Artist Alley Thread

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.6434236]

Last Thread is Autosaging. >>6389732
Share your tips, tricks, suggestions, ideas, and experiences! Show off your wares and stock.

A good guide for newbies, or people that just want a refresher;
>http://www.artistalleysurvivalguide.com/

[Anonymous No.6434398]

Aww yes, new thread.

Does anyone have any Artist Alley horror stories to share? I know we often share con horror stories but as someone who usually stays at her table, I'm kind of curious about other artists' experiences.

[Anonymous No.6434648]

>>6434398
Creepers!
I'vve had a stalker that bothers me at multiple conventions I go to. I've outright rejected him but he is still very persistent :T
oh and some chick shook my display until it fell. It was so embarrasing and the girl ran off ( and took some buttons w/o paying) not even saying sorry/helping me put it back up. but everyone(artists and patrons) around me was so nice and helped ; v;<3!!

[Anonymous No.6434760]

>>6434398
I don't think there's much that's happened to me that's artist-alley-specific. If anything awkward happens to me at a con, it's usually when I leave the table, and I've fortunately never had too many problems with con organisation/staff either.

The biggest problem I've had has just been disrespectful customers, especially those looking at the tables to either side of me. I've had people dump their bags and stuff on my table whilst looking at stuff next to me, blocking up the aisle when they're not even looking at anything so customers can't get at any of the tables... stuff like that.

[Anonymous No.6434767]

>>6434236

this picture made me lol so hard.

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.6434885]

>>6434760
>I've had people dump their bags and stuff on my table whilst looking at stuff next to me.
This. I despise this so much, I can't even begin to describe it. I've started taking up more of the frontal area of my table on each side for the pure purpose of not leaving these people any space to do so.

>>6434398
I'd say the only actual 'horror' stories are people that give you disturbing commissions, and won't stop persisting even after you tell them no.
Hm, but I did have this one partner that kept letting someone else take my seat while I was gone, even to just go to the bathroom or something, and when I would come back, they wouldn't get out of my seat, whining about how much their feet hurt or some other shit. It looked really bad, because she wasn't selling or anything, just sitting there talking the partner, who told me to loosen up. I had to threaten to call security several times because she didn't have a vendors badge on. Granted, I never worked with that "friend" again.

[PantaHero !AOu1OuhlcI No.6435407]

So I've been thinking of maybe trying out running an AA both.
I don't know how to sew/knit, and I'm not best artist either.

I was thinking of selling other various things like short stories, vocal/drama CDs, EP's, and/or skin decals.

Anyone think they might be able to sell?

[Anonymous No.6435437]

>>6434398
Once a hambeast chick tried to kawaii desu her way to a discount. When I didn't give it to her, she started to throw a tantrum. My friend had to come over to my table to tell her to fuck off since I was too afraid to do so myself.

[Anonymous No.6435519]

How bad would it be selling things like this? Should I just stick to symbols and vague abstract reiterations of fandomy things?

And nope, I can't draw... Unless it's abstract, then I can manage. I suppose....

[Anonymous No.6435576]

>>6435519
Most artist alleys stipulate all art has to be your own. So check your cons rules, but be prepared that it probably won't be allowed.

[Anonymous No.6435597]

>>6435519

Ah thanks. I've got other ideas anyways. I figured this would be crossing the line, so I'm currently brainstorming other ideas.

[Anonymous No.6435605]

>>6435576

Ah thanks. I've got other ideas anyways. I figured this would be crossing the line, so it definitely wasn't going to feature heavily or anything.

[Anonymous No.6435690]

>>6434648
did you at least tell security?

[Anonymous No.6435853]

My last AA, there was a mega dirty hyperly obese dude in a 'kawaii neko' kigurumi who kept coming over to talk to me like we were old friends. He'd waddle over, look at me awkwardly for a moment while doing that fat-person-who-can't-breathe panting kind of noise, ramble on about how he just ate the best nachos ever at the hotel restaurant and "it was so cheap too!", and then walk away before I could even respond. He came back to do that about seventeen times through the whole con to just...Keep me updated I guess? I never got his real name so I call him Meowmers. He was weird as shit.

[Anonymous No.6436301]

>>6434885
Oh my god I hate it when the "friends" you table with end up being super shitty tablemates. I just don't understand how some people are so terrible at managing their money and appealing to customers.

[Anonymous No.6436353]

>>6436301
Ugh, I've had my share of bad tablemates myself.
>table with someone who refused to actually engage with customers, only looked down at her laptop the whole time, ignored people who were interested, then later complained she sold nothing.
>Another con, buy 2 tables for the 4 of us. Me and my partner have one table, these two shitty tablemates have the other. They both leave twice for 5-6 hours, forcing me to sell their stuff, when I confront them the second time (the first time I said that wasn't cool, second time I threaten to not sell their crap) they throw shitfit. Thereafter don't engage customers on that table, only when they're looking at me and my other partner's table. They complain they sold nothing, say it was my fault wtf.
>Another tablemate once spread out all of her stuff and effectively would cockblock customers from my wares, instead shoving her own in their face, and when I told her to quit it would laugh and say they were interested more in her stuff anyway.
>Another con had someone who literally drew a line on the table and threw a shitfit when a plush had crossed the line because someone had put it down improperly, didn't even touch her own shit. Ugh.
>At my first con, splitting table, running late because traffic was extraordinarily bad, get to con, girl had spread her stuff for the ENTIRE table saying because I was late for the first day she deserved more space. Only gave me a quarter of a space thereafter until I started nudging her shit around to make room.
>Now only table with myself or one other person who I actually trust because she doesn't leave for hours at a time, is polite and can sell shit.

[Anonymous No.6436360]

>>6436353
Even worse though, is tabling with someone who's stuff is embarrassingly bad. Like, no effort made, obviously only worked on everything in a rush last week when they remembered the con and then later get buttmad that their stuff didn't sell but yours did because you had spent at least 8-10 hours a week for four months working on stuff.

[Anonymous No.6436589]

My Artist Alley petpeeve is when a customer is just about to buy something, like reaching for their wallet about to buy something, and their friend/boyfriend pulls them away "look at this table!/omg they have this" and boom they are gone.

[Enver !!52WOxLC+CKW No.6436602]

Are there any specific obstacles to overcome as a first timer? I might be making my AA debut next year but I'll be sharing with someone.
Which types of cons are best for AA?

[Anonymous No.6436608]

>>6436602
Make sure you share with someone you know relatively well.

[Anonymous No.6436626]

>>6435690
no, both events happened pretty fast and the convention security is laughable. I do know a lot of people in the local artist alley so I feel relatively safe.

[Enver !!52WOxLC+CKW No.6436627]

>>6436608
Luckily I do know her well and she's a veteran of AA

[Anonymous No.6436628]

>>6434398

More from the customer's side, but hey, it's still relevant:

>At an AA table, checking out an artist's work
>Trying to choose what to buy out of a few necklaces
>Try to put one back that I wasn't getting
>The whole stand topples over onto the table
>Apologise profusely and offer to pay for any damages
>Buy what I wanted
>Get the hell out of there

This is why I can't have nice things

[Anonymous No.6436634]

On two separate occasions I've bought "stickers" that weren't actually printed on sticker paper. I'm sure this thread was more about artist whining, but it still rustles my jimmies. Especially since I'm the kind of person who shows up to cons with plenty of spending money and walks out with most of it because of crap like this.

[Enver !!52WOxLC+CKW No.6436643]

I know there are some cons that have strict rules on copyright and even mixing buttons/charms with prints on your table. Does anyone have info on those kind of prohibitions at canadian/northeast cons?


>>6436634
yeah I've bought those too actually. I kind of understand, as sticker paper is more expensive then glossy stock but the characters were cut out to look like stickers so it was confusing.

[Anonymous No.6436647]

>>6436643

On both occasions they were actually labeled as stickers, and one even had the artist's logo printed on the back of some relatively thick paper to make it seem like it was a sticker. I kept thinking I was just grabbing it at a wrong layer and ended up screwing it all up.

[Anonymous No.6436841]

>>6436643
I recently look at the AA rules for Anime North and they have two things set up: Comic Market and Crafter's Corner. Comic Market only allows prints and buttons and Crafter's Corner allows charms, jewellry, plushies etc. I've never been to AN, I've just read this from the website, and if this is really strict it's disappointing because if I would ever do an AA table, I would want to sell both. :( I wonder what people with mixed merchandise have to do? Buy two tables? Seems like a dick move on the con's part...anyway, it's all on their web site.

[Anonymous No.6436877]

>>6436589
A guilty confession of mine is that I usually share with people that are worst artists then me, so when they come up to the table, they tend to lean more on my side.
Of course, if they're so horrendous no one wants to stop by, that's a different story.

[Anonymous No.6436880]

>mfw adorable looking booth and goodies for sale, but the person selling it looks like they're hung over and creepy as fuck.

Why would you put all that work and effort into your shop and then show up looking like THAT?

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.6436884]

>>6436634
>>6436647
Actually, there was this one time that I sold stickers, using a sticker machine, and I had done them all rushed the hour before. When I got home, I realized that it was pretty much impossible to take off without ripping the sticker itself, and pretty much appeared to be like just a printed chibi. I felt awful. Since then, I've always made the back a bit larger then the front, to make sure it can be peeled off.

On that note, what's a good place to get stickers done that don't have an extremely high minimum?

[Anonymous No.6437450]

>>6436602
Go with someone you know and trust, who isn't afraid to be social.
I share tables with a friend. She's very good at business and I'm good at recognizing costumes so we usually do a tag-team thing where I say 'Oh wow, you're -character- from -anime/game/webcomic-, that's so cute!' and then she'll chime in and we'll strike conversation with a person who would otherwise have just walked right on by. It works to your advantage if you're friendly and open, just don't overdo it. Take notice of some part of their costume, or a keychain or necklace they might be wearing when they come up, and give them a small compliment just to appear friendly. This is also good for deterring shop lifters. They'll notice that you're attentive and they'll be less likely to try to swipe something.

[Anonymous No.6437465]

I'm thinking about selling prints in the AA next con I go to. I like drawing realism versions of anime/game characters. Which sell the best/are you most likely to buy? I'm thinking vocaloid and madoka characters, any suggestions?

[Anonymous No.6437472]

>>6436880
you spend more than 10 minutes with the average person browsing and you try not to look bad

[Anonymous No.6438077]

>>6436360
Ahaha. Oh man, anon. I know that feel.

>table next to newbie friend
>she's sharing tables with another friend
>make a lot of money because I've been doing this for a while
>she doesn't because she didn't appeal to customer base
>worked on everything like the week before
>disregards all advice
>prints way more than she needs for a small con
>"wah i'm not making enough money"

She basically ignored all the advice I gave her and then complained the entire weekend about how upset she was that she wasn't making money. Her tablemate was getting a couple of commissions so she started copying like the commission style and putting out examples to get more customers herself and she used her tablemate's pens and markers without permission to do said commissions. She was just all around super terrible and didn't even pay for her half of the table because ~she didn't break even~. She let one of her other friends sell stickers at her table and never gave them their share of the money because ~omg guys im tight on money i want to break even~

Lesson learned, none of us are going to table with that chick ever again.

[Anonymous No.6438094]

>>6437465
This honestly really depends on your skill and style. I'm not sure how well realism would do at an anime con. Just draw what you love and you'll probably make money.

[Anonymous No.6438311]

Hey CGL, what are the best ways/methods for going about making phone charms?

[Anonymous No.6438374]

>>6438311

Depends what your charms are made of. What are you planning to make them out of?

[Anonymous No.6438405]

>>6438374
I did a quick search, and I was planning on a material that's something like this:
>http://neondragon.deviantart.com/art/Phone-Charm-Sleepy-Fox-146465496
I'm just...not entirely sure what the material actually is? I like the look of it, though.

[Anonymous No.6438493]

Last time I did Artist Alley (for the first time), I had a basket full of plushies for sale, among them a Creeper cube. Some girl picked it up, exclaimed how cute it was, RUBBED IT ON HER FACE TO CUDDLE IT, and then put it back and walk away.

[Anonymous No.6438505]

>>6438493

Now, I can understand that habit, but a lot of people don't realize how off-putting that is.

Not AA related, but I've worked part time at a local theater for about three years now. Needless to say, I've seen a lot of people come and go.

THIS ONE FUCKING GUY who started when I did had this habit where he would put the rim of a cup around his chin and mouth. It's hard to describe, but you know, he'd just pop that thing on his face.

He worked with food. And he put that thing on his acne-riddled face. In front of a customer he just asked what soda they want.

Luckily for us, the customer paid no attention to it and his ass was sent to usher's duty faster than his feet could hit the ground.

He was later fired for no-showing two days in a row.

The end.

[Anonymous No.6438532]

Gonna post bead stuff since the archived thread on beaded things had dead links to the beaded pokemon stuff. Also it never hurts to have a few extra ideas.

https://picasaweb.google.com/100827596324319944777/RevistaBEADDIY753#

Also, question - would people care about the quality of the materials used to make it? Like, let's say I didn't use Swarovski for the beads, but rather the chinese crystal. I wouldn't be underestimating the taste of congoers to assume they wouldn't care, right?

[Anonymous No.6438553]

>>6436589
I can't believe people do this! Ugh, it happens to me all the time. And people will literally drag their girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse away and never return. I've had people even give my table this nasty look and say "no, let's go over THERE" like my wares weren't good enough. It's amazingly rude.

I also find it obnoxious when people will stare at my stuff for a really long time, ask me a price, and then be like "oh be back later" and never return. I would honestly rather hear a "Oh okay, that's out of my range" than that, because usually that's what they mean. But yet, I still fall for it and sometimes even try to keep an item to the side in case they return because I legit want people to have what they want.

I'm a plush and pillow crafter, so I can understand my stuff isn't cheap. I do have some small stuff for the poor/frugal crowd, but I fucking understand.

Sidenote stupid story: One time this little kid wanted a pikachu pillow I made, and got really excited. It was near the end of the con and he REALLY wanted it, so I told him ten bucks. He asks his mom, and his mom goes "what the hell can you do with a pillow?"
He replied "Uh, sleep on it?"
I was like, bitch are you serious? You have a handful of prints, but a pillow is the one you question the useability of?

[Anonymous No.6438565]

>>6438493
I know that feel. I once was selling pokeball pillows, and a girl that had lipstick on her face rubbed her face all over it because it was so ka-wah-ee desoo. I never felt so mad. It's always the young weeb crowd too. Or a little kid with snot running down its nose with grubby hands from eating. I've also had kids grab my stuff and run away. Always had the parent return it apologizing, but it still rather irks me. Then again, not a child person.

>>6438077
I have a friend like that. I told her to appeal to her demographic when she failed the first time. Immediately she got so angry, saying something like "I won't change for THEM! My stuff will sell ELSEWHERE." And uh, never did. I mean, she fucking brought candles to a convention. Candles. Not geek/anime/whatever candles. Just rose-shaped candles. All of my what. Then again, she's always complaining she has absolutely no time, and when I told her to just try to dedicate a few weekends in the next four months to make something, she got really pissy. I mean, crafting is my business, so I put a lot of my time into it and I feel like if you want to make money, you have to put some effort into your wares. And then she said she needed to do something in three steps or less because of her lack of time. Bitch please, if you can make something in 3 easy steps, no one will buy it because they can fucking do it at home! It's ridiculous. She also brought stuff she made like 2 years ago that still hasn't sold and random crap from her cosplays and garage to sell, and gets irritated when no one wants her cast-offs. People man. People. I just. What.

[Anonymous No.6438590]

>>6438532
Not sure about the Chinese ones, but glass found in craft stores can be asymmetrical and look a little weird when strung together.
Swarovsky are more exact and have a nicer luster, IMO. But they can be kinda expensive...

[Anonymous No.6438670]

>>6438405
http://cheshirepanda.deviantart.com/art/CPs-Plastic-Charm-Tutorial-134347327
Something like that?

[Anonymous No.6438732]

btdub
The owner of that booth from the OP is really sweet and an amazing lolita. I would assume that when this picture was taken she was probably doing a panel or an event. I know her pretty well and would say that she's never away from her booth unless she has to be, so this dude was probably just manning it for a short time. /Just saying

[Anonymous No.6438806]

>>6438565
Yeah, I just don't understand people sometimes. I TRIED to give her advice about how many to print/what to focus on but she'd brush it off with "oh, well it doesn't cost that much to print this" or "if I sell one, I'll make back most of it so I can print this many". She ignored everything I said about pandering to the audience and refused to do MLP stuff even though she likes and draws MLP shit because ~she didn't want to stoop that low~ and cater to bronies. Tough luck, toots. Bronies drop a shitton of cash on things so it's your loss.

[Anonymous No.6438813]

>>6438806
What I don't get is how she acts like I'm telling her to sacrifice her integrity by adapting to her audience. I'm not saying that she should just do what everyone else is doing or even change her style or whatever, but just make a few things people like, it doesn't have to be all her stock. Heaven forbid she do anything the customer wants.

I also don't understand that she seems to think that people should buy things that aren't good. She has even told me she doesn't care about the customer and will put anything on the table, because if it sells for even a buck that's good because customers are stupid. (she also overprices considerably. And this is coming from a plushie maker. My stuff isn't cheap.) I just can't do that. If something of mine looked horrendous or was made terribly, I couldn't put it on display because I want my customers happy dammit. I don't want them to tell their friends my shit fell apart within a day.

Not to say all customers are saints and I have seen people buy some seriously dumb shit, but I still think it's a pretty awful mentality.

[Anonymous No.6438816]

>>6438806
I really don't get why people refuse to make money off shit they obviously can. I mean, okay, if it's something against your moral values, then I get it. But if it's just a fandom, even one you don't like, there really isn't much harm there. I typically believe in drawing what you like as it shows in the drawing, but it doesn't hurt to hit something popular either so that you have some security in going to the con.

[Anonymous No.6438819]

>>6438813
Oh my god, anon. How are you even friends with this person?

And yeah, I don't understand why it's so bad to cater to an audience and draw things people might actually consider buying. What's so wrong with that?

The person I'm talking about did the overpricing thing as well. She tried to price her things the same as me and a couple of other more experience AA artists and was surprised that her things weren't selling. Use your head! Lower your prices if you have to! And the most hilarious part was that instead of lowering her print prices (which is what she probably should have done) - she lowered her commission prices to like $2 which was ridiculous. She got visibly upset and angry with me when I told her that $2 was too low and that she was selling herself short and told me it was my fault for not telling her how to price them.

I don't understand where her entitlement is coming from when she ignored every other piece of advice I gave her.

[Anonymous No.6438825]

>>6438816
That's what I tried to tell her. And she fucking likes MLP and draws MLP so it was dumb that she refused to make MLP merch when she's already a part of the fandom. The way she looked at the bronies as somehow ~beneath~ her really put me off. Yeah some of them can be really creepy but holy shit you also like the same show and you could have made money from said show!

[Anonymous No.6438840]

>>6438819
in all honesty... not really...sure anymore. Probably in the same way you're still friends with that other girl, and yet are incredibly frustrated by her antics. I just don't table with her anymore, and whenever she complains about her stuff I just either reiterate what I said or ignore her. Some people just can be dense and won't get it until something really shakes them up. Unfortunately, she started making cheap foam stuff that for some reason sells, so she's not learning her lesson any time soon.

>>6438825
sorry, I was the same anon. I'm just dumb and accidentally spread out the message. That's pretty sad, actually. Everyone can agree that their are creepers in any fandom, but that doesn't mean you're somehow better than ALL of it. And if you like it and it will sell that's..that's just.... I only can make this >:[ face. It's not like you told her to do ponyporn or something! What's the worse that'll happen? A weird looking person...will....get this. Give. You. Money. You might have to look at them for five seconds. Maybe awkward conversation. The horror. And if they asked her for that, she could just say no. Jesus.

[Anonymous No.6438845]

>>6438840
Yeah, man. People can be difficult. I ended up having a falling out with the person in question due to other drama but at least now I don't have to put up with her for AAs. She just generally did not hold up her end of the stick when we were doing group orders for prints and things like that so I think all of my artist friends are a little relieved.

I hope shit works out with your person! She'll grow up sometime or you'll grow apart from her. Either way, things will get easier for you. It's good that you don't table with her anymore, I think. Save yourself the trouble, fellow seagull! Artist alleys can be stressful enough as it is.

[Anonymous No.6438895]

>>6438845
I think I pretty much just grew out of the friendship. Immaturity just isn't worth it. Thanks for your kind words, I hope you great success in your future AA endeavors!

[Anonymous No.6438903]

>>6438845
And I'm sorry about your own drama. Hopefully now though, since it happened, we both'll understand the warning signs and not have to deal with it again.

sage because scattered brain and need to stop bumping thread

[Anonymous No.6439166]

Anyone know of a good place to get doll joints for plushies? The Joanns by my house doesn't have any.

[Kitsu !!cfRjZvpoGLz No.6440146]

>>6439166
A friend uses those 2part doll eyes for joints. Depending on the size you're going for it might work.

[Anonymous No.6440449]

>>6438493
Ugh that's awful. I had this one girl standing at my table poking at my last cat plushie. Poking at it, picking it up, putting it down, more poking, mewing... she didn't rub her face at it but it was really awkward.

[Tim No.6440560]

>>6438405
Yeah, this looks like a shrinky-dink. I've been thinking about getting into some of those myself because I kinda like the looks on them too (for some reason, I like them a little more than the professionally-done ones haha) although I imagine they might yellow after a while, or might be more brittle than laser-cut charms.

I think it's like $10~$15 for a pack of 10 sheets of printable shrinky-dink paper. Also keep in mind that you have to print your charms at about 2x the size and 50% the opacity of the actual charm since it, well, shrinks. I don't think it ends up being the most economic way of making charms, but if you like them, I'd say just go for them.

[Kitsu !!cfRjZvpoGLz No.6440833]

>>6438565
Have to say, kinda a recent horror moment at AUSA, I did this to myself. I was cosplaying a character with a beard. Because I left my makeup kit at Nekocon I was using someone else's and they didn't have a setting spray so it was pretty much wet the entire time it was on. A girl is interested in an octopus and hands it to me and I go to fiddle with the fluff and make it so it perches better on the head and just brush it against my chin much to the girl and my own horror. Luckily it came off after I wiped it with a wet ones but I still gave her $5 off it since it now smelled of wet ones and was slightly more pilled in that area.

>>6440560
Dick Blick sells another shrink film thats actually not too bad.
http://www.dickblick.com/products/grafix-shrink-films/

[Anonymous No.6441330]

Does anyone have a good acrylic cutting and supply place? I really want to make acrylic jewelry but I have no idea where to take my illustrations.

[Anonymous No.6442929]

bump

[Anonymous No.6442966]

Customer story here.

>First con
>Somewhere around 14 years old
>Looking at a poster, hold with intention of buying it
>Get distracted and walk off
>Four hours later, realize I never paid and stole it.
>Frantically go back and explain, and pay for it.
>mfw the guys selling were nice and understood completely with no hard feelings

[Anonymous No.6443071]

>>6438825
As someone who has been to and sold at BroNYCon, she's being a dipshit. Bronies are nice enough and enjoy spending their money. She's missing out majorly, especially if it's stuff she might /enjoy/ making.

I remember in a previous thread someone put up a tut for making charms with embossing powder? Has anyone tried it?

[Anonymous No.6443090]

>>6442966
Ugh, I've done this before. With smaller things only (like jewelry or a hat). Several times in my life I've just walked out of a store and realized a few blocks away that I'm wearing what I had only meant to try on! But when I've run back to explain, people have been nothing but nice. They know if you've bothered to return you had no intention of stealing, most people can be really sweet.

[Anonymous No.6443119]

What kind of MLP art do you think sells the best? OTHER than porn and furry shit, of course. I've seen about a billion and one chibi pony renditions, not sure if I want to compete with artists like Celesse on that. Is gijinka art a bigger seller than actual ponies? Also did some Korra drawings recently, how do you think those would sell?

Pic related, a Korra drawing I'm working on

[Tim No.6443186]

>>6443071
Bronies are often, hands-down, the nicest and most generous customers. Maybe they have Asperger's or whatever else but their enthusiasm is so sincere and pure that it's always a pleasure to talk to them. For the most part, all of my interactions with bronies have been overwhelmingly positive.

Except for that one guy who bought one of my gijinka prints and came back later to return it because he wanted pictures of the actual ponies, not humanized ones. I wasn't mad, since it was a tiny print, but it was definitely a wtf moment for me. Like it's not obvious that this is not, in fact, a pony but a human? Okay bruh.

[Tim No.6443201]

>>6443119
While the market for MLP and Korra to a certain extent is definitely oversaturated, the competition is healthy and because the fans are so devoted, regardless of what you decide to draw, someone will buy it. The nice thing is that they'll buy it not only for the fandom but because it appeals to them personally. There are 9001 MLP prints, renditions, gijinkas, whatever else but there will always be someone who likes your stuff the best.

My regular table partner and I both have Korra prints, but both of them do well because they appeal to different people differently. Sometimes people will actually pick up both of them because they like both, and then everyone wins. It's this wonderful happy medium of doing something popular enough to make money in a way that makes you happy in turn. It gives you a chance to be self-indulgent with how you draw things.

Your Korra is beautiful, so I'm sure it'll do great with fans.

[Anonymous No.6443257]

Did anyone get in AOD AA?

Five of my friends and me signed up and we got nothing, this is extremely frustrating.

[Tim No.6443276]

>>6443257
lmfao oops I forgot to reg for that con. Yeah they can be a bit annoying with keeping people updated, but they'll get around to it. Scott's a good guy and tries his best.

Ah well. It's a super chill atmosphere but not too profitable for me. Definitely hope you get in, though. Best of luck!

[Anonymous No.6443479]

>>6443119
I personally don't have any experience but I've had friends do well with both gijinka and chibi pony drawings. As Tim said, MLP and Korra are both popular enough that someone will buy it if you make a print!

Your lineart is super gorgeous. Do you have a tumblr or anything like that?

[Anonymous No.6443501]

>>6443071
Yeah, I've met a lot of friendly bronies too! I think she's realized now what a mistake she's made because one of her friends made a bit of cash doing MLP stickers. But oh well, it's not something I need to worry about anymore.

>>6443186
Haha, how did that even happen? Did he buy the print without looking at it or something?

[Anonymous No.6443721]

>>6443201
Awesome! Definitely sounding positive for me, then, since I have to stick to mainstream stuff to move product (doing AA at a relatively small con). I'm curious, would you mind linking to your art tumblr or deviantart? If you don't want to that's okay!

[Anonymous No.6443730]

>>6443479
I do have a tumblr but I rarely post art on it. I draw a lot but am too lazy to scan and finish them most of the time, and school gets in the way (I do 3D art so drawing kind of gets pushed to the side)

[Tim No.6443754]

>>6443501
I... I just don't know. I mean he was pretty socially awkward to begin with and seemed to be debating on buying it for a while but I mean. I DUNNO it was pretty obvious that it was not a pony at all? Weird. But also probably the closest I've come to for a "con horror story" so I'll count my blessings haha.

>>6443721
Yeah! t1mco on both Deviantart and tumblr. Tumblr has more of the shitposts and general doodles, sketches, etc. while my DA has more polished things or pictures I have available as prints.

[Anonymous No.6443867]

>>6443754
>Regular Show humanized
Holy shit this is the best human rendition of the gang that I've seen.

>Earthbound fanart

You are fucking awesome. Definitely following your tumblr since I'm never active on DA

[Tim No.6443924]

>>6443867
Haha thanks! Those two are easily some of the ones I have the most fun selling. EB fans in particular are the tits. Hopefully by con season next year I'll have a few more of the kids in different cities/towns!

Oh, that reminds me, semi-horror story
>At a con
>A beautiful, exquisitely dressed man comes by and likes my EB print. Says he'll come back later
>Smile and wave him off. Most likely not going to come back, it's whatever
>He comes back
>Shit bricks
>My god he's beautiful
>I swear to christ his eyes are like freshly fallen fragments of ice from alaska's purest glaciers
>that impeccable bone structure
>perfectly tailored blazer
>I'm weeping from his radiant beauty
>He hands me his credit card for two prints
>With slowly trembling hands I try to bring up square app on phone
>Phone freezes
>Suddenly spaghetti starts spewing out of my phone and my pockets
>fumble his card and mutter apologies as the spaghetti flows.
>My god how it flows. Almost as hard and fast as my tears of humiliation
>I fight my shame to meet his crystalline eyes and as our gazes meet, in a divine wintery bluster the spaghetti is gone, the transaction is completed, and like the first beautiful snowflake of winter he melts away into the air
A story I will tell my children for generations

[Anonymous No.6444104]

>>6439166
http://www.etsy.com/shop/6060

[Anonymous No.6444987]

>>6440146
>>6444104

Thanks to the both of you!

[Anonymous No.6445192]

>>6435407
On the opposite end of this spectrum, I love sewing and want to know what would be good to sell at a con.
I'm up for plushies and pillows but tbh I was never a fan of those fleece/animal hats.

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.6445209]

I'm definitely not a plushie person, but considering the popularity of "Kawaii-desu~" things, if I added eyes, made these smaller, and put them on keychains, do you think they'd sell at a low price? Or maybe something to give away if they buy a certain amount of prints?

[Anonymous No.6445215]

I'm definitely not a plushie person, but considering the popularity of "Kawaii-desu~" things, if I added eyes, made these smaller, and put them on keychains, do you think they'd sell at a low price? Or maybe something to give away if they buy a certain amount of prints?

[Anonymous No.6445260]

hey guys, may i ask what your average profit margin is at a small con? a % is fine. I'm really interested in tabling at a local con (with small crafts like jewelry, pins, phone charms), but I'm wondering if the potential profit is worth the time I'd need to invest.

[Anonymous No.6445266]

>>6445215
tiny octopus plushies are ALWAYS popular, and things with mustaches are too. So yes, that would sell.

Just bear in mind the tiny octopus is something alot of people usually sell

[Anonymous No.6445274]

>>6445266
Well, I've never seen any in the alleys around here; I wouldn't be so curious about the sellability if there were.

[Anonymous No.6445294]

>>6445274
really? All conventions ive been to have sold shitloads of these little octopi.

But im saying go for it, people love cute items in general!

[Anonymous No.6445363]

>>6445260
Hmm, I don't know how small you're talking about but for ALA and AM2 I generally spend something like $200 for hotel/reg/prints and make like $400~$700 depending on the con. So it's about a $200~$500 profit. Sorry there's such a large gap, I just tend to do well some years and not so well some other years.

[Anonymous No.6445382]

>>6443754
Maybe he was buying it for a friend or something along those lines??

[Anonymous No.6445434]

Question from a buyer:

What is the best way to tell someone you've commissioned that the work that was made for you is not up to standards with the works they displayed as examples?

[Anonymous No.6445455]

>>6445434
As a non-artist, I think buyers should be aware there's going to be a gap between quality of art they're selling as prints and what you get as a at-con commission. They had days to perfect their prints but time is much more restricted for at-con commissions. Though if what they gave you looks like absolute crap and their art for sale is way better, I'd definitely bring it up and tell them that the quality seems a bit off from the rest of their work and while you understand the time restraints or not having all of their usual equipment, you were hoping to have something that looked more like the art they're displaying.

[Anonymous No.6445464]

My artist alley horror story
>first, time, just kind of tagging along with a friend and her friend who I don't know
>friend of friend bring old lady super aspie sonic fan relative of some sort
>She bothers/hits on my boyfriend
>Later in the con I'm getting a lot of commissions, I'd made a super cute sign with prices/examples
>Friend of a friend FLIPS OUT at me "If you get a commission you need to tell them I'm offering commissions too omg"
>okay then make a sign saying you are.
>Whole weekend I only brought stickers and commission signs, make more money than friend and friend of friend.
>not really a horror story after all.

[Tim No.6445465]

>>6445363
This is about the same for me, although I do much better at ALA than I do other small cons (ALA I tend to make around 500< profit while other local cons tend to bring in around 200ish). I use small cons to clear out remaining inventory from the main con season, though, so I don't prep much or make much because of that.

>>6445382
One of the VA's from the show was there and I think he wanted something to get signed. I suppose he could've bought it for a friend, but he told me that "he" was looking for ponies in particular, not gijinkas. SHRUG.

>>6445434
This is usually inevitable since we have less time or focus on commissioned pieces than examples that we probably do in a free time/at our leisure, but if you really want to make sure that your commission comes out the way you want it, check back frequently or tell the artist upfront that you want to be able to check stages (sketch, inking, coloring, etc.) as they work on it. It's frustrating for both the artist and commissioner to end up producing/receiving a mediocre product AFTER the drawing has been completed, so it's better to invest that time early on to ensure a satisfactory product at the end. If it's past the fact, the only thing you can do is suck it up and remember to not commission them again. In some cases, maybe you can get a second or third eye to affirm that what you've received is a piece of shit and demand your money back, but I would only use that in really extreme cases.

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.6445483]

>>6445260
Between 1000-3000 attendees, I usually average about a $300-$400 dollar profit.

[Anonymous No.6445499]

>>6445455
>>6445465

Of course it wont be up par with prints and digital works, I was more talking about when comparing it to examples of commission works.

To go into more specifics, I was commissioning an artist for a fanart of a cute character because it seemed to be in their style, and what I received was pretty much a mashup of two pieces of official work, I didn't say anything at the time.

But yes, checking up on their progress seems to be a good idea in the future.

[Tim No.6445515]

>>6445499
Yeah, that sounds pretty problematic. THe examples are what artists should strive for, so if you've been burnt like that in the past, just say you want it drawn in the style of their example or even one of their prints or something if you like how a particular character or thing was drawn. It's still their style. It seems redundant, but it'll make things clear. As long as you're assertive about it, it's cool. Unless the artist has a massively inflated ego or a chip off their shoulder, they'll prefer it when commissioners are assertive and explicit about what they want rather than soft and suggestive.

On that note, let me just say that I've taken a couple of relatively "fetishy" commissions in the past, and the commissioners have usually been pretty upfront about what they want regardless of the subject matter. It's weird at first,but in the end, they also tend to be really appreciative when you take their suggestions to heart and incorporate it into your drawings.

[Anonymous No.6445566]

>>6445260
I'm a plush crafter, so I'm not sure if I count. But I generally pull in around $500-1k at a small con, depending on how on the money I was for what was popular. I tend to spend $100 on supplies + cost of table. I rarely hotel at cons and go to the ones only around me, so my profit margin tends to be higher than cost by a lot.

[Kitsu !!cfRjZvpoGLz No.6446964]

>>6445215
The idea is a solid one and they do do well, but I will say there are 3-4 artists who are doing similar things, not including myself. If you decide to go this route I strongly suggest adjusting your designs to make them stand apart from those others who are also doing octopus designs.

[Tim No.6446973]

>>6445215
Do you know what this guy reminds me of? You know those cottonball things with the mustaches from Madoka? I wanna say they came out with Charlotte but I can't remember. Yeah, anyway, that would be cute.

[Anonymous No.6447029]

>>6446973
They're called Anthony/Anthonies and they're the familiar of the first witch. (Gertrude, I think, the garden/butterfly one)

And they would make a really cute sellable plush. Charlotte in both her forms, too.

[Tim No.6447044]

>>6447029
Especially considering how popular mustaches are right now? Definitely. Fuck, mustaches are basically the new :3 face on everything so even people who aren't familiar with the series might be interested

[Anonymous No.6447062]

>>6446973
>>6447029
Are you guys talking about this?
I've never seen the show, but my friend just linked this to me yesterday.

[Anonymous No.6447086]

I am really good at drawing sexy women/pinups.
Does that stuff sell?
Also how lewd is TOO LEWD?

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.6447133]

>>6447086
Depends on what kind of con you're aiming to sell at. I generally find pin-up style art doing a lot better at say, a comic book convention then an anime convention.
Also, as long as your R-18 stuff follows the guidelines that they give you (some cons tell you that you have to keep it hidden away, and check ID), then I guess there really isn't that much of a boundary?

[Tim No.6447135]

>>6447062
Yeah! Oh it looks like they have arms and stuff. Might still be interesting haha.

>>6447086
How is this even a question. Of course that shit sells. Too lewd is usually anything that's considered pornography, but check with your local AA to make sure. Even really sexy/suggestive stuff flies under the radar easily, but if you have like exposed genitalia and shit obviously you threaten to get yourself kicked out.

[Anonymous No.6447143]

>>6445215
You shouldn't sell something with a pattern found so easily online. I think it is okay to gift a small version of it if the customer bought a x amount of prints. I foresee lots of those octopus selling at cons, with the mustache even.

You could try making a takoluka out of it, maybe, or maibe changing the design a little, to make them unique.

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.6447217]

>>6447143
Haha, I thought it was obvious that I took the pattern from that pic, considering how many times it's been posted.
I'd be more then okay with just giving them away with prints, because I don't plan on changing my main source of artist alley income anytime soon.

[Anonymous No.6447879]

>>6445566
>$100 on supplies + cost of table
Whoa, where do you live that table costs are so cheap? And dang, isn't fabric expensive?

[Anonymous No.6448449]

This is a question for all the artists who use card readers. I just received mine in the mail so I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but do you guys charge an extra fee for people who want to pay by credit card or factor in the credit card fees on their total? Or do you just eat the cost of the fees because they're small enough to be negligible?

[Anonymous No.6448458]

>>6448449

I've seen people do that, but technically it's illegal/against most service providers' ToS.

[Anonymous No.6449111]

Does anyone know if you can use sculpey glaze on shrink plastic, and if it's waterproof?
It sounds like you really need to seal it somehow.

[Anonymous No.6449176]

>>6449111
Yeah, you do need to seal it. My friend used a clear spray like the one pictured instead of using sculpey glaze. You could probably do a test piece and see if sculpey glaze works or if it'll make the colors run.

[Anonymous No.6449217]

>>6448449
It's illegal to call it a fee, but you're allowed to offer discounts for cash payment.

[Anonymous No.6449237]

>>6449111
I'm sure glaze will seal it just fine, but in my experience with clay charms, sculpey glaze fucks with color.

[Anonymous No.6449252]

>>6449176
I'm a bit worried that a spray wouldn't be very durable.
>>6449237
Seriously? Damn it. I just bought some of that the other day and it's $10.99 a bottle here. Does it even mess with normal polymer clay colour, or just paints and inks?

[Anonymous No.6449259]

>>6449252
It worked pretty well for my friend! I think he did his research when he was making them and found other people also used spray as well. I don't have a personal experience with them so I can't give you my ~testimonial~ but I think it's a pretty easy solution to the problem.

[Anonymous No.6449260]

>>6449252
I only used it over paint myself, so I'm not quite sure. I think a big thing about it is how evenly you put on the glaze, maybe.

The last time I used sculpey glaze was a long time ago when I wanted to make kawaii charms like all the cool artists; probably when I was about 13-14. I've seen a lot of people make sculpey glaze work for them, I'm just under the impression that it's easy to fuck up.

Someone else will probably have better advice, haha.

[Anonymous No.6449361]

I've started working at a few cons on staff and one of them is debating throwing me into helping manage AA. The last one I worked, the vendors took their sweet-ass time breaking down and boxing up their booths, going over the time limit and stressing out quite a few higher-ups.

Ladies and gentlemen, as a staff member, what can you tell me that will help speed the process along and not make the artists feel like staff are being total douches?

[Anonymous No.6449401]

>>6449361
Make things efficient. We hate having to jump through loops as much as you do! If you have a PA system, make use of that. Send out remind emails about opening/closing time and things like that. I really like it when AA heads update everyone through emails as much as they can.

I've noticed that one of the reasons why AA/vendor clean ups tend to take long is because people want to trade prints and other merch with each other after the hall closes to the general public. Maybe you can set up like an artists mixer or something so they can do trades there instead of taking up break-down time?

Also, if anything, most of us appreciate you being direct with us rather than being vague so just set down the ground rules early so people are aware of what's going on. I don't think you have to worry too much about coming off as a douche.

[Anonymous No.6449424]

>>6449361
Just make it very clear that they need to be packed up and gone by a certain time. If you threaten them with overtime fees I'm sure it would get people moving. Being seen as a douche is more in your attitude. Just calmly explain that due to past experiences when vendors have taken advantage of the staffs leniency and refused to leave on time, there are now over time fees. Like when you check out of a hotel late.
To avoid fees, just leave when you're supposed to. Simple enough.

[Anonymous No.6449429]

>>6449401
Thanks for the advice. The con I worked the AA for was in its first year, so I don't know what happened on the technical end. I just went through, helped some people set up, helped some others put away their stuff if their "muscle" hadn't showed up yet, and tried to be as helpful as possible. We needed them out of there by 7:30, but the last person didn't leave until about 8:45 because she had one of those gargantuan corner booths with drawers and stuff to keep her tee shirts and other stuff in.

The artists I helped out didn't seem to mind the extra set of hands, but is it generally frowned upon if a staff member jumps in and offers their services in order to get people the heck out of the hall? I was worried that some people would see it in more of a negative light.

[Anonymous No.6449453]

>>6449429
Nah, I think most people would appreciate that, actually.

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.6449738]

>>6449429
I would imagine that help is generally appreciated- it's not like we want to be here spending ages taking everything down- but the only downside I can see it having is that vendors tend to be kind of paranoid about who's handling their merch, and need to know that the person is trustable. But if you can somehow overcome that, then I can't imagine how in any manner that it would be seen negatively.

[Anonymous No.6449934]

>>6447879
Sorry if I wasn't clear, I meant I spend about $100 on fabric and safety eyes in addition to table cost. Not fabric + table cost = $100. I tend to table with other people too to keep prices low.

As for fabric: yeah it can be pricey, but if you're like me and just mainly buy fleece, you can find it cheap 2 ways: saaaalessss or remnants at the local fabric store. Usually fleece is $5.99-7.99 for a yard, but I've found remnants that were like 2-4 yds marked down to 1.99-2.99 a yard. So I pretty much scour for those deals and otherwise buy in bulk during sales of 50-70% off. Fabric.com is great for that, since it's free shipping for orders over $35!
so tldr: I buy a shitton of fleece cheaply whenever possible to keep me through the year.
I actually somehow have around 30 colors. Pretty sure 10 of those are different types of blue too.

[Anonymous No.6449965]

>>6449111
I just eat the fee, because when it comes down to it, even losing ~.03 to the dollar, it's a sale I may not have gotten otherwise. My profits at cons have tripled since I started taking payments using Square.

[Anonymous No.6450688]

How many cons do you guys table at per year?

[Anonymous No.6451339]

>>6450688
I only do one, but a new con has open close to me so I'm considering the possibility of doing both. I'm just so disorganised, it's always stressful getting everything ready.

[Anonymous No.6451442]

>>6451339
I usually do 2~3 but I've made a bunch of plans for next year and if I can go to all the ones I want to go to the list comes to 11 total.

[Anonymous No.6451449]

>>6451442
Holy damn. Do you not have a job or school? Not even just attending 11 cons, but the time required to make merch for so many. You must have a lot of free time.

[Anonymous No.6451479]

>>6451449
Haha, I actually have both a job and classes. I've been doing this for a couple of years so I have a lot of stuff in stock I could reuse. All the cons I'm going to are in state and a lot of the smaller ones don't require a lot of prep time because I just bring my leftover inventory from the big cons.

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.6452423]

Just got a wire cube set! Time to upgrade my display. Though I'm kind of sad to depart from my piping, that was so light compared to this. ugh.
It looks good though.

>>6450688
I usually do about three, because I'm still in school. I plan to pick up the pace when I get the chance to, though.

>>6451449
Well, it really depends on what kind of merch you have. Like, there are some print artists, or just general mass producing artists, that don't have to keep making inventory for each con, and if they're satisfied with their level of work, can just carry their inventory throughout the year. That's how some people that make their living off alleys do it, I imagine.

[Tim No.6452601]

>>6450688
Ideally 6-8. Usually around 5. I used to do a lot more because I'd hit up smaller/local cons

[Anonymous No.6452627]

>>6449429
I would say that if you are clearly staff (especially if you're AA staff) people would be appreciative especially if they're struggling for some reason. You should NEVER push and bully them to clean up faster because it'll leave a sour taste in their mouth and unlikely to come back again (or rec the con to anyone else) If you're clear on open and close times and what time they have to set up/break down you should be fine overall.
Most veteran artists have their set up/break down routine but sometimes thing happen. And not everyone is a veteran.

Also, does anyone know what the deal is with Katsu? I haven't checked the forum, but my tablemate has not heard back from them after some payment issue/Sandy.

[Anonymous No.6452626]

>>6447143

tell that to punch brand >.>

[Anonymous No.6452634]

>>6449361
First off make sure your timeline for cleanup is reasonable. A lot of vendors can take 2-3h for packup and reloading especially if the hall hasn't provided enough dolly carts for everyone. If you expect everyone gone in 1/2 hour you're boned no matter how much fees you threaten to leverage.

AA really has no excuse for that though, even the biggest artist setups shouldn't take very long to setup/teardown. Make sure artists have time before and after regular open hours to do their fluff around and you'll be fine.

[Anonymous No.6452641]

>>6452627
This so hard. A-Rev was like that and it made everything really horrible for everyone involved.

[Anonymous No.6452644]

>>6450688
I had 8 this year during the summer. I could have gone to more, but was feeling a bit lazy when I went back to school.
If all goes well, I'm hoping to go to 15 next year.

[Anonymous No.6452658]

>>6452641
I say this mostly because it happened at AnimeNEXT last year. After the lights had gone out. And no one knew why. So staffers just took it out on the AA who were now trying to clear out IN THE DARK.

Just don't be deliberately mean to artists. They are both attendees as well as an attraction at the con itself and being mean doesn't work out in the long run.

[Kitsu !!cfRjZvpoGLz No.6452687]

>>6452658
The lights went out as a result of a miscommunication between the staff and the building. Normally not an issue but because of the type of lights, can't remember off the top of my head, once the bulbs cool they take 15 minutes to turn back on. As for the staff, the actual Artist Alley staff is only a handful of actual staff and at least 2 of them were out of the room to get the lights turned back on. To compensate and help get artists out faster they used staff from another department. Its in the list of corrections for this year's AA.

As for the original question, you're going to get a lot of different artists coming in and many of them can be polarizing in one way or another. Try to keep a calm head about it while also being responsive to questions and concerns and that should elevate the majority of the problems you may experience. At the very least it will help the artists feel more compelled to work with you since you're being attentive to their concerns.

[Anonymous No.6452713]

>>6438493
I had someone grab one of my plushies, and rub it on her friends butt... she handed it back to me with the words 'it has been violated' and walked off without another word.

[Kitsu !!cfRjZvpoGLz No.6452730]

>>6452687
Looked it up because it was on the tip of my tongue and driving me crazy, the lighting system uses Mercury Vapor bulbs.

[Anonymous No.6452741]

>>6452687
>>6452730
Regardless I don't remember any kind of explanation given, even afterwards in the forums and that still doesn't excuse the mistreatment that happened as a result because staffers didn't know what else to do but tell people to move faster. In the dark.

With the forums still down all I want to know who's staffing and if they are actually going to try and not do everything that happened last year that really should not have happened (like the artist who was stuck behind a pole.)

[Kitsu !!cfRjZvpoGLz No.6453138]

>>6452741
Well, I'm not artist alley staff but I am aN staff and have been speaking with the new heads, the one last year was a last second replacement. The new heads are already trying to work out ways to prevent repeats of last years problems. Things like the poles and making sure the lights stay on are on the list as well as making sure the actual Artist Alley staff can be distinguished from normal staff walking around. Also the layout is completely changing and the locations of the poles will be closely followed.

The forums should be back up by early January and at least one of the heads is planning on handling questions and information on there. So any other questions or concerns or even complaints you have about this coming year can be directed there.

[Anonymous No.6454037]

A question for those of you with online shops. Do you have to pay tax on things you sell on etsy/storenvy/tumblr?

[Anonymous No.6454090]

>>6454037
if you've got a GE license for your state then you pay tax whenever you sell something in-state, not out of state. I'm not sure about other states, but here in Hawaii you have options based on how much you earn. Since I don't earn huge baller numbers, I'm only required to submit a tax form twice a year on the assigned days. I found that a little confusing when I first started, since I thought they meant 6 months from when I got it, but it's actually a fixed month, derpderp.
You report overall income on your federal tax form.

[Anonymous No.6454095]

>>6454090
oh to be clearer: when I say in-state I meant, the product went to a customer who physically lives in your state. Customers who buy out-of-state don't count.

>>6452713
I really really don't understand people. Especially when it comes to plushes. People will come and act like the stuff on my table is there to be rough-housed or used inappropriately or for their weird head-cannons. Yes I get it, it's funny to you that you made these two characters look like they're having sex, but if you're not buying them for your own enjoyment, please stop touching them, thx. (And these people NEVER buy anything. They rub plushes on their faces, butts, boobs, mouths, throw them, whatever, but in the end the fuckers always walk away without paying a dime while I grumpily have to make everything nice and neat again.)

[Kiwi !Hc6EcVkstI No.6454162]

This obviously goes without saying but,

If you have an ongoing webcomic or portfolio of original artworks you'd like to sell, people will definitely swipe all of your business cards to follow you online if they enjoy your style, but maaaay not buy your prints. On the other hand, you can sell all the soulless, tacky fanart you dont care about and walk away earning 2x the money you spent buying the table with (remember this only applies to TRENDING series, i.e. avengers, homestuck, PSG, etc; If its not popular on the internet, it might not sell!)

BUT!! Remember, how you present your table highly influences what sells. Does the theme of the table match your style? Is there an overhead displaying prints above and below? Are there buttons or bookmarks? SALES! If you use business tactics (BOGO, or 2 for 5$) people feel like theyre saving and buy more, even if they're really not. Lastly, you can always do commissions if you want to be stuck at the table. If not, you can always roam and have a friend cover for you. ...I'm rambling lol

[Anonymous No.6454176]

>>6454162

>homestuck

It's best advised not to sell Hamsteak-related things. The guy who writes the comic gets super pissy about that and he asks his fans to keep their eyes peeled at cons so he can send out cease and desist orders.

[Anonymous No.6454320]

>>6454176
Actually, Hussie just asks that nobody sells it, but his girlfriend on the other hand...she's the one that bitches all the time about it and will ask her followers to do that shit.

[Anonymous No.6454357]

>>6454176
>>6454320
Anything mass-produced or done on a non-commission basis isn't allowed. So don't have prints for sale (tho giveaways are fine... I think) or horns already made. I've done loads of at-con commissions for HS fans... which is always a good thing to do if you can.

[Anonymous No.6454425]

>>6454162
Verified for truth on fanart. Even in my weeaboo, ginseng-tea-cat days, I was pulling away with a few hundred.

[Anonymous No.6454468]

Does anyone know a place to get art laminated to make badges? I bought a pony badge from celesse last year and its so cute, I want to make some too. But I've been googling and can't figure out the best place to get them (and the little metal clips). Suggestions?

[Anonymous No.6454527]

I was discussing merch ideas with a friend, and he joked that if I wanted to be unique I should sell anime/:3 toilet seats.
I am so fucking tempted to try this just to see the look on his face. Think some weeb would buy one?

[Anonymous No.6454556]

>>6454468
You can get any paper item laminated most office supply stores (Staples or Office Depot in the US) and you can also by your own lamination machine.

You can also buy the id holders seperatly, and stuff each manually (but not laminated.) Same with the clasps.

Ebay has a few supply places that sell bulk for cheap, so I would try there.

>>6454527
Some people do look for interesting items, but I don't know how that would sell.

[Anonymous No.6454627]

I've only been to a few cons, but in the artist alley, I've gotten some adorable prints. My brother commented on a How To Train Your Dragon print I have from one artist alley, but I can't for the life of me remember who I got it from, so I thought I'd search for some similar art/commissions. Is there anyone here who has anything/is accepting commissions now?

[Anonymous No.6454636]

>>6454627
Well I am. *SELFPROMOTESELFPROMOTE* Though I may not be able to actually do the commission until after the first 2 weeks of Dec because finals.

[Anonymous No.6454646]

>>6454636

Do you have a dA/tumblr or anything where you have art posted so I could see your style?

[Anonymous No.6454651]

>>6454527
The problem with that idea, is that the people that would want to do that, probably aren't allowed to switch their toliet seat out. Either due to parents, renting, or sharing a house.

[Anonymous No.6454660]

>>6454646
Sure! I will say I have a lot of f'art...

http://aviviavai.tumblr.com/tagged/my-art
http://aqua-relle.deviantart.com/

And I've been wanting to do some HTTYD fanart. I re-watched the movie in August every night before school started.

[Anonymous No.6454671]

>>6454651
But underageb& kiddies probably won't realize that til it's too late. If you want to fly by night you'd get a few suckers

[Anonymous No.6454678]

>>6454651
>>6454671
There are also just people who collect novelty items and never use them for their intended purpose. IDK if weebs fall into the category since they do use body pillows for their intended purpose...

[Anonymous No.6454965]

Bump.

[Anonymous No.6454998]

>>6454965
I was so disappointed when I saw that this wasn't a gif but I still opened it and imagined his legs moving. I think I have a problem.

How many of y'all are tabling at ALA? I'd like to meet my fellow seagulls!

[Tim No.6455040]

>>6454998
Sup~

[Anonymous No.6455391]

>>6454176
Fanart is fine, as far as I know, but stay the fuck away from plushies, horns, clothing and props. Just...Don't.

Also if you're not deep in the fandom or a bnf don't do humanstuck because people will get pissy if you interpret the characters the "wrong" way.

[Anonymous No.6455397]

>>6455391
Still waiting for the day where someone sells Zodiac items and Homestuck cultists go rabid and try to get the artist kicked out and then destroy their booth in a rage when staff just laughs at them.

[Anonymous No.6455404]

>>6455397
Technically it wouldn't be wrong to sell say, plain zodiac signs. As long as they do not have the exact colours Rachel can't claim it as Hussies intellectual property.

I don't think I've ever seen a Homestuck go Rachels' errands simply because a lot of us don't really like her and her witch hunt for Homestuck fanartists. It's an assload of drama.

On the topic of the pope: does people actually make a living from AA? I thought it was mainly to market yourself :o

[Anonymous No.6455466]

>>6455404
I've heard of both sides of the spectrum. Some places won't care no matter what it is while others will flip their shit and complain to staff if your items even remotely resemble something from Homestuck.

[Anonymous No.6455472]

>>6455391
Fanart is not okay, but I've heard 'commission a sketch for (inflated price) and get one of these gorgeous Homestuck prints free!' can be got away with.

[Anonymous No.6455541]

>>6455472
Or just taking at-con commissions of Homestuck characters is fine; the main point is that no one should be paying for a mass-produced fanart print directly.

>>6455404
>On the topic of the pope: does people actually make a living from AA? I thought it was mainly to market yourself :o
Some people manage it, but yeah you have to know and appeal to your market and go to a lot of cons.

[Anonymous No.6455551]

>>6455397
>>6455391

When it comes to Homestuck items, many fans WILL get pissy and inform staff you're selling things without permission.

Now, the thing is, as long as it's not mass produced, that's usually okay. A lot of people will be hush-hush if you do plushie commissions and such as long as you aren't exclusively saying you're doing Homestuck commissions.

You can't sell prints without Hussie's permission, but you can take art commissions without fear. It's mostly things like plushies and props that are to be easy about.

A lot of people do make Zodiac related things in the colors of the characters and get away with it fine.

Just, as long as it's not mass produced, people will usually look the other way.

[Anonymous No.6455554]

>>6455541
>>6455472
Confirming, I guess? I believe Hussie said he was okay with people doing at-convention sketches for artist alley but no pre-made goods or prints.

I've seen artists use Homestuck as a display picture for what they can do as far as traditional media goes too for on sight commissions and the rabid fans have bitched them out for it. Others had little keycharms and someone told them they had to take it down or they'd tell Hussie or Rachel.

>>6454998
I'm on the waiting list for checking in two weeks before the con! But, I'm hopeful for possibly getting a table. I have a few prints, some antler horn things I'm working on and Tesseracts to sell. I'm for sure going to stop by and see the people in AA.

[Anonymous No.6455790]

>>6438532
Is there a guide on how to start making those little beads? I want to start, but between the moon runes and confusing diagrams, I can't get the hang of it.

[Anonymous No.6455831]

>>6455790

Beejang has an excellent tutorial concerning this. She has some of the best beading tutorials as well.

beaded cross - http://beejang.livejournal.com/224038.html?mode=reply#add_comment

beaded birdie
http://bead-tutorial.livejournal.com/10135.html

Beaded heart:
http://bead-tutorial.livejournal.com/29579.html

If you feel more confident, understand the terms crossweave and chevron stitch. These are two of the most important stitches in Japanese beading.It isn't necessary to delve into Japanese beading, but it helps me to understand the gist of the instructions better.

Honestly, though, if you just keep in mind that one color of the string is one end, and the other is the other end, and you take things slowly, it should be no problem.

Here are some easier diagrams to follow:

https://picasaweb.google.com/phoebs7021/BeadsMotif#5096197300033879218

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-WVQhq95whcM/SFQbD0N1j4I/AAAAAAAAU_E/WXzWtLKQAfA/s499/021.jpg

https://profiles.google.com/marcia.ogava.ribeiro/photos/5212501930046208897 This book in general is pretty basic.

Hope this helped.

[Anonymous No.6455857]

>>6455831
Thank you!

I'll go look for some beads, any resources on that as well would be absolutely lovely.

[Anonymous No.6455953]

>>6455472
>>6455551
>>6455554
Oh, I thought prints were okay, I've seen a few around here but maybe the fandom is just more slack.

Good to know.

[Anonymous No.6455983]

>>6455857

Warning: huge teal deer up ahead.

I think beads at the hobby store are good for practice. However, if you want swarovski or something higher grade, the internet is really the best place to get those, considering even on a good day Hobby Lobby/Michael's will charge you an arm and a leg for swarovskis.

http://www.firemountaingems.com/
Mainly good for bulk, and has a stronger price in terms of czech beads. Still, they have a lot of selection, something that smaller stores can't boast. You can check it out. They have flat rate 6 dollar shipping within the US.

stores dot ebay dot com slash abundance74
I trust this seller the most for true swarovski. If you hang around the place, you can get good deals for 5 bucks. I've managed to find very pretty colors like heliotrope and vitrail medium for 5 USD for a pack of 100, which is quite a good deal considering the rarity of those beads. However, she doesn't have a lot of basic colors, which can be frustrating especially if you're going to make crystal dolls. She also happens to have an etsy site in addition to an ebay
etsy dot com slash shop/Abundance74

Talking about etsy, I trust etsy far more than I do ebay, and if you're new to searching for swarovski, I'd advise to stay to etsy until you get savvy with telling a true swarovski from a fake.

etsy dot com slash shop/Heasundries I bought once from them. Their beads are good, and they have a pretty good selection.

[Anonymous No.6455991]

>>6455983

stores dot ebay dot com slash craftingwithyou
This one is interesting. She has several categories - 'true' swarovski, 'austrian crystal,' and preciosa czech crystal. The latter two are far less expensive than the swarovski. They have the same uniformity, but I find they sparkle less. Still, it's quite sparkly for the price and it's uniform. I myself buy the 'austrian crystal' because of its uniformity and the relative quality you get for price. However, it's up to you if you want to do that yourself.

For seed beads and such, Japanese rounds are the best. Please refrain from using czech beads - they're harder to cull (as they have more uneven beads) and have less uniformity overall. Plus, most Japanese beading patterns use Japanese seed bead sizes - using a size 11 czech bead in a Japanese pattern has the potential to mess it up. When you get more experienced, you can start distinguishing when to use Czech beads vs. Japanese beads, but for now stick to Czech beads.

As for pearls, I find normal glass pearls work well enough, but if you'd like quality and shininess etc. etc, Swarovski has a line of crystal pearls which are amazing, but even pricier than its crystal.

Anyways, that's just me. If anyone wants to chip in/correct me/ tell me I'm totally wrong, feel free and I'd love to hear how you others do things as well. This is just how I do things.

[Anonymous No.6455996]

>>6455991

*for now stick to JAPANESE seed beads.

Sorry about that error.

[Anonymous No.6456270]

>>6455554
Ah, yes! I've seen your work posted in these threads before. I'm actually super excited to see your antler horns so I definitely hope you get in.

[Anonymous No.6456366]

I'm starting to make less detailed costumes and focus more on making stuff for my table.
Any ideas for simple, easily recognisable costumes to wear while working a table? I was sort of hoping it would help attract customers. So far my only ideas are pokemon girls and Chii.

[Anonymous No.6456415]

>>6456366
Maid costume just buy one, easy. Any anime with a school uniform, pic favorite school series and cosplay it. If you're into Touhou project, almost all the clothes are simple sans wings/accessories. Also vocaloid is sort of easy, you can pick a song you like and cosplay from it.

Hope that gives you some ideas.

[Anonymous No.6456438]

>>6456415
I don't think I could bring myself to buy a cosplay after sewing my own for so long, haha. But maid characters are a good idea, thanks.

[Angel !!b54Js4RqEVd No.6456917]

>>6456366
On this subject
Would people avoid a table if the artist were in say, homestuck cosplay? I mean is that a thing that happens, avoiding tables based on fandoms

[Tim No.6456938]

>>6456917
Honestly? The amount of people who vehemently loathe Homestuck are probably way smaller in real life/at cons than they are online, and I don't think a significant or noticeable amount of people would actively avoid your table, especially compared to people who will flock to your table specifically for your Homestuck cosplay. THe fandom is large enough that it'll easily overwhelm whatever negativity you might possibly receive from pimpin out your fandom.

Cosplaying trolls while AAing is a bitch and a half, though. Don't do it unless you're using finger gloves or possibly even PAX for your arms, and even then, it might be a good gesture to wear cheap/disposable gloves while handling your merch.

[Angel !!b54Js4RqEVd No.6456955]

>>6456938
oh yeah, i wouldnt even consider going as a troll. A nice friend of mine is making me a jade costume this year and I was just wondering if it would be bad to wear it while running a table since theres so much drama about homestuck cosplay in general at cons, but thanks this is really good to hear

[Anonymous No.6457009]

>>6455953
Like I said, many people have permission to sell prints, you just gotta ask first. If someone's selling prints, chances are they've permission.

[Anonymous No.6457075]

>>6454095
>when it comes to plushes

Fucking this. You can rub it on any body part you want as long as you PAY FOR IT FIRST!

[Anonymous No.6457140]

>>6456955
I think a Jade costume would be super cute! Most of the Homestuck cosplay drama is due to people being immature assholes at cons (not sealing their paint, spitting in buckets, throwing metal pails at people) or a lot of online drama spilling over into real life because of Tumblr spats. I don't think you have anything to worry about as a regular cosplayer as long as you don't act like an asshole!

>>6457009
Those are only artists who have their work in the official store. And even then I don't think they're allowed to sell them at cons because a part of the profit goes back to Hussie. So no, prints are not allowed at cons - just commissions.

[Anonymous No.6457148]

>>6457140
I think Emi is allowed to sell her prints at cons since she's pretty popular in the fandom and had some of her stuff in the Etsy store.

I know after I sold my horns at Fanime we took the percentage that we would normally give Hussie [45%] and I sent to them via paypal. So I think they'd allow their official artists but I think they have to have a sign saying they at least have consent before the fans rip them.

[Angel !!b54Js4RqEVd No.6457159]

>>6457148
is it possible to get permission nowadays from hussie to do homestuck crafts?

[Anonymous No.6457231]

>>6457159
The best way to go about that is to show him pictures of what you can do. I politely emailed him and asked if it was okay to sell at Fanime 2011 and sent him pictures of the horns I had crafted (I did one of each just to show) and he replied within 20 minutes that he was okay with it.

If you tell him your price range and that you can factor in the percentage (he usually asks for 40%) then that also might help.

[Angel !!b54Js4RqEVd No.6457239]

>>6457231
Oh wow, thats really cool
I've done a bunch of stuff already so i have some examples. How did you deal with fans though, i mean did you have a sign saying you had permission or just tell them if they brought it up? I know they can get pretty worked up about it

[Anonymous No.6457244]

>>6457231
do you have a tumblr?

[Anonymous No.6457314]

>>6457239
Oh good then you're halfway there!

Ah some fans are nice and some are kind of meh. My big deal is that all I asked of Rachel then Hussie was to be mentioned somewhere as their official merchant until they get the mass produced horns done since I get threats from Rachel's people saying "you're ripping off Hussie." "You're the reason no one likes Homestuck fans" and the sort. That was about 3 months ago though.

I only ever had a few bad instances happen in person at my booth. One girl broke off one of our horns and called them shit then dropped them and practically ran off. A handful of people were whispering "I thought Hussie hated this...?" but I have a picture of him wearing a pair of our horns saying we're his officials that I printed out and just would nudge to people when I'd hear them. Then you get the occasional "I could make these better. They're so expensive" that most all Artists deal with. The best thing I could do was just be polite and professional and wave it off for the day.

In the end, at cons at least, you have much better experiences than online it seems. But just hang in there!

>>6457244
Yup! I have the one that I usually put our groups art, props and commissions on: http://tofudelight.tumblr.com/
and my personal one: http://lambency.tumblr.com/

[Angel !!b54Js4RqEVd No.6457335]

>>6457314
Man thats harsh, but yeah what can you do but just smile and wait for them to leave. Oh, heres some of the things ive made. I think sculpts would be pretty impractical for an artist alley table, but the jewelry and plushes seem like a safe bet, id stay away from like horns and scalemates of course

[Anonymous No.6457357]

>>6457335
I agree about sculpts, assuming that by impractical you mean hard to sell because price seems to outweigh a sculpt's size. Not a lot of people would understand the time and effort that goes into sculpting, and they see the thing and think "That's too expensive!" I think the sculpts you have done are gorgeous, maybe best left for online commissions?

[JABI !Amna74sYWM No.6457403]

>>6457335
I showed my friend your Davesprite sculpt and he nearly peed himself in excitement. Seriously, that thing is amazing.

[Anonymous No.6457409]

So a question to all the Homestuck artists here. I understand selling prints is a no-no but I've seen a lot of artists do Homestuck giveaways? Like spend x amount of dollars and get a miniprint free! And stuff like that.

Is this generally looked down upon? I've been thinking about doing something similar.

[Angel !!b54Js4RqEVd No.6457410]

>>6457357
Not only price issues but transportation too, i cant think of a way to bring a bunch of delicate sculpts in and displaying them without too much trouble. at least with jewelry i can hang a few and keep the rest in a box until i need them. and thank you!

>>6457403
Hehe thanks! its just model magic, tooth picks for support and acrylic paint :)

[JABI !Amna74sYWM No.6457473]

>>6457409
From what I've heard, they don't care much about things being given away as gifts. They're more concerned with people making money off their intellectual property. As long as you're not mass producing and selling Homestuck related merchandise, I don't think they'd do anything.

[Anonymous No.6457609]

>>6457231
I've actually had several friends have problems asking for permission and have never received replies to their e-mails...

[Anonymous No.6457618]

Hey, I have some t-shirt designs.

Problem is, I only have the money to print off a few for right now. Should I print out a few sizes of just two of the designs and sell those at con, or should I print off an example of each and take orders at the con?

[Anonymous No.6457619]

>>6457335
that crabdad plush is wonderful

[Angel !!b54Js4RqEVd No.6457624]

>>6457619
thanks! i originally made one as a backpack to wear with a costume (its about 2 feet tall actually), and i kept the pattern i made so ive made a few as just plushes for friends

[Anonymous No.6457686]

>>6457618
Why not both?

[Anonymous No.6457720]

>>6457686
Because car problems right before the con left me with only enough money for one or the other?

[Anonymous No.6458098]

>>6457148
As far as I know even Emi isn't allowed to sell her Homestuck prints, and the "official" Homestuck prints of hers are only sold through WhatPumpkin. At cons she usually has her Homestuck stuff for give-a-way or buy-#-get-this-free things.

The only people I've known who were officially allowed to sell their Homestuck art was SkepticArcher and Lexxercise because they do a lot of official artwork and have done a lot of businesswork with Andrew in the first place. Anyone else you see selling prints probably DO NOT have permission.

[Anonymous No.6458105]

>>6458098
I just realized I typed my captcha in the email field but whatever.

To continue-- other Homestuck crafts may or may not have permission from the seller, but art prints are generally a no because "approved" prints are general sold through WhatPumpkin and TopatoCo where Hussie can regulate the amount of profit he and the artist are both making. (Which is why Skeptic and Lexxy are one of the few-con approved sellers because of their connections.)

Crafts on the other hand are a case-by-case sort of thing, but I am 99% sure if you ask Hussie to sell your Homestuck prints, unless you're not already an "official" print artist, he'll likely say no.

[Anonymous No.6458449]

Does anyone know when Fanime's AA reg goes up?

[Anonymous No.6458471]

>>6449252
Don't use it over shrink plastic, it fucks the colour. Even if you use permanent ink or pencil, the colours still run.

The powdered glaze works best, you can buy it from most arts and craft stores. Looks like a jar of salt, you shrink the charm then put a small layer of the powder over the charm then put it back in the oven. It melts and leaves a lovely glaze. Hope this helps!

[Anonymous No.6458522]

Speaking of shirts, where is a good place to get shirts printed?

[Anonymous No.6458532]

>>6458471
Thanks for the info! I bought some clear embossing powder like they used in one of the tuts above. It sounds like what you're describing too. The charm doesn't shrink even more when you cook the glaze, does it? I'm trying to work out how many I can put on a page if I want 1 inch charms.
I really envy all you US artists, supplies are so cheap for you! I have to buy it all on ebay and pay twice the price because of shipping.

[Anonymous No.6458593]

>>6458532
Embossing powder is exactly what you need! The charm won't shrink any more, don't worry. Just make sure you don't over-cook it, if you've lined the charm with a black pen then the black goes a copper colour and the colours in general just look a bit off. You can tell when it's ready by the spot in the middle of the charm; when it shrinks, the charm shrinks from the outside edges then shrinks inwards, so it leaves a dent in the middle. The dent gets smaller the longer you bake it, so when it disappears you know it's done. If the charm is slightly bent then press it under something cold and flat the second you pull it out the oven.

And I'm actually from the UK, lol. I buy Shrinkles online, otherwise I think Hobbycraft still sell them for discount? I know they were going to stop stocking them a while back and were selling them for super cheap.

[Anonymous No.6458621]

Slowly making my way back through here, sorry about that. Had a doctor's appointment.

>>6457335
I think late March to early April? Keep checking their site and sign up for their newsletter because it will be the first thing to tell you when the dates are.

>>6458449
Oh wow those are really precious. Even if Hussie doesn't allow you to sell them, you could always see if they can be used for a Donation fund and maybe get a small profit of that? I know after their kickstarter, he's put up a donation button and I think people can still get little trinkets but since yours are so detailed it would be a "donate a high amount and get this in return" type thing. But whatever the case, those are really lovely, Angela! You really have a lot of skill when it comes to cosplay and crafting.

>>6457609
That's my main problem right now. Before I was able to get quick replies from both of them but lately they've not been replying to my emails. I just give them their money and continue on hoping I'm not breaking any of their rules.

>>6458105
>>6458098
Ah okay! My bad. I just remember some people saying they saw her at Fanime and she was selling prints but I know her and Rachel are friends so I thought they just allowed her since she contributes a lot to the fandom! Thanks for clearing that up.

>>6457409
I've kind of been wondering that too. I've been using the money for medical expenses that I get from the horns and saving up for a car. I've wanted to put up my Homestuck planets but a "donate this much and I'll make you one" type thing but I'm not sure if that's giving myself too much credit, a stupid idea in general or just stupid. I've seen other people give away some really amazing stuff. Pic related.

[Anonymous No.6458627]

>>6458621
Switch >>6458449 with >>6457335. Woops.

[Anonymous No.6458640]

>>6457624
Would you be willing to share the pattern with me? I'm going to be cosplaying Karkat at a meetup soon and a Crabdad backpack would be a good thing to carry my things in.

[Anonymous No.6458668]

>>6458593
Neat! I'm stupidly excited to play with this stuff, even though it seems to be aimed either at small children or old stamping ladies.
I'm in Australia, we don't get shit here. There are a couple of online stamping stores that stock shrink plastic, but it's even more expensive than ebay, lol.

[Anonymous No.6458873]

>>6458668
I see it used a lot with stamps! It was a tutorial on /cgl/ that actually led me to discovering embossing powder, funnily enough.

I can get a packet of shrink plastic for about £7 and it has 50 x A5-ish squares, so to make a charm an inch in size you'd most likely have to use half of the square, maybe more. It's just a case of experimenting really, it's hard to predict!

Is that cheaper or more expensive than the prices in Australia?

[Anonymous No.6458993]

>>6458873
I've never seen it in stores, but the cheapest I found on an Aussie website was 10 A4 sheets for $28.95 + shipping of $7.60.

What temp do you usually bake at? I googled a bit and it looks like 300F so about 150C is popular. But I've seen some people complaining that it goes yellow.

[Angel !!b54Js4RqEVd No.6459424]

>>6458640
Sure, i'll try and sketch something up

>>6458621
thank you so much
I've really appreciated all the feedback you've given me

[Anonymous No.6459495]

>>6458522
Anyone?

[Anonymous No.6459522]

>>6458993
Jeez that's a lot! If you ever needed some sent over I wouldn't mind buying them over here then posting them to you. I worked it out and the cost of getting them online for me and then sending them to you would be $20.

I bake them at 130C, any higher and it distorts the plastic (if you put them in too high then the dent in the middle doesn't go away).

[Angel !!b54Js4RqEVd No.6459585]

>>6458640
I don know how to make a printable pattern but I hope this helps, the colored lines just mean the two edges have to be the same length. other than that i think everything else is pretty self explanatory, my biggest challenge was getting the pouch and zipper all together correctly

[Anonymous No.6460206]

>>6459522
Bugger, I wish I hadn't bought some online yesterday! Thanks though, it was very nice of you to offer. But yeah, everything is ridiculously expensive in Australia.
Thanks for the warning about temperatures too! I'm keeping notes now, haha.

[Anonymous No.6460221]

>>6460206
My email's in the field, if you want any in the future just ask! I do it for a few online friends so it's no trouble.

With temperatures it really comes down to what your oven is like! When you cut out your design, it's best to put one of the scraps into the oven first to see how it shrinks. It sounds silly but if you've spent ages drawing something then it's heartbreaking when it gets ruined in the oven! Also, a rather obvious one but when pre-heating the oven make sure you don't leave the tray that you're going to put your Shrinkles on inside it or it'll affect your designs too (usually it distorts them!). And always use grease-proof paper!

It's just a case of testing everything really, I'm no expert or grand Shrinkle designer (far from it, lol) I've just made that many mistakes that I eventually learned from them!

[Anonymous No.6460248]

I've tabled at a small craft show in town, and have gone to some larger Anime conventions year round. Of course, those alleys are much more difficult to get into. I was wondering is anyone had any artist experience at other conventions? God help me, I might try for a table at a furry con if things don't go any better.

[Anonymous No.6460282]

Just wondering - how much should I price these guys for? I make them with a square stitch (I have no beaded loom), so these guys are quite tedious to make. Would they still sell at a price of maybe $20?

Yeah, it's really keychain sized. And I'm probably not going to go with that dinky beaded loop for connection - planning to use a basket clip and glue that on instead. This was a trial, before I knew that nymo is fragile as fuck even after looping around 10x and applying glue+nail polish.

[Anonymous No.6460400]

>>6460282
Not likely, I'm afraid. Even though I understand that they take a long time to make, it's a small keychain with a sprite that looks like it was taken right from the game (ie, not your own art/style). They're more likely to go across the alley to the table selling $5 mass produced acrylic keychains.

[Anonymous No.6460436]

>>6460400

Ah, dang. I know other people who do make money off of doing similar items, so that's why I thought I could. Thanks for the input though.

[Anonymous No.6460441]

>>6460282
I'm not sure if you could get it for $20. I could tell they're worth it since it looks like it took you a long time, but customers can be really stupid when it comes to pricing. You could probably get away with $6-10 though. Or just do it on etsy :(

[Anonymous No.6460460]

>>6460436
Well, you would make money. It's just that the time required to make such items leaves you with a tiny $/hour rate. This is why I'm going to stop selling plush and move on to anything I can draw once and print multiple times. It's a hard decision to make, but if you want to look at it more like a business and less like a hobby, it's the way to go.

[Anonymous No.6460572]

>>6460248
It's important to remember that when you go to a certain type of con/event you may have to cater for that crowd. I've been to mostly anime cons, but also a few comic cons and have done better at anime cons then comic cons simply because what I make is more garnered for that. I've never shown at a furrycon (though I have been in BroNYCon) but I also don't have work that would really appeal to that crowd.

>>6460436
You're thinking of all the perler bead people right? Yeah, I think those probably don't take as long and they do designs/characters from series that you won't find in the Dealer's Room anymore. Granted, still copyright issue because not original in the imaging itself, but even fanart itself isn't protected.

[Kitsu !!cfRjZvpoGLz No.6460588]

>>6458621

You could always do other non Homestuck related things. Like horns from things like Catherine or apples of Eden from Assassin's Creed. Just because the time you're able to do them for Homestuck doesn't mean you're completely screwed. Try finding other popular things that share similarities in what you're making and you can bounce back from it.

[Anonymous No.6460627]

>gets stickers printed
>pictures turn out pixelated
>gets prints printed
>they get sizing wrong
>get shirts printed
>ink is a bit splotchy
>everything has gone wrong

[Anonymous No.6460632]

>>6460441
>>6460460

Good points, I guess. I mainly do a lot of wirework and beadwork which aren't fandom related, or at best, fandom inspired. I do these things for friends mainly.

>>6460572

I'm aware of the perler people, but there are also people who do bead and sell it in AA. Pic related - but I've seen people do pokemon as well. Pretty sure they might just sell on etsy though.

[Anonymous No.6460652]

>>6460632
That I can see doing fairly well in the AA actually (symbols/icons tend to be more accepted; my table/studio partner has made many a shot glass with the triforce on it) for may be 10-15$? it's not something you're likely to see in the Dealer's Room either.

You can try selling things like the Pokemon keychain, but know that in the AA people are expecting to spend less.

[Anonymous No.6460679]

>>6460221
If all goes will with the ones I already bought, I might shoot you an email and see if you could get me some more.
Thanks again for all your advice! I'm sure you saved me a lot of failures and stress.

[Anonymous No.6460683]

>>6460627
You can't contact your supplier to complain? You might be able to get money back or a reprint.

[Anonymous No.6460710]

>>6460652

Woo, thanks for clarifying then. Symbols and icons are actually easier for me, as they have less to plan and there's more imo you can do with symbols creatively. Thanks a lot for the advice everyone who pitched in and sorry for clogging this thread up with my noob inquiries, but this really helped guys.

[Anonymous No.6460721]

>>6460710
No problem that's what this thread is for.

Has anyone heard anything about Katsu?

[Anonymous No.6460751]

>>6460710
If we didn't have questions, the thread would die. And I love AA threads!
Here's a random pic from my inspiration folder. Someone posted it on here ages ago, and I thought it was a pretty neat idea! Made from foam sheets, I think. I wonder how well they sold.

[Anonymous No.6460800]

>>6460751
Did they say what they were to be used for? Because I think they'd make the cutest magnets.

[Anonymous No.6460835]

>>6460751
I bought one of their foam dealies last Fanime I think.
Based off my guessing, it didn't seem it sold well but I'm not the person who made it.

>>6460800
It didn't have anything on there. It's just the foam by itself.

[Anonymous No.6460879]

>>6460835
That's a shame, they're so cute! I would have thought more along the lines of using blu-tack to stick it to your door or wall.

[Anonymous No.6460883]

>people selling pearler bead sprites for 25$
fuck all of you who do this.

[Anonymous No.6461331]

Bumpy.

[Anonymous No.6461352]

>>6460883
I have a friend who wants to get into this. I hate the idea of it though, and I just can't understand why people actually buy them.

[Anonymous No.6461787]

>>6461331
At first I saw this and thought "dayum, Baberaham Lincoln".

[Anonymous No.6462100]

>>6460883
Why do people pay so much? Those are the lowest tier crafts, right next to gluing dried beans to a candle.

[Angel !!b54Js4RqEVd No.6462134]

Is sgt. frog still popular at all? or has anyone tried selling stuff for it recently? Im debating on whether to take the time to make a few pairs of these

[Anonymous No.6462182]

>>6460883
I'd pay $25 for this.
I could see my bro hanging this in his office..

[Anonymous No.6462212]

>>6461331
>>6461787
Professor Lay-me.

[Anonymous No.6462236]

>Please forgive me for asking this but I'm a piece of shit noob and I wanted to know before I screw up in the future AA

Just for future reference, does AA allows production of 'fanbooks/fancomics' or more likely known as 'doujinshis' of certain fandoms like they do in Japanese cons (i.e Comiket)?

[Anonymous No.6462345]

>>6462182
You're a cheapass. That thing is worth way more than $25 in beads alone bro, let alone labor hours.

[Tim No.6462434]

>>6462134
It still has a pretty hardcore fanbase. They're super cute so I think they'd be an autobuy for any fans roaming around.

One of my classmates got into Sgt. Frog recently. She doesn't watch anime at all, but when we started up an episode she started singing the theme song in the original Japanese hahahaha

>>6462236
Yeah. Unless it's adult material, which you'd have to cover up to label as such, most cons let you sell them since they go under the fanart rule.

[Anonymous No.6462495]

I wonder what Hussie's deal with prints is. I mean, it's not like letting artists sell prints makes him profit less from his IP. I can see the horns since he's planning to mass produce those and wouldn't want everyone having an alternative horn source, but why go after random AA print sellers?

[Tim No.6462499]

>>6462495
It's good practice for an independent artist to cover their butt like that. No, it doesn't directly take away from his profits, but I think he's more worried about the process that might follow if he does allow prints. With how AA's work, people can go from prints to T-shirts and merchandise competition pretty quickly, especially considering how voracious the fandom is right now. It's his IP so he can dictate how it should be marketed and should take the responsibility to do so.

[Anonymous No.6462682]

>>6460721
Katsu should have sent people e-mails by now.

I woke up this morning to an e-mail saying I've been bumped off the waitlist and payment is due Jan 2nd.

[Anonymous No.6462730]

>>6462682
Yeah my table partner signed up this year and forwarded me the email this morning. We're going!

[Anonymous No.6463313]

I just cut some ultracuddle fabric for the first time. It's now all in my carpet.

I plan on making a trapper hat for a friend of mine, the kind with the ear flaps. I plan on using a black ultracuddle for the outer layer, and a black flannel printed with blue pixel skulls wearing orange headphones for the lining. I think I might use a quilt batting in between for warmth and add some blue dino spikes down the back. Does this sound like it might be aesthetically pleasing?

If it works, I might make these for an AA one day. I don't think I've seen any similar styled hats for sale at any of the cons I've been to, but I've never been out of Georgia for one.

[Anonymous No.6463569]

Another total noob here. How do you generally decide how much of certain merch to make? Did you just make a guess the first time then go from there? I know size of the con matters, but Im really stumped.

[Anonymous No.6463597]

>>6463569
Assuming you're making crafts and not selling prints, just make a lot. I've always brought more than I needed, but I usually sell out of a certain item and I learn to bring more of that one next time. Sell the rest of your products online. For me it never hurts to make more than needed. It's always nice to make a sale online and you already have the product made.

[Anonymous No.6463608]

>>6463569
More then you think you need. I sold out half way though my first AA. I felt terrible for leaving an empty table, though someone did put other stuff on it later.

[Anonymous No.6463680]

>>6463569
You make more than you think you need. But take a LOT of merch. Make sure there's variation in what you're selling (don't sell all prints, or all plushies etc., mix it up!). I saw someone at a table 2 years ago with 5 canvas paintings (awful ones at that; badly painted Naruto and Sasuke, they were all Narutards) and that was it. No prints, no badges, no business cards. Nada.

You can never really tell though. I made 30 of 3 different types of necklace that year, I sold out of 1 type completely and took orders for more. And I think I still have charms remaining from the other 2 types to this day. Just go with your better judgement; if you're making something based on a current popular series then it's more likely to sell. On the flip-side if you make something related to something that's an old series but loads of people love (DBZ for example, or One Piece) then you could be on to a winner. Otherwise, sorry, there's no other helpful advice to give.

[Anonymous No.6463691]

>>6463597
>>6463608
>>6463680
Thanks for the help

[Anonymous No.6463694]

>>6463569
What sort of merchandise are you selling? Also, I actually have the opposite advice as the seagulls above me. You can always make more than you need and sell the rest later but I know some of my AA newbie friends felt bad they had so much left over after they tried to print as much as me even though i was printing for 2 cons at once.

It really depends on the con size and what you plan to have at your table! Give us deets so we can help you better

[Anonymous No.6463710]

>>6463694
>printing

Ahh see I was talking about things like jewellery and plushies. I've never sold prints before so can't really give advice on them. From what I know from friends who've ended up giving away prints at the end of a con, I'd probably have to agree with you.

[Anonymous No.6463785]

>>6463694
I'm making accessories (mostly hair stuff and hats) and will probably branch out to a few other things to take advantage of fandoms. Also not sure how much I need to tie everything in together. I'm not sure if I should start at a smaller con to get the feel for things and know how to better organize for a larger one. I would like to just dive in and go to a larger con, but then I'm not even familiar with how getting a table works.

[Anonymous No.6463803]

>>6463785
The size of the con may determine how quick you have to be during the reg process, but most cons are the same:

> register for a table (usually available in half, full or double)
> pay for the table/badge (some cons include the price of admission with an alley table)
> Show up at con and set up
> Sell wares
> Make money
> Yay!

[Anonymous No.6463819]

>>6463785
I generally recommend smaller cons for my friends to start off with because basically you're going into your first con as practice with no guarantees of profit. So a smaller con is easier for people to sort of ease themselves into the water so to speak. And especially if this is your first time attempting this, you might not be used to cranking out merch production. If you do a smaller con, you can be better prepared because you don't have to produce a large volume of things.

I don't really have experience with hair pins and hats because I'm mostly a print artist but I'd go with everyone else's suggestions. I know my friend who does tote bags also ran out, so it's good to have a bit more stock.

Find a con you want to table at! (Preferably a small, local one.) Look on their site for AA info or try emailing their AA head to see if there's a mailing list for the artists. Generally artists are chosen on a first come first serve basis, lottery, or by juried portfolios. You'll want to figure out how your con wants to do this! Then all you have to do is meet the deadlines for the AA reg dates and pay the fees and you should be set. Some states do require you to apply for a temporary seller's permit and most cons should explain how to do that in the artist section of their forums or through emails!

Good luck, fellow seagull~ Let us know if you need any more help!

[Anonymous No.6463870]

Hey guys, so there's new con starting in my area - looks to be small - and I want in on the Artist's Alley.

Problem is when I see the page, I literally see "Describe what you're going to do" and a captcha.

What should I do? Should I just describe what wares I will sell? Should I provide a site? My etsy? How specific should I be? Is this a warning sign if the con might fall through?

[Anonymous No.6463874]

>>6463870
Link to con site? And I think they mean stuff like are you a print artist or a crafts artist. I don't think you need to provide specific gallery/sites unless they ask for it. If they're a new con, they're probably looking for artists so they're not really in a position to turn people down. If it's not a juried selection, I honestly would not be worried about being too specific. Just list the items you plan to have at your table.

[Anonymous No.6463879]

>>6463874

http://www.aka-con.com/

And thanks for the info so far.

[Anonymous No.6463885]

>>6463879

mfw didn't actually link the artist's alley, sorry.

http://www.aka-con.com/artist_alley.php

[Anonymous No.6463888]

>>6463879
No problem! I know I would have been so lost without help/advice from my friends when I first started tabling so it's really my pleasure.

[Anonymous No.6463889]

>>6463870
I'd just write about what you plan to sell and link to your deviantart or etsy if you have them.

[Anonymous No.6463898]

>>6463879
>But do not worry, we have plans, cunning plans with many plots that we have been plotting to plan out with many different... plots... to plan... yes... *shifty eyes*

Urgh... Sounds like it's being planned by a bunch of 13 year olds. I would wait and see.

[Anonymous No.6465092]

>>6463889

I'll just do that then. Thanks!

>>6463898

Yeah, mfw. On one hand, that's really disorganised. On the other hand, at the risk of angering people, it tends to be the way things are run in general. I'm hoping it will coalesce in two months. If not, I can always pull out.

[Anonymous No.6465231]

>>6463803
>>6463819

Thanks for all the help everyone, I'm feeling way more confident about it already

[Anonymous No.6466108]

How many of you have Etsy's? Do you sell your art or keychains or what not on Etsy, and does it sell well enough?

[Anonymous No.6466125]

>>6466108
My table partner uses Etsy and is so-so about it. I do have another friend who sells amigurumi on Etsy and does very well. I have an account but no store set up. I did recently get a Storenvy and hopefully will have that set up soon... but I don't have my stock with me at school currently so it'll be a few weeks before I can do anything about that.

I think it doesn't hurt to have one, as a 'home base'.

[Anonymous No.6466150]

>>6466125
Do you know if things like Keychains and such would sell all right?

I've heard of storeenvy, but have been fickle about trying it since a lot of people don't really know about it still.

[Anonymous No.6466176]

>>6466150
I think it might depend on what they are. I've sold keychains (and magnets) at cons and have done fairly well with them (I found them again recently and might just do a clearance sail on them at my next con) but I haven't sold any online. I do suggest looking at what is already on etsy and see if they are anything like yours, and if they are are yours better? And if they aren't, why? Somethings just don't sell, and some things do (and you can't always control what will sell when or where. Something might be really popular online and not sell well at all at a con. Image related, I generally don't sell original work at cons, but suddenly I started to sell out of this print. AA-thread people of old might recognize this.)

As for Storenvy, two fairly big artists I follow both have stores there (it helps that there are no fees, unlike Etsy) so I think the more people start to use it, the more know it will become. I'll have to make new business cards now... But yeah, it wouldn't to make one and then make sure its on your business cards, mention it at cons and any websites (like tumblr or deviantart.)

[Anonymous No.6466200]

>>6460652
>but know that in the AA people are expecting to spend less.
Eh? Is that true? People always tell me they expect to pay more since everything I make is handmade. I mean, I DO do plushies, so they know that shit is expensive and not manufactured by the hundreds by a machine like the ones in the dealer's room. I've honestly never heard anyone say that. I mean, I've heard people tell me that sometimes my stuff is pricey, but not that they expect the AA in general to be lower priced. Usually the dealer's room at the con I go to is where you go to snag cheap jewelry/plushes/whatev.
Do other people feel this way? Or am I cray?

[Anonymous No.6466206]

>>6466108
I have one that I put phone charms and fleece hats up on occasionally. I hardly have anything in there, and don't promote it at all. I've had 13 sales from it, so I'm fairly happy with that as it required no more effort than taking a few pictures. It's always nice to get an unexpected email from paypal saying that someone just paid you.

[Anonymous No.6466215]

>>6466108
I sell on etsy and do fairly well and the client base on there tends to be incredibly nice. I also find a lot of clients there who want custom stuff, so I find it worth it. It took a while for me to get customers though, my first two months was completely dry. After cons though I usually see a huge spike in sales.

[Anonymous No.6466225]

>>6466200
Depends on the customer. 12-16 year olds are looking for cheap animu items and are horrified when your hand made plush is over $20. Adults who have been to cons before and have any idea how much work goes into such things are more understanding. It also depends on the other artists in your alley. If they're underpricing themselves, you're screwed too.
Then, there is always a few who think hand made = dodgy and therefore cheap. Mass produced = professional and more expensive. Most of the time they couldn't be more wrong, but they're not going to listen to your explanations so don't bother.

[Anonymous No.6466235]

>>6466200
Like >>6466225 said, clientele is a factor but a lot of people going to cons expect to spend a lot of money in the Dealer's Room to begin with and tend to ignore an inflated price. A friend of mine (who I met through AAs) got a Dealer's Room booth once and a large plush of hers (good 2 feet I would say) with no question in regards to its price. In the AA on the other hand she'd get comments of how expensive it is. Some con-goers are more understanding then others, but again know that while you shouldn't under price, you will have some people who expect you to because 'professional' is a weirdly connotative word.

[Anonymous No.6466243]

I just made a storenvy, the customization is pretty nice. Very easy and you can do more than on etsy.
Has anyone on here actually had sales though? I wonder how large the customer base is compared to etsy. I guess it's a good shop to link others to though, what with there being no fees. I wonder how they make enough money to keep it open.

[Anonymous No.6466249]

>>6466243
They have add-ons that you pay for which basically means that if you make more sales and more money you'll be more inclined to get the add-ons which are supposed to help boost sales... it makes sense. I just don't know if they have any ads on the site anywhere because I have ad-block (and if they do I would assume that's an add-on too).

But otherwise, yeah I'm loving storenvy's options so much. Argh, why can't finals be over?

[Anonymous No.6466527]

Do you think adventure time plushes would sell well still? not just the main characters like Finn and Jake but like little plushies of the candy people, especially notable ones like Starchy and Peppermint Butler

[Anonymous No.6466551]

>>6466527
Given the shows continuing popularity, yes. Especially if they are made well. I personally would love a Flame Princess, but that' just me.

[Anonymous No.6466590]

>>6466551
any particular people youd love to see?

[Tim No.6466599]

>>6466527
Dude, I bet if you made little pug-bulldog-rainbow-unicorn-puppy things (basically, Jake and Rainicorn's babies) those would sell like crazy.

[Anonymous No.6466601]

>>6466599
that is brilliant.

[Anonymous No.6466642]

>>6466590
Flambo! Also Tree Trunks, Wildberry Princess, or Fire Wolf pups.

[Anonymous No.6466656]

>>6466642
wildberry princess i hadnt thought of,
ive been going through the adventure time wiki looking for simple cute characters. im thinking of doing hot dog knights, the baby pigs, the party bears, and other cutesy candy citizens

[Anonymous No.6466789]

>>6466656
You ought to make at least 1 Lemon Grab since he has a following.

[Anonymous No.6467520]

How would you guys react to non-traditonal craft things being in AA. I'm talking about things that aren't buttons, charms, stickers,Lolita jewelry etc. I always get new ideas for things I've never seen done before in AA, but I wonder if these things would do okay since they aren't offered.

Without saying what they are I am really into making things that can be cute and functional around the house.

[Anonymous No.6467568]

>>6467520
i for one would rather buy something cute AND at least slightly functional than have a bunch of useless stickers and jewelry

[Anonymous No.6467725]

>>6467568
Me too! I'm always getting comments like "this is cute, but I already have x amount of charms" so I'm thinking about making charms less my focus.

[Anonymous No.6467974]

>>6467520
>cute and functional
This is pretty much what I'm basing my table next on. Mostly I'm looking at cute stationary. It's difficult thinking of things that people will actually use.

[Anonymous No.6468063]

Plushmakers.

Do you use Ultracuddle fabric?

If so, how the rubber duck fuck do you deal with all the shedding?

[Anonymous No.6468086]

>>6468063
PINGU FUCK YEAH

[Kitsu !!cfRjZvpoGLz No.6468231]

>>6468063

Vaccuum a lot, or you could also comb your edges after cutting. Its something I do when handling fur to keep fibers from flying all over the room. That said I find it sews like a dream if you plan for the extra stretch.

[Anonymous No.6469158]

Bumping this up.

[Anonymous No.6469721]

This thread is faaaar too behind, so bumping with tutorial, this time for cold porcelain clay.

Has anyone tried this yet? This looks very intriguing, but I have finals right now so no time to experiment

http://puffylittlethings.blogspot.co.nz/search/label/tutorial

[Anonymous No.6470236]

>>6469721
I have exams too, and it's always around exam time that I feel the most inspired. Oh procrastination.
I'd love to hear anyone's experience with this stuff too. I wonder if it's stronger or weaker than polymer clay, and how long you have to work with it before it dries. Could be a cheap alternative for some things.

[Anonymous No.6470498]

>>6438732
I think it might have been a pic that she took? I think I remember posting it for the booth setup~

[Anonymous No.6470524]

>>6466150
Storenvy is fickle especially if you don't know how to design a basic page, don't know HTML basics, and don't have a pretty header? It's set up mainly in the style that YOU will be bringing the traffic in. Some artists that I follow have set up a storefront in order to sell prints! If your stuff is plain, it will sit there forever since you have to self-promote a ton to get sales. I know kumacrafts recently switched over to storenvy and then the servers crashed once preorders for the sailor moon necklaces opened. The good thing going for Storenvy is no charge per listing, you can make it a custom URL store if you pay, and you only have to pay the paypal fees. Etsy is better since there is generally more traffic for people looking for certain items.

tl;dr storenvy is good if you know HTML and want to be cheaper, but etsy usually gets more traffic

[Anonymous No.6470533]

>>6466243
the different part about storenvy is that they don't have a set feedback and doesn't list the number of sales that you've done, unless you set up a "recently sold" section in your shop. I think the money comes from the "extras/addons" that you can pay for?

[Anonymous No.6470546]

>>6469721
i think there's a ton of good examples of cold porcelain charms on youtube? my favorite is cutetanpopo, but she's been inactive for a looooong time and makes her charms from premade cold porcelain! :D