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skimlines β Have a question about the artist alley?
Published: 2014-09-12 15:50:42 +0000 UTC; Views: 4770; Favourites: 55; Downloads: 1
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I'll be at Castle Point Anime Convention 2016 on 4/24 (Sunday)!A lot of people are really interested in being part of the artist alley.
Post your questions about being in the artist alley here an I will reply (within reason).
My prints store: skimlines.storenvy.com/
My pottery store: www.etsy.com/shop/skimlines
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Comments: 36
I actually am applying for CPAC for 2017, so it's cool to see someone who has experienced it before
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The apps went up a while ago, did you apply?
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yes i did, but i hadn't gotten a reply yet. Who knows if im going but its not too far from me
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1. Do you need a licence to vendor at big conventions?
2. Approximately how many items in stock do you usually bring in a convention? Like how many of each poster or ceramic do you bring?
3. How do you transport art from one place to another without damaging them?
4. Where can you get to make good business cards?
5. If doing artist's allay, do you need two badges, one for artist's allay, and one for the convention?
6. If I were to display my art (mostly the bead art) , how can I display that if there is too much to put on the table. What about drawings as well. (See my Gallery for the art to get an idea).
7. Usually approximately when will registrations happen for artists alley as in how much time before the convention happens. Β I want to do Katsucon 2017.
I might have more questions, but this is what i can think of for now.
Thanks
P.S. Congrats on completing your 4th Morie the Witch.
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1, such as a tax license? Sometimes, but sales tax depends from state to state. Often the convention will mention that a certain tax registration is required, or they may take care of it for you.
2, I pack about 5 of the prints I know won't sell (or have been around for a while) and order 20 at a time for newer prints. For pots... I'd say for every 100 attendees, I try to pack 1 cup, so for most bigger conventions I aim to pack 30 cups with the hope that I will come home with none (but sometimes, I end up coming home with half or more -- it largely relates to the cost of the badge. Higher badge cost usually correlates to more cups sold.)
3, I pack really carefully 8D For my prints, I pack them by set and then wrap the bags in a cloth for transport to protect the corners from getting dinged. As for my pots, I pack them in bubble wrap or tissue. I can fit about 24 cups per box this way. This is also how I fly with cups to conventions (I bubble wrap each cup, place them inside a box, and then pad the outside of the box with more bubble wrap. I've only broken 1 cup this way. There was another cup where the handle broke off, but it was my error -- I packed it as if it didn't have a handle.)
4. I got my business cards from overnight prints and order over a thousand at a time. I don't think business cards are worth it unless you have some way to recover that cost online through an online shop or promotional opportunity (as in, the business card directs traffic to your website so that you can spend less time travelling around to promote your work).
If you don't have an online shop, it is probably better to hand out b&w 1/6 or 1/8 letter size flyers displaying your pen name, e-mail, website, social media, and a small sample of your work somewhere in there to remind people why they picked up that flyer.
5, an artist alley badge is as good as an attendee's badge, but this depends on the convention!
6, Go vertical as best as you can, but generally, whatever is laying flat on your table is going to sell the best because that's where people are looking. Usually my strategy is to display bigger things vertically above or behind me, and to place the smaller touchable items on the table, close to the edge.
7. Not sure about Katsucon XD Their registration was a bit of a mystery to me this year. The registration for the 2016 katsucon happened in August 2015. I remember this registration was VERY unusual. Either they had e-mailed the sign up link, or it was only shared with a small group of people (who then msg me about what I wrote in my application... and I hadn't applied, or something?), and then all this staff musical chairs in their convention internally (as far as I can remember.. I was busy doing other things) so
bottom line: I don't really know. -_-;;;
PS, thank you 
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I can't wait to have the time to read all the lovely super long answers you've written~ ;u;// (exam crunch time eep!!)
Nobody ever does a "how to" for this...how do you pack your stuff in your luggage? LOL Like do you put your pvc pipes in a separate bag or does it actually fit in your suitcase? What about bigger bulky rectangular stuff like that blackboard (???) right there or your display case for your cups. I'm gonna have an actual display thing for my buttons next year and I'm just confused over how I'm gonna transport it to the con HAHA!! What about prints? ;0 How do you safely store them for travel?
I hope you get a table again next year at OT'15! ;u;// I was too shy to come to your table hahah;; I wish people didn't rush to take down their setups when the con was over so I could have met more AA people~ ;O; π: 0 β©: 1
PS, I drive to conventions. I've never flown to one.
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SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY... exam period is just ahhhhh!! ;(
Ahh!! I am so grateful and really am at a lost for words by the fact that you took the time to draw all of this out! ;-; I'm so overwhelmed by the effort and thoughts that went through your extreme con packing! LOL (What courage! @_@; )I'm really gonna have to step up my game when I pack my stuff next year hahah~~
Thanks so much for answering all our questions and for the insight! <3 Happy holidays~ ;u;//~*
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Happy finals, make full use of this opportunity to get a great grade!
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How much bleed do you have for your prints? And have you ever had to do any edits to prints when the colour doesn't match to what you originally had in mind (saturation/contrast/too dark or light)? Do printing companies do a print test or sample before taking the actual order? Thanks for sharing your experiences, it's super helpful!Β
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My 11x17" prints have 1/4 inch of bleed on all sides.
And yes! The printer dating period!
With every new printer I print my work with, I usually go through a "trial" period with them where I order a "sample sheet" (in photography, this is called a "contact sheet") consisting of 4 to 12 thumbs of the prints I am interested in printing to test colors and printer sharpness.
Most printers that I've worked with tent to print a couple shades darker than what's on the screen (I have to kick up brightness by 30% for my worst printers), and in some cases the color conversion is so awful I have to adjust specific colors in the picture using the color picker, such as this image:
original: Β print ver:
There's also printers that have software that automatically try to correct levels and exposure for you (I'm looking at you, CVS photo) so for those printers in particular I avoid printing certain kinds of prints because they never come out right.
Since I've started to print work, I've also adjusted my design of drawings intended to be prints. I try to lean towards more lighter colors, I avoid neon green and pure blue (which will print pure black), I avoid black as much as possible (I rely on complementary colors instead, especially for linework. I rarely use black anymore for lines, instead opting for brick red or blue), and I try to avoid using gradients (soft blending) if I can help it because not all of my printers can handle gradients well.
I think it is ok to budget $50 to get to know a new printer. It's more than I usually spend (which is around $5 on average; $45 for proofs of my really big prints that were $13 a piece to order) but it's good to set aside a few weeks and money to get to know your printer.
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How long does it usually take to make a print? My works take forever to make and I often lack serious motivation. (wish I had that handy!)
Also how do you avoid shop-lift? I was always curious about this.
What sells the most? Fanart? I already read buttons sell a lot too. Are you allowed to sell candy? People are always wanting to eat something at an artist booth, heh.
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Food is usually a no, but most alleys you can carry in your meals for the day for yourself. At some bigger shows I bring an ice box and pack it with juice boxes and other prepared foods. The food policies of each convention vary, but generally they will explicitly state if a show doesn't allow the sale of food, or doesn't allow any distribution of food to the public, free or not.
Due to government regulation,vending or distributing food made at home is not as easy as one may hope! smallbusiness.chron.com/food-vβ¦
What sells the most depends on the convention, but the guest list if you are completely in the dark about what to make, the guest list (esp. voice actors) is a good place to start. Focus on the shows the voice actors worked on, especially if it's a smaller show getting a big name voice actor.
Drawing new shows is good if the show has a sizable US following, such as Free (though it's on a path of decline atm, probably not going to recover)
Older fans really enjoy well-made fan art of classic shows (most adult swim shows, most shonen jump franchises, most ghibli movies)
For me fan art is the #1 seller, but I try to stick with magical girl shows or generally girly shows, because it's an under-represented genre in the US. In a sense, the prints that I have are like an anime-recommendation list for people who want to see shows made by and for girls. It's the genre I grew up with and the genre that I enjoy the most. I want more people to have that good experience with girls anime.
The item that is the cheapest will usually sell the best, but cheaper items are just as labor intensive as (sometimes more labor intensive than) the pricier items. As an example, for prints I've released as both a small 4x6" print and a 11"x17" print, while I only sign the big prints, I do bag, insert labels, and seal every print bag before putting it out on the table.
While the base cost of the two things is way different (around 20c for the smaller prints, around a dollar to order and bag the big prints) the amount of time put into labor (packaging) and design (drawing the thing in the first place) is the same. However, when I sell a small print I make about $3, while the large print earns me about $9.50ish o_O I'd much rather sell one large print in an hour than three small prints, even if it's almost the same money.
I have yet to be shoplifted yet. But I do purposely put the item that would hurt me the most if stolen right in front of my body, and the cheaper-to-produce items towards the end of the table. It's really obvious when someone reaches for something directly in front of you versus two feet to the left of you. ^^ I think I mentioned this a few comments ago, but if you know you'll be at a table alone, bring a big sheet or tablecloth to put over your whole table for when you need to step out for bathroom or just to get a break. I think this is the most likely time that I would be robbed from, and during close-down.
I think "out of sight, out of mind" is very true for artist alley. Don't give others (especially other artists) the opportunity to steal
Finally, for prints -- My cut off for prints is usually about a week or 10 days before a major convention, and I also have deadlines set up for when sketches have to be done and when ink has to be done to stay on schedule. When I get stuck with an idea I'll set it aside and try another idea. Usually I have 3-5 print ideas that I haven't pursued yet for various reasons (needs more research / bad motivation, not enough time to pursue idea, not enough energy to execute idea) and when a convention's coming up, I use the excitement to make prints.
The more prints I make, the more anime fans I can connect with, and that is very meaningful to me
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Thank you SO much for sharing your information with me, you were very thorough and informative!
I seriously might consider doing a booth in an artist alley, but this year I really want to work on getting prints made as I have always had a habit of not finishing pieces, but this year will be the year of finishing all my WIPS!
I heard from a few Artist Alley participants that some artists can make a living out of it, but they have to travel to at least 4-7 conventions a month to make anything close to a stipend. I was talking to one artist alley person who attended Youmacon, and she said she quit her 16 -17 an hour nursing job to work in an artist alley and makes much more than she did at such job. (considering that is a decent amount of money for where I live)Β
There's a lot of gas, and orders/purchases you need to set up an artist alley so I really think it's all in how successful the artist is to be quitting their day job.
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I only go to about 2 conventions a month and it pays for most of my convention activities and prep work, and then it still leaves me with some funds to explore new ideas and activities.
I think 4 conventions per month on average is a bit extreme. The most I've done in a row is 5.
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What sells best?
Prints? Buttons? Sticker?Β etc
And which size is most popularΒ Β a4 prints or a5 etc???
Thank you : >
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Out of prints, buttons, and stickers, I think the buttons would probably sell the best, then stickers, then prints.
But prints have the biggest profit margin out of all three.
Say a print costs $2 to produce (this is high -- aim to get expenses down to $1) and you sell it for $10. $8 made.
But a button, pay about 25 cents to produce (I think it's lower than this, but I don't usually order buttons) sell for $2 -- $1.75 made.
Every one print sold is like selling five buttons. o_o I would much prefer to sell the one print than five individual buttons to five different people. It doesn't sound like much but when you multiply this to real life situations, for me it's not uncommon for me to sell ten prints in one day at a convention. Which translates to about fifty button transactions. 10 transactions over 50, every time ~.~;; at least this way the 10 I do have are memorable.
If you offer the same design in two sizes, people will usually buy the smaller design, either because they don't have space at home for it, or because they want to pay less for the same artwork. o_o and if you're like me and prefer to bag everything to make it look nice, the smaller items will in fact be more labor intensive because they sell better but still require the same amount of labor as a big print.
I would make different designs for A4 and A5. There's some designs that work well for the big format, and some that work better in the small format. Trust your designer's sense
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How many billions and billions of dollars have you made so far?
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hehe, not very much. It pays about what I made at my old temp job before I quit it to do conventions all the time. Right now is my first year, so much of the "profits" are invested back into getting bigger and badder equipment like a potter's wheel, kiln, tech; things needed to run the core of the business o.o
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Cool cool.Β
It must be nice to be able to sell prints though, since you can just have more prints made. I can't do that with sculptures >.<
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Between my pottery and prints, the pottery takes way more work to produce, but I can also charge a premium for it because every cup is a unique, handmade piece of art.
For prints, sometimes it is a matter of simply reordering, but prints do go out of style (like attack on titan, plug suits, I think in about half a year the KLK print will go out of style too) and people are less enticed to buy a print they've seen at several conventions, so every couple of months I still have to put in the 20-30 hours of gruntwork to produce a new print >.o;
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In preparation for AA do you print your prints in bulk through another supplier? Or do you print yourself? And if it isn't too bothersome for me to ask, how much of each print do you typically print? (I understand this may change with show popularity or recent activity of the fandom etc but just a general 'safe number' you go for would be cool to know)
Thank you
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I usually try to order 150 or more copies of various prints when ordering to offset shipping costs.
For prints I'm not so sure about I order about five copies (or usually, don't order).
For prints I know there might only be one or two fans of the show at a convention, ten copies. These ten copies last me for a few conventions.
For prints I know I can sell at least ten copies in a day I will order 25 to 50 copies depending on how trending the show is.
My favorite example of this is Attack on Titan -- the show was really popular last year when it was just coming out, so I ordered a lot, but this year the popularity is falling, so I only reordered about 10 copies, and four conventions later, I still don't need to reorder.... XD I'm glad I only ordered ten copies.
I would say my super safe number is 10. That's selling 3 prints on friday, 5 prints on saturday, 2 on sunday... That doesn't sound too hard.
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Found the answer, they look like great printing sites!
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I'll check comments to see if you've answered this -so if you have don't worry- but who do you print with? (Or are there any in particular that you recommend going through?)
Thank you very much for your answer, I really appreciate it!
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I always see artist aley tips say that you need a friend. Is there any good tips about how to manage an AA stand alone? What to bring, how much stuff to carry, etc?
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how to manage an AA stand alone (What to bring, how much stuff to carry, etc)
It is a good idea to have a second person at the table, but it is possible to run a table even if you are by yourself, assuming:
1. You can reach out and be friendly with your table neighbors.
They won't be able to watch your table for you (they're busy at their table, afterall) but they could tell you if a friend came by to say hi to you while you were away. But it's not fair to neighbors to expect they will sell for you or watch out for shoplifting, even if they offer. But there is a better way to avoid shoplifters (which are rare at conventions, but better to not give anyone that opportunity).
2. you've brought one or two sheets to cover up your table entirely to "close down".
The idea behind this is 'out of sight, out of mind'.
I usually carry three sheets, two to cover stuff on the table, and a third to cover the back of the table because unfortunately, artists stealing from other artists isn't unheard of...
If I have to step out for food or the toilet I will typically put a sheet on the table, business cards on top, a sign saying what time I will be back, and a small clock.
An alternative to carrying a sheet is to flip the tablecloth over the table. This works if you've put your tablecloth over a skirted table, but if the table is not skirted, flipping the tablecloth over the top isn't an option because doing so will reveal all the stuff under the table.
3. you can fit all your stuff under the table.
This isn't something exclusive to running a table alone, but at close down, all of your stuff should fit under your table or right behind it within a couple of feet. For prints this is easy, but I know some of the craft people struggle with this size limitation, so they only bring that day's inventory in on each day and store the extra stock in their hotel room or car.
Also, if you manage to stuff the underside of your table, unless you have a flat-bed dolly, that is at least two trips to the car and back to load/unload. o_o It's really hard to find someone to watch your stuff while you unload from the road, go park your car, then return to where you unloaded all of your stuff (which is usually the sidewalk!) with the hope that no one lugged it away.
I usually have to make three trips because of all the stuff I carry in, but going home, sometimes I'm lucky enough to be able to fit everything into one trip to the car.
About food while alone:
1. have a big breakfast, because it may be the last meal you have until closing
2. bring granola bars / string cheese / grapes / juice boxes / snack stuff to eat all weekend
3. bring a water bottle. Talking makes ya thirsty!
4. if you have the time, wander out before open and get a sandwich.
The thing about eating at some artist alley is that between chatting with people, restocking the table, and transactions, there isn't much time to eat! It's also tough to eat anything that requires utensils because there's no where to put the meal down. Also some artist alleys forget to provide garbage cans, so the smell hangs out forever.....
But if you need to eat and want to order take out, you're welcome to do so. o.o most artist alley people understand and won't bat an eyelid even if you order garlic chicken with onions.
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How early in advance do you prepare all your items?
Is there a special technique that you know of to attract more customers?
Where's the best/What's the bestΒ way to make prints?
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I forgot, a tablecloth is a must. Something in one solid color or otherwise really simple (polka dots, stripes) so that the things on the table don't compete with the fabric.
Some convention halls will put one really long tablecloth over a row of tables, so sometimes this is the only way to distinguish your table from the surrounding tables. The rental tables are not always in the nicest shape (enamel chipping away, staples embedded in the sides, stains etc)
It's just a nice way to pop from a sea of tables ^^ And people can remember you with the tablecloth "Oh yeah, table with the bright turquoise cloth!"
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How early in advance do you prepare all your items?
Most of my grunt work for prints and pottery begins two months before the convention, and halts two weeks before the convention. A lot of the work I do two weeks before a convention is packaging stuff, then packing packaged stuff, documenting work, keeping up with web presence (tumblr queue time!), getting together paperwork (some require taxes to be collected and mailed), and getting the car serviced.
For prints I can work on something last minute until a week before, but I try to avoid this since ordering rush printing + 3 day shipping is a tiny bit pricier. That, and there's no guarantee that 3 day delivery won't turn into a 4-day delivery due to weather, lost package, or other problem. Ideally I like to work on one print a week, but if I need to I can almost finish three prints in a week, assuming I know what I want to draw.
If I don't know what I want to draw, one print is about as many as I can get out in one week.
For pottery, it takes two weeks to get cups through the kiln, so anything made two weeks before the convention or closer physically doesn't stand a chance of getting done in time
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Is there a special technique that you know of to attract more customers?
Make your display really tall and really colorful. If you don't have enough artwork to hang on a tall display, a banner works, but for a table with prints, imo a banner is a waste of real estate XD You could hang six prints instead of a banner! Since most people don't attend more than one to a few conventions in a year, recognition/repeat customers don't seem to be a huge factor in sales. ^^ though it is relaxing to see familiar faces now and again!
Generally the print closest to my face sells much better than a print far up or on the sides, so I recommend putting your strongest / best prints either right above where you are sitting or right next to your face.
Here are some DIY ways to make a tall display under $50:
I personally prefer and recommend one of these things: www.amazon.com/Background-Cush⦠(This is the one I have)
Not only are they quick to set up (I used to spend about half an hour on reassembling PVC) but it looks so professional 8D
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Where's the best/What's the bestΒ way to make prints?
I am assuming you're asking about how to print prints after they're produced, rather than the production process (which usually involves watching the show, thinking about it, then drawing it, while carefully avoiding all posters and illustrations of said show to avoid any accidental influence). I order my prints from these guys: catprint.com/ based out of Rochester NY. Another fairly cheap print company is fireball printing in Philly.
I've also ordered prints from www.printkeg.com/ based in South Carolina, and I've gotta say, out of the three I've mentioned, they have the best quality prints, but the prints are also almost twice as expensive.
Currently I frequent catprint because they are the least likely to run into delivery issues due to weather or lost package.
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Do you have to be at your booth all hours like can you take a break? also what if someone tries to bargan with you to lower your cup prices down to a reasonalbe price do you do so or do you stick to your guns and my final question if the badges metal part break or if the cup break before the person leaves the dealer room can they take it back to the table and get a exchange or refund?
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"Do you have to be at your booth all hours like can you take a break?"
You can take a break. It depends on the convention, but you don't have to be at your table the entire time. At most convnetions, you can set your own hours. If an artist alley is said to be open from 9am to 9pm, it is your freedom to operate from 10am to 5pm, or to be open all of the hours. The exception is when a convention states in their rules that you must be present at your table the entire time of operation, though I think even those conventions would understand if you had to close your table down for a couple minutes to visit the restroom.
If I need to step out for a moment, I usually wait for a slower time, then cover the table, check that I have my badge, and then go to whereever it is I need to go. At conventions where I'm alone, I sometimes opt to open the table half an hour later so that I have a chance to check out the dealers section, since artist alley usually opens at the same time as dealers and closes a few hours after dealers has closed.
"what if someone tries to bargan with you"
"can they take it back to the table and get a exchange or refund?"
Badges I always refund, replace, or repair, but for cups, I haven't had anyone tell me they've broken one yet! I do package them into shipping-grade boxes when people buy them, so that they have a great chance of making it home in tact. Should a cup become lost in the mail or broken during unpacking, I think I would be inclined to issue a refund or replacement, because I want the experience of owning a handmade cup to be good, not tragic.
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