/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

>>10290636
I did better than last year but most people I spoke to did worse. I’m not a big seller though so I didn’t do amazing or anything. General consensus was the aa was too large.

How much do you guys make on average from big conventions like Anime NYC? I've been to two small local cons so far and made around 500 for a 2 day con and 700 for a 3 day con which is a decent profit considering the tables were both less than $100. Is it worth the $300+ investment in an AA table at a larger con? How does it differ from a small convention?

>>10290636
I made exactly 10k (without subtracting expenses of course)

>>10291158
>Imagine only doing good at a convention when there’s less competition kek
If this doesn’t scream a shitty business owner I don’t know what does.

>>10291196
More competition, more people. I'd say the average bear here made 1000-2000. You have some folks that are outstanding, as you see above 10k before expenses.

Has anyone been kicked out of a con for sharing tables?
I had to ask to share with someone last minute but after what happened at Youmacon I’m scared they’re going to be hard on checking artist names/badges.
The con I’m attending has a line about dealers not subletting/renting spaces.

>>10291439
That makes sense. Big cons seem like fun but a lotta extra work. I think I'll stick with my little baby cons for now which are comfy and I get to be the big fish in the little pond.

>>10291196
Ive started to make 2k consistently at midsize/ large cons. I did better at ANYC than ANEXT but only slightly gross wise. Profit wise was my best show because I'm local so expenses were pretty low.

>>10291468
10k anon here, yeah it’s a fuck ton of work and honestly so much so that I won’t even go again next year unless I really need the money for some reason.
I was too big (amount to f items) for my table so it was cramped and I had to stand the whole time, and standing up and bending down got me really sweaty.
The experience was entertaining but not fun, and I don’t really want to make making artwork anymore “not fun” so I think I’ll just stay to local cons (California)

>>10291494
I'm happy to hear you did well but I'm sad to hear you didn't have fun. Were you AA or Dealers?

Anyone table at tekko before? Is it good to fly in from out of state for?

To anybody who made acrylic charms with epoxy finish. Would you consider defective if some have bubbles? Like one? Also, some have little dents....

>>10292100

If you can't get eh epoxy smooth then it's sort of defective. You can do what some artists do with enamel pins and sell rejects at different levels of quality; so normal pins, not so bad defective ones, and then the worse ones with the most levels of issues and adjust prices slightly according to how bad it is.

>have Etsy
>average 3-5 sales/week
>suddenly 5 orders in 1 day
am i right to be paranoid or should i kneel and be grateful to the SEO gods

>>10292768
It's holiday shopping season. Make that dough!

>>10292770
I didn't even think of that, thank you Jesus

>>10292768
check your traffic source. Someone on social media could have mentioned you. Thats usually what my spike in sales come from.

>>10292783
That must be it. Big spike in 'direct traffic' so i guess someone linked my store. Bless.

>>10292100
I'd say yes, bubbles would be defects. As for dents, some really tiny, unnoticeable-unless-in-light ones are okay, but if you notice them just looking at them then yeah, I'd consider them defective.

>>10292854
nice!
It happens to my shop a few times a year. I always like trying to find the source of it. Most recent time was someone on tik tok mentioning me. Another time was a random reddit post.

Does anyone know what hardware/how to securely attach bows like this to straps?

>>10292986
Just looks like they looped a jump ring through the middle of the bow. Not really complicated.

>>10292927
That's pretty sweet. Hope it happens again, I sold out of the item lmao

>>10291298
As an attendee, they’re right. AA was way too large and overwhelming-rows up to X? Any marketer will tell you that customer choices should ideally be limited (within reason obviously) to make decision making easier and you’re more likely to spend money when you don’t feel overwhelmed. Even my friends who regularly drop $400+ on AA a day didn’t spend much because they felt like they couldn’t buy anything without seeing all that they were missing.

>>10292986
charm source? its cute

>>10293095
Puffiology on etsy
>>10293062
Yeah kind of figured, first time making charms so even the hardware is new to me. Thanks!

Is it bad taste to make Untitled Goose Game merch? They're a pretty small company which usually means they're pretty strict about fan merch, but there's a lot on etsy, so it seems like they aren't cracking down on it. They were also funded by a government grant so it's not like they're entirely indie.

>>10293310
Someone already asked them about fan merch and they said they were fine with it.

hey australians, foreigner interested in tabling at one of your cons. Anime Festival/Madfest seems to be pretty insistent on no bootleg/'pirated' items -- this just refers to stuff like boot figs/anime dvds etc or is fanart not allowed at all?

>>10293321
Great, thank you!

It’s my first time really making merch, and I’m mostly working with a friend who wants to purchase sticker/embroidery/etc machines for us to make our own merch at home, but since we’re just starting out I’m a little hesitant because it feels like a big commitment. When do these home production machines become worth it?

>>10293548
embroidery machines are a huge step up from sticker/badge machines, but my sticker machine (i use a cricut) paid for itself easily + i use it for my other hobbies, badge machine as well esp. since I rent it out to other artists and the tecre ones will last literally forever if you take care of them

>>10293548
Maybe start by ordering from a print shop before investing in an expensive machine?

I’m kind of freaking out.
I have my first con next month and only managed to make 10ish or so designs I’m actually proud of.
I got some 3inch charms from zap made and overall I’m happy with those. (I ordered 10 designs, only 5 have arrived so far.) Going to make buttons and stickers of those designs plus maybe 5ish more designs.
In the end I’m only kind of happy with 2 prints I made, I’m scared my table is going to look bare af. I’m supposed to be splitting the table so that should help a bit but god damn I underestimated how hard making prints are.

>>10293673
Add some set dressing to your table if it looks too empty! A pretty box, colorful bunting or a potted succulent can make it look more busy and lively

>>10293680
Yeah I was thinking of doing a tiny Christmas tree and put some charms on it, I’ll look into some other deco as well!

>>10293086
felt like the same amount of artists as last time, maybe some felt overwhelmed because aa and dealers were in the same room this year? either way i welcome the change, me and my neighbors did great (4k+ range)

>>10293765
NAYRT, but it was double the size of last year's AA. When I was going to the restroom, I heard several attendees complaining about how overwhelming everything was. Friday was dead slow for me but it picked up Sat/Sun because people had to take time to get used to the sheer number of artists and the show floor expansion.

I did around 9k and I was disappointed. I was expecting break over 10k with the number of attendees. Expanding the AA didn't help. I made more than last year but only by about like $30~ or so. I usually see bigger growth at cons.

I'm hoping they cut some tables next year so we can have more space in the back. It was absolutely cramped this year.

>>10293574
>>10293647
Thank you guys! She's being selling prints for about a year through inprint and I've only helped make stickers and sheets through zines before, so we're really new at this. I will look into badge/sticker machines!

Does any store on Aliexpress offer these rubber pin backs?
I’ve been searching but I can’t find them. I live in the Oceania so I can’t purchase them off Etsy without the shipping making them about $2 a piece

>>10293828
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Super-Cute-Upgrade-Pin-Backs-Pink_60774377845.html?spm=a2700.7724838.2017115.61.551f9bc7QgPLO5

>>10293899
Don't spoonfeed. These literally come up if you google "rubber heart pin back."

>>10293911
don't be a dick anon they've obviously looked around first before asking

>>10293828
Anon Alibaba seems to be the only available option for you but you'll have to order like 5000 good luck lmao

>>10293917
The fourth result. They didn't look around.

anyone know any places that print gold ink on prints without having to pay out of your ass?

>>10293972
Do you mean actual gold ink or a gold foil? Gold ink is a bit of a luxury because you can't just change the colors in the printer: you need a printer that has gold in addition to all the other colors, so not every printing place has them. The ones that do paid out of their ass for a newer, bigger printer that has more colors which is probably why they also charge more to make back the costs. So you could probably get gold foil for cheaper because the foil machine is a lot smaller and cheaper, and you don't need a fancy printer to use it with.

>>10293940
But they asked about Aliexpress, not Alibaba, and those have a min order of 5000 which comes out to over $100 before shipping. I assume they would appreciate a cheaper option.

What do you do when you see someone with a merch idea you thought of and wanted to before seeing their version? I'm talking a pretty specific design. Do you just make your own version anyway or abandon the idea and try to be more original?

>>10293828
http://www.thepindepartment.com/accessories/heart-shaped-rubber-pin-backs

>>10294094
Can you show examples? This is pretty vague anon

>>10294094
I wanted to male KNY hanafuda charms similar to this but more traditional hanafuda design. It's not like it's a super original idea since hanafuda charms do exist but this interpretation is so much better than what I planned.

>>10294128
>>10294133
Replied to the wrong post like a tard.

>>10294133
>Someone did what I want to do, but better
then dont do it lol. it's not like kny charms are anything original at this point, but you'll figure your way around it.

>>10294091
If they get pins manufactured, they're probably familiar with alibaba anyway, and again, googling gives you this result.

And that min order and cost isn't true for some of the results, but now I'm spoonfeeding you, too.

>>10294138
After reading ciara/pomupeach drama i really wish more people would take this advice

>>10294167
Incorrect. But explaining why you’re wrong would be spoonfeeding.

>>10294169
Spill the tea

>>10294270
Ciara did a pin extremely similar to pomupeach's one, peach DM'd her about it but it was around the time of the bee knife drama so I guess she was worried about over reacting. Ciara changed the colors on hers slightly and Peach said it was okay. Then Peach started getting heaps of hate emails from Ciara's fans calling her out for "stealing" Ciara's ideas. She asked Ciara to make a public post saying she didn't but Ciara wanted to keep everything private, so everything just kept getting worse. Ciara has a post about it on her twitter but Pomupeach went private because of all the hate she's getting from some of Ciara's followers, and not just oh you stole her idea but you're a dyke/chink etc.

>>10294167
Thanks for the spoonfeeding anon!
Gee wiz I didn't know google existed,
Alibaba you say? I dont think that was my question but you're the smart one around here and I've always wanted 5000 pin backings

>>10294288
this is pretty much it but I'd also add that ciara hasn't yet managed a 'hey guys don't harass peach please' and only mentioned 'peaches hurtful subtweets'

>>10294288
Couldn’t peach just have revealed a timestamp that her designs came out first or something?

>>10294360
oh wait nvm she did post her 'dont harass' finally after a full day.

ngl not knowing a ton about either of them, peach seems rather fragile and seems like ciara's hoping they can use that fragility to their advantage.

Apologies if this is off topic.

I've sold at cons for many years, and this year I decided to try something new, and I'm doing some Christmas craft fairs for more normie type crowds.

My work is mostly animal related, so easy subject matter, but I'm nervous about something this new to me.

Anyone else ever done this transition? How did you do?

>>10294288
Reading some of this for the first time. Fans sending racist/homophobic comments, all over fucking bulbasaur pins? Pokemon company could shut both of them down with one c&d and they throw shit fits over copying each other's fanart. It always seems like it's the people who draw in these cutesy simple style who get the most ugly over "copying" too.

>>10294365
I've done a normie event once and did fairly well. It was a large outdoor event, my stuff isn't specifically anime focused and it did very well with children. So I guess expect to mostly be selling to children/parents.
For me its Anime cons > normie events > comic/western conventions.

>>10294288
the pins in question for those too lazy to look it up

>>10294489
Peach seems like a good person.

>>10294489
Not only are the original pins much nicer, but Peach seems like a really thoughtful person for actually contacting Ciara about it privately and explaining the situation. She could easily just have kept quiet and then let her own fans lynch Ciara later. The fact that Ciara wanted to keep the converstation private even after the artist of the ORIGINAL pins started getting harrasment is a real dick move, and just makes it seem like she's okay with others assuming she had the idea first because god forbid an artist admits that they lack originality and take inspiration from others.

>>10294361
These are people who will email you slur-ladden rants over pokemon fan merch, you really think they'd give a fuck?

>>10294288
Wait, what's the bee knife thing? I googled it and I'm only getting laguiole ads

>>10294581
I don't remember who it was so I can't find images but an artist accused another of tracing her artwork of a bee holding a knife and posted a gif to show how "similar" they were when in fact they were pretty different and just the same idea of a bee with a knife which is hardly original at all. She did a big call-out post about it which just gained her ridicule from the art community on twitter and led to an influx of bee with knife art being made and shared around.

So I can definitely see why Peach was hesitant to accuse someone of copying her art, from memory this happened maybe a week or two after the bee knife thing?

$5 says Ciaras fully aware of her fans trying to dox peach and is just 'taking a break' to absolve herself of responsibility lol

>>10294820
Wouldn't surprise me, from what I've seen all the responses to her posts are "proud of you love you xoxo" or just this seems to be a misunderstanding please respond to peach's messages. I haven't seen anyone being awful and rude to her so I don't know what she's exactly taking a break from. Meanwhile Peach is getting doxxed and having people threatening to reveal her home address.

>>10294402
Thanks for responding, it's nice to hear someone's had success outside of cons!

Forgive me, I am extremely new to cons and I just bought my first booth.

When you're instructed to check in a day previous to the con start date, do you absolutely have to go in that day to check in, or are you allowed to drop by the next day? And when do you bring in all of your supplies for the booth? Do you usually pay the previous night of the hotel stay (example: Thursday - Sunday for a 3-day con)?

Seems like it can get very expensive for a beginner. Are profits really large enough to continuously cover that?

>>10294946
Ask them. This stuff varies from con to con. And yes, it is expensive. You really should not be traveling to the point where you need a hotel for your first table. Most people start out with small local events so they get used to how stuff works before traveling farther.

Genuinely curious why this thread attracts so many beginners. How do you end up here of all places when you have zero experience.

>>10294946
I've never heard of a convention requiring you to get there a day early. email them and ask to make sure.
>Do you usually pay the previous night of the hotel stay
I sometimes do. depends how far away the con is, when AA starts, hotel prices, etc.
>Are profits really large enough to continuously cover that?
For some people, of course. How much you make at a con just depends on your quality of work, the attendance to artist tables ratio, travel expenses, etc. You just gotta take the risk to find out if it works for you.

>>10294963
>How do you end up here of all places when you have zero experience.
They probably come to /cgl/ because they like cosplay or lolita, then later want to start selling in AA, so they then come to the cgl AA thread. This was the first AA community I knew about when I started selling, and I started browsing here because of the bad cosplay threads, lol. I also learned about lolita because of this board. We all start somewhere.

>>10294288
Why is peach so austistic??? God artists are such cowards and afraid of confrontation. “Please change your art UwU b-but it’s okay if you don’t ÓwÒ also here’s my MANU(???)”

Neither of them are good, the initial bulbasaurs were different enough, why did peach change hers to look like Ciara’s??

Ciara is obviously uninspired bluepotionco knock off but peach was literally sucking her off in those DMs

>>10295064
>why did peach change hers to look like Ciara’s??
When did this happen? The new designs just look like they were made to be more cohesive with her other pins unless lack of nostrils is something trademarked by ciara.

>>10295089
Look at the screencaps Ciara posted on her gdoc, the first peach design was truer to bulbasaur with the :} mouth vs the :3

>>10295064
I'd rather an awkward autist with good intentions than a cunt who just sits back and watches while her fans threaten to doxx the artist she copied.

>>10295156
I’m not saying the doxxing cunt is any better, but this all could’ve been solved with a straightforward sentence instead of paragraphs of beating around the bush and hoping the other person could read the tone of her actual feelings??

>>10295214
nayrt but I think peach was just trying to avoid drama with an artist who has like 4x her IG followers. I still agree w/ you that she should've been more direct and less "; o ; oh jeez", it just let Ciara know she could walk all over her. Her tone was readable imo even with all of the soft language.

Regardless, I can't believe Ciara had the balls to take the exact PMS colors when they're not close to bulbasaur's actual colors. Her bulbasaur art from April is completely different than her pin style too.

>>10295064
Ciara is a much bigger artist with a larger reach and more of a cult following, ofc Peach isn't going to be straightforward about it. She wants to be friends, ideally, and being softer in her "confrontation" usually is better online when it's harder to tell tone through text. Peach in this situation hasn't done anything wrong, she reached out before a problem just in case, and tried to be really nice about it. I wouldn't even say Ciara did anything wrong until it blew up with her fans

>>10294963
Like >>10295001 I came here after other hobbies, and branched out into AA, and honestly this thread has taught me a lot just by lurking in it. Thanks for all the serious conversation that goes on here, it has really helped!

>>10294963
>Genuinely curious why this thread attracts so many beginners. How do you end up here of all places when you have zero experience.
Just by dropping in on these threads out of genuine curiosity. It interested me not only to AA, but also other forms of art commissions and merchandising. Like the Anon above me, lurking is kind of teaching me a bit.

>>10294963
??? Do you think beginners are NOT supposed to be searching for resources like this thread?
When I started out, this thread was a big help in getting to know where to get things made, what to look out for, etc. Most people here have at least a little experience so it doesn't hurt to want to get a little advice.

>>10295437
I just wouldn't have thought new artists would have ended up in a thread on 4chan of all places. A lot more people visit this hellsite than I thought.

>>10295499
4chan has been overrun by not miss since the 2016 election. Literal boomers post on /pol/ now

>>10295499
Being a noob at cons does not necessarily equal being a new artist OR new to 4chan. I’ve been posting on this site for 10 years and I’m new to cons. I think the reason why there’s so many noobs here too is because there’s a lot of truly skillful/experienced con artists on this site compared to other AA groups. I definitely take the opinions on this site over other more hugbox-y type groups.

>>10294946
Oof, other anons are right. You probably should have done some local cons before doing a con that requires travel.

That being said, here are some answers to your questions.

>Do you absolutely have to go in that day to check in, or are you allowed to drop by the next day?
It depends on the con. Some comic cons have rules similar to that while anime cons tend to give people until Friday noon. As other anons have said, email them and ask.

>And when do you bring in all of your supplies for the booth?
Set-up should be listed in your AA packet. But I bring in all my supplies when I check in. I prefer to set up Thurs-night if set up is available then.

>Do you usually pay the previous night of the hotel stay (example: Thursday - Sunday for a 3-day con)?
Yes. Sometimes I'll even fly in on Wed if set up closes early on Thurs. I'll stay til Mon too because I don't want to close early and rush to the airport on Sun.

>Are profits really large enough to continuously cover that?
Yes, but it varies for each artist. I've been doing this for about a decade and I easily hit 5 figures at bigger cons. I also write off all my travel expenses for my taxes.

It's definitely easier once you have more years and merch under your belt. It might be harder to break even when you're just starting out.

>>10295538
>I definitely take the opinions on this site over other more hugbox-y type groups

fucking same. I would love to be able to ask in basically ANY fb group or discord whether or not a con is worth doing or if a series is worth doing without someone uwu-ing and making some bullshit non-answer about trying your best or some shit

>>10295603
>I didn't do so well there, but you never know how you could do, even though we sell the exact same products and have the same customer base (U ᵕ U)
>Wow if you don't spend your life dedicated to every single franchise you're drawing maybe you're doing AA for the wrong reasons????
>omg I'd buy that! *has no intention of buying that*
>Any con is worth doing if you enjoy yourself :3
>I only have three poorly drawn prints and improperly cured resin pieces so I only made $10, so this con probably isn't very good!

>>10295622
>but you never know how you could do
This is pretty valid though. I can easily tell others about my own experience, but cons can be very YMMV so it’s impossible to guarantee anyone’s experience.

>>10295622
>Wow if you don't spend your life dedicated to every single franchise you're drawing maybe you're doing AA for the wrong reasons????
We DO shit on people who are just looking for tips on the FotM though. Why even make a living drawing fanart if you don't like SOME things well enough to judge for yourself how big a fandom something has? You really need to experience some kind of fan culture in order to successfully market to it, though I agree that it's unrealistic to expect it from all of them.
I totally understand coming here for truthfulness but a lot of the beginner anons lately have asked some really dirt basic questions that they should have picked up by lurking or reading the docs. It seems like a lot of people who are trying to jump into the deep end without learning to swim first. The hugboxes are shit for some things but lurking them in addition to these threads is still useful for picking up basic info. Like whether you should invest in expensive machinery before you've ever sold anything, or where to find heart backings, or whether cons are really "worth it", examples from just this thread alone.

>>10295648
People should be free to draw FotM to earn money but at least put some basic effort into it. There's always someone who simply asks "what franchises sells??". If you can't be bothered to figure out what is popular and asking to be spoonfed then people are rightfully going to give you shit. It takes five minutes of browsing social media to find out what the FotM series is.

While merch of anime of the season sells great, I find my stuff of more obscure or older series will sell as well if a fan happens upon it, simply because it is rare to see

>>10295888
This is why I mostly draw things I genuinely like, with maybe one or two fotm things that I'm at least familiar with. I'm not great at judging which things are popular or making things those fans like, but I so frequently have really nice interactions from fans who found a thing at my table that no one else has, just because I really liked it and wanted to make something. I'm not making gobs of money like some anons here but I'm in the green and I enjoy it much more than when I tried to follow trends.

>>10295888
I've noticed the same thing with cosplay, FotM stuff is recognized by more people but if you happen upon one of the few fans of that obscure thing you're cosplaying they'll be so excited that someone else likes the same obscure thing

>>10295888
>tfw there were NO Kyoko Kirigiri cosplayers this year
Despair

moo.com business cards cost over 3 times as much as they do on vistaprint. Are cards on moo actually 3 times better?

>>10296281
No, I get the feeling that moo is generally for people using business cards for networking with other people in their industry than for handing out en masse to randos at a show.

>>10296281
Look at that subtle off-white coloring, the tasteful thickness of it. Oh my god, it even has a watermark

>>10296281
The cards are much better, but yeah, they're more for selective usage with people you dont feel will possibly throw the cards out/mass handout.

What drawing tablets do you guys use? Been eyeing the Huion GT-191

>>10296705
>What drawing tablets do you guys use?
Kind of want to steal and add onto your question and ask:
If you're using a drawing tablet with a screen, does it increase your overall drawing speed compared to using a normal/cheap tablet?

>>10296705
I still use my old Wacom Bamboo lol. I also bought an ipad recently though. Replying to >>10296713, drawing on screen does allow my initial workflow (sketch + lining) to proceed quicker. Kindly note that I am more of a traditional artist though, and I think that plays strongly into why I’m more at ease with drawing directly. I still do a lot of my rendering/colours/colour correction on the computer (just because an ipad isn’t strong enough).

>>10296281
Absolutely not. Use 4over4 if you want fancy cards, way cheaper. I use gotprint myself because I don't need to be that fancy

>>10296705
>>10296715
Glad I'm not the only one still using ancient tech. I use an Intuos 3, and I've had it for almost 15 years with no issues at all.

>>10296705
Wow, what a coincidence, I was literally JUST looking at that like 2 minutes ago on Amazon. I'm so tempted but my main tool is already an iPad so I really don't know if I'll use it much. I like working on my PC but find myself using my iPad more.

Should I be worried about getting IP infringement notices on Etsy, or should I not worry about it and just keep adding items and let them take down whatever they have to? I’ve gotten two in the past couple months and I’m afraid to add new items to my shop at the risk of getting a 3rd strike and potentially having my shop shut down.

>>10298230
What did you get taken down on?

>>10298235
NTAYRT but does it really matter? Are there different tiers of DMCA request?

>>10298230
I don't use Etsy so my answer might not make you feel any better, but my impression is that the tagging and naming is usually what gets people in trouble in these situations. If you make a Mario item and name it Nintendo's Mario with Nintendo Mario tags then they'll find you and DMCA you easily. If you name it Jumping Moustache Man and use other terms to tag it then you'll almost never get DMCA'ed unless you go viral or something. Most DMCAs from big companies are served by hired services or algorithms, not the company itself, and they're trying to cover so much territory that you can pretty easily slip through the net. Of course, the tradeoff is that you lose sales from the Mario tag, but there are other places to promote it and drive sales to it, and you can still tag vague stuff like Video Games which will put it in front of people.

>>10298401
what about "IP inspired" titles?

>>10298383
No, but it's generally good to know what to avoid if something is being taken down a lot.

>>10298235
Ntayrt but I recently had sega take down persona related items, only some of them though. The other persona listings are still up. Like the other anon said I think it’s a bot issuing c&ds

>>10298230
I wouldn't play too much with that. I've also gotten two strikes at once before; haven't gotten the third strike but pretty sure that's all recorded by Etsy and if you have a ton of infringement notices I'm sure they won't hesitate to shut you down. The infringement notices are submitted by the company who owns the IP though, not Etsy, so someone is out there looking for listings of those series. Best to just stay low for a bit. They probably know people are looking for gifts now lol

>>10298235
A Naruto print and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures charms (both viz media) which I don’t get because I’ve had a Jojo’s print up for a while with no problems but the charm listing was nuked the day after I listed it

>>10298534
>>10298534
Dang, I was hoping to get all of my stuff listed for the holiday season. I guess I’ll wait it out.

While we are on the topic of Etsy, how many of you started on Etsy then switched to their own storefront? I'm currently on Etsy and my end goal is to have my own storefront for my merch as I continue growing and right now etsy brings 90% of the customers. Did you keep your etsy and own domain up at the same time before making the full switch. Did you maintain customers from Etsy at your new store? Basically if you've done this how was the transition?

>>10298545
Quite a few artists I'm friends with have an etsy and a personal store. Their etsy products are about 5-10% more and they advertise their other store in their listings with special discounts like shipping free over a purchase price.

Did I do a stupid by registering a business for my first con?
I honestly don’t plan on making more than a couple hundred. I’ve only made a few hundred on my Etsy that’s been open for a couple months. I just got paranoid with everyone telling me to just do it.

Has anyone here used Fireball Printing as opposed to CatPrint and have any thoughts? Just looking at alternatives to CatPrint, no particular reason why except that I'm curious and exploring my options. FP does seem to have a few cheaper options, although less customizable.

>>10298580
>and they advertise their other store in their listings
thats against the rules and will get their etsy shop shut down if caught.

>>10298675
depends on the state. some states you only need to do so if you make over a certain amount, like $5,000 a year. Some states are very confusing and don't give a clear answer.

>>10298731
The con is in Illinois, I know they send everyone tax forms to complete. I thought for sure there was a cut off but I can’t find it anywhere now.

>>10298683
their colors are less predictable and they do not have a matte /satin paper finish (it will just be uncoated paper) but if you're on the east coast they do have fast turn arounds.

I personally stopped using them because of the inconsistent color issues. it wasn't worth the 10 cents saved per print essentially.

>>10298683
I agree with >>10299109
I prefer catprint, but fireball is good if you have like absolute last minute needed prints for an east coast con.

I really appreciate the people that host group orders and everything, but I really wish some would pay more attention to their real lives first. I'm in one now and it seems she has a new disaster to attend to almost daily, but she continues to open up slots for future GOs (I'm one and done here). I guess because there's a non-refundable fee for joining and it's extra profit

Thoughts on this Tekko / Artist Alley situation?

>>10299965
I feel if she hadn't been selling the pokemon charms recently that I'd be inclined to be more on her side and simply write it off as artists first lesson of hey maybe don't heavily use just one reference. Such a pity honestly her original stuff is very cute and seems like it does better than her fanart merch, so hopefully she just learns to leave fanart alone from now on

>>10299965
Personally I agree that she didn't trace and shouldn't have gotten her table taken away, but kind of feel she's refusing to acknowledged that ethically she fucked up and shouldn't have sold that merch at all because pose wise it is the exact same. Like yes pokemon are pokemon and they look a certain way, but come on you can't change the angle or come up with a new pose? Just seems purposefully ignorant lol

I feel if she hadn't been selling the pokemon charms recently or found out she's been selling for years that I'd be inclined to be more on her side and simply write it off as "artists first lesson" of hey maybe don't heavily use just one reference. Such a pity honestly her original stuff is very cute and seems like it does better than her fanart merch, so hopefully she just learns to leave fanart alone from now on.

>>10299978
Yeah, it might not be traced artwork, but it certainly is copied artwork.

>>10299978
Different anon, but somehow I don't think she's going to learn anything from this. She still thinks she's completely in the right and that every artist in AA does this sort of thing. She's refusing to listen to any (incredibly gentle) criticism. It'd be messed up if tekko gave her the table back.

>>10300007
sadly I 100% believe you're right

>>10300007
I 100% believe you're right and hope Tekko doesn't give her the table back

>>10299965
It’s stated that the reason why her table was rescinded was because of traced artwork but that is clearly not the reason here. Like she says, not even all the stuff she was selling was all fan art, and she makes a good point where she says that if they told her about fan art rules then she won’t be able to have a complete table just with original works. Not to mention didn’t you read the email that she received back? Sounds like it was written by a teen.

>>10300007
>I went to art school

Ew lol. She got me in the first half of all this, ngl, but once I saw the actual artwork, I applaud whoever exposed her to Tekko

>>10300044
What’s wrong with people who went to art school ...? Literally artists..

>>10300075
Diff anon but I don’t think art school is bad but I do think it’s laughable that she went to art school, a bad one at that from reading her excuses, and never learned to not copy the artwork she is referencing

>>10299965
It might not be traced in the literal since, but most people in the community use the word "trace" to mean any form of directly copying an image.

>>10296705
I have a Cintiq 22, but I'm concerned because my old tank that is the Mac Pro 2010 is finally kicking the bucket and hopefully the Mac Mini will read the Cintiq with the adapter. I just ordered a Huion on Black Friday in case I had to change the monitor out. I mean, holy shit, my Cintiq was almost 2k when I bought it yeyars back and the 16" Huion was only TWO HUNDRED on sale. Technology, man. I could never go back to a traditional tablet like the Intuos. Drawing directly on your art is so satisfying. And I hate tablet computers... old fogeys can't shake off their love of desktops.

>>10299965
Yeah I follow this girl cause her original stuff is really cute, and I felt kinda bad for her at first. Also, that email/response was really dumb and didn’t really address the situation. But the more she posted and responded to people, the more immature she came off and it all just leaves a bad taste.

>>10300139
Between her responses and 'I did go to art school Lol', I don't have pity at this point. The copying here is beyond blatant. What kind of shit ass proff lets you get away with that?

>>10300007
Kind of sympathized with her but the more she posts the more immature and dumb she comes off.

Is tekko even a good con to table at?

Is there any way to minimize the chances of being doxxed when you sell things online? I know things like business/DBA registrations are public records for a reason but would it be worth it to get a PO box just to have a return address that's not your home address?

I guess the obvious answer is to not stir shit enough that people want to dox you but I've seen enough drama lately where it's been thrown around as a threat that it makes me a little paranoid.

This is only slightly related, but I'm also curious how people handle multiple "brands" in terms of legal business-side stuff. Let's say I have a name I use to sell fanart-heavy merch but I want to branch into craft shows with a very different focus. Would I need to register another business or DBA, or can I use a different name and just treat it like an informal subsidiary of my main business?

>>10300385
>would it be worth it to get a PO box just to have a return address that's not your home address?
Always worth it imho.

Does anybody have exp going from an AA table to a vendor space?
I feel like my normal 6/8 ft table display has a nice balance of full but not cluttered but I have a local con in the next couple months for which only a vendor space was available to me so I took it.
I'm worried about looking too bare with just my normal display in a 10x10' space, Maybe im overthinking it but ideas/inspo would be amazing.

damn you guys are petty. if what happened to clammyheart happened to any of you because of nitpicking staff you'd be taking it even worse, but you're actively wishing that she's not allowed back in because of her drawing attention to it. i don't even follow that artist or sell that type of fanart, but i think what the staff did was bullshit and a cause for concern. it makes you question where the line is, if a random staff member can arbitrarily decide that something's too close to the official art or pose and just take away your opportunity to table.

>>10300491
Well for one, I’m not an idiot that relies on reference to draw a fucking Pokémon and then sell it

>>10300495
look, i myself would rather take some more artistic liberties, but i didn't realize that using a reference to draw a pokemon was a cardinal sin. if customers didn't like simple art for pokemon, they wouldn't keep buying it.

>>10300501
Nayrt, there's nothing wrong with using reference, but that's not what she did.

>decide that something's too close to the official art
It was her best attempt at getting it 1:1 without tracing, I'm not even trying to be an ass, but come on. She wouldn't have her art if the original art didn't exist.

>>10300491
bro, if a staff member at a con is smart enough to notice, then she made a mistake. it's staff discretion for anyone to be able to table at any con anywhere so sit the fuck down.


OT, but has anyone gotten emails back from Anime Boston?

>>10300491
Many people in the thread even mentioned that they thought it was unfair, but lost sympathy because she whined, handled it badly and can’t even own up to her artwork being basically traced.

>>10300491
>random staff member
I mean, the artist alley head ain’t a random staff member. That aside, even if she didn’t physically draw over the original artwork, the resemblances are way too close and obvious. It’s not much different from bootleg at that point. The ideal solution would be the staff contacting the artist to remove said materials from the alley/not bring those merch, but it’s not unreasonable for them to dismiss the application completely (especially when there are less murky artists on the waitlist vying for that spot). Can the artist be upset? Yes. Is the artist alley staff doing anything wrong? No.

Isn't tekko just a college convention, why is she so pressed like her life is ending

>>10300581
the money has probably gotten to her head and she thinks someone's attacking her livelihood

>>10300581
>>10300587
Did you.. really just respond to yourself

>>10300688
clammyheart we know you're butthurt but you have to realize multiple people think you're retarded

>>10300731
To make it easier for her retarded ass: there’s lots of people reading through and on occasion they hit the reply function.

It’s really funny she’s in her mid 20’s acting like a middle schooler still and pretending that she “can’t figure out why drama happens so often” to her.

It’s because you’re a fucking drama whore yourself. Deny it all you want but that’s the truth. Also with your recent responses, really hypocritical to cry about how others are not being professional and then do the same shit yourself. It’s why people leached on to you and want to call you out on twitter. Best advice to stop the bad boogeymen from hurting your feelings is to learn to shut the fuck up and stop being a passive aggressive cunt on your branded page when you reply or post. Go back to your old handle for that shit lol

>>10300075
>>10300080
What this anon said. The fact she boasts about going to art school but churns out absolute shit is hilarious.

>>10299965
The poses and shapes of the pokemon look as close as a bluepotionco trace.

So even if she didn't trace, she eyeballed copied the references so closely. It'd be considered plagiarism if you were to turn anything in like that for an art school project..

>>10300847
Also the whiteknights in her comments asking what ‘eyeball trace’ is as if eyeballing isn’t a thing that existed for a long time.

>>10300857
but don't you know she's completely different from the rest of the art thieves because she didn't trace it, simply copied it

god her recent posts just make me roll my eyes more and more

the excuse she's giving now can basically be said of bluepotionco also as much as she denies it

>>10300916
do you think disney will be ok if i make a pin of their logo and sell it? I wont trace it, just 'reference' it :^)

Why does every single fanartist choose to use these tacky golden star clasps for their charms? I understand that they're cuter and "special" compared to the normal ones, but too often the gold colour I see the most clashes with the charm and the shape is pretty awkward. At least use the regular metal coloured ones, the colour is so much more neutral and matches with so many more colours than gold.

>>10301404
Is gold not a regular metal colour? Lol I guess because gold tends to be associated with the concepts of premium/luxury more than silver or bronze.

>>10290636
Should we be worried about AB5?

>>10301505
unless you're writing or illustrating for newspapers/magazines, no

>>10301505
I think it's important to pay attention to, even if it doesn't affect you directly. This kind of massively ignorant lawmaking could eventually affect an area that touches AA, particularly those of us who are freelance and self employed. The woman who spearheaded this bill claims it's meant to help freelancers.

>>10301404
TIL gold isn't a regular metal color

>>10300563
from what i understand it wasn't con staff themselves noticing it, it was a random 3rd party who sent an email with a bunch of comparisons. I think the things they pointed are way too close to be ethically sold, but the pieces they were pointing out as traced/copies weren't even in the portfolio Clammy had sent in to get a table, so they had no way to assume she would be bringing those items.
I've been following Clammy for a while now and was initially on her side, but seeing how aggressive she got to followers just saying 'maybe in future dont reference official art so heavily' really put me off. It's a shame because her original art is a lot cuter than the bootleg looking pokemon charms.

Clammy intentionally hid her traced fan art from her portfolio so she wouldn't be denied outright, and is pissed she got caught, essentially, lying and stealing.
If she would have just kept her mouth shut about getting her table revoked she could have kept being some other nobody con artist who can sell whatever they want. Now she's known for tracing and being a crybaby.
There is no reason to feel bad for her. Tekko is never going to let her back in after she sent her whiteknights after them. Like, why did she think that would help her at all???

>>10301635
>>10301597
we don't even have any proof of that.

>>10296281
I've heard Jukebox is a better value for the price and they have similar options/slightly better quality. Haven't used them myself though

>>10301597
This is exactly it. She started behaving like a brat on her public account and revealed to us just how immature and whiny she was. Was it an unfortunate incident? Absolutely. But she took to arguing with people online and making hella passive aggressive posts everywhere, and it just got annoying. Of course she's allowed to stand up for herself, but she definitely could have handled it better.

>>10301635
I don't think it's exactly fair to say she intentionally hid that stuff, I think you're allowed to put whatever you want in your portfolio that you think represents you best. But I do agree with the rest. Tekko isn't really in the right either, they could have handled it better, but in normal situations people would laud a con for kicking out a tracer, so.

>>10301404
I agree, I think people overuse this particular clasp design just because it’s more interesting and cute, but often times the charm design just doesn’t warrant it.

>>10301781
i use these but only on charms related to stars or space or magical girl bullshit.

>>10301597
>it was a random 3rd party who sent an email with a bunch of comparisons
If this was the case, it would also be fair though? The con staff is busy enough, they shouldn't have to go digging through their applicants' social media for things that violate the terms. If they were informed of an applicant potentially selling traces, then why shouldn't they take that information into account after verifying the veracity?

But yeah, I also don't agree with the decision made upon receiving the info; Tekko should have made sure if those merch were items that Clammy actually planned on selling. I feel like if Clammy had made an email in the direction of "Those are not items I would be bringing to the alley. I am unsure where you received the information that I would be selling traced artwork at Tekko, but it is incorrect. Please reconsider." then the outcome would have been better for her. But I guess that's impossible since she would have to admit that her 'fanart's are pretty much carbon copies of the original works.

>>10301597
>>10301715
>>10301790
If someone told me that an artist in an alley I'm running is currently selling traced work online, then I'd verify it and then take their table away too. Even if Clammy said 'I won't bring this stuff', why on earth would I believe her? She clearly doesn't have a problem with redrawing stuff and saying it's her own, why would she tell the truth now? It's not worth the risk and the strain on AA staffers to haunt her table and be sure she's keeping her word.

>>10299978
As recently as spring of this year she was selling commission slots of Animal Crossing villagers patches that were entirely traced from official art. Put her in the bin with BluePotionCo.

>>10301970
But anon she works in a different medium than other artists so it obviously excuses her from all criticism about direct copying :)

Barf never mind that she still sells the stuff and only recently pulled some of it because of the call out

>>10301970
The Pokémon stuff was grey area but this is legit tracing wtf lmao

Clammy is blue potion scum

>>10301970
>>10301991
She legit traces, and when she isn't actually tracing she is copying the poses exactly and adding a single thing, maybe two. Digitizing an already existing image is tracing/plagiarizing, and Clammy doesn't want to admit that she's been ripping people off when they commission her. Her persona patch would be considered a bootleg since the official thing (high school vs. academy doesn't really matter since it's the same thing in the series desu) actually exists.

>>10302047
(cont.)
Redrawing something in a slightly lower quality without changing anything else doesn't make it original.

>>10302049
(cont.)
I don't know how anyone can defend her at this point.

Man I just wanna go to Tekko. I got waitlisted so hopefully I'll get off it?

>>10300401
Yes, but I'm not sure I can be helpful without knowing what you sell (I sell a lot of clothing/jewelry). I'd say getting actual gridwall helps

Does anyone have any good examples of commission info pages? preferably for in-person use?

>>10302120
what's the crowd like? I've only found out about it from this thread and it's near my hometown. If it's ghost town like I'll probably dip

>>10300773
A prophet, proves clam lurks here, she did all this a day after this got posted lmao

>>10300491
I don’t eyeball-copy from official art so this absolutely would not happen to me, sorry.

>>10302984
This. It's not exactly rocket science to understand that selling art that's essentially a direct copy of someone elses work is a no-go. I'm also willing to bet that if someone were to copy Clammy's originals so closely she'd have their ass handed to them for stealing, as she should because trying to profit from others work is the most pathetic thing an "artist" can do.

so does anyone know any sticker suppliers whose matte finish + quality is as good as sticker mule but isn't pro-trump LOL

>>10303117
I haven't found anyone who has the exact same look/feel as stickermule but I've been very happy with stickerapp and sticker ninja

I will say, with stickerapp's I had trouble getting to stick to like, that powder coated hydroflask style bottle. Sticker ninja seemed to have better adhesive in that respect. neither left any residue when they were taken off.

Artists please, stop "promoting" your charms with pics of them in bootleg itabags. You wouldn't want your designs stolen, have some respect for others too.

So a customer emailed me stating that their package(tube mailer) was open and missing the posters inside. The picture they sent me has neither of the caps on them. I thought about it a bit and realize it's pretty easy to just take everything out of the packages and remove the caps and claim something like this happened. Is there anyway to confirm this was a post office mishap and not a customer trying to scam me?

>>10303250
You can call the post office and request an investigation, but most likely no, there’s no way of really knowing. I would just resend the posters (especially since posters are pretty cheap) and package it more securely this time.

>>10303250
I understand the suspicion having seen customers pull all kinds of scams but it's better to train yourself to treat every situation like this objectively and have a set response, whether you believe them or not. With cheaper items like that it's better to just replace and eat the cost; it may genuinely be your fault and you might be learning that you need to package better (did you tape the caps?) The postal system does fuck up a whole lot and do some crazy shit to packages. It's unacceptable but they basically have no oversight.

>>10303250
Not really your fault someone stole their package. the post office wouldn't ship an open package, they'd tape it up.

>>10302268
>>10302120
Tekko is one of my top cons every year and I'm local as well, however it seems to be a hit and miss con for others. If you do J-fashion related things, and/or have a very unique style you'll do well.

>>10303250
I feel like this really depends on what scenario is worse to you.

a. They lied and got an extra poster out of you for free

b. They didn't lie and an artist they ordered from essentially told 'eat shit' and now they have no money and no poster. (if they don't attempt a charge back through paypal/their credit card company anyway)

I personally want to avoid 'b' more so I just replace most things, I figure it's a cost of doing business. At the same time, I do jot down names to make sure I'm not replacing stuff for the same people all the time.

>>10303250
You should seal the ends with some kind of warranty void tape, so that it scares of thieves.

>>10303237
When were itabags branded? Confused to what you’re talking about

>>10294489
See, this is a pretty common artstyle and there's only so many ways you can change it up proportion wise. These are similar in feel and design to the point where you could mistake them from being by the same artist, but the items themselves have enough differences (expression, mouth, spot placement, and bulb) that it would be unfair for people to claim design theft(for these pins, not bulbasaur) on either version

>>10299965
eyeballing an image and changing a few minor things about the design (bow size and broom bristles shape) is the art equivalent of copying a sentence from someone else's essay, changing a word and then claiming it to not be plagiarism.
It most certainly counts. "eyeballing" the exact image is not the same as referencing, it is a form of tracing. (with the pokemon pins, if she had used bulbasuars pose but changed the pokemon to a completely different one, there'd be less of an issue since the change would likely be dramatic enough, but even "pose referencing" can be touchy) The only thing she changed is adding a background of flowers (she most likely traced) and the pokemon themselves are rendered slightly off model, but the placement/proportions of everything is the same.
(see: Takeuchi plagiarizing his own works because he's lazy)
While it's "transformative" (2D image made into a sewn image on clothing, so different medium), if it were not already of a copyrighted entity (Kiki), it wouldn't likely win in a legal battle either (See Jeff Coons)

but since this all falls under fan-work of something that neither of them have a license for, it's just a shitty thing to lie about.
Clammy should give credit or reference to the other Artist (unless she can prove she came up with her version first)

Also, the convention can choose who they allow to vendor.

>>10301970
>>10302047
>>10302049
>>10302051
The orange Kirby would almost be forgivable if it wasn't just a color swap.
Same with everything else if she gave credit to the originals

>>10303478
There are chinese manufacturers producing bootlegs of bag designs from brands and indie creators

>>10303478
Are you dumb or are you just pretending? Certain designs belong to certain brands but due to the ovewhelming amount of bootlegs, fakes of them are sold literally everywhere now. It disgusts me to see artists post sales pics of their merch in To Alice bootlegs considering that the bag was discontinued because people kept buying bootlegs of it.

Everyone just blindly hops onto the itabag trend without knowing anything.

>>10303237
generic designs aren't copyright-able
they either have be be logos, a functional piece (like Birken locks/clasps, and feet), or so distinct that they're arguably representative of the brand itself (usually a specific shape or colour scheme for that specific item)
bootlegs generally are trying to trick the consumer/whoever is looking at it to think it's a real X product (or virtually, like having a pair of "adidass" shoes")

>>10303496
It's still incredibly distasteful and disrespectful to promote your items in a copy of someone else's design, no matter if it's legally considered a bootleg or not.

>>10303501
It really depends on how close the design is or if the person is pretending they came up with the (generic) design in the first place.

The one in your picture looks incredibly generic. If that very specific bow shape and bag shape (can't think of any more apparent examples) were integral to a specific brand's image I'd agree.

>>10303503
The fakes of this bag are the exact same style down to the corset lacing on the sides of the bag.

>>10303496
Even if they're legally in the clear, that doesn't make them ethically okay

>>10303507
Maybe it's the angle, but I feel the shape and materials look a bit stiffer/more round in the To Alice, tone is different, there's a white "border" inside the transparent bit that's not present in the TA version, the corset lacing appears to loop once and not twice, and it doesn't have the second loopy thing or the glitter. I prefer the "bootleg" desu.

the addition of the corset lacing in combination with similar proportion/placement I feel does make it closer.
Hard to say exactly how close they are without seeing them in person
>>10303508
More up to personal opinion, unless you could mistake it for x brand's product, don't see an issue ethically/legally
again, it's pretty hard to claim ownership of a generic design

That said, I wouldn't argue that it isn't "heavily inspired", but I also wouldn't fault people who use the TA ones. I really doubt most people who buy it would have any inclination to think it might be some kind of bootleg/replica outside of the fact it's made in China (they may or may not have bought it from Taobao, and even then, many taobao stores produce their own unique designs)
So it's a bit unfair to have that expectation for this specific instance.

don't have the bag and not a charm seller, though I do art.

>>10303495
>>10303507

Wow, I like the knockoff version more, too. A second strap, and glitter are the selling point for me.

>>10303262
>>10303329
>>10303347
>>10303425
Thank you guys. I went ahead and replaced the posters for them. Using extra heavy duty tape next time for sure.

>>10303495
>>10303507
That's a shame. The original looks way cleaner and higher quality. The bootleg looks like some dollar store garbage.

>>10303512
>>10303657
well yea, bootlegs of anything is almost always lower quality.

>>10303496
Are you implying that something is ethical just because it's legal? Lmao you're retarded

>>10303495
anon, you can't copy these kinds of things the design is too basic. also to alice makes bootlegs of AP bags anyway, you fucking faggot.

>>10303663
you realize with your logic half the designs in the world, if not more, couldn't exist. if anything the To Alice bag looks more like a knockoff.

>>10303495
So, what about To Alice making knockoff tea party shoes? Is that okay?

>>10303117
Vinyl disorder has a matte that's really close to Stickermule's

They have secret sales on their site for 50% off. www.vinyldisorder.com/custom-sticker-sale

>>10303671
>>10303667
You're just proving the point of the original anon: using knockoffs to promote your original content can and sometimes will come back to bite you. Just like how To Alice had bootlegs in the past, using bootlegs of their original work with your own art can turn out not so great

>>10303686
That's not proving anyone's point, retard. The point is that they're not actually knockoffs and that it *is* okay. And if you think they are knockoffs, you can't support one company that makes them and demonize another.

>>10303686
>Just like how To Alice had bootlegs in the past

they still currently make the "knockoffs" now, anon.

>>10303495
This is so elitist LMAO literally who gives a fuck enough to notice whether a bag is bootleg or not. The fact you’re judging artists for not knowing is insane.

>>10303670
I didn't say anything you're stating in your reply. Read my comment again and maybe take an intro to philosophy class to learn more about ethics, retard

>>10303700
i'm not quoting you dipshit, i said by your logic. are you that crazy russian anon again? you always post salty shit and never punctuate the end of your last sentence.

>>10303237 oh wow for a second I thought I was on the itabag thread. Were you tired of how dead it was and decided to do some shit stirring by flinging vitriol here?

Only a handful of western indie artists are actually shelling out the money to manufacture their own bag designs in the AA, so to a lot of
buyers the bootlegs are just a cute generic bag with a window that was mass produced in China they can decorate. A lot of regular con goers, including AA artists, aren't hardcore about itabagging so it's stupid to stand on a soapbox here and yell at them for their ignorance because they don't know about the history of this very specific niche hobby.

I personally had no idea about To Alice making knock offs of other lolita brands because I'm only in cgl for itabagging and this thread.

Does anyone else think it was dumb for Cherry Cheezy to close her store? Her art is cute for menhera but below average for a VN

>>10303733
I'm sure she had a lot of other reasons for closing her store, and is using the VN as an excuse.

I'm sad she's closed shop, but I can't really blame her

>>10303730
anon, To Alice IS the store being ripped off, and OP wasn't saying to make your own bag just to not buy knockoffs. it makes sense, most self-respecting artists wouldn't want to buy fakes anyways. i just think >>10303237 should've included pictures of the actual bags getting ripped off

>>10303667
nayrt but they don't really unless you think AP making a strawberry bag means every taobao strawberry bag or even other burando strawberry bags are knockoffs even if they look wildly different. the issue is that other stores are making exact replicas of the to alice bag. if they were using similar motifs it wouldn't be an issue though

>>10303624
the original already has glitter

>>10303740
There’s such a high prevalence of counterfeits when it comes to itabagging bags, which makes me a bit sad since the originals aren’t even expensive. That being said, I doubt your regular congoer will care about whether you’re using a ‘real’ bag or not, and if it’s just for display purposes then meh. The artists were probably just looking for the cheapest option if it’s for display anyway.

Got into Acen, reread their rules? no stickers. my booth is 50% sticker sales. FUCK. guess someone else gets my table.

>>10299965
Tekko seems to be super strict on big name IPs, especially with Nintendo doing IP crackdowns on Kickstarter. I'm sure that her patches were WAY too similar to Animal Crossing, which is why the table offer was rescinded. If you have a history of selling mass produced merchandise like that, they will probably continue to do so at the con and it's easier for an event to accept a different artist with nothing that breaks their rules. "Anything resembling bootlegs, official merchandise, copying another Artist’s work, anything traced/eyeball copied, etc is expressly prohibited."

Personally, it kinda sucks since her original stuff like the lemon berets look cute. It seems like she will be doing more original stuff in the future when I checked her twitter.

My friend commissioned an artist at AnimeNYC and was told that they'll ship their commission. Friend texts said artist recently for an update and got no response. I did some investigating and judging from their IG posts and stories, the artist seems like they don't want to/have time to work on it. It's almost been a month since. Should my friend just file a chargeback?

>>10303752
I would if I was in your friend's position.

>>10303193
Thanks! I was actually checking out Sticker App. I'd put Sticker Ninja on the side cause they seem to be a little pricier, but will maybe keep an eye out for sales.

>>10303682
Awesome, thank you! I saw them on Etsy, actually. Didn't know they had an actual website. The link didn't work but looks like they have a sale for 3x3 stickers going on anyway :)

>>10303752
Had a similar experience, jw does their handle start with a "t"?

>>10303752
I would rec sending an email requesting a refund for the commission instead of a chargeback. But if they don't respond within a few days, do the chargeback or Paypal dispute

>>10303752
I'm sorry if this sounds rude but what qualifies as "obviously doesn't want to work on a commission?" when you just look at their Instagram? Maybe the artist has school or a job?

>>10303010
This actually did happen LMAO

I can't remember the artist since it has been months, but basically clammy sent her horde to bully the artist and played it off as her being a saint because dur hur "guys I talked to them and made them take their stuff down, I never said to approach them about this"

>>10303758
No, but without giving out too much info, the artist has a very generic sounding name that's a common ice cream flavor.

>>10303764
It's been over 3 weeks since the con. My friend was courteous enough to give benefit of the doubt because of Thanksgiving and possibly final exams. The artist in question documents themselves working on merch, their mobage pulls, hanging out, and watching Promare multiple times in their IG story.

I also commissioned them and they finished in an hour or so. Friend requested something simple and got nothing. It's not a full on CG piece either, it's just a waist-up sketch.

>>10303796
Could they have forgotten? Or they already shipped it but the post lost it? I would send them a DM or something like “Hi, I commissioned you at X con and haven’t received anything yet. It’s been a while, and I would really appreciate receiving it by Christmas. If you’re too busy, I understand and would like to be refunded please.”

>>10303718
>never punctuate the end of your last sentence.
ntayrt but LMAO? can you imagine being THIS autistic on an anon board

>Waiting for my ACEN mail

>>10303807
They're saying the have a specific typing style *and* post content, idiot.

>>10303718
I never made any argument regarding itabags but try again :)

>>10303857
The fact they even try to identify people from anon posts is obsessive and shows their butthurt is what I’m saying, *idiot*

>>10303752
If your friend has already tried to contact them with expliciy deadlines for replies and they have been ignored, yes charge back.

If your friend hasn't even tried to contact them or their contact was very vague (just a hi!) or something, filing a charge back would be insane.

In case it is the latter, have the friend send an e-mail or whatever the contact info was given to them saying essentially hey, i'm X I commissioned you at ANYC for Y and I understand it's been hectic but can you please give me an ETA for the item by Z date (example, 3-7 days from the email). If your friend has a needed deadline they need to mention it here too. Explicitly say if they don't respond by Z date they will file a charge back.

They will either respond with an update explaining themselves and your friend can decide to cancel or not from there, or they will ignore your friend and they can do a charge back after giving them a shot with no way for the artist to smear them as stealing their money.

itabaggers never cease to amaze me in how vitriolic they are about a hobby that's literally just about spending the most money possible on plastic tat

>>10303951
They’re not that different from any other collector who desire authenticity in the things they collect. As always, there’s a spectrum of what people find allowable.

>>10303954
There's desiring authenticity and there's instantly throwing a tantrum when people outside your hobby don't understand its/your values. No shade on collecting weeb shit, its the way itabaggers tend to conduct themselves outside their hobby that puts me off.

>>10303957
>throwing a tantrum when people outside your hobby don't understand its/your values
>implying this is exclusive to itabaggers
Bruh, artists get angry all the time at well-meaning or innocently ignorant laymen. See when someone calls them talented instead of skilled, when someone reposts their art (even with credit), when someone calls their art similar to someone else’s, etc. Of course, not all artists are the same and some don’t care a speck about the ownership of the art. Likewise, some itabaggers couldn’t care less about bootlegs while others are stringent about even design replicas.

>>10303951
>literally just about spending the most money possible on plastic tat
I hope you only sell original material because otherwise that's a horrible take from someone who sells plastic tat.

>>10304025
My point was more 'chill out its just plastic tat' but go off, I just don't think its worth the angst.

>>10303977
Nah you right, it's probably the same ratio of people throwing insta-tantrums and I'm just on the outside, getting put off cause I generally only see the itabagging thread while someones on a tirade.

>>10303895
Their initial message is "something along the lines of sorry to bother but may i please have an update?" with no intention of a chargeback because they don't want to sound intimidating upfront.

could anyone post some shaker charm inspo? I'm thinking of trying to make one

>>10301597
I was jury for a different convention. It’s not unusual to ban someone if the jury is aware they have less than stellar practices such as eyeballing official art too closely. Even if that work isn’t in their portfolio, they still technically steal work which is unwanted in a space such as artist alley.

>>10304089
Yea that's not enough to charge back off imo. They need to send another e-mail, you don't have to be intimidating they just have to be clear. Like hey, it's me again, wondering if you have an ETA, can you please let me know by X date? I'm afraid i'll have to charge back because it's tying up my money if I don't get a response by X date, I hope you can understand, thanks for your time!

>>10304213
bruh no offense but find you're own inspiration or don't make one. This just sounds like you want to copy someone else's concept...

>>10304583
*your

>>10302051
Lmaoooo been waiting for her to get called out.

>>10303747
oh shit, I guess they updated their rules, I was there last year and had half my table full of stickers

>>10303747
Can you have a free sticker with purchase offer?

So Vograce fucked up the sizing for my charms that were back orders from black friday. They are redoing them but I doubt they will get delivered before the Christmas shipment deadline and now I'm super stressed out. They are matching charms that go together so the restocks I got are essentially garbage. I decided to suck it up and pay chillypig the outrages cost to rush ship an emergency order but if worse comes to worse and I dont receive them by the 20th what should I tell my customers?

>>10304941
Just be honest with them. Let them know your manufacturer messed up, you're fixing it, but because of the Christmas rush, they may be a few days late shipping out.

>>10304941
Contact anyone who ordered and explain the error and that their orders may not arrive in time for the holidays and offer a refund if they need one. I understand that you're panicking about deadlines, but I think the chillypig rush order was probably a money sink when vograce is replacing the order for free.

My enamel pin order got screwed up, and I'm stuck in the same situation, so that's how I'm going to handle it. Try not to stress too much, most customers will be understanding if you're immediately upfront about the situation, don't wait to contact them.

>>10304970
>most customers will be understanding if you're immediately upfront about the situation
This. As someone who got screwed with preorders, I gave free stickers to the customers who were affected by the delays and everything was okay.

>>10303951
Who hurt you anon

>>10304941
This is why I never list anything in my online store until it's in my hands. I know some people couldn't manage without preorders but the idea of getting stuck in a situation like this stresses me out.

Probably not a good idea to have any stickers at an event that bans them. They have those bans bc they're afraid attendees will stick them to the con center. So if you're giving them out for free even with a purchase, that's probably going to violate rules. Especially if they see an attendee has stuck a sticker you gave them to the con center. Just over all not worth.

>>10305030
>>10304854
Sorry meant to reply that to you

>>10305027
It's the risk you take to ensure that you can pay for the items in the first place. If you're not sure that a product will do well for some reason (type of product, character/series popularity, etc) then preorders can ensure you can at least make back some, if not all, of the cost. But I understand your fear of them.

>>10305030
Thank you for taking the time to explain it to me.

>>10305415
np bro

>>10300007

Holy fuck this bitch. Like the fact that shes playing dumb to what eyeballing vs referencing is HEAVILY implies that she knows she is caught. Even trying to nitpick the criticism she is receiving by trying to say the freelancer she copied from works for a million dollar company is a shitty excuse for her tracing. Just own up already. Damn. She should have gotten the hint when dozens of people were chiming in about it.

Im glad she got her table taken away. Since she says she went to art school, then thats evidence enough that she knew what she was doing is hella wrong and plagiarized. Hope the community lynches her desu. Having aa table taken away isnt enough.

Does anyone else make so much bank to the point of where you want to invest in merch production of other artists?
I make $4k+ a month and have $25k in savings. Its just sort of piling up each month because im not doing anything with it.
I dont make AA merch or prints or anything at all anymore, so i dont put any money towards production or material costs for anything.

I want to invest in other artists but seeing the stories on here, it gives me trust issues. I dont want to hand over chunks of money to artists who will take months to draw something for a merch item, only to go over the 180 days of paypals refund policy and then suddenly ghost you. I have had that happen way too often to my friends. One of my other artist friends did this exact thing to one of my OTHER friends and are no longer on speaking terms.

How can i learn to trust other artists with money?

Should i start my own merch company comprised of various artists and handle all the production costs of merch myself so im not actually handing them the money until sales are made? So many variables.

Anyone have any experience investing in freelance AA-style artists?

>>10305910
If you want to do that you should definitely do it through a business, to give you structure and legitimacy. You're no longer a friend or commissioner, you're a business partner, and people should be more professional about it. Also keep in mind that you can a) set a deadline shorter than the 180 days so if they don't deliver you can get the refund before it expires and b) sue them in small claims even after the 180 days.

>>10305913

Thats a good point. I want to be very friendly because as an artist myself, when i am happy then i produce happy and high quality work. I want the artists i work with to also feel happy, but not feel like i am giving them so much liniency that they can take advantage and run with the money.

The business structure is probably the best way to go about it. I just dont want to intimidate potential artists and partners. I want them to produce great ideas and see them translated into great merch.

Hopefully it never comes down to suing them. That would definitely send the wrong message to potential artists. I guess if I handle all the expenses myself, then i wont have to worry about that though. All I would need from them is the art pieces in the correct formats so i can do the production ordering side. Probably sell them too on a website and only taking the production costs + 10% of profits from sales. I wouldnt trust shipping them to the artist, having them sell the items, and never returning my money for the production costs/10% cut. But then with that setup, i dont want the artist to feel like theyre in the vulnerable position because then they would have to put A LOT of trust in me.

I guess i should start with really close friends first who already trust me. I guess once other artists see my built up reputation, then they will be more willing to partner up with me.

Hmm but that seems too controlling. But if i DO end up setting it up that way, i can also do quality control and ensure they are drawing original pieces rather than dangerous fanart of IPs. But then also the variable of being seen as censoring or creativity-stomping.

Can i get feedback from artists? What is your IDEAL investor or business partner? Looking to hear back from artists who cant afford production costs or who HEAVILY rely on pre-order sales.

>>10305919
I occasionally work with other artists and what I do is commission them at a commercial rate, half paid up front half paid when they are done. We write up a doc listing what lisencing they are giving me and any other terms.

Since I only work with people I know well I haven't had any trust problems but if you're looking for outside artists I'd say look for artists who have worked with commercial commissions before

>>10305946

Thank you so much for your feedback, but unfortunately i am not looking to do business with commercial grade artists. I want to work with low income artists to give them an opportunity to create merch for the first time and slowly build up their profits until they can afford their own production/material costs.

Commercial grade artists can already afford their own production costs. Most dont even need to do pre-orders of merch.

>>10305910
Get a lawyer and an accountant. The way you speaking of it sounds like you'll be taken advantage of pretty quickly - if you don't want to set rules, be ready to give away the money.

>>10305947
artists who do commercial commissions aren't really any better off than other artists - they are just proven to be reliable. Like I'm not saying industry artists, I'm saying people who have collabed with other artists, conventions, or indie bands, or at least have a professional portfolio.

The truth is a lot of artists don't really know what they are doing and are likely to give you a big headache.

It's really honorable that you want to help struggling artists, and it's true that there's a lot of systematic issues keeping artists from succeeding, but it's also true that one of the reasons artists struggle with production is that they don't know how these sorts of things work and aren't reliable enough to work on these larger scale products.

>>10305910
Look for artists with a proven track record, bonus if they have an online store with positive reviews and commission examples or even customer references. I'm a really small time artist but i have an Etsy store with like a hundred 5 star reviews which I show people to make them feel more comfortable about commissioning me.

I've thought about getting into stuff like enamel pins but they're way too expensive for me to dump so much money into upfront and preorders seem like a pain. Ideally I'd have a business partner handle all the manufacturing and physical goods while I make the art and we would split profits 50/50. We'd be totally open with each other about expenses and shit, and while I would be happy to accept critique over the art pieces I don't want it to be overly nitpicky and I'd want them to like my art style as it is as well instead of having them want me to imitate some other popular artist/series (ive had commissioners who are interested in that and while I'll take the money I don't really like doing it). As a serious business venture I agree with the focusing on original pieces and perhaps creating a original line of characters/story as well.

I think it's really cool of you to want to do something like this and I hope it works out!

>>10305910
>that savings
Anon why don’t you to charitable to yourself and keep the money you probably need it most out of anyone.

>>10306071
I hope those savings are in a high interest account otherwise they’re really doing nothing for them. Beside that OP should be investing in a retirement account for themselves. After that they can do what they want, I think it’s cool they want to invest in other artists. I’d also love to be making that much on art myself, but I don’t even get that much from my 9-5.

>>10305910
If you really want to invest, maybe think about running a small publication with artists and you’ll pay them for their piece, and give them the right to reprint their work for individual sales. A lot of community events tend to be not profitable for artists (speaking as a person who works in multiple zines, big bangs, etc) and they’re really just doing it purely out of passion. Having a sponsor for these projects would probably make people feel less worried about whether the end product could even be made

>>10305910

You're better off investing your excess savings into the stock market. If you invest right, you'll get 4-8% return (conservative) to 8-15% (high return years).

If you really do want to entrust other artists with money. I would go into it as a business partnership. I would work with an artist that is producing original content. That way if they scale it into something big, you can potentially one day cash out when shares of their company grow in value.

If you don't plan to go into this as a business venture nor want to make much $ off of excess capital you have lying around. You're better off treating this as a charity by giving your $$ way, or you help kickstart artists projects.

Perhaps you creating your own mini kickstarter type of site for smaller artists only who only need funding up to low amounts (up to $2000)?

Just some ideas. I think you should study a bit more about business, that way you have a better idea what are the different possibilities of what can be done with your extra cash. But also structure the business in such a way that it protects you, while also helping your target audience of growing artists.

Keep in mind, most beginning artists lack business savvy (hence large risk to your $$$). Even experienced and good artists are not good with and do not know much about business b/c that is not what they learn or deal with day-to-day. So I think it is still risky either way.

Your best bet is making your own kickstarter type site or service. You lend out your funds with a 10% return or repayment. Or you just donate it away like a charity. Or make your own zine-type projects, or fund creation of merch from series you like (acrylic keychains of obscure series)?

>>10305910
if you have more than 10k in your bank acct you're not using your money wisely. Max out your 401k and get a vanguard or something.

>>10305910
I don't mean to throw shade, and I don't know where exactly you live/what the cost of living is, but that doesn't sound exactly like "I got so much money to throw around." (Well, maybe for an AA artist, but not in the grand scheme of things.) It's really nice that you want to help other people out, but you could really be saving up for major life milestones/investing in other things that can get you actual returns. Of course, I'm saying this assuming you haven't met those milestones yet...but maybe you have.

>>10305910
>>10305919

>What is your IDEAL investor or business partner?

Not someone who only makes $4k a month with only $25k in their savings and thinks that's making bank, anon. You're nowhere near the point of investing in others. You also don't seem very money smart since you just let your own money sit stagnant. You wouldn't be able to handle the stress that comes with handling other people's money. You're not thinking about all this realistically and I worry that you'll just crash and burn. Use your meager earnings and invest more in yourself, what you have is PENNIES down the line and one day you'll find yourself needing whatever is "just piling up" now. Get your head out of your ass.

>>10305910
>I make $4k+ a month and have $25k in savings
Anon... that isn't very much money. Thats invest in the stock market and your retirement money, not make large investments in other artists money.
Use the money to invest in yourself.

>>10306271
>>10306277
>>10306283
I'm piggybacking on these guys but srsly anon, you're still in "one major illness/accident can wipe out my savings' territory. Idk that your really in the financial position right now to be making what is (no shade but lets be frank here) high risk investments.

By all means, if you're just looking to help? I think kicking some good money toward kickstarters and artist projects you like is a great way to go. If looking for investments with returns? You're probably still better off looking for more traditional routes right now

I want to look for an accountant next year, is there anything I should make sure they're proficient in (I'm not really sure how to specify artist alleys) or would pretty much any accountant be ok?

>>10306899
The point of having an accountant as a sole trader is to make sure you're not paying more tax than you need to and you're getting as many tax write-offs as you can. Someone who is used to working with other small businesses/vendors might be useful (e.g. if they work a lot with vendors at markets)

>>10306899
Selling at an artist alley is very similar to selling at artisan fairs and christmas markets so someone who works with those vendors should know how to work with you

Has anyone done megacon before? my friend invited me to share but I've never been to florida/did this con.

Thinking of trying something new for my table decor. What are these things called? Thanks.

>>10307466
awning

>>10307276
They have a fuck ton of AA tables. I don't think they ever even sell out of them. They have a lot of attendees but the price to get through the door is high. Most of the draw is the guest list, and many people will be putting money aside for autographs from guests. You should do okay there, but you'll probably make less than you expect from the attendance numbers. It's also more of a western comics/normie geek crowd.

>>10307528
thank you! very interesting info

What is your most recent cosplay?

>>10306917
>>10307005
Thanks anons! That helps a lot

How do cons determine table placements usually?

>>10305910
how old are you? if youre like 22 thats a ton but i agree not enough to start major projects

What's your opinion on rolling (larger) prints and securing them with a rubber band versus packaging them in a clear polysleeve?
I've seen people do the former before and I personally never minded it, but since I'm going to my first con as a vendor next summer I was wondering if people would be annoyed by having to unroll their prints or if it might come across as very cheap. I'm also not sure how you would combine it when people also get smaller items or how to include businesscards easily that way.

>>10308461
It just depends really. Personally I don't like having prints I buy to be rolled up because then I have to go out of my way to flatten it later under a book or something. Though, its not really that big a deal? If I reallylike a print it won't deter me from buying it. When I sell prints I just put them in a plastic sleeve. For some buyers its easier because they are already carrying other prints theyve bought. Its super easy to slide in cards, or keychains in the big plastic sleeves. This is kind of a non-answer, sorry anon... I think sleeves are better but rolling them up isn't a make or break decision.

>>10308461
Is there any possibility you could just offer both as an option? If the customer is already buying other stuff you could automatically go for the sleeve, and if they're only buying large prints ask them if they'd prefer them to be rolled or in a sleeve. If you want to go an extra mile you can even stock some poster tubes and ask if the customer would like to buy one for the print. You could even add a sneaky buy x amount of large prints get a tube free of charge deal.
But generally from my own experience I've found that people like having a choice, especially these days when a lot of people are quite sensitive toward how much plastic is used in packaging.

>>10308461
People for sure prefer it flat. For all the reasons you wrote. In addition, people like to be able to put their prints into a suitcase or some other flat area to travel with, when it's a tube without protection they run the risk of smashing it ONE and having the wrinkled like 8 times because of the rolled aspect.

They'll take it if that's all you have to offer but it's not ideal.

>>10308461
As both a seller and customer, I would rather just give the print as is without protection if I've run out of sleeves. It's just not worth the risk of winkling or damaging the print for me on both ends

>>10308501
>>10308551
>>10308553
>>10308640

Thanks for your input! It seems (optional) sleeves is the best way to go then.

Is it common for the post office to not update a package's tracking during the christmas holiday? I'm still seeing a pre shipment status for several orders I mailed out and my customers are getting concerned.

>>10308766
Yes, that's happened with about 1/4 of my packages this year. So far only one out of hundreds didn't end up getting delivered.

Do people usually include overhead when they talk about what they made at a convention?
I just finished my first con (mid-sized, although seemed a bit slow Friday especially) and made around 800$ not including overhead(couple hundred)... just trying to gauge how well I did for my first time.

>>10308766
Yeah I'm getting that too. Dropped some stuff off on Friday and they haven't updated yet. There's so much going out that there's bound to be a delay. We're already past the shipping deadline for Xmas so if your customers expected them to come on time, you should probably tell them that's not going to happen.

>>10309060
most people refer to total revenue when they say how much they made, unless noted otherwise.
$800 is very good for a first convention.

>>10309060
When I talk about numbers, I usually talk about total revenue, profit usually fluctuates, because some products I order enough for a whole year (like enamel pins) and they get paid off in the first convention I go to, so thus my first con of the year has a much higher overhead than the rest of the them, so profit never really is a huge point for me to look at so long as I'm over break even and I'm making about as much as I usually do.

Does anyone have any experience with Vograce tote bags and have any comments about the quality? I haven't dealt with them in a while but am looking to maybe explore their non-keychain options (they really know their audience, huh).

Someone bought something from my shop, selected the "custom" option, but never did add to the notes or message me what custom design they wanted. That was 2 or 3 months ago.
Kinda boggles my mind someone would spend $25, get nothing, and not look at their emails to look at the emails I sent them asking what design they want.

>>10309820
Same exact thing happened to me. It's still sitting here, labelled and with the receipt.

which type of pins back do you prefer ? I never saw irl rubber back pins but I have hear they have good grip

>>10309820
I guess just cancel the order and refund them?

>>10310564
I personally prefer rubber backs. Metal and rubber are both equally as likely to fail in my experience, so I use rubber because it's cheaper and easier on my fingers when I board many of them at once. I recommend customers who are going to wear them on their clothes unguarded get the locking backs, but those are too expensive to actually include with every pin.

>>10310564
>>10310628
Rubber is my default, but I offer metal locking pinbacks for an extra $1.

Those of you that ship prints. How do you feel about the rectangle mailing tubes as opposed to cylindrical ones?

I like the cylinder ones more as they are way sturdier but they take up a ton of space in my room where as the rectangular ones can be folded and stored flat. I'm just worried about these type of mailers getting crushed while in transit.

>>10310882
tube mailers are practically infinitely stronger than rectangular ones.
circular > triangular > square

>>10307993
Depends on the con. I had a con where, in the application, you could write tables you'd like to be next to for friends to request being placed together.

Anyone hear anything from anime boston, wonderfon, or sakuracon yet?

>>10311529
Wondercon acceptances went out last week. Sakuracon and Anime Boston haven't gone out yet. You should be able to log into your comic con account and see if you got in because it'll show you an exhibitor tab if you did.

After a million years, Aseliacon finally got back to me about needing a tax permit, mainly just saying all the require is a state ID for their con. I'm still going to try and file one anyway though. I hate how busy this month has been though since I haven't been able to have time to sit and draw/prepare things properly for the con like I had planned but wish me luck....

>>10311529
>>10311643
Sakuracon acceptances just went out last night according to twitter peeps

>>10311858
tfw when you've yet to win the sak lottery and the first post that pops up when you search on twitter is 'oh, guyss I got in, too bad I don't draw anymore lololol'
how depressing

>>10312090
*wheezes* I hope they say no and let someone on the waitlist table.

are these from vograce? what is this acrylic called?

>>10313668
Yeah, I saw it on their website. They call it rainbow acrylic, but it's more like an oil slick effect.

I've been looking into 3D printing miniatures and the technology has really come into it's own.
Do you guys think there's a market for well-painted 3D printed "anime figures"? Will I get in trouble even if I use original models?
I think it could be really fun to have something unique at a table.

I've been looking into 3D printing miniatures and the technology has really come into it's own.
Do you guys think there's a market for well-painted 3D printed "anime figures"? Will I get in trouble even if I use original models?
I think it could be really fun to have something unique at a table.

>>10314399
By "original models" I mean that I make the schematic myself in something like Blender and then print it, but based off of an established character.

>>10314399
That sounds really cool! It'd definitely catch my eye. Maybe sell unpainted ones too, kind of like garage kits.

>>10314399
I think there's 100% a market for it and with 3d print tech improving like it is it's only a matter of time before they start showing up on tables as more than just bulbasaur planters.

what's the decent options for an online shop? i know of storenvy, bigcartel, shopify.... i feel like there's some platform i'm missing

How tf do people get into so many conventions, I've lost like 5 lottery cons for 2020 already

>>10314401
I don't think you will have more trouble with making own 3D fanart models than with regular 2D fanart. It's the same legally gray area where the big corporations will overlook it or the same ones will be a bitch (Sanrio, Disney, etc).
Go for it, there's always a market for good-looking or cute figurines, and the technology is getting there.

>>10314639
Etsy

>>10314753
None of the cons I go to have a lottery, so that helps.

>>10314639
Square and Freewebstore are others I've seen.

>>10303733
>>10303736
I've been out of the loop. Tea?

>>10311858
My fifth year in a row getting waitlisted. I know it's a lottery but I live in Seattle please just let me win for once lol

What is everyone's policy for lost packages (US)? Assuming your item is small and not that costly to make or ship, like a single charm.
I'm thinking of sending out the replacement but having the customer pay for shipping, but debating if I should just suck it up and pay for shipping too...I guess its not really that much of a loss and would probably make a better customer experience too?

>>10316486
I just ask them to double check the correct address and send a replacement for no charge. I think of it like this, how likely are you to order from a shop again if you know you're on the hook for more money if the package gets lost?
Also, in maybe 1000+ sales I've had one, -maybe- two people I felt were taking advantage?

>>10301678
Welp, I tried Jukebox and it wasn't very good. My business cards were de-saturated and some of my stickers were damaged. Probably not gonna go back.

>>10316633
looking closer to the business card, the image quality is actually much sharper than my old vistaprint ones. So i mean, its a step up above vistaprint if that means anything.

Anyone have any goals for 2020? I love hearing what other people think about on a new year.

Personally, I'd like to do at least 3 cons this year, and continue to build my original items of art as opposed to fanart. 3 doesn't seem like much, but I have a full time job and its been about a year and a half since I last tabled, so I think its attainable (fingers crossed).

>>10316722
Just out of college so my goals for this year are: Find a job, replace my older stock with new art since my style has grown a lot since I started tabling, and work on my store, and utilize my social media by posting art consistently.

On the subject of business cards, who's my best option for holographic foil? I've been shopping around top google results for them and they're outrageous prices like $150 for 40 cards.

>>10317166
alibaba

>>10316722
I don't really do AA or sell merch because I live in a small European country with expensive shipping, so up until now I've mainly made merch and prints through fanzine projects.

This year I wanna give online shops a try though. I've been working up a small range of fanmerch and tried out some manus, so I'll try to be more active on social media, get myself more of an presence and open a shop. I also want to design more full sets to match some of the stuff I've made, and make more original prints and merch and have a go at some local art fairs. Just generally try to build myself a small brand I can be happy with.

I have a full-time job and limited free time so I draw just for fun, but I'll be happy if I can manage to cover the costs and not have huge amounts of leftover stock so I can keep making merch I like.

How do you guys ship 11x17 prints? Tube? Flat mailer? Joodlez' way?
I don't buy prints anymore but I do have some print stock I'm considering putting on my store, so I'd like to know how others ship--the last time I bought one was probably 8 years ago and it came in a tube, and I hated unrolling/flattening the print, but tube seems the most practical. Flat mailer for such a large size just seems like it's asking for the mailman to fold it in half.

>>10317636
>Joodlez' way?
Explain?
Also tube mailer all the way. It's a pain to unroll and flatten prints but at least they will arrive in one piece. Don't trust carriers to not treat your packages like shit.

>>10317665
Don't ship Joodlez's way, I doubt even Joodlez ships Joodles way anymore

>>10317636
smallish prints (less than 12 inches long) I ship in a photo mailer. Any larger goes in a tube, people understand the added cost for the most part.

new topic since this one is on page 10
>>10317889