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/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL


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10136259 No.10136259 [Reply] [Original]

last thread: >>10105061

>Please read the FAQ before posting in the thread (always updating)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PpDyjw2LDxbupdvHMNsBUOBVB66Lzwf44RM1You1GDA/edit?usp=sharing
>Resources
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10uNmynwRn6CRc-OMqCeXmJwCNnEnd-vYi-7AQzSx74I/edit?usp=sharing
>Artist Spreadsheet
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ESQ-1h4IRUivbGNaxJFxXyDU1lSv26xTmMdH0sDX7sU/edit?usp=sharing
>How to order from Vograce (now with video on how to set up files)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18UxKnpgrmeb82NnW5e4YIEX-eZ3zHt178Mp6i0A5gME/edit?usp=sharing
>Convention List (always WIP)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13o7hD5xS3sDqVptnTVGUlRae3ovEE-vPPST_QOrQwtM/
>IP taketowns (based on artists contribution, may or may not have been a one time thing, use as a guideline)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1696MDhNPhrZ0ySZhXkoJnGxb7l1OjW4JsVhu1wKvaWE
>AA Inspo (thanks anon!)
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1D19QV9nHwaY8AaNiEXZAAkEhkBTSsb01?usp=sharing

If anyone else has inspo photos they'd like possibly added to the above link, email the account cgldrawfags@gmail.com

We have a discord!
If you want into the CGL AA discord, email graveweaverelf@gmail.com with a picture of your table or merchandise. It is not a jury, just to make sure you do cons.

Summer cons are almost upon us seagulls, good luck!

>> No.10136700

This is gonna sound real dumb, but how do I print a poster at Office Depot? Looking on their website it'll be $13, but the resources doc in op says it would be $1.45

>> No.10136702

>>10136700
I imagine it depends on how many you get printed.

>> No.10136732

What are people's opinions on plushies in AA? I wonder if plushies still sell well generally or if it entirely depends on the design.

>> No.10136757

>>10136700
You could always call your local store and ask about prices.

>> No.10136789

>>10136732
Plushies are the only thing I really buy in artist alley. I've bought 4 or 5 in the past few years. My giant squid plush is my favorite.

>> No.10136828

>>10136732
Depends on the design but plushies are really cool and like everyone mentions prints are going out of style.

>> No.10136892

So I’m putting in my first order with vograce, I was working with Lydia but now I’m working with Rola. She sent me the paypal but it’s just a bunch of numbers? Is this normal? Should I be using the trade assurance order to pay or just send it to the random numbers and send her the screenshot?

>> No.10136969

>>10136892
All my orders have just been paid to an email of a string of numbers, I think it’s a chinese e-mail thing (some international classmates have also had e-mails like that). Just send it off normally and give them that screenshot and you’re good!

>> No.10137067

>>10136892
seconding >>10136969 that this is totally normal for Vograce and again, send a screenshot of the completed paypal payment and you're good to go!

>> No.10137160

Anyone know what the more popular Danganronpa V3 characters are? Fan myself, but not in touch with the fandom enough to determine who to stock more of.

>> No.10137168

>>10137160
Shuichi, Kokichi, and Kaede were the top 3 characters in the japanese popularity poll, in that order. I'm sure Kokichi is in the top 3 for western fans, too.

>> No.10137350

>>10137160
kokichi, kaede, rantaro, kaito, and miu have been my top sellers!

>> No.10137404

Is it true AX AA has the same artists every year

>> No.10137504

>>10137404
Short answer: No
Long answer: Somewhat, because returning artists have a higher probablity of obtaining a table (two chances vs one).

>> No.10137523

>>10137404
Yes, unfortunately.
If you want to get in nowadays try the dealers hall.

>> No.10137558

>>10137350
>>10137168
Thanks guys!! I like Kokichi, Shuichi, and Kaede a lot, but I thought Gonta, Maki, and K1-B0 would be more popular. Surprises me that Rantaro is popular though, even though he is kind of a pretty boy lol

>> No.10137698

>>10137558
I think while Gonta is liked in general he isn't people's favorite. K1-B0 is pretty popular though, I think maybe even on the level of Kokichi and Shuichi. I personally did Kokichi, Shuichi, and K1-B0 merch and they all sold out ridiculously fast. I wanted to do Rantaro and Gonta too, but since I had never done that specific type of merch before I played it safe, so I can't speak for how well those would do. Although no one did ask about any other characters (like they usually have done if I've been missing their favorite from a series), so there's that.

>> No.10137711

How much longer does it take for Vograce to make glitter epoxy charms compared to double board acrylic?

>> No.10137803

Anime Boston is 3 weeks away and they still haven't released a convention schedule or artist alley table numbers.

>> No.10137852

>>10137803
Yeah, I've been wanting to ask when they typically release table numbers, but I didn't want to come off as impatient. I'd give it until April 1st.

>>10137711
I placed an order for 270 glitter epoxy charms on march 18th and it shipped on the 27th.

>> No.10137876

>>10137803
Sakuracon is that same weekend and they haven't given us a confirmation of receipt of our contracts, and our checks haven't been cashed yet (no digital payments allowed)

>> No.10138311

How do you guys feel about AnimeNEXT? Most reviews I've seen are from 2016 when it just changed venues..

>> No.10138373

>>10138311
I've done it twice, I'm sitting out this year for personal reasons. If you're in the northeast and can drive to it, it's probably a good convention. A friend flew for it, and she made some money but not worth it overall.

The first year they moved it went from 14k to 12k attendance, then hovered at 12k before dropping to 11k last year. I think a lot of people had issues with their move to AC, it's a sleazy area and impossible to get around if you don't have a car.

>> No.10138477

For the Vograce holo charms that apparently died real fast, does anybody know if those were double boarded? Do they even offer that for the holo, or is that just slapped on after (and thus wears off fast)?

>> No.10138587

How do y'all protect photo stands on airplanes? It's too big to be carryon so when you check it in what do you do?

>> No.10138637

>>10138587
I carry that shit on in addition to backpack + carryon and no one has ever said anything.

>> No.10138654

>>10138587
Mine used to have the zipper fly open when I checked it so I'm tying a couple short belts around it next time. I'm basically stuck with Delta and they've never damaged it.

Alternately, you could get one of the large triangular tube boxes from FedEx and ship it FedEx ground several days before the con. If you use a FedEx account, it's usually cheaper than checked baggage fees.

>> No.10138684

>>10138587
Just let the flight attendants know before boarding, you can usually shove the carrying case to the back of the overhead compartment and still fit carryon in front of it with no problem.

>> No.10138687

Has anyone done DesignerCon? Is it worth it if you’re flying in from the other side of the country? I know last year was a big change in venue, and so far most of the photos I can see from that look kinda sparce, yet the spaces are full. I see a lot of people going are local to semi local, with the farthest being Japan.

>> No.10138787

>>10138587
A lot of people use stands that can fit in 29inch suitcases. Mine fits in if I put the struts in diagonally (just barely).

Also you're not limited to a 29 inch suitcase for domestic I k ow someone else who has like one of those 40 inch golf cases that he puts his photo stand and large prints in

>> No.10139072

>>10138373
Ah, thanks for some insight! The drive for me would be about 3.5 hours and it'd be the second big con I'd ever do, so I'm a little bit worried I won't do well. Especially since I'd have to factor in living costs.

>> No.10139404

>>10139072
I drove about 3 hours for it, I think it's worth it if you're that close. Table and hotel costs ended up being around $350 for me my first year there to give you an idea, finding people to split the hotel with is a good way to save.

>> No.10139785
File: 44 KB, 718x456, Thank-you-so-much-card-min-718x456.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
10139785

Weird inspo request but does anyone have anything at all for those "thank you for your order" inserts? Ive been struggling for awhile to make something cute

>> No.10139791

I definitely had a good profit this year at ALA but my prints sold for shit. What's the new super trend people want then? I had 2in singular design stickers that probably were my best sellers

>> No.10139792

>>10139785
I basically printed out the background of my business card on cheap glossy paper and personally write a thank you note! But i get maybe less than 10 orders a month so it isn't that much for me to do

>> No.10139794

>>10136732
i think it really depends on the design. i have a pretty big plush collection, but a lot of stuff i see in AA is really not a style i would go for. obviously quality is also a big thing.

>> No.10139797

A somewhat specific question but when making a zine, how do you advertise the number of pages? For example, a 32 page zine. Does that include everything like you would choose on the printing site, aka cover (4 pages) + 28 pages inside? And what about if some pages inside are filler pages, like book ends or table of contents/artists' notes? Hope that makes sense.

>> No.10139800

>>10138687
Designercon is definitely a way different niche than anime/comic conventions. I went there a couple of years back and it was mostly designers reinventing vinyl figures or illustrators who do that recreating a series based on another series style. There was 1-2 people who seemed like they frequent more anime cons but it seemed like it was more normies than nerds

>> No.10139801

>>10139797
I don’t include cover, but all the pages inside (including info pages). In the description, I’ll specify X pages of artwork.

>> No.10139859

>>10139785
I started doing them recently! My shop is mostly menhera/medical so I make fake prescriptions with custom notepads I printed.

>> No.10139912

I want to try my hands on this but how much table does a literal beginner should rent for their personal project? A table with two chairs in my local con is 95x40 cm. I will get one or two of my close friends to help me manning the table but I'm confused whether renting just a table is too small or not for my personal project. Thanks a lot before

>> No.10139922

>>10139912
How are people supposed to answer that when you've given no other info about your work? You can google artist alley and see how others organize their tables, and you can actually fit quite a lot on a table, so it's unlikely that your "personal project" is going to need more than one table's worth of space, especially since you're a beginner. It's the natural inclination of beginners to go too big, when it's much better to ease in by starting small and learning how everything works before you start buying multiple tables or expensive dealers booths. It's unlikely your project is even that marketable if you're just starting out.

>> No.10140135

>>10139912
uhhh. are we talking selling your art or your one project? you need to be way more specific.

>> No.10140671

Is 9/10 copies of each print enough for Anime Boston? I've never done a con that size before.

Largest con I've done was AnimeNext last year, and my print sales ranged from 4 per design, while some I only sold 1 of. I was also in the back row where many people didn't go.

I should also note I'm not the best artist either, so I really have no idea how much to bring to a con of 30k people.

>> No.10141027

What do you do if you're just starting out, or your art is not that great, and you're placed next to someone really skilled and popular? I know "get gud"... But in the mean time?
Are you just pretty much dead and swallowed up by them?
I feel like if someone is thinking about buying something from you, but then all they have to do is glance over and see how dull you are compared to someone with dynamic poses and beautiful backgrounds, that it just increases the chance of them not buying from you.

>> No.10141043

>>10141027
try to appeal to the young teen crowd. They have lower standards and many are mediocre artists who prefer to buy from artists slightly better than them rather than artists who are on a whole other level.
Be more personal. Engage with people and make people want to buy the art because of you.

>> No.10141099

>>10140671
Do you know if you are at a better placement, and if you can re-print more prints? I'd low-ball to 6-8 per design. But if you have no time to re-print and if you're at a better spot, 9-10 is pretty safe for the entire weekend I think.

>> No.10141114

>>10141027
Find a niche. I mean, yeah you’ll lose customers if you’re doing the exact same thing and their work is executed better. But if you make something they don’t make, you’ll have much better chances.

>> No.10141319

>>10141027
>>10141114
Seconded. I was in that exact situation, while my art doesn't suck persay, the person I was sitting next to had pretty god-tier art and an incredibly massive booth while mine was small and puny in comparison.

I was still able to make more than what I did the previous year because I had a fandom that no one else really had in the AA and that was able to give me enough float to not totally sink and drown. I admit, it sucked on Friday because people were flocking to the table next to me and I felt overshadowed, but I shrugged it off and tried not to let it bother me, and my sales started to even out by Saturday and Sunday.

>> No.10141483

do original acrylic charms sell, in your experience? i'm trying to figure out if i should bother making any.

>> No.10141491

>>10141483
I mean, it entirely depends on what the charms are of. If they're appealing or well drawn, mine sell fairly well but they're more design focused rather than 'heres my oc floating in space'

>> No.10141520

>>10141491
oh! thank you. i meant more aesthetic type stuff like skulls or that type of thing

>> No.10141992

>>10141099
What type of artwork sells only 10 prints of a design at a con? Anyone have any examples? I’m assuming your art is pretty bad to only sell that much.

>> No.10142017

>>10141992
I mean, the OP is selling 1-4 prints per design at ANext so 10 isn't that low a suggestion for their case.

>> No.10142043

>>10141992
I know plenty of artists who are decent that sell less than 5 prints per design at a convention that's ANext's size, they focus on other merch types to get sales instead. Unless you're niche or godtier, most people agree that print sales are on the decline overall.

>> No.10142191

>>10141992
nayrt but how many copies per design do you typically sell? Just curious. I was under the impression that selling 15-20 copies of any given design isn’t common/expected.

>> No.10142311

>>10142191
Gonna piggyback here and ask what price and size these are, too.

>> No.10142389

>>10140671
>>10141992
>>10142191
This discussion is pointless. You can't ask a generic question like "how many copies of each print should I bring for x con" and expect a simple answer. You may spend a week creating a complex, beautiful piece of high quality art that no one will buy because it just doesn't tickle their brains the right way, whereas your neighbor might spend twenty minutes the night before the con drawing the latest viral meme and sell a hundred copies. You might draw a nice artwork of a very popular show but it just doesn't catch the eye next to a hundred other artists' takes on that popular show. You might draw one artwork of an old niche film just because you like it and it turns out to be your bestseller and you run out of prints. What people click "like" and "reblog" on social media might not be what they would like to purchase as an artwork to hang in their house. These are just a few of the factors. Basically, this is only something you really learn by putting your work out there at a convention and seeing what people respond to.
The best advice would be to bring exactly as many as you are comfortable with carrying home at the end of the con. If you have twenty different prints and bring twenty copies of each just to be safe, in multiples sizes, that's a lot of paper to be carrying back if you missed the mark on your works. But if you only bring a few of each and you sell out of one, then you know to bring a few more next time (or not, if it's a viral meme that no one will give a shit about in two months). You'll go crazy if you constantly worry about "lost sales" if you don't bring enough product.

>> No.10142430

>>10142389
>The best advice would be to bring exactly as many as you are comfortable with carrying home at the end of the con
This is what I say every time this gets brought up. Enough to where if you sale none, you feel ok, but enough to where if you sell out, you made a real profit.
Can we just put this in the OP or FAQ or something? It gets asked once or twice in every single thread.

More importantly, convention size means NOTHING in determining how much you'll sale at a con. I've made more money at cons 1/10th the size of another con. I feel like some noobies make the mistake (that I did too) that bigger con = bigger profits.

>> No.10142779

I don't have anywhere else to ask this, so....
Has anyone else made any custom anime tiddy mousepads? I have a design drawn out but am having trouble finding a supplier that doesn't have ridiculously high shipping or ones that only sell in bulk.
I mean, I'll try selling a few of them but I don't imagine the demand will be TOO high. gotta question my life decisions when I end up with 100 spare tiddy mousepads with nothing to do with them.

>> No.10142786

>>10142779
Low moq manufacturers of that product are notoriously hard to find. The few artists who have made them have pretty consistently guarded their manu sources, so you probably won't have a lot of luck asking for sources here or anywhere else.

>> No.10142795

>>10142786
Dang, that sucks. Luckily I can speak conversational Chinese so maybe that'll help?
If I ever find a source I'll probably post it somewhere, unless that'll collapse the tiddy mousepad economy. Thanks for letting me know!

>> No.10142820

>>10142779
You can try asking around AANI if anyone is going to run a group order or something? That might help if you’re just testing it out.

>> No.10142964

>>10142779
If you’re comfortable with it, look on alibaba. I found a few with moqs less than 10 for under $5 each.

>> No.10143052

Is there a special name in English for the pins on the collar with a chain to connect them? Or do you simply design a regular pin with a hole and add the chain yourself?

>> No.10143063

>>10143052
I usually just see them called collar pins, sometimes collar brooches. I’m not sure how people make them, but your idea would probably work

>> No.10143245

>>10142779
Have you actually tried asking multiple suppliers because every single one I've asked when i did them had 30 or 50 per design minimums which is hardly "bulk". It's unrealistic to expect them to make like 10 of your design, if you can't break even on 50 you probably shouldn't make them at all.

>> No.10143283

>>10142820
Ah, I'm not actually in any of these communities since I'm just a chronic lurker here. But thank you, I'll look into it.

>>10142964
>>10143245
Yeah I've asked multiple, and while they DO technically let you order 30 of them the unit price those ones quoted me $100+ for shipping and still a fairly high unit price.
Forgot to mention, but I actually have two designs which makes things a little complicated since it seems I'd still have to order the MOQ for each design.

Tbh I'm not even making these to sell. I just want a few of these for me and some of my friends, and if I HAVE to I'll sell the rest off.

That being said, I've found some leads on 1688 so hope that it turns out well.

>> No.10143331
File: 3.35 MB, 4032x3024, 373A2052-AE09-48AE-88C7-C23DB4A72AEC.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
10143331

Kinda lost about where to ask this, but I’ll shoot.

Over the past year I’ve been struggling with making digital/animu style shit and decided to go back to what I’m decent with (traditional/watercolor art).
Will stuff like this at least sell on Etsy? Also this was literally the first time I’ve used a Cricut, does the occasional irregularity in cut matter with selling them? Do people get upset if the cut is a bit off like that? (You can tell some have a few extra milimeters of border.)

>> No.10143371

>>10143283
I don't know what kind of prices you are expecting mousepads to cost.. like if you have two designs and 30-50 each, $100 shipping less than $1.5 per mouse pad on shipping. The mousepad itself may cost $4-6 to make. In total, you shouldn't be paying more than $7-9 per mouse pad. There's a reason people sell them for $25-35, they aren't like $2 acrylic charms, the're big bulky items and nothing you do will change that.

>> No.10143374

>>10143331
I think what you showed in the image would sell on Etsy. While a bit of irregularity is fine, the outlines in your image show quite drastic differences. I wouldn't feel comfortable selling the ones where the edge is really thin on one side like that.

>> No.10143388

>>10143331
Those look really cute and I know someone who would want them. But yea, one or two of those stickers really are obviously misaligned and you probably shouldn't sell online.

>> No.10143394

>>10143331
i also agree that those are really cute and there's deffo a market for it out there. i personally wouldn't go out of my way to order stuff like that off of etsy probably, but i would buy them at a con.

a millimeter here or there of misalignment is fine, happens with professionally printed and cut stickers as well, but obviously the ones where the beak is straight up touching the edge, etc, should not be sold.

>> No.10143457

>>10143331
I'd consider buying stuff like that on etsy so I assume others would too (although I probably wouldn't buy those stickers alone, but maybe as an addon to something else). I do think that if I bought one of those and it was misaligned that much I would be upset about it. A little bit is fine but some are quite blatant. Keep practicing with the settings until you get it right before selling, and you can always include the misaligned ones as extras in larger orders or something. Or you could also sell them as seconds for a cheaper price.

>> No.10143475

What do I put on a table sign besides social media stuff? I have sticky note prices. I feel like my sign is empty with just my Instagram, Twitter, and website.

>> No.10143554

To the person trying to make a kickstarter for some LGBTQ stickers that are simply text on sps...you can easily make those yourself at a reasonable cost.

People need to stop relying on crowdfunding for every little "design" product they can think of lmao it seems kind of lazy

>> No.10143608
File: 216 KB, 678x834, sparrowhelp.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
10143608

>>10143457
>>10143394
>>10143388
>>10143374
Thanks so much for the input guys.

Really sorry to bog down the thread with my shit but anyone ITT know if I'm just being a dumbass about something here? I posted this in a cricut help forum but still waiting for a response. (figure a lot more people here use these machines for sticker type things)

The file is png with transparent background, I know some of the images are touching in the cricut image (fixed it later). The calibration is fine, I've tried printing directly from the Cricut design space as well as directly from the printer dialogue and the alignment is still off.

>> No.10143609

>>10143331
Watercolor-style stationery and accessories are incredibly popular on Etsy, especially of animals. Definitely heed the advice about the margins, or even sell them off as seconds if you must.

>> No.10143667

>>10143608
There’s a trick to re-centering your sticker sheet during mid-cut.

https://youtu.be/xk33hSpLG9c
It starts at 23:20 and ends at 25:35.

>> No.10143668

>>10143608
I don't know how cricut works, but I've used a different cutting machine before; it almost looks like you updated the print art to move the birds further apart but the cut file is still an older version. That is, if the way you've lined them up on the board in the photograph is how they come off the sheet, the misalignments seem to be present in places where it looks like you might have moved the birds further apart from one another. Just an observation, I could be totally wrong, but maybe something to doublecheck.

>> No.10143710

>>10143371
Well, again, I'm really not trying to sell them. I just wanted to find out if it's even possible to buy them in smaller quantities at a decent rate. Ideally I would have spent $150 or less for like 10 mouse pads and not have to sell any, which I thought was reasonable. But yes, in retrospect I now realize it's a bit unrealistic considering how niche of a market it is.

>> No.10143832

>>10143710
I guess i'm here to tell you it's not realistic. No one is making their mousepads at runs that small. No one is keeping secrets about manus, people just straight up order 30-50+ of a design and sell them. If your friends will invest about $25 per mousepad you guys can sell the left overs to recoup costs, but no one has the ability to print like 5 3d mouse pads for friends right now.

>> No.10143843

>>10143832
Figures. Main thing that got me to think it'd be a possibility is considering how easy and cheap it is to get literally any other thing custom printed. There's also those other (albeit slightly different shaped) 3d mouse pads for $3 max each including shipping, and I know for a fact the printing process doesn't much money or effort at all from working at a print company. I just underestimated how niche/unavailable to the public the market is.
Well, thanks for the input. I'll probably just bite the bullet and get like 60 total to sell off if my inquiries at 1688 don't work out.

>> No.10143848

>>10143843
>the printing process doesn't much money
fugg I meant: doesn't take much

>> No.10143854

>>10143608
>>10143667
>>10143668
Thanks guys.
So I've read that with a recent update, Print and Cut images on the Cricut aren't aligning properly. Apparently Cricut reps are saying a fix should be up in a few days. Not sure how true that is but in the meantime I've tried that alignment trick and just increasing the thickness of the boarders so small changes in the margin aren't that noticeable and it seems to be working better. I hope the bug in the update thing is true but I've only seen a few posts about it.

And about the cut page being different, the image and cut page are created within the design space simultaneously so I don't think that's it, unless resizing the image within the design space is somehow screwing with the alignment. I think I might just wait it out so I don't waste anymore ink trying this out in case it really is an issue with the firmware.

>> No.10143996

>>10143475
I don't know how much space you have on your sign but if you wanted to highlight something about yourself as an artist, I'd throw up some key words on your table sign? Or if you wanted to keep things generic/open, here are some ideas if applicable:
- Support local artists
- Please no photography
- Open to commissions, please ask
- Follow me on social media, yadayada

>> No.10144325

Uhh did anyone else just get a weird email from fanime

>> No.10144334

>>10144325
Yes, and I was waitlisted for the main aa

>> No.10144363

>>10144334
Same, what do y'all think about it?

>> No.10144402

Seeing as Patreon is changing their terms, I've been thinking of starting a monthly sticker club and get it out before may hits so I get to stick with the old Patreon terms.

Any anons have experience running a similar monthly club they're willing to share or are also considering to start?

I've looked around and most are less than 15 USD a month, and for that amount you usually get 1-2 sticker sheets and/or a couple of 'special material' (holo/glitter laminate) etc diecut stickers every month. New themes are voted on every month, and previous themes can be bought only if you're a patreon and the designs will never be on the artist's shop. There are also no tracking options for shipping to keep membership prices low.

I enjoy making cute sticker designs and think it could be a nice way to earn a little side income! Any thoughts? Thanks.

>> No.10144418

>>10144325
What did it say?

>> No.10144427

>>10144418
I got it too (also on fanimes waitlist) the body is empty and its just titled 'silver island night market'

>> No.10144437

>>10144427
wait nvm I didnt see the follow up e-mail, its just 'hey ur on the waitlist, u wanna pay $250 for a 8pm-2am adults only table?

>> No.10144641

>>10144363
Not doing it, doubt it'll be worth the flight in if I don't already have an aa table.

>> No.10144674

It's been awhile since I've done AA. Is it still considered ok to hang your art on the side of your booth/display if you're at a corner (single table)?

I recall it being rude to display your art on the side facing your neighbors, but I think I recall that it was an exception if you're the last table in a row at the corner.

>> No.10144678

>>10144325
I got this too... I've been waitlisted for years but I'm local so I'm considering it, but I don't actually have a lot of R18 work so idk if it'd be worth it. It could end up being really gross.

>> No.10144736

>>10144674
The consensus is that its okay as long as its not facing into someone's booth space. Take advantage of that prime real estate.

>> No.10144761

>>10144325
Yeah. I'm on the waitlist for the main AA. I don't think I'll participate. The tables are $250 (apparently that's a first year only price, what a steal) and goes until 2am. That being said, main reason is that I'm already booked for another con that weekend anyway.

>> No.10144796

>>10142779
I have! But I'm not going to post pics since I don't want to be outed as being here, haha. But yes, I have made some.

My manu's MOQ is 50, but they let me split that in half with two designs (so 25 per design). I think they were $2-3 a piece? It's been a while since I restocked. Shipping was pretty much equal (if not more) to the amount I ended up spending on the actual mousepads, but they came in less than 2 weeks. You're just going to have to deal with the high shipping costs of mousepads desu, these fuckers are heavy. The quality was great though, and I was recently told by a customer that after months of daily use, his is still holding up perfectly.

If you're interested, my manu was "Guangzhou Zengcheng Kelida Plastic Products Factory" on Alibaba. They also do male chest mousepads. If you ask, they will give you a basic template to use when making your design.

You'd honestly be surprised at how popular oppai mousepads are though, especially if you have appealing and sexy art. Even joke/SFW mousepads can sell well. I used to have one by coeykuhn that had fried eggs as the "boobs" and that was rad.

>> No.10144802

Assuming its just you who runs your table/shop and you have a businesses name (not just your first/last name), do you write "follow my twitter" or "follow our twitter"?

>> No.10144804

>>10142779
>>10144796
...aaaand I just read your other replies. Like other anons said, you're not going to find super-low MOQ manus for these things.
Printing on fabric is an entirely different process compared to printing on paper, so the MOQ is higher. The manu also has to align the silica gel up with the print, make sure everything is secure, put the rubber backing on...it's just a lot more work than having an acrylic charm done. A lot is still done by hand (as opposed to bring cut by a computerized machine like acrylic goods are). So they have higher MOQs to make it worth their time.

>> No.10144811

Anyone make con badges? If so, where do you get the metal clip parts from? I want to do custom ones for people's OCs or fursonas (furries really like con badges for some reason?) so I'd be printing/laminating them at home.

Also, any ideas on extra flourishings for them? Like little bells so they jingle, or maybe bows to stick on? I like crafting so I want to make them fun.

>> No.10144822

>>10144811
you mean badge clips? I get them from amazon.

>> No.10144826

>>10144822
Yes!! I didn't really know how to search for them. Thanks!

>> No.10144843

>>10144802
I feel like 'our' feels a bit more professional, but I still prefer using 'my' just because it's really just me that's running the entire gig.

>> No.10144853

>>10144802
My, it's just me. I don't want to give off the air of being a company run by multiple people and give them weird customer service expectations.

>> No.10144900

>>10144811
>any ideas on extra flourishings for them?
I don't know how far you want to go since you mentioned bells/bows/ribbons, and if you wanted to get real crafty how about pieces of faux fur/cut out craft felt, make them look like tails? Have a hole punch handy and some jumper rings, make optional attachments to the badges with those things. Or use a hole puncher and weave ribbons around the border of the badge? I don't know if any of this is worth it to you, but all the best, sounds like fun.

>> No.10145224

>>10144402

I've been looking into and working on something like this for a while. I think it's a great idea for artists who want to offer something fun and tangible to supporters. Something new and different from PSD files and high res hentai. And with whatever plans are coming out with merchandise handling on Patreon, I think it might become the perfect platform for that kind of thing. I hope so, anyway.

Some artists aren't even ultra exclusive. They treat some of their designs more like first access to patrons only. Not a bad idea either, but I think members only has a special touch to it. Something to consider.

I think you might have fun with your idea and should move forward with it.

>> No.10145679

where does one get holographic film for home sticker making?

>> No.10145714

>>10144900
Ohhh those are cute ideas!! Little dangly tails sound so cute. Thanks anon!

>> No.10145810

>>10143854
I hope to god this is true, I got a cricut recently and its been hell on earth trying to get it to align perfectly (at its best it does 2/3rds of the page passably, but always gets more misaligned towards the bottom or the right :/)
I've tried absolutely everything to fix it

>> No.10145938
File: 2.93 MB, 4032x3024, 28F81BFE-8F5D-4635-A252-E61B93E0F139.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
10145938

>>10145810
So the “fix” went live this morning, I printed these after I installed the plugin without messing with the mat while printing at all.

I think the alignment is a bit better. But I also redid all my old files and made the white boarder thicker, so I can’t compare exactly. You can tell around the beaks that the boarder still almost touches some.

>> No.10146060

>>10145938
Sorry for more neg crit, but the older version that followed the art more closely was better. The blocky nonspecific outline on this makes it look a bit amateurish, like how close it is to the end of the tail, but having so much white space around the shadow. Nothing wrong with making the outline thicker but make sure it's still sensitive to the artwork. The alignment in general does look better though.

>> No.10146065

Does anyone know wtf is going on with sakuracon? I see some people got their table numbers but not others and my e-mails haven't been replied to for the last 3 weeks

>> No.10146073

>>10146060
i agree

>> No.10146128

>>10144796
Different anon, but also interested in producing some.
Do male chest mousepads have a different shape than the female ones? I was under the impression it's the same base, just with different prints.
Also, do you have to have a large following to sell them? Mine is definitely on the smaller side, so I'm worried if they would even sell. If it helps though, I made the design of a recently popular character, so there's at least a following for the character.

>> No.10146129

>>10146060
I agree with this as well. I vastly preferred how it was before, even with a few mistakes.

>> No.10146250

>>10146065
Nobody knows what is going on. Has your check been cashed yet? Mine hasn't :\

>> No.10146259

>>10146065
It's really really stupid but the table numbers are up on Guidebook

>> No.10146311

>>10146060
>>10146073
>>10146129
Thanks for the input guys, yeah I'm in the process of redoing them with a thinner boarder and hoping the Cricut update helps a bit.

>> No.10146322

>>10146250
Yeah, my check hasn't been cashed :/
>>10146259
ah! Thank you! I'll look for myself there

>> No.10146332

>>10146128
They are indeed different. If you google it, you'll see that they are flatter and more square in shape. Female ones are round and come in a couple different sizes, but all sizes are pretty big.

My following is...niche? I had less than 2k followers on tumblr (pre-NSFW ban), and right now I've got around 500 on twitter. But I also have followings on other platforms, particularly a danbooru-esque site, where I get new followers via the tags/forums. It's a fandom that used to be big, shrank, and those who remain are super devoted and have very loose wallets. Take of that what you will.

>> No.10146365

How is Otakon's waitlist?

>> No.10146550

>>10145224
Thank you for replying, Anon! After posting my last post I realised it sounds like an oddly formal email lol. I'll be trying it out for a couple of months, I hope you find something that works for you, too!

>> No.10147356

My sakura con check finally cashed

>> No.10147357

>>10147356
interesting, mine still hasn't
I'm listed in the guidebook though so at least I haven't missed some e-mail somewhere

>> No.10148039

>>10147357
after three weeks I finally got an e-mail from sakuracon telling me they were gonna send table assignments/map to everyone in the next 24 hours.

>> No.10148471

>>10147356
Mine cashed too
>>10148039
If you wanna check early they're already on the guidebook app thing

>> No.10150112
File: 21 KB, 320x320, 43529815_254273685256250_4132288086744760320_n.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
10150112

I am losing my fucking mind over Yumelixir's complete headassery over the past couple of months. I got an email from her to apply to her company as a designer only to not get any info of when she'd be choosing designers, or any follow up emails expanding on info of what exactly we'd be doing as designers, but only to be met with fucking "woe is me" mile long emails that are framed as her being a business savvy guru and goddamn instagram videos of more pity-party style videos of her crying on the fucking camera for 20 minutes. I don't know whether it'd be worth it or not to tell her how unprofessional she's being fishing for sympathy on her business page or what

>> No.10150118

>>10150112
Really the most professional thing to do is just, disengage and move on, let her crash and burn on her own .
If you're a potential glutton for drama? Yeah sure tell her whatever.

>> No.10150151

>>10150112
I unsubscribed. She's more invested in becoming IG/YT famous than she is in her actual business ventures. I think most of us who signed up needed a reliable product manufacturer; not a naive hobbyist with a divided attention span. Let her do that if she wants. This is just a lesson to never use her as manufacturer.

>> No.10150600

>>10150118
>>10150151
So is she not doing the printing services anymore? She's trying to be some sort of mental health guru?

>> No.10150623

>>10150112
I bought a shit ton of merch from her and haven't received it yet. It was around the time where she opened up her website and had plus sized stuff available. Should i be worried?

>> No.10150679

If you’re invited to a con but they make you pay the table, is it worth it?

>> No.10150681

>>10150679
No. That "invitation" probably means they're hard pressed for artists if they're asking you to pay.

>> No.10150682
File: 164 KB, 1153x477, 527E5ECD-40F8-4F1A-B961-A2CA35455EBA.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
10150682

Does anyone know anything about fulfillment centers? I can’t keep packing and shipping all these charms I want to die
It’s also cutting into my actual drawing time now, it’s so damn overwhelming.

>> No.10150705

>>10150623
What'd you order? Her heat press is busted af sooooo...

>> No.10150729

Is it possible to get foil charms from vograce that also have transparency? Has anyone experienced longer wait times for those?

>> No.10150811

>>10143331
These are cute, but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy them on Etsy. You're going to have to advertise to an entirely different crowd if you're going to abandon fandom related merchandise. Just remember you're going to basically start your following over.

I think you need to find a better way to cut these since I see a lot of inconsistencies in the ring of white around them. You should be cutting wider, not smaller. The customer can always cut off more white if they want to.

>> No.10150860

>>10150112
I just can't wrap my head around the thoughts acrobatics done here.
What the FUCK makes her think that anyone running their own art business would have an inkling of an interest in her shitty toddler wardrobe crap?

>> No.10151369

>>10144796
really wish you wouldnt have given out the manufacturer name lmao thats who i use and theyll end up getting overworked just like vograce and many others.

>> No.10151388

>>10151369
RIP another manu. Thanks for calling more attention to it.

>> No.10151422

>>10151369
These comments really make me want to get into the manufacturing business. Demand is really high, right?

>> No.10151423

>>10151422
you speak chinese?

>> No.10151429

>>10151423
I have a friend that does, actually.
either way, much of the demand is in english speaking countries, right? I'm sure a lot of people would prefer someone who actually speaks their language.

>> No.10151430

>>10151422
Just don't do an Acorn Press.

>> No.10151432

>>10151429
unless you intend on building a factory from the ground up you will need to know chinese

>> No.10151438

>>10151422
>>10151429
Yeah starting a business on a whim with no expertise and a friend who speaks chinese sounds like a great idea anon.

>> No.10151570

>>10151422

Don’t do it. Everyone starts a manu business, gets swamped with orders they can’t fulfill within their own timeline and then have to fake their death to get the heat off. I’ve seen it happen so many times.

>> No.10151890

>>10151438
>starting a business on a whim with no expertise
meh, worked for my etsy business.
>>10151570
so just don't take on too many orders? Seems simple.

>> No.10151977

>>10151369
>>10151388
Nah.
This idea is honestly bullshit and I'm not here for it. I'm here to help people, not keep the """""good manus""""" to myself like some greedy scrub. Feel free to use them all you want, I'm sure they'll appreciate the business! Plus, I highly doubt they'll get overworked like Vograce, because the MOQ and overall cost is way higher than getting a couple acrylics made. That and the whole idea of oppai mouse pads are turn-offs to casual merch makers. You gotta have a particular audience to sell these, and a sizable one at that, to make profit.

Also, this isn't like, some sort of secret manu I stumbled upon. I just searched "oppai mouse pad" on Alibaba and they came up first. If anyone here had an inkling of wanting to do these, they would have found them just as easily. Grow up.

>> No.10151985

>>10150682
Get a friend to help you? Streamline the process more? Schedule USPS pickups? Unless you're getting a crazy amount of orders, it won't be worth it to outsource the packing process.
I had to pack over a hundred pre-orders once, by myself, and it only took a couple nights to do it. It's really not that bad if you make a little assembly line for yourself and just do it. I listened to podcasts during it and that helped.

>> No.10152100

I really need some last minute prints printed, but I’m having an issue. I went to both a FedEx and a Staples and they were unable to print due to copyright because the staff recognized the character. Previously, more unknown series I had no problems printing. Is there another alternative printing place I could try? Or should I just try a bunch of branches in hopes that one of them won’t recognize it?

>> No.10152111

>>10151890
An Etsy business is way different than a manufacturing business however I fully support your endeavor as I would love more manufacturers. I would suggest not bothering with charms because everyone and their mom offers that but it would be great to have someone for those more unique products. Seriously, if you can get me custom printed journals for $2-3 a piece with a MOQ of 100+, hit me the fuck up. I'm also interested in custom packaging material, good quality wallets (not this canvas rectangle with a zipper shit), and pens.

>> No.10152137

>>10151890
I'm genuinely curious why you think it'd be so easy. What would you manufacture? What equipment do you need for it? Are you going to play middleman? Why should people use you instead of going right to the source?

I've seen so many popular small manus with the same ideas as you go under because they couldn't handle the pressure and details of running their businesses. It's easy to sit in a 4chan thread and tell everyone it sounds simple but I'd truly love to see how you execute this business plan of yours.

>> No.10152163

>>10152137
>why you think it'd be so easy.
I never said I thought it would be. The "simple" just referred to not taking on too many orders. Its just something i've casually thought about.

>> No.10152182

>>10152100
What character? I’m honestly surprised they rejected you even thought it was your own artwork.

>> No.10152442

>>10152182
It was Princess Peach and Kirby.

I ended up being able to get some printed from a small local printing place.

>> No.10152674

What happened at AB's AA? Some people harassing an artist got kicked out?

>> No.10153058

You guys ever list out a ton of merch that you want to make, then don't work on making any of it? I'm at that point right now.

>> No.10153100

I've finally gotten around to making enough designs to start collecting an inventory and sell on Etsy before I attempt my first con at the end of the year or the beginning of next year. Before I start printing anything do bottle openers, magnets, and coasters sell well at all?

>> No.10153120

>>10153058
not just you. i've been sweating at this blank screen for ages, but the con's in two months.

>> No.10153123

>>10152100
This happened to me before a few times. Once with staples, but I had proof I drew it so they allowed me because I had some law about creative license or something on my phone. but that was years ago.
Office depot was another one not too long ago. I always carry my paperwork with my art permit from the state, my business cards and convention forms with their legal jargon on why fanart was okay to sell at their own convention/not liable. The worker was rude overall.

What I did when they denied me was email to headquarters with all my permits, the legal stuff, how much business I gave them (a few thousand in the past 2 years or so with my account info) and was able to print with them a few days later with a hand written note from the rude employee if the prints are good, and to leave a review.

> tldr faked it like I was a special artist to get my prints. doubt this will help with the time crunch, but good luck.

>> No.10153208
File: 224 KB, 875x1246, 8BAF7C5E-532C-4159-994C-5D71011A5C17.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
10153208

>>10153058
Yes, but I’m working on making all of it, but can’t keep up so I get stressed and upset at myself. I’m burning out as they say.
I’m so exhausted everyday my brain is fried.
I wonder if this stress is worth it sometimes.
Went to the doctor to have a hormone test done and they said the DHEAs in my brain are incredibly low due to stress and exhaustion. (Also I have adrenal fatigue)

I’m going to be take the medicine they gave me now, but please people watch out for your health. If you don’t have health insurance like me there are low income clinics (or what I like to call them) that have appointments for only $80 the first time and $50 all follow ups.

Please look after yourselves guys.

>> No.10153285
File: 57 KB, 500x291, rubber-coasters-500x500.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
10153285

>>10153100
I think they'd be fun and unique! I don't really see them those items too often. Maybe only do a couple bottle openers though, because not everyone drinks, especially the minors you'll see at typical cons. But if you're selling at, say, a known party con like Colossal or DC? By all means go all out with them. Capitalize on them 100%.
I think almost everyone could use coasters or fridge magnets though. If you could get rubber coasters made like pic related, even better. Easy to clean. Laser-engraved ones are cool too.

>> No.10153303

>>10153285
Thanks for the advice anon! I have been working on 80% original art right now and it's mostly "edgy", occult, more macabre stuff and a lot of nature stuff too so I was hoping at going to all the local horror cons and some of the general nerd cons (I'm in Texas so I have a lot of cons to choose from!).

I've already found some local manufacturers who have really small minimums or none for decent prices. I'm excited to get the ball rolling!

>> No.10153555

>>10153303
>occult
>macabre
>home goods
You better post your shit when it's done, because I'll snatch that shit up in a heartbeat.

>> No.10154316

>>10152674
some dipshits were going around the room harassing various artists and recording it

>> No.10154448

Hello! I have a kind of silly question, but for those who make their own enamel pin backing cards. Do you just...push a hole into them with the pin? Or do you punch out a hole with some sort of hole puncher or smthg like that?

>> No.10154516

>>10154448
Literally just push the pin through.

Sometimes if the card is really thick it can make it more difficult. I had this with the cards from moo. The cards would bend or crease when you pushed. You can place them on something like styrofoam to help

>> No.10154520

>>10154516
why do people do this when the company will do it for you?

>> No.10154631

>>10154520
I tend to opt out for this because it gives me a chance to hand-inspect the pins without having to mess around with re-bagging. I also might want to use a card that is a little more specialized than the options they have available. When time and quantity were an issue, I've had larger quantities packed by the factory for me. But I'm fickle and like to do one last QA if I can. Carding them myself makes that process easier.

>> No.10154644

>>10153100
I bought couple really neat coasters couple years back from an AA and I've been very disappointed since because they don't seem to be a very popular item (I'm not US though). Definately do them, variety in products is always nice.

>> No.10154705

>>10153303
Jsyk horror cons are not nearly as lucrative as anime and comicons. People there are older and much more interested in the partying aspect (drinking) and a lot allow open alcohol. People aren't there to spend on vendors. They save for the guests and vendors are an after thought. People rarely make table back.

>> No.10154721
File: 1.28 MB, 1242x1619, 66DDBFB4-A033-409C-9705-C0C8975ECA4E.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
10154721

>check out AANI to see what I’ve been missing
>see this
Imagine this level of delusion.
I assume these are types of people in these threads that are like “are ten charms of one design okay to sell for some reasonably sized con? uwu”
This is why the AA community is going downhill, nobody realizes they actually have to create quality content anymore

>> No.10154772

does anybody remember / know the name of that woman that would post photoshoots of herself dressed as an idealized housewife making elaborate cakes and things to reddit? wondering if she's still active. sorry I don't think I saved any of her pics, and no combination of searching housewife, cake, baker, photography, cosplay, etc brings her up, they're basically the worst possible search terms to find anything specific

>> No.10154824

>>10154721
The clothing is really cute but oh god those faces are awful.

>> No.10154968

>>10154516
I use catprint's heavy cardstock (120lb) in satin finish. I really like it for backing cards since catprint allows for custom sizes, no minimum quantity per design, and rounded corners. I'm sure it's probably not as cost efficient compared to just going with business card places though.

>> No.10154991

>>10154772
The fuck does that have to do with artist alley?

>> No.10155077

>>10154721
She'll learn her lesson after she wastes $$$ getting these made, only for them to not move. These look horrifying jfc

>> No.10155087

>>10154772
Were they spooky ones? There’s that Christine McConnel that has her own Netflix cooking show.

>> No.10155121

>>10154721
>>10155077
Mentioning AnimeNext too that is lottery. This is what's pissing me off that everyone and their mom wants to do AA now, making it more difficult to get in for cons that are FCFS and Lottery (then god knows 80% of juried cons are now "my friends and friends' friends).
I also doubt she will lose money if she's talking about vacationing in Ireland. It seems like this is a trust fund hobby thing for them.

And just as a note, I was one of the people itt asking about print amounts too so

>> No.10155135

>>10155121
>if she's talking about vacationing in Ireland
I just noticed this and now I'm depressed. I'd trade my art skills down to this if I could have enough money to vacation in europe.

>> No.10155324

>>10155121
>everyone and their mom wants to do AA now
Just out of curiousity, does anyone know what caused the spike in interest? I've seen the fact discussed a lot recently, but I don't think I've come across an explanation of what made AA's so seemingly popular suddenly(?).

>> No.10155350

>>10155324
people think it's quick easy money

>> No.10155449

>>10155324
>People printing out their shitty artwork on physical material and saying “I’ll be as so and so con selling these!”
>People see the shitty artwork
“Damn even I can do better than that and they’re trying to sell this? Let me try.”
>tries but is only slightly better or equally bad
“By my merch guys I need food for the month, I’m a starving artist!”
>use the fact the have no skills/effort into their work as a selling point, (they haven’t been selling long enough to yield comfortable profits) people are guilt tripped into buying their stuff
>the cycle continues

>> No.10155482

>>10155324
Just generally more people going to cons.

>> No.10155506

>>10152100
This doesn't help you much post con, but I've always been able to fake my way through by coming in with a signed copyright release. I modeled mine after the Walmart photo lab printing release because I'm lazy, but it basically just says I own the copyright for these images, and I give you permission to print them, any legal responsibility lies entirely with me, and here is my signature and contact information.

Printing places really only care about maybe eventually getting sued, and providing the paperwork to shift the blame back to you absolves them of that worry.

>> No.10155591

>>10155324
Millennials were conned into going to college as an absolute necessity. They raked up lots of debt and the economy crashed along with the housing market plummet.

The past few years has been when Millennials have been getting out of college but they don't have the means to further their education beyond a bachelor's or associates.

Jobs are now requiring yet hire education to get in, and with the shitty economy among with their being more people than jobs, they are turning to self employment out of desperation. Yet rarely are we successful (as this is in reference to myself too). You either get the normies who turn to MLMs or the weebs and nerds who turn to artist alley. It also got out that people are bringing in 3k+ a con as almost common knowledge now, so it is an appealing job to strive for rather than working retail for $7.50/hour, which doesn't include the taxes taken out.

>> No.10155615

>>10155324
I think it's because people started making really serious money in AA in the past 15 years; the rise of accessible manufacturing of professional quality products, along with the greater range of content and art styles, convinced more and more con goers to spend their money on those instead of just saving it for official product as they used to do. Some artists started hitting five figures per con, and can basically live a whole year doing a con or so a month. And word got out. Non artists think art is easy and bad artists can't actually see that their art is bad, and now anyone can easily print a booklet or enamel pins or acrylic charms at low moq, so everyone thinks they can do it. It's a romantic notion that some people have that art is a non job so they think it's essentially free money.

>> No.10155624

>>10155591
it's this for me. considering most places don't just hire an illustrator i'm doomed to freelancing anyway

>> No.10155657

>>10153555
I'll try to remember to post some stuff when I get around to it!

>>10154644
>>10154705
Thank y'all for the feedback! Kinda sucks that horror cons aren't lucrative, but hey I still have plenty of generic nerd cons and comic cons to choose from! I plan on making some nerd merch too. I'll keep this in mind when working on new pieces.

>> No.10155707

>>10155657
Yeah don't sweat the horror cons too much if you don't make a ton there. TX has so many cons/fairs to choose from that you don't even need to leave the state to make good profit.

>> No.10156331

>>10154721
>tfw pull $5-8k regularly in print sales per con but can't even sell 10 charms of one design at any con.

What am I doing wrong anons

I'd argue that at a minimum i'm at least an average artist. I've never been rejected from a juried con and I put a lot of work into my charm designs.They just don't fucking move.

>> No.10156336

>>10156331
Since your prints sell well it's definitely not a matter of skill, it's probably just that your art works better for prints and not that well with charms. What looks good on a print doesn't necessarily work for a charm so it's not that weird for artists to be better at one or the other. I've seen a lot of artists who only do prints, and artists who only do charms/other small merch, it's totally normal to just pick and choose what your art works the best with.
Also if you're comfortable with it you can post your art here and anons will definitely give feedback, but honestly I wouldn't stress it that much.

>> No.10156389

>>10156331
It just sounds like you're a better illustrator or painter than merch designer. Different styles suits different mediums, do you use the same style for prints and charms? If yes, does the charms look too busy, does the details disappear and so on? If no, are you for example worse at chibis and cutesy stuff than whatever style you're doing for the prints?

>> No.10156435

>>10156331
Post your charms we’ll give you some pointers.

>> No.10156448

>>10156331
Personally I dislike charms and things like that, and would prefer cute/nice prints to hang than some trash charm.

>> No.10156467
File: 338 KB, 800x457, Saki.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
10156467

>>10156336
>>10156435
I wasn't going to since a few people in here might still know me, but fuck it.

I sold these as individual stickers alongside the double sided charm, and the stickers did quite well, so it's unlikely that the series or character was just a flop. The charm did atrociously though.

>> No.10156475

Has anyone else ever done a 180 or 360 on their stance of pricing and fanart?

Ever since I saw artists creating their entire business off fanart and ever since I got a studio job, fanart and merch became a hobby for me again. Morally, I don't want to profit off IPs, I just want to share with fellow fans. I price them at market price to not devalue other artists, but I secretly kind of wish I could just charge at production cost.

>> No.10156483

>>10143996
>- Please no photography
I never understood this. The point of people taking pics of your work at cons is to showcase how cool it is. Why wouldn’t you want photos of your work taken? That kills your exposure

>> No.10156485

>>10156483
Because people don't want their face posted on the internet

>> No.10156493

>>10156485
But the con is all about taking pics and having a good time. If you don’t want your work to get photographed, you’re in the wrong business.

>> No.10156495

>>10156467
You might be cannibalizing your sales by doing both stickers and charms. Personally I think these are pretty cute, but too ‘boring’ to be an instant-buy. The fact that you flipped the image but didn’t exactly flip the design is also a turn off for some people. Generally, a lot of my charms that sell well tend to play more with the nature of the material and/or the hanging aspect.

>> No.10156497

>>10156485
In the age of social media, not wanting any pic of you or especially your work taken by people fucks you beyond over. You can’t stop someone to take a photo of you, especially if there’s no standard rule about it. You can be respectful and say please no photos of me, which most people are cool with, but too many times have I’ve seen people lose their shit over a person taking pics of their booth and getting upset over it.

>> No.10156583

>>10156497
>You can be respectful and say please no photos of me
That is the purpose of the "No Photos Please" signs though. Of course everyone in AA knows people might take pictures of you and your stand, but that's just the most convenient way to tell people that you'd prefer them not to.

>> No.10156589

>>10156483
It's not exposure unless they credit you. And some people simply don't need or care for exposure, not everyone has the same situation as you.

>>10156467
Agree with >>10156495, many people try to buy a piece of art at the lowest possible price point so why spend $10 on a charm if they can get the same art for $3? There's nothing about the design that makes it work intrinsically better as a charm, so you definitely cannibalized sales that way.

I also just think while the art is technically very well executed, it's just a bit boring? I know the pose is like her gangster squat but I personally prefer something more dynamic for charms, baring that something more simple and cute. Right now it's static and not ultra cute/stylized so I would pass on it.

>> No.10156592

>>10156495
I sell both online, but at cons I only sell charms (since stickers do tend to cut not only into charm sales but also print sales), and sales are still pretty lackluster.

I'll keep in mind the hanging aspect and try to think of creative ideas, but can you elaborate more on not flipping the design being a turnoff for people? I usually try to do charms with characters that have two forms/outfits/versions (like a zombie and human Saki) so I can play on the format of a charm, but I wasn't aware that that was something buyers would be put off by. Every charm I've ever bought in AA has slightly different front and back art.

Thanks for your help!

>> No.10156594

>>10156589
Alright, I appreciate the advice! As I've mentioned to the last anon, I don't have the stickers out for sale at conventions; the art is only available on the charms (and even then, I priced both stickers together at $8 which was barely lower than $10). I'll try to work on more dynamic poses though for sure. I'm not particularly sure how to make it more stylized but I'll play around with the style.

>> No.10156596

>>10156592
I mean that if a character’s hair parts in one direction, it should always go in that direction. If the character is sleeveless only on the right arm, even if you mirror your image, you should tweak it so that the proper arm is sleeveless. Hope that makes sense!

>> No.10156597

>>10156596
Oh, okay, I misunderstood you. I get it now. Thanks, I'll definitely watch out for that!

>> No.10156598 [DELETED] 

>>10156483
>>10156493
I don't get it either. I frequently take pictures of items to send them to a friend to either get them to buy it, or see if they like it so I can buy it for me.
No picture = no sale from me.

>> No.10156599

>>10156483
>>10156493
I don't get it either. I frequently take pictures of items to send them to a friend to either get them to buy it, or see if they like it so I can buy it for them.
No picture = no sale from me.

>> No.10156600

people that have an abundance of prints/merch/etc, how long did it take you to get to that point? did you start off with a million prints and charms or build up to it over several years?

>> No.10156605

>>10156600
Absolutely built it up. I started with 4 prints and I'm around 35 now (and I've retired many, these are just the ones I keep in circulation). I used to feel embarrassed by how bare my table was then one day I woke up, got to the con, and realized I had outgrown my display.

>> No.10156613

>>10156467
I think you could definitely improve on the face (it's usually the first thing people look at), it's a bit wonky and in general not as polished as the rest of the charm. I personally like the pose and how you've divided the hair on both sides of the character so it balances out, but since your art style is quite simple (which imo is a good thing since small details and subtle changes in color hardly ever translate well on charms) it's definitely a good idea to try and come up with something creative that you can only do with charms.
Transparency with clear charms is an easy one, and the "hanging" look was also mentioned by others. I've also personally only done one-sided charms and haven't have any problems selling them, so it's a good idea to start with focusing on making it look really good on one side instead of possibly forcing yourself to come up with ideas solely for two-sided charms. If you absolutely do want to make two-sided charms, I've seen a lot of people prefer the backside of a character instead of just the front flipped with minor changes, but ymmv.
Also what others have said, it's really not a good idea to make multiple different choices of one art as the majority of people will then just buy the cheaper one. The only time I've seen it work is when the stickers of the same art as the charm were given as bonus for purchasing the charm, as that makes some people think they're getting a deal even if in reality you've included the price of the sticker in the total already.

>> No.10156629

>>10156605
Oh wow okay thank you so much, I have 4 now and some smaller ones, and I feel embarrassed because everyone always has like a print wall behind them but I guess it’s a matter of time more than anything.

>> No.10156632

>>10156467
These are super cute I would buy
Maybe your prints are just -too- good that people just buy them over your prints.

>> No.10156642

>>10156483
If you were snapping a pic of any stranger or a stranger's property in a social space, would you at least ask first? The reason for those signs is that so many people stopped asking first. If people ask, I always say yes, because it's just respectful. If someone is trying to stealth snap pics then yeah I'm going to put my hand over the art and ask them not to. Asking me takes 3 seconds and if they don't respect me enough to do that then I doubt they're going to do anything respectful with my art either.
I've seen people get as close to a print as possible to take a pic, clearly so they can have it without buying it. I had people do this and immediately post it to their social media with no credit. If they bothered to take a card they could have just reblogged the original version from me. I've had people take pics in order to make fun of it. The last thing I want is to see a picture of my face alongside some mean spirited anti-fujo bs.
It just never hurts to ask and if more people treated asking first as the norm then you probably wouldn't see those signs as much.

>> No.10156645

>>10156467
Chibi charms are probably one of the most popular items on the market right now, yours kinda looks like the lower end types considering you can barely see the eyes.
Check out some of the most popular chibi charm artists to compare your work to theirs and ask yourself would should someone buy yours over theirs?

>> No.10156667

>>10156600
I started off with two full prints, three postcards, like 10 stickers, and 10 buttons. Now I've got over 50 charms, 20 enamel pins, 30 buttons, and a handful of other product types. It took me like two to three years though. Splitting a table is a great way to ease your way in to AA without needing tons of stuff from the start btw.

>> No.10156688

>>10156594
Oh okay, that's good to keep the stickers out of the equation. I mean in that case I guess it's the fandom / art, I didn't do art for this series even though I watched it because I didn't know any friends who watched it so it seemed like a bad bet for buyers idk.

But yea in terms of stylized, basically to me her proportions are look to be about 4 heads tall if you stood her up. If the charm pose/idea isn't very clever, I PERSONALLY prefer chibi art proportions where it's only 2 heads tall, so the focus is on the face and how cute it is rather than the entire body because the charm is so small already.

>> No.10156774

Just a small vent...
My first con: I brought in $500.
My second con: brought home $400
I was feeling super discouraged and contemplating giving up since I'm very much in the red.
My third con: Brought home $1,300.

I was feeling super happy that I started to finally see more money. Friend suddenly needs $200.
SO gets a $300 ticket he can't pay.
My cats get a $150 vet bill
Hotel tacks on an extra $300 for some shit.

I'm crying. I'm too much of a pushover to say no to people. I'm too much of push over to let people suffer when I have the money. I'm suddenly in the red again. I hate myself.

>> No.10156775

>>10156774
Grow some balls anon, you worked hard for that money.
The only one on that list that’s needs your money is your precious little kitty.

>> No.10156804

>>10156774
Probably not the best idea to vent to an anon board filled with people who aren't going to have sympathy for a pushover. Grow up and fight for yourself like the rest of us. Dropping $800 unnecessarily is insane. Why would a hotel charge an extra $300?? Did you completely ruin the room?? Did someone in the room steal something???

>> No.10156846

>>10156774

Anon you aren’t letting them suffer, you’re making them responsible for themselves lmao, no one is entitled to your money. Like other anon said the only one that deserves your cold hard cash is your cat and maybe the hotel depending on what the fuck happened to cost you an extra $300. Hopefully with the profits you make now you can make it back and never throw your money down the drain again.

>> No.10156878

>>10156774
I’m guessing the extra $300 hotel cost is from resort fees?

Many people don’t know that when booking a resort hotel (such as casino hotels in Vegas), there’s a fine print that’s says “price does not include resort fees” and “a mandatory resort fee of $X per day will be collected separately after your stay.”

>> No.10156882

>>10156774
Other anons are giving good advice but I sympathize with you. I am extremely bad at saying no. Im sorry those things happened. Hope we can both improve ourselves and learn to take care of yourselves first sometimes

>except the cat thing if its your cat/your responsibility. Im glad to hear you are taking care of your animals and although the cost sucks, its a necessity. Hope your cat is doing well!

>> No.10156898

Has anyone been overcharged by vograce? Currently seems like their quote is $30 more than what it's calculated out to be, and my friend has double checked our group order's numbers.

This is taking into account base charms + extra printing for foil/holo + extra accessories + shipping + paypal fee. In the grand scheme of things, $30 extra on a $1k order isn't much, but also feels bad... I hope it's just a mistake.

Working with Rola if that makes a difference. Friends have hosted GOs for our group before with Coco and never had this problem...

>> No.10156900

>>10156774
Yea it's hard to say no to other people, but at the same time, just bc you suddenly have more money doesn't mean you actually have money to spare. That money needs to go towards your safety net. That friend may need $200, but that doesn't mean it has to be your $200. If you're paying your SO's ticket, he BETTER be paying you back straight up. Your cat's vet bill and that unexpected hotel charge are the very examples of the reasons why exactly you NEED a backup fund for emergencies or unexpected expenses. If you get sick or your cat gets sick and you can't pay for a procedure because you kept worrying about other people then you aren't being generous. You're simply not thinking things through.

>> No.10156909

>>10156898
Hadn't had any issues with Rola so far, but when I worked with Vicky there were a few times when the numbers were off. I just assume it's an honest mistake, and I always double-check the numbers myself before paying anyway.

>> No.10156918

>>10156909
Thank you! I'll bring this up to her then. Glad we double checked too then, here's hoping all goes well.

>> No.10156919

>>10156898
Con season's starting soon so maybe they bumped their prices to account for extra work? If that's the case, it's only 3%.

>> No.10156923

>>10156919
Speaking of con season, how much money of inventory do you guys bring for big events like anime expo? Anyone bring in the five digit range?

>> No.10156981
File: 84 KB, 753x870, undertale lamp.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
10156981

>>10156475
take the money and spend it on ao3's donation drive or something?

>>10156495
do you have any examples? i've never ordered before so i'm a bit wary about the material carrying the design

>> No.10156993

>>10156898
my price increased by 30% since 3 months ago.
time to look for new manufacture I guess

>> No.10157097

>>10156774
If you don't like the life choices you are making, then stop making them. What do you want us to do about it?

>> No.10157180

>>10156774
You need to learn to say no, if only because the best way to help others is to help your self.

You're obviously a nice person, but you're helping people in an inefficient and actually harmful way. From one nice person to another, the best way to do the most good is to first help yourself get in the black and become successful. When you're wealthy, you can give far more to more people over all. When you let people like your "friend" take $200 from you for no reason and you are directly making it harder for YOU a GOOD PERSON to save money and become successful and thus help more people in the long run.

Don't let people like that drag you down, tell them no. Remember you're a good person, and you want to help, and the BEST WAY TO HELP OTHERS when you're this poor is to HELP YOURSELF.

>> No.10157555

>>10156923
Can mods just make posting the words "how much inventory" in any context an autoban in this thread.

>> No.10157570

>>10156981
>material carrying the design
Not sure what you mean, but if you’re asking for ideas, anything that plays with transparency.

>> No.10157640

>>10156923
a billion dollars worth.

>> No.10157854

I got into Hyper Japan! Is it worth traveling to from the US? Air fare would cost around $600 (2 people), and then the hotel another $600.

I'm only a print artist, so I don't bring as much in as the standard, but I'll probably have a couple t-shirts to add by July.

>> No.10157871

>>10157854
I did the smaller Hyper Japan and it wasn't really worth it profit wise, that said I did break even on my costs and got a two week trip to England out of it

>> No.10157877

>>10155615
I legitimately remember when AA was still full of shrinky dink charms. Simpler times.

>> No.10157922

>>10156774
Are you just going around telling people you made money? Your friend probably knew you’re an easy target. They have 0 plans of paying you back. $300 ticket? Sounds like a personal problem. You need to start repeating ‘not my problem’ because guess what? Nobody is gonna care about your suffering when they have money.

>> No.10158001

>>10156774
1. Talk less about the money you make at con. This will make you less of a target for money requests that you clearly have a hard time saying no to.

2. When someone asks you for money, instead of looking at "I have $1300 in the bank, I can say yes" - look at it in terms of your expenses. Then you can say, I'm sorry, I don't have any money, it all went to bills. Because that's true. You don't have $1300 of cash for fun money, you have enough to cover your expenses and a little bit, a VERY little bit, to cushion your fall when something bad happens like your cat getting sick or your car breaking down.

Don't think of this as you refusing to help people when you have the means to help them. That's not true, it's not what you're doing. You *do not have the means to help them* until after your own bills are payed and you are no longer living paycheck to paycheck.

Good luck with AA anon, it's a hard job but it sounds like you're coming out the other side of the learning year intact!

>> No.10158002

>>10157877
Shrinky dink was hard core, man. Laminated paper on ball chain clasps is where it's at.

>> No.10158018

>>10158002
>>10157877

been doing this for 12 years. Friggin my first con I sold hand cut bookmarks and 1" buttons. Back then displays weren't 10ft walls of prints or grids. The rare artist would have the PVC pipe stand.

It always blows my mind how much it's changed and how we can get so many things made now. Want to make a custom backpack in a cool shape you designed? You can do that! Want to make a cool standee that lights up or glows in the dark? You can make it!

Honestly the internet has changed the game for us.

>> No.10158021

>>10157871
Good to know. I'll be glad if I can break even, at least. Do they pack a lot of artists in like at US cons? I can't seem to find maps or lists of previous years.

>> No.10158342

The most popular charm designs I ever see now are chibis, has this ever been different? Is it worth it doing more detailed designs/styles for charms right now?

>> No.10158429

>>10158342
I've seen non-chibi charms do well, but they require a higher degree of skill to sell than most chibis on the market.

>> No.10158476

>>10158342
I'd personally love to see more non-chibi charms, and there's definitely a market for those. But I think they require a good sense for composition and be aesthetic to actually sell well, as opposed to just banging out a relatively nice chibi from a popular series. But some of my favorite charm designs ever have been non-deformed, so it's totally possible to make them look nice and especially if you're doing more original art I think non-chibi is the way to go in order to stand out.

>> No.10158530

>>10157871 all the vendors are mixed together and theirs no vetting for the themed sections. (I was in the kawaii corner and there were grab bag people next to us with brown paper bags and nothing kawaii -_-). It seemed like fairly average packing? There wasn't a ton of artists, it was mostly other vendors

>> No.10158560

>>10156774
Tell your friend and SO that they can use their own savings or credit. Or if you really can't stand to see them in dire straits...make it a LOAN and then firmly collect at some point later (lending to friends is an unwise habit though.) Spending on your SO probably seems reasonable to a lot of people, but unless both of you are financially stable to the point spending on one another doesn't matter, semi-conscious resentment about uneven monetary burden can be one of the biggest pains in a relationship.

Nothing you can do about the vet bills or hotel costs.

>> No.10158577

>>10154721
I feel like people really need to gently take people like this aside and just be honest with them. I have no idea why artists are so fucking terrified and post here and not private messaging them. Their art just isn't good and I think it's not a bad thing to say they need to improve significantly before thinking that people would want to even buy their art. There's decent artists who can't even sell their art due to having unusual art styles or things that don't cater to most anime fans. Living in delusion hurts everyone like other anons have said about lottery tables.

>> No.10158594

>>10158577
I think it's because of the current hugbox mentality of artists being so delicate that they can't take feedback that isn't all compliments, so even though everyone can see they aren't good and probably won't be able to sell much if at all, no one wants to be the person to tell them that because they'll be labelled a bully and possibly smear their own reputation. It's way too much hassle to risk the inevitable bad reaction from the artist especially for essentially no pay-off.
Although that being said, I do personally hate the current trend of artists saying they don't want any critique at all but then turn around and ask people to pay for their art, so I do agree with your point.

>> No.10158682

>>10158594
Along the same lines theres a lot more of “anyone can be an artists because there’s different styles!!” shit being said
now, though yes, this means it’s great for different styles of art to exist, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t follow the principles of what makes art good and appealing (good composition, color choice, etc) which these people usually do, their art is objectively poorly done, but these people are usually new artists and don’t know the difference between critique and harsh criticism, so it can be a shot in the dark if it is taken well or not.

>> No.10158748

>>10158682
Oh absolutely, "style" doesn't excuse poor technical skill.
Obviously everyone has got to start somewhere, and there's always room for improvement regardless of skill level. I also don't think that people should be ashamed of their low skill level, especially if they're just starting out. But there's a very huge difference between being proud of your work and trying to profit off from it. I think once they start asking money for their art then they should also be open to feedback regarding it. Obviously whether or not they listen to it is one thing, but saying "please no criticism" while charging money is just ridiculously naive. Deflecting actual feedback with "it's just my style" is not a good attitude, especially for people aspiring to get into artist alleys where the most honest and brutal feedback of all is just simply not managing to sell a thing because the art is not up to par.

>> No.10158956
File: 903 KB, 501x802, sps.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
10158956

Classic AANI

>> No.10158981

>>10154721
>>10158577

Well, everything else but also these look like they were done by a kid. Nobody really wants to be that meanie grown adult picking on a kid. Even less appealing when you consider some brats will take it the wrong way and you're just jealous of their talent. And then you think to yourself, you could either spend some time looking up their bio to make sure you're not picking a fight with kid, then giving unsolicited, unwelcome crit to some ungrateful person and no one will ever thank you for it, worse still if they remember you as that strange mental case that picked an inconsequential fight with some noob.

Or you could go create art, pump out another promo post and actually get some actual return on your effort, heck doing practically anything else, even doing nothing, rather than engage in dialogue with someone like this seems like an action with better returns for your effort than giving crit at this point.

>> No.10158994

>>10158981
Considering you have to be an adult to participate in most Artist Alleys, this is probably an adult with kid-level skills. Which is fine and all, except they're trying to get people to give them money for it.

>> No.10159028

>>10158956

They must be very grateful for the lottery system.

>> No.10159055

>>10138311
I sent someone over for it and did pretty meh. I've also heard that behind the scenes they are a mess

>> No.10159493

>>10158994
I mean, if people want to throw money at crap then who are we to stop them? Hopefully what happens is they make a huge loss, have a bawwww and either give up (or look around them and develop some awareness of higher standards/better artwork). Unsolicited crit is often a waste of time because the recipient needs to be willing to improve and able to not flounce/take things personally before it is of any use to either party.

>> No.10159762

>>10158956
I wonder, do these people make more than 20 pity dollars per con?? Are they sponsored by their parents?

>> No.10159810

>>10159762
I knew a person who on their first time tabling only managed to sell a single sticker. Granted they were pretty upset about it and baww'd on social media for a while, but in the end still kept applying for more cons. I guess it's some sort of weird form of optimism after hearing succesful artists say they didn't do too well at their first con either, so they keep going in the hopes that maybe next time is when they'll strike gold? Then again the average person isn't that good at drawing, so maybe some attendees find those better than themselves still good enough to spend some money on? I really don't know but I'm super curious.

>> No.10159813

>>10159810
Did that person become motivated about improving themselves or did they just keep at it while learning nothing?

>> No.10159815

>>10159762
>Are they sponsored by their parents?
I know someone like that and yes. They are supported entirely by family who encourage them relentlessly.

>> No.10159868

>>10159813
I'm not sure since I'm no longer acquainted with them and never did pay that much attention to their art, but I do occassionally spot them at local AA guides listed as a seller so I assume they started doing better. I can't imagine anyone could be motivated to do AA for multiple years if they couldn't even break even.

>> No.10159907
File: 108 KB, 300x378, jasper charm1.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
10159907

could someone please critique this? I don't normally do chibiesque stuff.

>> No.10159944

>>10159868
> I can't imagine anyone could be motivated to do AA for multiple years if they couldn't even break even.

We have a local in my area whose art hasn't improved in the last 10 years, and their sales are below the break even point as well. They just table in AA for fun and don't care that they take a loss every time. I'm personally baffled that someone can draw as much as they do (substantial amount of new product every year) and still never improve. We're talking >>10154721 level.

>> No.10159948
File: 143 KB, 893x378, hair.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
10159948

>>10159907
my biggest issue is the hair looks lazy, pay attention to how the hair chunks and edges look

>> No.10159950

>>10159907
Any chance you could share what you usually make too? It would be easier to offer feedback when there's your "regular" skill level as a comparison point.

>> No.10159963

>>10159907
I hope this is a joke since we’ve been talking about how bad the art in AA has been recently.

>> No.10159969

>>10159963
Don't be a dick anon.

>> No.10160066

>>10159907
The arm on our right does not look good, consider removing the line attempting to accentuate her muscles and possibly the line indicating the forearm. It just doesn't look correct to have all those lines in it, even to indicate foreshortening.

Pointy and choppy hair is clashing with the curvey and more chibi-appropriate lines of the body, i understand that's what her hair looks like but maybe stylize the shape more, like, where the spikey bits are little tips on otherwise curved and rounded shapes. I just noticed someone already explained this with a visual aid though lol.

>>10159963
Don't be an asshole, it just needs polishing to work as a chibi, i don't think anon lacks competence.

>> No.10160211
File: 503 KB, 1280x1320, never use a messy recipe 1280.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
10160211

>>10159948
>>10160066
thank you! and for the redline, everything looks a lot better there. is there anything else i should look at?

>>10159950
sure!

>>10159963
lol

>> No.10160422

People have been getting waitlist confirmations for Fanime? I thought the emails will come out May 12th. I haven't received anything so I'm assuming I didn't make it.

>> No.10160461

How much do people generally sink into AX prep? First time splitting a table there this year and though I know it's $$$ in, it still hurts just a bit to look at my accounts right now.

>> No.10160463

>>10160211
Do you have anything less sketchy and more finished or polished?

>> No.10160510

>>10160461
Im predicted to probably spend around 20k this year

>> No.10160522

>>10160510
Are you exhibitor? I've never heard of costs that high, damn.

>> No.10160528

>>10160522
Yeah, exhibitor, only because all the AA tables sell stupid fast though.

>> No.10160556

>>10160510
Out of curiosity, what do you sell?

>> No.10160576

>>10160556
Unfortunately if I told you it might make it obvious who I am so I’m going to have to decline answering that.

>> No.10160604

>>10160461
Hard to say since I rarely if ever order for one specific con, ordering for AX can include things like fanime, otakon, etc. If i add up the costs for exactly what I sold last year the stock that sold cost me roughly ~2k, but since I didn't sell exactly everything i had last year my entire stock probably cost closer to 3k-3.5k. This does not include table costs, travel or hotel etc. (Since someone will probably ask, the 2k worth of stock ended up netting 18kish revenue)

>> No.10160613

>>10160556
Custom fandom dildos.

>> No.10160667

>>10160613
This got a chuckle out of me

>> No.10160840

>>10160613
I assume you're trolling, but considering the online popularity of anime themed toys aimed at men, I feel like there would be a huge market for fandom themed silicon toys in a similar vein for women. And I could easily see prep for that kind of stock costing $20K.

>> No.10160847

>>10160576
That's understandable, no worries. Mostly just curious if your merch has a high production cost and that's where the bulk of your expenses fall or if its pure, unadulterated quantity being pushed at AX.

>> No.10160901

>>10160840
i mean, how many variations of ‘generic dildo in fandom colors’ can you really see people buying? unlike anime tiddies most popular male characters don’t have canon dicks to replicate

>> No.10160929

>>10160901
I was trying to be classy by not going into specifics, buy I was actually referring to onaholes. They're glorified fleshlights that have no visible connection to the cute anime girl on the box. Dildos could be marketed not just with fandom colors, but as specific characters. It's stupid but people buy into things that extend their fantasy.

>> No.10161057

>>10160901
I mean, you could just cater to freaks in fandom and make homestuck, venom, pokemon etc weird ones - like a copyright infringing Bad Dragon

>> No.10161087

>>10160576
That's understandable, though I'm very interested just from curiosity's sake about some of the high end goods making their way into AA recently. I remember someone saying they sell custom/anime license plate holders a while back. Never would have expected it and it makes me wonder what sort of other high end things will pop up.

>> No.10161105

>>10161087
NAYRT, but many apparel-style artists would sink double digit ks into AX,as do artists who do a lot of those small character pillows that have been popping up recently. (factory produced) plushies and enamel pins would also fall into that 'prep spending' bracket, if they had enough of them.

>> No.10161135

Jfc looking at the exhibitor list for AX is like looking at a pissing contest of who can buy the most booths. For artists that gave up on AA and moved there, did you see any change in profit?

>> No.10161369

Anons, how trustworthy are Group Orders? Had any horror stories or do things usually go pretty smoothly? I'm iffy on the idea of letting a stranger handle my money and order my merch for me.

>> No.10161381

Is buying one of the $3,000 dollar half-page ads in the anime expo program worth it?
Was thinking maybe making it a mini-coupon possibly too.

>> No.10161385

Anyone seeing that twitch artist fiasco going down?

Never seen an anime artist that partakes in aa be blown up in mainstream entertainment before

>> No.10161392

>>10161385
Holy shit, what nasty personalities. If you're going to tear a beginner down, maybe don't do it so publicly where people can easily record and spread it later. The gf's weak apology was kinda funny to read directly after watching her clearly enjoy shit talking.

>> No.10161421

>>10161385
The gf was downright vile, but everyone jumping onto the bandwagon act like they’ve never shittalked another artist (Baylee Jae, Sakimichan) before.

>> No.10161425

>>10161385
Care to share deets?

>> No.10161443

>>10161425
Check bananabreaa’s Twitter, they posted a twitch clip of the harassment and more info. The person they’re shitting on even has a post on their twitter saying they’ve only been serious about art for a year.

>> No.10161447

>>10161421
There’s a big difference between privately bitching about people to friends and dogpiling with your fanbase on a public platform as if there aren’t going to be repercussions tho. Idk if you’re referring to specific big name artists doing that, sorry if I’m missing something

>> No.10161453

>>10161447
I agree, I think they fucked by streaming their shittalking and smearing the other artist’s name like that. But I see a lot of people virtue signalling about how they would never shittalk at all, and I find that pretty hypocritically when I’ve seen them vaguing other artists on their twitters before.

>> No.10161455

>>10161443
Oh damn, that's pathetic. How damn insecure do you have to be to shittalk someone on stream and try to find ways to justify them being more popular than you. The artist himself isn't even that special, just ridiculously up his own ass apparently with an edgy gf.

>> No.10161462

The two streamers were downright disgusting, especially the gf. And then the dude’s reaction at the end when he saw that banana clipped his stream “OMEGA LUL”. But the chat man...that’s what got me, as a fellow artist myself - seeing an artist with a fairly large following shittalk and egg on the toxic behavior was just disgusting. They literally looked down at the smaller artist and was making fun of their art. It was nauseating to watch. I followed and looked up to this artist as well. And this wasn’t just them getting caught up in the mob mentality, they’re actually friends/mutuals with the streamer. Birds of a feather i guess.

>> No.10161535

>>10161462
its so obvious that the gf is mega jealous/salty because she (neko) is actually cute, and they were talking about how only cute girls get views (and the gf was joking just before this about how she should be on cam instead of her bf)

>> No.10161553

I think it goes without saying that you don't have to like everyone, even if you have something in common, and pretty much every single person has shittalked someone they don't like with their friends or other peers. But that's not the same thing at all as trashing someone on a public stream, going through the effort of digging out their page to laugh at their art, and then claim all of their popularity is because they're a cute girl despite not being ~actually talented~ like the streamer himself apparently (who's actually mediocre at best).
Literally the only good thing to come out of this is the fact that since it's on video everyone can watch it and make their own judgement, but then again I genuinely don't know what other opinion is there other than the guy and his gf are both absolute cunts and talk way too big for the level they are.

>> No.10161618
File: 12 KB, 822x188, Screenshot_2019-05-02 DreamNekoTV Twitter Stats Summary Profile (Social Blade Twitter Statistics) - SocialBlade com.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
10161618

>>10161385
I wish I could get 10k twitter followers for being called autistic on a stream.
anyways, so which gull was that? I seriously doubt she doesn't browse this board, she matches it perfected.

>> No.10161635

>>10161462
>Giant half assed apology on twitter after career suicide

"I live for this" better become a meme.

>> No.10161660

>>10161385
His twitch account was just banned a few minutes ago.

>> No.10161671

>>10161421
I mean yea everyone has vented before, but desu baylee/sakimichan/etc. are people with massive followings and great success, and generally people vent to their friends in private to blow off steam, not.. live streaming to 100 people, about an artist you didn't even know existed 30 seconds ago, with LESS FOLLOWERS THAN YOU? What kind of freak talks this level of shit to someone who had significantly less followers than them??? IN PUBLIC!! It's just cruel and dumb. Super dumb for someone who was proud to but pre-med at UC berkeley as their bio lol

>> No.10161750

>>10161618
The artist was weeniedesu, she was in chat being a pos like the two streamers. It’s meming now because she was “LIVING FOR THIS” in chat when they were shittalking on neko

>> No.10161751

>>10161635
Honestly the replies to her shitty generic apology RIGHT AFTER she got caught is the funniest thing. The crap she said online about neko, i don’t even want know what she says in private about fellow artists.
The fact that she is actually is good friends with kuni and hana is very telling of what kind of person she is

>> No.10161771

>>10161618
neko jumped from 3k followers to 27k overnight. She's been given an estimate of at least 10k in donations/subs too.

Man if she didnt have a career before, she sure as fuck has one now.

>> No.10161819

Hana, the gf that was doing the main shit talking, ran from the backlash lmao. Deleted her Twitter instead of owning up to what she did. What a cunt. She's getting off too easily from this.

>> No.10161848

>>10161750
I love how she went on about how emote artists "have it easy" because they can just churn out whatever and it sells, when she herself makes her money drawing lewds.
>oh the ironing

>> No.10161935

>>10161819
At least she ain't pretending she's sorry and fucked off for good hopefully. The main dude should have followed suite. That 'apology" was an insult and waste of time.

>> No.10162086

>>10161819
is it petty that I hope the guy breaks up with her for ruining his image/getting his stream banned? lmao. Like what he said was horrible but it was mostly agreeing with the really nasty and vitriolic shit she said.

>> No.10162219

>>10161771
I don’t know about a career, but she has a following. She has all she needs to actually git gud now, but her 10 seconds of fame will probably be over and now she’ll probably be known as the “girl who got bullied and gained xx thousand followers”.

>> No.10162259

>>10162219
Yeah to be fair, she really is a bad artist, but didn't deserve to be publicly humiliated like that. Her emotes are decent but I don't really see her improving anytime soon, especially with the newly found hugbox around her.

>> No.10162286

>>10161369
I’ve only joined 3 GOs so far and had no problems. My biggest worry is the host taking my money and ghosting. So I would play it safe by always sending money as “goods & services” even if it means paying extra to cover the fees.

>> No.10162292

>>10162259
Who knows, maybe the new following and positive feedback will make her motivated to draw and improve more? Of course it's possible she'll just get complacent with the situation, but that's something you'll just have to wait and see.
But I genuinely don't know what the streamers expected to happen when they started trashing her. Maybe they thought that since she wasn't that good everyone would find it funny and agree with them? Even though amusingly enough the artists trashing her aren't exactly amazing either, just kind of average AA quality.

>> No.10162314

new thread >>10162313

>> No.10162486

>>10156483
Last year at one of the cons I sell at (animenext i believe) the convention had to talk to the fedex that shared the bulding and ask them to basically deny print on demand services for the weekend because of the amount of people taking pictures of artwork in the artist alley then taking it to get printed from thier device or sd card at the print station. This is the main reason I've seen people not allow photos. I make accessories I ask that people include a business card with any photos because I've had people take pics of my work then copy it. There are some super valid reasons to not want people to take pics of your art. If someone just wants to show a friend and may buy if said friend likes it then I've never seen someone say no to that just pop thier business card into the picture.

>> No.10162487

>>10162486
This, the reason some people forbid it is theft concerns (I used to not get it either, partly because in the past not everyone was carrying a high res camera around in their phone, so there must be some other reasons too?) I think a good workaround would be "please ask before photographing" sign, so you can intercede and make them get your info into it somehow/ prevent a photo that's just a closeup of a piece of art to reproduce it.

>> No.10163213

>>10162486
>>10162487
This might be shitty reasoning, and I don't judge others for not allowing photos, but the way I see it is that if they really wanted to steal my art to make their own poster then taking a photo is going to be way worse quality and way more effort than just taking it from my pixiv and shooting it through waifu2x a few times. The sales I've made from people taking pics of my art for their friends and coming back to purchase it definitely make it worthwhile for me.