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Old thread >>8849646
I want to take a moment to thank everyone that contributes to these threads. I just had my first AA and it went well, in part due to all the great advice I got here. Cheers!
>Resources
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1l-9tZn_PaqsZWkb5SB_aqwh7uvURyoLgdsQiuz_Ty08/edit#gid=0
>Taobao/Alibaba services
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14zGSegr0b-429wZq5_xdMbE9hpLcXg8fqqe0OxnU2Yo/edit#gid=0
>Artist Spreadsheet
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ESQ-1h4IRUivbGNaxJFxXyDU1lSv26xTmMdH0sDX7sU/edit?usp=sharing
>How to order from Vograce
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18UxKnpgrmeb82NnW5e4YIEX-eZ3zHt178Mp6i0A5gME/edit?usp=sharing
AWA artist's alley registration is open today. It doesn't close until May 1st. I hate having to wait so long to find out if I've been accepted or not.
>>8865738
That is a ridiculously long registration period. Is that normal for awa?
Just finished a print. Feedback is cool.
>>8865769
it was even longer last year, like feb to august because they were desperate for artists. They were emailing and begging previous years' artists to come before they would let the last batch of people in.
When they finally had to, turns out they didn't even have a waitlist at the end so they made those artists wait for no reason. Well other than wait for AWA staff to finally accept that the artists they wanted didn't want to come.
Does anyone know the artist for these? >>8855935
I can't seem to find them with whatever keywords I put in
>>8865775
I think these would be so cute as acrylic keychains.
>>8865775
I really like it, especially the colors, but I feel like the brush you used for the background is a little too sketchy/detailed, if that makes sense? I think maybe it'd fit with the rest of the drawing better if it had less streaks to it.
Any U.S. cons beside AWA have tables/registration open right now? Anything above 3k attendance.
>>8866334
Or coming up within the next month!
>>8866351
Mb, it's in four days.
http://www.san-japan.org/exhibits/artistalley/info
>>8866354
Thanks!
>>8866292
Noted.
Do blankets sell at cons at all? I made one and have gotten requests from a lot of people, but IDK if they would sell at cons. Maybe take commissions? Do pillow cases first?
I don't wanna sound all special snowflake, but its made by unconventional means. So it is something most haven't seen, but I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle.
>>8866487
show us what it looks like
>>8865560
Gonna suggest uline for bags and boxes.
Is anyone else afraid that Funimation is going to ban fanart in AA's of their titles completely? I've only got one or two prints from shows they own the rights to, but I'm not keen on making any more just in case.
>>8866688
I don't think they'd go that far. If anything they'd ban it for artists who sell in the dealer's room.
You're really only truly at risk even with show titles and names if their lawyer is at the con. It's more of a concern for big cons or local ones in DFW, and he spends more time in the dealer's room looking for bootleg than anything else.
Do you guys keep the prices of your goods consistant, regardless of the size of the con, or, do you adjust them?
>>8866836
I used to adjust them. But then I got lazy and if i have to lower them then it means i shouldn't be going to that con in the first place.
Posted this in the last thread, but has anyone used these for storing their prints, and how did you find it? Also, has anybody got some links as to where to buy some that are a little bigger than normal? All the A3 ones I've found at either those office supply stores or online only have a depth of about 60mm and I have way more prints than that.
At the moment, all my prints are just in a cardboard box (hugely impractical) with tabs to sort them out, if anybody could please give me some storage ideas that don't involve those A3 flip books, I'd love you forever.
Who here has used acorn press for clear acrylic charms?
I've become interested in them as a middleground between Inkit's quality and Vograce's cheapness so I'm curious to know how their quality is.
>>8867066
If you keep checking the thread, acornpress frequents in here.
>>8867066
About middling between inkit and vograce, the colors seem to be over saturated at the very least. They're pretty upfront about not being perfect it seems, what you pay for is what you get.
>>8867066
I'm doing an order with them at the moment. Their colors don't come out exactly like their files, and I'm working with them to get my order reprinted so that they'll look better. If you plan on doing an order with them, you need to be pretty patient and expect things to turn out differently than you expect. They've been really accommodating so far though, but if you want everything done in one shot with no problems I would probably just go with inkit.
A tax question. If you are from TX and sell at a CA con, do those sales count when it is time for you to file TX sales tax? I thought only TX sales would count, but someone on another forum said that ALL sales need to be reported when filing TX sales tax. Can someone please help me understand taxes better?
>>8867066
Their quality is inconsistent. Colors don't come out the same for each charm. I would not recommend them as a middleground since their prices aren't that great for the quality anyway. Stick with Vograce if you want to go cheap or go for InkIt for the quality.
>>8867153
You are probably mixing up sales tax and income tax. Sales tax is to the state you sold in, income tax is all your income you make all year regardless of state.
About blind bags/lucky packs, I've read some cons don't allow them for whatever reason. Does anyone know which cons those are?
Does anyone know where I could get a very small order of lanyards? I know there are heaps of places on alibaba, but I was wondering if anyone actually had experience with somewhere?
Anybody have experience with rubber straps? Recommended places or reviews?
Does anyone know a good custom knitting service for jacquard scarves (similar to fan scarves, football scarves) and beanies. Anyone tried Alibaba for knit merch? Thanks!
Let's talk about inventory tracking and management.
I've been taking before/after event counts and trying to write things down manually, but I want to upgrade that system.
Do you guys have any recommendations on strategy/apps for this sort of thing?
>>8867932
I personally use Square's app for tracking
A downside to that is if you make a mistake, there really isn't any way to correct it - even if you mark the transaction as cancelled, Square still includes the transaction in its report.
>>8867066
Source on these? I'd like to buy one
>>8867679
I know Vograce does rubber charms.
>>8867066
Just curious-- does Vograce's cheapness equal a big drop in quality? The charms have always looked quite nice when posted here.
Do you guys sell your faulty/imperfect items? A recent lanyard order went awry and I have about 40/100 misaligned lanyards :\
I've thought about creating a discounted listing, but since I'm running low on "perfect" lanyards I've tried to salvage as many as I can, I've picked out ones that I don't think are as obvious and sold them already (with no complaints so far).
I am really REALLY picky about my lanyards though, so I'm not sure if it's a big problem, but I don't want to make it seem like I've ripped those people off.
At the same time, I don't want people to get their "perfect"/non-faulty lanyards and insist on getting discounts because I sent them a faulty one or something. Tips?
>>8868349
I noticed in the docs, tho has anybody actually had straps made from them? I'm a bit worried about the quality.
>>8868474
I was at an AA once where people sold defects at slightly lower prices. Just let the buyer examine it before they buy and it'll be fine and make it clear that theyre defects,
>>8868474
Would you mind giving the name of who printed the lanyards so the rest of us know not to use them?
>>8868543
Ah, I forgot to mention that this is for my online shop! But thanks for the advice. I was thinking of taking pictures for them upon request but I'm not sure yet.
>>8868559
i usually put shit like that in lucky bags/blind bags. people tend to not mind or even notice that way.
Does anyone know where to get bags like these printed? I would really appreciate the help
>>8868530
I think digit has, and they look nice enough but be aware there is a way steeper upfront cost because they need to make a mold for it
>>>>8868566
just to be clear, i have looked around online before asking, but i never found any sites that let you change the color of the outer fabric of the bag like those in the picture. most sites have black outer parts and i cannot use black.
Sorry if this is like the biggest newfag question, but I'm not that avid of an anime watcher, so I'm not completely up on what's popular. FFS, last anime I watched was SAO.
I'm looking for symbols to put onto items, like the flamel from FMA on a scarf or the AoT logos on pillows. Anyone have any suggestions on what's popular or what franchises might sell?
Obviously Pokemon and Nintendo are still popular, but (for example) Black Butler isn't as big as it was years ago. MLP also seems to be dying down as well.
I also couldn't find anything on this but does anyone know how much a half/full table at Katsucon was this year?
>>8868883
Funimation has put out a statement saying you cannot sell fan art of any of their logos. (You really shouldn't sell logos of anything honestly) They've been at quite a few cons handing out C&D letters, so stay away. They own the rights to both AoT and FMA. It's in plenty of the convention rules now too.
>>8868914
>what Funimation does not agree with as they said in their statement is displaying trademark/copyrighted TEXT of their IP titles printed on fan art.
Other than that, keep your fan art purely that. Images.
>>8868995
>"Note that the trademarks Funimation is primarily concerned with are brand names and logos."
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-07-01/funimation-issues-statement-on-fan-art-and-trademark-rights/.89972
>>8868914
Uh I meant those badge thingies from AoT, because I haven't watched that show yet. Not like the actual title logo itself.
>>8869022
I must not be reading the same shit as you guys because all I see is "Don't do this in the dealers room, k? But we appreciate fan art despite our legal stance on it."
>>8869071
>Funimation will take action if it or its agents discover unauthorized works, including fan art, which include a Funimation-owned/licensed trademark within the work or are on display in conjunction with signage bearing a Funimation-owned/licensed trademark
Yeah you're just blind
Sorry if this is way too OT but can I ask for some advice? I preordered something from an artist almost a year ago but they never shipped out the item and kind of disappeared online. Same thing with another artist, but they are very active online and whenever I send them an inquiry email, they either ignore it or say that they will ship it soon. Since it was almost a year ago, I can't even do a Paypal dispute. This is so frustrating and makes me so sad. Is there anything I can do at this point? I hope I can see them at a con so I can ask directly face to face...
>>8869071
Yes anon, I know. They consider that a logo, along with the FMA transmutation circles, One Piece flags & tattoos, etc. The poor girl next to me at the last con I was at got hammered by some lady from Funi because she had an AoT print, no text, just characters in their jackets. Was told to "cover up the patches on the jackets or take the print down." Repeat for the neighbor on the other side of me.
>>8869157
>Was told to "cover up the patches on the jackets or take the print down."
I knew they didn't want people selling like, symbol keychains and stuff but holy shit, they're THAT hard about it?
>>8869182
Yeah it was pretty rediculous. I got a C&D letter at A-kon for the same thing. They're being nuts about it honestly so I've just decided to fuck it with anything fan art related from Funi.
>>8869157
Jesus. And according to that statement, it sounds like they would only truly go after the dealers room, not AA people. Yeah yeah, logos and all that, but come on.
Whelp, time to rethink my future crafting projects then.
>>8869190
Christ. No wonder I didn't see that much fan art at Katsu this year.
So what DOESN'T Funi own? It's like they have their dick in everything.
>>8869204
It's one of the reasons a good chunk of any AA I get into this year will end up being Toku and videogames. I'm still double checking my plans for anime prints to make sure none of the are properties Funi has.
What's the best way to report a booth for selling mass-produced Chinese knockoffs (when a con only allows handmade art in their AA) without looking like an asshole?
>>8869190
Shit that's obsessive. Anyone had this happen to them selling art stuffs of Funi franchises online? I primarily sell decals online so far and was planning to do a bunch of One Piece stuff.
>>8869145
do you have any receipts? or screen caps?
>>8869204
Yeah same, I was wondering why I didn't see as much anime fanart - there was a lot of originals, western stuff, and some video game stuff but I didn't notice a lot of like recent popular anime stuff (probably because some of the more popular shit is from Funi)
that's really shitty of them...must be hard to get around to because they're at practically every convention. it's pretty obvious no artists are making huge bank taking away from their profits by making fanart that happens to have a logo in it so I wonder wtf their problem is. Have many people raised concern over it? Has anyone had a lawyer look over the stuff? I feel like there's got to be a loophole or technicality somewhere.
>>8869270
I have no idea, but I would try not to give a fuck about looking like an asshole if they're doing something that's clearly against the rules of the convention. Just make sure you are able to show evidence, like a link of the product on ebay/taobao/ali/whatever
does anyone make erwin smith keychains or buttons? (cause I'm interested in buying for an itabag)
>>8869197
Dealer room aren't allowed to sell fanart/goods period. Most of the rules listed apply to AA. No logos or titles on your art. Uniform emblems would be considered logos.
>>8869468
That really depends on the con. I have friends who are big fanart sellers and sometimes when they are con guests they are offered Dealers Room tables.
>>8869356
I still have the order confirmation emails and have tried emailing those to the artists but it was no use. It's so frustrating that some artists are really irresponsible with preorders.
jfc people, funi are not assholes. you WILL lose a trademark if yo don't defend it.
>>8868559
Oh i see well I guess mention defects in the item titles and provide images if someone asks about them? I think that would be the easiest way.
>>8868474
Link to your lanyards? I'm in the market for one at the moment but there doesn't seem to be many in the fandoms I like.
>>8869899
what fandoms are you looking for? several artists in the doc carry lanyards of varying fandoms.
>>8868883
fallout 4 is big recently and so is fallout new vegas bc of angry obsidian fans, but their merch shop sells a lot of their own garbage so idk if that would help
>>8869693
You can still protect your properties and not be a huge raging cunt over it.
>>8869871
Shit. Here's hoping I can get in then.
Personally I always found what Funi was doing to be pretty reasonable? They still WANT to allow fanart, they have stated that they like seeing it, they just have to have limitations to not lose their trademarks. Idk I haven't been given any C&Ds yet though so maybe I'm not as salty about it.
>>8869985
how is funi being a "raging cunt"?? They literally go to artists and ask them politely to cover up logos and they can still keep selling the item?? They are the opposite of raging cunt as far as protecting trademarks go what the fuck?
>>8870083
Telling someone about the trademark/copyright stuff to protect one's property is one thing, and I have no trouble with that.
Hammering people aggressively is another.
Regardless, fucking Christ you seem to have a hard on for Funimation. Do you work for them? Are you Vic McNignog in disguise?
>>8870083
>They literally go to artists and ask them politely to cover up logos and they can still keep selling the item??
lol did you read the thread at all?
>>8869157
>The poor girl next to me at the last con I was at got hammered by some lady from Funi because she had an AoT print, no text, just characters in their jackets. Was told to "cover up the patches on the jackets or take the print down."
I can understand funi maybe not wanting buttons or charms with just the logos, but getting nitpicky about a dumb drawing with the characters in their jackets is fucking retarded
>>8870158
I wonder if Vic Mceggnog does do stuff like calling out people's AA tables.
FFS funi only makes fucking dubs, this is like some kind of abuse of power. This is why I hate them.
>>8868883
try osomatsu-san stuff
>>8870083
stop being a faggot
>>8870186
Did you not just read your own thing? How is being requested to cover the logo BUT YOU CAN STILL SELL IT not contradicting what i said? I had friends who got C&D from funi too, they were told to cover the logos and names.. and continue selling. This is far less than they could do, which is make you take it down immediately no chance to sell.
>>8870254
stop being a pansy ass artist who can't draw fanart without relying on names so people can tell who you're drawing.
>>8870274
patches on jackets aren't logos.
Funi devs pls go
>>8870279
..? You know even things like pokeballs are trademarked right? Sometimes i forget how full of scrubs this thread is.
>>8870290
Pretty sure trademark holders don't usually start flipping shit at people selling any merchandise with a Pokeball on it. Get out of here, shill.
>>8870290
And Pokemon has dropped quite a few cease and desists for stupid bullshit too
>bulbasaur plant pots
Riddle me this, why are you such a fucking shill
Has anyone here transitioned from fanart>oc? How was that?
How long do Alibaba sellers usually take to reply to messages? I messaged one asking about prices, production time and some examples for rubber straps and they replied right away, however it's been quite a while since I sent them my drawing that is meant to be made into straps and I haven't gotten any kind of answer since then. Did this happen to anyone else or should I message them again/look for another seller?
How do you guys feel about people making merch of series and openly shitting on said series. I get that people want to make money, no problem there. But if you hate it don't spew your shit where everyone can see it. Kind of lacks integrity to me. But hey normal congoers don't generally see that stuff, so they'll still buy the merch.
>>8868566
Not Op, but wondering this as well. I know 'artsmoo' had black ones, but that's about it. <_>
wondering if tictail or etsy is better for an online store with mainly stickers and clay/acrylic charms etc? im finding tictail hard to use and promote. However even though it has fees is etsy worth using for search feature? i cant really use storenvy since im in australia and the paypal just wont work -_-
How frowned upon is it to give prints/charms out of a series where the creator has explicitly said not to sell shit from their creation (yes I'm talking about Undertale) for free if a customer spends enough money on other things from your table?
>>8870571
That's really shitty imo. Don't do it.
>>8870571
In general it's frowned upon to even print stuff for that series if the creator has asked otherwise. Like how does that even work at a con? Have a sign that says "Buy enough of my stuff and get a free Undertale gift!"
>>8870571
If people have to spend money to get it, you're still technically selling it, aren't you? It's a pretty shitty way to get around Toby asking people not to sell Undertale stuff and I wouldn't recommend it.
>>8870612
People used to do it with Homestuck and it was pretty much like that. "Spend $40 or more and get a free Homestuck phone charm of your choice."
>>8870514
They're probably still celebrating Chinese New Year, it's basically the entire month of February. Some companies get into the full working mood only by mid-March, because many of their workers fail to return from holidays in their home provinces and they have to hire and train new staff.
>>8869337
Seconding this, I want to sell some Funi stuff online and now I have no idea if I'm going to get shit for it from them.
>>8870274
>stop being a pansy ass artist who can't draw fanart without relying on names so people can tell who you're drawing.
they said nothing bout names tho this conversation is about logos and if you're drawing shit like attack on titan its hard to avoid the jacket patches
like why are you riding funi's dick so hard
>>8870671
I completely forgot about Chinese New Year, probably because they replied so quickly the first time I was expecting the same when I messaged them again. I hope it doesn't take much longer and the straps can be made and arrive in time for the con I plan to sell them at.
>>8870571
just don't. it still involves an exchanging of money for said product.
>>8870571
Just stop.
out of curiosity, for those of you that sell prints, how many designs do you have and how many years have you been selling?
I'm going into my 2nd year of selling and I have around 30 prints (including my 8 or so mini prints). I see people with huge, heaving bulky folders and gigantic print walls and always feel a little insecure, lol.
>>8870905
I made 5 prints/miniprints for my first AA last year, but teamed up with a few people so our table had around 21 different designs. I want to get more prints done for this year, but I don't really pump out art very fast.
>>8870216
>FFS funi only makes fucking dubs, this is like some kind of abuse of power
You seem to not know how licensing or the anime idustry works. For all of their shows, they own the U.S. distribution rights. It's not an abuse of power if they believe that artwork with logos or show titles is infringing on their copyrights (which itself would imply they think it's costing revenue–a case that may seem like a stretch, but consider that they also have merchandise rights for shows).
Regarding things like logos and symbols like the flamel or AoT patches, have any of y'all considered that Funi isn't being this much of a hard ass because THEY want to be? They are beholden to the original licensor. It's entirely plausible that Japan is being anal. We're talking about symbols from huge shows. Japan gets nitpicky about the littlest things, so it's not implausible to think that Japan is concerned about all the logos in fanart and such.
>>8870679
>>8869182
I haven't heard any stories about people having online merch taken down for it being Funi stuff, but for sure don't do anything with logos like has been mentioned to death. I have been to cons where AoT patches were covered up but the print was still allowed to be sold (notably A-fest, however, I think the print in question used the AoT patch in the background and wasn't simply on their jackets?).
My entire AA catalog is all Funi titles and I've never had a problem, but I've played by their rules I guess.
>>8870980
Considering how big fanart is in Japan, I highly doubt it's the Japanese side that's being harsh. Funi does run the risk of losing their copyright if they don't enforce/defend it though, so I can kinda see why they're so strict about it.
>>8870984
Also, I really do sympathize with a lot of anons who are a bit antsy about the Funi statement and worried about their prints, but you can't really treat and conceptualize anime companies like evil corporations. These are still very small companies compared to Disney. They're much bigger than a small crew like Nightvale, but we as artists respect when small creators don't want fanart sold of their work, but can't respect when a company doesn't want a copyrighted logo on a piece? Funimation hasn't said no to fanart of their properties and we have to remember that multiple people have stakes in anime licenses, including the original Japanese licensor, the U.S. licensor, the company that has merch rights, etc. Any anime company could do what Funimation did at any point and it's no more or less evil or strict than what companies like Disney have done.
>>8868319
Sorry anon things are sold out apparently but here's a link to the store in case of a restock
http://chicinlicin.storenvy.com/
>>8870571
>>8870643
Yeah even though I used to buy prints from sellers who did this deal, it comes off a bit shitty now.
>>8870905
I'm only just going to be selling for the first time this weekend. I had building up my portfolio since last year so I have 14 prints currently. A large chunk are a series I did though and I'm a bit nervous my portfolio is unbalanced.
Is it "cheating" and lazy if I recycle a design for multiple products? I have a sticker design that I really like that I want to turn into buttons and charms but I wonder if that's too much.
>>8871259
Not at all anon, I do this too. Usually at the request of customers.
>>8871259
It's actually not a bad idea. Some people like buttons, some people like stickers. It's more prudent to offer something you like/specialize in so that more people can buy them in whatever format/media they prefer, if that makes sense.
It's kinda like when you sell several sizes of the same print. It's smart to cater to different price points using the same design because people like the design no matter what.
>>8871281
Yeah, I hate to admit it but I started off drawing a single picture of Rose Quartz from Steven Universe and then ended up drawing one of all of them. I ended up getting burnt out around the time the huge incident were an artist was being bullied to suicide. I'd happily like to phase them out as soon as possible now. Even though some will probably sell well, I'm a little nervous what type of people will come to my table.
How much do people charge for custom buttons thats not the common print/button machine type? I guess you can call it assembled'ish, the closest resemblance I can see are those polymer-sculpey ones for example.
"must...draw...fatter...!"
>>8871274
This
there are some buttons I'd like as charms or vice versa or I'm really fond of the design so I want both
>>8871309
What portion of the con crowd is insane tumblrinas vs what portion is just your standard weebs these days? I really hope the kind of people that bullied that artist to suicide are a minority.
>>8871333
Glad I wasn't the only one thinking that...
>>8871345
hate to say it but tumblrina phase is the new weeb phase. instead of weebs writing bad hetalia fanfictions on fanfiction.net and drawings with bases on deviantart, you now get "mikasa is a strong, black, trans woman babe and if you say otherwise, you're a racist transphobe uwu. btw i'm a plantkin who uses flor/florself pronouns and if you name your child Daisy, you appropriating my plantkin culture uwu."
>>8871333
why redraw something like that if your style hasn't improved even remotely?
it almost IS like she redrew it just to add 30 lbs
Could I get some thoughts/opinions on selling art of designs made by another artist?
For example:
- the Bottle/Botoru Miku design by Par@pixiv
- Chandelure, etc and Vanilluxe gijinka design by ichigo-tan@dA
- Alice as conceptualised by Sakizou
- FFVI Tina and Celes designs by Sakizou
- Maccha Latte gijinka by Sakizou
I've seen Botoru Miku sold by a few artists before, even though it isn't an 'official' design from an actual pv or anything. It was just a design by a user on pixiv that happened to get very popular. I'm wondering how this differs to some of the other things on the list of examples.
>>8871387
Wouldn't this be kind if like stealing their ideas?
>>8871387
First off, ask the artists. If they give you permission, that's great. Otherwise, no dice. That's for Bottle Miku and the gijinkas.
For Sakizo, I dunno, anon. Are you as good of an artist as Sakizo? Why would I spend money on your not as good quality fanart of Sakizo's designs when I could I dunno, buy a Sakizo art book or fucking print out Sakizo's art and make my own bootlegs since she'll get the same amount of money from that as she would from you selling fanart. You know? So keep that stuff in mind, too.
>>8871387
Pretty sure that's plagiarism if you don't get their permission.
>>8871420
>>8871444
That's what I was thinking. Bottle miku seems like such a well accepted thing-to-sell I got confused why selling prints of other people's gijinka designs, for instance, would be any different. As far as I know, PAR, the original artist, didn't give any explicit permission anywhere.
I think permission is key.
>>8871443
Can I ask why you made a distinction with Sakizo? Is this because she's a professional illustrator?
Also, I'm not concerned with your last point about how WELL it will sell, rather, whether it's unacceptable or not to sell. (Unless quality of art somehow factors into the acceptableness)
>>8871465
The artist of bottle miku, along with most miku fanarts, give permission to use their designs though. That's why they're so widespread.
seems like a new sticker company is opening up with no MOQ and pretty good prices! might be worth keeping an eye on http://mumuprint.tumblr.com/
Is it okay to draw a chibi that looks like exactly like an official art, as in same pose and same expression? I drew a Naruto chibi and just realized that it looks exactly like Naruto-- same pose, similar expression--from one of the manga covers. I didn't mean to copy it but as a longtime Naruto fan, I must have unconsciously referenced it. Will I get in trouble for this?
>>8871530
depends on if your art style and the way you render it is unique enough on it's own. I don't think you'll get in trouble, but there's no harm in changing it unless you've already had them made?
>>8871520
its ok to self promote u kno
>>8871549
im really not them though?? i just saw them in the artist alley tag on tumblr and they looked pretty good? :s i i was self promoting an online store of mine or something id be upfront about it
>>8871553
its ok to not be incredibly defensive
>>8871546
I was dumb enough to order it as stickers... I don't know why I didn't realize it sooner. Maybe I can just sell the ones I already have but change it in the future?
>>8871465
im mos cases its down to whether you get permission. There not point really umming and ahhing if you dont know. If you ask and they said yes, its a go and if it no. then thats that?
Most of it is common courtesy towards other artists (and i think even more so if youre going to profit off them). So you can ask. or you can just not ask and make them anyway, but doing so is just morally wrong.
>>8871553
>???
>:s
go back to tumblr please
>>8871387
Even if the artist gave permission I still don't like this. Stop trying to make money off of other people's ideas.
>>8871560
ugh i literally only go to that shithole to check the tag for resources
>>8871520
isn't shipping in/out of indonesia notoriously unreliable and risky
>>8871566
i wouldnt know because i live in australia
>>8871557
yeah just get through your stock and change it for next time, not a huge deal.
>>8871563
>UGH
>>8871520
Yo dude that $25 US shipping holy shit my wallet.
I'm curious, from either a buyer or seller's view, do you prefer having your buttons offered in packs or individually or both? I've been seeing more artists do their own button packaging and I've been selling mine loose ever since I've done alleys. Plus I have well over 60 designs... Which takes up quite a bit of room.
>>8871632
I prefer in singles because I hate being forced to buy buttons of characters that I dont like.
Both would be a good idea though, specially if there was a slight discount buying a whole set?
>>8871345
it really is a minority. all the people i followed were squarely on zammis side.
>>8871632
it depends... if they're small buttons i don't mind, but for the most part i prefer to just pick and choose.
>>8871387
It's really not that hard to design your own pokemon gijinkas. I know nowadays cosplayers are looking for great gijinkas to cosplay. Wouldn't you as an 'artist' want to see people praise and like your OWN designs and want to cosplay them instead of stealing designs from others that are more popular that you and just becoming a middle man artist?
I feel like for Miku you should still ask even if it's popular (or just design your own Miku, again not hard).
Can anyone please post up some artist alley table ideas on how to display buttons? I've got a plastic bead storage container box with separate compartments, but I'm worried that just having them like that will look really cheap.
Also, is it worth bringing my button maker machine to a con to make sure I can top up my buttons if they get low? How many of each do you guys usually make? This is my first convention where I'll have buttons for sale, and I was thinking 10 of each design?
>>8871333
The one on the right looks like she's being shoved into a small box. I like the way shes placed on the card and the face on the left better (but the tail looks better on the right one)
the hands bug me though.....
i wonder if the spiderburger charms have been sent out yet :lc
>>8871638
>>8871763
Thanks for the feedback! I might try offering discounted packs for some of them then.
>>8871903
Here's a potato photo of my display, i also use the bead boxes to store buttons. I've seen people also attach them to fabric or felt over a board. It's useful to bring the button maker if you anticipate you're going to sell out though, I start off with 5 of each and make more depending on what's a popular design so I don't have too many leftovers.
>>8872192
Jojo buttons, provide store please
>>8871259
If it works for a sticker and charm and button, sure, why not. I'd make a few changes if you're making something much smaller than the art was intended for, like making it simpler and maybe changing the background colour or the thickness of some of the lines to make it stand out.
>>8871383
>btw i'm a plantkin who uses flor/florself pronouns
Kek, reminds me of something I read about flower crown selling out at Dashcon. Tumblrinas are the worst.
>>8872306
What's flor/florself?
>>8872387
making fun of people who use odd preferred pronouns
>>8871632
I like individual ones but packs are cute for a series. I would offer both if you can - maybe you can have all the pins on display with a note saying a series set is X or like, 6 buttons are X and have special packaging ready to put them in?
>>8871566
maybe, I ordered a body pillow case from an artist on dA and the first one she sent me got lost or something, second one came fine though. still hoping that one day the lost case will just show up
>>8869454
No, unfortunately there is no loophole when it comes to prints. A print is easily mass produced and sadly these companies can say, 'Absolutely not.'
The only loophole is hand drawn traditional art but even then you cannot make prints of the piece. You can sell a single piece of hand drawn art and get past the copyright laws but the instant you make a print of it, you are in trouble.
Digital art always falls in the wrong since the only way to sell it is through a print.
>>8871632
I'm a buyer, offer both. Definitely offer both.
Offer a discount for the pack buttons as well (ie. $2 per button but if they get the whole pack of like 8 buttons it's like $14 bucks)
>>8870905
I started out with like 8-10 prints a few years ago, and try to come up with 5-6 new ones per convention. As time goes on I retire ones that don't sell well or don't reflect my current abilities. I just counted and I have 19 prints in current rotation, 3 completed for AB that I haven't gotten printed yet, and 10 or so I have in the back of the book as sale items. Honestly it depends on a lot of things--how fast you draw, how many cons you go to, etc. I wouldn't worry about shitting out a bunch at once, it'll build up over time.
That's just big prints though. Those I think through and plan and worry about composition and stuff. If I want to have a certain fandom represented but I don't feel like designing a big print, or I want to draw silly stupid stuff or alternate costumes or whatever, I'll draw something simpler on a smaller canvas size because small prints cost like ten cents a piece to print. It helps pad out my stock easily. Hell, one of the small prints I repeatedly sell out of is just a three-color tumblr doodle that became inexplicably popular.
>>8870984
Japan is... weird about copyright. While doujin markets and stuff are allowed to flourish and published authors even do them on the side, have you ever noticed how many references are censored in anime and manga? I can't count how often I've seen a show reference Gund*m. And think about how the first Osomatsu-san episode is now not allowed to be released due to all the parodies in it. I don't know the ins and outs of the laws, but it's not as simple as "Japan loves fanart!"
>>8872192
Yeah but some customers come up and snatch the buttons right off the display board. How do you prevent this?
>>8871210
I think its a really good idea. If you make a set of charms you can sell things like sticker sheets of the set of characters as well. That way, if someone likes your set of charms but can't afford to buy the whole set, you could offer a $3-5 sticker set with the same art.
>>8871333
Weird, I think the one on the left has more personality
>>8872233
Jasbutts.Storenvy.com Aand I just realised I never put the part 1 and part 4 buttons up oops! Those will go up once I get home.
>>8872691
I haven't had anyone pull anything off ever since I started using boards, nor have I had theft of any other display items before. I do try to engage my customers so hopefully that deterred any attempts? It's hard to say, but I try to stay aware.
I've never tabled at Acen so I donmt know how much change I should bring. Most of my items are $2 or $3, so I'm thinking around $100 with 50 $1 bills, and the rest in $5 bills. Is this a good idea?
What is everyone's experiences with small cons around 2000-2500 attendance that are within driving distance (maybe a 5 hour drive)? Are they worth it?
>>8872844
I do about as well as small cons as I do at bigger conventions. Then again I live in Texas and 5 hour drives for cons are completely normal for me, big or small.
>>8867090
Anon, is there anything more you can tell me on how your colors were processed? I noticed their templates are in RGB rather than CMYK like Inkit's or Zap Creative's and sent an email asking for more information about their color profiles almost a month ago and never got a response back.
I feel like an idiot for asking if I should do it in CMYK anyway but I haven't done any printing involving white inks before.
>>8868474
Are you the person selling the neko atsume copy lanyards?
>>8872848
I'm in Texas too, and I just started tabling but have only done slighting bigger shows like San Japan and Ikkicon, but there's so many cons in Texas it's ridiculous thinking about doing some smaller shows so this is reassuring.
>>8868474
Actually, you are. I recognize that art. Why would you stoop so low as to directly copy the art of neko atsume and slap it on a lanyard? You should have at least made it your own art style instead of being a bootleg looking product.
>>8872877
What art? I don't see it anywhere in the thread.
>>8872883
Came across it online. This is what you do when you have no skill, you copy. I'm getting real sick of seeing copied neko atsume art on etsy. Their other keychains had been posted here before, they're a regular.
>>8872874
What part of Texas are you in, anon? If you need suggestions I might be able to help. (Also I was at Ikki, where was your table?)
>>8872889
There's only so many ways to draw these super generic cats but goddamn lanyard anon's look like they're traced from the game.
>>8872911
this is basically just changing the line thickness, right. lol
there's many, many more ways to approach cats than realism or a direct copy of neko atsumes stylization.
>>8872889
Damn. Yeah, that's a little weird to be selling... Also
>that file name
I giggled.
>>8872902
Really? That would be super great cause I'm just starting out and I'd appreciate any advice from fellow AA artists. I'm located in Austin right now I'm looking at Omnicon and possibly Anime North Texas? I was in a corner next to a water jug, I was the table with a lot of monster girl prints, where were you at ?
>>8872858
In general, whenever you're getting something printed, you should always convert it to CMYK. However, I'm pretty sure that their color differences come from their equipment though, not the file type. (You should convert it anyways because that's what printers need)
>>8873067
I always work and print in RGB mostly because I don't have photoshop and because RGB looks slightly better in my eyes. Is RGB not good at all?
>>8873102
CMYK is basically the color language for printers, and RGB is the color language for monitors. If you don't convert the file to CMYK yourself, the printer will do it automatically, and the result may not look how you intended it to. Converting it yourself and adjusting the colors manually gives you better control over the printed end result.
>>8873102
RGB can look better, because your computer is capable of showing much more vibrant colors than your printer can create, and overall has a much larger range.
>>8873102
RGB has a way bigger colour spectrum than CMYK. If you start with a CMYK format, your digital upload to your website or whatever won't be as vivid as you imagine it but it will print truer to the file. A lot of programs have the ability to soft proof (ie, it will do a best estimation for how it will look converted to CMYK). If your primary intent is to share online with the possibility of sending to print, feel free to work in RGB. Just keep softproofing your work at regular intervals to make sure it will print in a way that you'll like because some colours change a lot, some change very little. Also be aware of which colours printers have a hard time with (like dark blue/navy, bright neon green, etc) and plan for it.
>>8873067
That's really bizarre, I would assume that color variation would come from in house processing of files rather than equipment variation unless it's an issue of using different inks each time the ink is refilled or something? There's more than one kind of CMYK profile and some work better with different kinds of print setups than others. I just thought it was strange the original templates were RGB and wondered if there was something I was missing in the work flow there.
How long does it take for artsmoo to create and ship cosmetic bags? A friend had her merch shipped within a week while mine is still in processing...
>>8873235
They have somewhere on their website to expect 14 business days turn around, but yeah sometimes it varies like in your friend's case.
>>8872828
Thanks anon! I made them since the creators of Hatoful Boyfriend were guests at a con I was at, and I threw them up in my store too.
>>8872877
>>8872889
Lol, thanks for the shout-out (though I'm not sure what art you're "recognizing?"). I did actually try to make it different from the game, but clearly failed, and no, I didn't trace lol. I apparently have some weird misconception that if I make it too different, people won't recognize it as easily--which is wrong, I know.
But I do acknowledge that I should have incorporated my own style (a lot) more, and am thinking of doing so after this batch runs out. You're free to criticize me, it's done, I recognize it, and I can't please everyone anyway.
>>8872919
I've heard good things about ANT, haven't been myself yet because of school priorities. If you're willing to drive, Onicon, and Realms Con are both good sized cons in The Corpus/Galveston area. AnimeFEST is the second best Dallas con, but they've already closed sign ups for the year. San Japan sign ups are tonight, and that's a huge con. There's also Anime Austin which is just having its first year this year but if you're local there's no harm in trying! Delta H con is supposedly pretty good too. And then there's Koya-Con which is also a newer one in Midland, towards the north.
Oops sorry anon, I feel dumb now. I should have clarified that I didn't actually have an AA table at Ikki, I was just as an attendee this year. I'm pretty sure I saw your booth though! I'll be tabling at AM next weekend though!
>>8873380
It looks like an exact replica. You didn't change a damn thing even if you "didn't trace". You didn't alter anything at all, look at the official images of the toys and looks at yours. The orange box is identical. The cowboy hat is identical. The cat faces are identical.
This >>8872911
I feel is a good example of changing them slightly and incorporating original poses and things to make it stand out while hovering between the original style and their own and having tweaked it just enough to be unique. Your lanyard looks like a bootleg. Get over it.
>>8872889
File name made me laugh so hard.
I've never signed up for san Japan so I'm a bit lost...are they gonna have the sign up form on their con website? Or will a link be posted to the sign up form? Also is there an AA newsletter for san Japan like Akon has?
>>8873674
Wow dumb please ignore me I didn't realize they had posted the app
What should I avoid doing so that I don't flop too much as a first-timer with average skills? I did a lot of research and drew what I think would definitely sell and read through a lot of advices given on blogs. What are some of the "don'ts" if there's any?
How many stickers per design do you guys usually print for a large con? Since they're cheap, I always sell out too early and I have no idea just how many I should take with me.
Have you ever sold prints/charms for a lesser known/less popular series? Some of my main fandoms or favorite shows aren't exactly stuff I usually see at a con so I'm a little worried things might not sell. Going off of this how do you decide what you're going to sell?
>>8873794
I'd like to know too. My favorite fandoms tend to be not so popular most of the time.
Sonic anon from earlier. I'm doing stickers for the first time. It's tough but fun...I haven't settled on how to handle human characters though. I underestimated how hard it is to settle on a style that's compact enough for small things like stickers, charms, etc but still appealing.
>>8873794
I'd do a few just to get it out of my system and keep a couple on hand, makes for filler I suppose between the popular stuff.
>>8872825
You will absolutely get customers wanting to buy a $2 item with a $20, $50, or even $100. Have 5 $20 bills ready (in addition to singles and fives) for when this happens.
>>8873919
>King Kazuma
I need it.
>I haven't settled on how to handle human characters though. I underestimated how hard it is to settle on a style that's compact enough for small things like stickers, charms, etc but still appealing.
I know some people try drawing just busts, or crest style stickers of characters so they don't have to sacrifice some details.
>>8872192
I really need those Oyasumi Punpun buttons in my life.
>>8865560
the Artist Spreadsheet seems mostly print-based, would it be okay to have a new tab or section for crafters, accessory/clothing makers, and such? or would it be fine to just add ourselves to the main part?
>>8874258
Just add yourself to the main part and put what you make under the specialties section, I guess.
>>8873627
Nice, thanks I've actually been looking into all of these glad to know they're good cons. Yeah I applied and got into AnimeFest I'm excited to table there. I'm the one who posted the app link a few threads back.
Oh, I actually had never heard about AM until recently so I wasn't able to get a table. Do you have your table number yet? I'm going to get a one day pass and probably spend all my money in the AA.
I have question how many of you pay your non-artist table helpers? and if so what percent of sales? I have two or sometimes one helper that are close friends whom attend conventions with me, I usually pay their passes/hotel/gas in exchange for their help, they love the con scene as well so we take turns wandering around/mending the table. A family member told me I should be paying them and I've never even though of it nor have my friends ever asked me. Am I being a dick not paying them a portion of sales?Any one in the same similar situation where your table mate isn't an artist therefore they won't be making profit?
>>8874599
Depends, I would calculate the cost of hotel, badge, gas, and then figure out the hours they might put into alley for the weekend. (calculate the cost of helping table set up as well as part of the hourly?) If you think the total is below the min. wage they would of gotten paid for their time, maybe just pay them the wage they would of gotten as the difference? Just because they help doesn't mean they get a cut of sales is how I see it. Also do you think this would change the relationship with you a friends, it'll be more boss type?
>Some vendors do the same sorta, except some give a credit to use on the store itself. I've seen weebs work for a weekend to buy a fancy scale figure.
For the Texans floating in this thread, since Matsuri is the earliest major con in Texas, is the AA worthwhile? I know there is drama with them and cosplay and EGL... I'm building up my portfolio to start selling at cons next year, and don't want to make the 5 hour drive if their AA is shit.
>>8874599
At least at my local cons, a table comes with a handful of free VIP weekend passes. I figure letting them dick around a convention for free (taking turns at the booth instead of together) is payment enough.. Saves them a $60 pass.
>>8874661
Been going since year 3? When it was at like the radission or whatever and it had all the shit problems like flooding in the hallway. The AA has always been pretty shitty. They had it on both sides of narrow hallways where no one could move, or in high traffic areas where people aren't looking for AA like 2 years ago, but trying to get in line for what ever shit is running late. The AA has poor layout choices, and I would just avoid it until the Leighs give it up.
>>8874599
I just pay for food/gas and give them $20-$40 con spending money. Sometimes (for cons that allow it) they use a corner of my table to sell some of their own stuff.
>>8874684
*would also like to say I haven't been in 2 years, before the drama was brought to light with AM. Also won't be going this year.
>>8873794
I have a couple niche fandoms I make stuff for (yugioh and golden sun), and especially with golden sun, I always have people telling me I'm the only person they've ever seen selling it. If your art is decent enough (and I like to think mine is), and somebody is loyal enough to that niche fandom, you're basically guaranteed a sale.
I used to carry Hamtaro stuff as well, but that was just a bit TOO small to be worth it. The most I got was people recognizing the characters but never feeling compelled to purchase things.
>>8874684
Okay, thanks for the input. As a displayed I've been leery of it since its first year so I've never attended to see first hand. Maybe I'll hit a local con before Akon next year instead.
>>8874661
I personally will never go back to AM until the Leighs step down. And the AA sucks too.
I have a ton of stock I'm looking to liquidate because I want to take my shop in a new direction. I just got into a local con that'll cost me near nothing to attend, so it's a great chance to do this.
I'm willing to go up to 50% off so I can turn my stock into money I can actually use. But I don't want to be that asshole selling their stuff for nothing when other people are charging fair rates.
What is the etiquette for this?
>>8874815
Make grab bags/ "lucky packs"?
>>8874520
Awesome! Also thanks for posting that link, I don't think I would have seen it otherwise!
Really? There's a lot of drama surrounding the con, I won't be attending again after this year because of it.... We don't actually get table assignments until the day of the con, which is pretty shitty. They don't even let you set up on Thursday.
>>8874599
I have an interesting system set up where the table is a group table for our anime club. So anyone with a sales ID can buy into the table and that gets them the club branding and staffing since club members volunteer. In return, 10% of all profits from each artist go to the club. They already have free badges from panels so there's no payment otherwise.
>>8874599
i pay for their admission, travel, lunch, and give a small stipend depending on how long they are there. they are friends who like going to conventions so the free badge and comped gas/parking is usually worth it for them.
cannot pay for hotel rooms for them yet but as i expand i hope to add that to the perks.
>>8874815
Seconding Lucky Packs/Grab Bags. It seems like something people don't want to take a risk on, but Lucky Packs are my biggest sellers. They fly off my table so fast and really helped me clear out older stock fast.
With you wanting to take your shop in a new direction the selling point would be "these items will never be offered again (or in this way)" so older fans have a last shot before it's all gone.
>>8874788
The AA appears to be in a giant convention room with vendors though (according to the table maps), is this the same as last year or a new location? I've never been before, first year going.
>>8874913
Last year, it was in a giant convention room with vendors too. But the AA was actually to the far right after all the vendors, so if you weren't there specifically for the AA, it was easy for someone to forget about the AA while shopping in the huge ass vendor area.
Anyone have tips on networking outside of cons? I want to met and talk to artists in nearby states and ask them about good cons and possibly splitting hotels or tables and such.
I guess I cold talk to people on etsy.
>>8874821
>>8874881
not that anon and this is gonna come off as a stupid question,
but can someone explain lucky packs? I've never seen them where I'm from, so it's something new to me. What kinds of things do you put in them, and how do the things in the pack relate enough that people want to buy the bag as opposed to specific items? Any pics of examples?
Give me your two cents on this.
I want to make buttons/pins/keychains one for every champ in League of Legends. But I feel like that corner is already marketed. Should I do it anyways? Maybe if they had some theme to them? Maybe giving them a Gothic style? Or super cute?
I wanted to get some feed back on my monster neko atsume sticker designs. Is it a dumb idea? I mean people like monster girls so why not monster cats?
>>8872911
0/10 no tiny cat butt-holes
>>8874994
Aaannd I dropped my pic
>>8874994
I am collecting photos of those kitty buttholes to use as their main pics in my catbook. Spooky has more hole pics than a slutty gay man's phone.
>>8874996
looks dirty, photoshop devil cat's eyes to glow
>>8875003
>justduets kitty league of legends
FFFF...that's such a good idea. Well...hmmm, what could I do that's not cats or chibi?! Maybe if they all had little top hats.
>>8874962
first LP anon
I guess it depends on what merch you have that you would want to get rid of and where you'll be doing them?
I mean, I've seen people post samples of what MIGHT be in the lucky packs for online shops. What I've seen other people do for conventions is any unwanted prints, slightly imperfect products(charms, bags, lanyards, prints, or what ever you make that's still good condition and not trash) along with some nice newer products(mixing mainly unwanted with some wanted).
Some do themes, like a series/show theme with many items in the pack that's related. The thing is most packs at vendor halls won't say what's exactly in them, but give a price of the bag it'll sell for, and the worth of all the products all inside (and maybe what the items might be if you think people will care enough to read it). ($25 Lucky pack: Worth $50. *2 large prints*5 mini prints*charm*buttons*whatever)
>>8874983
Man, I feel like league fan art is lacking at smaller cons. I love certain champions, but all I see are jinx, ahri, and sona. And I understand why since I've sold out of buttons of them every con.
Do it anyway, but don't rush through every drawing because you're trying to get all 127 or whatever. Maybe try popular skins? Or make sets of themed skins? It would be cute to have a set of heartseeker/sweetheart skins. Arcade, pool party, winter/snow day, pirate, mafia, and academy are skin themes that I'd be interested in seeing.
Also fuck I really want art of those snow day bard penguins.
>>8874962
Google fukubukuro to get a better idea. Usually in AA a lucky bag will be made to maybe get rid of stock that's not selling or just stuff you want to get rid of but you can obviously put in whatever you want. It's not like you want the buyer to be disappointed. Lucky bags are typically priced lower than the value of the products so people buy it to get a deal and it's just fun.
>>8874996
I'm not sure scanned drawings are good for stickers unless you clean them up really well. Some things will get fixed when you resize them but you might still be able to see bumps in the lineart and marker strokes.
I edited the contrast and lines but the bakeneko and ghost as you have them reminds me of Japanese paintings. Maybe stick to a yokai approach like the two on the right if you want it more faded or if you want more of the two on the left then you'll need to darken the blacks at least.
>>8875100
>It would be cute to have a set of heartseeker/sweetheart skins
Oh you're right. I didn't think about the different skins. Hmmm whole sets? What a good idea! I might as well start at smaller cons. No rule you have to do it at large cons.
>>8874983
I know there's someone that already does it, but buttons are small enough that I doubt you couldn't succeed regardless. The table I saw last year at Fanime kept their button maker on site, so they could make less popular champions on demand, rather than having to have them all in stock.
>>8875175
When I was at Expo, there was one person who had awesome LoL buttons, and by the end of the first day she was out of the top tier champs like Thresh, Draven, Jinx, Lulu and Sona. So she just had these huge boxs of the rest of them and I'm pretty sure she sold out by the end of the day.
>>8874732
>yugioh
Got any Arc-V stuff?
