Guys, I'd like some advice.

I just came back from a pretty crappy con. Sales were bad, but they were bad for everyone, so it's definitely not (just?) me. Thing is, we didn't get what was promised in the contract.
They told us we'd get tables of 2 meters, when in reality they were 1.50, maybe 1.60 meters judging by the size of my backdrop.
And the visitor numbers were horrid. In the contract, they stated they had 500 visitors last year and expected a "similar number" this year. Now I know that's not a guarantee. However, they now claim they were sold out at 300 attendees. (It felt like there were far less, maybe 150 people, for 30 dealer tables.) So that visitor number of 500 was never going to happen anyway.

I imagine people here have been in similar situations often enough. Is it normal to complain about this, or even demand a refund? They definitely did not uphold their end of the contract. How do I go about this without sounding like a complete dick and getting snubbed by the organisers?

>>8920822
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGegz96Me4w
not my video, I just found this one because I can't find the blog that describe this ghost town con.
I guess I shouldn't feel sorry for those that paid $100-170 to table AA (when I heard the dates for this, I was what the hell are they thinking)
>First 10 seconds of video says it all.
>Anime Matsuri Hawaii 2015 - Thanksgiving holiday weekend

>>8920822
I always expect cons to fudge their numbers, but that's a sad number more like a local swap meet/crafts fair attendance. Sorry for you anon, shoulda done a little more research on whomever sponsored that or people that went there before, but srsly I wouldnt have high expectations with numbers like that. 2/3 were probably kids with little to no spending power period.

Things are heating up in AANI over those omocat ripoff tshirts

>>8921025
Pulling out my popcorn and pulling up a seat. Those shirts aren't even particularly well made and I perosnally know some questionable things that girl has done so I'm interest in seeing how this will play out.

>>8921065
Oooo I don't know anything about her, willing to share deets?

>>8920822
i don't know if you can sue the con directly, but a detailed and critical review posted to a lot of social networking can help others to avoid the con. Just spread it like wildfire and people will avoid the con, which will hopefully force them to improve or destroy their rep.

>>8921067
Oop, misspelled a ton of things because I'm on mobile, sorry. But sure.

There's the general vendetta-ish stuff like how she's an embarrassing white weeb who calls everyone senpai and kouhai irl and won't stop using Japanese words in everyday convos. I've seen her block off other people's tables at cons because she'll have her cosplayer friends over to chat for like 20 minutes but doesn't want them blocking her table so she'll block other people's tables instead.

The actual juicy bits: she specifically gives out wrong sourcing info to people who ask about her shirt supplier. I overheard her bragging about this with her helpers about how she sends people to a printer she knows does faulty printing and burns shirts to discourage other artists from doing shirts themselves.

She's defended her "loli bitch" shirts on her FB account before by saying that she's actually being feminist and reclaiming the term. Uh, no you aren't, you're just applying it to little girls. I don't have a problem with the term but it's hilarious how she keeps backpedaling instead of just admitting that she's pandering for that sweet weeb cash. Just own your shitty weeaboo merch, Lissy, instead of making up all these excuses about how you're actually progressive and Not Like Those Other Americans!

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>>8921025
>What I got from reading the conments I must be a child molester because I dress in lolita fashion (in the elegant victorian style not the fetish kind)

Oh I'm excavating some salt right here

>>8921122
Jesus christ what a trainwreck

>>8921156
Lmao, I checked her photos too - she looks like a total ita but she's going on about how much of an expert lolita she is.

>>8921167
What is she even talking about, how they use the term loli so older men don't hit on them?

>>8921156
Trainwreck indeed. I get that this girl might be annoying for using senpai/kouhai irl, but now people are saying it's racist to profit off of japanese words? What the hell?

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>>8921025
Lychgate brought up something interesting, and the thread proceeded to ignore the post, so here it is. She's copied someone's work.

>>8921209
The shirt on the right is on the weeb trash store, so I'm confused. Did she just rip that off of tumblr or something?

>>8921209
holy shit why hasn't anyone said anything

Where do you get shirts printed in bulk, anyway? I've been interested in doing some myself, but I have no idea how to get into it unless I try and screen print them myself.

>>8921214
dorito face is not her design idea

>>8921208
She's a white girl who made an entire line using Japanese words. It's pretty side-eye worthy. I feel like kawaii/sugoi/whatever are a part of anime culture so it doesn't matter if you have a couple of things like that at your table because it's just selling to a convention audience. I just find it cringey that her entire clothing line is full of Japanese words and she's spending all this time defending her choices.

>>8921209
The dorito-senpai artist posted about this on their tumblr too.

>>8921216
I think it's because people are confused bc that image makes it seem like they're saying that the yellow shirt is another artist's shirt when it's actually in her store. They should have been more clear that they're specifically talking about the dorito-senpai thing

>>8921235
Yea, I deleted the image from FB after I realized people were misunderstanding it. The idea is that she's the same person selling each shirt, but one of her shirts is clearly a ripoff of dorito face

>>8921222
There are a couple of places online that do custom shirts. You can also check with local printers if they do screenprinting (either on shirts or paper) and ask if they'll do shirts in bulk for you. I used to work at an online tshirt printing company and all they did was have screenprinters around the country print stuff for them. Basically, if you search around and find a local printer, you'd be taking out the middleman, which is what most online shirt printers are

>>8921260
lol no that's not how that works you retard.

>>8921267
A lot of online printing companies outsource to other guys. Sometimes they'll have facilities themselves but they'll partner with other companies to handle surge periods or help get rush orders out.

>>8921222
But yeah, even my super backwoods hometown of 800 people in WV had a screenprinting company. They'd do runs as small as 20, so I'm sure you can find something local to you if you want. Can't give you any recommendations for online guys though.

>>8921273
Thanks! That does make sense. I'll totally check it out.

>>8921273
i was talking about the 'middle man' thing. most companies like that are a much cheaper option even though they don't print in house. they generally get access to better deals as someone who is contracted with the printing place rather than just you the consumer going direct.

>>8921273
Not that anon but 'tim' notoriously lies, I wouldn't believe her either. She rarely has anything of note to say.

>>8921283
Lies about what? She gave pretty good advice re:shirts and she's actually worked for a shirt place before so what are you even on about?

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>>8921283

>>8921260
How's life after being posted on lolcow?

>>8921390
>go sprinkle salt on urself and call it a day, and blog about it later.

Why is AANI so extra today? I don't think I've seen this much drama shit in one day in ages.

>>8921556
Maybe tensions are running high with so many upcoming cons. I was expecting more backlash going by the content of these threads.

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>>8920908
>>8921089
I actually went last year and I know some people sold pretty well then. It was a jfashion convention so a pretty specific audience. I knew it was a bit of a risk to attend as a dealer but yeah, pic related.
I'm basically shit outta luck because they announced this will be their last year. That about nullifies my chances of getting a refund haha. Suing isn't really a thing here and the tables were pretty cheap anyway so it's not a huge loss. I'm just sour that they blatantly lied in the contract. I'll send an e-mail and see what happens anyway. Thanks for the tips guys.

>>8920822
30 tables for 500 people??? is it common to have that many for small cons? in my country even cons with 15k-20k attendance have like, 10 artist alley tables max.

>>8921635
The dealerroom had artist and dealer tables mixed together, so 30 tables total.

Can the anime world collectively stop crowdfunding their mass produced stuffed animals? Especially when you have people like spoonful of cats and the candy-animal shit whose kickstarters failed but somehow they magically still had them made anyway. It's a thinly veiled pre-order scam that preys on people's emotions because "we need your help mass producing our product guys!" instead of getting a business loan or saving money for your own job.

>>8921884
Is that salt I taste?

I do agree about the people who CAN afford crowdfunding abusing kickstarter, but some people really can't afford or have the credit to do so. Or using what money they saved for other AA stuff because this shit is like really costly?

Idk man. .-.

The threads are filling up so quickly lately. Are these people coming in from AANI?

>>8921635
It's definitely nowhere near that small in the United States. Most cons 20k+ have about 300 tables (Fanime), separate from the dealers hall. Anime Expo, the largest US anime con, has 600 tables. Anime Los Angeles, a pretty small con sitting at 5k attendees, had 100 tables.
I've never heard of a con having 10 artist alley tables, even first year cons.

>>8921891
People aren't entitled to having other people fund their business for them, they're not having plush mass produced in a chinese factory out of the good will of their hearts or anything.

>>8921916
Brah, nobody is forcing these people to fund them. They make a choice to do it.

>>8921919
True that, I still find the mentality gross though so I'll just stew about it

>>8921894
it is a con that has been going on for at least 5+ years. The head of con doesn't really like artist alleys (he gets more money from the bootleggers in the dealers room) but the small amount of tables means even if it's your first year you'll do well, simply because there really isn't that much competition.
Though there is also not as much of a 'going to a con to buy fanmerch' atmosphere as there is in the states.

Smashpansy, i don't know if you still lurk these threads, but do you still do custom dakis....?

>>8921929
Do you get this mad when people use crowdfunding for video games and comics?

>>8921945
No because speculative work is what kickstarter/crowdfunding was made for. I think it's gross when people use it as a pre-order service under that guise.

So you think the admins know and side with yosb about that btssb shit a few threads ago? Because it's weird they used the same phrasing "run my name through the mud" when talking about stealing and tracing shit. .-.

>>8921960
that's stretching pretty hard? it's a common phrase used to describe trying to sabotage someones reputaiton

>>8921944
Yeah, you can email me at smashpansy at Gmail

>>8922004
Is it? Just asking. English isn't my first language, so was wondering.

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>>8916938
pls no bully
but i just bought my first table for the artist alley and i wondering how the display thing works
do you have to buy your own weird rack thing or does it come with the table?
also any tips displaying stuff?

>>8922080
what relevance does that post have to your question

but yes you have to buy your own display set up, buying a table is usually literally just buying the table/space. You don't HAVE to use grids/photography poles etc, you can use propped up cork boards, banners, folders, magazine stands, etc etc

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Okay so I got my rubber straps from vograce, ill do a quick (but kinda long) review for them:

Part 1/3

I initially asked for some quotes at the end of February though Alibaba on instant chat. Coco was really quick with replies and didn't take long to let me know everything I needed.

Sent the inquiry on the 2nd of this month and there was a bit of back and forth to sort out shipping, render the design, have the hole added on the design. The payment was confirmed on the 4th and estimated 12-15 days to be manufactured.


The straps were finished on the 17th and preview images sent to me over the inquiry. I asked a few questions about some of the final results but didn't get any reply. Until today I received the tracking number from Coco.

I assume they sent it off the moment they finished since I got the box today so well, there's that.


>image related

They straps are about 5-5.5cm tall and the colours are a bit lighter than what I had on the file (the top photo isn't accurate very accurate desu), and I used a retina screen to double check my cmyk file so its most likely Vograce's fault there.

The black that I used for Nicks hair is also sort of tinted green, when I used a neutral toned grey when I filled in the hair.

Additionally I was a little bothered by the teeth and how they weren't the same as the render but I'm assuming because the mould cant have such sharp corners in a small space?

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>>8922295
>2/3

After I opened the packed I noticed the zip lock bags I got had 53 written on both so I assumed it was the number in each and sure enough I got 53 of each strap.

>image related

I inspected each one and they a lot of edgeworth ones had little black flecks on the face. Some also had these dents on them. Pheonix didnt have as many black flecks but some smudged blue from his suit into his face and a dark patch on his suit.

Fortunately I got a magic eraser and with some elbow grease the black flecks came off, the ones with the dents and smudged colours I couldn't do anything about. So all in all I would deem 3 of each faulty.

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>>8922300
>3/3

I forgot to mention I got 50 of each design in total and received 3 extra for each.

Also the mold cost was 32USD per design.


I can only compare the quality of the strap to mass produced ones I own, I picked a gacha rubber strap to compare the thickness of the (bottom image) and theyre generally the same. However the ones I have from vograce are quite bendy with little effort. Whereas the ones I have from the gacha are stiff and dont bend easily.

I cant comment on the quality since its the first time Ive had rubber straps made, and i feel that its not entirely accurate to compare it to something mass produced like japanese gacha straps. But overall im quite satisfied but they are really on the pricey range.

>also forgot
In the rendering stage I didnt notice that they took out a badge on phoenixes collar but the final product is so small so it makes sense that they couldn't add something like that to the mould. So i would recommend leaving out super fine details.

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>>8922306
So that's it. If anyone has any more questions feel free to ask! I think I covered everything I wanted to mention.

Who will be at WonderCon?

>>8922308
how much total did your order cost? (excl. shipping)

>>8922095
stressing out about not knowing shit
also i was expecting an onslaught of rudeness cause im a noob

>>8922359
artist alley threads are reasonably chill as long as you read the thread/links on the op

>>8922295
Keep in mind that pvc material uses pantone color system and not cymk. So they were probably trying to convert colors as best as they could.

If there's certain colors that you HAVE to have it's best to color it in a pantone swatch and list the colors you used.

>>8922323
about 230USD?

>>8922373
Oh i see, that makes a lot more sense, thank you! Ill keep that in mind next time. Coco didn't say anything about my files so I assumed it would be fine.

I posted in the last thread but is there somewhere to find out what's in or what is pretty popular to sell?
I'm trying to prepare prints for the upcoming cons but I have no idea what's popular right now.

>>8922494
If you look at the top airing shows on MAL, that can usually give you a nod to what will sell.
>myanimelist.net/topanime.php?type=airing

>>8922494
since someone is going to do this kind of reply, i'll spare them the trouble:

uguuu!! only make fanart for stuff you actually like anon, otherwise you're a filthy sellout <3 our beloved customers have inbuilt radars that detect how much wuv you put into your artwork , so you better actually be a fan or it won't sell no matter how obscenely popular it is! fans never buy fanart just because it's of something they like or of good quality, they buy it because they can innately detect that the artist is also a fan ~

anyway, undertale, steven universe, marvel shit (and soon, suicide squad shit), zootopia are the 'biggest' but that also means everyone and their mother will have fanmerch for it, so unless you have a unique style or really high quality work i would either track down popular games (overwatch maybe? or later in the year, depending on andromeda news, i expect ME to have a come back) or anime (opm, love live, sports anime).
Neko atsume stuff is also doing really well right now, but for the love of god don't just copy the in game sprites.

>>8922494
oh, also fallout 4 and kyloki ren

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>>8921235
Just putting this out there: you know the Japs wear shit with English and french words on them all the time right because they think it's cool.

How is it any different?

>>8922604
doesn't the english/french words for japanese clothing tend to be pretty random though, and it's more about how they look in terms of the #aesthetic of the lettering, rather than shit like 'kawaii' 'loli' 'shota' etc etc that these weebs use all have direct connotations with anime culture
its kind of a distinct choice because of what they mean, instead of just being 'b/c its japanese-looking'

>>8922640
I still don't see the difference, it's just slightly more retarded, it's still the same shit.

>>8922573
Are you still butthurt about that? No one said you had to be a fan or an expert, just that you should read a wiki article or watch an episode so you can at least pretend. A lot of people who shop in AAs don't understand that you're in this to make money and not just because "I love all these things soooooo much~" and will judge you if you just say "It was popular and lots of people will buy it so I did a print <3"

>>8922295
That's pretty neat, congrats on getting them!

>>8922308
Thank you for this! I was seriously considering rubber straps and this helps a lot. Can you let us know how they sell? And what are you planning on charging per strap?

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>>8922604
>>8922685

>>8922604

>other people are being dumb therefore I want to be dumb too

Bruh entire websites exist to make fun of Engrish found around the world. Just because Japanese people do it doesn't mean that it's not cringe and that we aren't laughing at them.

>>8922640
French tend to have Frenchie words like "fromage angelique de omelette croissant Eiffel", which don't make sense 99% of the time anyway. English tends to be "BICTH" or "FCUK" or some ghetto sounding thing that's usually misspelled. There's still a lot of "culture" associated with the words used. French and English look pretty similar, but are used to represent two different things (chic vs gangsta) in Asian fashion.

Granted, it's not always the case that French = elegant, English = ghetto. Those are just examples of things that do happen.

>>8922782
Yeah, but it tends to be branded with cultural appropriation or some shit when it's done here.

Bitch, 89% of Japan is appropriated.

>>8922604
I mean, I can talk about the history of language imperialism or how western culture was forced into the East but you're going to call me a tumblr shw so is there really a point to continuing this convo?

>>8922308
These came out so cute! Thank you so much for the detailed review! Do the straps have anything on the back other than black? I know a lot of the official straps have the show logo and copyright information stamped on yhr back. It'd be pretty cool if that was an option Vograce offered because you could probably put your name/url there!

>>8922831
I could talk about the history of Japan and how they stole/pillaged/raped/appropriated shit from China and Korea. Not to mention how they themselves are basically to blame for the westernization back in WW2. They're the white people of Asia, basically. But yeah, no point.

>>8922308
Can you please ink these when they're online? They look adorable. Also:

Do they save the cast you had made for those so you can make more without paying for it again?

Do you have it or do they send it to you?

And lastly, if they have it: are you worried about it being used to make them to sell without your consent?

>>8922604
Love your ignorant use of slurs. It's no wonder you can't understand the difference.

>>8922908
No need to lecture me about Japanese imperialism, bro. I'm Korean. That doesn't mean appropriation of Japanese doesn't hurt the Japanese diaspora but I digress.

I've worked for a company that makes official licensed goods and the manufacturers keep all the molds. It doesn't make sense for them to ship it to you. That way if you need to reorder them in the future, they can just pull them out. Occasionally, some manufacturers will use the molds to make their own on the side and sell them on places like aliexpress. The company I worked for had to sue a couple of places. But since Vograce does a lot of work with overseas artists, if they started doing that they'd completely lose their customer base.

>>8922908
You can join the "You will go to hell" protestors in front of cons next to!

Move on anon, history talk belongs in school. This new generation is not ruled by asshats from the that era.

>>8922956
It's good to know that Vograce wouldn't do that. The thought of it has held me back from ordering from them. Thanks for the info, anon.

>>8922972
>You can join the "You will go to hell" protestors in front of cons next to!

lolwhut? Where did I talk about religion, i dunno how you made that leap.

Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. By your logic, white people shouldn't be given shit or held accountable for everything they've done anymore.

The point I FORGOT to make, is when people BAWWW and point fingers about appropriation, they forget that a lot of stuff, including how Japan is now (jpop, jrock and all kinds of shit that peeps here enjoy) would not exist.

>>8922956
Yeah, I was worried about how Vograce might steal designs, but now that everybody knows about them I doubt they would do that.

>>8922996
Sorry, anon. I wont talk about it or go into it anymore. No one deserves to go through that.

>8922972
>Move on anon, history talk belongs in school

This is why comments like this one make me angry. History is important, stuff like this leaves a scar, regardless of which race does it. I don't think they even teach what happened in Japanese schools, which is a huge cop out considering what happened; people think the whites are ignorant; but at least they don't deny what they've done, and they certainly don't get to forget it,

Google Japanese war crimes for yourself, because people like you are the ones who are ignorant.

Anyway, sorry for going off topic so much. BUT DAMN.

So yeah, I'm planning to make custom/fanart buttons instead of using the common button machine everyone has. It will be mix sizes from 1-1/4"... The closest item I would find are sculpey buttons. My question would be what's a fair price for this sort of work? Thanks.

>>8923038
>sculpey buttons
do you have any examples?

>>8922697

>"It was popular and lots of people will buy it so I did a print <3"
>in what situation would you ever say that or be stupid enough to say that

i'm not that anon, but do you guys actually talk to your customers about the series you have on display? Even when people stop and chat at my stall it's usually about the art itself and any fandom mention is brief enough that 'yeah i like it too, haha *points to fanart*, *name of character i like* is the best' is sufficient. Even then sometimes it's just blank stares because they're buying it because THEY don't know what series it is, they just think its cute/cool/pretty.

>>8923116

part of the fun of cons to me is meeting people who like the same things i do...

>>8923125
Well yeah, same for me, but I can't force them to talk to me about it? 95% of my interactions with fellow fans is them staring at my wares, maybe complimenting it and then quickly making a purchase... I was just wondering if people actually stop and have fandom talks at their table.

>>8923038
there's a reason it's a common machine that everyone has... it's fast, cheap, and provides a consistent quality that is popular at conventions. I have no idea what you're talking about, unless you mean actual, goes on your shirt to button it up buttons.

>>8921025
Most of the apparel designers that post on AANI are of the same weeb tier trying to ride omocat's tailcoat anyway.

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>buying cartoon fabrics at Jo Ann - Pokemon, Doctor Who, My Little Penis, etc.
>"Wow! What are you going to do with all of these?"
>"Oh, just make little crafts to sell at an anime con. Pillowcases, totes, that kind of thing."
>....
>"You know this is licensed for private use only, right?"
>areyoukiddingme
>"You know that's copyright infringement, right?"
>"Um, yeah. But in artist alley, everybody... um... uhhhhhh...."
>dude actually looks mad
>"Oh, uhh, never mind. I'll just make some stuff for my sisters."
>"Mhmm. Sure."

I'm cutting out MLP dice bags right now, and laughing because I swear that dude nearly called the cops over this shit.

>>8923173
Well you literally are the scum of AA for using pre-designed fabric. What you do requires no creativity whatsoever since you probably use Simplicity patterns too anyway.

>>8923146
Yeah. I've had people chat with me at my table and I've chatted with others at their tables. A while back, there was an artist who had a really great Lupin print and we chatted about the series for a few minutes before I purchased the print. And someone saw one of my Skullgirls miniprints and we chatted about how much the game has changed since its initial release. IMO, you don't have to be a fan of something to make a print, but I think it's a good idea to do at least enough research that you can at least fake having just started a series.

>>8923176
i'd rather buy a cute cartoon tote with jo anns fabric than some super creative craft monstrosity that involves shitty wire wrapping, perler beads and brushed yarn (and soap, probably)

>>8923173
how old was this dude?

>>8923146
The buttons are assembled, I only mention sculpey buttons because I saw a few that looked similar using a pinback behind it. I'll try to have some pics later, these are completely new for me so I just have a few in the process at the moment.

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After fighting with Fedex for a bit about their late delivery, my daki group order finally arrived today! It was actually pretty painless to order, Fedex just fucked up the shipping a couple of times.

>>8923176
I know, I'm a monster. But I also have original prints, so it's not like I'm a total bitch.

>>8923180
Like forty.

>>8923214
>Warden Alistair

Nice.

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>>8923214
Anon, where is that shoe from? I want a pair

I can't make it to a lot of cons due to school but I'm interested in opening up an online shop. But I should only do so once I get more followers/popular right? My biggest nightmare is to have stocks of merch that I can't sell off.

>>8922741
Thank you!

>>8922763
Sure, I actually didnt have a con to sell them in mind. Im not in the US so most of the cons are in august so ill have to see how it goes!

>>8922831
The backing on straps are actually this sort of chocolate colour. You can do any colour you want and im sure theyll make it that colour. (the samples have a bright blue backing).

but no they dont have any lettering on it, I never asked about lettering on the back. But maybe they could?

>>8922908
I dont have an online store, but ill work something out if people are interested in purchasing them!

Yes! You pay for the mould to be made and then have as many as you want made later. They didnt send it to me so I assume they keep it until you want to order again with them.

Personally I am a bit worried but they have so many designs and people ordering from them i'm pretty sure they wouldn't.

>>8923281
It's from aliexpress! I've seen the same pair on ebay too, if that's easier!

>>8923290
what do you make? if youre starting online without followers just make one of everything adn then restock as they sell.

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I make and sell jewelry. Hand made chainmail and such... anyway...
Wondering if any of you do artist alley stalls at big arse cons like comicon.
I am looking into trying my hand at it but the risk and cost is big as I am in New Zealand. I do pretty good at the NZ cons. 80k-90k attendance at the Auckland event. But that's the largest.
Big question I have is is it worth it? Do people spend large? whats the feels like between stall holders?
what other cons are good/worth it aside from comicon?

>>8923385
Hey, i'm another nz artist. Selling overseas (even in australia) is very different to new zealand cons. There's much more of an atmosphere of being there to buy things rather than just there for the guests/event (like for armaggeddon.) I'm not sure how well a higher priced item like jewelry and handmade chainmail would do, but as a primarily prints artist it has always been more profitable for me to sell overseas, even at cons with a lower attendance rate than armaggeddon. I would look into researching fantasy/comic/sci fi based international conventions rather than anime or game ones since those (in my experience) tend to attract people who are more willing to buy expensive pieces, instead of teenagers with $20 in their pocket.

I would join AANI if you haven't already and talk to some of the metal/jewelry artists there about their experiences.

Good luck.

>>8923401
Thanks for the advice! That's actually very encraging.
um...what's AANI?

>>8923405
artist alley network international, it's a group on facebook.

>>8923408
doneburger. thanks very much!

>>8923385
I've got a question for you. How well does your chainmail jewelry sell? I've been making chainmail armor for a couple years now with varying weaves and I wanted to try my hand at smaller pieces that I could try to sell for once. Any advice for a beginning chainmail jewler?

>>8923401
>>8923385
i'm just astounded that new zealand has conventions, lmao

I know everyone is tired of soaps but did they ever sell well?
I'm not sure if I just hit the wrong search term but I couldn't really find any successful etsy shops. I'm from a pretty small country and haven't seen anything other than prints, stickers, buttons and charms at the few cons we have, so I was thinking of milking the soap thing since nobody has done it here yet.

>>8923429
Only one, really (there are a couple artist-only events, one of which is anime orientated), that happens in different cities. The big one (Armaggeddon) is more of a pop culture family event like a popup fairground then a convention. There aren't really panels in the sense of the American convention scene and instead stuff like sponsored fear factor eating contests, zombie runs etc. And the artist alleys are very small and generally in the same area as the big-store dealers/bootleggers.
I think our cosplay community is decent for what it is, though, and because our contests are regulated in terms of having to make your own costume and are judged by technical skill and construction there are some really nice quality cosplayers.

>>8923146
I once asked an artist what they thought about season 2 of Aldnoah Zero. They said they haven't watched the series yet. It was kind of a turn-off and made me not want to buy their cute Slaine button. I think western AA are culturally more focused on profit than fandom (as opposed to eastern/asian). It's a little sad to see.

>>8922797

Ah, okay, I'm with you on that one. The original comment didn't say why they objected to shirts with Japanese on them. Japanese people want their culture to spread, not remain foreign to foreigners.

polite sage for OT

>>8923371
Bags and charms for now. I'm not into big fandoms for now so I haven't gotten much exposure on tumblr (and probably because my art's not that impressive). But I think my merch is cute enough to sell so I'll probably order small amounts like you've mentioned.

>>8923460
>your purchase being influenced by literally any other factor than the fact that you like the artwork

why even go to aas
I dont want to be the artists friend i just want to buy shit of my waifu

>>8923486
If I buy something, it's because I like the series. The quality of the artwork comes into play, but I can deal with lesser quality stuff if the artist is enthusiastic about their work. It's nice to support a series I enjoyed, whether it be by buying official merch or buying art from someone who also loves and supports the series. It's not even about being friends with the artist. I just dislike my money going to people who are solely in it for the cash; artist alleys will always be ultimately a fan-run thing for me.

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>>8923423
it's ok. I cant live on it or anything. I'm lucky cause I am a former Weta Workshop costume armourer so I can sell at the Weta shop and get to name drop the Weta name.
advice? Look after your hands. take plenty breaks and focus on quality not quantity and work into more variation on styles, colours and weaves. Plenty people make chain not many make it well. make sure you use good quality metals and have no burrs or edges on the work.
how long have you been chainmail making?

>>8923442
>big-store dealers/bootleggers.
>bootleggers
The chinese ripoff LotR swords being sold directly opposite the licenced ones sold by Trinity Treasures at chchgeddon this year was funny.

>>8923423
>>8923517

ugg too tired. couple of years. never mind me

>>8923541
No worries. Thanks for the tips

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>go to my beloved Jo Ann today
>see a section of "cosplay fabric"
>it's super ugly
>also see some godawful cosplay/ita patterns

What is this shit??

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>>8923936
I was looking at the online store and yeah. It's all Yaya's work, too.

>>8923936
i think its meant for like.. more fantasy stuff like mortal combat outfits like sub-zero and jade? someone on cgl made a thread about them when they came out and said that they stretched well and photographed nicely for that sort of faux armor look?

although it could be.. someone advertising pretending to be anon.

>>8923481
ah yeah, bags and charms are harder to do small orders for. I'd still set up an online store if you have the stock, and if you don't reuse that charm design for stickers and make some money that way?

>>8924000
>someone advertising pretending to be anon
Meh, you'd still see the quality when you went to buy it. Also, /cgl/ is pretty skeptical of Yaya anyway.

>>8923431
I haven't seen it either but my country is small as well. I think small soaps with figurines in them would sell like hot cakes, especially with pokemon figurines in them. They are great gifts so why not? What kind of soaps were you thinking of?

>>8923460
I feel the same way. At the last con I attended, there was a stand that had and older lady selling buttons, prints ect. I started stalking to her and complimenting her art, she said it was her daughter that drew. She came from the opposite side of Europe to this small con to sell her daughters stuff while she herself was at school or something. Couldn't answer any questions about the prints, characters, quality ect. Ended up buying a button because Saitama is the shit.

>>8923214
frick, I need that daki alistair. is it your own or did you order it off another artist? link?

>>8924138
We'll have our first CC this year so I was thinking rupees, SU gems, cutie marks, pokemon bath bombs but I'm not entirely sure. I have to look into what the older crowd likes instead of the usual young weeb

>>8923498
>I just dislike my money going to people who are solely in it for the cash;
I'd like to think you are talking about the vendors hall

>>8923460
>I think western AA are culturally more focused on profit than fandom
Westerners have accepted spending buuku bucks for plushies, buttons, and prints.

>>8923146
I've had lots of nice convos with people about fandoms, obviously when it's busy everyone knows to buy and go but when there's a lull i've had some nice chats. Doesn't have to be an extended conversation either, we can laugh/cry about our favorite dead characters or whatever. It's fun. It's way better than just smiling and pretending to like things anyway.

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>>8923176
>go to Etsy to see what the hipsters are making with these fabrics
>they're straight-up selling the fabric by the yard at a markup
>they aren't even making anything out of it

Daaaaamn, Regretsy. Lowering the bar again.

Is Telecome Square a good hotspot rental to use in Chicago? I've never seen anybody talk about it but it seems decent. Any experineces with this service?

What do you guys think about a one-man fanzine? I see a bunch of group-based artbooks but rarely personal artbooks (at least in NA).
Should I just make mini print sets instead?

I dunno if its cause it was con season when I ordered and they were swamped and having to either rush things or send them out late, but I got my acrlyic clear charms from Vograce today and the quality is awful. You can see the lines in the plastic, and all of them either have very visible scratches or general pock marks. So basically they only look decent in very bad lighting. Since this is my first time ordering custom made charms from anywhere, is this standard of 'quality' normal or is it just because I ordered at a bad time when there would be little to no quality control? I don't know if I should give them another chance by ordering at a very slow time of year.

>>8925167
Did you peel the plastic.

>>8925171
Eh he he...that'll get first timers all the time

>Register for Momocon back in October; was waitlisted from the previous year
>Waitlisted again in December
>Fast forward to recently
>Work on nothing but professional portolio stuff, all 3D art and shit
>No 2D anything outside of concept sketches
>Only claim microscopic online following
>Receive email saying there's an open spot
>Holy shit
>Con is in at the end of may
>tfw if I accept, there's 2 months to make and print everything

I don't want to do it, but I really want to do it. I thought they'd forgotten about me to be honest.

>>8925167
post pics

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>>8925171
>>8925177
Oh my god I feel like such a dumbass.

Why don't we have an AA FAQ?

>Spoonfeed me what is popular this season.
>How do you order from Vograce??!?
>What is AANI?
>I just got my first charms, and they're all scratched up!
>How much do you price your acrylic charms/buttons/prints??!!

>>8925208
>Where can you get holographic sheets

>>8925208
yes pls.

A few quick questions. How many of you do traditional art? Is it mostly prints that you sell or do you ever sell the physical piece? Do any of you do at con commissions and if so, what is the typical price you set?

A story to leave off all these questions. Wondering if I was a dick for it or not.
>At con on Friday morning.
>Scope out all people in AA doing commisions.
>Talk to a woman about her watercolor art.
>Pretty nice style.
>Ask if she has her colors here.
>She says no.
>See her drawing in a notebook/sketchbook.
>Figure she is doing commisions with pen/pencil and paper with maybe some color like ink or pencil.
>Commision for 30 bucks.
>She asks for my name and phone number to text pictures of sketch.
>Agree and give her my number.
>Friday ends, no text.
>Saturday ends, no text.
>Mid Sunday, go back to her and ask about the commision.
>She says that it was going to be watercolor and would send it through mail.
>Have gotten burned both times artists said they would mail commisions.
>She hadn't asked for my delivery address.
>Ask if she started sketches of the commision at all yet.
>She says no.
>Ask for money back explaining I thought it would be a pencil/pen thing done at the con and my 2 past experiences with AA telling me they would mail it.
>She is reluctant and doesn't give money back immediately but caves in after I pressure her a little.

Am I a shit for doing this?

>>8925372
No, cons have policies forbidding artists for accepting cash at the event for something to be delivered after the event/something not being sold in person.

>>8925372
If she didn't start on it at all yet then no you're not a shit. This will be a learning experience for her to clarify this kind of stuff (and ask for address????) from the beginning if she wasn't trying to scam you.

>>8925372
If she'd asked for your address and started on the commission it wouldn't be weird, but the way she was acting was pretty dodgy. Good thing you got your money back.

>>8925208
>>How do you order from Vograce??!?
that's in the top sticky though....?

>>8924168
It's mine! I recently did a group daki order through alibaba with other artists so we can sell them at cons. I'll have him at WonderCon with me this weekend. My site's http://asunnydisposish.tumblr.com/ but he's not up yet! I just have the preorder page up right now.

>>8925372
It's possible that she had a lot of commissions that weekend and just didn't get to yours but she should have checked in with you to make sure if mailing would be an acceptable compromise. Agreeing with other anons that getting your money back was probably the right course of action.

What's the average price for zipper pouches these days? Mine cost less than a dollar to make, but if I only charge $5 each it'll be undercutting every artist in the dealer's hall.

Mine are 9x6 inches, printed cotton on the outside with minky lining on the inside. All nerdish or fandom prints.

>>8925802
>minky lining
charge more than $5

>>8925802
$12-$15 is what I see usually. Also, do you mind sharing the supplier for that? I've been looking for zipper pouch suppliers for a while.

>>8925802
unless the total time of construction is under 5 minutes, it's unlikely that it costs less than a dollar to make if you're making them yourself. $10 is a fair price.

>>8925814
Oh shit, lmao I totally thought you were talking about printed zipper pouches. I see you meant that you're sewing your own from fabric!

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>>8923062
actually 3D-printed buttons desu, my friend told me it resembled sculpey after it gets baked and glossed over.
>>8923146
>I have no idea what you're talking about, unless you mean actual, goes on your shirt to button it up buttons.
I could actually make button buttons lol with the holes too I suppose, baymax heads, :3 faces.. but anyway saw pinbacks so figure I can make alot of oddball buttons now when I'm bored at home, printing ain't fast I can tell ya.

Some first samples I wanted to make, simple geometry shaped stuff are the easiest to do.
Negasonics xforce badge; triforce (and several other designs). Quarter is there for scale.

>>8925501
>thinking that people who ask how to order from Vograce will actually bother to read the thread, let alone the sticky

Fanime still hasn't released payment info for those who got in. Is it still worth hoping for a spot to open if I'm on the waitlist? If anything, I feel like they'll announce that there are open tables a week from the actual con.

>>8925865
How much are you planning to sell these for? I don't think I've seen something like this before.

>>8925865
>actually 3D-printed buttons desu, my friend told me it resembled sculpey after it gets baked and glossed over.

Do you do this yourself? How do you do it, it seems interesting

>>8923460
It's one thing if you only want to support a fellow fan, but that's not really the point of the AA. You wouldn't expect a vendor in the dealer's hall to have watched every series they promote, and while most AA vendors do know the series they draw, some are just in it to sell their artwork. This is like complaining about cosplayers who pick an outfit because they think it's pretty and want to make it, not because they like the show/character. It's not your cup of tea, but they still belong at-con.

>>8925830
My bad. The cost of materials is under $1. It takes less than 10 minutes to make each one.

>>8926159
well lets say materials are $1, and time is 10 minutes. Lets say we want a good wage of idk, $20/hr. That's $3.30 + $1 just to cover your costs to produce the bag, not counting cost of tables, flight/travel, hotel, packaging if you sell online, any cost of bags that don't sell, etc. etc. $5 is just not enough. You want it to be ideally 3x your cost to make, so $10-15 should be the range you aim for (if not higher)

>>8923460
>>8924143
I AM a fan of everything I create merch for (i have terrible motivation otherwise), but I would dread someone trying to test my knowledge of the series as part of whether or not they bought something. I get nervous and completely mindblank on character names, plot, shit, even occasionally the name of the thing (I remember one terrible occasion where someone was talking to me, pointed at my +Anima print and went "Haha, I remember reading that series...damn, what's it called?" and I just froze on the spot. 15 seconds of agonized silence later they frowned and walked away from my table. i wanted to die.)

A feel a little awkward asking this but how much does looks play into sales?

>>8926169
Agh, those are the worst. I drew some of my prints four years ago, and yet people act like I'm a massive shitlord for not remembering every little thing about the shkw.

>>8926354
are you talking about your face?
personality matters a lot more, making the customer feel welcome. Don't be gross looking though, present yourself so people don't think you're a weirdo.

>>8926354
There's a guy in my comm that's a decent artist- I do genuinely like his stuff- but he's really, realy attractive. I'm not sure how well it translates into sales, but normally artists of his level and popularity don't have fan clubs, or people scrambling to cosplay their OCs.
His ex-roommate is another artist, about the same level of skill, and expressed frustration about how girls would buy his stuff because he was good looking. I think together they once had a mutual friend impersonate him: claim to be the artist, but be average looking, and the attention definitely waned.

>>8926354
You can still do very well if you don't look great, but you can get a bonus if you're also hot? I don't think i look good, and i never wear make up but i do well. I'd probably do even better if i was the type to wear make up i guess but whatever. Not worth it.

>>8926354
As long as you're friendly and you make yourself approachable you can do very well. Looks can help, but they're not a necessity. Body language is the most important thing.

>>8926354
Your work speaks for itself, it'll draw people that are interested in your art. BUT also being cute can draw people to your table to start some convo, and hopefully they will walk away with a sale.

I shared a table with a friend (girl) and she told me how she notice girls would come often to look over my portfolio of sketches and chat it up (my first AA, so didn't have much to sell). And I told her well have you notice it's been guys going to your side and doing the same lol. (Funny like that)

>>8926725
>me being male on other half of table.

>>8926169
I've had similar things happen. Instead of being silent though, I would joke about my shitty memory and laugh at the fact that we both couldnt remember it (character names instead of series though). A quick google helps us remember. Never had an awkward experience though.. Maybe its just the way you reacted to having forgotten, its not really a big deal, they forgot too.

>>8926354
Not looks but I think your attitude and body language really plays into sales (along with the quality of art ofc)

I went to buy something from an AAer once and they were sitting down with their head down looking at their phone and just looked generally disinterested in interacting with me or making any sales. That was enough to make me walk to the next table.

Maybe they were just a helper filling in but honestly I think eye contact and friendly/welcoming gestures are really important thats why when I'm tabling I try to stand most of the time.

How do you guys deal with a table partner looking grumpy and disinterested? I can't really do much but encourage her but its always the same...

>>8926995
get a new table partner or start selling on your own

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IT GOT WORSE?

>>8926995
Make them wear a masked cosplay. They get to be pissy and you get to attract people to your table.
>>8927245
Holy shit. How can anyone think this is good?

>>8927245
God, I smell the Tumblr dike scent through these.

>>8927245
WHICH ONE IS THE NEW ONE????? I hope it's the one on the left. jfc

>>8927245
there's things I like about the one on the right, but those eyebrows and hands kill it for me (not that the hands in the left one are any better))And I like the way she used to draw faces on the left

>>8926995
encourage them to see the con while you cover for them... i had a grumpy table partner once, just the worst. when they left their sales would increase exponentially when their helper sold...

>>8927279
It's the one on the right.

>>8927302
She looks more natural and flowy in the right and the atmosphere/setting is much nicer than the left. The right is overall less stiff but imo the coloring is worse and the eyebrows in right are terrible.

>>8927339
i fucking hate those damn heian style hikimayu...

>>8927245
i don't understand why she keeps fucking putting dot eyebrows on every character she draws.

>>8927245
I don't think her art is particularly BAD, it's just all really same-y. Every character she draws looks the same; fat, dot eye brows, giant oblong eyes, a bulbous nose, thick lips and usually with some kind of hipster haircut.

I think the one on the left is generally more interesting to look at.

>>8926145
What I'm saying though, is that I think the artist alley is supposed to be a place for fans and by fans. Artists who sell their art as a business should be selling in the dealer's hall. I'm not saying they should be kicked out of the con or that they shouldn't try to make money. I'm just saying the AA isn't the appropriate place for them to be selling anymore, if their goal is profit.

>>8926169
It's not so much testing your knowledge, but just wanting to talk about the series with someone who enjoyed it enough to draw fanart for it. Especially if it's a more obscure series. Don't worry, sometimes I forget names and screw up the plot too. But there's probably something somehow somewhere that appealed to you, to make you want to draw it, right? Even if you describe the character as "errr, that one small orange haired guy who people think of as a hyperactive raccoon (or was it bird?)", it'll still be endearing.

>>8927266
It's like anal prolapse...

>>8927378
> I'm just saying the AA isn't the appropriate place for them to be selling anymore, if their goal is profit.

I don't know about that; I mean, if you're starting out and you really do love some of the stuff you draw, I don't think it's wrong for someone to want to profit and make actual money. If someone is mass producing their stuff like Ramy then, yes, they should be in dealers, but smaller artists still belong in AA.

That being said, I think it would be nice for artists to watch an episode or read a few chapters or play half an hour of a series before they try to sell merch from that series so they at least can say they've consumed a little bit of it and so they get a feel for what kind of series it is.

>>8927245
Damn, the one on the left is just way more appealing in every way possible.

>>8927245
Jesus, I can't get over those fucking pinkies

Are there alterntives to wire cubes? I have to fly to my next con and I want to travel light. I was thinking about taking cardboard boxes (flat) and assemble them at the con and stack them up like I would with wire cubes. Would that look too cheap and not sturdy enough? Any advice is appreciated!

>>8927510
What about foamcore/foam boards? I've seen displays made with those and they can look pretty nice.

>>8927510
wut do you plan to have on the table and how many of it is to be displayed?

>>8927510
I don't think cardboard is the best option, anon. Maybe make something out of cork instead? It's light and a lot sturdier than cardboard.

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>mfw I was about to purchase a couple of keychains from smashpansy but storenvy global shipping.

>>8927538
>>8927556
>>8927563
I'm going to have a lot of buttons and charms and only a few small prints so I don't necessarily need a tall display. But I don't know how I should hang up my sign and get noticed without a tall display. Should I bring just a few wire cubes, enough to make maybe 4 cubes?

>>8927810
You could do cardboard as long as it was secured to the table and then decorated so it doesn't look like a pile of cardboard. Cover them with decorative scarves or something.

>>8927538
Do you have any pictures?

>>8926995
Holy shit this just reminded me of how much I hate grumpy people at tables.
One of my guy friends was complaining about two pretty girls being "too peppy" and distracting people from his table. The way he described himself was basically sitting there with his arms crossed and glaring at them.
I wanted to tell him maybe if he didn't look like such a grump people would come to his damn table.
I think it's a good idea to maybe try to explain to them previous to even setting up the importance of looking approachable? I can't think of a good way to hint at them if you don't know them well enough, but even something like "Let's try to look like we're having fun because it attracts more customers." , or something.

>>8928007
I feel both sides of this... sitting either by yourself even someone at your table as times goes by wears anyone out. I even saw myself being that "grouch", wasn't in the mood to play with my phone or sketch something, I just felt ugh...I recognized it as bad, telling my friend sorry I am collapsing internally lol, took a couple breaks splash water on my face etc, walking around a bit helped. Taking a power nap somewhere also was supergood, just have to reset ur brain (waking up - oh where am I..lol)

>>8927266
Everyone on AANI is going to be so sick of seeing this thing by the time it's finally done that she'll have eliminated any chance of other artists wanting to buy one.

>>8928213
which is why the comment that it resembles kirby coughing out blood is fitting.

>>8927266
I hope she loses a lot of money on this so she'll be discouraged from spawning anything else.
>inb4 kickstarter

For those who sell buttons, are they (around 600 buttons) allowed in carryon luggage? I'm choosing Southwest like everybody recommended but I couldn't find any information on carrying sharp objects on plane.

I'm getting a lot of conlicting answers from my friends. For 1" to 2" stickers printed on LD photo paper (mixed reviews on this paper but I like the price), is $1 a fair price? I know some peole charge $1 for 3" vinyl stickers but my friends are saying $1 for 1" to 2" should be good. I feel like 1" is maybe too small.

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Updated on the uprinting situation. Second batch as bad as the first. Can't say I reccomend them. I'll just sell these for cheap I guess. They are giving me a partial refund but I have to wait to see how much I'll be getting back.

>>8928355
$1 is fine. imo $1 for 3" vinyl is undercharging quite a bit.

>>8928583
I would impulse buy 10 of these and stick them on every jacket I own.

>>8928583
I'm so sorry, they're really cool but the edge looks like an unrolled condom

I'm not sure this is the place to bitch about it, but i kind of hate those people who rip someones work from deviantart/tumblr/etc. And you kinda know it's ripped because someone else in the next isle has the exact same prints.

And you kind of want them but feel dirty considering it, oh, and charging an arm and a leg for cheap frames they got from ikea.

>>8928599
I see that happening after the fact when I find a pic of it later, and like wtf..idk maybe that's why some artist say no pictures of their table, but it's works both ways, the people copying don't get found out.

>>8928413
I'm sorry to hear that, anon. And thanks for the update.

>>8928270
Buttons are basically a safety pin, I think should be ok, other than having tsa possibly turning Ur carry on inside out because of the metal content..absolutely no knives, xactos, box cutters.

>>8928270
I few SW out of state for a con, carrying my bulky button makers and about 500 or so already made buttons on with me on the plane. All they asked me what it was. The main TSA guy actually knew about cons and got excited I said I was a artist going to a con. Started talking about a local big convention. I forgot to take out my laptop from my bag since I was flying alone and get flustered sometimes, and he again was chill and helped me out. But I could of just been lucky? Take it on with you? It's easier to explain than it being on with checked bags?

>>8928694
Also forgot to say, all my buttons where in plastic clear divider bins you can get at joanns and other craft stores, and my button maker was zip tied to make sure it didn't move, and was in a fabric case I had. So that might of helped me not look weird?

when youre making prints is it possible to make them with traditional media like with paper, paint and prismas and still get them to transition nicely to printouts

tl;dr do i have to use photoshop or SAI to make quality prints and be able to send them to the printer places?

>>8928926
Yes but you'll have to tweak them a bit in Photoshop. The colors might not scan right, you need to fix a few mistakes you didn't notice before, you might have to brighten the image, etc.
You don't need to do much and you can easily make it look more polished in a few minutes, but I wouldn't recommend just sending a pic/scan of the original to the printer.

>>8928926
that depends if you know a certain print shop with competent workers there that can assist you in color correcting them before printing.. ie direct copies from original traditional media. but there is always going to be a level of just getting it close - lightness/dark, contrast, color saturation, color balance (best to do daylight if the shop is indoor you may be sol in trying to eyeball the color corrections.)

>>8928926
My only warning is if you use porous paper it doesn't always scan well. The light hits it and it often looks like weird markings instead of a natural texture.

I hate how my scanner handles most of my art. Got a nice Canon camera now to capture traditional pieces and large art in general.

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>>8928926
>>8928989
either on wall or lay flat on the ground with a pair of lights on the side is a good diy method.

>>8927784
Aagh it's brutal, isn't it? Our shipping prices went up again recently. Hit me up on the shop's storenvy contact form and I'll see if I can get something cheaper for your specific country.

>>8929056
...Holy shit, that's some impressive fucking customer service bro.

>>8923038
Anon I do not recommend. Buttons get banged around a lot, and sculpted is not durable.

>>8929139
I think this anons buttons are ABS plastic printed designs from >>8925865 reply.
Probably asked about sculpey in the sense it is a 3d print instead of a 2d paper print under a mylar sheet.

>>8926995
>be me at a local con, 2nd biggest in my country.
>share table with a fellow cosplayer and "friend"
>asking him a month before con what he is going to sell/make
>he says props and stuff, mostly out if foam and worbla. Sounds OK, as myself will be selling lolita stuff, crochet 8bit patterned oven mitts and other cute stuff
>on con day, see "friend" bring a bag filled with stuff he got from Lootcrate. He did sell it all in one day..

>Never again.

>>8926995
my bf always looks grumpy. I think he has resting grumpy face. If it's a con I know he has friends at I tell him he should go walk around with them. As long as he brings me back food/drinks I don't really need much help selling.

If it's not a con he has friends at I try joking around with him. Just because I'm working doesn't mean I can't have fun. I know how tiresome and boring sitting at a table all day can be. Allow your helper to take a few breaks in between to refresh.

Have any of you tried to phase out your stock that is in a different style/taste to the rest of your work? What do you do? Do you just keep it up until you sell out of your remaining stock? Do you redraw the art in a more cohesive style to the rest of your work?

For my first year of conventions I did a few cellshaded/very clean and atypical of my style things, mostly charms and stickers and a couple of prints, and I feel like they're not really true to my actual brand so I would like to retire them from my convention stock. I'm not sure really what to do with the stock of it I still have left, but I hate displaying it since it almost looks like a completely different artists work.

>>8930865
Sell it in a LP or label it 'old work' and sell at a discount. If it's something that still sells well, like Sailor Moon, redo the print.

Are there artists here or know of some with the mentality "I only bring new works each year".

Working under a mom and pop biz, the mentality I got from them was the more you have regardless the more sale potential you carry.

The only funny thing I saw from someone that said things like that was one he barely made much sales, his work looked o-kay ish lol. Guess it's just an excuse he makes each time to sound proud.

>>8931230
I think you should bring some new work each year but I don't really think EVERYTHING has to be new that would be ridiculous lol

>>8931242
oh yes, not everything, I mean if you create 20-30 new pieces each year vs. 10-15 (or less, I know some are super casual) and 1/3 of them are popular each time, send the low sellers prints into a portfolio and the non-selling ones out.

what's with the recent couple of morons who are just baffled why their pastel and low contrast charms aren't as striking and clean as the examples they've seen?

How do you politely tell a friend they're stressing you the fuck out and you no longer want to share a table with them? (Also I'm going to rant here because this has been building up and I'm at my limit I'm sorry).

I managed to snag a table for AX this year, and when I said I got in a friend of mine asked if they could join. I've never met them in person, but I know they do AA regularly and have for years, and we've been friends for a long time so I thought it would go well.

Instead, I've had to nag them repeatedly about info for the Artist form, which I only just got submitted in the nick of time for the deadline, and they STILL don't have a tax id, when the deadline is June. They're from out of the country so I get that getting a tax ID isn't as simple as it is for me, and I understand June 1st is still a ways away, but they've had over a fucking month? How hard can it fucking be?

I don't know if maybe I'm just being high strung about this, but they haven't even paid me for their badge and half of the table yet. I thought since they were experienced and have some unnamed "big name" friends they've tabled with before that it would go smoothly, but it has been anything but that.

They even acknowledged they don't take cons as seriously as I do (they're a full time student and this is just their fun money I guess), but you'd think if you asked somebody to join their table, you would have the courtesy to get your shit together and have your shit ready on time?

I don't know. I'm just fed up with them. I tried to ask them about their preferences on hotels and linking them a few we could go to, and they didn't even respond. I'm at the point where I probably won't even need to say anything about not sharing anymore, it's just probably not going to happen because they won't get back to me!

So gulls, how do I tell this person I'm fed up and done and they're stressing me out?

>>8931793
The newest one is a idiot, and I hope she knows that. She's blaming Zap for her not learning how to understand basic instructions????

>>8931950
I recently had an experience similar to this except I was sharing with two other people who were both acting like this.
If you've already paid in full, give this friend a list of dates to get things done by or you're tabling alone/looking for a new partner. Be firm, especially if you already have money at stake.

>>8930865
If the con allpws it, just throw your stuff into little grab bags. My friend and I collaborated on like 20 grab bags for a con and at $6/3 for $10, they did well.

>>8922604

Trust me, I felt like this around the time I started translating, since goddamn is a lot of foreign language appropriated into fashion and elsewhwre in Japan, but you're not accounting for Japanese racism against foreigners in their own country.

In the west, misuse of Japanese/Korean/etc words or slang doesnt affect Asians in living in other Asian countries so much as it does affect Asian Americans and people get to deal with all the ANCIENT CHINESE SECRET and HERRO shit from kids, oldfucks and dudebros around here.

>>8922494
Honestly Id much rather not see popular shit so much. Anyway, Fire Emblem will be selling out the ass Im sure, I dunno. Same with magical girl shit and omocopycats. Write Yandere on fucking annnything amd youre set. If youre a sellout Nintendo shit is an easy as hell go-to. To tell you the truth though, drawing more "obscure" fanart has made me some friends and kept people coming back since you can find that stuff virtually nowhere else.

Does anyone who has used Vograce for clear charms before know if the clear border can be made thinner? I want to get my clears made with them but that thick edge looks tacky af :/

Anyone know if Magi still has a fanbase? Recently rewatched both seasons of the anime and rekindled my love for it! I figured I might give some Magi merch a shot since the manga is still ongoing, but I'm not sure if people are still really into it.

>>8932154
I know people who are still into it. If you're not sure, maybe just make it in limited quantity. In my experience, if you're the only person with merch from a certain series, some people will snap it up.

>>8932068
i'm not gonna do the whole
>tumblr pls go
thing, but 'tacky af :/' is obnoxious, please don't

I have attempted to negotiate a thinner border but either she didn't understand me or it was virtually unnoticiable difference.

>>8931230
Not worth doing at all. The crowd'll be different each time, and you pour hours of work into each print, so the more you have to make the less time you spend on each one, and the worse they look. That's why the guy who only brought new works didn't do great- prints take time and effort to make and shitting out 20 in a couple of months won't cut it.

>>8932046
I don't understand what's "selling out" about drawing something popular if you like it. I know this person is asking specifically what sells, but what about people who are really into fire emblem or nintendo?

>>8932332
not that anon but don't take that comment so personally. It's obviously in reference to people who only draw x because it's popular/sells, not actual fans drawing because they like it.

>>8932068
I recently did a group order from vograce with both clears and the sandwich charms and their clear quality has really gone up. The border is not as thick anymore and the acrylic is actually thicker. I don't have photos to show because the charms have all gone to their artists sk I don't have them on hand.

They're cheap enough for you to make test charms to see their quality if you're that interested instead of complaining on here.

>>8931990
I decided I'm giving them until mid April to get back to me, and if not I might have an alternate table partner lined up (and if that fails too I'll just do it myself like I originally intended). I'm honestly tempted to just go with my alternate person since I've tabled with them before and it was wonderful, but I guess we'll see...

Thank you for the advice!

I commented earlier asking about t-shirt printing, and I've come to the conclusion that getting them printed overseas would likely be the best/most cost effective option. Does anyone have any advice on that front? Dye sublimation method seems superior, too.

>>8932747
Screenprinting is probably the cheapest method but the way it works is that the image gets printed on top of the shirt fibers, meaning that the image isn't 100% permanent and can fade or peel. Sublimation printing is basically fabric dye gets printed into the shirt so that your picture is actually dyed into the fibers. It's more expensive but it's guaranteed that the image won't peel off.

>>8932756
BUT, dye sub is best used on close to 100% polyester fabric which is absolute shit for comfort and air flow. You're taking a hit either way.

>>8932756
>>8932762
I mean, personally I'd go for something sub dyed over screen printed for the sake of it not cracking, and from everything I've seen for screen printing it costs extra to put designs in multiple locations. But sub dying seems to be sort of all over, same price?
I wonder if the fabric quality would matter that much, hnngg.

>>8932762
Personally, I absolutely prefer polyester fabric-wise too. No wrinkles, no pilling.

Standard graphic tees look like shit after a few washes and worn by kids who have never touched an iron.

Not an artist, just a cosplayer, but a friend asked me to help them with their table when they sell at an artist alley later this year. What are the expectations for this/what would you expect a tablemate to behave like while at the table/do for you if you asked them to help?

>>8933390
Ever work retail? Just do that, basically.
Also your table mate will need to take breaks for food/drink/bathroom/just wanting to see the floor, so be prepared to answer questions about the artist's work while they're gone.

>>8933390
Please, please don't leave the table unattended (if your friend is leaving the table for whatever reason, and there's a panel/meetup/whatever you want to go to, LET THEM KNOW IN ADVANCE) or invite random people your artist friend doesn't know behind the table.

Other than that, just familiarize yourself with their pricing/works so you can cover for them when nature calls. If you feel like it, fetching food and drink is super appreciated.

File: these are supposed to be different characters.png (157 KB, 388x248) Image search: [Google]

157 KB, 388x248

for someone trying so hard to be ~*diverse*~ everything she draws looks exactly the fucking same