few cons in the new year, but mostly swap out. I do a lot of the same cons every year, so I have built up a customer base that buys from me every con they see me so I always wanna have new stuff for them.

new thread: >>10009691