/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

I'm trying to create my business cards, and I wanted to know if you had any tips for making them look good. What are the "do"s and "don't"s, /cgl/?

>>8502692
Keep it relatively simple. Use an easy-to-read typeface, nothing too scripty or tiny serif text. Don't put "email:" before your email or "website:" before your website, everyone can tell what they are, it's redundant and a waste of space. Print off a copy of the card yourself to check that the size and contrast of everything looks good before sending them out - don't trust your monitor. Just a few off the top of my head.

>>8502793
> print off a copy of the card
Oh, that's a good idea! And thanks for the other advice too!

>>8502794
Yeah it honestly makes a huge difference when trying to tell if any text looks too big or too small. It's a simple step but I'd recommend it for anything that's going to be printed.

last thread I asked about recording the computer screen and one of you anons recommended one, but it was only for PCs (thank you so much btw)
thankfully after some research i found out macs already have software installed for this so i wanted to share! just look up quicktime player and click on file > new screen recording, hope this helps others out there!

I'm hoping to sell this sort of thing - it's an acrylic painting on canvas, about 6 x 8 inch. Is £25 too much to ask or about right?

>>8503600
Seems about right to me, or maybe 22? SU is popular but a lot of its fans are under 18. Which means less money.

>>8503169
i've got a mac and have been wondering about this myself, thanks for the tip anon!

>>8503600
Wish the painting was cleaner, I can see the blank dots of canvas. But it's pretty nice painting. I personally find that price low for a one of a kind painting, then again I'm not used to that currency. Don't take this wrong but I kinda think that if it was auctioned off at a furrycon, it'll fetch something higher.

>>8503169
Oh wow that's good to know, thanks. I never would have thought of that.

>>8503600
>not putting down a base color on the canvas

amateur.

So two questions:

1: What would you guys say is currently the best place to get charms made? There's been a lot of discussion on quality and issues with different places, and I'm just puzzled as to what the best place is right now.

2: Where do you get custom cartons made for packaging? Stuff like pick related, artist is Welchino for those that want to know.

Foil came in! I think it works great. Only downside is it's thick as shit and my cutter is having a hard time getting stickers cut out. TBH, hand cutting may be the better route. Double cutting at a 10 setting is having trouble. Maybe if I did a second round of double cuts, but I'd rather not tear the crap out of my blade just for some stickers.

>>8504715
>too thick
Lol. Can we switch, anon? Mine are too thin. ;;

>>8504795
http://globalplastic.en.alibaba.com/productgrouplist-801440343/Laser_Crystal_Cold_Lamination_Film.html

well, here's the laminate... it's probably better for prints and such since it's super thick.

may i know the link to yours? i'm still SOL in terms of holo stickers.

>>8504715
that foil is pretty cute! but you can definitely see where the cutter is struggling. That's crazy thick, wow

>>8504849
>http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=7047868863

Did you order an entire roll or did you get them to chop it up? I'm trying to make sparkly charms, so I'm looking for sturdier laminate. The ones I got should be fine for stickers.

>>8504260
For packaging, most artists I know just do it themselves. Buy plastic sleeves (clearbags dot com are usually best for these, or something of a similar quality), print out the backing on cardstock and slip them in.

>>8505061
I just got some samples, and they sent me 6 A4 sheets. It was $37 for that though :/

>>8505169
> $37 for 6 sheets
Ouch, that is pretty expensive. Was it because of the shipping fees?

I have a small sleeve-style laminator at home for use, and a large school sized roll laminator at work.

Is it possible to find and purchase foil lamination sleeves? I'd prefer to do it at home, since my work laminator isn't typically intended for personal use even if I was furnishing my own resources.

For anyone that uses Overnight Prints, is it normal for them to ship stuff out late? I had some books printed with them on Monday and paid for express shipping to get them by today only to find that they didn't send it out until 5:00 am this morning and UPS's scheduled Delivery date isn't until this Monday after the con I had them printed for is over.

Is this normal for them or did I just get unlucky?

>>8505325
No, that's not normal. I used them for post cards before and I got mine in a week. They're not amazingly fast but if you ordered it on Monday it should have shipped out by Tuesday.

>>8505325
Sorry, >>8505334 anon again. They just got done with their xmas in July sale so you ordered at a very bad time, right at the end of the rush. Just remembered because I was deleting emails from them a moment ago.

>>8504260
I wish this artist had an online shop. I have a mighty need for that kenma charm.

>>8505352
I actually went with Overnight because of their sale; I didn't think I could afford to have those books printed otherwise. I'm just annoyed that I paid so much for shipping only to have it delayed so much. I'm hoping that by some miracle they'll come in tomorrow and I'll have them for half the convention, but if that's not normal for them, I may use them again. They offered me store credit in exchange for the extra I paid in shipping, so that's something I guess.

>>8505061
I was looking into this shop as well. It looks promising.

>>8505262
same here, I think ultimately I'd prefer hot lamination in general. I might try to look around tomorrow and see if i can find something.

Going to have my first table in September . Wondering some ideas for prints I can do, Steven Universe, Sailor Moon? Also post examples of prints you think work well.

>>8505364

Not that anon, but can you review the books when they come in? I've been thinking about using them to print a comic. (Also I hope your books arrive in time!)

>>8505082
Thanks! I honestly didn't even think of that!

>>8505358
Same, I really want their pokemon merch

>>8505358
they don't? oh my god i am so disappointed, i immediately wanted to look

>>8504715
>>8504795
>>8504849
>>8505061
does this kind of thing just stick on, or is there some sort of process to attach it? if you're using it for charms, are you planning to stick in on the plastic???

>>8505789
haha, no, fuck you

>>8506005
Maybe I phrased it poorly due to abrupt phone typing. I was just wondering peoples opinions of posters they find nice. I'm not sure if I should create some more atmospheric scenic pieces or pin-up style art. I would also like to do a punchline print but I'm not sure if that's much of a thing at the moment.

>>8505230
yeah, it was technically free minus shipping. I think for an entire roll it's $180 with free shipping and it was tempting, but tbh I'm gonna wait for the thinner stuff haha.

>>8505061
do you have any photo examples of yours anon? I'd love to see it in action since thicker-laminate anon's already looks nice.

where can you her holographic buttons or heart shaped buttons printed? I've seen a few people do them and I really wanna try it, but I've had no luck with google searches n stuff

>>8506240
wait nevermind I found some lmao

>>8506156
They reacted that way because it is literally the most asked question in these threads. It's a tired subject and a lot of us are sick of answering it electorally since the answer is so subjective

Draw whatever the fuck you want. What "sells" varies by person and a bunch of crusty assholes on the internet aren't going to give you a one on one consultation when they don't know shit about you or your art. Lurk more, do research, take note of what online communities are talking about.

This question is a little less specific to Artist Alley and more "selling your work" generally, like on Etsy --

What's the consensus (if there is on) on using work that's not yours in selling things? I don't mean printing out licensed characters onto stickers or recasting molds of other peoples' cabochon designs or anything, but our store is going to include button badges made with 'found papers', like old comic book pages, scrapbook papers, note paper, etc.

We are NOT going to be reprinting or making copies of anything, and papers like these are sold for crafting, which is what we're doing, but is this frowned upon anyway? I love the idea of taking a full design and cropping down a little 1.5x1.5 inch window of it to add a little flair to an outfit/bag/etc, personally.

This isn't to say we're not doing original designs, too; I fucking love doodling little tiny original things, which will be on buttons as well. But if I have *official* Rilakkuma note paper in bulk (which I do), is it highly unethical to sell button badges of them as well? Probably wouldn't sell them at an Artist's Alley since that's not fitting the tone of a place like that, but on Etsy and such.

Obviously we'd specify what's our art and what's not, even if it's obvious or redundant. But just curious about /cgl/'s opinions.

>>8506308
No that's fine, people do it all the time. You're just repurposing/recycling. Just don't claim the art as yours.

>>8504715
these came out super cute, anon! thanks for the input on the vendor and the laminate, it's super appreciated! I have the same question as >>8506001 though! I know you mentioned they cut the pieces down for you in the sample pack, so did you end up using a smaller sleeve laminator/some other machine for cold laminate or just messed around until you found a technique that works? I'm still debating on whether or not I want to fuck around and find a free alternative besides buying a laminator lmao

>>8506754
no laminator! i just pressed it down and used a card to help get air bubbles out. it helps to only put a little down at a time to help ease the air bubble issue though.

>>8506001
It's like a sticker you just stick on and then slowly press to get the bubbles out. Kinda like what >>8506767 said. I was going to try them for laminate charms. I don't think they would adhere well to plastic.

>>8506162
Hmm, I might try a sample. How long did it take to ship? My con is in two weeks so yeah... Although... where do you live, anon? I don't mind shipping some of my laminate to you if you ship some samples to me.

> inb4 Canadapost takes 10 years to get the letter to you

>>8506166
I was the anon who posted the pictures in the last thread. It looks a lot shinier in bright light.

>>8506809
It only took about three days? I'm in the US though. I've only got about 2 sheets as well since I've been experimenting haha.

>>8506265
please share

>>8506767
>>8506809
>>8506931
Awesome!!!!!!! This is super helpful, thanks so much for your advice and input! Good luck on your con prep and experimentations!

>>8504715
If nobody minds me posting once again, I did get my cutter to eventually cooperate for a set of stickers. I had to do 4 double-cut passes with a 10 setting on my blade, but it happened... Silhouette is apparently coming out with a deep-cut blade in the Fall and I think I might have to grab one lmao

>>8507416
not sure why this ended up sideways, it was fine when i uploaded it elsewhere... damn 4chan

>>8507416
Ooooh thanks for this tip!!!! Have you tried making kisscut sheets with the laminate film? I'm debating whether or not to make kisscut sheets or just individual stickers once I test out out how the holo looks on my stuff

>>8507480
Personally, I don't really think kisscut sheets would be possible with this. If it were thinner then maybe... I'm waiting on some of that thinner stuff anon posted about before though, so I'll let everybody know if that works better.

Did anyone see those long prints on what looks like gatorboard at the back of the art show at Otakon...? Both have minimum bid of around $25, first bid is $300 on one and the other is going for $700. The artist has a booth in the dealers room where you can get the same thing for a fraction of that in wallscroll form. I overheard the guy who placed a bid on it justify it saying it was watercolor, then when told it was a print, was like "yeah well those are made to last a lifetime"

Many of the other prints on canvas we're going for insane prices too. Are people really this retarded?

>>8506265
So are you gonna let other people know?

If anyone's at otakon aa, an artist I follow on Twitter got kicked out, I assume because of the 50/50 rule. Word is staff is being as shitty as ever so be careful

>>8508124
I saw a guy selling screenshots of characters on buttons along with his perlers

>>8507987
Well, I mean where else will they get an animu print on a canvas or something? If something's an original painting though, say, oil or watercolor, then I think it's justifiable to bid $300, but yeah if it's a print that's kind of ridiculous. But hey man, let them dream.

>>8508124
what's the 50/50 rule?

>>8508453
50% fanart 50% original work/content.

>>8508124
zzyzzyy? I don't know the details, but weren't they in the vendors room?

>>8508124
this is a great example of why i'm never trying for otakon. i can't risk flying out only to be kicked out.

>>8508428
Nope, although that would definitely be a good reason to get kicked out, not that otakon week actually do anything about it

>>8508505
Not them either.

>>8507630
alright, good to know! I'll keep an eye out for what you think of the thinner holo stuff!

>>8508468
Wow, is that really a rule now? What made them impliment that? Sorry, I just lurk in these threads occasionally, I find them interesting.

>>8509071
As long as I've known about Otakon that's been he rule, but they enforce it in completely asinine ways. Their staff are shady and inconsistent and after the crap sales people have had this year, I'd say Otakon is definitely at the bottom of my list of cons to table at.

>>8509091
What do they do, just walk around and go table to table and tell people to take shit down? I just don't understand why you would make an AA 50/50. I can see like 80/20, but people go to AA's to buy fanart most of the time.

>>8507987
I think a lot of people think anything on a canvas is original work.

I just finished my first AA today and I did better than I expected! I just wanted to say thanks to all you anons here. I really learned a lot and received a lot of good information that helped me prepare. Thanks for sharing your experience with all us AA newbies.

>>8508072
>>8507060
What, are you kidding?? I did all this leg work.. no I'm gonna hoard it to myself!

Jk. They're japanese printers though- so you might have to get a friend to print for you or something! (that's what I'm doin)

Holographic
http://www.at-darts.com/goods_badge/keyholderholo.html
http://realize-net.com/pricelist.php
http://otsukuri-store.com/badge/
http://badge-yume.com/hologram-badge.html
http://entowa-s.com/hologram.html

Hearts!
http://www.minpri.net/price/pvc_badge.htm
http://www.orangekoubou.com/contents/item_badge.php

>>8510403
Hey anon, there was someone who printed a poster with JiMi and made a bunch of badges out of it. That's another option too.

Otakon AA had it's odd communication moments and that Thursday line..., but I definitely see why people flock to the con to get a table. It was my first ever con bringing home 1k. Definitely will be back.

My only fear is I know my next show won't bring in these kinds of numbers..

>>8510733
All my 3-5K friends said otakon was just an average con this time so if you think 1K is a lot you can definitely make 1K at other big cons assuming you are not limited by driving distance.

>>8508687
Well then who was kicked out and why?

>>8510733
Woah, congrats anon! That's awesome!

>>8511011
I'm not super close to them so I don't feel comfortable sharing. Sorry if that sounds dodgy of me. I honestly have no idea why they were kicked out... I assumed 50/50 rule but I checked their tumblr and it looks like they were mostly promoting an original book so I'm not entirely sure that's why

Can I take a moment to vent?

>just did my first AA
>be a crafter, so lots of setup costs to cover
>con table is a bit pricey
>not aiming to make a fortune, just want to cover table cost
>table neighbor bitches to me about how they only made a $1000 at their first con
>said person has been selling the same shitty tumblr prints for years

Kudos to them for selling shit, but the whole thing was kind of frustrating.

>>8511093
$1000 is really not a lot, sorry anon. BUT they really should not have involved numbers like that to a stranger, that's super awkward. Both because why would you want your low profits spread around, and because of situations like this where they don't know the other person isn't making as much as they are. So. weird.

>>8511093
AA power levels
1. People who make five figures a con
2. People who make four figures
3. People who break even
40. People who can't break even
9001. People who publicly share their figures and complain about them

If it makes you feel better, that person is basic as fuck. Keep doing you

This >>8508428 reminds me - I know both crafters and print artists alike hate the perler bead sprite copiers, but have any of you actually contacted your local cons to get them banned?

>>8511093
Did you end up covering your expenses though?

Does anybody happen to have any good charm displays saved that they wouldn't mind posting? I'm nearing close to 70 charm designs with my next con, and I'm running out of ways to properly display them short of just hanging 1000000 hooks on grids. I was debating printed posterboard so they're more organized looking, but I'm not sure if that's the most space efficient for me.

>Go on DA because why not
>see cute looking scarves
>someone asks seller where they get it manufactured seller tells them to google it
>seller had no problem linking where they get their plush, jewelry, bags, stickers/charms etc done

>see another seller with decently made plushes
>someone asks where they got it from
>seller writes 'Thank you for your question, however I do not discuss my sources for my business. There are however many places to research online for those curious about starting their own!'

I can kind of understand where the sellers are coming from but some shops googled look iffy and have a lot of stock photos, but I guess that's all apart of taking a plunge and trying some out to know what's good or not.

>>8511147
>70 charm designs

For what purpose

Does anyone make their own bookbinding/memo pads? What materials should I use? I want to make my own memo pads(with a format similar to the ones of San-X, two designs but 50 sheets instead of 100)

>>8511276
I just like making keychains man.

>>8511147
you might have too many... do you ONLY have charms?

>>8511364
No, I've got other things, keychains are just mostly what I have.

HELP ME OUT ARTISTS ALLEY THREAD REGULARS!!!,

Someone posted an artists charms in the last thread or the thread before that. They were clear/acrylic and were gacha balls with I think(?) some sports anime characters in them. They also had little candy shaped charms with Love Live girls in them. Each charm had a little star bead thing on the chain. I thought I liked their page on Facebook or followed them on Tumblr but I guess I didn't and now I can't find them. ;_;
I thought it would be quicker asking, but if no one replies soon enough I'll search the depths of the catalogue.

Thank you to anyone who can help!!!

>>8512192

> star bead

is this it?

http://slimyeels.storenvy.com/products

On the subject of looking for stores, if any of you sells HxH, JJBA or Yowamushi (especifically Makishima) charms, badges or buttons online I'd appreciate links! (I'm putting together ita bags).

>>8512192
here you go

>>8512315
Yay!! This is it! Thank you so much.

>>8512276
These are very lovely too I'm going to have to look through these as well.

I have some ideas for merchandise I'd like to sell in AA, but I'm not an artist. I'm looking to commission someone to do the art for me, but I can't imagine the normal commission rates will apply if I'm planning to use their art on my own merchandise. Does anyone have any experience with approaching artists to do this, or being approached by people doing this? I have the legal stuff down (friend who works in product dev is doing it) but I'm not really sure what the etiquette as far as approaching artists for something like this is.

>>8512496

"Hey X, I would like to commission your for merchandise. Do you have commercial rates stablished? If not, would you be interedted in commercial work for X amount?"

I have commissioned people before for merchandise and they have all been pretty nice about it. They will most likely want to know what type of merchandise (in case they are not comfortable with their art appearing on someting specific) get back to you with any special conditions (retain the rights to include the art in a portfolio, rate per number of merchandise sold, etc).

>>8511011
BASICALLY a bunch of SJWs bought an "original" table, meaning they pledged to sell 100% original characters. They thought they could cheat the system by paying less and sneaking fanart in. Someone tattled and they got kicked out.

Okay so I need an idea for how big a Touken Ranbu is between average fans /and/ artists, especially down in the south. I'm making charms and was wondering if 10 of each charm is enough or too much? I'm completely surrounded by friends already into Tourabu and it's hard to get a good estimate on how much i need....
Con size is average size? It's been growing but not super overwhelming and is a "family" con

>>8505838
Unfortunately they didn't come in time (they just arrived tonight!!) but over all they're pretty good. However, some of the spines are sort of torn (probably happened in shipping) and some of the covers are aligned too far down so there's white space on the top. Actually looking again, almost every page has white space along the top as well.

I also printed a set of bookmarks to go with them, but more than half of them aren't aligned right! There's white space on the side and along the bottom edge.

Admittedly, it's probably because it was during a sale and they were in a rush since I needed them so soon, but I'm a little frustrated that not only did they not come in time (The label was made Thursday morning, but it wasn't processed until amost 10:00 that night and shipped out in the morning) but there are mistakes like that...

Like I said, it's probably because they were having a sale and in a rush, but it's a little annoying.

>>8512537
Thank you for the advice, anon. So you've done something similar? I'm wary of telling people what the merch is for (nothing sketchy, I'm just protective of my idea) but I can understand why they'd want to know. Do you usually offer people a standard commercial rate, do they often want payment per number sold?

How would this work as a print? Paint overs and crits are welcome.

Has anyone used Beespoke before?

I like the bundles they offer such as their grasshopper pack. It has like XX amount of prints (with no limits on number of designs) in various sizes, buttons, button packs, some business cards etc, it's like artist alley in a box.

Thing is it's UK based, is there anything US based like this that has kind of an all-in-one bundle?


Completely new to AA by the way I'm so sorry if this is a dumb question.

>>8512817
Also meant to add that if not, is it that big of a deal with international shipping? I really like how they have things set up I just want to hear other people's opinions.

>>8512805
Ermmmm. I dunno, it seems kind of inconsistent in terms of style (head versus body), and the font/color of the text isn't very appealing on that background.

>>8512833
>>8512805
Seconding this anon. That brown-ish green background with hot pink font just isn't working...

Maybe change the background to a dark blue or purple?

>>8512833
>>8512851
Ah yeah, it looks much nicer. Thanks! Although, I want the masks to stand out but I'm starting to think that the style I chose is kinda meh. Should I redo them and use the style the bodies have?

>>8512885
BG looks good. I would give it a shot personally, I think the style of the bodies is cool. I'd work on the type though, the spacing is a little weird (space looks larger between "is a" than between "a tune", "sung" doesn't line up with the rest, "together" is spaced pretty far down even though it's presumably part of the second sentence?) and I would consider making the color a little warmer and less intense, maybe to match the color of the splatters or the jacket on the right. I dunno, just throwing out some ideas.

>>8512584
Otakon breaks up tables by people selling only original content and then those that abide the 50/50 rule? What the hell. But lol at that story, how the hell did they think they were "sneaking in" fanart, people were bound to notice.

>>8512746
Anon, seriously, contact them and demand a refund for misprint. I've done it before, and considering how badly they fucked up it's cause for them to either give you a half refund or for them to reprint and ship them to you again for free. Considering you're going to a con very soon, that won't help much, but maybe you could use them for another one?

>>8512805
Font needs work, the spacing is off and the different sizes are offputting. That smaller text needs to either be larger, or the same size as the top text. The two different styles of bodies vs. heads is not working. Flats can work when juxtopozed with more developed art but it isn't doing you any favors. Also get rid of the texture overlay, that's a big nono and looks very tacky unless done very well.
Agreeing with those other anons that the background needs to be a different color. Dark blue/purple or soemthing should work. Also fiddle with the hue/saturatino and color midtones to make things more cohesive.

But yeah that text is a nightmare, just put it all in one text box, or put the bottom three lines in one text box and make it the same size as the top text.

>>8512972
Well, I already informed them of the misprint because I had to let them know I got them; my initial complaint was because they were shipped late and the con I had them made for has already passed. I thought about selling them cheaper than I was originally going to and then selling the ones that are better printed for a slightly higher price later on. I thought about doing a give away for my tumblr followers, but I don't want to use a defective result as a give away for people who are supporting me.

I was planning to sell at the Supanova cons here in Australia for the first time, and i've been hearing that I have to buy insurance to sell in artist alley there? No other convention i've been to has said anything about this.

Hopefully someone here has attended/is attending one of the supanovas and can tell me what's up with that.

>>8513177
Yea it's standard in Australia that you need your own insurance. A lot of people use "AAMI Market Stall Insurance" which is about $200AUD for 12 months, or I think they also have 1, 3 or 9 month rates.

I know OzComicCon can cover you under their insurance for a small fee (I think it was $50 or $100 AUD/show).

I do 10 or 12 conventions across Aus each year (OCC, Nova, AMC, AvCon, SMASH, some other smaller ones) if you have any more questions!

>>8513182
Thanks for the reply

I've sold with friends at Smash last year, and I did AVcon this year and I never heard anything about it.
Do I get in massive amounts of trouble if I don't have it? because WHOOPPPPSSSSS

>>8513196
which stall was yours anon? Are you going to be there this year?

>>8513204
I was sharing a stall right at the end with a friend. I was selling nigel things. Pretty sure I'm going to supanova, but kinda bummed out about the insurance thing.

>>8513196
OCC and Nova simply won't let you trade/accept your application if you don't have it (or in the case of OCC, if you don't prove you have your own before the event they will charge you to be under theirs)

I'm can't remember if SMASH and AvCon asked for mine, I buy the 12 month coverage because I do so many larger cons so not suuuure,

>>8513207
Ah i don't remember that stall but if you're going to be there this year I'll say hi!

>>8513210
Which one is OOC?

Alright, I found they have a 3 month duration policy, so I may start out with that. Thanks

>>8513211
Awesome, which stall were you? Oh, in your opinion is Adelaide Supanova attendance very good? Like compared to AVcon and other supanovas?

Also, do you have any tips, do people at Supanova generally buy the same things as the people at AVcon?

>>8513220
OzComicCon, sorry

and I have some people who do ok at Adelaide supanova, some who do good, but personally I didn't do well the first two years so I don't bother now (but I am from interstate so my costs are a lot higher).

>>8513220
Ahh I don't have a stall but I went last year and planning to go this year. I had a old friend that also had a stall and I thought maybe small world.

>>8513228

In your opinion, which cons are worth travelling interstate for? Adelaide Supanova is local, so I guess i can take a chance there

>>8513241
I recently changed from 2d (prints) to 3d stuff (jewellery, etc) so it's a little hard to completely tell, but the shows, this year so far, that have been good have been

Adelaide OzComicCon (decent)
Melbourne Supanova (decent)
Sydney Supanova (quite good)
Melbourne OzComicCon (really good)

I missed out on both perth shows this year as they were on the same weekends as Melbourne shows, where I live.

the ones coming up that i'm expecting to do well at are SMASH, AMCExpo (mel), and Brisnova. Brisbane and Sydney OzComicCons are still fairly average as they are new shows (last year was the 1st year).

What sort of things do you sell? there seems to be more and more people selling shitty jewellery they bought straight from china, or altered very slightly, which is annoying.

>>8513266
i make cabochon necklaces, like the glass dome ones- so nothing new. Does that count as shitty?

I'll be making earrings and resin jewelry this year too.

I also sell prints

>>8512885
I gonna be honest: I wouldn't buy it, not even for a small price (but I don't know if the text means something special).

>The background in purple looks way nicer, that's cool
>The font of the text is way too bold and busy to write the whole thing in it. Maybe highlight "tune" and "together"?
>It somewhat feels lazy that you didn't draw every body. You just copy-pasted one. For me it looks stiff and boring now.
>For the heads: As the rest is kind of a grungy comic style, try to make the heads like you cut them out of paper and then layed them down onto your drawing? Adding some shadows and sharp edges could do it. But that's just my idea for your work. Or did you try to make it look like someone drew over it with paint? Then I guess it needs more structure that shows the paint streakes.

>>8513330
hah no it sounds nice. to me shitty is people in AA who just order bulk stuff from china and resell it. I don't think the cons care enough to learn the difference unless people complain. There's one or two people who show up regularly who just sell stolen art, which is super shitty.

>>8513336
wow, how are they not banned or something? That is insane

>>8511100
It's actually a fair amount in the con scene here.
We have a young age demographic and they don't have a huge amount of money to spend in the AA.

>>8511102
To be fair I complained a bit about my figures, but I feel like most of the AA wasn't too happy either.

>>8511111
I covered table cost and made a bit of profit. Still haven't covered my startup costs but that's because I bought supplies in bulk.

>>8513336
>>8513229
I have ANOTHER question for the other aussie sellers. Do we need an ABN? I don't consider what i'm doing to be a business, more a hobby. Can I get in shit if I don't have one?

>>8512801
As an artist who's worked freelance & commercial I prefer to be paid for the illustration + a % of what's sold!

>>8512801

I work as a game dev, so I have done it several times. You don't have to be specific, a simple "it will be for clothing" or even a "is there anything you'd be uncomfortable wih?" is enough.

I offer a flat fee because % is hard to keep track of once you start dealing with bigger numbers, but it really depends on the artist. A good bunch will take a flat fee because it's less risky, the ones with a previous fanbase or pro experience with prefer a % because there's some certainty that it will sell.

Being your first time, offer a flat fee for convenience's sake. Fee's vary a lot - I have paid as little as $200 (because the artist loved the game and wanted to participate) and as much as $1500 (because we needed an exclusivity contract signed).

Would there be any policy on selling handmade soaps at cons?

>>8513539
Didn't we already have this discussion a while ago? I think you can just sell them, but I don't think they'll be a hit unless you sell like pokeball soaps or something.

Does anyone here actually do perler spriting here? I bought some beads then realised they look a bit shite.

>>8513600
Oh no.

>>8513600
Perler spriting is easily the most hated thing in these threads, sorry to disappoint you.

>>8513539
I think it depends on the con. Some cons won't allow it since scented things can cause issues for people w/ allergies. If you don't do fandom related soaps, they might do better at comic/all-media cons.

I commissioned a piece from a relatively well known, professional artist while they were at a convention. They said that they would have it down within a few weeks, and now it's been a few months. What should I do? Any advice? I'm considering just asking for my money back, but, I was really looking forward to the piece. The artist does commercial work for companies professionally, so, I jumped at the chance and now I'm regretting it.

>>8513672
Ask about it first and foremost. If they don't at least have some progress done (they SHOULD be finished by this point), then cancel your commission. If it's not done or at least being worked on by now, then you're never getting it, so don't hold on to some false hope of ever seeing it. I'm really sorry that this happened to you. Hopefully your next commission goes better.

>>8513695
I have via FB message to their professional page. I was told last time that they had been busy jet setting at a different convention and that they would ship to me within two weeks. I contacted them again after another month had gone by and haven't heard anything back. Should I ask for proof of progress? Would it be too hasty to call my credit card for a chargeback if this goes on much longer?

>>8513746
Ask for proof of progress, and tell them that if they won't show that, that you'll do a chargeback.

I had someone being concerned about how far I was with a commissions before, and they asked for a refund if I didn't show progress. This all got handled and the commissioner got a nice piece, but I was glad they at least told me they were considering a refund, rather then just doing a chargeback leaving me wondering why they didn't ask.

>>8514016
Yeah, I'm trying not to be that person but I'm almost certain that they're ignoring me. It's really frustrating to see the artist uploading doodles and other finished commissions and trying to sell things to their FB/Instagram etc when I'm still waiting for a progress update. Seemed like poor form. How long do you think I should give them to respond to me? They're going to another con in two days. But, it seems like they go from con to con throughout the entire year. Every time I've tried to contact them it's been when they haven't been traveling purposefully.

>>8514056
give them the two days as a deadline to at least answer or else you should do a chargeback.

Maybe they're having a hard time with your commission (some just don't really flow that well, I've had it happen too) or they might even have forgotten it, considering they are posting other commissions.

>>8514074
NM, they just contacted me. Thank you so much for all the advice! I understand posting other work too, that comes with the territory. It was just nagging at me since I was really looking forward to the piece.

>>8514101
No problem anon, sometimes commissioners can be not that good at managing time (or customers) so I'm glad I was able to help out!

>>8512740
Touken Ranbu is obscure as fuck in the States, and probably will be until it gets an anime or any media that isn't a Japan-only browser game. I'm guessing you'd sell maybe 30 or so charms tops, so maybe divide that by the number of designs you have?

>>8514211
I assumed it was a little popular because everyone and their mother is doing Tourabu stuff and forcing their gender headcannons on others.
Sage for no contribution

>>8512740
I'm in Canada, but there seems to be a pretty solid cult following. I've seen a handful of Tourabu art in the AAs, but maybe I'm biased because I actively look for it. All the fans I know seem to be Asian though? Don't know what that means...

>>8515225
I mean, I'm in Texas, and there's this abnormal(?) amount of Texans into otoge, I've noticed. Also Akon, although not a lot, had quite a few pieces of Tourabu stuff. Then again I'm also heavily biased...Who knows, my table mates are all bringing TR along with sports. ship girls, and a few other fandoms, we will see what will happen >_>)

>>8514211
Touken Ranbu's wicked popular right now, it has a wiki with most of its information in english and a lot of people are attracted to the fanart it's been getting.

>>8513610
>>8513611
Glad to hear it tbh. I thought it was cool for like five minutes then realised my mistake

>>8504250
I was going to tell you off for being shitty but then I clicked the image oop

chillypig v. acorn press

which is the lesser of two evils? Both seem to have really shitty "extra white" options, where you can still see the other side's designs even without a light shining through, but their prices/design limitation is enticing.

>>8512912
>>8513335
I completely changed the font, fiddled with some shading and gave only one Jacket a mask. Should I leave the background Jackets headless or maybe make them darker to seem more backgroundy? I love getting your guy's honest opinions, its a huge help for me.

>>8515738
I think make them darker/more background-y.

>>8515719
Just go with vograce or another Chinese seller. Their quality and service are incomparable. Despite hiccups and pricing, ink it is probably the best clear acrylic option you have if you really want to go that route. I guess the only failsafe against inkit totally fucking up your order is to put it in months in advance but otherwise the quality is always good

>>8509071
They started it around the mid-late 2000s, back when there was a brief scare about copyright infringement when mass-producing 2d fanart. Obviously nobody gives or gave a solitary fuck about sueing Mary Shmo in the AA, and the enforcement has always been really arbitrary and stupid.

>>8514609
Gender headcanons for Tourabu? What......why...

>>8515738
Either make them more backgroundy or give the other two masks and leave them as is. Either or will be up to your own personal opinion.

>>8515819
Not that anon, but how exactly do you deal with Vograce? Do you just send them a message?

>>8516173

> send them a message with what you want
> they answer back with a quote
> send them the files
> they show you photos of the proofs

it's actually pretty easy

>>8516137
It's tumblr plus cross dressing characters. Was bound to happen. It's /really/ dumb

>>8516188
Thanks, I think I'll try ordering with them. I like how they'll send you samples if you want to.

How much exactly have people paid for a batch of charms from vograce? Specifically double-sided acrylic.

Do you guys know where I can buy custom wooden shapes? Or just simple shapes like stars and hearts and so on?

I've looked on google and other and all I'm getting is wooden button shapes.

>>8515738
TBH I find the composition boring as heck. The text completely overwhelms the art - it being the main feature would be ok if it were hand-drawn and not just a stock font.

I did a (quick and dirty) mockup that I personally would find more exciting/enticing. I would get rid of the purple entirely around the figures except for the smoke from the necks (mostly there because of the soft edge on the necks and to add interest) and the shadow. If you don't want to personally write out the words, at least edit them to make them more graffiti-like/irregular. IMO the art would benefit from bolder black lines and more line weight variation as well.

>>8516393
Yikes, that image was huge. Here's a resized version.

>>8515719
Acorn is pretty disappointing, anon. Quality wise they're worst than Chillypig. Just go with Vograce since they have a no design limit. So you can at least get previews of your order.

>>8515738
I'm sorry but I have to be honest again. You don't seem to have a feeling for composition, colors and fonts. I still like the idea of your work, but it still wouldn't make good print you can sell for actual money. Practice more, look at other prints or typo-posters, play around more with your own work. And most important thing: Please be honest with yourself and your skill level.

But if you REALLY want to do it anyways, go with >>8516401 ideas, Anon knows stuff.

I want to know which company is better for charms; JiMi Agency or Zap! Creative? And secondly, I know what you should do in an AA but what are the things that you should not do.

>>8515428
yeah. painting on shitty cheap canvas is one thing, not prepping it in anyway is another.

their colors are also muddy.

I'm pretty new to Alibaba...Vograce doesn't accept paypal, right?

>>8516675

yes, they do. They give you the paypal after you contact them.

>>8516679
Oh great! Thanks. I will try to contact them.

https://tictail.com/blog/congratulations-tictail/

I hope this goes well. I was already interested in them as a storenvy alternative so hopefully they get bigger and don't mess it up.

>>8516799
I'm trying to open a shop sometime soon, and I've been thinking of going with tictail. All the artists I know online have switched over already because of the storenvy issues.

>>8516820
Same here. I don't think I can deal with Storenvy anymore, even as a buyer it's so frustrating to use. It may have an advantage because it's currently more well-known and people browse the marketplace, but I think if we want Tictail (or any other better-seeming competitor) to grow, the best thing to do is to go ahead and just start using it.

>>8516350
Do you mean just plain shapes from wood or do you need printing on them? I do laser cutting and don't mind custom orders.

>>8517231
Not that anon but by chance are you in Canada?

With the currency rate these days, I'm keeping an eye out for more Canadian resources for things.

Well, seeing as it was posted in AANI, it seemed to belong here more than the bad cosplay thread, is anyone gonna tell her that noone's gonna buy her merchandise?

>>8517739
frim the picture I kinda think it belongs there as much as it does here...

Anyone see the shitfest with AP on AANI? I'm disappointed but I guess their prices were too good to be true.

>>8516499
They don't even make the same type of charms, anon.

>Things you should not do
1. Don't be a dick.
2. Don't feel entitled to sales.
3. Don't forget to bring at least $50 in change.
4. Don't forget you'll be stuck at your table for long periods of time.
5. Don't underestimate having an online presence.
6. Don't print at Costco, Walgreens, Staples, Fedex, any place like that. Print from better places online in advance.

Gosh...I'm going to try making charms for the first time with a small quantity with Vograce. My programs are so basic and old they don't have CMYK conversion. Would anyone be kind enough to blast this through their converter real quick...? I'd really appreciate it.

For the future, is one supposed to work in CMYK from the start...? I need a software update bad lol

I bought a fan art print from an American artist and the packaging says it cost $26 to ship. This is no where near what I paid for International shipping and now I feel like a real heel. Is there anything sensible I can do?

>>8517932
Here, I have a cmyk tiff (lossless) of the image for you. This will be fine for vograce.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/82104667/cmyk.tif

>>8517968
Wow, that really is lossless. Perfect! Thank you so much!

Mind me asking how you did it? Is it just a one-click thing in your program?

>>8517932
To follow up, you should only work in cmyk if your end product is going to be printed in cmyk. Usually this is only on offset printers - even standart inkjet printers with c,m,y, and k carts will typically be served better with rgb images.

Usually, if your image is going to be printed several ways, or it's only destined for the web, go with rgb. Your color gamuts will be much greater. There are sometimes issues converting to cmyk (for example, the blue bowl shifted hue slightly in the conversion on the mac and cheese image). But it is usually minor. If you're worried, convert your colors to cmyk periodically as youre working on it and see if you're okay with any shifts. Then just undo and go back to working in rgb.

>>8517739
It's summer

>>8517980
>>8517980
I'm using photoshop.
Edit>Convert to Profile
then change the destination space to "U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2"

Then when I save as a tif it'll give me different options on compression, etc. I use lzw compression and just leave all other options at default. Tiffs get huge if they're not compressed and lzw is standard for most people I've come across.

If your software is really that outdated, you can get photoshop cs2 (I think?) free from adobe's website. It's got 85% of the same functionality for digital painters as the newest version of PS.

>>8517983
>>8517986
Thank you anons. I just went and downloaded cs2. Luckily everything else I have will be just prints so I can keep them in rgb it seems.

>>8517420
Sorry nope, California. You can try looking up "laser cut wood" on etsy then changing the location to just Canada and you could message the stores that come up.

>>8517231
Not that anon but I'd be interested in your rates and services. Do you have a website or email you'd be comfortable sharing?

I was looking at the Vograce page, and apparently you can also get all of the charms in custom packaging?

Would you guys recommend getting that option as well? I think it would save time figuring out how to do it yourself and getting the materials for it elsewhere.

>>8518622
I'm not sure if anybody here has got that before. You could always try it out and see what happens?

>>8518622
Based on the information given it seems like the packaging itself is not custom (the plastic slip) but the inside card stock can be customized. basically if your charm is bigger than x inches wide it won't fit. I would ask to see some sample photos of them since the pictures on the page seem like the photoshopped stuff.

Sorry if wrong thread, but is there anyone who has access to a pantone chart willing to help me out with something?

I'm getting my stuff printed online so it's a little difficult.

Has anyone ever tried any other options for custom lanyards than the one in the resource. I wanted to try a little more merchandise than acrylic charms since they've done well for me. So I wanted to weigh my options.

first time ordering from Vograce let alone alibaba
>$20 shipping to US
da hail...? Is there a slower cheaper option?

>>8519871

if I'm not mistaken, they ship via dhl. You should ask if there's no slower option.

>>8519871
SF Express is the best option from them. It might be a little more pricey but SF has a reputation in China for being the company that WONT lose or otherwise fuck up your package. It gets sent USPS once it crosses the border.

I might try out Vograce for next con season. How long in advance should you imput your order?

>>8518274
Here's my etsy, it's the best way t reach me on business stuff

https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaserBlastLaserCraft

I usually change materials and then $1/minute of cutting. Cutting the edges of wood/plastic is actually pretty quick its the etching of designs on top that can take a while. A row of 12 seagulls here would probably be ten minutes, fifteen for a deeper cut.I can make an estimate based on what you need. If you need a LOT of pieces made you might want to look into a place like Ponoko which is what I'm pretty sure KumaCrafts uses.

>>8519980
PS if you can send me vector art even better. I use Illustrator CS5 at the shop but any .eps file is workable.

>>8519980
I'm not the anon your responding to, but I bought a Mako knuckle ring from you a few months ago and it's awesome. Good stuff!

>>8519878
Coco offered one for $16 but it will take multiple times longer to arrive, so screw it I took the first option
>>8519966
I went ahead and took it, may not in the future if I have more time since I really hate shipping expenses. I'm only ordering 24 pieces but oh well.

>>8520254
I'm this anon, I'm reporting to say I have fallen in love with Coco. She is too sweet and helpful and immediately responds, you gulls were right in previous threads this service is amazing. It feels like a trick like I'll get additional charge at the end lol.

I'm so excited to see the samples and to sell them at my first AA...

>>8519991
Awesome! Thank you for the link. I do work in vectors so that's perfect - is there a specific way you prefer the file to designate the cut versus the engraving?

>>8520051
Thanks glad ti worked for you!

>>8520795
It will only cut lines that are set to 0.001 pt stroke and everything else, thicker lines or solid fills, will be etched. The etch depth will change with the color for example the background of pic related is set to a very light grey while the left wing is black.

>>8521468
Dang I had no idea laser cutting had so much potential. Out of curiosity, what's a reasonable number of distinct levels a person could do on the wood you normally use?

>>8523275
This is the deepest I've seen done with etching just only a single piece. There are artists who create super intricate items with several layers though check the tumblr tag for laser cutting.

>>8523364
Dropped pic

>>8521468
>>8523371
I want to touch these so bad

Anyways my vograce charms shipped. I thought you were supposed to get a picture of the sample first lol. Were you supposed to ask?
I ordered 3 cm and 4 cm then looked in the archives and saw Digit saying printing larger than 6 cm is best. I'm a lil worried.

Also do yall think having a "grand opening" sign on my booth would be tacky? It'll be my first time and I'm kinda unprepared on display so I'm just thinking of ways to take up space. These threads are always talking about how important displays can be when aiming for sales but tbh when I'm a customer I don't look at anything but the prints hanging up...

>>>>8505325 here
So I contacted Overnight about the possibility of a partial refund/reprint and sent them photos of the defects like they asked on Wednesday night and haven't heard from them since. I know two days isn't that long, but when I contacted them about the shipping problem they always got back to me the same day. It was my first time having a book printed like this and I'm wondering if I should worry about it.

I think next time I'll look into getting my books/zines printed locally...

>>8523406
Maybe they forgot? Since you have the option to either get a sample charm send to you or have pictures taken of every angle.

Possibly a weird thing to ask, but does anyone know any artists who do Persona 4 charms?

Guess who just finished the game years late and needs as much Kanji merch as possible because all the official shit sucks.

>>8523584
Her online store is temporarily closed but http://hoursago.tumblr.com/ does Persona stuff. I haven't played it so sorry if it's actually not P4, but I bought some Ace Attorney stuff from her and I love it.

>>8523867
Ooh, good call, Blue is great. Thanks!

for those who sell crafts, do you wrap anything delicate up when selling or let the buyer sort out how to protect the item?

Can we make this thread more active?

-Does anyone have any artist alley horror stories they would like to tell? And the opposite, too: Has anything awesome ever happened to you at the AA?
-What was your first time selling like? Were you prepared?
-Post a picture of your AA setup!
-What's the best con you've sold at? Worst con? How much did you make?
-What's your favorite thing to make and sell, besides prints?
-What's the weirdest thing you've seen being sold at an AA?
-What's the most creative thing you've seen being sold at an AA?
-What are some beginner AA mistakes you made?

>>8525485
yup, you can buy huge rolls of bubble wrap from walmart. you can use tissue too, both are super cheap to buy and since it's usually in large quantities you won't have to restock anytime soon.

Is there any place that does laser cutting in the US? I want to make a bunch of necklaces but I can't find a decent place that does laser cutting and isn't in the UK.

I post here often enough I'm gonna bring my name back. Nyello.

>>8526556
>What was your first time selling like? Were you prepared?
I like to think I was. It was a dinky 500-person con in the middle of a snowstorm but I got comments from other vendors I seemed like I knew what I was doing.

>What's the best con you've sold at? Worst con? How much did you make?
Best so far has to be Fanime, as annoying as it was to deal with beforehand. Worst was probably my first con unfortunately. Fanime is, so far, my record for profits.

>What's your favorite thing to make and sell, besides prints?
I've got nearly 60 keychain designs at the moment, so probably those. Also having fun making stationery sets lately.

>What are some beginner AA mistakes you made?
Grids. I hate these damn things and I finally configured my display so I don't need to utilize them anymore. They're heavy and a hassle to set up alone, and I can't say I'm gonna miss them.

>>8526839
ponoko, outfab, various etsy sellers like >>8519980

>>8526556

>-What was your first time selling like? Were you prepared?
I maybe made $20 profit after splitting a table 3 ways with some college mates. All I had were some KH buttons and bookmarks. I wasn't prepared with change which I remember being the biggest headache.

>-Post a picture of your AA setup!
Here's my first table from mentioned above, and my table from last weekend, which was a mild disaster and tape was my saviour. But I really liked what I did with the keychains and button display.

>-What's the best con you've sold at? Worst con? How much did you make?
Best con: Anime North 2015: +3K profit
Worst con: Fan Expo back in 2010: -$100

>-What's your favorite thing to make and sell, besides prints?
My DS cases, now that I have the silhouette cameo cutter it's a breeze now :)

>-What's the weirdest thing you've seen being sold at an AA?
there was a table a couple years ago that I saw which created life scale fake food. I don't know too many people that would want to buy a fake full size cake.

>-What's the most creative thing you've seen being sold at an AA?
There's a crafter at Anime North that creates anime/game related shadow boxes that are small scenes and they're super impressive.

>-What are some beginner AA mistakes you made?
-didn't bring change
-didn't bring snacks (had to spend most of my cash on expensive con food)
-didn't bring a lot of stock

Thank god my friend had done it before and was willing to help me out with change

>>8526556

-Does anyone have any artist alley horror stories they would like to tell? And the opposite, too: Has anything awesome ever happened to you at the AA?
Horror story: Random girl I didn't know kept stopping by at one of my first cons asking how my sales were and then eventually started in with a sob story about how she needed money for a bus back home and wanted me to give her part of my profits.
Made $5 profit once when my mom convinced me to sell at a community art fair. It was not an art fair. It was a BBQ competition. I paid $10 for the space and sold one stuffed animal for $15. I no longer trust my mother about venues.
Good story: The BBQ was pretty okay. Other than that customers are usually always really excited about their purchases and that always makes me happy.
-What was your first time selling like? Were you prepared? I split a table with a friend (something we continued to do for several cons after) and neither of us was prepared at all. I've definitely learned a lot since starting but I also still have a long way to go.
-Post a picture of your AA setup!
From last Metrocon. My first table by myself. I still need a banner.
-What's the best con you've sold at? Worst con? How much did you make?
Best was this past Metrocon, it was also my first con tabling alone and my first "real" convention. Made $1200+
-What's your favorite thing to make and sell, besides prints?
Plushies
-What's the weirdest thing you've seen being sold at an AA?
Soaps. I think they're nice but it just feels odd that they're there. Also someone at Metrocon was selling adult diapers and I don't even know how that was a thing that happened.
-What's the most creative thing you've seen being sold at an AA?
Oh lord, everything is creative. One of the most impressive things though was probably a paper-craft shadow box artist. They were gorgeous.
-What are some beginner AA mistakes you made?
Prices too low and making my table look like an anime garage sale

>-Does anyone have any artist alley horror stories they would like to tell? And the opposite, too: Has anything awesome ever happened to you at the AA?

Horror story: Random girl I didn't know kept stopping by at one of my first cons with a sob story about how she needed money for a bus back home and wanted me to give her part of my profits.
Made $5 profit once when my mom convinced me to sell at a community art fair. It was not an art fair. It was a BBQ competition. I paid $10 for the space and sold one stuffed animal for $15. I no longer trust my mother about venues.
Good story: The BBQ was pretty okay. Other than that customers are usually always really excited about their purchases and that always makes me happy.

>-What was your first time selling like? Were you prepared?

I split a table with a friend (something we continued to do for several cons after) and neither of us was prepared at all. I've definitely learned a lot since starting but I also still have a long way to go.

>-Post a picture of your AA setup!

From last Metrocon. My first table by myself. I still need a banner.

>-What's the best con you've sold at? Worst con? How much did you make?

Best was this past Metrocon, my first "real" convention. Made $1200+. Besides the BBQ fiasco my worst anime convention was about $150.

>-What's your favorite thing to make and sell, besides prints?

Plush

>-What's the weirdest thing you've seen being sold at an AA?

Soaps. I think they're nice but it just feels odd that they're there. Also someone at Metrocon was selling adult diapers and I don't even know how that was a thing that happened.

>-What's the most creative thing you've seen being sold at an AA?

Oh lord, everything is creative. One of the most impressive things though was probably a paper-craft shadow box artist. They were gorgeous.

>-What are some beginner AA mistakes you made?

Prices too low and making my table look like an anime garage sale

>>8527645
is that licensed merch in a bin next to crafts

>>8527692
looks like it...

Has anyone here had an awkward encounter with omocat?

>>8526556
>-Does anyone have any artist alley horror stories they would like to tell? And the opposite, too: Has anything awesome ever happened to you at the AA?
Probably the worst thing i've had to deal with is SHIT neighbours. I've had neighbours that creeped into my space, were overly talkative (like.. CONSTANT TALKING), disappeared from their table for hours and expected me to sell their stuff (we had never met before. their stuff was shit and not even priced!), to people who were drinking alcohol.
nice stories: making lots of amazing friends, having little kids come past and show off stuff they bought from me the year before, and stuff like that..

>-What was your first time selling like? Were you prepared?
I ran a con (and ended up running an AA) before I started selling my own stuff, so I was pretty prepared. I was still running the AA when I had a table, which my mom manned. She used to do lots of markets so she was super prepared and I just sort of adopted a lot from her.

>-What's the best con you've sold at? Worst con? How much did you make?
I think my worst cons I've only just covered table+accom+travel, and the best i've taken a few thousand.

>-What's your favorite thing to make and sell, besides prints?
I like working with my hands, so I like making jewellery that's interesting an has layers. I also make art with paper that I enjoy - but it doesn't sell as well at all.

>-What's the weirdest thing you've seen being sold at an AA?
Maybe not the weirdest, but cakes. like a cake decorator? but everyone thought she was selling the cake but she wasn't so lots of confused people who wanted to buy cake.

>-What's the most creative thing you've seen being sold at an AA?
I've seen some really really intricate paper art, but I love that sort of stuff. It's pretty rare these days that someone has something that makes me go "..wow!"

>-What are some beginner AA mistakes you made?
-not taking my own food
-not sleeping enough

>>8527692
It's a small handful of old pokemon toys, yeah.

>>8527797
that's really shady. Isn't that not allowed by most conventions?

>Does anyone have any artist alley horror stories they would like to tell?
First time I sold was at AnimeNEXT with a table I was sharing with like 6 other people I only had a small number of items but I was the one stuck doing 80% of the selling with another table mate after the one chick with horrible art (think prints of pencil art taken with a camera, lined paper, etc) flaked out cause she wasn't selling anything.
>What was your first time selling like? Were you prepared?
Absolutely not, not for the amount of attention and work. I still had fun tho and sold out a few prints.
>What's the best con you've sold at? Worst con? How much did you make?
I don't sell often even though I would like to. I have a hard time deciding on if I want to attend or sell. I usually just sell at small cons. Last con I went to had an attendance of maybe 1000 and I made about $850. I want to maybe start selling at bigger cons but I'm a bit nervous to have a table all my own at big ones. I'm self-conscious lol
>What's your favorite thing to make and sell, besides prints?
I love to make resin and sculpey things. Every year I try something new and sell the stuff that's my best for fun.
>What's the weirdest thing you've seen being sold at an AA?
Not really weird but I recently saw someone selling literally traced art all of it from dragonball z. I didn't get a real good look at their table but I was confused to say the least.
>What's the most creative thing you've seen being sold at an AA?
Probably not the MOST creative but I bought a pear-parrot shaped stress ball for $5 that was cute as fuck. I'd never seen a stress ball in an AA before that.
>What are some beginner AA mistakes you made?
Not enough change, too many prints (seriously I made like 60 of each 4x6 print), trusting the wrong people

>>8527901
As far as shady con crap it could be way worse. They might get away with it by selling them as crafting fodder for necklaces, decoden and shit.

>>8527917
>>What are some beginner AA mistakes you made?
> trusting the wrong people

Oh god i've made that mistake too. Ended up with me sitting outside the venue at midnight googling for a hotel room... It has taken me so long to trust people with anything to do at cons ever since then.

>>8527917
>trusting the wrong people

THIS.

>>8527917
>Probably not the MOST creative but I bought a pear-parrot shaped stress ball for $5 that was cute as fuck. I'd never seen a stress ball in an AA before that.

Are you talking about the LuckySquid Studios stress balls? I love their stuff

>>8527901
I wasn't trying to be shady, they're out in the open and I gave one away to a kid. Shady would be attaching them to ball chain and calling them necklaces.

>>8526556
>-Does anyone have any artist alley horror stories they would like to tell? And the opposite, too: Has anything awesome ever happened to you at the AA?
Horror stories: Guys that ask us if we will draw X character, but pregnant. Girl that pays with a wet, smelly $5 bill from the sock on her foot she uses as a purse.
Awesome story: Just happened yesterday. Guy that bought his 3 twin daughters a set of #1, 2 and 3 gravity falls hardbound books form my etsy store during christmas. Well, they happened to be passing by my booth when I noticed them each carrying their books. I spoke up and the dad realized it was me he bought them from and it was a happy moment all around. Gave them some matching pins to go along with their books.
>-What was your first time selling like? Were you prepared?
I was prepared only due to having sold at art gatherings with university fine art clubs so I knew the setups. I was not exactly prepared in quality. I still cringe at my old stuff, and working on replacing the shit.
>-Post a picture of your AA setup!
Forgot to take a pic of TBCC, this is previously at Metrocon.
>-What's the best con you've sold at? Worst con? How much did you make?
Metrocon is always great, we make several thousand there.
>-What's your favorite thing to make and sell, besides prints?
Lanyards and books are too close to pick a favorite.
>-What's the weirdest thing you've seen being sold at an AA?
Dead skinned animals and fur. I believe it was Metrocon. Makes my skin crawl seeing the pelts propped into poses.
>-What's the most creative thing you've seen being sold at an AA?
Papercrafts (the kind you cut out and assemble yourself after buying their printed pattern sheets)
>-What are some beginner AA mistakes you made?
Goddamn gridwall. Fuck those things. And sticking to the same things everyone else has.

Does anyone have that lil tutorial on the 3 presentation trifold display, and does it look ghetto irl?

My first AA is coming up and idk how long I'll do it so Im gonna go cheap at first.

>>8527975
>>-What's the weirdest thing you've seen being sold at an AA?
>Dead skinned animals and fur. I believe it was Metrocon. Makes my skin crawl seeing the pelts propped into poses

That was Metrocon. The guy selling them had two foxes he kept carrying around the artist alley like they were real, and i think he had one dressed as a pirate. You would think the furries would have protested him.

>>8527984
Oh they did. The fur flew on the Metrocon FB pages quite a few times due to it. They had one hanging over the balcony watching people going up the escalators.

>>8527965
YES! I fell in love the moment I saw it!

>>8526556

>-Does anyone have any artist alley horror stories they would like to tell? And the opposite, too: Has anything awesome ever happened to you at the AA?
Not really a horror story, but I seem to attract a lot of people who like to hover at the table and talk at me without the intention of buying anything. I don't know if I seem approachable or they're awkward but it gets annoying when they're blocking you. I've also had to deal with a table partner's hotel drama secondhand which is no fun.
For awesome stuff, I get a lot of returning customers over the years and I've met a lot of really nice artists. I recently had an online fan give me a drawing of my character at a con, which was very sweet.

>-What was your first time selling like? Were you prepared?
I shared a table with a friend, and I had maybe 4 prints and a few stickers which barely took up most of the space. Surprisingly I did ok, it helped that I had friends who did AA longer than I did who could give me pointers.

>-What's the best con you've sold at? Worst con? How much did you make?
I did very well last Fanime [pulled in around 2K to my surprise]. Worst was probably Fanime 2 years prior when the AA was in a tent outside of the con center.

>-What's your favorite thing to make and sell, besides prints?
I started doing really quick and crappy ink commissions for 5 dollars apiece because I was bored, and the requirement was that the subject matter had to be weird. It was a lot of fun, I enjoy making people laugh! I also like to screenprint stickers.

>-What's the most creative thing you've seen being sold at an AA?
My buddies make intricate pipe cleaner art of characters. It's cool to watch them work on commissions and people love it.

>-What are some beginner AA mistakes you made?
Overprinting, not proofing colors, forgetting to eat. Tabling with people who are difficult to work with.

>>8528033
>Not really a horror story, but I seem to attract a lot of people who like to hover at the table and talk at me without the intention of buying anything

It's not just you. I also get a lot of people who decide to show me their vendors room purchases out of nowhere and sometimes they won't stop. I just met you and I really don't care about that poster you bought and how great you think it is and what you ate for lunch and how fun that FNAF panel was I ASKED FOR NONE OF THIS.

>>8528037
I once had someone who was clearly autistic stand right in front of my table and try to tell me about his trips to Japan because I had Hetalia shit on my table. I guess I was kind of asking for it lol

>>8528033
>proofing colors
How do I do that? I don't know shit.

>>8528047
I seriously have to start acting disinterested and not respond beyond like two words if people start doing that with me. I try to always be polite but I'll begin acting busy with my table in the hopes that they'll get awkward and shuffle away. Otherwise they will stand there and talk to me for decades about their favorite shows and suggest pairings I should draw. It starts to feel like babysitting.

How many prints do you normally bring to a con?I see some people saying they overprinted for their first con, but I'm so worried I'm not gonna make enough.

>>8528053
I usually make a pdf layout with a bunch of my prints as small thumbs and have the print shop get me a print of that so I can see how the colors turn out. If I notice something's off, usually saturation or values, I go into PS and make adjustments (with adjustment layers) so that it will print as close to my display as possible. It's just to make sure that what I get printed is as close to the digital image as I can get.

>>8528083
alright, that makes sense. Thanks a bunch anon

How much do you guys sell your buttons for? Like for different sizes. I don't want to undercut other artists, plus I have no idea.

>>8526556
>Does anyone have any artist alley horror stories they would like to tell? And the opposite, too: Has anything awesome ever happened to you at the AA?
Worst things to happen- Fucking fighting through crowds with all my luggage and shit (mostly AX and Otakon). Getting weird commissions like that one guy who asked for a SuperboyxRobinxImpulse threesome in locker room showers (fun fact: I gave it to Jackie Lo, who was sitting next to me)
Best- Usually anyone who's really pleased with their commission. My favorite commissioner is a guy who asked me to draw 2 bara LoL characters. He was just really cute and nerdy about it ahahahaa <3 ALso meeting tumblr followers in real life and meeting cute dudes in the AA
>-What was your first time selling like? Were you prepared?
Awkward and stupid. I guess I was prepared? I remember my mom coming by to visit my table. Then she told me to change my display a little and moved some things around. As soon as she left, people started coming to my table lmao. I only had small prints and bookmarks and did commissions but stupidly marketed them as a "build a bishie." I didn't realize it was stupid until a girl asked me if that means I would draw a bishie for her, which, yeah, that's basically what it was.
>-What's the best con you've sold at? Worst con? How much did you make?
Best was probably SakuraCon a couple years back (4kish?), although Otakon comes close (3.5k). Worst was probably AX one year.. I think I barely made 1k. This doesn't count small cons that I hit up just to get rid of extra inventory though.
>-What's your favorite thing to make and sell, besides prints?
.... My 1D phone charms.
>-What's the weirdest thing you've seen being sold at an AA?
Little sculptures made of tightly-coiled masking tape.
>-What's the most creative thing you've seen being sold at an AA?
I've seen someone sell needlefelting kits, which are super cool!

>>8528341
1"-2" Buttons usually go for like $2 each. I think larger than that you can probably go $3-5? $5 is probably pushing it though. A lot of people price them at odd numbers and then bundle them (i.e 1 for $1.50, 3 for $4 or something.

I wouldn't worry about "undercutting" others, at least for buttons, because the prices are all about the same range, unless you price them for less than it takes to make them, which is stupid.

But, I mean, we never see anyone complain about Paige constantly drawing beached whales, right?

Am I the only one that wants to take a bat to Paige's fucking face?

>>8528453
You're not alone, anon. I thought the pic of rose was amazing. But how dare artists use their OWN interpretation!

>>8528456
My point exactly, I thought the drawing was really nice, too bad it had to get shitted up by Paige the mayonnaise destroyer

>pic related, how Paige draws Rose

>>8528453
That made me so mad!!!
And that one girl who posted references on how to draw larger people, I found that super rude.
What the fuck.

That picture is gorgeous.

>>8527975
Can i ask about your set up? It looks like a photostand in the back but the front looks like clamped monopods? Do they go any higher / am i wrong in what they look like

>>8528453
>leaves a backhanded remark
>doesn't follow through or engage in discussion

The tumblr guide to artist feedback

>>8528453
Truly, Paige is such a remarkably advanced artist that it's completely her place to tell anyone what's right when it comes to art.

>the resemblance is fucking uncanny

>>8528512
SomeBODY ONCE TOLD ME

>>8528460
Oh my god what is going on with Pearl's arm jesus christ

>>8502614
I've checked out http://www.purebuttons.com/
But they only do one design per quantity, which is balls.

I also checked out http://cheapestbuttonsnet.etsy.com/ but their shipping to Australia is horrendous.

So those are both the button places in the resources, can anyone recommend any other places? I don't currently have the dosh for a badge machine, but I figure this would work out pretty much the same in price anyway?

Preferably a place that is known to be legit. Thanks, guys.

>>8528555
BusyBeaver for fancy buttons (holo, metallic, glow in the dark, etc) and unique merch, but I personally prefer ButtonFrog for basic ones because the people are really nice and their sticker printing sister company is my fav ever.

>>8527983
>http://skimlines.tumblr.com/post/87311894078/my-momocon-setup-was-like-this

Spent the weekend next to an artist that charged a flat rate on using card at her table; $2 as a transaction fee. Except these were all for $15-$30 transactions on square, which with her swiper would be 50c-$1 at most. I'm not sure if my jimmies should be so rustled since she can charge whatever she wants if they agree with it, but it feels sketchy to me to pocket $1.50 per print under the premise of transaction fees, which adds up to a lot at a con like San Japan where half of my sales were card sales. What do you guys think?

Is this the correct thread to ask this?
I recently set up a square account and was wondering for to set the fees (like the percentage?) paid by the buyer instead of taken from the money you made? Like if their total was 25, instead of me getting a little less than 25, the buyer pays a little more than 25, if I make sense? I remember some artists doing that and I was wondering how they did it

>>8528656
In your square app, under settings, click on taxes and you can set a percentage to be applied with each purchase.

>>8528566
>BusyBeaver for fancy buttons (holo, metallic, glow in the dark, etc)
Ah man, I really want some of these, but looks like it's minimum 50 buttons per design on everything.

Does anyone happen to know of any reliable button services which are based in Canada? I've never sold buttons before so I'd prefer to test it out and see if it's profitable enough before getting my own machine.

>>8528943
I know a couple of artists locally offer button services. Zeekayart is the only one I can think of atm: http://zeekayart.weebly.com/button-making-service.html

>>8528943
>http://buttons.studiomarimo.com/order.html

You can also pick-up your order in person if you're attending the same conventions as they are.

>>8528639
Maybe she's shit at math, I've had friends charge fees until i explained how percentages work. I've had customers tell me they're glad i don't have a surcharge like that too so I feel like the customers have an idea that she's ripping them off but are just too polite to say anything. I know i wouldn't buy from them if an artist did that to me personally. Charge me the fee if you must (but you'd be better off raising your prices so 3% doesn't hurt you so badly) but $2 per transaction tells me you're either bad at math or greedy as fuck.

>>8528639

I don't charge a fee for using a card and never have. I would find it odd. I know AA is a small market place and that the fees do eat into my profits, but I just build it into my prices.

This girl definitely sounds like she's ripping people off.

>>8528639
>>8529127
>>8529151
I'm going to start accepting card next con, but I'm not sure if I should eat the costs or charge a 2.75% fee for card transactions. Is it a faux-pas to have the customers pay the fee?

>>8528970
>>8529063
These are helpful, thank you! Unfortunately I live in the middle of nowhere so I'd still have to get them shipped, but at least I wouldn't have to deal with the exchange rate.

>>8528492
It's actually a photostand in the back, and then I dismantled a second stand set and removed the tripod base, then stuck the clamps into the poles. They can extend up much higher than what the setup shows. I got the idea from a close friend, it's very stable.

>>8528639
well I mean I see small businesses doing this all the time, though that's usually more along the lines of fees for purchases below a certain sum.

>>8529160

For me, no as long as you are charing them that % and not a flat rate. However, anytime someone charges me a fee to use a card, I'm more likely to use cash. Again, I know that it eats into my profits, but for me, I prefer to build it into my costs (which is eating the cost, yes) rather than charge someone a fee. As a customer I've never changed my mind about a purchase over card fees, but I'd rather offer all I can to the customer regarding payment and not make it difficult.

The one thing I will say though is that as more and more of us use things like Square, extra fees for the customer seem silly. I expect people to take card and not charge me extra, just as I expect to not get charged extra at any other retailer. Local businesses know that if they take a credit card, there are fees associated with it instead of with cash. But it's the cost of business.

If you're worried, do what >>8529386 is saying and set a minimum. Usually $5 credit card minimum, but you could do $10. Last year I didn't have a minimum and I don't think it was an issue but this year I'm going to state one just in case.

Do people use the clear bags prints come in to hang it with or are they purely just for transport during the con? I have two main prints I want to get in a larger size than the others and really don't want to get a pack of 100 bags in that separate size. Would rather have all the 11x17s in the 16x20 bags if it means paying less.

>>8529373
I've seen someone else do that as well, but they had to trill a hole into the bottom to get the poles to fit over clamps, were yours pretty much fine from the get go? I just don't have a power drill of any kind.

>>8529525
A minimum makes absolutely no sense. Small businesses that use traditional card machines do a minimum because CC companies tend to charge a flat fee + % on top per swipe. Square is % only, if you had 10 $1 transactions or one $10 transaction, you pay the exact same amount so it makes absolutely no sense to set a minimum.

Like i said, lots of artists just seem to be bad at math.

>>8529694
Yes, I had ordered a secondary stand with thick enough poles that all I had to do was go around hardware stores measuring the bars of the bar clamps for ones that would fit into it.

I got some samples of holographic from the Alibaba store anon linked some threads back. Compared to the film I got from taobao, it is much thicker and shinier. However, it also seems to be more opaque so it's more difficult to see the laminated image itself. Does anyone want pics?

>>8529160
I don't think you should feel bad about having them pay the fee since you're offering a convenience to them with your card reader. If they don't like it, they can pay with cash. I charge the % in Paypal fees (I prefer the paypal reader). Whenever someone is about to pay with card, I show them the total amount and make sure they're cool with it, then they swipe. That's all. No hidden fees later when they check their balance.

>>8528639
I use paypal here, and charge $1/transaction for it. Some transactions I 'gain' 5-20c, and some I lose out on 20-50c. I figured it always evened it out, and it saves time as I am shit at math and having to do percentages always takes a lot of time and awkwardness if the customer can't math and makes me re-do it 5 or 6 times to prove it's right. (has happened. more than once.) so a flat fee has just been easier. I would never charge such a high fee though, and I only ever do maybe 5 or 10% of my sales on card.

>>8530280
Also here all the ATM's at convention venue's charge a $2+ fee to take cash out, so for some reason customers see mine as low and are often overjoyed to find out how low it is. (even though by the time they do 2 or more transactions in AA they are paying more than the ATM fee but whatever I guess...)

>>8529652
They're also good for keeping the same print together for sorting/organizing purposes. As long as your regular prints fit in the larger size, I say just go for it? No one cares that much as long as the print fits and people can carry it around.

for kigurumi, where do you like the crotch to fall?

>>8530871
in my ass

>>8530871
off a cliff

>>8531061
>>8530995
Made my morning

>>8530871
Although I haven't worn kigurumis myself, I like the look of the low crotch level around the knee level. The "onesies" I've seen around malls are too awkward where it's at normal crotch level, but people eat them up for halloween.

>>8529727
ahh okay, guess i have to kind of luck it out and hope the pole doesn't have a blockage on one end then, ty!

>>8530280
You can set your paypal reader to do the percentage for you for every transaction (as "tax").

>>8527708
My friend went to AX and went to her table. He said she was just really awkward and kind of lame in person. My friend was also buzzed for most of the con so yeah idk

>>8527975
>3 twin daughters

...do you mean triplets?

>>8529758
sure

>>8531115
I have no valid excuse.

>>8526556
>Does anyone have any artist alley horror stories they would like to tell?
i once found a poop nugget on my table. an actual small piece of poop. i am still not over it.
>What was your first time selling like? Were you prepared?
my setup was nice and i sold well, but i understocked. i also should have had higher prices.
>What's your favorite thing to make and sell, besides prints?
jewelry is fun to make but time consuming.
>What are some beginner AA mistakes you made?
understocked, low prices, using dem ugly ass grids, not bringing food/water, not having a table partner to watch my table while i went to the restroom/dealer's room

>>8531688
>poop nugget
What the FUCK

I need your help /cgl/ AA!
Does anyone have one of these empty cloche pendants kicking about in their supply box? If you do, can I buy it from you?
I realised I've left it to late to buy from a shady seller China and risk it not showing up for a month, and all of the Europe's lots are big batches and I really just need one, a USA seller would even be fine if the shipping isn't too insane.
It's for my coord and it's really important! Email is in the field if you can help.

Does anyone sell ArtsBovine shirts/sweaters in AA? How much of a mark up do you give and do they sell well for the price? I'm thinking about doing a very limited number of shirts or even pre-orders but I'm wondering if it's really worth it.

Thoughts on character-inspired jewelry? I want to try my hand at making resin charms and thought it would be cute.

>>8526556
>-Does anyone have any artist alley horror stories they would like to tell?

My boyfriend and I were tabling and doing commissions, he happens to specialize in drawing 'husbando' types because he's really good at drawing sexy guys and he also can rake in the money with nsfw/mild nsfw stuff.

Some fujioshi shit commissioned him, loved the drawing and wanted to commission him again.................to draw HIMSELF masturbating.
Obviously he declined but like srs what the fuck is wrong with you to ask someone to draw porn of themselves for you.

>>8532290
>Some fujioshi shit commissioned him, loved the drawing and wanted to commission him again.................to draw HIMSELF masturbating.
Someone, please tell me fujoshi can't go worse than this. I'm losing my faith in humanity.

Has anyone here had any experience with http://acornpress.tumblr.com/ ?

I want to try Vograce, but I dunno how safe I'd feel with it. Can it be that much cheaper?

>>8533231
don't do it
everyone has either gotten shitty charms, late charms, and/or no communication

>>8533277
Yikes, with acornpress or Vograce?

>>8533295
acornpress.

>>8533231

It's definitely cheaper. I find that Vograce is great if you don't need a TON of charms, want a ton of designs, and don't want to pay an arm and a leg. Coco is fantastic and easy to work with. She'll follow up with you, too (so beware, order once and she'll want you to order more, but I guess I like that they want my business).

>>8532886

I'd hope not, but I'd have to say you're probably wrong. As a fujoshi, I can say the underlying problem is that, to varying extents, the fujoshi community objectifies men and gay couples to the extent that it's dehumanizing sometimes. I mean, for me, there's nothing wrong with oogling the guys and letting a few fantasies play out in your head, but the ones who ask shit like this or approach gay couples and ask for weird shit... those are the ones NOT tethered to reality. The fujoSHITs if you will.

I've thought a lot of terrible things, I'll admit, but there is no way I'd ever ask someone to draw that. It's rude and borderline harassing!

>>8533391
not sure if bait or just stupid

Any advice on selling cat ears? I want to make some and sell them to local furries, but is it profitable? I remember seeing a bunch of them at AKon, and Im worried that the market is over saturated.

For those of you that have purchased from Vograce, how long did it take, from start to finish? I have a con on the 4th of next month and I'm wondering if it'd arrive on time.

>>8533231
I ordered a sample pack before all the shenanigans went down, and they just contacted me to say they're upgrading their equipment, so hopefully they'll improve.

>>8533231
>acornpress.tumblr.com
Placed a test order with them. We'll see how it goes.

>>8533468
I'm curious, what went down?

>>8533391
I can live with that.

I don't quite understand this info, does this mean they get thicker from 1-4? Which one would you guys recommend

>>8533602
I posted this on a past thread as well but here it is again. It basically breaks down each type

>>8533602
Also personally I like type 4 bc is sturdiest and waterproof. Downside is that it's really thick but I can live.

>>8533652
>>8533655
Thank you guys! I really appreciate it

>>8533573
Basically they were overwhelmed with orders around Otakon and several people complained about the quality of the printing.

>>8511336
Bumping this question!

>>8511336
Oops, didn't see this. I used to make my own memo pads with PVA glue but it was tedious and not worth the time spent. I'm a bookbinder mainly, so I do make books from scratch. And I don't mean stab stitch.