/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

So I'm running a sticker order with Vograce. They are asking me if I want it matte or gloss and I have no idea of the cons and pros aside from aesthetic reasons. I saw a video which says gloss adhesive is better than matte. Is that true?

>>10259284
Matte tends to feel more luxurious imo

>>10259284
I make stickers/labels at work and customers have the option of choosing matte or glossy. I'd say 80% of the orders we get are matte if that helps

I don't even know which of these apply to me since I just sell online and at like 3 conventions a year. I couldn't find anything about a temporary sellers permit. How do I find someone who will hold my hand and tell me what all I need? Will it cost a lot of money?

>>10259451
It says right there “contact the Alabama Department of Revenue.” They will help you for free. If you don’t feel comfortable speaking to them over the phone, you can visit their office. The website should have a list of locations.

Depending on state laws, you may have to apply for the Sales Tax permit (seller’s permit). It’s for collecting sales tax on everything you sell and you submit the sales tax to the state. And because you have an online store, you may have to apply for a permanent permit instead of a temporary one. Or you could be exempt from all that.

When I started selling my art (and I live in California), I was doing 1-2 cons once per year and I didn’t have an online store and I only needed a temporary seller’s permit, which I got from the state’s tax office. But when I started doing AA more often and more importantly I opened an online store, I applied for a permanent seller’s permit. And I also visited my city’s tax office (city hall) to get info on business license/permit and pay the city’s business tax.

>>10259451
it’s >>10259507 again. I forgot to mention that if I was living in Los Angeles, CA, then I would be exempt from obtaining and paying for a business license.

So my point is: contacting the state/city tax department is your best option when you need help concerning permits, licenses, certificates.

>>10259344
>>10259357
Thanks, I went with matte. I realized it's not matte vinyl but matte laminated vinyl which I guess they laminate after printing?

>>10259592
Also, it's worth to mention this is not the first time I talk with a Vograce rep which is nice at first, and then they change personalities and don't want to cooperate in any way.

>>10259451
If you have an Etsy store, I don’t think you will need a seller’s permit for it. Apparently you can set it so that Etsy will calculate, collect, and remit sales tax for you. I don’t use Etsy so I’m not entirely sure.

Does anyone have any cute display/pricing signs to show?
My handwriting is atrocious and I'm considering just printing them now

>>10259724
Seconding this! Especially interested in printed ones, because like anon here my handwriting is not very pretty.

>>10259719
It's only particular states. Some states still require tax filing and may still require permits.

>>10260000
They all require them. It’s how crazy they are with hunting you down.

>>10260266
Truly. If you get a chance to ask about taxes from other vendors in your state, I would. The IRS either doesn't give a fuck about your measly $500 a month or they'll put a warrant out for you because you made $100 at some point in your life.

anyone know if otome games are still a thing/have seen it around any AA's?

>>10260316
Less so the IRS than the local tax authorities. Some shows have state agents visiting every booth and table to shake you down.

Do y’all think Promare will be good merchwise or a fast fad like Devilman Crybaby? I loved it but don’t have cons until next year and don’t know if it’s worth putting time into merch that wont be able to sell or if I should just make some stuff for myself.

>>10259724
I printed on label paper and stuck them on black mat boards for signs! With a cute font and pastel paper/board or cute scrapbook paper, it could be pretty nice and easy signage

I'm considering opening an online shop to sell handmade accessories. What platforms are good for selling on?
>I plan on marketing via social media, primarily Instagram where I already have started gathering a following
>trying to avoid Etsy like the plague for obvious reasons
>currently looking into Big Cartel and Shopify more, but I'm open to other suggestions

>>10261018
If you've already got a following, just make your own website. I'm using squarespace and it's served me pretty good so far! Saved a grand on etsy fees already ugh

>>10260605
I think Galo x Lio merch would make you bank

>>10260605
Since it's limited to just being available in theaters atm (and there's barely any showing it since the premier) I doubt it'll get anywhere as popular as Crybaby did in the states. Probably better off making stuff for yourself now and seeing if the NA fandom is still around and spending money next year.

>>10261038
How does payment processing and shipping labels work compared to etsy?

>>10261082
Payment processing is through paypal and/or swipe so you've got the same 2.5% fee there; The shipping labels is worse as it will only auto calculate for you domestic priority and it has no built in label system. It does however let you setup fixed shipping by weight and location, so after some finangling I got it to a system i like, and I use shippo to bulk print my labels (5cents per label, there are other systems including some free ones, but this is what worked for my output). It was a pain to set up, but it was worth it for me since the 9%!!! Etsy was charging me was ridiculous

I also really like that since it's a website, I can put a blog, gallery, whatever i want on their and customize everything.

>>10261018
I’m currently using BigCartel, with their free plan, where you get 5 listings and one picture for each listing. It only charges you the transaction fees for paying through PayPal. The drawback is that there’s only one picture for listing, but I think if you’re just starting out and don’t have a large following, it’s good.

>>10261038
That's a good idea. I'll definitely look into making my own website too.

>>10261150
How do you like using BigCartel? I was thinking about doing their $10/mo paid plan since I only do drops w/ no permanent collection so 5 listings isn't enough for me.

When did you all decide to take the leap to doing cons across the country? I currently only do conventions on the east coast but that has limited the amount of cons I can apply too.

>>10261602
Basically halfway through my 2nd year I was hitting saturation point just doing CA and Vegas cons so had to hit up a new market.

>>10258325
Can we have another OP pic for next thread?

>>10261514
I like BigCartel, because I only open my store maybe every quarter or so, since i have to hand make my stuff so I'd rather not pay for a website each month. I have a collage of my stuff in one picture so it's okay for me. 5If I start getting more consistent sales, then I'd consider moving to another platform. Both BigCartel and Shopify have free trial periods if you want to try them out though. Also, I don't recommend squareup's site (they make the Square credit card processor) because they recently partnered with Weebly and their site setup isn't very intuitive. I tried using it but I had to Google how to fix everything and I was contacting their customer service, so they need more time to fix their site before I'm willing to hop back on. I saw that Shopify also offers a $9/month plan, where you can put a checkout on your site? But I think if you do that, you might as well go with SquareSpace's since they bundle that in with their website.

>>10261682
I like having the same pic, makes it easy to find the new threads. I wouldn't mind a new design since the pink and blue has been used for a long while, as long as it's still really obvious it's the AA thread.

>>10261682
>>10261790
I lost the original image when my computer died earlier, this year. If you guys have suggestions I'd be happy to create something else.

Does anyone know what the chances of getting off Sacanime waitlist are? I heard sac in particular can get wayyy down the waitlist so you’re pretty much guaranteed a spot if you’re in the top 50 but I feel like my brain definitely distorted some facts there...

>>10261819
>>10261790
I’m just a little tired of the same image. I like that one image of cgl-tan sitting at a booth, if anyone remembers it and knows where to find it.

>>10261874
I still have that on a backup thankfully. I'll use it for the next thread once this one starts autosaging.

>>10261999
Thanks, I appreciate you indulging my whims.

How far are you willing to travel for a convention with less than say 5,000 attendees?

>>10262181
If it's more than an hour away from you, I wouldn't bother. Definitely not worth a plane ticket if it's under 5k. That's pretty small.

>>10262181
no more than 2 hour drive. Only exception is if its a place I really like. Yama-con in Pigeon Forge, TN if 4 hours away from me with only ~5,000 attendance, but I love going each year because its just generally a lot of stuff to do there for cheap that isn't con related.

>>10262181
For me its always hotel costs that are the largest portion of my at con budget so if somethings less than 5k I probably don't want to shell out for the hotel room unless its like, a travel destination and I have a couple friends with me to split hotel

>tfw just realizing never got email back from con about needing a tax's permit or anything
Well I guess I'll try to make a proper call to the state department about as >>10259519 said sometime soon and hope that that goes well.

>Checks out Taobao agent
>Says they are going to have a big holiday in China and orders are going to be delayed
Uh oh, I guess this will affect my Vograce order too.

>>10263174
There’s a good amount of cons that either don’t know or don’t care e.g. they don’t see it as their responsibility to inform and enforce vendors to obtain a seller’s permit. That’s probably why they haven’t answered your message.

>>10263174
>>10263240
Yeah a lot of cons are kind of fuckwads about that. While it used to be kind of frustrating when cons near me started requiring permits, at least it meant they learned about the process and were able to give direction.
Some suggestions based on my own experiences, you do call them: be ready to explain how your business works, emphasize that the permanent part is online only (no storefront), and have an estimation of yearly income handy. You're looking for either a seller's permit for a small/temporary business or how to do sales/use tax filing for a small business, depending on how your state works and what language they use. If you're a fairly low income business they might not require you to file or have a permit, depending on the state. They shouldn't be trying to charge you more money than you make, even in fines if they decide you've done something wrong, because ultimately they want to earn money and demanding money from small businesses that clearly don't make that much and possibly shutting them down before they have a chance to grow isn't their goal. I had a bumpy road with my local office (they thought my house was a storefront early on and tried to charge me extra fees, then later cold visited an old convention location thinking that I had a permanent storefront there; both things got cleared up pretty easily with a phone call) but I like to think, as long as you convey you're honestly just trying your best to do things right, that they appreciate that and are willing to help you. Best of luck!

>>10263240
>>10263284
I see. I was the anon last thread who just got into their first con but this is helpful, thank you both!

So Anime USA worth to sell at or no?

Is it common now for conventions to open table sells for the next year on the last day of con, in the convention hall only? (so you have to be at the convention to purchase) and then putting what is leftover online afterwards? I want to get into a relatively popular con but that is how they do their table sells and as you can guess, there aren't many tables left to purchase online after those already at the con have their pick.

I haven't tabled at a con since 2014 and I have never seen this method before (and it feels really rigged to me too)

>>10263815
this is how it's been for dealers at lots of cons for ages. I've never seen this done for artist alley tho

>>10263822
Yeah, this particular con doesn't differentiate between dealers and artist alley so It goes for everyone. The last time I had a table at this con there was a difference but I guess they've just blended the two together now?

>>10263761
If you're local it can be (because there will be lower costs) but if you're coming from far away then probably not. The con has been in decline for a while now.

>>10263852

Apologies in advance for asking this, but is there somewhere to check what the new hot commodities are that people are interesting in buying merch-wise?
I've noticed a lot of people enjoy more oc/original pieces but it's nice to make some show/game merch as well and I was hoping to seek some insight.

Would it be rude or creepy to send an artist a message on twitter to ask if they still have an item I want in stock? I sen this person a message in etsy 2 weeks ago and never got an answer and was wondering if it would be wrong to just send one more through twitter.

>>10264685
Do you really want to do business with someone who can't even handle answering a simple inquiry? Sounds like they will fuck up your order.

>>10264685
Can't hurt to send a msg through twitter, there's 100 reasons why they could have missed an etsy msg.
>>10264782
Damn you're dramatic over a single DM

>>10264685
Etsy's flat out refused to notify me, or with etsy mobile sometimes I send a message and it just... doesn't go through. No notification from etsy. Def send them a message on twitter

>>10264683
Yeah it's called actually watching/playing/enjoying things. But if you really have to sell out because you're void of a personality and/or interests of your own, just go to the subreddits of the genres you wanna pander your empty art to. See what the top posts are in gaming, anime, etc. Or heck, twitter always has the latest fandoms trending. There's no one source to see what you can make shit for.

>>10264685
Not creepy, just ask. Sometimes artists don't always sweep all their different inboxes and will occasionally miss messages.

>>10264782
>>10264807
>>10264813
>>10264815
Ah ok, thank you all, just didn't want to overstep boundaries, will go ahead and contact them, thanks.

>>10264814
Jesus who pissed in your cheerios

>>10265017
nah, I think anon is just giving their opinion. I agree that you should at least try to enjoy the stuff you're selling or otherwise, if you want to sell out just check out the top threads on plebbit or check /a/, /co/ to see what's hot and do some basic research instead of asking around here.

>>10265017
They're right tho. Why get into AA if you don't even understand how fandom works or have never felt the desire to make fanart before? You won't make anything worth buying.

Anon was asking for beyond-basic info to be spoonfed to them. Asking "what can I churn out some fanart for to make the most money right now" isn't a question you should be asking. Anon isn't just an outsider to AA, they're an outsider to fandom.

anybody know a good place to get dakimakura made in bulk? I'm making my first one and was gonna do a short print.

>>10265097
Doesn't cowcow do them?

>>10265017
echoing other anons but i'll also add: most people who sellout like this make it SO apparent they're selling out (i.e, they only do art of the main characters in a generic comp and pose that says nothing about their characters, miss out crucial plot related details etc) so like. If you really cannot be fucked watching even a couple episodes/lets plays or whatever of a fandom, at least utilize fandom wikis.

DESU the biggest giveaway of someone just making 'the most popular' shit is when they only merch they have on their table is of the single most popular girl from the series (02, nezuko, mercy, etc) in a boring waifu-esque print. If you have even just a small print of a side character it comes across as much more genuine.

>>10264683
>a lot of people enjoy more oc/original pieces
how do I make this work on this planet? people only care about my fan works

>>10265097
alibaba

>>10265489
NAYRT but do them consistently. You can't have 99% fanart and like one piece of original art at your table.

Customers are also more likely to gravitate to things they already have familiarity with even it's original stuff - which is why cute animals, zodiacs, witches, etc tend to do well.

I'm not sure what kind of original work you're trying to do (comic, illustrations, apparel). People really like narrative things BUT usually don't want to buy an entire book to see if they like it or not. If you can, post your stuff online and build a following first. Short online comics about your OCs can grab people's interests and will incentivize them to seek you out and buy them in long published form (or one of merch with said characters).

Also in general, people at comic cons seem to be more open to the idea of original merch/prints than anime cons. Depending on your content, you should try your local comic cons or zine fests.

>>10265489
it depends entirely on whether or not your ocs are 'aesthetic' or not. Random pin up prints of boring ocs do shit regardless of how good your art is. in my experience most people who do well on 'original' art do generic kawaii shit or 'edgy' art

>>10265489
Works well for furries. Look at what they do.

>>10265727
furries are a different case because they don’t HAVE a single canon to draw art of. almost all consumed content is original

Why do round stickers cost nearly double as much as square stickers?

>>10266155
Increased waste? No idea, circles have always been the same price as any shape for me

Does anyone else get after con depression? How do you deal with it? or am I just depressed lmao

Zaps 20 years later finally comes out with holo charms.
I’m pretty excited and hope the quality will be good.

This is probably a stupid question but I'm fairly new at selling at cons, has anyone tabled at Acen and know what the liability insurance coverage cost would be for something like this or if you need it at all?
This is the first I've ever seen something like this but I've also never tabled in Chicago so I'm unfamiliar with this type of thing.

>>10266875
$60-80 for the event.

>>10266482
Yes, all the time.
If sales were good at the con, you might want to go celebrate with a nice dinner or a short trip somewhere.
Tell a friend about the good time you had - it'll help you stay in those memories and help ease the transition back into your normal day to day routine.
Also, cons take a lot out of you, especially if you do them back to back. Allow yourself some time to just chill and regroup.

>>10266985
thanks anon!
80% of the year I'm just at home drawing, I'll take your advice next con

>>10266482
I don't even like socializing and I get these feelings too.
Like other anon said, maybe buy yourself something nice with your earnings. I usually start thinking of new merch ideas and planning for the next con right away and that helps me a lot.

So I’m starting a manga soon and I want to name it after a title of a song by a producer that I’ve loved all my life.
The producer has passed anyway, and I kinda want to do it like in memory of them you know?
Whenever the title of the song is searched online (it’s in Japanese btw), only that producer pops up though, so it’s a pretty unique title, but it’s also an obscure song so it’s not like super popular.

Would this be a wrong or okay thing to do? Last thing I would want was someone saying I’m stealing from them or ripping the producer off, but I truly mean from my heart to do it out of my absolute love of this producer that I’ve had literally all my life.

Can I hear some of you guys input on this? Would it be okay to name my manga series with their song title name?

>>10267367
imo this entirely depends on if the title has any original words in it (i.e fantasy proper nouns) or if its just a normal phrase, the latter is fine, the former is not imo

>>10266482

Its called post-con depression. A looot of people get it. I get it to the point where im only on day 2 and already feeling it cuz im having so much fun.

The way i get over the slump is by hanging out with the friend group the next weekend after the con.

>>10266754
the film they're using looks cloudy.
Kinda like how the Vograce holo sometimes looks.

>>10267367
Is the producer wowaka?

people who sell KNY;
is it worth doing the pillars for merch? or is most of the con-going crowd anime only?

>>10267827
I would make a lot of the popular pillars like Shinobu and less of the niche ones.

Has anyone heard back from katsucon yet?

How many of you have gotten to the point werr you are satisfied with you table display? I'm constantly struggling with my display to make it look appealing.

>>10268052
i'm finally at this point where I committed to a strict color palette and painted/dyed all my display stuff to match. That little bit of cohesion in my display makes my actual art stand out more while also creating a clear definition between my neighbours tables and mine.

>>10267827
Most of them would be worth it, but Rengoku, Giyuu, and Shinobu are by far the most popular. Gyomei and Obani are the least popular, and the rest are somewhere in between.

>>10267367
Do whatever the fuck you want jojo characters are named after every western pop culture available, be free don’t give a fuck have fun

>>10268280
there's a reason why the dubs and games use different names, though.

>>10268280
>>10267367
Be aware that if you get enough traction with your comic with a trademarked name you might get a C&D. Trademarks work differently than copyright (speaking from us perspective) for instance, the baby justice league comic had to change its name from 'little league' because that name was trademarked.
I think best case you screw your own SEO with the name (which, its up to you how important you find SEO anyway) and worst case you'll probably just have to change the name part way through.

>>10268556
>>10267367
If the original song is Japanese, and you the artist are not Japanese, you are totally safe. It's extremely difficult to sue for this sort of thing overseas and this seems like an extremely low risk case to begin with

hey guys, so I'm planning for my first non-local con. For those who fly, do most people schedule their return flight the same day as the last con day or is that way too stressful? (the only flight available after the con ends is exactly 1.5 hours after con closing, so I might leave early) Or should I just try to schedule the earliest flight the next day? I'd just rather not have to take another day off from work/pay for another night at a hotel but something might have to give.

>>10269422
I've never flown, but I would not schedule a flight within a couple hours before the con ends. If its a con you never been to before, you have no idea how long it can take to get out of there. A regular/smaller con can take me 30 minutes to pack up and leave, but Momo-con specifically took me nearly 2 hours to leave the city because of how bad traffic was to get to the loading dock, waiting for room for me to park and load up, and trying to leave with hundreds/thousands of others trying to leave at the same time.
I'd at least ask veterans of that con if it takes longer than normal to be able to leave.

>>10269422
I fly a lot and a typically do not schedule my return flight the same day if I can help it, however when I have had to schedule a flight the same day I typically leave the con early. I know a lot of artists who fly and leave early. Its' especially doable if you have an easy set up

>>10269422
I'll generally fly out the same day since con will generally end at like, 4-5, and I'll take a flight at like 7-8 pm. I just check out of my hotel that morning and (I do tend to pack extremely light on personal stuff so taking it to the table isn't an issue) go right from the convention center to the airport after con. Makes for a long day, but its doable. (Flown for Fanime/AX/ALA)

Worth noting as well that I fly fairly short distances? (just up and down the west coast generally)

hey gulls, how would you deal with this situation?
I've sold some charms of a series for just over a year now, and recently I updated the charm art to have different back art of the characters in an alternate outfit. The original charms I had were just the same art flipped on the back.

At a recent convention someone came up to my table, saw the updated charms (I had a sign telling people to flip them for the alt art) and got very upset bc they had bought one of the original charms and felt 'cheated' bc the new charms were better. They asked for either a refund or an exchange for one of the newer charms and I was so caught off guard by someone making an issue out of it I just swapped the charms. However, I no longer carry any of the original single art charms (i waited until they were all sold out before I updated them) so i'd really prefer to not keep exchanging charms, and it also seems stupid to refund for something that someone bought because they were clearly happy enough with just the single art. Would you guys just refuse to refund or exchange or should I just suck it up and deal with people wanting swaps?

>>10269535
I’d tell them no- they bought it the charm. There was no clause that they would get a new one if the art was updated. They can buy the newer charm and suck it up.

>>10269535
I'd offer an upgrade discount. Sell the new one for 20% off to that person or whatever.

>>10269535
This is specifically why I don’t update my artwork, stop being lazy and just redraw the character in a different pose because it is pretty rude to the customer. Like, why buy from you again if they know in a year or so you’d probably just make a better one? It’s shitty.
However I would have told that person to fuck off if they asked something like that.

>>10269535
Absolutely would refuse a refund. That's absurd that they would expect to get a brand new piece of merch, just because they like the new art more than the old art. They bought the old design as it was with no fuss, and now they're looking for a free meal and a chance to swindle you. Nope.

>>10269568
Sometimes people improve their art. It's not "being lazy". Where the hell do you get off?

>>10269568
nah, bad take
>>10269535
I understand the want to keep a customer happy but they're way out of line. Samsung doesn't let you trade in your old phone when they release a new one, no matter how small the updates.
I'd offer a subscription service, season pass for only $19.99 a month, anytime I release updated merch you can exchange previously bought items for their new counterpart.

>>10269535
I think the customer was out of line to demand a swap, but if you're adding a completely new design to the back with no modifications to the old art? I hope the prices for your charms were raised to reflect the extra work, because I would be privately annoyed too if I paid the same amount and everyone later got the same thing with bonus art. It's natural to improve your art skills and print on better materials down the line, but some reason this bothers me more than just editing old art/straight up redrawing the same thing but nicer.

>>10269535
I think what you did was right. I think that even though you took a short term loss (for the cost of the new charm), at least the customer would likely still give you return business in the future. If I were the customer I would have been disappointed if I supported an artist, bought something, but realized I got an inferior version compared to if I had bought later. If I got a swap, I'd continue to support them. But if you refused. I probably would be hesitant to buy again. Sometimes you gotta put yourself in the customer's shoes.

Though, if I did an exchange, the customer would have to surrender the old version to get the new version.

Even better, I hope you increased your prices, and I'd have the customer pay for the price difference on top. And hopefully that price difference will cover for the cost of printing the new charm you're now exchanging for them.

I know overall it sucks dealing with those types of customer service issues. So I'd never bother updating old charms. I'd draw an entire new line of charms. Then the customer that bought from you would has something new to buy. And the idea of asking for an exchange would never even cross their mind.

>>10269585
> Sometimes people improve their art. It's not "being lazy". Where the hell do you get off?
Really? Is it that hard to redraw a charm? Really?

>>10269720
not everyone likes to shit out 400 low quality chibis for their charms anon. While its questionable to be updating your charms all the time, I can see wanting to spruce up some designs that continue to sell well.

>>10269535
I’m this anon, and thanks for all the responses. I will definitely refuse to exchange in the future but this person was getting extremely agitated - not just normal annoyance or disappointment, hence why I felt pressure to just swap the charms - I’m sure y’all know how it feels to be on day three of a con and just Over It.

A couple of notes for why I made an alt outfit and might clarify why I didn’t just draw new charms ;
- I personally cycle stock out after 2 years. If I’m still into a series, then I’ll draw new art for merch.
- the alt outfits are Halloween themed. I have several conventions in October so I thought it would be cute to have a ‘seasonal’ variant.
- the series is losing fandom interest now so I likely will not restock these charms after this year.

I do price the charms higher than the original ones bc of new art/they have embellishments that the originals did not.

Anyway, I appreciate all the advice.

>>10269568
>why buy when you're just going to make a better one in a year?

why support any artist? artists are supposed to improve with time. you can stagnate in your skills all by yourself

>>10270000
>the alt outfits are Halloween themed. I have several conventions in October so I thought it would be cute to have a ‘seasonal’ variant.
I think you should have said this in your initial post, because that changes the scenario a lot. Now that person is just bitching that they're not getting a seasonal variant for free, which is even more ridiculous. It's like if I went to the grocery store and bought a pack of Oreos, then complained a week later when the Halloween ones get released, and demand that I am given a pack of those for free.

>>10270093
You’re right, I was just trying to be vague to avoid being identified, lol

How did AX signups go for you all today?

>>10270290
>tfw exhibitors hall and don’t have to deal with that bullshit
With that being said god bless the people that only do artist alley. It’s a bloodbath and must be so anxiety inducing

>>10270290
I saw the table pop up several times during the first 30 minutes but unfortunately I was too slow every single time.

And I’ve never encountered this waiting room everyone spoke about but apparently it was pointless.

For those who feel like sharing what is your annual revenue on online sales only? I want to set a goal for myself annually or monthly but since this is my first year having an online store I am at a loss about what is typical. For more details this is a self promoted store with keychains/buttons/pins being my best sellers.

>>10269701
I don’t understand this mindset at all. As someone who has worked retail and done AA, this type of customer service actually doesn’t grow business. From my experience, if someone buys something and you allow them to return/exchange it even if it’s a situation like op’s, all the customer is gonna do is start buying and returning/exchanging unnecessarily. In the end, you’ll lose money on that kind of customer.

>>10271220
It's not like they can't just say 'no' the next time they come around lmao, damn you're dramatic.

>>10271188
I sell cosplay stuff on etsy and make an average of $2,000 a month, and around $5500 in october because of halloween.
in 2017, my first full year of doing this full time (I sold as a hobby the 2 years before that), I was making around $500 a month and $2500 in october.

>>10271188
First year online sales: $1.5k
Second year: $10k
Third year: $15k
Fourth year/This year: $19k so far. Hoping to hit 30k by the end of the year (I make 40% of my sales in oct -dec)

I'm a mid-tierish artist who does original jewelry/clothing/etc . Most helpful change for myself this year was switching to my own website off of etsy, I've saved $1.5k+ in fees already this year.

I would say a good starting goal is to make per month what you would make at your average con.

I'm currently trying to do less conventions and migrate more to online sales, so my goal for this year was to have 50% of my total sales last year be my online-only sales this year.

Hope that helps!

>>10271188
First year - 1.3k
Second year (current) -3k
I'm at the point where I can consistently make 300 a month but that's mainly because of one listing. I suck at marketing and am trying to expand my inventory more.
>>10271358
Whoa that jump from year one to year two is pretty amazing.

>>10271361
yeah! it was due to me switching from 'yeah whatever it's a hobby' to 'lets take this seriously and put some effort in' which resulted in a huge improvement in quality/output . I don't think I'll have another jump like that though xD

>>10271310
As in costume pieces and props? Or something else?

>>10271220
My advice was based on the specific issue that the OP posted about originally. I didn't say they should go and let their customers go and refund/exchange any or everything. We're talking about a product that a customer bought and found out was an inferior one. In the customer's defence, if I were them and liked an artists's work to buy from them, and continue to visit their table again at future cons. But then found out the item I bought from before was missing a feature (double-sided design). I'd think that I had potentially received a defective or inferior product. So to be fair, I'd understand the customer asking for an exchange and giving that exchange to them.

If the customer just had buyer's remorse, or broke the item. Then it'd make sense to do no refund? I still let customers exchange if product is new/unopened/not damaged. You are not going negative in revenue by allowing an exchange of a product that's still new/undamaged. And the customer will be happy.

I believe returning customers are very important.. they tend to spend more and more $$$ over time, and need less convincing or marketing to convince to buy your products. I'd think more about playing the long term game than worrying about the short term gain.

Of course, don't let yourself be taken advantage of. But do show some level of empathy. It will repay itself back in the long run.

To piggyback the current converstation: how do you deal with refunds/replacements when it comes to damaged products? How do you determine where the line is drawn regarding if it was the fault of the customer or with the product, and does your approach on how to handle it change depending on which it was?

>>10271614
If it's something mailed and it arrived damaged I generally will replace it free of charge, especially since it is so rare. The only exceptions are international orders (I'll try to split the shipping if the person is nice) and if the person seems to be lying or is a huge jerk.

If it was an item at the con, it really depends on a lot of factors like how many of the item i have left / if it's a hot seller and if the person is nice or accepts fault etc.

For example best case scenario, if they come to me telling me they broke it and would like to buy a new one and i have plenty of the item left, i will just give them a replacement. It's cost almost nothing for me and since they were so honest they deserve it for free.

If I'm running out of the item, i would offer then a 50% discount easily or even offer to mail the replacement to them if i know i have more stock at home.

If I have a lot of the item but they are jerks or entitled ("Um this broke, what are you going to do about it?" kind of attitude) about it, I may offer them a 50% discount. If they are jerks / entitled AND i don't have many left I may tell them sorry that happened.

Needless to say if it's something silly like a phone strap snapping or what not i would replace that no questions asked, but i know my product well enough that if someone snapped a charm in half down the middle it wasn't the products fault.

>>10271614
Basically if it falls apart during the con, like a loose pin post or the jump ring not being securely closed on a charm, I would replace it immediately because it was my fault in not quality checking my stock before handing it off to the customer.
With online orders, I ask for a photo before making a judgment. I had an order where one of my older charm designs snapped during transit, and after looking at the photo, I realized it was my poor design choices that made it fragile instead of the post office's fault, and also replaced that.

On the opposite end, someone asked me to replace their lanyard after 3 months of daily use and it turns out they shoved another split ring through the lanyard cloth with 20 other charms and keys, so I had to refuse.

There's things inbetween the spectrum, like exposed acrylic getting scratched, which is determined by how much of the design I have left and frankly, the customer's attitude when asking for a replacement.

>>10271501 If it's something like an "inferior" shrinky dink charm and I moved the same art onto acrylics, I would offer a discount, but wouldn't swap it. While I don't like the idea of updating the same art with a double sided design later down the line either, OP's clarification about it being a limited seasonal item is understandable, and the customer's response to seeing it sounds like someone I wouldn't want as a repeat customer anyway.

>>10271445
furry ears/tails, and TV heads.

>>10271614
I offer to fix if its at a con and its fixable, or, whether online or at a con, I give a refund or exchange if its something that broke way before it should have. If they contact me about something breaking right after they got it, its usually my fault.

Speaking of updating artwork, I have a print with all of the different pokemon types in one comp that I was going to update with the newest ones but now it seems like a not so cool thing to do to people that already bought the first version of the print. I was hiping when I first started (back at gen 6) to have them all done before the next gens but now with gen 8 coming out I'm at loss with continuing this type of print set.

>>10271880
Ccayco updates his artwork all the time I think your fine when it comes to Pokémon. It’s understandable to update it.

>>10271880
I think it's fine to same art and shift the composition around to fit in a new character/Pokemon when they're introduced in a group print. It's not like you could have predicted what's coming out, and the nature of Pokemon in particular means you're always going to have to add more to complete the set.

Very noob questions but its my first time doing a con ever,
I bought a table for December for ConAltDelete.
I'm looking to probably split a table with someone as I'm probably not going to have enough merch for a whole table, but the fine print says you can't lease/sell table space, how much to they enforce this at a smaller con like CAD? Same with the "no fanart" rule. I got an email from them saying "Fanart is generally not prohibited by our events, but it is up to you to ensure you are not violating copyright or trademark laws." I'm guessing that's something most cons just have to say?

>>10272154
Not familiar with the con but judging from the quotes, you can split the table with someone but cannot sell the entire space (ie you have to go through the con if you’re not planning on tabling there anymore). You can sell fanart, but if something happens and the copyright holder comes after you then you’re on your own (ie the con won’t come after you but it won’t protect you either, so sell at your own discretion).

>>10271880
ehhh, i think prints are a lil different especially when you're introducing new characters? I have an OW group print I update sporadically with new heroes.

>>10271614
its almost never worth the badwill to NOT replace an item, especially if its something with a low manufacturing cost (i.e charm, print, etc). I understand being selective for handmade items, and it would depend on if the damage was because of a structural weakpoint with the construction or because it was handled too roughly by the client (i.e....i'd refund/replace a snap at a delicate point, but not something that is heavily scratched or scuff)

>>10271893
>>10271918
I actually kinda disagree with this. As an artist I can absolutely understand the idea behind just updating an older artwork to then have more time to spend making completely new stuff for other series, but (and this is very big but for me) as someone who also frequents the AA as a customer, if I saw an artist with the same print but just constantly updated to include new characters I'd just peg them as lazy. Even worse, if I've bought a print and then see the same print eventually updated with all of the new characters awkwardly just shifted in between the old ones, I don't think I'd bother buying from them again, and certainly not buying the same print twice. If instead I saw that the artist made an all new print with different composition and execution obviously I'd buy it even if I already owned a print of the same characters from them previously because now at least it's not the exact same one as the one I already bought once.
I think updating older art or redrawing something after improving your skills is all well and good for something you just post online, but I think when you're asking money for something it's just nicer to actually put some extra effort into your stuff.

>>10271614
> In person I replace or fix the item regardless of fault (unless it's something very expensive)

> Online orders, if it's my fault I will offer a partial refund or a replacement (though I often have them ship the defective item back to me)

> Online orders if it's not my fault I will typically give them repair instructions, or sometimes offer to send them replacement parts (charms, etc) if they will pay for shipping.

I generally ask online orders for photos as well

Anybody makes foiled stickers or is it too much of a hassle?

I made it into AX. First time tabling. How much should I expect to make?

>>10272570
I think the range on the survey was like $65 to people making five figures?

If its really your first con, hope you either have amazing art or a good following cause otherwise.... rip

>>10272570
Uuuh good luck. Like what >>10272586
said, it’ll depend on your status as an artist. AX is a big playground so there’s a large amount of potential, but you can easily be swallowed up if your presence is not strong enough.

>>10272570
Different anon same situation, how many large eye catching prints should I stock? I’m more of a charms person and never dealt with a convention this big

>>10272570
>>10272614
Yeah, to repeat, good luck.
You are both little baby deer about to attempt to swim through a river of crocodiles. It will be a miracle if you don't get eaten.

Even if you have never been to a con this size, at least if you had experience we could have something help you build off of. But you have nothing.

No one here can tell you the answers to these questions. It's going to vary greatly from artist to artist. There is no way to guess what you need to bring or how much without more info. There is no way to guess how much you will make without knowing what your art looks like, what your layout is, main products, etc. and even then it's not a sure guess since there are multiple other factors involved.

Like the other anon said, at AX you need to have something special that sets you apart, because you are competing with a ton of other people, majority of which likely have more experience selling, marketing, etc. Yes there are a lot of attendees, but they have more selection. That's why there's a huge gap between people that make $500 and people that make over $5k.

Why are they choosing you over someone else?

Did you not do any research before jumping in?

>>10272621
Thank you for responding anon, I’ve been an attendee for the past 6 years and I believe I’m at a point where I trust I can dive in and not get eaten. This goes for artist talent level, production, market, fandom knowledge and information researched. Last year especially I took notice what things were extremely lacking in the market and hope to profit of them in the upcoming con.(I wanted to kms every time I saw a BNHA food charm or eeveelution enamel pin) I have researched the best I can online already, looking back at archives, tags,forums,videos so I definitely have a sense of where I am rn and where I need to go. At least having a few artist friends and being an LA local helps lol

>>10272632
>Last year especially I took notice what things were extremely lacking in the market
not to be that person, but hopefully they're not the type of stuff people don't do because they don't sell, anon.

>>10272635
No I’m not referring to things like merch of a obscure character from an obscure show that only me and 5 others have watched, I meant things like alive niches, and not the same low effort copy paste designs I’ve been seeing for years

>>10272644
You definitely have a good train of thought for not just producing run of the mill crap. So that should help. Obviously something that's repeated ad nauseum here is "don't draw stuff you're not passionate about." because everyone does that. Your base thought is correct; find your niche and fill it.

Again, still difficult to give you exact advice without the other notes I gave above. Essentially you're going to have to go in relatively blind to see what does well for you and what does not. Some artists can't move large prints at all, for others that's all they sell. Same thing can be said about charms, apparel, etc.

Hopefully you make back table.

General advice to any new artist reading this thread, it would be better to start at a smaller con and do aa consistently for at least a year before even thinking about a show as large as AX. By then you know what sells, what doesn't, and if you're even going to make it at tabling.

Unfortunately this market is so saturated that if you're not making decent money (like at least a couple grand profit per con)by at least the end of the first year...you likely just don't have what it takes without some major reinventing.

>>10272621
>Why are they choosing you over someone else?
You know AX is FCFS right?

>>10272668
It's pretty obvious I was talking about the customers choosing who to buy from, anon.

>>10272671
Well excuse my retardation then. Carry on

So Coco asked me if I was ok with paying through Alibaba. Has anyone done this?

>>10272845
Yeah. Imo paying by Alibaba is safer than Paypal.

>>10272845
Alipay's pretty secure

>>10272845
>Has anyone done this?
Go ask Reddit

So an artist I follow has been talking about possibly selling these wax stamp seals of logos from FE3H and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Does anyone have comments? I feel like this person could get in trouble if they decided to sell them, but I’m also not friends with them so I don’t feel comfortable telling them that.

>>10272845
I typically pay through alibaba. It's loads cheaper

>>10273499
I'm not sure this would be more of an issue than selling pre-made cosplays or merch that's more graphic design than drawing. The worst that can happen is a cease and desist.

>>10273552
>
I guess it’s cause they’re not making th stamp themselves they’re getting them manufactured. So it’s comparative to making an enamel pin of a poke ball or other iconography and logos from franchises without adding anything of their own artistry?

>>10273499
Am I just blind or does that stamp not look very good? I think if you didn't have the pin next to it, you'd have a hard time making out the design if you weren't already familiar.

>>10273587
Same.
I’m not similar with FE3H so I didn’t know what I was looking at. I couldn’t tell that it was an animal and it took me awhile to realize the logo on the wax is same as the pin’s.

>>10273587
I think it'd look better if the dark blue on the pin was the part that imprinted. It would let the white look lighter, and you'd get less of an awkward look.

>>10273587
it's not just you, it would have looked 100x better if they'd just colored the raised part with pen or something

>>10273499
Not quite the same, but an artist I follow kind of bounces between really nice original merch, and then the official art basically edited and printed as merch (mostly pins, a few prints). I've bought their stuff before and really liked it, but sometimes I wonder why they go and make merch that's just official art reprinted. It might just be me, but I'd rather they just focus on making their own art.

>>10273499
this would look much better if they switched the raised part with the unraised part... like, if the mane was low and the face/paw were the raised parts.

>>10273777
They probably make the original art merch for themselves but probably think they have to shill fanart merch to make money and they might not have the will to express their creativity for the fanart stuff in more unique ways than just porting official art and stuff.

>>10273656
>>10273781
I agree! Making the face and paw pop into the foreground and keeps the mane in the background.

>>10273781
I was thinking the same thing!

So I’ve been selling prints of my digital art at cons.

These prints have my signature which was added in the original art. While selling them at cons, buyers want me to traditionally sign the prints.

Is it redundant to traditionally sign a print that already has a digital signature built in? Should I have removed my digital signature before creating prints?

Also, should I sign my name on the front or back of the print? I’ve had some buyers ask me to sign the back because they don’t want my signature to distract from the art, and/or they want to display the art in a frame, and others want my to sign the front to show off that they had it personally signed by the artist. Dunno if there’s a standard rule to where to place a signature on a print.

>>10272644
From what I’ve seen from cons, and the artist market itself, the artists that get the most customers are those who have an appealing house style. Like anything they draw, whether its fanart or original work, has an iconic look to them.

For example, look at the artist Jen Bartel. Whether she’s drawing Captain Marvel, or Sailor Moon or trans feminist witches, everything she draws has a type of branding to it.

As an artist, especially as a vendor, you need to market yourself as a brand. The ones that are drawing flavor of the month anime, or pokemon, are the artists who are desperate for buyers. If people like your work, it doesn’t matter the subject.

Although, it is always cool to see fanart for niche fandoms. I did a Space Channel 5 shirt design a few years ago, and when I wear the shirt at cons, I get the occasional fan who compliments my shirt and tells me how there isn’t enough love for the game out there.

>>10274419
do whatever you want with the printed signature as long as people can see it on your display (like don't hide it with a post it note)

If someone asks for a signature in person as well simply say "sure, do you prefer it on the front or the back?", there's no standard otherwise everyone has their own preference. I would say most of the time people prefer it in front, but those who prefer it behind would be sad if you made an assumption without asking and just signed it in front.

>>10274435
Do you think its ok to leave the digital signature in the artwork itself, or should I remove it before creating art prints?

>>10274419
>>10274528
If it's small/unobtrusive it's no big deal to keep it in, although unless it's fully legible and not just a scribble I don't see what including it gains you.

>>10274528
I personally do not include it but some people it blends well with the art so there's no harm. I use a very small water mark instead with my URL (if it works with the print), a legible signature can serve a similar job.

Don't think too hard about it it's not a big deal.

Slightly off topic but it's scary how fast fandoms move now a days.

>>10268040

>>10274924
It’s because things blow up much faster too. Once the new FoTM series/movie/game rolls around, literally everyone are talking about it, making fanart and having merch for pre-order. Everyone jumps on the new hot thing too fast to gain some attention or quick bucks, and it burns everyone out fast too.

KnY and FE3H are probably the biggest examples right now of stuff that blew up fast and are already getting oversaturated with the exact same shit everywhere. I’ve long since stopped keeping up with fandoms as they come and go, I just play and read on my own pace and make stuff I really like. It must be exhausting to do AA for a living.

If a convention offered same day or next day printing for 11x17s for roughly the same cost as the FedEx across the street (potentially 20-30 cents less per page) and roughly equivalent print quality, would you use the service? How much additional printing do you do at a con?

The printing process would be something easy like uploading the files to a form online and paying with a debit card, then the completed prints getting dropped off at your booth when they're finished. You'd probably have to sign a receipt to say you received them, but nothing more complicated then that.

I'm a staffer for a con that's considering setting something up, but we're not sure how much of a demand there is for it.

>>10275152
Fire Emblem has some staying power, I still make new merch for FE:Fates because it still sells three years later.

>>10275219
I would be interested.

>>10275219
Especially with booth drop off, I'd be up for something like that.

>>10275219
I would be, but it would not be predictable. I would not do this for my normal stock, but restocking for saturday and sundays when things unexpectedly sell out would be a treasure.

Is there much demand for fanart of Akatsuki no Yona or webtoons like Who Made Me a Princess? I love them but I’m a slow drawer so I don’t know if it’s worth time making merch of them. I don’t usually see much merch or talk around webtoons or manga-only series either so I don’t know what to expect.

>>10275503
I feel like webtoons, even the mega big ones, stray too much into 'small creator' territory to be making for-profit fan merch of imo

>>10274924
I was just thinking about that the other day. Makes it so exhausting to keep up, even as a customer. Like wow I sure do love seeing all artists in the AA selling the exact same thing.
I hope this trend stops eventually

>>10275790
Mmm makes sense. Might make some freebies then. Would like to have something that helps me find other fans.

>>10276177
It’s something that’s slightly becoming part of culture as a whole with even regular non-weebs with instant gratification, Twitter/Instagram/Facebook promoting short attention spans and an easier way for people to get news of the next hottest trend and then something to replace that just as fast.

>>10275222
Fire Emblem will stay to some degree like always, but it tends to overshadow itself with the next big game, like Fates getting drowned out by Three Houses.

I think the main distinction with 3H is that it blew up even bigger than the previous entries and in the era where everyone can make merch quickly. Everyone and their mom are already selling charms of the three lords online. I even like the game and characters and I'm tired of them being all over every AA the next couple of months already. I think the sheer oversaturation will hurt its lasting power. People will only have interest in seeing the exact same shit over and over again during a concentrated time period.

How do you feel about holo charms as a buyer?

>>10276466

Along with that, the mobile game is still very popular and if they announce a Camilla, Lyn, or Lucina alt, everyone will burn a hole in their wallets.

>Fates getting drowned out by Three Houses.
>People forget Echoes existed.

>>10276740
The remakes never made it big anyway. I actually like Echoes better than Awakening, Fates and Three Houses, especially in terms of character designs, but I know I'm in the minority and there's a million more fanmerch made of FE games not Echoes.

It's just that I agree with >>10276177. I'm tired of seeing everyone making merch of the exact same thing. Fire Emblem is kind of like Pokémon in that there are a million characters and everyone makes the same merch of the same 5% most popular characters again and again.

>>10276747
In the end, it's a business and it sells. It sucks seeing the same 10 popular franchises being sold at every A. Sucks that you're looking everywhere for that one or two franchises you like and 1/10 times, it's done in a style you're not too fond of.

>>10276755
Sure, but how do people not get tired of it? Is there really that many collectors out there who can’t get enough of Eeveelutions?

>>10276669
It can be pretty nice, but I’m against slapping holo on everything just because. It should enhance the design, not distract or obscure it. Don’t force it because it’s a gimmick.

>>10276669
Like other anon said, I really like it when it makes sense or has some clever usage, but it's also not going to be the thing to convince me to buy something that I'm on the fence on, much less something with mediocre or bad art that I would never buy. I don't know about general customers though, they'll already buy mediocre art if it's of their favorite characters, so in that case holo might be enough of a draw to get them to buy one mediocre charm over another.

>>10276669
If it's art I like, the holo will convince me to spend $12 when I'm usually not fond of more than $10 per charm.

If it's art I'm meh about, I might have bought it at $10 but I won't at $12, no matter how many sparkles you shovel on top.

>>10276777
The answer is yes, I have friends for whom that's their go-to merch at cons, charms, prints, coin purses, hoodies, bags. If it's got umbreon/espeon/flareon they're on it.

Is it okay to change/add things to my portfolio while waiting to hear back from conventions?

>>10277021
Sure, your portfolio is there to tell them what skill level you're at and if you already have a good variety of merch to offer, it's totally normal to make new things and run out of others in the time between your application and the con

>>10276755
Oh god ANYC is going to be flooded with KNY stuff.

Does anyone have pictures of two table corner setups? Like the premium Katsucon spaces (idk if they just started doing that this year)

>>10265489
The people I see who are successful just do a niche thing with their original art. Cute sells, always. One of the tables at my last con just did cute cats as food, in space, etc and she had a good crowd all weekend. But like, a style that is just really beautiful and majestic that harkens to maybe mythology or fairy tales would sell. Artists like Stephanie Pui Mun Law just need to have that beautiful wow factor to sell art.

>>10276755
I'm currently working towards making art of almost entirely older series that are highly acclaimed though not all commercially popular. Gonna take a gamble, I'm too old to just follow the current trends when there are a million other artists doing the same thing and I'm indifferent to most of the stuff currently popular. May fail miserably, will find out soon enough.

>>10277968
I've also been wanting to do art of anime that I personally enjoy that's not crazy popular. You might also get better business selling that stuff online. Just do research on which stores will fit your style. Best of luck!

>>10277968
>>10278007
This shit is always the biggest gamble, my self indulgent prints are always either completely dead rocks or bar-none best sellers.

>>10276777
You forget that there's a constantly replenishing generation of kids and fans who get into Pokemon who inevitably love eevee and the eeveelutions, so it's not just the same people every time, it's new kids and fans who love the eevees and that's why sales for eeveelutions are so consistent.

>>10276964
lmao flareon sells really poorly for me, jolteon sells much better for some reason, but umbreon has always been the top seller amongst my eeveelution merch, probably because it's the most popular in north america, so I feel like that's pretty consistent.

>>10278018
big same

I did 2 prints of characters I genuinely love from 2 different series, one has done incredibly well because most of the time I'm the only person that has a print of that character, the other has done extremely poorly because the show didn't take off as well as everyone thought, and other people had better/more interesting prints of the same character

Can we get some business card inspo going on? I'd also like to hear what peoples preferences are when it comes to cards. Should they have one or two sides, what information should be included, is there any merit to splurging a bit and getting something really nice done or should they just be kept relatively cheap and simple, etc.

>>10278246
I'd love this.

>>10278246
Personally, I have two types of cards - cheap, one sided cards that leave on the table for people to take (since some people just... collect them) and a nicer, two-sided version that I give to people that I want to look more professional for (business enquires and so on).

Don't have pics of my business card on me rn but I have this meme which has basically become my brand on the front and on the back I have a small character and my info.
I've thought of changing it up, but too many people like how memey my business card is and sometimes other artists and attendees only recognize me bc of this face which I can't tell is a good or bad thing ahaha...

>>10278246
I sifted through a threat on AANI and pulled out some good and bad examples. (imo)

Personally, I think that its a completely unnecessary expense to have "fancy" business card. Literally no one but a handful will care, and your card will likely still have the same percentage of people trashing it, pocketing and forgetting, etc.

I do however think double sided is necessary. Your selling art. Give them one side to showcase it and the other to provide clean info.

>>10278477
*thread. *you're. wow. sorry not proofing here.

From my examples you can see what I think makes a good card. Good graphic design, clear and readable font, cohesive, personalized, without being really busy or really bland.

>>10278479
Annnnnnd, some bads. Not even judging art here. There is just a clear lack of any design skill. Illegible font, too busy, no cohesive theme, or just straight up bland and lacking personality.

>>10278356
Heeey, found this anon in the same thread. I attempted to censor juuuust in case you didn't want your info on here.

>>10278246
I would say that this business card falls into the "bland" category. Meme face is fine, you do you. Put I'd fix up that info side of your cards. Maybe even get rid of the girl and just have a clean side with your info (in a nice bold "handwritten" font in black) and maybe a little icon/logo and do it in white + gold/yellow to match the lonk face.

Obviously that's just my opinion. (sorry to use anon as a reference point)

But I think the difficult thing for artists making business cards is being great with art, but not being as great with design and making decisions that showcase a lot of their art, but end up doing a disservice to their business.

>>10278480
>typing the entire url as if you can hyperlink via print
I am amused and concerned

Are business cards important if you have only an online shop? I never really invested in one.

>>10278480
>autistic faerie

wow

>>10278497
they're only important if you go places that you would give them out. so no, if you're online only i doubt you'd need any. only if you do like a craft fair/aa/etc

>>10278497

For online shops, if you want people to remember that your shop exists, rather than a business card I've seen people do some sort of useful card that would get kept -- eg, pocket calendars, bookmarks, even greeting cards.

The artwork and the name of your online shop would be on the card, so every time it gets used, people would remember your shop exists. In the case of greeting cards, it does get given away, hopefully to someone else who would also have an interest in your shop.

>>10278497
Yes I think they are very important. You can do information cards about your products instead if you want. I'm trying to get people to move from shopping on Etsy to shopping on my website so I'm hoping the business cards will do a good job of directing them

>>10278565
Ntayrt, but this is a really great idea for establishing brand loyalty too. I've been promoting my online shop more didn't even think of it this way.

>>10278483
Nah thanks for the input, I've had this same business card for 3 years ever since I made it last minute for a con so it does need a more significant update and care haha

>>10278246
Along with this I love catalouges and think an inspo folder for them would be great too.

I was also thinking of printing physical copies of a catalouge to have at my table for people to take if they decide to "come back". Do any other artists do this?

>>10278760
I wonder as well if physical catalogs for people to take away would work? Or if people will just grab it and run, since they got "free art" by taking your catalog...

>>10278797
I mean it wouldn't be high quality printing and the art would be pretty small, like home computer print quality. If anything shit loads of watermarks could help too.

>>10278760
>SML and LRG
>when S/M/L already means three different sizes
>when just writing "small" and "large" properly wouldn't even take that much more space
This really bothers me.

>>10278760
imo I think printed physical catalogs are only useful if you have a swarm of people at your table, like at AX and/or if you're a popular artist who constantly has a queue of customers.
Doing >>10278825 for non-print/sticker items sounds like a waste to me, a lot of impulse buys at con are from people who look at the reflective shiny charms/buttons/enamel pins in person, and most people usually ask to take a photo to send to friends if they potentially want to buy it later.

Has anyone ever been kicked out of a con before? It happened to me at my last con (because of my tablemate not me).

>>10278991
What did your table mate do anon?

>>10278991
A couple years back I got kicked out from a major anime con. I was sharing my table with a friend and some of her art was drawn by her boyfriend. People recognized the art and knew the artist was supposed to be a guy. Staff told us to pack up and leave. No warning nor strikes. This happened on the first day of the con. A con I flew to and booked a hotel room for. Every year since then the con rejected me so I suspect maybe I’m shadow banned.

>>10278991
I ALMOST got kicked from a con because of a tablemate. I had a falling out with a friend shortly before the con and my tablemate decided it was important to tell the con heads in case the former friend decided to be a problem at our table. To be clear, it was an industry show and the former friend was going to be an attendee. The convention wanted to kick me as they considered me dangerous even though the former friend was just being kind of mean and made no threats of violence.
I've never been accepted to the con again but the table mate has. I suspect I've been banned. Tablemate and I are no longer friends but the former friend and I made up and he apologized for all the trouble.

I wish it was reasonable to just tell artists when they're banned, so they know for certain and stop applying when it's a waste of time. Too bad that would just open a shit can of worms.

are double-sided charms a make or break for you guys? As in, would you be a lot less inclined to buy a charm if it was single-sided?

I have a whoooole lot of charms I need to pump out and well, I know it sounds lazy, but I don't know if I'll have energy/enough creativity to draw a backside for all of them in time. I know patterns are seen as kind of a cop-out, too, so not sure if I should resort to that.

>>10280336
>I want to pump out a lot so it looks like I have a lot but I also want to put as minimal effort as possible
These are why people like you fail time after time. Try and give a shit anon that mindset is getting you nowhere.

>>10280336
I feel like it's fine to make the backside just the front side mirrored, I see a lot of those in artists alleys

>>10280336
Unless it's a charm going on my itabag, I won't buy single-sided charms because I hang them from keys or my phone, so I want them to have stuff on both sides.

>>10280336
I don't buy single sided charms, but I don't care if the back side is the same art as the front side.

>>10280359
>>10280371
>>10280525
Good to know, thanks. It’s also because one of my designs uses text and can’t be mirrored (it would show through the clear part) so I was a little stuck, but I guess it’d still be better to make a backside for at least the non-text portion.

>>10280543
Just mirror the image and fix the text and specific details so they are the right way on both sides. This minimum of effort even casuals will frown upon if you can’t achieve.

Since we're on the topic, do any of you make wooden charms? Buy them? Both?

Acrylics won't hurt my art, but wood is way better for my style and my potential market. But they don't come two-sided and I know that might be a blow against me.

Any experience? I see people discuss wooden lapel pins on AANI, but not so much the charms.

>>10280058
Is your name Dot and do you work for Youmacon lmao

Does anyone have some good set up photos or tips on how to display shirts? I only have two designs right now and am having trouble on how to show them on my display..
I thought about hanging the two vertically, one above the other, on my backdrop thing with my prints? Another option would be to have them somehow from my grid cubes?

>>10280731
I'm thinking side by side on hangers at the top, and put cardboard in them to keep the design flat and visible

>>10280058
Leak the list

>>10280709
I make wooden charms, because I love the aesthetic of them. I sell online more than in person so I don't know how it affects customer's decisions, but my own personal feelings are that there are already so many acrylics that sometimes people will go towards wood because it's something different. Some things to keep in mind though are that there's sometimes texture in the print, so you have to be okay with the art not being perfectly smooth, and that they are more likely to break or be scratched since the art just sits on the surface, and there's sometimes a grain to the wood that makes it brittle compared to acrylics.
Personally I'd love to see and buy more wood charms and pins, especially if the art is matched to that aesthetic. I really want to buy more printed acrylic and wood pins in general but there are so few. I display all my purchases in pin bags so having doublesided doesn't really mean anything to me, and pins are better than charms for that purpose.

>>10280711
speaking of dot who else is priming themselves to have to deal with this psycho in person this weekend

>>10280734
Adding onto this, if the hangers aren't lying flat you can use a binder ring or zip tie (any secure attachment really) to connect the hanger to the wire grid so it lays properly and not crooked!

>>10280731
Jumping off this, does anyone have a good way to display 15" pillows without taking up too much table space? I'm table sharing for AX, but I have a lot of pillow designs and my table space needs to be used for smaller items like charms, pins, washi tape, etc. I'd like to hang them up, but they're abnormal shapes so they're hard to hang with binder clips and they also tend to slip down from the clips. Would putting a cardboard piece inside help with the slipping issue? Or is there a better solution?

>>10281155
Have one out for physical touching display and have a catalog right next to it of your variants.

>>10281155
Cardboard will keep them flat, if they keep slipping try putting large safety pins through the back and using that as an attachment

>>10280887
Thank you so much. This is helpful!
I'm in waiting list country when it comes to shows, so I'm still working on that while building inventory and selling online.

My artwork is flat vectors, so it lends itself well to the unpredictability woodgrain. I'll keep the fragility issues in mind. It seems like a tradeoff vs acrylic's chipping potential.

I feel stupid for not noticing earlier and asking the seller about some problems I found with the items I bought from them. One of the little charms didn't have the protective sticker like the others that I bought, and it had quite a few scratches on it too. Then a pin that I bought from them had some small scratches/marks on it as well. Should I message them about it or let it go? I love their work, but I feel bummed out that I received products of this quality. I don't know.

>>10282350
You can try messaging them, but if it's been a while since you've bought them, it'll be a lot harder to prove your case (meaning proving that the damages were the fault of the seller and not something that happened during your period of ownership);

>>10282361
I understand. I should clarify that I bought the items on Friday and today (Saturday) at a convention. I didn't think about checking them out more thoroughly until I got home.

yall seeing this youmacon shit in aani

>>10282526
That email was super cringe.

>>10282369
I don’t think there’s any harm in passing by their table on Sunday and politely bringing up the issue. Something like “Hi, I bought these items on Friday and noticed yesterday that there were a lot of scratches on the surface. Is this normal? Could I exchange it for another one?” Provided that the items are intact and still in their original packaging, I think most artists would agree to exchange it.

>>10282350
Yea, just go back to their table and ask. Usually they'd be happy to exchange it for you. Sometimes pins can come with some cosmetic flaw, and not every artist has the time to quality check before con. Or some could slip through.

Not sure about the scratched up charm tho. Sometimes it could be the clear film is the extremely clear type that are super hard to peel off getting scratched. But I am sure they'll be able to help you out. And at least swap it for you as long as the product hasn't been used.

>>10282526
Dot is an idiot and doesnt understand how any of this works. She insists that the issue is resolved because she "apologized" and is ignoring all the other issues people are bringing up and digging this hole fucking deeper lol she better be fucking fired.

>>10282556
>>10282550
Thank you very much for your responses. The charm and keychain came in a little clear baggie, and I only looked at their details. I don't think there's clear film because the other 2 charms I bought from the set had a noticeable sticker film over them. This one has damage right on the charm's backside. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it to the con today. Would it be normal to explain the situation to them through messaging? If not, I guess I'll just accept the mistakes and be more cautious next time. I appreciate your input!

>>10282637
The charm and *pin*, I meant to say.

>>10282637
You're stressing too much about this. It's a charm. What's to lose in asking for a replacement, $8? Just do it.

>>10282526
Do you mind posting screenshots? I'm not on Facebook.

>>10282751
Her response to the comments in AAIN. What a fucking idiot what

>>10282760
How are people this incompetent at their jobs?

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSepx_9jtc56CiHIhxzGZ6DJj8Ta-Bn4L-FCtglPTeRe9fYiHg/viewform

anonymous feedback form for youmacon if any of you want to voice your Dot rage

>>10282526
Fucking insane. I can't imagine walking in morning-of and finding staff TEARING DOWN AND DAMAGING MY SHIT with no prior notice because they sent one (1) email the night before to the wrong fucking person. The amount of unprofessionalism...

>>10282637
Just send the artist a message and ask about it. Worst case scenario, you bring it back to them at another con to exchange.
Best case scenario, they ship you a replacement for free.

>>10283484
I honestly can't get over it. Especially because it sounds like Dot was being so self righteous and proud of herself for finding a criminal but she was just too disorganized and stupid to realize they had been on the convention website as a confirmed artist already. Absolute morons with power trips and can't even do their job.

>>10283484
Fill me in on this shit

>>10282760
I like how dot loses her shit at this but there was an artist that set up shop that wasn't supposed to be there, and stayed there the entire weekend lol

Here's a paste of the post everyones asking for
https://pastebin.com/9HgLqnBf

img is the email sent

>>10283655
wtf?????????????

>>10283651
Any more deets on this? Our friend got there and someone had checked in under their artist name.
I'm wondering if it was the same person

>>10283655
what in tarnation

Anyone know what happens to your application fee if you don't make the comiket lottery? Are you just fucked?

>>10280711
It's just standard operating procedure in con staffing to silent blacklist (essentially ghost) artists instead of telling them they're banned. I say this with good intent, as someone who has worked both sides of the table, but y'all are drama loving assholes.

Or, more accurately, the type of artist that accumulates bans is a drama loving asshole. If someone's on the black list it's usually for a good reason - generally because they broke rules repeatedly (such as continuing to sell traced work after being told to take it down multiple times throughout a weekend), but sometimes just because they are DEEPLY unpleasant to work with. Either way, it's the type of person who given the ammunition will blow up a victim complex PR nightmare in a public sphere with a strongly tinted lens.

Artists want to be treated with respect as professionals, but it's not possible because of the loud minority that acts like children.

All that said
>Youmacon
what a fucking train wreck
Of all people, the CHAIR should have at least known better. Christ. This was posted by the Chair the afternoon before the 'eviction', meaning that the highest level of management was looped in on this disaster, and still thought it was the right way to go. And posted about it publicly on Facebook several hours before even attempting to contact the artists involved. What the absolute fuck.

>>10283876
>If someone's on the black list it's usually for a good reason
You are severely underestimating how badly some artist alleys are run. My local con bans artists for merely raising constructive criticism.

>>10283892
I've been blacklisted from a local con for more than a decade after telling a band their 'design us a t-shirt and we'll send you a shirt when we sell them' was a raw deal.
I wrote a single post on the forums in 2006, didn't send any e-mails, didn't fight the removal of the post. Just, said my peace and let it die. Band doesn't exist anymore, but as of last year (learned from a staffer friend) that my name is still on the blacklist. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ What'cha gonna do

>>10283876
I assume it went something like this
> Dot tells con chair that she's found a subletter
> Con chair has no reason to doubt her and so posts this
> Con chair later finds out what a mess she's made and apologizes to artist

I bet he's regretting making that post

>>10283655
The actual Facebook post is already making rounds on non-artist accounts too. One of my cosplay friends reached out to me about this. I hope Youmacon wasn’t expecting to get any good artists in the future.

>>10283854
Does anyone know how to get into comiket, how much it costs/is it worth going? Sounds pretty cool.

Thinking of making a blanket for myself, but might have to order extra for MOQ. If they cost $12 to make is $40 a good price? Or should I be going $45 or $50? They’re going to be around 150x200cm or 70x100vm not sure yet.

>>10283854
they just take it dude. its like college apps

>>10283961
You just need to sign up a while in advance and know someone with a Japanese address. You basically buy an application set, submit the application and table fee online or by mail, then wait for the lottery results. The focus is a lot more on selling manga/illustration compilations rather than prints though.

>>10284143
Rule of thumb is 3x the production cost. Round it up if it's not a flat number. But if you can get away with selling it for higher, why not?

>>10284488
Hmm I'll probably stick to $40 or as low as I can go with MCx3 then. Thanks!

looks like Dot has been axed as AA head thank god

>>10284840
HUH where did you learn this

Does anyone still sell resin pieces? I've been using it for a while now and made a few things that I think I could sell but how good does it have to be? ex. visible bubble and such

Any artists getting AA stuff on 11.11?

I'm considering getting one of these babies

>>10284915
She vague posts on fb and said she resigned from Youma.
She also cancelled Washicon

>>10285031
Do you have the actual press? Coz I don't think you can do it with your hands.

>>10285024
It's less about skill and more about unique concept, desu. If you're trying to sell the same molds everyone else has without doing anything different, it won't move at all. Meanwhile, I have a friend who does fantasy weapon molds in pastels with gold/silver accenting, and even though she has some problems with bubbles etc, her stuff sells out as fast as she can make it.

>>10285491
This.
I cant count how many people are doing the same 10 shaker molds in pastel colours and I'm so bored of seeing them.

>>10285491
Thanks anon I'll do some experimenting

Anyone seeing the dumpster fire about dice?

Tl;dr a SJW accuses a dice maker of theft after their successful kickstarter because they believe them to be white. SJWchan is Asian so of course white colonialism privilege is at fault. TURNS OUT they’re both Asian and now SJWchan is doubling down on being a victim because INTERNET BULLIES

>>10285538
To expand upon your tl;dr:
Lucky Hand Dice is a mildly successful indie dice maker. Dispel Dice is a newer indie dice maker who created their very first kickstarter project two days ago and received over $1.5 MILLION in pledges within the first 24 hours. The totally not jealous LHD proceeded to vague about DD on twitter, and one of LHD's friends decided to create a callout post for DD, with arguments such as:
- LHD made dice with gold foil and DD made dice with gold foil right after
- LHD made dice with real flowers and DD made dice with real flowers right after
- LHD made sharp edge dice and DD made sharp edge dice. The molds for both makers look alike (hint: their masters were designed and printed by the same person, who makes dice masters for many indie dice makers)
- LHD made sparkly white dice with gold numbers and so did DD. LHD made sparkly lavender dice and so did DD.
- DD has liked LHD's work for a while, has commented on LHD's photos that they liked her dice, and once messaged LHD about their dice being similar because she didn't want to be perceived as stepping on her toes. None of the dice offered in the DD kickstarter look remotely like anything LHD has made by the way.
- LHD is an asian woman, and since DD has never posted a picture of herself or mentioned her race she MUST be white, so this is a white woman stealing from a PoC!!!!1! But whoops, turns out DD is also asian.
Apparently this isn't the first time LHD has shown her ass in this manner either, I couldn't find the details but it seems she also threw a fit when Kraken Dice ran a successfully funded kickstarter, so I'm seeing an interesting pattern here.

>>10285557
>one of LHD's friends decided to create a callout post for DD
Did LHD agree to this?

>>10285572
It's unclear if she wanted a public callout, but the post did include messages in an accusatory tone from LHD to the person who made the post and screenshots of messages LHD had received from DD which only she could have taken. So she may not have planned to publicly accuse DD of plagiarism but she did think DD had plagiarized her. Oh, and I forgot that one of the points "against" DD in the callout was that she had used another brand's dice as masters while learning the ropes of dice making, but she has only used custom made masters for the dice she's selling so I have no idea what the friend thought it was relevant.

>>10285557
As an aside
> $1.5 million for a dice kickstarter

I'm clearly in the wrong line of work

>>10285629
I don't think any other dice maker got nearly that much success before but honestly she deserves it, they're absolutely gorgeous. But yeah, if you're good at it there's money in handmade dice, I'm only just starting out but I have ideas

>>10285557
LHD is also probably salty that DD is selling their dices for cheaper lol.

>>10285580
LHD absolutely wanted a public call out, they RT'd the callout on their personal (not private) twitter (@lemonandhoneyco) which i interpret as an endorsement and as you mentioned, those etsy messages and the screen shots from the private facebook groups could only be taken by LHD themselves. Ridiculous.

>>10285557
The goal posts keep moving too on why DD is “bad” lmao

>DD is white, boycott them!
Well actually she’s asian
>DD is privileged and rich! Her product is good only because she had support
Well actually she used to be a struggling artist alley artist with a separate full time job
>W-well DD is Chinese how do we know her dice are made ethically and in America?!
How do I even address this casual racism veiled as social justice LMAO

This whole situation is disgusting

>>10285715
I actually laughed at some of the accusations. Like that she’s some bigshot commercial overlord that has a facebook group where people find designs for her to steal. Or that she’s not genuine because she scouted the market for 8 months before selling (like how dare she do research before launching a big project!)

>>10285031
Lmao $2 off, nice deal

Guys I don’t know how much inventory to bring to ANYC.
I did dealers hall AX and did incredible there even with a small booth (five digits) but this time I’ll be in artist alley and am I supposed to assume my sales are going to be much much lower? Obviously I know ANYC is nothing compared to anime expo, but I literally can’t compare it to anything else since I’ve only done AX in the past.
Anyone have an experience on dealers versus artist alley sales? Any information would be amazing help.

>>10285899
youll probs do 4 digits at anime nyc. i make almost 3k the first year

>>10285899
artist alley is in the same room as dealers this year

>>10285557
I also saw some stupid blathering that somehow tied the recent 'if you don't share your sources you're a filthy gatekeeper and should die' drama, lol, bc if DD has managed to source factories for making handpoured resin dice she should give that info for free to 'less privileged' indie dice makers

>>10286299
If we can somehow involve BluePotionCo in all this, we'll come full circle

>>10286299
that thread was so full of stretches, i think another good one was "you didn't come to some random con I went to to pander to ME or MY friends so we are allowed to attack you, you fake POC"

Or "she was able to work on this for 8 months so she must have seed money"? We don't know how DD did it specifically but have they never had a part time job or savings? Or is saving your monthly earnings seed money now?

>>10286430
Dont be ridiculous talking about seed money. Dispel Dice is fortunate enough to have a supportive family and group of professionals in various ways backing them up. Not to ignore the hard work they put in, not to say it's all purely luck they've reached this point, but to insinuate that everyone has access to the same resources is idiotic. The photographs, the campaign, the manufacturing itself; all these integral parts of their kickstarter were done in partnershipwith experts, along with the outpouring of support from various friends with healthy followings leading up to the launch. Those things cost money, time and take experience that cant be bought (unless you hire someone.) That was the whole point of that thread. Some of y'all are so spoiled and disconnected from reality you forget to appreciate exactly what it takes to be an indie creator and become so successful. Im happy for DD and her team, they did a wonderful job. But don't erase the hard work, community, and money that went into making their campaign so wildly successful.

>>10286477
Hi Jesspresso lol

I'm pretty sure that was the whole point of the campaign's extremely long thank you section.. she acknowledged she was lucky enough to have a support network and named them and never implied she did it alone? You people are the ones trying to act like she was erasing anything, because ya'll can't read for shit.

Please stop making these kinds of shirts for sale with show screenshots on it. It's not your work you shouldn't be putting these on objects to sell!!!!!
even for the "meme" of it

6 different ones and had a few different ones also at Bronycon too. Someone a few months ago called her out publicly for tracing too, and she denied it so who even knows since this is also theft.

>>10286882
Hello? Did you read what I posted? I agree that her accomplishments and her support system should both be recognized and not erased. Pointing out the fact that she is lucky enough to have a support system that most people don't have and would have to pay for is the point. And the point you missed was that not everyone is lucky enough to have that support system or enough money to buy it. It's not a criticism on her or anyone working with her, its just a fact and a valid one to point out. Honestly I don't even know what you're trying to argue at this point. Sorry your friend is getting unfairly called out but it's no reason to lash out at others blindly.

>>10286969
No one ever said she wasn't lucky though? The original post you replied to >>10286430 was just saying it was ridiculous to jump from "worked on it for 8 months" to "must have had seed money" which is code for "must be rich and funded by someone" (Evidenced in how they lean on her being a capitalist pig and how she only networked with "the top 1% of influencers instead of nobodies like her). When the reality is they don't know, no sane person would describe having savings as "seed money" unless they were purposefully trying to warp the narrative, that's what I was taking issue with. That's like saying anyone in this thread who saved up their day job money to try AA had "seed money", it's just not something you would say in a normal situation.

I think we actually agree anyway so enough with this.

>>10286882
>>10286986
>we agree but I feel like being a bit of a bitch anyway xoxo

Got off the waitlist to MAGFest and I've never done that con before. Anyone here have experience? Or experience with another 24 hour running artist alley con? Any tips?

For those that have done MAGFest specifically... I have a lot of video game themed stuff but most of my original art and best selling items are in that cutesy "kawaii"shit demographic. Is that not going to do well at MAGFest or would you say theres still an audience for it?

>>10286969
like no shit you cant run a 1mil operation by yourself but most of the antis were initially harping on the fact that DD:
-was not a woc and was stealing from poc(which she is both)
-accused of stealing(putting sparkly shit in resin is LHD only apparently)

like yeah be salty but dont hide behind buzzwords like privilege as excuses, call it out as it is: salty hoes mad

>>10286969
>its just a fact and a valid one to point out
Disregarding the fact that the callout posts pivoted several times to get to the current complaint of "privilege," this statement still relies on a lot of assumptions about a person who you don't know. Having support from people with reach doesn't necessarily mean they paid for it; they have an extremely attractive product that was already popular before the kickstarter launched, so it's not that crazy that those people might have given them attention based on the quality of the product alone. I'm speculating because I don't know, but neither do you.
I get that it blows when someone comes into an indie scene and gets incredibly successful, especially if you're another creator who was in that scene longer. It feels bad, it feels like they're stepping on everyone else to get there, and you wish it was you. But part of learning and growing is to acknowledge the truth of why it WASN'T you, and to work on that, not just hand flail and blame it on "privilege". I don't know a lot about the dice scene, but it seems like there's still a lot of people willing to throw money at cool dice regardless of who the creator is. That's why all the complaints feel baseless.
Honestly the idea of earning several million dollars in a month is so fucking stressful to me that I don't understand why people are jealous of that. They're located in California. Think of the taxes.

>>10287115
I've done MAG a couple of times... and to be honest your video game stuff will far outsell the "kawaii" stuff. The attendance tends to skew more male than your usual anime con so things that traditionally appeal to a female audience move less fast.

To give you an example of what I mean, I barely sell Widowmaker at any of my other cons because she's basically straight male tiddy bait. I sell a lot of her at MAGfest because of dudes.

That's not to say there aren't female attendees at this con but that's just been my experience in general.

My tip for a 24 hour AA is "don't stay all 24 hours". Set your own hours and have signage. You need rest and food too.

>>10286933
I saw Sophie had hoodies like those designs at Bronycon and it really pissed me off since that kind of thing is so easy to make and takes money away from artists who actually put effort into their work and products.

I anonymously sent an email to the Bronycon vendor coordinator that friday using a burner email since the same guy helps with a lot of MLP/Brony events and I didn't want to get found out about complaining since she's popular enough in the community to probably tear anyone who opposes her to shit.
I never got a response but she's definitely had more designs than these and the bronycon ones. She's been making different ones allll year but has conveniently deleted all tweets pre-bronycon. She's even done custom ones for people (pictured)
She got an AX table for next year and her stuff is all kinda grey area for copyright issues. It all is drawn in show style or looks traced. She uses the official show logos on packaging. She actually might get thrown out or have to remove some items from their packaging and take down a good chunk of her stuff.

Just had my first AA at what I thought would be a really small local con and turnout was brilliant. I didnt' expect to sell much since it was mainly a comic convention and my stuff is more on the cutesy side but there were a lot of teens and children who gravitated to my display and got merch from their fav animes. This was just a baby step to test out tabling but I made enough to pay for a table at one of the big Comic Cons next year. Should I go for it guys?

Does anyone have an idea of how much lighter the translucent grid cubes are compared to the wire ones?
I'm traveling for my first out-of-state con and am looking into something lighter than my usual grid cubes, so I'd appreciate any tips!

>>10287614
Oh, just wanted to add that I looked up weights and I found some sets that were 17 lbs vs 3 lbs, but somehow I am wary of those numbers (and 3lbs sounds a little flimsy), so just wanted to double check with anyone who has experience!

>>10287614
ymv bc theres different brands, but my grids weigh 280g each and my translucent cube panels weigh 160g each

Has anyone seen ichi is trying to take over the anime detour artist alley now

>>10287618
I have the pink version of them and they're much more sturdy than you think. Reviews for them make them out to be paper thin but they're solid.
I would say pull the trigger and get them. The lesser weight alone is worth it.

>>10287681
Which ichi? Source?

>>10287681
I haven't heard anything, but does the AA survey on her twitter have something to do with it (if you're talking about ichiarts)?

>>10287614
Much lighter. I made the switch a couple months ago and I can feel like they're at least 10-20lbs lighter when I have my luggage fully packed with my merch and setup

>>10287754
Yeah that one

>>10287522
It's a real shame, because her enamel pins are great I have one of her MLP-related ones, and her new Spinel pin, and they're both great quality. She can clearly draw well because her pony pins aren't traced. She's tarnishing her brand by making these shitty hoodies and shirts.

>>10287895
>>10287658
Awesome, thanks! Sorry if this is a dumb question but do you guys attach stuff to it with like binder clips and stuff? Usually I clip my corkboards through the gaps in the grid but wondering if the space in the sides is big enough for that. I don't want to poke any holes or anything if possible.

>>10288028
Look for command velcro strips. They come off clean and have amazing hold. I use that for my cork board.

>>10287959
These are on par with those manga and hentai panel bootleg shirts. Honestly it’s cheap crap and it’s sold for $20-$30 for a quick sale.
People who make stuff like this are kinda scummy and It’s pitiful what people will do for money, and it’s a shame cons allow these at all.

>>10287522
If you have solid proof/screencaps - you can always anonymously report this person to the AX Artist Alley department by email.

>>10288028
I straight up use clear duct tape and painter's tape on it haha

Does anyone know the artist that made this? I had one of the Going Merry ship as well, but it fell off of my lanyard and I'd like to buy a replacement.

Is Ecwid any good?

>>10288649
Same people as xcart, xcart was garbage, dont have high hopes for ecwid but YMMV

As an outsider looking in, the more I think about this dice kickstarter fiasco the more I'm starting to think it's some sort of chinese company/manufacturer masquerading as an indie creator. Has anyone met this person and know that they exist? Did they do anything before dice?

In what world does an independent creator run their first kickstarter with a handmade product and have 3 manufacturing facilities trained and ready to go on day one? And stretch goals for 1mil+ prepared. I've seen this kind of thing with 3d printers and other products that were going to be put on the market anyway using kickstarter to simply generate presales, which from a business standpoint is not a silly thing to do, but dishonest considering the intent of kickstarter's platform... They will also fund their own kickstarter to give it a boost, going viral is definitely marketing, which makes sense considering that pretty dice are nothing new and there's nothing groundbreaking here (also the majority of sales being day 1 and tapering off, rather than the curve that would be expected with going viral).

Yeah, sounds a bit conspiracy theory, but a lot of things just feel fishy. I would like to know that they aren't manufacturing in china before I make a purchase, and I think the burden of proof lies at the feet of the business.

>>10289247
If you don't feel sure about them then don't give them your money, simple. Stop trying to start shit. People plan things that are successful sometimes, and plenty of people use kickstarter for what are essentially preorders now. Why not go after the ten thousand enamel pin set kickstarters that are clearly preorders? Your vendetta ass is showing all over this post.

>>10289247
You dumb bitch, anyone who has been in artist alley for more than 5 years would remember Karen and recognize the artists she ran with then still being around her now. She's not new to this kind of thing and carefully marketed and prepared. She didn't just pop out overnight with this.

>>10289247
> I would like to know that they aren't manufacturing in china before I make a purchase

>posting in a thread for artists who frequently outsource charms and plushies to china because it's a normal thing to do

Are you even from here or are you some lucky hand dice freak trying to drag out your obsession with karen lol

>>10289247
>Has anyone met this person and know that they exist?
I just sounds like you're too lazy and too retarded to do a quick google search

> independent creator run their first kickstarter with a handmade product and have 3 manufacturing facilities trained and ready to go on day one?
The creator has created her own product in the past but has spent months on researching for hand poured dice from a Chinese manufacturer so she can mass produce a quality product at a reasonable price
She's been open about it since the start

>They will also fund their own kickstarter to give it a boost
Do you know how business' work you dumb ass

Next you're gonna use the conspiracy of "I bet the creator is a Chinese woman" please take your autism else where and go purchase your dice from Lucky Hand Dice instead

>>10289247
>Being this retarded
>Can't even google
>Doesn't understand business research
>Calls it a conspiracy theory
Must be nice going full retard anon

>>10289247
What do you expect Anon?
>One single person with limited resources starting a kickstarter going "hur dur I'll make it up as I go along "
>I'm gonna limit the stretch goal to $1000 cause they don't believe their kickstarter will be successful
>A single creator hand pouring dice one by one with the project completed in 2025
>I'm gonna charge $100 per set cause it's 'Murican made

Anon if you know how successful kickstarters are funded, work and how their goals have been met, is that they do the exact opposite of the list above.

>>10289247
I too got the distinct impression that this was an american producing handmade dice and shipped from the US. That is just based on the wording offered by DD in kickstarter? But mention of training her facility workers could mean anything and not necessarily china.

Did tekko waitlist everyone?

>>10289407
Havent heard back yet, so hopefully not.