Artist Alley Thread: Post-AX Edition

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Artist Alley Thread: Post-AX Edition Corky-Lunn !CorkyloMxc Mon Jul 8 10:57:52 2019 No.10215596 [Reply] [Original]

last thread: >>10196726

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

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

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

AX is over, how did it go?

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 8 13:10:18 2019 No.10215672 Made about 24k at anime expo, not bad but wish I could’ve done a little better.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 8 13:41:17 2019 No.10215702 >>10215672 That’s chump change, I made 100k, easy.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 8 13:45:56 2019 No.10215709 >>10215702 >Not pulling 7 figures Why even bother

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 8 13:50:35 2019 No.10215712 >>10215709 Not my best ax I admit

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 8 13:57:32 2019 No.10215717 File: 24 KB, 251x285, tumblr_inline_mkmrsek5cd1qz4rgp.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>10215672 >>10215702 >>10215709

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 8 14:40:23 2019 No.10215742 >>10215672 Wow, nice. How much were your production costs?

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 8 15:30:39 2019 No.10215770 Less than 17 days till Otakon >no table assignments >no info packet

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 8 15:31:07 2019 No.10215772 >>10215672 >>10215702 What did you guys sell?

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 8 16:02:10 2019 No.10215804 >>10215702 Nice! I hope to get to your level and it’s nice to know that amount is possible some day. For now, 24k for my first convention ever has me feeling okay, but I can’t wait to improve some more.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 8 16:34:18 2019 No.10215818 >>10215770 Seems like typical otakon

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 8 17:33:28 2019 No.10215889 >>10215672 >only make 5k Maybe one day

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 8 17:44:13 2019 No.10215894 >>10215702 Don’t worry we all believe you

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 8 19:44:18 2019 No.10215994 My first time tabling (4th year going)and made a little profit. Setup and quantity of table was very bare so I'm surprised I was able to break even. Pretty exciting however for my first time. Table partner and neighbor were very nice.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 8 21:03:50 2019 No.10216041 >>10215994 Congrats anon! Great job on breaking even, that doesn’t always happen at your first con.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 8 21:52:42 2019 No.10216075 Holy christ with a candle I fucking HATE the hoops Instagram makes you jump through to upload digital stuff!

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 8 22:38:15 2019 No.10216106 >>10215672 How much of that is profit?

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 9 04:06:25 2019 No.10216422 >>10215770 When did otakon send emails for standard AA placements? I have a feeling we're getting a table map soon based on what im hearing from my ota volunteer friends who asked for me on my behalf.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 9 04:21:34 2019 No.10216441 >>10215596 Finally broke the five figure club!! I don't pull monster numbers like everyone else apparently in thread but im happy! First time with a full table to myself too hehe

Anonymous Tue Jul 9 04:48:19 2019 No.10216465

>>10216441
Nice! We’re you in the AA or vendor room since I noticed some artists hit the vendor room this year instead.
>On another note
Is AX worth the suffering to get in and also transport all my shit from the east coast? I’ve outgrown 6ft tables entirely and after Otakon I’m not doing any shows that require 50/50 anymore cause 1) it’s bullshit to require us to take up valuable space with art no one ever buys really anyways and 2) it’s a waste of my time when I could be cranking out products that actually sell at a good pace.

If that makes me a sellout idc. I like that sweet sweet cash more than I care about my artistic pride.

Anonymous Tue Jul 9 08:43:10 2019 No.10216587

>>10216465
I was in AA! I personally feel like my stuff would get lost in the crowd of vendor since it's insane up there and I'm a small merch artist, not a flash print maker! I think ymmv depending on what you sell!

I absolutely hate the stress that comes with AX and its organization is super poor at times but I think it's absolutely worth the suffering at the end of the day.

Anonymous Tue Jul 9 11:35:06 2019 No.10216661
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Etsy needs to get it through their thick heads that I, and many other seller, aren't, and can't, offer free shipping on items. Its just not practical with the items I sell, and I don't want to have separate pricing online vs at conventions.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 9 12:25:56 2019 No.10216704 >>10216661 Yeah fuck Etsy, moving to my own site.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 9 12:36:44 2019 No.10216716 >>10216704 Lots of people are moving to Storenvy or Shopify these days, anyone here have experience with either?

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 9 12:39:16 2019 No.10216717 >>10216661 I hate how they’re pushing free shipping. It’s not even viable for me, being a non-US resident.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 9 13:21:09 2019 No.10216756 >>10216716 I’m moving to Shopify, not sure if they’re great but I like the layout better a lot better that’s for sure.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 9 13:29:01 2019 No.10216761 File: 269 KB, 1220x644, ss+(2019-07-09+at+10.28.24).jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] Looking through some vlog videos. Can anyone identify this booth?

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 9 13:58:21 2019 No.10216789 >>10216704 I currently sell on Etsy, Had a storenvy that got no traffic whatsoever despite advertising it.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 9 13:59:35 2019 No.10216791 >>10216704 >>10216661 Moved to my own site this year and I've already saved more than I spent last year in etsy fees.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 9 14:27:42 2019 No.10216804 >>10216761 rainbowemuweeps aka concon

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 9 14:59:36 2019 No.10216822 >>10216804 Thanks

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 9 15:17:22 2019 No.10216831 I believe at one point some of you guys said you were going to do Exhibition Hall as an alternative to AA, if you did end up doing it, which ones were you?

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 9 15:29:01 2019 No.10216840 >>10216831 I only do exhibitor for AX, it's the only one where it's just as good if not better than AA, especially if you sell large items.

Anonymous Tue Jul 9 19:27:07 2019 No.10217193

Hey guys so I’ve been searching on Ali for custom ita bags. But it looks like to me that no company does it? Or none have good examples or looks trustworthy to me. Maybe I’m blind and dumb - but are there manus that people use that aren’t on alibaba??? I want to make my own itabag since I’m picky with designs.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 9 20:16:42 2019 No.10217254 How much do y’all charge for 11x17 prints?

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 9 20:42:49 2019 No.10217285 >>10217254 $20

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 9 21:36:47 2019 No.10217321 >>10217254 $15 and I make them buy 2 get 1 free

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 9 22:01:57 2019 No.10217350 >>10216716 I did Storenvy, but I have a very small online presence so I rarely made sales. I'd only recommend it if you have a lot of followers.

Anonymous Wed Jul 10 03:01:11 2019 No.10217588

Does anyone know of any places that prints NSFW stuff? I'm looking to get acrylic charms and stickers made.

I'm also looking to get (non NSFW) stickers made with the glitter like foil over it, I can only seem to find places that offer the holographic/metallic look stickers. Is my best bet to make them myself using an adhesive film?

Anonymous Wed Jul 10 03:20:32 2019 No.10217619

>>10217588
Stickerapp prints a lot of penis and titty stickers. I did some with them which weren't downright explicit but had dicks and kink stuff in them, they had no complaints. I asked Sweet Stickers too and they said they'd print just about anything, but I didn't use them so I'm not sure if they would have ultimately said yes or no.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 10 03:47:59 2019 No.10217636 >>10217619 Oh sweet! the pieces don't have explicit sex, just dicks and titties and some vag on them.

Anonymous Wed Jul 10 13:07:19 2019 No.10217922

>>10216465
I agree Otakon needs to drop the 50/50 it does nothing to protect them from copyright if the offending item in on the fanart side. It's annoying, and all my original stuff is realistic oil paintings that don't sell at anime cons. Plus you have the staffers that can't count 50/50 even when you do it right, and say to take down more original stuff.

Anonymous Wed Jul 10 17:43:36 2019 No.10218238
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>Hasn't mailed out badges yet
>No AA OR Vendor email updates on maps, placements, and load in info.
>Now ignoring all tweets complaining about whats going on
>Lied and told everyone "ARE ACTIVELY BEING SHIPPED for delivery no later than July 12!" but ACTUALLY they're starting to ship them ON the 12th.
Their statement to us on this is "They're coming from Showclix. There were nearly 6,000 badges to mail this year, and we all have full-time jobs that make the logistics of Otakon doing it directly (and needing to get all the equipment for it) a bit difficult"

Which is a stupid lazy excuse.

Otakon, get your shit together for the love of god.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 10 17:57:42 2019 No.10218261 File: 14 KB, 513x124, grfd.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>10218238

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 10 20:48:50 2019 No.10218451 >>10217254 $5

Anonymous Wed Jul 10 21:17:04 2019 No.10218483

>>10218451
I used to sell mine for $5 too when I shared my table with a friend. We decided to keep our prices the same to not confuse the customer but when no one was buying her prints, she asked to drop our print price from $15 to $10. And then to $7. And then finally to $5. After a few cons, I suggested we get separate tables and set our own prices. We're not friends anymore.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 10 22:55:35 2019 No.10218622 >>10217254 $12, or 2 for 20. $15 for holo, 2 for $25. I was going to try to do $15 for a regular one this year at AX but i was surrounded by tables selling for $12, also I only have like 2 new prints

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 10 23:44:15 2019 No.10218674 How much merchandise do you guys bring to such big conventions? Do you fly out too, having to fit everything into suitcases?

>>	Anonymous Thu Jul 11 00:03:21 2019 No.10218685 >>10218261 >Y'all If there is a word I hate more in the English language.

>>	Anonymous Thu Jul 11 00:36:07 2019 No.10218718 >>10218685 k

>>	Anonymous Thu Jul 11 00:57:55 2019 No.10218734 Dumb question but I want to make a shirt with a print on the front and striped sleeves. No one online provides striped sleeves that I can find. Anyone know how I can go about doing this or am I gonna have to settle for a raglan style?

>>	Anonymous Thu Jul 11 01:12:38 2019 No.10218743 >>10218734 Literally just talk with your supplier(s).

Anonymous Thu Jul 11 03:03:08 2019 No.10218813

>>10218674
For AX I brought close to 1000 prints + other stuff, but is local for me so it was easy.

When I flew to Anime Boston I shipped a lot of my stuff directly to the con, and then carried everything back. For ACEN I shipped too much and ended up having to fedex a $50 package back.

>>	Anonymous Thu Jul 11 07:30:52 2019 No.10218962 >>10218238 This is honestly hilarious. They jerk everyone around and expect attendees and exhibitiors to be cool with it and when attendance goes down again the higher ups won’t listen to complaints and they’ll blame it on “the economy”

>>	Anonymous Thu Jul 11 16:31:36 2019 No.10219279 do you feel that prints on display sell better than if you had them in a catalog on your table? i dont like hyper cluttered looking tables but sales are more important

>>	Anonymous Thu Jul 11 17:02:04 2019 No.10219296 >>10219279 yes, catalogs are pretty useless

>>	Anonymous Thu Jul 11 18:07:17 2019 No.10219347 >>10219279 You need to have prints hanged up to bring people to the table but you should also have a catalog for people to flip through all your prints. If you want maximize your print sales you need to do both.

Anonymous Thu Jul 11 18:33:33 2019 No.10219374

>>10219279
I've actually been wanting to try having a 11x17 filled with 4(or more) prints saying "also available as 11x17" or something for the prints that don't sell as well but I still want to bring, has anyone tried that?

I don't have space on the table for a catalogue

Anonymous Thu Jul 11 22:33:43 2019 No.10219577

>>10219279
What this anon said >>10219347

Hang up your best sellers, put the others in a catalog. My popular prints bring customers to the table and then when they flip through my catalog they find niche fandoms they like and buy those too.

>>10219374
I've done this but with 8.5 x 11 paper. It works pretty well. If people are really picky abt it, they'll ask to see the actual print before paying but they all understand from my display prints that they're gonna be 11" x 17". I usually do it at cons with 6ft tables since I don't have room to fit a 11 x 17" catalog. At cons that let me have 8ft tables or two 6ft tables, I'll bring my full sized catalog.

>>	Anonymous Thu Jul 11 22:59:49 2019 No.10219606 >>10218743 I can't find a single manufacturer that will provide this service. I've been searching for days and emailed over a dozen companies who have all said no. Seems I'll have to settle.

Anonymous Thu Jul 11 23:52:06 2019 No.10219657

>>10219577
thats exactly what i wanted to do! or even buy a huge banner that has smaller samples on it. i like the look better of neatly organized and labeled merch rather than a slop of colors and paper. plus its easier for me to keep inventory. just wanted to kno in general if most people were interested in flipping through a catalog. my idea was putting up best/group/interesting pieces then having maybe 2 catalogs to flip through (1 under table) but just for prints

>>10219606
have you looked on alibaba? if nothing else find all over prints where you can design the stripe yourself

>>	Anonymous Fri Jul 12 01:55:26 2019 No.10219720 anons, when you make prints do you usually draw illustrations specifically with the intent of making them into prints? Or do you just draw as normal and decide afterwards if you'll turn it into a print?

>>	Anonymous Fri Jul 12 02:18:11 2019 No.10219734 >>10219720 Afterwards generally but I also just always draw on an 11/17 canvas anymore

>>	Anonymous Fri Jul 12 07:47:50 2019 No.10219838 >>10219374 What I do is put up my prints and use colored circle stickers to indicate that they come in a different size. Have a sign with my prices that say that that colored sticker = available in that size.

>>	Anonymous Fri Jul 12 15:57:13 2019 No.10220075 File: 225 KB, 900x1200, tit.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] Any gulls at tokyo in tulsa? Is it really as hellish as it seems?

Anonymous Fri Jul 12 16:12:35 2019 No.10220083

>>10220075
its a mess and I feel horrible for the artists, esp those at the back of the sorry excuse for an artist lobby. They were apparently literally told to bring their own lighting.

The hall gets darker the farther from the street side you go and people are literally using their phone to be able to see the merch. its funny-sad leaning more on sad by the minute.

Apparently there's no real staff at the bathroom either, haven't went yet and might seriously not take the chance and go in one of the other buildings.

Anonymous Fri Jul 12 17:19:55 2019 No.10220131

>>10219577
Yeah, I would expect some people would want to see the actual size so they can see the details or just get a closer look. My eyesight is horrible even with glasses so I can understand, thanks!

>>10219838
Oh nice, I can imagine a sticker would save on attempted text to explain varying sizes, thanks!

Anonymous Fri Jul 12 17:33:25 2019 No.10220142

>>10219720
I'm curious what "drawing as normal" means for you. You should always work at a high dpi and with print dimensions in mind, even if it's something you might not print. At the very least it might end up in a sketch collection or something, and it's so much easier if you already have all of your art similarly formatted. And besides that, there are just certain sizes that are best for social media upload. If you're cropping and resizing your canvas to arbitrary sizes while working then that's a really bad approach in every circumstance.

Anonymous Fri Jul 12 17:49:04 2019 No.10220151

>>10220142
AYRP, by "normal" i just mean drawing without necessary thinking "i'm going to turn this into merchandise"
Like you just sit down and create the piece just because it's something you feel like drawing, not with the thought in mind that you're going to be selling it. For example, some people might do some fanart and post it online just because they feel like it, and it gets a lot of attention so they then decide to turn it into an actual piece of merch. Hope that makes sense.

Anonymous Fri Jul 12 18:30:51 2019 No.10220186

>>10219720
A combinatioon of both. As previous anon said, its a good idea to have 300 dpi and large canvas sizes as the starting default in the programs you use. I'd say 70% of my prints were made specifically with the intent to turn them into prints to sell. The other 30% is more or less things I madde "for fun" and decided to include them in whatever print order I was trying to beef up. One of the 30% was actually a commission my good friend had me do with Persona 5 characters. He was kind enough to allow me to sell it as a print and it ended up being one of my most successful ones haha. I way undercharged my friend for the comm and it's made me $100s in the last 2 years :D
Additionally I've seen my postcard size prints of headshots/busts of specific characters do really well. When I drew the original image I was doing it just for fun because I liked the characters. It's always nice when something you do just for fun can turn profitable.

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 14 02:35:29 2019 No.10221135 >>10220075 what a shitshow. Tokyo in Tulsa isn't even a good con with or without them moving it to random hobby lobby. I will forever avoid in the future.

Anonymous Sun Jul 14 03:30:33 2019 No.10221142

>>10219657
Yeah, looked on alibaba extensively. No luck. With all-over prints, they take an image and display it on the entire face of the garment, so the stripes would bleed onto the front side/not work with different sizings. I'm not too bad at sewing so I think I'm gonna just make the shirts entirely from scratch at this point

Anonymous Sun Jul 14 04:45:24 2019 No.10221187

>>10221135
I'm actually surprised by how badly they're handling this on Twitter. It's horrible from a PR standpoint. They're not an established con with big attendance like AX that can use their numbers to silence artists. TnT's sales aren't great and the only reason artists attend it is because either 1) they're local or local enough or 2) they want to reach that midwest-ish market and don't have anything better to do that weekend. Honestly, most bigger name artists can make more online stores sales in a weekend than at that con.

There's no reason for artists to stay silent about TnT. We lose nothing if we drop this con from our calendar. They've shot themselves in the foot because it's not like a big con where other artists would sign up regardless of what happened because the money is too good.

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 14 05:37:03 2019 No.10221207 >>10221187 Some local small artists starting out be desperate for cons like these due to competition being so high everywhere else, so I don't see TnT dying, at least not for another year.

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 14 05:41:28 2019 No.10221209 Are 8.5x11 prints too small to have as my largest print size? I'm not sure if people would buy mine at 11x17 as much, but I feel like 11x17 probably looks better on display right?

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 14 07:19:56 2019 No.10221233 >>10218238 Otakon AA isn’t going to give us the time of day until about 7 days till the Thursday of the con. I’m guessing they’ll email us this upcoming Thursday. If it’s later than that then they’re really scummy this year.

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 14 12:41:29 2019 No.10221377 File: 58 KB, 1280x720, 1402419239646.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] Have any of you taken an old print/print series and completely redid it?

Anonymous Sun Jul 14 13:50:03 2019 No.10221411

>>10221207
>>10221207
Eh, Oklahoma is close enough to TX and TX has much better cons so I know I’d just personally drive to one of those. When I was at TnT last year, most artists were from out of state. And even then there were a bunch of empty tables/no-shows. They’ve always struggled to completely fill up their AA. They’re honestly gonna lose all the veteran artists who travel to shows and be left with con newbies who will most likely have subpar art.

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 14 16:14:53 2019 No.10221495 Any advice for where can get anything 420/smoking related made? I've messaged so many sellers and alibaba but everything related to that the moq is way too high for me..

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 14 17:31:59 2019 No.10221547 >>10221495 >wants something extremely niche and trickier to manufacture >'whys the moq so high'

Anonymous Sun Jul 14 21:09:22 2019 No.10221660

>>10221377
yes, I've done it for 2 prints so far, but because I can't stand my old art style but think the composition is worth salvaging. It sells pretty decently, but the issue is whether or not the series still has fans. If the series isn't getting some kind of reboot or a huge influx in attention, I would just retire the print and move onto new artworks.

Anonymous Sun Jul 14 21:13:08 2019 No.10221661

What do people do with all the merch they got from a fandom they're no longer into? Obviously Good Omens is the new flavor that everyone's getting charms, etc of, but what happens to it all when the trend moves on? Do they keep it all? Throw it away? Part of me feels guilt in making trendy merch because i feel like it's just going to contribute to a pile of dead-fandom trash later down the line

Anonymous Sun Jul 14 21:57:55 2019 No.10221683

>>10221209
8.5x11 is really small for a print. Definitely go for 11x17 or A3 as your largest print size or as one of your larger options.
And remember, if people are willing to buy your print at a small size, they'd definitely be willing to buy it at a larger size as well. If anything, I find that people prefer large prints to use as posters.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 00:37:27 2019 No.10221753 >>10221547 I didn't think it was that niche, I see people selling lazer engraved lighters a lot at cons

Anonymous Mon Jul 15 00:47:30 2019 No.10221760

>>10221683
> If anything, I find that people prefer large prints
DA, but that's interesting to hear? It's the opposite what I've usually seen in this thread, there's always a lot of people saying big prints are dying and nobody has wall space anymore.
On the other hand, maybe that's just an excuse from the customers, since those top tier print only artists still sell a lot anyway.

Anonymous Mon Jul 15 01:56:56 2019 No.10221790

>>10221753
Most folks don't smoke, and therefore probably don't want a fancy and expensive lighter. Non-smokers will just buy a bic from the local gas station. Those lighters you saw are indeed for a niche market.

>>10221760
>there's always a lot of people saying big prints are dying
God I hope not. Ever since I started framing my prints, I've only bought large ones. Too many prints in frames = cluttered as fuck walls. Then again, I'm an adult in my mid-twenties. Teens and college kids love filling their walls with dozens of 8x11s and 4x5s. If that's who you're marketing your art to, go for it.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 02:40:04 2019 No.10221803 >>10221661 Good Omens existed as a book for years and had fanfic since 1994... the fandom is just thriving again because of the TV show but I'm sure a lot of fans will keep buying it for at least the summer.

Anonymous Mon Jul 15 03:26:03 2019 No.10221825

>>10221803
This. I bought a couple of Good Omens prints like 8 years back at a con. The book was very popular by word of mouth when I was in college. I just made some buttons but I refuse to give Crowley red hair, so I'm sure the tv show fans will claim I messed up.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 16:38:43 2019 No.10222202 >>10221207 I lived in Oklahoma most of my life and never once went to an Oklahoma con, even when I was first starting out. Anyone with an ounce of common sense sells at Texas cons as their "local" cons.

Anonymous Mon Jul 15 17:57:40 2019 No.10222270

>>10221661
lel, this reminds me of that photo someone took of a voltron jacket they found in a charity shop

anyway people throw things away all the time. they'll do it to even untrendy things you make. to any art. we grow out of things all the time and sometimes even rediscover that joy later.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 18:36:57 2019 No.10222288 For those that sell on Etsy/once sold on Etsy, how much did you make your first year on the platform?

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 18:40:45 2019 No.10222294 >>10221661 Give it to a friend or the thrift store usually. Lots of thrift stores have sections dedicated to buttons, keychains, and stuff like that. Most art prints probably end up in the trash though after they eventually get damaged somehow.

Anonymous Mon Jul 15 19:38:05 2019 No.10222343
File: 119 KB, 629x788, C8C5A3BC-A0CC-4B8F-B186-3AD20AA4A50D.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]

Twitchcon aa emails are out
>so many salty popular artists
>the dude who harassed that girl and called her a retard on twitch for her art skill level has gotten in.
>streamers getting in and selling stupid merch that isn’t art by them or art related.
>artists getting in that said they haven’t drawn in years.

Anonymous Mon Jul 15 19:43:53 2019 No.10222347

>>10221760
I sold around 600 11x17 prints at AX. People are running out wall space though. I hear a lot of people discussing what they need to take down while theyre choosing their prints from my catalogue.

So your prints have to be better than your neighbors AND what your customers already have on their walls to sell.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 20:36:27 2019 No.10222377 File: 3 KB, 109x125, 1563121274533s.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>10221661 >mfw my Adventure Time prints wound up getting torn up by my dog

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 20:53:02 2019 No.10222391 Is PMX worth coming down to from NorCal for the weekend? Is it comparable to ALA?

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 20:58:03 2019 No.10222398 >>10222391 This is the Lolita cosplay con right? From what I heard from my friends gf who went last year, its a dead con. The lost all their brands that used to come from Japan so it's just a Lolita meeup at this point

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 21:01:50 2019 No.10222404 >>10222391 PMX was dead when I went 6 years ago in Lolita, I can't even believe it's still around now.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 21:28:50 2019 No.10222433 >>10222391 what the hell is PMX honestly though, don't. i'm surprised it even still exists

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 21:38:50 2019 No.10222438 How do you guys keep money? I hear horror stories about wallets being stolen and such. Also, how many of you use credit card readers?

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 22:11:05 2019 No.10222457 >>10221661 I was thinking of making some CLAMP stuff, outside of Cardcaptor Sakura. I'm worried no one is going to care, though.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 22:27:26 2019 No.10222470 >>10222438 Apron or fanny pack. I use a card reader, I'd consider it a must have at this point.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 22:28:31 2019 No.10222473 >>10222438 Fanny packs and yes, lurk moar, summerfag.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 22:34:01 2019 No.10222481 >>10222343 Is this a jury con or lottery?

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 23:33:57 2019 No.10222527 >>10222288 I just hit a year. I made about $500... only about 10% came from Etsy though. The rest from social media. That's why I'm moving elsewhere with all the shit etsy is pushing.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 23:41:16 2019 No.10222535 >>10222288 I made 1,300. This year is my second year and I surpassed last years number in 5 months.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 23:45:01 2019 No.10222539 >>10222438 i keep it in my tiddys

Anonymous Mon Jul 15 23:47:03 2019 No.10222540

>>10222288
>>10222527
>>10222535
Are we just checking the numbers via the revenue stats on Etsy? I just checked it that way and... I made a lot more than I thought. I made 10k in 2016 but about 90% of my sales were in December alone. You really can't beat that holiday rush.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 23:47:28 2019 No.10222541 File: 438 KB, 1436x1202, Screen Shot 2019-07-15 at 8.43.57 PM.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>10222481 This is the info from TwitchCon 2017 so it might be outdated but it looks like it's fcfs.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 23:49:26 2019 No.10222542 >>10222541 Wait jk I read that wrong. Looks like it's fcfs with a twist where if you exhibited the year before, you get bumped to the top of the list. There's very little other information.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 15 23:50:35 2019 No.10222544 >>10222343 Can we please tweet Twitch or somehow contact their customer service about this? It would look bad for them if they let this guy who bullied a girl on their platform sell his art at their con.

Anonymous Mon Jul 15 23:57:45 2019 No.10222545

>>10222544
Didn't they ban him when that happened since harassment is against Twitch ToS? I checked his twitch the other day, and it looked like his channel was still up and making profit. If they let him back on, I really doubt they care enough about him tabling at their con.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 16 00:08:07 2019 No.10222550 >>10222438 I use a utility pouch with multiple interior pockets, so it's easy to sort my coins and bills. Also use the Square's contactless card reader, so easy, made back my $50 quick.

Anonymous Tue Jul 16 00:10:14 2019 No.10222551

>>10222545
They let him off the hook because he threw all the blame on his gf and was like "She influenced me to do it. I'm not actually a bad person."
Twitch isn't exactly well known for upholding their own community standards either and will let popular streamers get away with shit that smaller channels would get banned for.

Anonymous Tue Jul 16 00:12:34 2019 No.10222552

>>10222545
Forgot to add to my post but I suspect the only reason why they banned him was because they were pressured into it since Neko is friends with several Offline TV people and Ross and Arin of Game Grumps tweeted Twitch saying that Kuno should be banned for harassment.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 16 00:21:50 2019 No.10222558 >>10222288 $3000-ish. I'm at 3.5 years currently. I ended year three at around $5.5k.

Anonymous Tue Jul 16 00:33:22 2019 No.10222568

>>10222288
My first full year, $6,000. That was 2015
On track to make ~$28,000 this year

>>10222438
I just use a lock box and carry it with me at the end of the day. I keep it right in front of me so no one can take anything without me or my table partner seeing it.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 16 00:54:52 2019 No.10222581 >>10222541 It used to be FCFS, but now it's Jury with priority for Twitch Streamers.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 16 00:56:13 2019 No.10222582 >>10222288 I'm at around 8 months and I'm around $900. Almost all my sales have come from Etsy.

Anonymous Tue Jul 16 03:55:08 2019 No.10222647

>>10222551
What’s so ironic is that one of my friends was at a con where he was tabling at and he’s still with his gf. Hana or whatever her name was. But in his tweets, he was like yeah I broke up with her because boohoo she bad. But nah, a lying pos as usual

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 16 10:54:28 2019 No.10222760 >>10222438 My first year, last year, was just over 5k This year I'm at 9k already, and the shop has been closed most of the time due to conventions.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 16 11:10:27 2019 No.10222766 >>10222288 About 10k for my first year but I don't forsee me growing that much in the next year (fandoms, trends, etc are hard for me to keep up with) Traffic stats say 70% from Etsy.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 16 12:49:53 2019 No.10222855 >>10222288 65k on tax ID (minus my shipping labels)

Anonymous Tue Jul 16 13:22:45 2019 No.10222875

on a similiar note; What % of your income is online vs conventions? It use to be a 50/50 split for me, but the past year my Etsy sales have gone way up and its soooo much less stressful since I don't have to worry so much about getting accepted into AA. Its about 80% online sales now.

Anonymous Tue Jul 16 13:49:58 2019 No.10222881

>>10222766
>>10222855
>These first year numbers

Time to kms

>>10222875
Something like 20/80 but I've gotten into a grand total of 2 cons this year. Online sale for me is pocket change status right now so I'm fucking around with SEOs on Etsy to improve traffic.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 16 17:41:18 2019 No.10222979 As artists who table, anyone else get disapointed when an artist that you look up to is at the same convention and they end up being a hambeast?

Anonymous Tue Jul 16 18:15:00 2019 No.10222990

>>10222979
I do, but not because they're overweight because I'm not an asshole who thinks weight diminishes skill, but I get disappointed when an artist I look up to is rude and dismissive to their fans or potential friends and literally don't bother to look in your general direction unless you're handing them money(and sometimes not even that). I've had a couple people I wanted to talk to and looked up to that have turned out to be incredibly mean-spirited or up their own ass that it's turned me off from buying their products ever again.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 16 18:16:24 2019 No.10222991 >>10222979 No

Anonymous Tue Jul 16 18:59:31 2019 No.10223026

>>10221683
I had 5 people ask if I had one of my 11x17 prints in a smaller size at my last con. When I said I didn't, only one of the five bought the print.

I am not sure if it is because it was original art, or $15 was too much for them or the space issue. I may make it into a smaller print now.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 16 19:48:08 2019 No.10223048 >>10223026 I'm thinking about doing the same and offer 5x7 for $10. A bit pricey but I want customers to see the $15 large print as the better deal.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 16 20:53:14 2019 No.10223077 >>10222979 no, but like >>10222990 said I get disappointed to find out that an artist is rude or mean.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 16 20:55:32 2019 No.10223078 >>10222979 Who’s the hambeast you look up to anon I want to know

Anonymous Tue Jul 16 20:56:25 2019 No.10223082

>>10222979
No

>>10222990
Sometimes i worry about this because there a few cons where i get so fucking short circuited from customers i will accidentally come off as rude every so often just because of the sheer amount of people i need to move through my table.

I hope you can give artists you think come off cold a chance, most of the time i feel like it isn't on purpose and had you been there at a different time it wouldn't have played out the same. You never quite know what is happening behind the scenes, if it wasn't something like me, they could have been having a really bad day, something could have happened back home or something may not be working with their set up and they are trying to figure it out the best they can and couldn't use as much energy to be as nice as they normally are.

Anonymous Tue Jul 16 21:12:56 2019 No.10223094

>>10223082
You should work on your temper/composure. Even when I've had a lot of behind the scenes shit happening (family deaths, moving woes were the two big ones from the past year), I made sure to always keep a smile on and greet each customer like they're king of the world. Customer service is so important in AA.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 16 21:22:40 2019 No.10223102 >>10222979 Imagine letting what a person looks like affect whether you enjoy their work. The weakness.

Anonymous Tue Jul 16 21:32:56 2019 No.10223116

>>10223094
I mean it's really.. not. Some artists are working over 8 hours solo with constant rushes of customers, without even a 15 minute break or lunch break. It's ridiculous that people expect artists to act like robots, and I don't think that's the standard you should be expecting people to operate under.

Basically if someone handles 250 transactions a day alone at a con and are accidentally cold to 4 people, I don't think you should take it personally and consider that you might have just been unlucky not because your favorite artist is a shit head.

But I also don't think a customer should expect to be treated like a "king" lol.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 16 21:35:26 2019 No.10223119 >>10222979 artists are fat because they spend a lot of time sitting and drawing anon, how else do you think they get so good otherwise?

Anonymous Tue Jul 16 21:48:09 2019 No.10223129

>>10223094
I agree if it's like, an artist taking out their anger on customers or having a meltdown on the con floor, but I side more with >>10223082 if they're brusque or subdued in their interactions. I once had an awkward encounter with an artist I really looked up to because although she was polite, she gave mostly terse replies and really looked like she didn't want to be there. I didn't take it personally then since I also know it's hard to keep a customer service mode on, but I later found out her dog died the day before the con and it's became extremely understandable.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 16 23:38:43 2019 No.10223176 >>10223116 >imagine literally not being able to control your emotions like this You’re seriously an infant.

Anonymous Wed Jul 17 00:08:49 2019 No.10223199

>>10223129
Damn that sucks :( But that's exactly what I meant. Sometimes people are really sad their fav artist was kinda cold towards them or didn't say hello immediately, etc, but like almost every time I'm sure there was a reason we're just not aware of.

>>10223176
What's it like having no friend or followers

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 17 00:39:38 2019 No.10223209 >>10222979 youre saying that like most of them arent in their 30s with ponytails, glasses, hoodies and no makeup

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 17 04:51:10 2019 No.10223277 File: 86 KB, 479x532, 2019-26-7.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 17 04:56:44 2019 No.10223279 File: 31 KB, 479x532, 1563353470030 - Copy.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]

Anonymous Wed Jul 17 10:53:22 2019 No.10223406

>>10223116
>accidentally cold to 4 people
You have to keep in mind that for those 4 people that's likely their ENTIRE interaction with you. It's a huge disconnect between customer and artist, the customers really don't think about what it's like having to work a table all day, they're not thinking about all the other people you've talked to and are going to talk to, and a lot of artists think it's fine to slip like this for a few customers when they have so many, and forget that for those individual customers, it wasn't just a ratio, it was 100% of their impression of you. What if one of those 4 people happened to be stealthing for your favorite studio or publisher or looking to wholesale merch or something? I know it's really hard to stay "on" 100% of the time you're working but it really is important.

Anonymous Wed Jul 17 11:00:25 2019 No.10223409

>>10223176
>Getting so upset about people having a bad day that you call them infants
Geez you need to chill. Stress and bad events can get to anyone. Most people can relate to that and if they're unfortunate enough to catch you on a bad day abd get a bad impression then too bad. It's better to lose a few customers that are more sensitive about this stuff than getting burned out by trying to keep up appearances when your dog dies or something. As long as you normally try to be polite and customer friendly most people can deal. Getting mad at people not being 100% in control over their emotions ironically makes you seem like the one with anger issues here.

Anonymous Wed Jul 17 13:52:48 2019 No.10223456

>>10223406
That's the whole fucking point of my original post.. I was asking for people to realize this and cut some human beings some slack the same way I cut people slack because we're all on this shit fucking earth together you fucking weirdo.

And no it's not important to me the way it seems to be for you, I don't give a shit about being hired by anyone. I want to be happy, i want to provide a good experience for my followers, and I want to do good while i'm alive. If i have a handful of off interactions a weekend so be it, I just want people to remember we're all humans doing our best before they spread rumors about so-and-so looking at their phone at the table or whatever.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 17 18:41:34 2019 No.10223608 >>10223094 It's autistic as fuck but I always get put off when I'm cosplaying a character that the artist has several prints/charms/pins of and they won't even make eye contact while I'm browsing their table.

Anonymous Wed Jul 17 19:13:23 2019 No.10223626

>>10223608
That's just a bad salesman through and through. I didn't table for a few years so I roamed in cosplay and was put off when the same thing happened to me. I tend to target cosplayers and try to coerce them in. Cosplayers want people to acknowledge them, it's a win-win.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 17 19:58:58 2019 No.10223644 debating on ordering hard enamel from gs-jj. has anyone ordered 100+ from them with any defects?

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 17 20:27:52 2019 No.10223664 >>10223644 aaa also forgot to ask. does anyone sell firsthand 11x17 or general a3+ prints online? if yes, how do you ship? if no do you just use sites like inprnt?

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 17 20:29:55 2019 No.10223665 >>10223664 I roll them in a 12" tube mailer. I think my width is 2". First class shipping is as cheap as a tiny hard mailer amazingly. Like under $3.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 17 20:40:32 2019 No.10223674 >>10221377 Yes. I recently made one of my first prints and it is now easily my best seller. It's a long running series with a solid fanbase though.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 17 22:23:53 2019 No.10223729 Anyone know when katsucon is going to open their AA applications?

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 17 23:53:38 2019 No.10223768 Kinda a stupid question but was still wondering, has anyone ITT moved overseas and still had your shop running online? How did it effect your sales? Any advice or anything I should be prepared for? TIA!

>>	Anonymous Thu Jul 18 00:14:42 2019 No.10223776 For artists who do both porn and normal art, which is more profitable for you? Also, which platform do you sell both your normal art merchandise and your lewd art?

Anonymous Thu Jul 18 01:41:57 2019 No.10223822

>>10223776
Porn is way more profitable for me. You can sell lewd merch on Etsy, but you have to censor it if it's showing genitalia/nipples. I don't think they allow explicit sex scenes though. If you want to sell that, maybe try bigcartel or just open your own storefront.

Anonymous Thu Jul 18 01:52:41 2019 No.10223826

>>10223776
I think it really depends on you and how you personally feel about selling porn, anon. I don't have personal experience but I have a friend who used to do cons but then went full on porn commissions only for a while since she thought it would make her more money. And it did in the short run but she had a lot of trouble just dealing with her fanbase/customers because they'd want her to interact with them and send her unsolicited sex fantasies, etc etc. It was pretty shitty for her mental health so in the end she stopped doing NSFW entirely.

If you're thinking about just selling like... lewd doujins and dakis I think you should be fine since they're just through a storefront. But if you're thinking about lewd commissions only, I'd just think about whether you as a person enjoy that line of work & the possible shitty fan interactions you might have.

>>	Anonymous Thu Jul 18 01:57:39 2019 No.10223827 What do you have too much of? 11x17 Prints? Enamel pins? Buttons? Shirts? I have this cool idea for my next piece but I'm wondering if shirts still sell well.

>>	Anonymous Thu Jul 18 02:04:33 2019 No.10223829 >>10221495 Metamorphosis Collection las vegas does resin work with cannabis leaf pressings. Weird and probably not what you're looking for, but neat anyway.

>>	Anonymous Thu Jul 18 05:21:41 2019 No.10223899 >>10223608 Okay but I’m the opposite if the artist is like oh hey I drew you and points to it and makes a big deal out of it Maybe I’m the minority but I love it when any shop/person leaves me the fuck alone but when I’m ready to buy they’re reacting

>>	Anonymous Thu Jul 18 11:58:44 2019 No.10224027 >>10223899 This is actually why i dont make a big deal about cosplayers, i hate feeling pressured to buy. At most if they linger Ill tell them i love their cosplay they did a great job!

Anonymous Thu Jul 18 17:33:59 2019 No.10224192

>>10224027
This.
Obviously if I see a cosplayer from a series I like I'll be excited, but because I don't want to come off as trying to pressure them into buying anything (and this goes for all attendees, not just cosplayers), I always wait to see if they show any interest in my table at all before I start talking to them. And even then I keep the subject to their cosplay and the series and don't mention the merch I have for it since they can obviously see it themselves. The only exception is when they're going through stuff from said series, then I might ask if they have a favorite character etc. they're looking for so I can make their life a bit easier. Even if the person doesn't end up buying anything that time, often times when I see them at another con they stop by the table again to chat and properly look through everything, and occasionally find something they actually like. I've gotten some really lovely regular customers this way, while I imagine if you were to manage to make someone buy things due to sheer pressure they'd avoid your table like a plague at future cons.

Anonymous Thu Jul 18 20:20:09 2019 No.10224253

>>10223899
I'm referring to somebody just making eye contact or nodding or even smiling, just some kind of acknowledgement instead of looking down like they're hoping I'll go away.
Initiating a full-on conversation or pointing out every piece of their art isn't the same thing.

Anonymous Thu Jul 18 22:09:07 2019 No.10224279

>>10224253
It's also possible the person at the table is only a helper and not the artist themselves and honestly has no idea who you are and not like a terrible person or whatever. There are a million reasons someone might not act the way you expect, try not to imagine they are horrible people immediately.

>>	Anonymous Fri Jul 19 23:23:49 2019 No.10224844 File: 110 KB, 1067x600, 1561583130182.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>10223116 That's customer fucking service. Doing the same shit all day for 8 hours. If you can't handle it, don't table. Retard.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jul 20 00:15:45 2019 No.10224882 >>10224279 >not like a terrible person or whatever. I don't assume anything about an artist's character, I'm just a lot less likely to give them my money if I'm standing there for a minute and they won't even attempt eye contact.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jul 20 00:17:58 2019 No.10224885 >>10224882 big same

>>	Anonymous Sat Jul 20 00:58:11 2019 No.10224950 >>10224882 Exactly this, no one cares enough to give a life/character analysis on why you didn’t have a convincing attitude with them, but good service has a good effect on most people and vice versa

>>	Anonymous Sat Jul 20 01:12:43 2019 No.10224969 >>10224844 Karen spotted

>>	Anonymous Sat Jul 20 01:37:08 2019 No.10224992 >>10224844 I agree, its literally just 3 days too.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jul 20 02:15:56 2019 No.10225006 >>10224992 >>10224844 must be nice getting so few customers you never feel rushed lol

>>	Anonymous Sat Jul 20 03:19:59 2019 No.10225025 >>10225006 nayrt sorry you can't multitask by smiling and taking a sale at the same time

Anonymous Sat Jul 20 03:28:34 2019 No.10225027

>>10224882
>>10224253

Related to this, at AX one of my fans came up to me and bought something and mentioned that they were from twitter, when I gave my thanks they said they were relieved at my positive reaction because apparently they stopped by several other artist's booths to say that they were a fan and the other artists were just like "whatever" and it really discouraged them to the point where they were hesitant to say hi to me in fear I'd react the same way. They came by the next day to buy something again and give me a gift. So yeah, your momentary brushing off a customer might be simple to you, but it could crush them and ruin their day so maybe think about not being selfish until at least the alley closes up for the day?

>>	Anonymous Sat Jul 20 04:58:25 2019 No.10225044 Does anyone have experience selling square prints and how would you compare them to the usual rectangle prints? I'd like to add a few 10x10 or 12x12 to my inventory but I'm afraid they'll be a waste of time.

Anonymous Sat Jul 20 05:19:01 2019 No.10225047

>>10225044
Funny you mention it, I started carrying square mini prints this year (but small ones like 5x5), they didn't move much as I expected and they were a hassle to order because my supplier kept getting the quantities wrong so I phased them out as quickly as I had started carrying them.

I'm not sure if it's the content or the shape that isn't much of a hit, but I've decided to repurpose them into stickers anyway.

Anonymous Sat Jul 20 05:30:26 2019 No.10225048

>>10225027
I have ppl coming up to my table constantly telling me they follow me on social media, and I always thank them, even though it's exhausting hearing it over and over. I'm genuinely grateful for my followers so I don't want them to think I'm not. I don't want my exhaustion or awkwardness to ruin their nice gesture. THEY don't know how many times I've heard it that day.
I still try not to get upset at other artists when I buy from them, if they don't act like I do. I've gotten plenty of cold shoulders and terse interactions. But I think that's unreasonable to expect everyone to take it in stride, particularly non-artists who have no idea what it's like to table or have never held a customer service job.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jul 20 05:39:04 2019 No.10225051 >>10225025 :'( sorry about ur lackluster sales

Anonymous Sat Jul 20 08:49:16 2019 No.10225094

>>10225051
wow must be real hard working 3-4 days every couple months taking sales from people who say they love your work and buying the stuff you made versus working literally any other retail job where people scream at you if you're out of stock of something or their coupon doesn't work or whatever

Anonymous Sat Jul 20 09:20:34 2019 No.10225103

>>10225094
nayrt but do you realize how much work even goes into doing artist alley? How many hours go into preparing art, product, logistics. How complicated table displays can be and how many artists have two to three conventions in a month. And how many artists also work either full or part time on top of this- sometimes IN retail?

This is from someone who puts customer experience first.

Anonymous Sat Jul 20 12:29:12 2019 No.10225208

>>10225094
>>10225103
I've done both, both are hard. I'd choose the artist gig over the retail one because I have to deal with less entitled people. You still get them, but now I'm the boss and owner so I can just be like No. I have enough freelance in the last months that I soft declined a toxic client too, and they are a big company. There's a different type of stress in the artist thing, mainly over if things will go well next month. Money is always in the air and never a solid, so if you are short you have to get creative.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jul 20 13:45:50 2019 No.10225250 >>10225044 I've been buying mini square prints, I think 5x5"? And I'm really digging them, I can fit a lot on my wall.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jul 20 15:00:20 2019 No.10225287 >>10225094 >working 3-4 days every couple months oh wow way to out yourself as never having actually done AA or merch sales, keep cryin at ur retail job I guess

Anonymous Sat Jul 20 19:13:00 2019 No.10225416

>>10225094
You clearly do not have a popular table lol. I mean yea AA is way more money, but when I did retail it was 8 hour shifts with 2 15 minute breaks and 30 min lunch break. At AA only one con I go to is only open for 8 hours (most are 9, 10+) and it has no breaks and way more transactions per minute than any retail job I had. In a tourist city, in a touristy location.

Oh I also don't assume retail workers are machines to serve my every whim.

Anonymous Sat Jul 20 20:00:08 2019 No.10225459

>>10225287
NTAYRT but I only do one convention a year (AX) since I make more than enough from my online store. Working (physically) only 4 days a year isn’t surprising anon. Not everyone has to whore themselves out at every convention they can get their hands on kek

>>	Anonymous Sat Jul 20 20:11:27 2019 No.10225465 Can we move on from the petty bickering at some point? I was thinking I need to socialize with artist alley neighbors more, but maybe it's a good idea to talk less.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jul 20 22:22:54 2019 No.10225526 >>10225465 just steer clear from the ones that publically admit to frequenting these threads and youll be good

>>	Anonymous Sat Jul 20 23:52:27 2019 No.10225566 >>10225526 It’s the ones that are sneaky about it that you should watch for. Those who are open about the board tend to have nothing to hide.

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 21 00:58:43 2019 No.10225586 >>10225459 NTAYRT but really? Implying that convention days are the only days you do work does yourself and other artists a massive discredit. I know you're trying to keep up with the snark trolling but assuming you aren't just a bootlegger, jfc man

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 21 04:28:44 2019 No.10225684 I'm about to write a complaint letter to a con, any advice?

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 21 10:25:10 2019 No.10225777 >>10225586 Hence why I put working (physically) only 4 days a year since I don’t have 8 hour shifts like one of the anons previously mentioned. I was trying to emphasize how I basically only show face 4 days out of the year.

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 21 12:32:59 2019 No.10225826 >>10225684 be assertive

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 21 16:20:35 2019 No.10226034 How well do tote bags sell? I see a lot of people selling them but I'm curious to know how well they move.

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 21 17:40:06 2019 No.10226067 Thoughts on the BluePotionCo contreversy? When she's reporter at cons the AA does nothing? Anyone with first hand info I'm curious how she gets away with major profits while tracing official art

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 21 18:17:42 2019 No.10226089 >>10226067 Can post screen caps or something? This just sounds like a personal vendetta.

Anonymous Sun Jul 21 18:56:45 2019 No.10226115
File: 85 KB, 169x350, traced.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]

>>10226067
I don't know how she keeps getting away with tracing other peoples art not enough artists are calling her out on her bullshit.

Her "Ocean Friends enamel pin" kickstarter with stolen designs was thankfully cancelled
>>10226089
Do a quick google search anon it's not hard

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 21 20:30:02 2019 No.10226143 File: 159 KB, 815x1200, 41F5DF02-12EE-4F02-B957-8F8D5E11BFBB.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>10226089

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 21 20:31:04 2019 No.10226145 File: 132 KB, 675x1200, C4A85879-D748-45C0-9F47-33E0A1613558.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>10226143 She also steals from other artists . Also I was banned for bringing this up so I assume she ha

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 21 20:32:11 2019 No.10226148 >>10226145 has friends here. Fuck you Steph.

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 21 22:53:42 2019 No.10226207 >>10226067 She's been exposed as a thief for a while now.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 22 01:02:45 2019 No.10226282 >>10226067 I think people tend to forget (because we surround ourselves with other artists or supporters of artists) that the vast majority of people are perfectly happy buying traced shit or bootleg pins from Wish. they just don't think about it

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 22 12:49:29 2019 No.10226516 For those of you with a portfolio site for AA do you put only work that you intend to sell on it or do you also put work you don't sell?

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 22 13:07:11 2019 No.10226525 >>10226516 I put commission pieces in there that are similar to what I do sell.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 22 13:31:41 2019 No.10226541 is patreon worth messing around with just as a donation / postcard subscription thing? i'm a dumb fuck and forgot to make a page before the new fees were implemented.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 22 22:18:48 2019 No.10226875 >>10226516 When I first started, I put my best work on there because I didn't have art that was print-size at the time, but over time I added current prints on there as well as personal illustration work.

Anonymous Mon Jul 22 22:36:00 2019 No.10226886

>>10226034
My totes do super well or super meh depending on where I am. I have an original brand centered around animals so when I do furry cons they go apeshit for them, but at anime/comic cons they do the most okay. I sell them for $25 and they're enormous. They're a nice bigger-ticket item that are slightly easier to transport since they can be rolled up in suitcases and such.

Anonymous Tue Jul 23 06:04:51 2019 No.10227070
File: 135 KB, 640x252, A419DF09-AFF8-4C7B-BE86-FEC21B1ABC22.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]

Otakon put out a vendor and artist interactive map and I’m laughing cause I can tell 0 effort was put into it after outlining the tables and stuff in the halls. Empty tables or they neglected putting info on it. What’s the point of including the artist alley on here if it’s just gonna be all blank you morons. https://s23.a2zinc.net/clients/otakorp/ota19/Public/EventMap.aspx?shMode=E

Anonymous Tue Jul 23 15:30:08 2019 No.10227345

>>10223768
Late to this but I live overseas. Make sure you triple check your visa allowances, like whether online sales fall under freelance or if you need to register a small business, etc. since there can be weird rules (where I live it's forbidden for foreign students to have an online store). I would recommend finding a country-specific AA group or visiting your local tax office to have your shit squared away before you sell.

Anonymous Tue Jul 23 18:46:48 2019 No.10227462

>>10226067
What's your thoughts on buying from a person like this or having some friends buy, then rating them 1 star and saying things like "Stolen artwork"? People won't know unless it's said somewhere she can't remove and she'll keep doing it until her reputation is completely in the dirt.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 23 19:59:57 2019 No.10227524 >>10227462 unless you can outnumber how many people are buying already this won't do anything, and if you do outnumber them you sure have given her a lot of money lol

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 23 20:05:30 2019 No.10227530 >>10227070 I hope AA isn't as disorganized as it was last year but this isn't a good sign lmao

Anonymous Tue Jul 23 21:18:01 2019 No.10227606

>>10227462
I don't believe this a good idea, it's better if artists make those call-out/psa posts that can be shared. But she's still gonna make sales from someone as long as she has them up.

Have any of the artists of original work filed against her? Even fanartists who were stolen from could. Or like has anyone tried sending emails to Nintendo showing the traced work? pk got a cad from hasbro eventually. This honestly is the best way to get her to stop.

Anonymous Wed Jul 24 05:06:26 2019 No.10227841
File: 2.61 MB, 1296x1062, Screenshot 2019-07-24 at 10.02.23.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]

Sorry if it's a little oot from the edition of this thread, but basically I want to get holographic stickers made but have yet to find a reliable vendor.

I placed an order with a sticker company that does holographic stickers but not as a laminate but rather as a base. So far I was unable to find anywhere that does this particular kind of finish (yet I see they're all over at cons!)

Does anyone have recommendations for suppliers that offer die-cut holographic overlay finish? Or is it meant to be a diy thing?

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 24 08:11:04 2019 No.10227911 File: 3 KB, 519x51, hahaaaa.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] my favorite joke of 2019

Anonymous Wed Jul 24 09:12:42 2019 No.10227937

Shit is going DOWN with concerns to Otakon's AA table sizes. They say they will give Unlimited and Pro row first picks on 8ft tables but we all know they don't care.
They'll keep doing it over and over again until the artists who raise hell leave, or give up trying.
It never effects the person doing it too, cause they always bring their own tables.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 24 13:18:38 2019 No.10228046 >>10227841 This looks like holo laminate manually applied over a paper-based sticker.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 24 16:13:16 2019 No.10228164 can otakon FUCKING EMAIL ME BACK about the tax shit?????

Anonymous Wed Jul 24 19:01:21 2019 No.10228274

After what happened with Kyoto Animation last week, do you guys think it's going to affect AA sales in any way? Will artists stop selling any fanart from Kyoani series for a while, or will it go the other way and everyone will have something from them with a disclaimer that the profits will get donated? I don't think there's been a similar incident before so I'm genuinely kind of curious how artists will choose to approach it, especially since a lot of Kyoani series are really popular.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 24 23:02:56 2019 No.10228438 >>10228274 It’ll be like normal, anime and their companies kinda separate when a fanbase gets created. I mean doing those things are nice but not required and nobody will look at you weird just because you’re not donating your profits.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 24 23:11:38 2019 No.10228444 I just got an email from Vograce, and they wanted me to fill out a questionnaire on how they can improve their services. If you've ordered from Vograce in the past, check your email and see if you got the link to fill it out!

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 24 23:41:47 2019 No.10228450 >>10228444 Oh yeah, I got one a week ago

>>	Anonymous Thu Jul 25 02:24:16 2019 No.10228534 >>10228274 Tbh if anything, sales for KyoAni shit will probably rise. I already saw a handful of artists already selling prints/merch of their #prayforKyoAni fan art and people are actually buying the merch.

Anonymous Thu Jul 25 21:26:45 2019 No.10229100

>>10228274
>or will it go the other way and everyone will have something from them with a disclaimer that the profits will get donated?
this. except it will be something like "10% of profits will be donated" and they make way more than 10% in sales, leading to them making profit off the tragedy.

Anonymous Fri Jul 26 18:21:15 2019 No.10229615

Any stock/sales sheets recommendations or tips? How do you keep track of profits from full price sales and discounted sales? (ie, selling 1 print vs selling 2 prints and 1 for free? I was thinking of marking down how many were sold at a discounted price per transaction and then tallying it all up during inventory, but I wanted to hear your thoughts.) And then do you tally sales
I just fucking realized you could probably track all this in the square app and make cash transactions in the app too but I spent a while thinking about these questions so fuck me I guess

Anonymous Fri Jul 26 20:29:29 2019 No.10229699

>>10228274
A better question is which of their series are even something people would buy? KyoAni series suffer terribly from having an incredibly popular series everyone knows about, people kind of hating them, then you don't see their merch anymore. It's as if everyone almost wants to forget their popular series ever existed. This is basically Haruhi, K-ON, and most of their series. Nothing from KyoAni has longevity for merch like Sailor Moon, DBZ, Naruto, etc. despite being a supposedly popular studio.

The only thing I think vaguely has some type of long-term fandom is maybe Free because of fujos. Dragon Maid was kind of popular but that popularity spike already faded and I don't think anyone wants to think of the funny meme series right now.

Anonymous Fri Jul 26 21:05:40 2019 No.10229718

>>10229615
Probably not one to give advice since I tally everything up by hand on a piece of paper before entering it into an excel doc. I usually use abbreviations of what design(s) I sold + how much I sold them for. Admittedly it’s chaotically becoming out of hand now that I’m selling more and have more designs, but I still really love writing things down on paper.

Anonymous Fri Jul 26 22:12:24 2019 No.10229748

>>10222288
Just hit my first year recently on etsy, about 2k in gross revenue
I converted to my own shop about 6 months ago though, so most of the etsy traffic has been strictly through etsy's marketplace.
My own store has about 6k so far in revenue
Pretty happy with the progress so far, I'm hoping to grow it more in the next year

Anonymous Sat Jul 27 03:30:13 2019 No.10229874

Anyone with an online store, what do you guys ship with? I’m seriously struggling to find a carrier that’ll give me tracking and okay shipping rates (esp for international). Cos man o man usps/fedex/ups can charge an arm and a leg for shipping!!!!

Sorry but one last question, for people who just ship out stickers do you mail it out with a bubble mailer or like an envelope??

Anonymous Sat Jul 27 04:12:57 2019 No.10229886

>>10229874
I use Etsy's built-in shipping station, but before Etsy I was on Tictail, which doesn't have that. I instead used Paypal MultiShip and manually inputted all the addresses. As much as I complain about Etsy's policies and how they nickel and dime their sellers, the shipping station saves me a lot of time.

You're always going to be screwed when it comes to the price. That's just something you're gonna have to either eat the cost of, or have your customers pay for. Even USPS, which is often the cheapest method, can still be ridiculously expensive for international orders. My mouse pads weigh 11 ounces when packed in the bubble mailers I use, and they often cost $20-$25 to ship outside the USA.

Only big companies can get significantly lower shipping rates, which is how they can charge $5 for a 10 lb box, or offer free shipping on huge orders. I heard Stamps.com can save money, but you'd have to run the numbers to even see if it's worth it, since it's $18 a month to even gain access to the service. For me, the supposed savings wouldn't make up the cost of the monthly fee.

Also, bubble mailers > paper envelopes, period. Envelopes get beat up by the post office, they don't give a fuck. You can get bubble mailers in bulk off of Aliexpress, and you can opt for a size that works for most or all of your products, not just stickers. I use my small bubble mailers for my keychains, patches, stickers, and will eventually use them for enamel pins once I start doing those. It's worth the investment.

>>	Anonymous Sat Jul 27 19:13:59 2019 No.10230363 Just switched from grids to a photo stand setup--how do people fly with the stands? Even folded up they're like 3ft tall and don't fit in most luggage

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 28 00:24:53 2019 No.10230563 >>10230363 Carry on flight

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 28 00:39:57 2019 No.10230572 >>10230363 Try and find a lacrosse stick bag or baseball bat bag for cheap?

Anonymous Sun Jul 28 13:01:14 2019 No.10230889

>>10230363
I know most people use their carry on allowance to bring their photostand in its own bag, others will ship photostands directly to the convention and then toss them when they're done. I personally have a large fabric luggage that I can fit my photostand parts in diagonally but it makes other things super difficult to pack.

Anonymous Sun Jul 28 15:09:23 2019 No.10230975

>>10219279
It's a blessing for shier customers when you have more prints than what you've got on display.
I can browse your catalog rather than ask a billion questions. While you take care of more active customers, I have time to pick without being in the way, when ready I also know what you call it so I'm not tripping over my social interaction with you.

Anonymous Sun Jul 28 18:16:12 2019 No.10231118

Thinking about doing my first con in December (con-alt-delete)
I maybe have a few things I can turn into stickers at this point, but other than that I have nothing. I have a pixma Pro I use for printing shit at home, and a silhouette for stickers.
Is it reasonable to at least try to get enough shit for a table by con in December? I have a full time job, but I’m able to get a couple hours+ of work in everyday. I’m kinda slow with my art but I’m hoping being pressured by finally getting a table helps.

Anonymous Sun Jul 28 21:14:48 2019 No.10231250

Oof I've been getting price quotes from Alibaba and the shipping is a lot??? I've already placed orders before and shopping was like 20-30$ but is it typically 100$ on ab? Or do I need to pay more attention on where the manu is located?
The shipping isn't really that bad for the price of the items I want- 200 hats, 1000 tags- it's just gonna set me back a bit orz

Anonymous Sun Jul 28 21:20:56 2019 No.10231254

>>10231118
I think 4-5 months is enough time to build up your catalogue. it doesn't need to be massive, just good, and with some stuff that has universal appeal.

it also depends on how much youre spending going to the con, if it's a local con you're good, if you're flying in and staying at a hotel, be cautious. for your first con, making back table and travel costs is good enough imo, as even if you don't make a massive profit the experience will be invaluable and you'll still have a good time, and you can use the xp and drive to up your game for the next con!

>>	Anonymous Sun Jul 28 21:39:46 2019 No.10231271 >>10231250 > 200 hats > 1000 tags sounds about right.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 29 03:02:52 2019 No.10231427 I read online that most airlines have a carry-on length limitation of 24", do they not really care as much?

Anonymous Mon Jul 29 06:44:48 2019 No.10231470

>>10231427
Assuming you're flying us, carry on items are extremely finicky between different airlines and even airports. On our flight to Hawaii, noone gave a shit about an 8oz bottle of aloe, the departing flight made us throw away everything liquid. Be sure to call and ask ahead of time

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 29 08:09:18 2019 No.10231490 Is anyone else having trouble viewing the convention list Google doc??

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 29 09:11:19 2019 No.10231551 >>10231490 No, not on my end. I can view the list just fine.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 29 15:11:22 2019 No.10231743 >>10231254 Thanks for the reply. Yeah, the con is a 20min drive from me and I can take public transit even, so travel/boarding expenses is pretty much null. Hoping I can nab a spot.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 29 18:26:47 2019 No.10231864 >>10231427 Considering people toss their strollers in as their carry on, no. They don't care.

>>	Anonymous Mon Jul 29 23:26:44 2019 No.10232023 >>10231427 If you're asking about photostands, i've never been stopped but i also have the smaller end of photo stands. Essentially even if a bin is full i can put mine infront spanning across 2-3 luggages or under the 3 seats without issue.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 30 10:26:26 2019 No.10232227 >>10229874 I'm using shippo right now, it's working pretty good

Anonymous Tue Jul 30 10:28:11 2019 No.10232228

>>10227937
As a pro row artist, I got a 6ft table -_- because of your post I brought an extra table with me just in case and I'm glad I did. thanks for the heads up anon

I was really frustrated at all the empty booths and tables. Booth next to me was empty all con, and other booth sold out in the first day and was gone the rest of the con. Table across from us was also empty. I still did okay in sales but it was frustrating

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 30 15:42:02 2019 No.10232368 For applying to artist alleys, do you need a photo of what your booth will look like i.e. should I order samples of keychains/badges/prints/etc?

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 30 17:33:26 2019 No.10232406 >>10232368 Some of them ask for product and/or booth photos but some cons don’t.

>>	Anonymous Tue Jul 30 20:58:42 2019 No.10232489 File: 30 KB, 400x400, 1559153933009.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] Trying to table for the first time with a friend at BAGC but I got put on the waiting list. What are the chances I'll even get on.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 31 01:11:28 2019 No.10232616 >>10232368 I found that cons usually want samples of your work. If you don't have physical versions, try to have at least digital sample versions, like keychain mockups for example.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 31 10:00:52 2019 No.10232850 Anyone here have experience with getting pins from Alibaba sellers? I'm looking to have some made but I'm not totally sure how to start.

>>	Anonymous Wed Jul 31 11:15:08 2019 No.10232872 >>10232850 > put search terms in bar > pick the seller you thinks looks best > ask about their fees > profit

Anonymous Thu Aug 1 06:26:40 2019 No.10233336

>>10232850
join pmr (pin manufacturer review) group on fb if you are truly clueless, but as >>10232872 so succintly puts, this is literally all there is to it. its literally no different to buying a product on aliexspress or amazon. look for ones that have good ratings and a decent amount of recent orders. thats it.

Anonymous Thu Aug 1 07:02:02 2019 No.10233343

Sorry for the newbie question or if this isn't the right thread, but does anyone have experience with selling novels? I'm thinking of turning a fanfiction of mine into a full-fledged book complete with illustrations. Does this kind of stuff sell at cons? Should I bother?

Anonymous Thu Aug 1 08:33:17 2019 No.10233363

>>10233343
speaking from the customer side, the idea is super neat but realistically i would only buy something like that if it was a ship i was REALLY REALLY into and the art was decently impressive. I think you should try it just because it's a cool and unique idea, but keep your expectations low.

Anonymous Thu Aug 1 09:00:47 2019 No.10233368

>>10233363
Thanks for your response. I'm pumped up by the idea but there are several factors working against me: my fic is in English, I and I live in a non-English speaking country (the media my fic is based on is English only though, meaning it already filters out the fans), with not a lot of cons to go by, although one near the capital is very huge and gets a big share of European visitors. Still, I'm afraid those two factors would result in a big flop. It doesn't help that since I estimate the book to be at around 400 pages excluding the dozens of illustrations I plan to add, it'll get rather costly to produce enough copies for me to buy and as such for potential customers. I was thinking of maybe selling prints of the illustrations found within the book as a way to make my booth more attractive, but I'd be a bit bummed if all that sold was the prints and not the books itself.
Basically, I have no idea if I should bother with tabling at a con given the circumstances. Selling it online is another story, but I thought it could be an interesting experience, if there's even worth in it at all. If I was in the US, I don't think I would hesitate as much, although tabling at an US might be a possibility for me in the distant future.

>>	Anonymous Thu Aug 1 11:22:14 2019 No.10233404 >>10233343 probably not anon. not unless your book designing skills are GOAT

Anonymous Thu Aug 1 17:54:08 2019 No.10233613

>>10233368
Instead of selling the illustrations separately, maybe offer a print or two (and maybe some other small freebies like stickers) as a bonus for buying the novel. Also if it's going to be super long I'd recommend actually turning it into a couple shorter books rather than one huge one, and offer a bit of a discount for buying a bundle of all the books together at once (and more bonus prints/stickers with it!). It'd also be smart to have a poster with a link or a QR code to read say, the first chapter or a prologue online for free to get some idea what kind of a fanfic it's actually going to be. And if at all possible, get someone who has actual experience with graphic design for printed products/books to do your covers, or at the very least try to get some pointers for them. The contents of your book don't mean anything if the cover isn't interesting enough to pull people in.

All in all I think it'll be harder to sell than just regular merch, but if you make it look visually appealing and get smart with how you market it on your table I think you might do decent.

>>	Anonymous Thu Aug 1 17:58:29 2019 No.10233616 >>10233613 I forgot to add, if the fic is already available online to read completely for free, then it's a good idea to add some short extra chapters or bonus illustrations to the physical novels. And remember to mention those exclusive extras!

Anonymous Thu Aug 1 19:42:52 2019 No.10233686

>>10233343
I've seen a few people turn their fics into printed books! I really like the idea. I wouldn't mind spending $10-30 depending on word count. A lot of people change handles or purge accounts which makes it impossible to find their old fic, having a physical edition would mean not worrying about it getting deleted. Illustrations would be a bonus, but honestly imo not necessary. Hard agree with the other anon about exclusive bonus chapters!

I would say skip the convention and sell it online, though shipping might end up getting expensive. There are drop shipping companies for books, that's what I've seen most fic authors do! Good luck anon, I think writers in fandom deserve some cash for all the content they provide just like artists, hope it works out.

>>	Anonymous Thu Aug 1 21:48:52 2019 No.10233760 >>10233686 You use media mail for books dumbass for that reason (shipping weight)

>>	Anonymous Thu Aug 1 22:07:37 2019 No.10233771 >>10233760 They're not from the US dumbass, their country might not offer media mail domestically or internationally, so shipping could be expensive.

>>	Anonymous Thu Aug 1 22:59:17 2019 No.10233797 >>10233760 man if op was in the US that comment would be really helpful

Anonymous Thu Aug 1 23:56:53 2019 No.10233815

>>10233404
I'll keep that in mind. I'll probably start with printing very few copies and sell them online, and see how it goes from there.
>>10233613
>>10233616
Thank you so much for your input, it's very much appreciated. I'll keep all your advice in mind, especially the free prints with each purchase. I thought about splitting the book in two, and while I'm not too keen on the idea just yet (I feel like selling one book would already be hard enough, so two is asking for crickets, especially since I don't think most people would commit to buy more than one book to get the entire story), but I'm definitely not discarding the idea, discount bundles and all. I'll also think hard on how to make the most attractive illustrations for both the inside of book and the table itself.
Thanks again for the pointers. They'll be very useful to me. The fic is available online, and I'm not too hot on deleting it even if I know it's probably counterproductive with my project, hence the importance of bonus stuff.
>>10233686
Thanks so much for your input. Overall word count is about 175000 words. Unfortunately, since this results in a rather big book, I don't think I can afford to pad it with another chapter, which is why I thought about the illustrations as a nice way to attract interest (one per chapter—the fic is over 20 chapters long). Another selling point I'm thinking of is that while the fic is available online and I'm not planning on deleting it, I am currently revamping it in what you could call a remake: polishing each sentence, rewriting some surface-levels details, basically giving the entire fic a fresh coat of paint (I wrote it several years ago, making its writing style a bit different from my current one). I do hope this can attract potential customers who already read it online besides the illustrations, as it did rather well in terms of popularity and raw statistics across my fandom.
(cont)

Anonymous Fri Aug 2 00:02:59 2019 No.10233820

>>10233686
(cont) I'll follow your advice and others anons as well and stick to selling online for now; as I told the anon above, it'll be a good way to gauge interest while starting very small. I'll try to figure out how to get the lowest shipping charges possible. Thanks again for your help, I sincerely appreciate it!
I'll definitely give an update one way or another. And if it works out well, I might just take the plunge and try my hand at a convention, but this is lower priority for the time being. I was wondering, though, would cosplaying as the main character of the story while staying at the table be a smart idea? It's the most popular character of the fandom if that helps, and I was thinking it could be a good way to attract visibility to my table, if not customers, just people to chat with. Do artists cosplay to attract attention to their merchandise besides having fun in cosplaying?

Anonymous Fri Aug 2 05:23:35 2019 No.10233928

>>10233820
I'm not sure about how often AA artists cosplay at western cons, but in Comiket and the like it's actually quite normal to have a friend cosplaying from the series your doujin/merch is of working with you at the table to pull in interest. I don't see why the same wouldn't work if you want to do the cosplay yourself.

Anonymous Fri Aug 2 07:23:46 2019 No.10233958

>>10233820
I cosplay at my table or wear J-fashion and I’ve made plenty of sales for being cute in a cute outfit. I made a sale cosplaying as a least popular character that was mistaken for the popular one and I wanted to correct them, but that wallet was already out so I decided to keep my mouth shut and smile.

Anonymous Fri Aug 2 10:29:19 2019 No.10234010

>>10233820
Can I ask what fandom it is? It's understandable if you don't want to drop any info. I cosplay with my bf helper, I think it helps give people an excuse to stop, which can lead to more sales. One of the guys in the discord actually just had a friend booth babe as his OC he sells prints/standees of, I'm sure it helped!

Anonymous Fri Aug 2 11:13:29 2019 No.10234029

>>10233958
>>10233928
Then if I do end up tabling at a con, I will definitely do that. Thanks!
>>10234010
I'm a bit shy about telling what fandom it is, but it's from a video game. A trailer for its remake just dropped today. The character in question is known for being very decisive within the fandom, but is ultimately the most popular one with how much buzz he generates, whether positive or negative.
I see, thanks for letting me know! I'm actually excited to do this, but I'll still take it one step at a time for now.

>>	Anonymous Fri Aug 2 19:00:05 2019 No.10234229 >>10233760 >dumbass >what is punctuation Hi cuntanon, nice seeing you again.

Anonymous Fri Aug 2 21:11:29 2019 No.10234256

I asked catprints for a quote on kiss cut stickers and they said they wouldn't be able to quote me until I converted the dimensions from cm to inches.
...
I'm so bewildered. Is Google banned at cp headquarters? This is such a weird ass problem to receive from a manufacturer.

>>	Anonymous Fri Aug 2 23:13:54 2019 No.10234296 >>10234256 It's a two second response to something that has obviously caused them to rethink the intelligence of their clientelle, is it really so big of a hassle to do the conversion for them?

Anonymous Sat Aug 3 01:07:07 2019 No.10234331

>>10234296
Dude I did it in 2 secs as soon as I got the reply like a normal ass human being.

It's just wild that a professional company who deals largely in measurements can't fucking convert 6x7 cm to inches. Is this also a difficult concept for you Anon? Am I in the minority here that can understand Google's useful tools

Anonymous Sat Aug 3 01:41:54 2019 No.10234342

>>10234331
On one hand, I want to say that CatPrint should've done the conversion for you, but as someone who has worked in customer service, requests like these add up over the course of a day. I worked retail in a store that saw around 500 people a day and we'd always get people asking to calculate the total of their purchase with tax, discounts, etc. added so they know what to expect to pay ahead of time. It's a simple task but when you have 50+ people a day asking, it adds up and bites into time that could be spent on operations or assisting other customers.

Anonymous Sat Aug 3 02:20:55 2019 No.10234351

>>10234331
>>10234256
Just wanted to add to other anon replies that it could also be a liability thing. Having you explicitly state that you want a certain size in the correct format means you can't come back later and say "actually I thought X converted to Y and now my order is the wrong size or there's a weird border on it now, fix it." Plus if you're measuring in cm your shit's probably coming out to a bunch of decimal points in inches so having you choose the rounding is probably easier on them.

Anonymous Sat Aug 3 02:22:38 2019 No.10234354

>>10234342
Ok, honestly I'm not mad about this or anything it was just so stupid and funny that I wanted to post it to cgl.
Saying that, Anon I've worked retail too and the computer literally does all the conversions and discounts for me. I've also worked customer service at a call center where I would have to call in physical stores to ask about deals for/with customers, check on whether a specific phone model would be able receive 4g network from the customers home and etc. So yes, I do find it utterly ridiculous that when I send measurements, quantity, paper type and my address to ask for a quote + shipping that has only taken 10 minutes for any other manufacturer I requested, apparently takes Mr. Tim Catprints two whole ass days to get back to me because he couldn't a) type '6cm to in' into Google or b) couldn't be fucking bothered to open the three separate files of the same sticker I sent him to see the measurements in the program, which is also capable of converting cm to in.
I feel like a baby boomer rn. I wasn't verbally abused over the phone where I was not allowed to hang up or else I'd lose my job just so I would have to experience the laziest asshole customer service over a sticker quote.

Anonymous Sat Aug 3 02:29:20 2019 No.10234356

>>10234351
Anon... An x to y conversion is still the same exact size, just different numbers. And there's no possible way I could measure less then a hundredth of an inch to complain about either. You cant fuck up numbers like you could colors, getting green instead of aqua is entirely different than receiving a 2.75" sticker instead of a 2.76" sticker

>>	Anonymous Sat Aug 3 02:48:51 2019 No.10234360 >>10234354 I get you posted for the lols. But you sound entitled as fuck desu. If the catprint employee could’ve converted it in 2 seconds, you could too.

>>	Anonymous Sat Aug 3 02:50:12 2019 No.10234362 Wtf but that desu is not supposed to be there lol

>>	Anonymous Sat Aug 3 02:57:41 2019 No.10234363 >>10234362 ... it's a word filter here for " t b h". don't be a noob, come on now.

>>	Anonymous Sat Aug 3 02:58:07 2019 No.10234364 >>10234362 that's your computer telling you to shush instead of being catty.

>>	Anonymous Sat Aug 3 03:18:16 2019 No.10234370 >>10234363 I admit i am noobish here, but I still standby what I said

Anonymous Sat Aug 3 03:22:25 2019 No.10234372

>>10234356
>there's no possible way I could measure less then a hundredth of an inch to complain about either
You think someone has never done that really?? Fucked up their size by a tenth of an inch and their sleeves don't fit? Think about the type of customers they're probably dealing with all the time anon. YOU might know better, but THEY don't know that you know better.
Also they work in inches by default and you show up with "I want 2.3622x2.75591" like come on you can't not see the issue with that. 1 cm is 0.393701 of an inch. Just work in inches next time if you're gonna use a western printer.

Anonymous Sat Aug 3 04:25:20 2019 No.10234380

>>10234360
>Entitled
U miss the part where I work multiple customer service jobs? And like I know you just graduated 2nd grade but Google can also look up the definition of words too, wild I know.

>>10234372
>Doesn't understand the international rule for rounding numbers
>Honestly thinks sending manus 2.435374728 is at all acceptable
I am literally laughing. Anon it's painfully obvious you've never even placed an order at McDonald's or worked at a job. And I've cut my own graphics before Anon,should you ever get the chance yourself you'll notice the notches don't go that small and, magically, it also has measurements in metrics.
Besides any of that, if you were somehow able to measure less than a hundredth of an inch and demand a reprint, you world have to take multiple pictures as proof with your microscopic ruler then ship the order back in it's entirety, then wait two weeks for the same size stickers, only to realize you're a fucking lunatic.
This all assumes that any manyu will accept 2.4$-#78#;_62_9 as a measurement in the first place.

Gd bitches be dumb as fuck tonight.

Anonymous Sat Aug 3 07:57:01 2019 No.10234436

>>10234380
Anon if everyone else is telling you you're the one in the wrong here, it's time to take a deep breath and realize that you just might actually be wrong this time.

I'm currently a trainee at a printing company (so yes, the exact job you're currently complaining about not being done correctly) and quite literally the first thing we're taught when dealing with customers is that if there's any room for error you don't just go ahead and assume things, you either ask the customer if it's alright to change it, or you do it the safest way and ask the customer themselves to fix the files they send so you can't be held accountable if there's anything wrong with the product in the customers opinion. This includes stuff like converting measurements, because machines aren't 100% accurate and the paper/material might move during the process, so every millimeter can count and having the customer themselves give you the exact measurements for their design (be it millimeters or inches) you avoid potentially wasting a huge amount of money and material and having an unhappy customer because you rounded some inches "wrong". Not all customers care, but it's not worth taking the chance that you run into the one that really fucking does care.

>>	Anonymous Sat Aug 3 17:26:54 2019 No.10234693 >>10234436 NTAYRT This could've ended with 'hah yeah that's funny/unusual' but you had to drag it out and try to paint a guys entire personality out of it. and jfc multiple you'd don't count as 'everyone'

>>	Anonymous Sat Aug 3 17:46:15 2019 No.10234700 File: 1.43 MB, 468x288, 1387471434693.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>10234693 >NTAYRT sure

>>	Anonymous Sat Aug 3 18:37:14 2019 No.10234723 File: 322 KB, 494x840, replyforcattybitch.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google] >>10234700 k

Anonymous Sat Aug 3 20:27:13 2019 No.10234763

>>10234700
Dude I went the fuck to sleep, ur bein a dumbass on your own lmao and yea you 'work' at cx service still sounds like bullshit. U make it sound like there's so many ways to convert a cm when there's literally only one. I was curious what cps cost was when I already have three different quotes from Alibaba for stickers, one where I even fucked up and accidentally sent in/cm mixed and she just wrote up two quotes for me.
btw bitch ass Tim Catprints still hasn't replied to me concerning this wonderous 3 day sticker quote

Anonymous Sat Aug 3 21:12:15 2019 No.10234792

well anyway, is there a grown up here who has ordered from catprints? i think their production time is like two weeks, is that how long it took for you, not including shipping?
express from alibaba has been like less than a week, so ive also just been looking for prints from them since theres a lot more customizable features. the only thing is that i have to order in bulk for the shipping to pay off and im still kind of on the fence about bringing stickers to tables, since i can only afford like ten designs lol. and the price for ten stickers is like the same for 50 shirts...
idk, i still want to include some free stickers for orders and just was curious if catprints is worth getting few quantities of different stickers, but so far alibaba has them beat on both money and time- based on the quotes ive received thus far.

Anonymous Sat Aug 3 22:57:20 2019 No.10234835

>>10234792
It really depends on the size of your order. I've had them ship orders out for me within 2-4 business days if my order is a reasonable size, ymmv. That's for prints though, I probably would use a print shop that specializes in stickers t b h, there are plenty of US based ones that have low MOQ (stickermule, but the owner supports trump, or sweet stickers), not something I'd bother with overseas production for.

>>	Anonymous Sun Aug 4 01:12:00 2019 No.10234873 >>10234835 Seconding this, I use sticker ninja since good print quality/I can pick them up in person, but their standard is 4-6 days

Anonymous Sun Aug 4 02:29:16 2019 No.10234891

>>10234835
>>10234873
Thanks anons. I like sticker ninjas pricing for 50 stickers, I may try them out later.
Overall, I think I'm gonna stick with Alibaba for everything except pins. I really can't be bothered to pay for more than 0.20¢ a sticker lol. Especially when Im looking to order 500-1000 per design. The manu I'm talking w will also do business cards and small hardstock prints so shipping is worth it. I'll post later to see how paper handles international shipping.

Anonymous Sun Aug 4 13:36:46 2019 No.10235136
File: 68 KB, 804x581, fhpwip.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]

So this is my first time trying to make stuff for acrylic keychains possibly, these are both still wips (going to refine some edges/add some more assets to both) but does anyone have any pointers so far?

Anonymous Sun Aug 4 14:28:12 2019 No.10235161

>>10235136
I think the one on the right is pretty good as it is composition wise, but the left one has way too much stuff going on. Small, intricate details like those cookies in the basket will most likely not show up properly on something as small as a charm, so if you want to keep it in I'd suggest making less individual cookies, and making them bigger. As for those things floating around her, they're a nice idea and can make the shape of the cut look more appealing, but again there's so much different stuff there with a lot of detail that's just not necessary. If you insist on keeping them in, I'd personally go for the vine and roses and ditch the rest. The smiley face especially is not a good idea. The cat banner is cute, but again it would have to be a lot bigger to be able to see the face properly in the charm. You also don't need the grass under the blanket, the right one looks a lot better because it only has the blanket to give better context to the theme, but it doesn't have any unneeded extra details in it to distract from the character.

I really don't think you need to add even more stuff in, and would advice to instead start considering what to cut out. It looks a bit like you're trying to over compensate the simplicity of chibis by adding extra stuff around them, but honestly your style and the design of the characters is enough to carry the charms even without all that extra. The right one especially is already plenty cute as it is, and without anything floating around it the attention focuses solely on the character, as it should.

Anonymous Sun Aug 4 14:48:17 2019 No.10235172

>>10235161
Thanks for feedback!
Yeah, I’ve been kind of intimidated by making charms because my style is more painterly and less like the typical cell shading/clean lineart things that tend to translate better as charms I think? I’ll definitely remember to try to keep things more simple because of the way I render my subjects from now on.

>>	Anonymous Sun Aug 4 17:59:31 2019 No.10235231 >>10222544 If we report every person for misconduct every time they fuck up, there will eventually be no innocent people left.

>>	Anonymous Sun Aug 4 18:09:26 2019 No.10235236 >>10235231 This is incorrect but you seem pretty set in your ways

Anonymous Sun Aug 4 18:23:52 2019 No.10235242

>>10235236
I mean, we can try it, humanity is already moving in that direction anyway with all the #metoo stuff. But it's only a matter of time before you end up on somebody's list because you said something, somewhere, "that one time" and you're ostracized from the group.

>>	Anonymous Sun Aug 4 18:52:23 2019 No.10235251 >>10235231 >"I do really bad stuff, but its ok because i'm sure everyone else does really bad stuff too!"

>>	Anonymous Sun Aug 4 19:10:09 2019 No.10235263 >>10235251 It's more like, not doing bad stuff is like stepping on eggshells, and is getting harder.

>>	Anonymous Sun Aug 4 19:26:45 2019 No.10235272 >>10235263 yea, being a decent human being is just so tough.

>>	Anonymous Sun Aug 4 19:34:35 2019 No.10235278 >>10235272 This anon is hiding something

>>	Anonymous Sun Aug 4 19:36:37 2019 No.10235280 >>10235272 Do you like it when troons insist on being in the womens washroom and creeping on you? because that's part of being a decent human being.

>>	Anonymous Sun Aug 4 19:59:37 2019 No.10235291 >>10235280 How is this related to Artist Alley? Don't derail the thread with your agenda anon

>>	Anonymous Sun Aug 4 20:08:05 2019 No.10235295 >>10235291 >not wanting boys in the girls washroom is an agenda now

>>	Anonymous Sun Aug 4 21:05:33 2019 No.10235316 >>10235136 I suggest you view the designs at print size. A lot of the details you have going on is going to be lost. At small sizes, you have to be extra careful about readability.

>>	Anonymous Tue Aug 6 00:45:02 2019 No.10236064 >>10235136 I think they could work as acrylic stands, maybe?

Anonymous Tue Aug 6 04:35:58 2019 No.10236115

Oh yeah, I finally got my quote in for custom kiss cut stickers from catprints. So for 50pcs of a 2.5 vinyl sticker its $21, before shipping.
Cp does have Holo stickers, although they didn't quote me for that. (I also asked for a quote of 500 stickers and I didn't get that :o))
Cp can also do sticker sheets, however, none of my questions concerning that was answered either so...

Anonymous Tue Aug 6 07:30:24 2019 No.10236150

>>10236064
Out of curiosity, those of you who have experience with acrylic stands, how well do they sell compared to charms? Have any of you tried to do those acrylics that can be used both as a charm and as a stand, and how well did they do? I don't think I've seen stands being sold at any of my local cons so I'm curious if they have a market or if I'm better off just sticking to charms or making those interchangeable ones.

>>	Anonymous Tue Aug 6 09:53:09 2019 No.10236192 lol a perler "artist" just sent me a message asking if i'll make them pixel art for them to sell as perlers. when will these people stop? who is buying this shit?

>>	Anonymous Tue Aug 6 11:37:11 2019 No.10236236 Thoughts on postcard? I feel like doing one instead of prints but wondering if there is even anyone using this shit anywhere, or just for collection.

Anonymous Tue Aug 6 12:18:24 2019 No.10236254

>>10236236
From a buyers perspective, I'm way more likely to buy a postcard than I am a bigger print. I think simple art styles, or those that focus on a single character and maybe don't have much of a background etc. would be rather bland as prints, but can look really charming as postcards. Also the smaller size and sturdier material means it's easier for me to buy one at a con because I don't have to worry about if it's going to fit in my bag properly or if it's going to get damaged easily during the day. I don't really send them out or anything (although I've sometimes bought them as birthday cards for my more nerdier friends), but I like having them around the room. I don't care to have my walls plastered with prints, so postcards are great because the small size means they fit nicely into small frames or on a corner of a corkboard.
As a seller I offer smaller prints and postcards exclusively, and have never had someone ask if there's a bigger version available or complain about them being too small. Quite the opposite actually, I've even gotten some comments on how nice it is to find smaller prints for sale. It really has a lot to do with what your subjects are, and how you compose them. As long as you take the size into account (ie. don't just downsize a picture originally designed as a huge print and call it a day) you'll most likely do just fine sales wise.

Anonymous Tue Aug 6 12:31:34 2019 No.10236257

>>10236150
Really depends on fandom. My standees of a popular video game sell consistently online and at cons, the other series I have are harder to move. I have seen standees with like extra af accessories move really well, but it's a lot of effort to assemble them yourself. I'd only recommend them if you have a really solid idea that would work better as a stand than a charm, otherwise just stick to charms.

Anonymous Tue Aug 6 19:26:23 2019 No.10236407

Thinking about placing an order with Vograce in the near future for custom made acrylic keychains. If I order a large shipment (around 160 keychains), would I get hit with surprise import charges to my country? Just wanted to know before I consider doing business with them.

>>	Anonymous Tue Aug 6 19:41:07 2019 No.10236412 >>10236407 >to my country which is....?

>>	Anonymous Tue Aug 6 20:08:37 2019 No.10236433 >>10236412 The US. Sorry I wasn't clear, I was in a hurry to go somewhere.

>>	Anonymous Tue Aug 6 22:05:56 2019 No.10236485 >>10236407 >>10236433 No. Also, 160 keychains is nothing compared to the thousands that some people order at a time.

Anonymous Wed Aug 7 00:17:26 2019 No.10236541
File: 105 KB, 785x800, IMG(1).jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]

>>10235316
>>10236064
Thanks,
I printed out what I have so far at around ~3inches and the detail looked fine to me except some of the dark areas...
I tried making real half ass stands and they do look pretty cute to me, might look into it!

>>	Anonymous Wed Aug 7 01:04:46 2019 No.10236555 >>10236541 Anon, Try make the blanket and the character two separate pieces. So the blanket is the base of the stando

>>	Corky-Lunn !CorkyloMxc Wed Aug 7 09:40:46 2019 No.10236711 new thread >>10236710

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/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL