Artist Alley

[Anonymous No.7514028]

Let's have a new artist alley general! Looked on the catalog and couldn't find any.

Post table setups, product ideas, tutorials and everything artist alley related.

The basic link:
artistalleysurvivalguide.com

[Anonymous No.7514096]

[Anonymous No.7514114]

[Anonymous No.7514136]

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.7514145]

[Anonymous No.7514149]

[Anonymous No.7514153]

[Anonymous No.7514158]

[Anonymous No.7514159]

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.7514164]

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.7514169]

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.7514173]

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.7514175]

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.7514178]

[Anonymous No.7514180]

>>7514175
Does anyone have some sort of diagram or link to instructions on how to do this type of setup?

[Anonymous No.7514182]

I'm looking into making some things for Kuroko No Basuke which will just feature the jerseys, I know there's the 7 teams but are all of them popular? Or is it just the Seirin team?

[Anonymous No.7514187]

Ah going to Sakuracon artist alley was an awesome jackpot. A great selection that tickles every fancy within reason.

[Corky-Lunn !CorkyloMxc No.7514197]

>>7514180
You can either use PVC pipes and connectors like the pic on the left, or use the backdrop stands on the right like I do.

It looks like he may have just taped them together from the back

[Anonymous No.7514202]

>>7514187
did you notice anything that stood out popularity wise?

[Anonymous No.7514243]

>>7514096
phone case is a good idea! Does anyone know how well they sell and how much do artists usually charge them for?
I'm thinking of doing a batch for iphone 5. What are other popular models to sell? Galaxy 3?

[Anonymous No.7514260]

>>7514243
iPhone 4 would be better than iPhone 5 imo.

[Corky-Lunn !CorkyloMxc No.7514262]

>>7514243
I'd recommend sticking with the iPhone5 and Galaxy S3 for now.

But I'm just letting you know now that you'll have to change your stock EVERY YEAR (maybe even more frequently) because of the newest model if you want to stay in business.

>I make Nintendo DS cases and every year I have to work on a new skin model. You don't wanna go down that road.

[Anonymous No.7514342]

>>7514096
>>7514243

OH. Every single time I see that photo, I just thought they were selling cute mini prints.

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.7514477]

>>7514243
>>7514260
>>7514262
I recently got a bunch of iPhone 5 cases made, and although I haven't brought them to a con yet, a LOT of people have been asking for 4s cases. A few calls for Galaxy as well, but iPhone 4s and 5/5s both seem like a really safe bet.
I figure if they do well, I'll put all the profits I get from it into printing more for different phones for next con. And if not, learning experience, I guess.

[Anonymous No.7514496]

>>7514202

Hmm, medical whiskey ofc had a pretty huge draw with skullfairy. SCons aa had more artists who can do nsfw which shows diversity

[Anonymous No.7514500]

>>7514477
This is a cool idea, but the placement of Jinx's head is kind of unfortunate. Maybe next time, draw designs specifically for phone cases so that they lay out nicely/aren't cut off awkwardly?

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.7514509]

>>7514500
Yeah, I wish I had a "proof" or something before hand so I'd have a better idea. I didn't think it'd cut it off, but the bleed zone was a lot larger than I thought it would be. At least now I know exactly where it does cut off in proportion to my piece so I can adjust it better next time.

[Anonymous No.7514577]

I just did my first AA this past weekend and I think I did ok, but I'd like some kind of comparison
It was a small 3 day hotel con and overall I made about $700 in sales, and my table/parking/etc costs were about $200
this isnt including materials but I had a lot of one time only purchases for displays and button making supplies
Is $700 about average for AA or am I hitting the lower end?

[Anonymous No.7514579]

>>7514477
should of lowered the head to be more visible. Bad move

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.7514585]

>>7514579
I said above >>7514509 that I didn't know how it'd be cut. The way I measured it at first, the head wouldn't have been cut off at all, but they increased the bleed zone significantly. I did it through a chinese company so there was no "proof" or display for me to have known.

[Anonymous No.7514586]

Since this is artist alley related I'll just put it here: There was a booth at sakuracon this year selling lolitaish jewelry and accessories (wasnt sugar star candies), does anyone remember the name?

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.7514591]

>>7514577
It depends on what you're selling, what kind of con you're at, etc.
The lower end will always be people who never break even. There will always be people in that category, and that is always where you should strive to never be. Beyond that, it's hard to compare because of how many variables are included in sales.

[Anonymous No.7514607]

>>7514591
ah, i had a lot of different stuff
buttons, 7 prints, some simple pillows, clay jewelry and my friend brought knitted stuff
we just wanted to see what kinds of merch sold best
the con was anime conji, i just have no idea what kind of profit is to be expected at that small of a con

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.7514619]

>>7514607
Yeah, seeing as how you had stuff from all over the place, it's really hard to get an "expected number". Just work off and compare to your own history of incomes, it'll be a lot more rewarding in the long run.

[Anonymous No.7514662]

I recently finished a hug pillow and put it on preorder on storenvy, although so far I've only sold one (I'm selling them for 55$ peachskin).
I have next to no online presence, and plan on getting a table this year. Initially I wanted to print 10, sell some online and bring the rest to con, but now I'm not so sure on how many I should order.

How much stuff do you guys usually bring?

[Anonymous No.7514666]

>>7514577
That's much better than my first con, anon! I only profited about $500. But I did have less inventory/variety than you did. It's good you tested the waters with a lot of different things. My friend fell into the "didn't break even" category. I felt really bad and I was glad she didn't ask me how much I made to compare.

[Anonymous No.7514682]

>>7514666
oh! well thats really reassuring
i think if i had more print designs ready i could probably have done a little better, and a few more popular buttons
i had prints selling for $12 and from 7 designs i only sold about 17, some of which were half price on sunday but buttons sold like crazy
do you guys tend to profit more from buttons or prints?

[Anonymous No.7514692]

>>7514682
What buttons were you selling?
A friend bought me a "I am so kawaii" button, but I have no idea who she bought it from.

I sold at Conji 2 years ago, I think and you definitely profited more than I did. I think I made about $200 after expenses, but I certainly didn't have enough variety as I only sold crocheted crafts. Good on your for covering your bases.

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.7514700]

>>7514682
I personally profit a lot more off prints, because one print sale is 12 button sales, to a point where I just stopped selling buttons. Despite it feeling like buttons sold like crazy, for every grand of prints I sold over a weekend, I might make about $50 in button sales if I'm lucky.
I only have about 7 print designs as well, though. Even though I've made a lot more, I tend to remove them if I find them to be outdated or way below my current skill level. I'm sure i'd probably be more successful if I had more designs, but it hurts my dignity.
>;_;

[Anonymous No.7514727]

>>7514692
1.25 sized buttons for a dollar, or 6 for 5
i just ran out of time when making designs and didnt cover the big stuff like i should have though
like snk, free!, kill la kill or frozen
i probably missed out on some extra profit because of it, the majority of my deigns were things that i personally like and dont usually see merch for, but i didnt have any with words on them
but i did have an adventure time set and supernatural set which sold stupidly well

>>7514700
ah yeah i just dont know if i could make it on just prints
it was weird to me to actually see people pay $12 for a print out of one of my drawings but i guess thats just a confidence issue
buttons seem like a good cushion to fall back on

[Anonymous No.7514738]

>>7514727
>see people pay $12 for a print out of one of my drawings but i guess thats just a confidence issue

This is how I feel too. But I noticed how much my friends were making off of prints alone. Then I realized how much of a profit maker they are since you only pay less than $1 to print something as big as an 11x17", then sell it for $10-$15. That markup is crazy compared to other products.

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.7514748]

>>7514727
I guess it's all up to the person.
I know i'm pretty far past having to worry about breaking even, though, so I hate the idea of someone buying something from me because it's cheap, rather than because they really like it. Of course, i'm not insulting button making, but I just feel like if someone dishes out the money to pay for a large or extra large print of mine, it takes a lot more interest and investment than the $1 buttons I used to sell. I know it might seem so strange that people are willing to pay out that much money for a drawing of yours, but people ARE, and you should embrace that, and build up your self confidence with it. c:
>>7514738
And this. Basically. I pay about 75c for a large print, before coupons. The cost of printing is pretty much negligible to me.

[Anonymous No.7514766]

Hello all.

I used to have a deviantart when I was about 12 but then stopped using it at about age 16 because I couldn't stand the fucking autism and the fact that only my fanart got any attention from the community. Now, my art has almost no recognition but I want to try to do artists alley. 70% of people i see at artists alley have a fucking deviantart. Should I even bother?

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.7514772]

>>7514766
If you don't want to, you could always be the other 30%. That's still a substantial amount of people.
You definitely want some place to showcase your work though. If you don't like communities, create a website. If you specifically just dislike the dA community, create a tumblr or pixiv.

[Anonymous No.7514778]

>>7514772
i have my own website.

also, what about original art? I feel like i'd be a sellout if I made fanart just to sell it because its popular. Do I just need to get rid of my pride?

[Anonymous No.7514784]

>>7514778
sorry. specifically, I don't draw a lot of fanart. But when I do, its of stuff like touhou and yume nikki. About 1/2 of the art i draw is in an anime style. The rest is more of my own style and i don't expect it to really sell at cons.

[Anonymous No.7514923]

>>7514778
I think if you're super good at what you do, your original art will still gain recognition. But I think that you definitely have to try to build your online presence outside of your personal site. Reach out to communities like anon said. Deviantart can be useful for advertising yourself, especially since you can find specific groups that cater to original art or whatever it is that you do. Selling at AA requires more than just going to the con and setting up shop. You have to market yourself prior to the con, during the con, and after the con. That is, if you plan on selling at AA regularly. As for fan art, you don't HAVE to, but it will definitely help you gain traction. Cater to fans, build your reputation enough that people recognize you and your style, then let your original stuff seep in more and more.

[Anonymous No.7514963]

>>7514778
honestly?
I only buy non-character art if theres literally nothing better to buy. The only stuff I bought at the last con was all really good fanart.

If you want to make money, do fanart. If you dont care, dont.
Are you willing to link your art?

[Corky-Lunn !CorkyloMxc No.7515041]

>>7514682
I profit more from buttons I think. I rarely sell out of prints at a con.
If my layouts were better I'm sure I could sell more.

[Anonymous No.7515066]

>>7514477
Where do you make those? I found custom printing on Aliexpress but I'm not sure if they are reliable...

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.7515572]

>>7515066
I made them through a company on aliexpress. It was a small investment, and I looked over their site a few times, so I took the chance.
It's just up to your better judgement. Usually it's not that companies will entirely scam you, but you'll have some that give really really low quality products, and some that will steal your artwork and resell it later.

[Anonymous No.7516137]

Don't forget about the guide we started last thread
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjR3z9vQGXJOdEdhbFNYQnJfcW5VazVaendRaHMzaHc&usp=sharing

[Anonymous No.7516290]

I'm sharing a table with my friend again, and I'm kind of worried/apprehensive about it because she really likes to go all out on setups... It's nice, but I feel like we're not utilizing the space as efficiently as we could. She also wants to play music at our table, and I'm kind of cringing thinking about it. Sigh.

[Anonymous No.7518025]

Heads up, Jimi Agency is doing another round of orders.

[Anonymous No.7518080]

>>7518025
How many designs is allowed per X number of copies?

[Anonymous No.7518129]

As a 5 year veteran, I've learned my niché are Premade and Custom Keychains. I dabbled in a lot of stuff but keychains are what sell quick for me. Last year at AN I ran out of [OFF] Zachary keychains. When I offered custom commission keychains, people flipped for those.

[Anonymous No.7518255]

>>7518129
Examples, please?

[Anonymous No.7519616]

Anyone know where to purchase those wire display cubes in an actual store, not online?

[Corky-Lunn !CorkyloMxc No.7519622]

>>7519616
Target and Walmart. And a friend just told me that Dollarama sells them now too, if you're in Canada.

If you can't find them there then check out storage/organizer themed stores

[Anonymous No.7519624]

>>7519622
Thanks so much!

[Anonymous No.7519716]

>>7516290
music not only scares people away, it annoys all other artists in your surrounding area. for the love of god, don't play music in the artist alley.

[Anonymous No.7521775]

bump

[Anonymous No.7522110]

>>7519716
Agreed, I wouldn't be pleased if I was one of the nearby artists.

[Anonymous No.7522127]

>>7516290
Having a nice display is a great attention grabber. Just make sure she incorporates the merch you both are selling into the setup properly.

Convince her not to bother about music. I played music at a con once, I asked the other artist if it was okay with them and they all said it was fine, but even at full volume I could not hear the music because of the noise from the rest of the alley. It's a huge waste of time if you don't have good speakers, and anything louder will make the people next to you basically have to scream at their customers (and you too).

Some con goers (and artist) are sensitive to loud noises or flashing lights and avoid those sellers. Tell her you want to have a general friendly display.

[Anonymous No.7522311]

>>7519716
>>7522110
Granted, one time I sat next to an artist playing music, and I was 100% fine with it because they were promoting their album. As long as you're respectful about it and have a reason for it to be there.

[Anonymous No.7522414]

how well do you guys think articulated paper dolls would sell?
and for what price?

[Anonymous No.7522423]

>>7522414
That's going to depend on the series you're doing and how the con's fanbase is. Going off Materials and estimated size, I'd estimate between 8-12 dollars. I think you should charge it similarly to how'd you charge a letter size print.

[Tim No.7522464]

just FYI JiMi agency's next set of orders is live! I'm going for another set of the charm wipers myself. Not sure which series, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.7522475]

>>7522464
>Another set
You bought one previously?
Do you think you could do a quick review? I've debated getting some but I'm not certain.

[Anonymous No.7522486]

>>7522414
Not AA related, but it would be amazing to be able to commission one of these.

[Anonymous No.7522522]

>>7522486
i've considering doing custom paper dolls actually, but it takes an hour or two to paint the doll itself and then another hour to set up the printing and cut them out and assemble them.
it'd be like a 30 dollar minimum project and i can't see anyone wanting to pay that much for a paper doll

but i plan to make a few different ones in addition to the one i posted, and i'm looking for suggestions on shows or games to work from.

so far i'm doing fran from final fantasy and maybe something pokemon or animal crossing related.

[Anonymous No.7522576]

>>7522464
I wish they would have opened another order after all their other orders went out. I want to order some more wipers, but I'm not even sure if I am in love with the first order I put in since they aren't here yet/ they never got the chance to take preview pics. I will still probably order and just cancel if I don't like the first batch.

[Anonymous No.7522587]

>>7522414
i think it s really cool but personally i d only wanna pay like 2-3 bux for them which i know is not profitable.

[Anonymous No.7522598]

>>7522522
I'd definitely been interested in some Animal Crossing ones.
For the custom dolls, would it be possible to give the image to the person with the physical doll? Or does the way the doll is constructed make that nearly impossible? I would definitely be willing to pay $30+ for a doll if I also had access to the source image, as it would be like getting two commissions in one.

[Anonymous No.7522620]

>>7522587
2-3 dollars in ANY AA should only get you a couple of buttons, a large button or a couple stickers. Not something this articulate. Hell, I don't even sell keychains for 3 dollars unless the keychains are bought in a set for 10. [4 for 10]

[Tim No.7522702]

>>7522475
I haven't received them yet, but I'll definitely post up a review when I do! What I can tell you was that the formatting process was pretty smooth and hassle-free. Jiny and Miso are really organized and efficient so I didn't have any communication issues at all. Everything went according to their schedule and they were really prompt with invoices and stuff.

I saw some pics on a friend's IG and they looked pretty solid. I'm a little apprehensive about mine because I did them on a dark bg. dunno how they'll turn out, but we'll see!

[Anonymous No.7522822]

>>7522598
i draw the body separate from the limbs when making dolls, but i don't see why i couldn't put it all together and send the image along with the doll itself

[Anonymous No.7524478]

Someone posted about a custom lanyard printer, I think it was on Aliexpress. Can anyone point me to it? I want to do a print run of around 100 but I want to print quite a few different designs. A digital printer should be able to bypass the mould setup but I'm having trouble navigating aliexpress. So many listings state no minimum then go on to give prices only for 100+ lanyards.

[Anonymous No.7527410]

>>7519616
I just bought a 6-cube set at Target for $17.99 the other day, which is a pretty good deal.

[Anonymous No.7528797]

>>7522620
I agree with this completely.
2 or 3 dollars is really low-balling that product.
I'd price a paper doll like that in the range that small figurines are priced. Think blindboxes. Mostly, because people would buy a paper doll of a character for the same reason they would buy a small figurine... to display on a shelf, desk, or maybe the wall.

[Tim No.7530005]

Hey guys! I'll do a more detailed review with better pics etc. later, but I finally got my charm wipers from Jimi Agency this week!

The only thing I didn't expect was for them to be soft/squishy because I guess I expected the plastic layer on top to be hard/rigid. The microfiber is pretty effective. I managed to wipe down my laptop screen to a pretty spotless sheen after a couple minutes of rigorous scrubbing. Print quality is really good- I wasn't expecting much because my designs were on dark backgrounds, but they managed to even get that rough/pixelated/crayony feel I was going for, so that's pretty cool! Overall super pleased and really excited for them. Can't wait to do my next set.

Oh, and this is just a minor heads up/nitpick, but I feel like the square/rectangular shaped charm wipes would be the most efficient in terms of wiping- the hexagonal shape doesn't work too well with corners.

[Anonymous No.7530398]

>>7530005
Nice! How much did you spend?

[Tim No.7532947]

>>7530398
For the charms I think it was like 100? 120? About a dollar per charm.I did 4 designs

[Anonymous No.7533034]

>>7519716
I had music play a few times, but my mp3 player is so low you only ever hear it if you're standing directly in front of the table. Most people don't mind the music, some don't even notice it, 75% will ask out loud "WHERE'S THAT MUSIC COMING FROM" a fucking speaker you idiot.

Most of the time I don't use it because either the con is too loud or someone near me has very loud music that it's not worth my dead battery.

[Anonymous No.7533642]

I missed table application for my local con this year, the application was closed less than 2h after it was open...
I feel so dumb now...

[Anonymous No.7534903]

>>7514682
I sell more buttons, but I definitely make more profit overall from prints just because of the profit margin for it (costs me 50c to print and I make 9.50 to 14.50 back depending on what "deals" people take advantage of at my table.)

I sell buttons $2 each or 3 for $5 so they do add up but I'm only making less than a hundred dollars for every 50 buttons sold, whereas I make about the same amount of money selling six copies of a print.

[Anonymous No.7535912]

For selling little things like charms -- do you guys, as buyers, prefer it if they were packaged? Or is it ok if I just sell it to you as is, unless packaging is requested? Or is a little ziplock baggie good enough? I sell my charms online with nice packaging, but not too sure if I should invest the time/expense on doing so for at-con sales.

[Anonymous No.7536493]

>>7535912
I personally like packaging. If you charms aren't one-offs / you've made multiples of the same design you can have a display one and have the rest packaged that you can hand them after they purchase. It would also help keep things neater on your display.

[Anonymous No.7536508]

>>7535912

I like to put my necklaces into organza bags like these. You can get them cheap off of ebay or a wholesale store like 8seasons.

There are also tons of cute plastic bags on ebay. I got little rilakkuma bags which were good for larger items.

[Anonymous No.7536693]

>>7521775
What is the name of those white structures and where could I buy them??

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.7536805]

>>7536693
Wire grid cubes.
You can find them online, at your local Target, or as revealed recently, Dollaramas in Canada(?).
The baskets are just part of wire grid cube accessories. I haven't seen any in real life store locations, but they have plenty of them online. I know the staples site has them.

[Anonymous No.7536882]

>>7536805
Damn I don't have any Target here (I am in Europe)
I was thinking, maybe at Ikea?

[Anonymous No.7536917]

I've been making little needle felted charms lately, and a couple of people have asked me if I took commissions. Buuuut I'm not really sure how to price them. I'd make them a bit larger than pic related, and they take an hour or two to make.

Could anyone here offer me advice?

[Anonymous No.7536955]

>>7536917

I'd say you could get away with pricing those quite competitively, they're very cute. I'd sooner pay £10 for one of those than £5 for some shitty laminated fanart one.

[MyFebronia !/dEvARTwA6 No.7536965]

>>7536882
Ikea will not have this. I have found a listing on ebay.uk of the same type of thing.

>Thankfully I can now post again due to a shitmod suspending me for replying to an off-topic post with useful information instead of just deleting the thread. /cgl/ sure has gone downhill in the past few months.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SEVILLE-8-Cube-Storage-Set-Color-Tough-Grid-System-Modular-Organizational-Design-/331098566220?pt=UK_Storage&hash=item4d17032e4c

[Anonymous No.7537074]

>>7536917
>felted charm
>felted BUNNY charm

Take my money, anon. This is super cute and looks like good quality--if it won't fall off the strap (like some of my acrylic ones have...) then I'd pay a good amount. $10 or so.

[Anonymous No.7537116]

>>7536917
>a couple hours to make

How much do you think you should be paid per hour? Try doing one for $12 (whatever that is in Euros), and discount them after. So like 1 for $12, 3 for $30.

There's an etsy bookmark I've had for a while for these mini Skyrim potions and they're around $18 each, but $45 for three.
I figure it's a similar concept. So you wouldn't be crazy for pricing a single one close to $15.

[Anonymous No.7537137]

>>7536955
>>7537074
>>7537116
Wow you guys, thank you so, so much. Here I was super worried that, because they're so small, anything over $5 would have been steep. I probably couldn't do AA until next year, but I plan on opening an online store in the next month or so to test the waters.

[Anonymous No.7537152]

>>7536917
That's adorable! If you don't mind me asking, how did you get started needle felting?

[Anonymous No.7537188]

>>7537137

Yo, do you have an Etsy or Storenvy or anything?

[Anonymous No.7537197]

>>7537152
I found out about it on /cgl/ a little over a month ago, ordered some supplies from Joanns to try it out, and I fell in love. Pic related was the first thing I managed to make and it took forever...

Then last week I received my taobao order with a shitton of wool and I've been experimenting with it.

[Anonymous No.7537201]

>>7537197
I would literally buy a tiny fuzzy army of felted rabbits, anon.
Please let us know when your store is up.

[Anonymous No.7537322]

>>7537188
>>7537201
I'll post in a future AA thread when my shop is open!

Thank you again, /cgl/! I feel DETERMINED.

[Anonymous No.7539459]

>>7536917
How much are the supplies?

[Anonymous No.7539597]

I got confirmation this week that I made the Artist Alley for A-fest. This is my first time doing AA and my main question is how many prints y'all usually bring to conventions? Both the number of designs and how many per design.

I'm trying to get an idea so I can budget the cost of prints. Do y'all usually order from online sources, or use local shops?

This may sound cheesy and trite, but the booth is a "yaoi only" booth so I'll only be selling items with guys (alone or as couples). I plan on selling prints (both fanart and a poster series I'm working on that's very yaoi-oriented), buttons, and chibis (which the customer can have made as a magnet, keychain, or cell charm). Fairly standard stuff, I guess.

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous No.7541440]

Which place out of Office Max/Depot, Staples, Costco, etc, do you prefer for when you need last minute prints?

[Anonymous No.7541451]

>>7539597
I personally only print 8-10 prints because that's not an item I sell a ton of. If you're doing premade keychains and buttons, print 10+ of each design. Smaller items sell faster than big ones.


I like mom and pop print shops because they often have a better price and a higher quality printer. Also, they know what the fuck they're doing with your prints and how they should be formatted.

Staples/Office Max/ Office Depot are such rip offs. Also, it's better to see how the print will turn out in a test run then to get them printed in bulk online and then it is fucked up.

Price wise, I print only on 100 pound cardstock [and nicer copy paper for buttons], so my cost is higher. But on average, to get 80 prints on cardstock is 56 dollars at the Mom and Pop shop I go to.

[Tim No.7541600]

>>7541440
Costco for smaller ones. Bigger prints are a bit pricey but their quality is really nice.

Then any office supply chain after that.

FedEx/Kinko's only after everything I own has been repossessed, the clothes off my back have been stripped away and literally the only way I can make money to eat a damn sandwich is to sell prints but not a second before.

[Anonymous No.7541719]

>>7541451

I will shop around locally in DFW to see who can give me quality but not charge me an arm and a leg. I plan on doing AA as a chance to make some extra cash and to just try it out, but even if I decide to do it again, it'll never be an "every con" type deal, so thank you for the advice on the prints! I just didn't want to run out, but have too many leftovers.

Thanks again!

[Anonymous No.7541908]

does anybody have pics of displays of small merchandise? think pins, keychains, etc.

[Anonymous No.7541933]

>>7536917
I honestly would not pay $10+ for something of that size. I would pay a few bucks and probably buy about 4 or 5 if they were 3 or 4 dollars.

Everyone is selling them around $10+ though, so like the other annon said, price them competitively and cut a buck or two off. Have plenty of sales too and start off cheap (so your name spreads) then raise the prices over time and start doing quarterly sales or every other quarter.

You might want to start off at selling these for $5 and maybe 2 for $8.

[Rii No.7541941]

>>7541933
they take them over a hour to do, that's barely minimum wage + supplies.

[Anonymous No.7541969]

>>7541933
>price them competitively and cut a buck or two off. Have plenty of sales too and start off cheap (so your name spreads) then raise the prices over time and start doing quarterly sales or every other quarter.
Something tells me you're not a vendor.
Or at the very least, a good one.
There's so many reasons why this is wrong,

[Anonymous No.7541974]

>>7541941

making above minimum wage won't help you much if they are so expensive that they don't sell at all.

[Anonymous No.7541978]

>>7541933
>You might want to start off at selling these for $5 and maybe 2 for $8.
Ouch, I know you're trying to be helpful but needle felting isn't that easy or quick to make.

[Anonymous No.7542247]

>>7541969
Actually, if they are not a vendor, isn't that a good thing too? Assuming that this is from a buyer's point of view, I still think the advice should be taken into account. It's not like we (as artists) are just selling to each other. What may seem like a fair price to us could be seen as "not worth it" to the general public. That's why vendors need to be smart about what products they decide to make and sell. If it takes 5 hours to make tiny charm, for example, and you try selling it at $50 because of the time + materials, it'll be really hard to get rid of that charm. Unless you're really good and/or your work is already sought after.

[Anonymous No.7542257]

>>7542247
It's not about it being from the buyer's point of view.
It's about the devaluing of work.
If one person undercuts, other people feel like they have to undercut as well, or lose sales because customers believe that the cheaper one is the valid price.
This isn't just a hypothetical situation. It happens all the time. There are whole communities where art is worth less and less each year because people keep feeding into the system. And if you try to maintain high prices, you're seen as trying to cheat them out of their money.
If you can't sell your work for what the materials and labour is worth, then don't sell it. It's not like Artist Alley is the end to it all, and you have to take whatever you can get because there are no better options in life to make money. Most people do it for hobby, and even the professionals, if they had to, could make money elsewhere.
Do not undervalue your work.
If the charm won't sell for what you put into it, then you can't sell it. Keep working until you're quick enough or good enough, then.

[Anonymous No.7542261]

>>7537197
>>7536917
Fellow needle felting anon! I just started needle felting recently; coincidentally, my first project was a bunny, as well haha
What shops do you get your wool from?

[Anonymous No.7542262]

>>7542261
dropped my pic blah

[Anonymous No.7542274]

>>7542257
>If you can't sell your work for what the materials and labour is worth, then don't sell it
>Do not undervalue your work.

I completely agree with you, anon, and I feel like you repeated what I said haha. I understand the whole issue right now with people pricing their stuff lower than they should and how it chain reacts throughout the art community. I'm just trying to state that we simply have to be smart about what we decide to put out there, including taking buyers' perspectives into account, so that we don't make the mistake of undercutting ourselves just so we can sell. Buyers don't see the time, effort, and materials put into products. They just see the end result.

However, I wish more artists would be more confident about their own work to not have to resort to pricing their stuff lower just to meet some other artists' similar products. If your stuff is good, people won't stop buying from you just because your neighbor priced theirs a bit lower.

[Anonymous No.7542620]

>>7541908

[Anonymous No.7542965]

>>7542247
This.

>>7542257
No one will buy something that small for a ton of money.

You're only worth what you sell. Shit doesn't matter if your work is amazing but you're selling your pieces for 2k+. Not many people will spend a lot of money on a no named artist when they can make it them self for cheaper.

You have to think in the mind set of the buyer. If you see that same small bunny charm, would you pay $50 for it? No you wouldn't, but if it was priced at 3-5 dollars, you'll probably end up buying a few.

This market is a labor of love till you make a name for yourself and start making yourself worth something. If you only sell 2-3 charms, you are only worth 2-3 charms and need to value yourself at that. Stop acting like a special snow flake and think you're better than everyone else and think you ~*~Deserve~*~ to value your art more than what your worth.

You're in it to make money, not to to value yourself highly.


Once you get better, the cash flow comes in and you can prove you're worth $50 bucks a charm, go for it.

[Anonymous No.7542998]

>>7542965
>Stop acting like a special snow flake and think you're better than everyone else and think you ~*~Deserve~*~ to value your art more than what your worth.
>You're in it to make money, not to to value yourself highly.
Dude what? They didn't say anything like that. Don't be buttmad and making strawmans just because somebody contradicted whichever reply was yours upthread.

[Anonymous No.7543023]

>>7535912
If I like the art enough, I usually don't care about packaging when it comes to charms.

[Anonymous No.7543033]

Where do people prefer to order laser-cut acrylic charms from? And sticker sheets?

Super curious to know what company artists like most.

[Anonymous No.7543531]

>>7537197

Do you happen to also make Animal Crossing villagers? I think I've seen you around elsewhere on the internet if so.

[Anonymous No.7543631]

>>7543531
Not that anon, but if you're talking about Stitches and Ribbot, that'd be me.

[Anonymous No.7543675]

O-Oh dear I didn't want my post to cause an argument. I will keep the tips about pricing in mind though.

>>7542261
>>7542262
Your lil bun is very cute, best of luck to you anon! This is where I bought my wool. http://sanduotj.tmall.com/

>>7543531
Nope. This was my attempt at making Bob. though. Yeah.
I'd like to make AC stuff eventually, gotta work on it.

[Anonymous No.7543683]

>>7543675
Dropped Bob.

[MyFebronia !/dEvARTwA6 No.7543965]

>>7543033
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjR3z9vQGXJOdEdhbFNYQnJfcW5VazVaendRaHMzaHc&usp=drive_web#gid=1

Don't forget about this guide guys. Supplier info and AA registration is in here.

[Anonymous No.7546623]

>>7543965
The Artist Alley Network International group has a huge list of resources. I'm considering just throwing in all of them/all of the reputable ones, but it feels kind of like i'm cheating.

[Anonymous No.7547415]

Hey guys, this is my first time here. How do you know when to jump into the AA scene? I've been doing a fair amount of digital art for a bit now but I'm worried that it's still too soon for me to start selling prints. I know that my stuff is definitely not the top of what I see at conventions but it'd be nice to get some opinions so that I don't just jump in and make an ass of myself. Pic related is some sample work of what I do.

[Anonymous No.7547437]

>>7547415
Okay, I'm going to be blunt here. From that drawing, the face is fairly passable, but everything else just looks so 1st time digital art. You lack detail in the art, and to be honest, I wouldn't pay for a print of it.

[Anonymous No.7547438]

>>7547415
I've got to be really honest here, you're really good at faces but... not much else. I'd say work on your bodies. You def have potential, but everything neck down is really underdeveloped compared to the face.

[Anonymous No.7547449]

>>7547415
Do portaits

[Anonymous No.7547456]

>>7547437
Alright thanks for the feedback. I know a lot of my stuff is really static and dull which hopefully I'll improve upon in time. But I'm glad I posted cuz it'll help give me an idea for what's passable and not.

[Pixel !liV7ZvK9aE No.7547468]

>>7547456
I don't think the static or dullness is the problem.
Well, I mean, they are problems, but they're prevelant over artist alley.
I'd say that the most offputtnig things are the shaky lines, weak anatomy, and lack of detailing beyond the face. Your lines are really clean for the face, but it seems that the further you got down, the lazier(?) you got with them and started just throwing lines wherever you could. Big points would just be proportion/basic anatomy (like the arm), slightly more detailing, and cleaner lines, so it feels more like effort was put into it.

I've seen much worse in Artist Alleys though, and it really does seem like you have the potential to do well. Just work at it.

[Anonymous No.7547471]

>>7547415
Another tip: Don't write titles/names on your artwork. That's what 15 year olds do and it looks super amateurish. Fill the space some other way.

[Anonymous No.7547496]

>>7514477
Where did you have them made?

[Corky-Lunn !CorkyloMxc No.7548350]

How successful are random bags for you guys?

I want to get rid of old stock and was thinking of making $2-$5 blind grab bags (something like 5 buttons and 3 keychains, etc).

My friend did this in the past and it didn't go so well since people said they didn't want to buy it not knowing what was inside.

What if I made a sign with a small list of what series the blind bags contain?

[Anonymous No.7548361]

>>7542620

>dat image blur

Either steady your hand or up the ISO. I'd rather have a grainy image than one that gives me vertigo.

[Anonymous No.7548366]

>>7548350
That's a good idea, in my opinion. I'm not an AA seller, but as a buyer, I would definitely be more likely to buy one knowing it's at least going to be a series I like.

[Anonymous No.7548462]

I make monsters (pic related). I've got a fairly good variety set up, with some that are wearable, some that are standing (like this one) and some hats (which would obviously be cheaper). I've been doing some good business selling in local stores.

I'd like to get into AA and promote myself a bit, but I'm worried about their bulkiness. Obviously hats are hats, but this little guy is a 12 inch tall plushie and I know I wouldn't want to carry that around a con, especially with a $100 price tag.

Is this viable for AA, or should I stick to my shops?

[Anonymous No.7548506]

>>7548350
I think this is a good idea. In my experience though people are willing to buy one mainly because they want to know what's inside. As long as you keep them pretty cheap (under $10) and give small hints of what could be inside, I think they will go over well.
At one AA booth the seller had small blind boxes filled with buttons, candy and charms, and there is a sign that says one of the boxes contained a free commission. I thought that was a nice touch.
As a buyer I like cheap stuff and AA blind bags are a nice, cheaper alternative to the ones in dealers.

[Anonymous No.7548582]

>>7548462
unrelated to your question, but I started sculpting small parts to make art dolls like this with fur bodies and solid faces/limbs and was wondering how to go about assembling. Do you use an armature on the inside?

[Anonymous No.7548594]

any tips for someone who wants to start out selling things like buttons and charms on storenvy?

for the record I'm planning on doing fanart stuff and in animu style because I'm a very original person

[Anonymous No.7548601]

Since everyone's saying that her work isn't good enough, can I see what some of you art vendor's art looks like?

(That isn't meant to be agressive I swear, I'm actually curious)

[Anonymous No.7548636]

>>7548582
I do use armatures in creatures with articulating parts that I want to be posable (the griffon's tail, for example). If you mean as a way to attach the clay pieces, I run tiny needle-sized holes all around the inside edge of the clay and sew the plate into place into the fur, hiding all the seams. If it's a more complicated part to insert, I take a piece of scrap cloth, sew that scrap cloth to the holes in the clay, then sew the scrap cloth to the body of the creature, that way I get the flexible fabric instead of pinching my fingers trying to slot the needle through awkwardly.
I would only ever use an armature for making a fabric part move and hold a pose, wire slips out of clay way too easily even after curing.

[Anonymous No.7548641]

>>7548601
I haven't done AA in forever but I'll give my experience/example since it's relatively close to her style (painted with shiny colors, not super clean)
This was about 2-3 years ago, but iirc, I sold maybe two of this particular print which was a4 sized. I had a few other characters in the same style too, and I sold maybe AT MOST 4 prints for one specifc character.
Prints are difficult to sell sometimes because it's hard to judge what kind of style people like tbh. People like clean if if it's painterly

[Anonymous No.7548644]

>>7548641
I should also clarify that I don't consider my style very clean lol, the more I look at this the messier it seems to me--

[Anonymous No.7548741]

>>7548636
I see. I guess I'm out of luck with my first set of parts then! Thank you for replying, my next one is still salvageable.

[Anonymous No.7548781]

>>7548641
May I ask what con this was at, like a big or small con? I'd clean up the hair a bit more but I think your art is pretty cute. don't see SeeU stuff that often anymore

[Anonymous No.7548796]

>>7548601
My style varies with what I'm making, but for prints I use the 3 styles [the sketchier style is for my all the time look since I have like no time since I'm a Design major] and my keychains are similar to the Daisy on the left. I actually use Illustrator to make keychains.

[Anonymous No.7549045]

>>7548781
Fanime, so fairly big, though it's even bigger now so idk if I'm ever going to AA again especially since I barely have any time to draw in the first place nowadays.

[Tim No.7549061]

>>7543033
I have a friend who specializes in charms. She showed me the ones she got from Zap Creative and Inkit Labs. Her breakdown:
>Zap
-Quality can be slightly lower than Inkit, but is more consistent, especially with colors and sizing. Consistency was really big to her and she preferred Zap over Inkit. Also their metallic ink is PRETTY NEATO...

>Inkit labs
-Brighter color quality, more customizable, but much more inconsistent with color and size. Some of her charms came out weirdly yellowish and some of her 2" charms were anywhere from 1.5"~3". Pretty weird. Their clear acrylic charms are not as hefty as I expected and I can see the printing, even with candy gloss, chipping away after so much wear and tear.

>>7548641
To be fair, Fanime is an extremely competitive AA, especially with prints. The SeeU print is cute, but pretty static, not to mention she's kind of a less-popular vocaloid. Fanime is kind of big with the trendy/popular/fandom stuff.

I think your art in general could use more confidence and technical improvement. Your style looks like it's coming from a shaky amalgamation of influences that doesn't give enough concrete foundation to be visually impacting or interesting, which could be fixed by just learning stronger anatomy or color theory.

[Anonymous No.7549064]

>>7548796
you're one of the artists I feel bad for because nobody buys your shitty art

[Anonymous No.7549113]

>>7549061
Yeah Fanime has tons of really great artists, so keeping up was a hassle especially since I'm so lazy in watching new series and tend watch things a billion years after they air. My friend I tabled with was the same way so even though she had beautiful trad art, it was hard to sell off her stuff too. We made back most of our money/profit through charms tbh.
like I said this was nearly...3 years ago? so I've since then improved on the super static looking problem but the time to actually draw is something we now lack sadly..

[Tim No.7549139]

>>7549113
Yeah, I'm also beginning to think that fandom and popularity is factoring more into it. Then again, I haven't drawn anything super new, recent, or ambitious in I don't even know how long so it could be on me too. I have heard that CA cons are way more into the more recent trends than some other regions (apparently A-Kon/Texas is big on nostalgia and likes older, classic anime while the east coast has a greater appreciation for original stuff, no doubt in part because of the 50/50/original only rules many AA's have over there)

Anyway, something recent. It is galling to me that a single-character pinup takes me days to finish now. I will be happy if I have 2 new prints for Fanime this year.

[Anonymous No.7549158]

>>7549064
lol more like you're mad that I'm better than you. Get over it.

[Anonymous No.7549271]

>>7548601
Really depends on the con because the majority I go to in the south US have heavy fanart/original art restrictions. I usually make 5-7 new pieces for cons and the ones I go to I do fairly well. I'd love to go to a con in the west, but I'm afraid I won't make enough to break even. ;_;

[Anonymous No.7549295]

>>7549271
Ohh what a nice clean style! Such lively colors as well. If your willing to do popular series (which includes western series) I think you'd do well here as well.

>>7549139
Even if it takes awhile, the results are stunning. Absolutely love the coloring and texture.

Anyways, I've never been to other cons, but I really do feel like popularity is a factor in good sales in the west. Popularity in either your content or yourself I mean. Like, if you don't have much of of an online presence, you better be pumpin' out all them "in" series or it'll be difficult to break even. On the other hand, I know artists that do older stuff/less popular series/subjects/etc. but they do well because they have a following.

[Anonymous No.7549299]

>>7549158
Naw....you're pretty bad. You're definitely not good enough to try and brag. You're the person I see in the alley and ask "Why did they even get a table? Don't we have quality control?"

[Anonymous No.7549302]

>>7549271
Awe~ Your style is kawaii as fuck anon! I'd definately buy that SailorMoon poster!

[Anonymous No.7549341]

>>7547415
This would never sell. You spent 99% of your time on the face (which is also poorly done) and 1% on the rest of the picture. I don't want you to waste your time and make a fool of yourself which is why I'm being harsh. Learn the basics first.

[Anonymous No.7549370]

>>7549271
pic source?

[Anonymous No.7549382]

>>7549370
I have a tumblr
geekysideburns.tumblr.com/tagged/art

[Rii No.7549389]

>>7548796
your style is too over the place, your Mirai looks sketchy and unpolished and almost blurry, very drab which can really hurt the art when the character is also like that, Eren is in the low quality tier for SnK art you would see at cons, middle pic is your best, but your hands still need work and while a good pose the way it's tilted is jarring and looks strange when you really look at the picture for a while, and your trees can use a lot of work.
I've seen much worse get a AA table, but don't claim you're amazing when you still have a ways to go. Claim you're still learning like all artists do. It helps make you strive to do better

[Anonymous No.7549398]

>>7549158
Hate to break it to you, but I kinda agree with >>7549299.
If you actually do sell, then good for you I guess, but there really is a lot to be improved on your art. Your coloring is quite flat and you don't have a very good grasp on lighting and shading. Like on your Little Witch Academia pic, there's no reason why you should be shading in purple if there's no reddish surfuce to reflect off of, not to mention the tree is poorly done especially compared to the sky. Your styles and color choice are not very...uh, aesthetically pleasing either.
I'm really not trying to put you down and I actually want to encourage you to try and improve because you have potential, but I really do think someone of your level should try to work on it before putting yourself out there and spending money on a table/printing when you might not even break even.

[nil No.7549456]

>>7549382
Holy shit dat chin; You could land a plane on it.

[Anonymous No.7549462]

>>7549456
Haha yeah! She has a Lenochin in that one. It was just a doodle so I didn't bother to fix it.

[Anonymous No.7549481]

>>7549158
Just because tumblr says your art is amazing, doesn't mean it's true.

[Anonymous No.7549482]

>>7549158
Just because your friends say you're good doesn't mean it's true, hun.

[Anonymous No.7549556]

I'm considering diving into artist alley with my sewing crafts. It would mostly be lolita related items such as bows, decora nails, bracelets, necklaces, earrings but I would also have larger items such as bloomers, blouses, skirts and petticoats.

I'd also like to have some non-lolita items to gather more interest. I can make some fandom-related bags and pillows, maybe a few plushies.

Anyone have any ideas on how to set it up so that the fandom items aren't too out of place in a mostly lolita setup? I'd also appreciate any tips on how to make my handmade item display interesting and have a decent presence to it.

What kind of things would you be interested in seeing? Any type of bags or pouches, specific lolita items?

[Anonymous No.7549856]

>>7549299
Haha this is a good laugh, I am good enough despite what you think, hon. I'm a Design major at one of the top tier Design schools in my country and excelling at it. You'll be stuck selling animu shit and I'll be working professionally.

[Anonymous No.7549861]

>>7549856
what a waste of money

[Anonymous No.7549894]

>>7549856
Really hope you're trolling but in case you aren't you do realize that Akko's shiny rod in bow form doesn't look like that at all. Also that bow strings don't work like that.

Glad to see that design school cash isn't going to waste.

[Anonymous No.7549899]

>>7549856

wow. Even if your artwork was any good knowing how you handle criticism like this guarantees I would never buy anything from you.

Protip: don't be a bitch

[Anonymous No.7549904]

>>7549856
That's nice.
"Excelling" at your design major doesn't mean you can draw apparently.
I'm not even the anon you were replying to (and it's hilarious how you only replied to one person), but now that we know you have a shitty arrogant personality to go with your shitty art, I have no qualms in saying that I hope you crash and burn someday. Any good artist would admit their flaws and try to work on them, but you're just brushing people off with your major at your ~*high end*~ school.

[Anonymous No.7549913]

>Anime Central next week
>2 tables in the Artist Alley
>No idea what I'm doing for set up yet

[Anonymous No.7549966]

can someone tell me good stores to buy beads online please? Like pastel beads, also got international shipping?

[Anonymous No.7549967]

>>7549856
I've been through art school and I teach art to others so I can say the following with confidence.

Just because you are IN art school does not mean you are any good. There were plenty of shitty artists who never improved and sucked balls. They do not have jobs but the college is laughing to the bank with the money they made off them regardless.

PRO TIP: Don't be an arrogant twat because it stops you from actually progressing in your art skills which by the way resemble the quality seen in the general high schoolers I teach.

[Anonymous No.7550040]

>>7549966
Have you looked through more obvious places like Etsy and what not?

[Tim No.7550053]

>>7549556
Do you have an overhead display? What if you put all the fandom stuff on an overhead display and all the lolita/craft stuff on your table. People looking by will probably be interested by the more visible fandom stuff and come over to check out the rest of the table. Otherwise, if you don't have an overhead display, just put the fando stuff on one end of the table (preferably following the flow of traffic) and the lolita stuff on the other end.

[Anonymous No.7550419]

>>7549856

So you're just spending an awful lot of money to probably not make it back. I'm a professional graphic designer and looking at your work, I don't see any good sense of composition, color, contrast, etc. Nothing that I'd think even a designer would have.

If you're such a great designer, then it should show. I'd expect good line quality, contrast, color, and kick-ass compositions, and better use of text, even in a fine art piece.

Good luck getting a job with that attitude. If you can't take criticism and be humble, look forward to paying off that art school education working retail.

[Anonymous No.7550429]

>>7549966

Ebay, etsy, aliexpress, taobao, the various beads and findings chinese shops (e.g. pandahall, 8seasons)...?

Just google plastic star/pony/whatever shape you want beads seriously.

[Anonymous No.7550559]

>>7548462
Some cons do art shows/auctions, and that might be a good alternative (also, buyers in art shows go in expecting to pay more).

You could also put one or two on your table for for display (and have photos of more) to advertise your online shop. If people show interest in buying them, then bring more to the next con.

[Anonymous No.7550731]

>>7548601
I'm sharing mine because I am a first timer and I have no idea of what besides prints. I'm making these into keychans, but I'm not sure they would sell well. Critiques are also nice.

[Anonymous No.7550779]

>>7550731
Prints (of vary sizes), keychains/charms, bookmarks, and buttons are the standard merch people sell at AA.
I feel that as is, these might look better as bookmarks, but I'm not sure how well bookmarks sell nowadays.
Usually, I find charms look better as simple shapes. Not necessary always as simpler style, but you want to make it so it's easy on you too. Remember that you have to cut each and every one of these out by hand! What I've seen some do is slap on a simple background shape to make ease of cutting and so that there isn't so much white. A little white border is okay, but cutting it out haphazardly can look a little messy.

For crit on your actual artwork, your colors and shading are very nice and attractive, and your lineart is very clean and even. However, I feel as though you are very...inconsistent? in your style. Notice how the scaling is so different between each character, i.e look how much bigger Venus looks compared to Jupiter. You do want the total area to be close, but usually in a set I think similar scaling is more important. Your chibi proportions shift between each character as well (Usagi's head to body ratio is much different than Jupiter's)
I have inconsistancy problems as well, so what I do when I'm doing a set of characters for charms is I create a standard "scale" for myself. I draw the basic size/shapes for the head, body, and limbs, and reference those as I'm sketching so that I don't end up with a character with a head twice as big as another's or something. I leave the shapes on separate layers as needed so I can just move them around to do different poses and whatnot.

[Anonymous No.7550785]

I'm doing fanime for the first time this year and I have no idea how to price things. I'm doing 11x17 prints, 5x7 prints, and 1.75 inch buttons.

[Anonymous No.7550797]

>>7548601

I'll bite. Fanart, an original piece (won't be selling, it's mascots for YaoiCon), and some chibis. This will be my first time doing AA this summer, and I have a LOT of drawing to do. This is me >>7539597, so if anyone has concrit on my art, I very much appreciate it!

[Anonymous No.7550800]

Thinking of starting up my own etsy shop and building some funds to support an AA table. My style is actually really similar to my picture, so I was wondering how to turn my drawings into little charms like in my picture? Would something like this be well received?

[Anonymous No.7550802]

>>7550785
Take my advice with a grain of salt, but I think I usually see large print go anywhere from $10-15, medium small from $4-10, and larger buttons about $2? Many people like to do things like "buy two large prints for $20", "buy three pins get one free" kind of deals.
Of course, I see popular artists price higher and still get sales, so take that as you will. You can all ways adjust prices as you see fit throughout the days.

[Anonymous No.7550803]

>>7550800
Dropped my image!

[Anonymous No.7550805]

I'm gonna really start lurking these threads because I'm thinking of finally partaking in AA. I would only be able to sell prints but I feel my art is good enough to make a profit and setting up a cute display seems so fun.

Are most people doing SUCCESSFUL AA university-age people, or older? Dumb question but I'm curious. Haven't been paying attention to AA sellers at cons because they're usually pretty crap where I go...

[Anonymous No.7550806]

>>7550731
If its possible, you could try making them into stickers? An artist at a con I went to recently had stickers of a bunch of popular characters and they sold pretty well from what I heard. Everyone (especially younger congoes) loves stickers to put on their laptop/DS/folder/notebook etc.

I bought 4 myself. They were adorable.

[Anonymous No.7550813]

>>7550806
Ah--I knew I was missing something when I was listing types of merch. Yeah, stickers are good too.

[Anonymous No.7550814]

>>7550803
uhh... it looks pre pubescent. I'd at least censor the items on the table.

[Anonymous No.7550817]

>>7550814
That's not mine, I'm just saying my style is a bit similar. My question is about how to convert drawing into charms for earrings or necklaces.

[Anonymous No.7550819]

>>7550803
what the fuck who would actually wear these outside

[Anonymous No.7550820]

>>7550817
If your style isn't clean cut, shrinky dinks/shrinkable plastic is the way to go. Pretty sure that's what your pic is actually

[Anonymous No.7550826]

>>7550820
Like this one here? If everything was cleaner, what would be an alternative?

>>7550819
She also has other items which are much tamer. These chokers are actually pretty cute.

[Anonymous No.7550831]

>>7548796
>sketches from a weeb's notebook

[Anonymous No.7550848]

>>7550826
Acrylic charms, which you can order online, but can be more expensive. I think they have to be clean because some sites have printing limitations, but I'm not an expert on those so you'll have to look around.

[Anonymous No.7550851]

>>7550848
Alright, thanks a bunch! I'll probably practice on shrinkable plastic before ordering the more expensive stuff.

[Anonymous No.7550854]

>>7549856
LOL
Seriously? I've seen people get into an art school that couldn't draw for shit, and you're obviously one of those people.....If you're even actually in art school. This is the internet.

And with your talent...well....the school that let you in is obviously not one with any taste...or must have a REALLY low bar.
Design major..which means all you need to know about is basic colors and shit. Design isn't hard. I consider it the cop-out art-major for weaboos like you that think they're *so special* for getting into an art school with your shit portfolio....if the school even HAD a portfolio but review (which in you case, I doubt.)

You obviously don't have the talent to do anything that requires it. I feel sad when I see people like you....you're so delusional that your art is any good. When in fact its so shit that I'm surprised getting laughed at by your teacher in high school didn't give you the hint, hon~

[Anonymous No.7550867]

>>7550805
Hmm~I mostly see late-year college age and a bit older doing well?

By then I think they've usually got a pretty good grasp on a) their talent and b) a selling model.

They're more polished and professional without looking like someone that is too old (and therefore seen less...relatable? Approachable? I'm not sure exactly. They don't get as much business) to be doing AA. They seems to have the best balance of fun + professional that turns lucrative for them at cons.

[Anonymous No.7550872]

>>7550854
She probably goes to Art Institutes kek

[Anonymous No.7550880]

>>7550779
Thank you anon!

I was having a hard time cutting some of those keychans, to be fair. I didn't think about adding a background to them, but I'll try it, they will probably look much better and will be easier to cut. Mercury's harp looked terrible in my first try because there was a white background behind it. Adding some color to it will make it look loads better.

Thanks for the crit, you are right about the inconsistency, Jupiter looks much different than all the others. Mercury's head looks much bigger than the others as well... Actually only Venus and Sailor Moon look somewhat similar.

I'll try your method, thanks so much for sharing it!

>>7550806
Those look really nice! Do you know how they were made? Since I'm a first timer, I'm making everything by myself and avoiding ordering online.

[Anonymous No.7550932]

since theres all this talk about keychains are there any good tutorials out there and what are some good tips? thanks.

[Anonymous No.7550963]

>>7550932
like >>7550779 said, if you don't want to hate yourself, make all your keychains uniform. Make a square or circle background and place the character within that. I think it looks better and no one complains one keychain is bigger/smaller than other but the same price, etc

My issue is I don't do this and have to be very neat with cutting them, which is extremely time consuming.

If you're thinking of making laminated keychains, remember you will have to cut each keychain twice: once from the paper, and then again after you laminate them.

For laminate, I prefer 5mil. It just describes the thickness. From what I've seen in stores, 3mil seems to be the norm, and I find it isn't quite thick enough.

Is there anything else you were curious about? I can give you more of my preferences, but I don't want to bore you ^^;

[thigh gap !PicKleqHjM No.7550988]

>>7519622
>Dollaramas have them

I just spent $20 for a set of three at Walmart!

[Corky-Lunn !CorkyloMxc No.7551006]

>>7550988
yeah man, $3 gets you one cube though. I don't know if I'd trust them with much more than prints taped to them though. But my friend said the connectors feel better than the ones you'd get from the $20 set.

[Anonymous No.7551028]

>>7550963
more would be wonderful.

[Wababex No.7552395]

How big are the prints you buy at these things? I want to get a table but keep getting tripped up on little stuff

[Anonymous No.7552398]

>>7550872
Is there a stigma in the art community about specific art colleges? I graduated in a completely irrelevant field, so I have no insight on this topic.

[Anonymous No.7552410]

>>7552398
Depends on the area. In the end it doesn't really matter where you studied as long as you have the skill and portfolio.

[Tim No.7552465]

>>7552398
The Art Institutes, Full Sail, and most heavily-advertised art schools that use shitty weeaboo art in their banners are non-accredited, "for-profit" schools that give you neither the connections nor the credentials required to make you a viable candidate in any art-related field. THey're a huge time and money sink with nowhere near the payout of an actual art school.

Schools like CalArts might come off as pretentious or elitist, but it's because they have distinguished alumni that gives the school connections for illustration and animation job placements. AI/FS have none of that because what kind of professional is seriously going to work at the McDonalds of art schools?

That being said, >>7552410 is right As long as you have an incredible portfolio, you could have a half-assed degree from a third world country and still get hired, so school doesn't necessarily have bearing on your success.

[Anonymous No.7552633]

>>7552465

Going off this, generally in America it's better to attend an "accredited" university, which essentially gives your degree weight and shows that it means something. Regardless of what you studied, going to college makes a difference in getting a job. But for art school, it's still best to go somewhere accredited.

Some "art schools" aren't accredited. Places like CalArts, RISD, etc are much more prestigious and arguable worth it if you want a true "art school." SCAD is a rip off, same with MICA. Then there are equally great 4 year colleges with strong art programs.

I graduated from a public liberal arts school with a strong art program, but mediocre design program (strong for my state, but not strong across states). In the end, it's again, what you make of it and how strong you are. You can go to RISD and spend 6 figures and be shit, or you can go to a state university and have a fantastic career.

"Art Schools" like AI and Full Sail are like going to Devry or University of Phoenix. Anyone can get in, your degree isn't really worth much because they hand them out to anyone who will pay.

[Anonymous No.7552654]

>>7552395
There really no set size. People generally at least have large prints (usually 11x17) because not only is it nice and big but they're eyecatching and will draw people to your table. Sometimes it might be good to have smaller/medium prints as well because people can be cheap but they still want art. I guess medium would be considered A4 size, while small is just anything smaller than that, 5x7, 4x6, what have you

[Anonymous No.7552683]

>>7552633
I got a really good scholarship for SCAD. Can you tell me what the stigma against it is? I really haven't heard that much agaisnt it, and it's the most financially viable option for me atm.

[Anonymous No.7552709]

>>7552683

SCAD at one point lost or was heavily in danger of not being accredited. They also have a high teacher turnover rate. Which is good in that you'll get a teacher who might be in for just a bit, to really teach what he/she has learned in the industries, but in terms of stability for learning, you just don't have that consistency with professors.

What are your other options? Because when I applied to SCAD and they sent me the bill, it was $43,000 total a year. That's over $160,000 to go to college. I find it hard to believe it's the most viable option, given that there are plenty of other good schools with art programs in the Deep South and Atlantic coast.

I personally think that art schools are a rip off. You pay a shitton of money to rarely make it all back. Student loans are sky high, and when it comes to art, it is MOSTLY your portfolio and resume that will sell you. Your school might help you make a few connections, but unless you're amazing, you're looking at being right in the same boat as someone who went to a state school. I also really think non-art school educations give you a bit of a more well rounded approach.

What happens if you find out art isn't for you? In an art school, you're stuck. You'd have to completely switch schools if after one year you realize that going into art isn't for you, but at a regular university (even liberal arts) you have other options. I don't know you or anything like that, so you may be totally committed. But knowing the number of students I started with in art as a freshmen, and the number I graduated with (even as a designer)... I just hope that SCAD scholarship is a lot.

I had 2 options: SCAD @ $43k a year (because they didn't offer academic scholarships at my level) or in-state liberal arts @ a full ride. I went with the full ride. My degree doesn't have the name recognition that SCAD might have, but I don't think any art degree is worth $160k debt. Just my personal opinion.

[Anonymous No.7552744]

>>7552709
I'm coming in with a $15k a year scholarship, as well as about a years worth of credit. Simply going off the numbers they gave me for tuition (your bill probably included additional costs), it'll be $18,000 a year, and $54k to graduate, about 1/3rds of your estimated costs. Which is cheaper than what I'd be paying to attend my state University.
I got accepted to an Ivy League school, but the cost is tremendously higher, and I honestly don't think it's worth it for what I'm pursuing. My other options are pretty much just state universities.
I can definitely understand the concern about switching career paths though, and it's one I've contemplated for a really long time, and it's a commitment I'm willing to make.
I do appreciate your input though; it's one I hadn't really heard about before and brings up some interesting points.

[Anonymous No.7553886]

>>7552744
Don't expect SCAD to count your credit if its AP. My e pertinence starting school with the same amount of "college credit" was that it counts for basics, but not for art basics. Congrats on the scholarship though. Just take everything in col,eg with a grain of salt. This goes for any art program. Universities care most about enrollment and graduation rates, not necessarily e p,pyment rates. That being said, art isn't the dead end cared people make it out to be.

[Anonymous No.7553910]

>>7552709
I always wanted to study art or animation at an American university, but that is so expensive it hurts.

[Anonymous No.7553939]

>>7553886
I'm not AP. I'm IB, and they've already confirmed that I'm getting the credits.
Alright, though, thanks for the advice.

[Anonymous No.7554599]

So I follow this person on Tumblr and she had the amazing idea to take those boob-mouse pads and make her own LoL characters with it. She's even got some Jayce's balls for the ladies, and cute Lulu's cupcakes for the Lolis.
SO my thought was, omg, I need to do that, but with something else llllliiike video games? I know that there are anime ones of course, but I was thinking along the lines of Assassin's Creed or Bioshock, ect.
BUT, it seems lude to me. I know some people buy NC17 art in artist ally, buuuuut this seems a bit much. The tumblr artist has sold out of the preorders already in like...4 hours. But she's "tumblr famous", so I wouldn't have the luck. But live at a convention? Hmmmmm, maybe.

tldr- Too lude and crude to have these suckers sell out at a con table?

[Anonymous No.7554625]

>>7554599
You can bring them, but I don't recommend putting them on the table for display. Have a little binder with pictures of them, warning on the cover of the binder that its contents aren't family-appropriate. Keep the mousepads in a box under the desk and only bring them out if someone asks to see them.

Also link to that person's Tumblr?

[Anonymous No.7554631]

Is it weird to put like a little note on a few prints with something like "buy this print and get two free buttons/phone charms?" I recently redid a few of my older prints but I still have 5-15 copies leftover of each and I want to get rid of them before printing the new ones. Saying that doesn't sound sketchy right?

[Anonymous No.7554702]

Do you guys usually make most sales at conventions, or do you make a decent amount of sales online, too? I want to start selling lanyards, but I don't feel like I have enough stuff to do an entire table at a con.

[Anonymous No.7554723]

man, that shoplifting thread really made me think harder about how to protect our stuff at cons

[Anonymous No.7554727]

>>7554723

Me too anon, me too....

I'm often so careless at cons, it's a wonder I didn't get anything lifted off of me yet.

[Anonymous No.7554731]

>>7554727
It makes me feel tired and sad when I see shoplifters gloating like that. Yeah, it could be fake, but there's a good chance it's not. It feels bad that you can work hard for money to enjoy your hobbies and lose all that progress to people who want to enjoy the same hobbies, but on your dime. They didn't do any work and get the reward. Their presence in the system destabalizes it and makes it so that we all eventually may not be able to enjoy our hobbies fully.

[Anonymous No.7554739]

>>7554599
It depends on the con. I could see one on display as a sample if the subject is fully clothed. Maybe with post-its on it like what dealers do with their naughtier items and what artists sometimes do with spoilery or ecchi prints.
But, omg, like, could you noooooot drag out your words like thaaaaaaaat? Also, I think you mean lewd*

[Anonymous No.7554745]

>>7554723
What shoplifting thread?

[Anonymous No.7554757]

>>7554745
>>7554180

[Anonymous No.7554784]

Question, would it be better to make chibi charms (for keychains, cell charms, etc) as hard charms like with Shrinky Dink plastic, or as simple laminated print outs? When y'all make "chibis" what materials do you use?

[Anonymous No.7554894]

With all this art concrit in this thread, I have to ask, do any of you go on/ic? It seems quality but slow as hell. Where do you learned anons get good concrit?

[Corky-Lunn !CorkyloMxc No.7554912]

>>7554631
I don't think so. I do that sometimes to get rid of buttons that aren't selling well. People will see it as a chance to get something for their friends/extra stuff while buying what they want. Just make sure to point out if the charms/buttons will be random or they can choose which ones they'd like.

>>7554702
I'd say 80%-90% of my sales are from conventions. People like to buy at cons because they don't have to worry about shipping, paypal fees, etc.

But if you have a large following online I'm sure you wouldn't have a problem selling on the internet.

>>7554784
You could go either way. It really depends on what you'd like to do. Shrinky Dink is more heavy duty as a charm but tends to warp if you're not careful. And I know people have complained about colours changing when baking it.

Laminated print outs are cheaper to make but remember you will have to cut items twice for each charm. Once from paper and then again from the laminated plastic to make sure the charm has a waterproof seal.

[Anonymous No.7554948]

>>7554599
For what it's worth I saw several oppai mousepads out in the open at Sakura-con. Both female boobs and male bums. I believe they were all fully clothed, but still in suggestive poses.

[Anonymous No.7555069]

Do people buy plushies that aren't fandom related, mochi/dango face-things, or animals?

I made these kigu styled plushies and while I enjoyed making them I don't know what to really do with them and I wonder what others would do. I wore one in my hair today to get some actual use of it. I think a string of them holding hands and hanging on a wall would look neat too, but I don't know if anyone would buy that many.
And if people were into buying this sort of thing, how much should I charge?
Material cost was pretty low since the fabric are just scraps and fat quarters from when I tried making clothing for my dolls. Since it's entirely handsewn, it would probably take me around 2 hours to make one if I stayed focused.

Pic - left to right = newest to oldest
They're about 7in


>>7554599
I actually really like the novelty of these kinds of mousepads but they're never in characters I'm interested in. As long as they're clothed I don't see a big deal. I mean, people sell daki pillow cases. Those to me are a little more awkward than having mousepads.

[Anonymous No.7555096]

>>7555069
Those are adorable and I would totally buy one for like, $20.
You may want to consider scaling them down, sewing a safety pin on the back, and making them pins. Things with a purpose always sell well.

[Anonymous No.7555104]

>>7555069
>>7555096

The hairpin idea sounds cute!

[Anonymous No.7555107]

Could all the people who have posted art here quote their post and mention how much they sold their stuff for, how busy it was, how much they made over the con, etc.?

I really want to be a part of AA next year but I'm really worried I won't be good enough to profit off of the trouble.

[Tim No.7555112]

>>7555107
I'm >>7549139
I usually sell 11x17 prints for $15, buy two get one free along with small postcard sized prints and commissions.

Last con I went to I made about 1.5k which is not super great and apparently for that con was really low (although everyone did worse than they did in previous years, supposedly). This was an out of state con so my costs were pretty high, but I at least made them back.

[Anonymous No.7555127]

>>7554599
Why do you say lude
it's lewd
lude is not a word.
Please stop that.
sage for off-topic

[Anonymous No.7555143]

>>7555069
Hello fellow plushie artist! And those are extremely cute, would buy $20+ because of the handmade quality I can see, the time it takes and uniqueness. The stuff I see in crafty handmade shops that hosts artists making soft toys go for a lot more, and I can see your items there. To make things more efficient, might I recommend using the sewing machine? Could be helpful for larger versions of your kigukids, they are really adorable. Anyway onto your questions:

In general, non-fan items sells but depends on what they are and style, and cute faces helps. Personally I don't like attaching generic cute faces to objects, or seeing tables with such items. Just not a fan, but the reality is cute sells and these are adorable! Something I debated about one of the amigurumis whether it should have eyes or not because realistically it doesn't have eyes, but when I plugged a pair in to see, others and I found it a lot more cuter so likely they'll sell better than without.

Animals work, just make them special, maybe even practical like as an accessory or have functional use. Don't make it plain, make it stand out.

Your ideas of having your plushies function somehow, that's nice. Keep trying, making, and testing out how they'll work as hair pins, shirt pins, collar chains, hair bands, home decor, etc. Eventually you'll want to make your working times efficient so you can churn out a decent stock to sell at a con.

Also, price what's fair for you and don't undersell yourself. If you're serious about succeeding, you might want to start making an online presence, spread the cuteness of these guys to have a better following and sales. I say $20+ like earlier, but of course there will be people who feel that given their size and rawness, it'd be $10 at most. I guess just reconsider who you are selling these to, and if you want to price these fair for them and yourself, change your production methods. Balance your kigukids with small low-priced items and bigger ones.

[Anonymous No.7555146]

>>7543965

So, I see several options in there for acrylic charms, but do you guys know if there are any companies that do rubber ones?

[Anonymous No.7555173]

>>7554599
Is that one your art? It's pretty. I like the colors. If it's your art, do you have a tumblr or something I could check you out on?

[Anonymous No.7555185]

>>7555096
>>7555104
Thank you. I'm not sure how small I can get before stuffing the limbs gets annoying unless I chub them up. I think I'll sew a small strip of fabric to the back so people have the option to use a safety pin or a bobby pin/hair pin.

>>7555143
Thank you for the in depth response!

I have definitely considered using a sewing machine, but since it was small and I bought new hand needles for embroidery I figured I could handsew it. I'm not adept at making patterns so when I first made brown striped one I sewed it from the inside. I had a lot of difficult flipping it rightside out and when I did everything just puckered curved weird so I undid all of it and did the outside blanket stitch instead. I did edit my pattern after the second one though, so I could try again. But I also like seeing the stitching on the outside.

I'm not into generic cute faces either, at that point I can do it myself. I see people sell things like dragons, octopi and things like that, so I wonder how well those do.

I like having functional things, otherwise they just take up space. If I were to get table space, I'd probably do it assembly-line style and that would making things easier/faster. As it is I just worked on them here and there with lots of distraction.

I was thinking $20+ for sure, I just wanted to hear what others thought first. My main trade(?) is actually crochet accessories and I do have a tumblr/blogger/shop/etc and have posted here before with that sort of thing.

Uwah...that felt long, but the little reply box could just be misleading...

What sort of plush do you make? You mentioned amigurumi, is that your main thing?

[Anonymous No.7555313]

TL;DR warning
>>7555107
I'm >>7549271 It depends on the con for me. The Florida area has a few of them. I mainly change prices on my large prints since they're my biggest sellers. Location is important to me.

>$1-2 buttons for pins and stickers
>$3 for mini prints (which are usually postcard size)
>$5 for charms. (Most of my acrylic charms I make into pins and it entices people to buy a lot of them since you can pin to clothing)
>$6 for letter sized prints. (I actually don't make these as much because people tend to buy my large prints of my postcards)
>$8 for large acrylic charms (these are usually 2-3 inches. I usually make these into zipper, and pulls lanyards)
>$10 sketch commissions (I add $10 more for addons like inking, coloring etc etc $5 more if it's post con and requires shipping)
>11x17 prints can go from $8-10 if the con is local to $15 if I'm traveling. Higher prices usually mean I do better bundles like 2 for $20, $3 for 30 with a free mini print.
>Digital commissions start at $35 and up

To be honest I'm really terrible at pricing my own stuff. I try my best to make something someone can afford so I plot out price ranges and think about what to make for it. I also do bookmarks but those I just give out for free. The last small con I went to after breaking even I made about $500 considering that less than 200 people where there wasn't super bad plus it was local and I didn't miss work.
I can make 3/4 times that much at a con in Orlando. This year will be my first AA at Anime Weekend Atlanta and next year will be my first AA at Megacon. ;_;7 Madoka, help me.

Best advice for you anon is to start local. Small cons are great for starting artist and you can test the waters. Also check out comic book shops. They usually have events going on for local artist if you ask and they'll also will have surprise info about con convention. Some comic shops are dealer room vendors too so they can give you advice.

[Anonymous No.7555361]

>>7555313
Hey! Hahaha I was the table next to you on the right in Bellecon!
Your going to megacon?? What section?
The three of us are in section Black.

For my prices, I do
$1 stickers
$2 buttons
$3 keychains
$8 clay bracelets
$10 8x10 prints
$15 11x17

But I also adjust print prices and put deals on it depending on the day and how the con attendance goes.

[Anonymous No.7555389]

>>7555361
WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! AHDJAKHJ
I actually haven't gotten a table for Megacon. I'm waiting for 2015 applications to open. But I'm applying for sure. (Unless they're already sold out then WELP.) AWA is payed for I just won't here about my placing till towards the con.
I will be at metrocon this year just attending but I'll try to table next year. So I'll make sure to say hi in Tampa! :D

[Anonymous No.7555412]

>>7555389
Oh 2015 application for mega has been open since March!!
You have to fill out the table and credit card form and email it to the megacon email. Christine is incharge of it and she usually emails back in a day! Fill it out today!! It goes fast.

Yeah! Say hi to us at metro :D I'm not the girl who did the sailor moon trade with you, but the girl who sits next to her. She and I have new stuff available for metro!

It will be a blast to see you again ^.^

[Anonymous No.7555517]

>>7555412
You're the one I got the Sylveon from! I remember you.
Sent my application in after calling and making sure there was tables left! Thanks again!

[Anonymous No.7555681]

>>7555185
I think I've seen pictures of your crochet works, that's awesome. I was wondering if you did a bit of crochet or knit because of some of the details on the kigukids (I don't know what else to call them haha), so that's cool! In fact that since you might have a bit of a following, I think it'd be easy to put out there that you have these guys for sale once you feel ready.

>What sort of plush do you make? You mentioned amigurumi, is that your main thing?
Oh goodness, I guess overall my strengths are in 3D plushies, and amigurumi. Started with plushies then sewing fleece (I haven't tried much minky but the small results makes me want to switch over or at least do more minky ones), then in the last few years I started on more crochet. I haven't tried selling amigurimi but this year will be different! Also, in the past several months I got started in needle felting, and it's a wonderful medium too but I don't think I should push for needle felt till later. What I like about crochet is that it's easy to make up your own patterns, and I can crochet while commuting unlike sewing plushies. On the other hand, I manage to sew a whole lot in a sitting after I cut out all the pieces and do a garland of parts off the machine.

Anyway, pic related of something recent. Started random on the left side, but it was way over detailed to me and took too much time, then I simplified, made longer tentacles/stingers/what have you, and after much reluctance I added some eyes. If someone wanted one without eyes, it's easy and fast to crochet at the con.

[Anonymous No.7555699]

>>7554894
I go onto IC occasionally but I've slowed down a lot recently because it really is just a bunch of high school males only interested in drawing porn and justifying why they need to have a naked busty woman in each of their pieces.

If you stay to the draw thread though it's usually okay.

As far as really good critique, I suggest taking an art class at community college. Even if the other students are shit, the teacher generally gives out good advice. OR take your portfolio to portfolio day at an art college. You don't even have to want to go there but act like you do and the professors give pretty harsh critiques. I believe professionals at conventions will also give critiques if they are guests.

[Anonymous No.7555757]

>>7554912
I was considering purchasing the printable shrinky dink paper because I wanted to try making something closer to an acrylic charm without the cost. Right now I make my chibis as laminated charms using a lamination machine. Does printo ton card stock or double laminating make a difference? By double laminating, I mean running the whole paper through, cutting, the laminating again, and then cut, this time with a lamination border.

[Anonymous No.7555766]

>>7555757
*printing on card stock

Sorry, I cannot type on my iPad for the life of me.

[Anonymous No.7555781]

>at Midwest Media Expo
>some girl is selling basic cube plushes, which look pretty cute
>ask her how much
>small is 25, bigger is 35, biggest is 45 or some other ridiculous number
>biggest plush is like 9 inches tall and cheap looking
>yeah fucking right

How is this allowed? Or people that try and sell their shitty perler bead art for $10. Do people really buy it?

[Anonymous No.7555795]

Love these threads. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how to incorporate more needle felting into my inventory. I know the pokemon will do well, but I would love to get more original type designs out there.

I know it's easier to relate to characters you already know, but do you think if the design is unique or cute enough would you buy it? I was thinking of making little adoption cards to go with them, but I don't want to 'over' do it.

[Anonymous No.7555804]

>>7555781
I've never seen anyone actually buy cube plushies, except for the MLP ones, but people love bead sprites. Is it original? No. Did they create the sprite? Of fucking course not. They changed the media, took the time to place all the little beads, and melt it together. So it is technically fanart which most places allow.

I'm always baffled by how many shitty fleece kitty hats sell at conventions.

[Anonymous No.7555858]

>>7555757
I usually print on cardstock, makes it a little thicker. Double laminating just seems like there would be a lot of room for error and it might not look clear
Plus laminating sheets sre expensive as heck

[Anonymous No.7555888]

>>7555681
I'm probably more recognizable for the floral fabric I use for photos haha. I like kigukids, it's fun to say and easier than kigurumi dolls.

Ah, I feel you with the branching out into other mediums. I think that crocheting is pretty forgiving with pattern making since if something doesn't work out you can just unravel it without loss of any material.

I see what you mean about it normally not having eyes. I actually like it better without eyes, but it's still cute with them. If you're working with cotton or something that will take color I think they'd look neat with a color gradient. Like, just dipping the ends into dye and letting it soak up.

[MyFebronia !/dEvARTwA6 No.7556289]

>>7555107
Pic related to our art, we only do Florida cons atm.

>1inch buttons, $1ea, $4 for 5, $8 for 10.
>5x7 small prints, $5 ea (buy 4 get 5th free)
>11x17 large prints, $15 ea (buy 2 get 3rd free)
>Lanyards, $8 ea
>Books if available, range from $20-$48.

We're still improving on our setup but we've progressively made more each con. Never under 1k profit after costs.

[Anonymous No.7556318]

>>7556289
That art really isn't good. I'd work on improving that over anything else. You're really trying but it's all so uncanny valley it's kind of painful.

[Anonymous No.7556341]

>>7556289
You get people to buy that? Oh wow. There's a lot you can do just to fix it. I know on a lot of this you're going for a dramatic look but your really need to blend more and work on your colour theory. Also, airbrush is not the end all. Are you using gimp for this? It would explain alot.

[Anonymous No.7556348]

>>7556289
It kind of looks like those monstrosities I get when I hide my lineart layer for fun.

[Anonymous No.7556357]

>>7556348
>when I hide my lineart layer for fun
I just did this with a drawing I'm working on, I couldn't stop lauging.

[Anonymous No.7556370]

>>7556289
cute lanyards, shite everything else

[MyFebronia !/dEvARTwA6 No.7556391]

>>7556318
It's half mine half not. We both share a table and are still working on improving one style.

>>7556341
>You
Like I said, it's a table shared between me and my partner. I use photoshop and he's switching from Sai to photoshop and learning it in the process.

>>7556348
Yes the image was thrown together last minute. It makes me cringe too.

I didn't mean for this to be a critique (i'd be on /ic/ for that). Pic related is my preferred medium. It's funny how you spend grade school drawing animushit. Go to college to do finearts and bookbinding, graduate and pick back up on drawing animushit.

[Anonymous No.7556427]

>>7556289
How do you even make money with art like that

[Anonymous No.7556432]

>>7550797
Eds eye loops derpy as fuck

[Anonymous No.7556441]

>>7556432

Now I can't unsee that. I'll fix that if I make that a print. Thanks anon!

[Anonymous No.7556525]

>>7555699
Thanks for the advice, anon. Does any one know of places to get critique more regularly? I s the secret just to have a lot of drawfriends? Sigh...

[Bra OP No.7556629]

>>7547415
The eyes, eye brows and the gem are nice and well done (Can get better though. You have potential) but everything else looks like it was your first time drawing.

If your into drawing Flam princess you also might like drawing Lina from Dota 2. She has a lot of fun alt outfits you could draw. Also you would open you're client base if you do games.

[Anonymous No.7556632]

Draws a deep breath and posts ig

Hey all, I have a wip for a print I'm working on and I feel like I'm still pretty much a newbie to the AA. What I find hardest is figuring out composition for prints and I have no idea if I'm going the right direction with them. I'm working on Asuka and Rei as well in this format but is it print-worthy to continue? Obviously I'm going to colour it and remove the text since it's intended to be a serious print haha

TL;DR I am a newbie at print compositioning and would appreciate any help and critique. What are some print aesthetics people look for/ what pulls people in?

[Anonymous No.7556635]

I'm so excited Seagulls, I got a booth for a con in September! It'll be my first trip to a con for selling.

How well do plain stickers do? I mean stickers without extra colors, holographic stuff, etc.
I've been designing some stickers to go along with my brand, but they're fairly plain. Do you think I could actually sell them for $1 for a sticker or two?
I was also thinking of one of those "If you like us on Facebook on your smartphone, you get a sticker!" things.
(to clarify, my booth will be primarily plushies and accessories, the stickers would be a side thing).
Also, in general, how well do your 'extras' do? Stuff that's related to your table, but isn't your main thing?

[Anonymous No.7556640]

>>7556391
>Like I said, it's a table shared between me and my partner. I use photoshop and he's switching from Sai to photoshop and learning it in the process.
Well both of you need to learn how to use it.
>
Yes the image was thrown together last minute. It makes me cringe too.

>>7556348 anon didn't mean the layout, do you know what lineart is? You cannot into art.

Also, your AT stuff isn't 'animushit' and from the example you can't draw 'animushit', your book cover art is rudimentary in comparison.

[MyFebronia !/dEvARTwA6 No.7556699]

>>7556640
>You cannot into art.

I'm not sure what you're pressing. I didn't solicit advice on the art nor the rude comments. It was simply a post to help the anon in >>7555107 who needed an idea of art types/prices.

[Anonymous No.7556703]

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[Anonymous No.7556706]

>>7556289
>never under 1k profit
How? Dear god how?
The miniprints don't look bad and the lanyards look incredible (I'm assuming that's by the other artist, and the horrifying 'realistic' prints by the first), is that where most of your profits come from?

[Corky-Lunn !CorkyloMxc No.7556708]

>>7555757
I would recommend cardstock just to make the laminated keychains thicker. But don't double laminate. It makes the keychains cloudy. Getting thicker mil laminate would make more sense. 5mil is my preference. The thicker it is the more expensive laminate is.

[Anonymous No.7556713]

>>7556289
>>7556391
Wait, the lanyards and your Adventure Time book are quite good. I've seen you post here before.
Is it your table partner that does the terrible looks-like-hid-the-lineart-layer paintings?

[MyFebronia !/dEvARTwA6 No.7556726]

>>7556706
The buttons sell the easiest. I'd estimate they do about 25-30% of sales. Small prints and lanyards are near the same. And we really need to cycle our our old as hell posters with new ones.

I'm more of the cute shit, partner is into the 'other' stuff.

I should clarify, we only go to high-traffic cons. Not the small hotel ones.

[Anonymous No.7556739]

>>7556726
I looked up your partner's art. I'm really amazed that anyone would pay money for...this, but your own stuff is really cute.

[MyFebronia !/dEvARTwA6 No.7556740]

>>7556713
>Is it your table partner that does the terrible looks-like-hid-the-lineart-layer paintings?
y-yes... We're working on improving that. We know there is an issue and luckily they do not visit 4ch.

[Anonymous No.7556765]

>>7556391
Your art is ok and you've always been helpful in these threads so you're alright with me. You should ditch the soft shading and your partner tho

[Anonymous No.7556790]

>>7556740
send your partner to conceptart.org, it's a pretty brutal place but harsh rather than mean and it's the best of the best if you actually want to improve at digital painting

[Anonymous No.7556818]

>>7556765
Totally agree. You have talent. While I'm sure you like your partner they're holding you back. They need to step up their game to yours or get out.

[Anonymous No.7556824]

>>7556818
If you're splitting a table does it really matter? I mean it's not like they are working on things together other than sharing the space.

I think a lot of us know that their art isnt up to par, but honestly there are people out there who WILL buy it, or at the very least look. Variety brings a variety of people to the booth, it'll be a decent pull for both.

[Anonymous No.7556833]

>>7556391
Have you ever tried doing your book covers with fabric? I'm a bookbinder myself and I prefer working with fabric instead of paper, I think they look much more polished like that.

[Anonymous No.7556843]

>>7556824
I agree variety brings people in. We're forgetting that most art consumers are not artists. The average congoer is most definitely not some high-end art collector with a trained eye or some shit. The thing to ask is what are -you- doing wrong compared to the person who averages 1k profit?

[Anonymous No.7556854]

>>7556824
I actually notice shitty art first, and alot of people tend to, so I might not buy from a booth with half garbage drawings.

[MyFebronia !/dEvARTwA6 No.7556867]

>>7556833
Printable fabric that holds up against water has been impossible to find. I do enjoy making marbled paper books with fabric spines but wouldn't bring them to a convention.

To clarify, my table partner IS my partner. Literally, my partner. I want to help them get better and they have been a good sounding board for ideas.

[Anonymous No.7556869]

>>7556867
>Printable fabric that holds up against water has been impossible to find.
Sorry, but I'm seriously just going to ignore everything you say from now on.

[Anonymous No.7556874]

>>7556869
If you know of a place you should share, anon. Posts like that help no one.

[MyFebronia !/dEvARTwA6 No.7556883]

>>7556869
It's one thing if I had a repeating pattern and could just slap starch backing on some spoonflower fabric, but my covers need to be precise. If there is no option for printing the fabric using my own equipment then it's just not a possibility. Spoonflower is not scale accurate. None of the bookcloth i've printed on yet have held up to water on them. Laser printers have had terrible results. Dye sublimation isn't an option for my studio.

But you seem to know something more than this, care to explain?

[Anonymous No.7556889]

>>7556874
I guess I'm not trying to 'help' but from this thread and her previous posts, what with shit art, defending shit art, talking big about her craft and not being able to back it up and making excuses about lack of quality without even trying, pretty much all her credibility was lost in my eyes. Somewhat helpful before, but something was always off, now I know.

[MyFebronia !/dEvARTwA6 No.7556906]

>>7556889
It can't be just me who has no idea who you're talking about. The few times i've posted have been only to help others out with info links or to share progress pictures of items not common to the AA thread. You're really trying to stretch the truth here and i'm still not sure why.
Again, if you have any useful input about >>7556883
then do share. Otherwise, well, you know.

[Anonymous No.7556935]

>>7556906
Not the anon you are replying to (I'm the bookbinder one) but I never bothered with waterproof book covers because if the paper gets wet then it doesn't matter if the cover is waterproof.

What I do is silkscreen for one color designs that sell a lot. It is really cheap to make a screen (like, U$ 15, but I'm not from the US) and you can make one that works on waterproof fabric. Not sure if you would find it, but the art comes perfect and you can use it for a long time.

[MyFebronia !/dEvARTwA6 No.7557023]

>>7556935
Ah yes, that sounds like a really awesome final result. I used to do a bit of silkscreening but preferred copper plate tbh. Just imagining trying to silkscreen each book cover with 7+ colors is giving me anxiety. But having only my larger books with waterproof covers will suffice for now.

[Anonymous No.7557174]

>>7555888
>If you're working with cotton or something that will take color I think they'd look neat with a color gradient. Like, just dipping the ends into dye and letting it soak up.
Holy crap I did not think to do that, and I have some cotton skeins too. I want to try this soon, what do you recommend for dye? Thankfully I work nearby fiber arts shop so they also have natural dyes and things too, unless food coloring is an option just to play with.

I think I'll make jellyfish ornaments for winter season, among other things, and I'll be sure to make them eye-less. It'd be nice to add the 4-spot details on top, like one of those moon jellyfishes. Goodness, thanks for the suggestion.

>>7555795
>do you think if the design is unique or cute enough would you buy it?
Personally, yes. I like the example you have there, while really small, would make a neat desk ornament. I'm not sure about having it be part of an accessory since it's needle felted, I wouldn't want my things to start getting its fibers loosened or messed up if it gets touched a lot.

That is a very cute bear and well finished, though I find it a bit plain for con scenes. If you did villagers from Animal Crossing in that style, that would be so neat (pic related, it's Stitches). I think if you played around doing different colors, throwing in some ribbon bow neck thing, you might be onto something.

>>7556635
Oh man, you did that monster scarf thing right? That's great to hear! I think plain stickers are alright, especially if people like your stuff but can't afford the higher priced items, at least they can get a sticker as some reminder maybe? And you can just throw in the sticker for free when they buy something. Also think about the size of the sticker. If you go with that design and try to fit that on some 1" round sticker, it might be a bit difficult to see the details.

[Anonymous No.7557210]

>>7555795
That's really cute and solid looking. I think adoption cards would be adorable, especially if you had them displayed in a basket.
If you want to expand from just stand alone pieces, you could consider something like pic related.

>>7557174
I usually tea stain stuff myself, so I don't have any dye suggestions, sorry. But you probably could use food coloring or even kool aid. I guess anything that stains?

[Anonymous No.7557241]

>>7557174
Oh crap! I've been rustled! Yeah, I'm monster scarf anon. Thanks for the advice! I was thinking of it as a "if you can't afford anything else on this table- you can always have one of these!"
I've also been putting together some cheaper stuff to bolster out my table so I have a good selection.

[Anonymous No.7557265]

>>7557210
Interesting, and thanks for the dye tips! Again I'll likely play around and see what happens. That picture is also inspiring as well.

>>7557241
Those look amazing, especially the one on the left (just a fan of the scarf, I was the one who asked how you attached the clay bits to the fabric).

I guess if there were smaller items by you, easily buttons, prints... Haha, I can see lucky rabbit feet versions, but more like bad luck monster paws on keychains or necklaces.

[Anonymous No.7557268]

>>7556289
Woah nelly.
Lemmee say that only half of the prints look good. Elsa's blending is alright but her eyes, what are they doing...
And Eren REALLY needs to be blended better
Altho the levi is pretty alright. I get how you make money, only artists are aware of the mistakes. Cuz from a first glance it looks okay and to someone who just likes pretty pictures and colors that's acceptable.
The Free ones need more color...they're so flat. And the lanyards are cute.

You're on the right track but keep working at it.

[Anonymous No.7557270]

>>7557265
...You have no idea how much I love the lucky monster foot idea. I was just trying to come up with a good jewelry solution.
My newest thing are these monster hair fascinators which I was thinking of pricing at $15 per fascinator.

To add to the dye discussion, I've always loved the color that an onion skin dye comes out to. Beet juice also makes a really pretty purple.
As far as popular storebought dyes go, I've only ever used Rit (in liquid form). I can't recommend their greens (swampy) or their blacks (actually lavender with splotches of grey), but their bright yellows and reds were, in fact, extraordinarily bright and withstood many, many washings.
It may be an interesting experiment (if very expensive) so see how hair dyes work with fabric.

[Anonymous No.7557281]

>>7557270
Holy shit! I mean that in a good way because it's so freaky, and I'm glad you like the bad luck monster paw charm idea. I'm curious about accessories... necklaces with a row of teeth and a furry lip, or maybe both rows of teeth so the upper chest looks like it's smiling. That said, it gives me an idea about some hair/head accessory where there's teeth behind the head like a futakuchi-onna. Keep designing and trying, it's easier to imagine ideas than to carry it out. I look forward to seeing what else you come up with!

And thanks for the tips, and heads up about the dyes.

[Anonymous No.7557282]

>>7557270
Oh my goodness, that fascinator is both cute and terrifying.

[Anonymous No.7557635]

>>7557174
Thank you for the feedback! I will definitely add more jazzed up original designs. Animal Crossing charas are super cute! That is the most colorful bear I have ever seen. I love it.

>>7557210
Those necklaces are so cute! Very deco.

[Anonymous No.7558696]

Time to dump some pictures, I'll do some multimedia stuff.

[Anonymous No.7558700]

>>7558696

[Anonymous No.7558703]

>>7558700

[Anonymous No.7558705]

>>7558703

[Anonymous No.7558712]

>>7558705

[Anonymous No.7558714]

>>7558712

[Anonymous No.7558719]

>>7558714

[Anonymous No.7558728]

>>7558719

[Anonymous No.7558730]

>>7558728

[Anonymous No.7558731]

>>7558730

[Anonymous No.7558749]

>>7558731
And I realize this AA thread is in auto-sage. Time for a new one >>7558747

[Anonymous No.7558899]

>>7550803
What the actual fuck?