Help A Noob, Won't You?

[AbiChu]

Hello there everyone. Let me start off by saying thank you for taking the time.

Now, for a few years now I've wanted to do the artist alley. But I have never done one before and I'm a tad frightened. What are the pros and cons, what should I draw, should I share a table, and are we allowed to sell cakes? (I make anime confections).

There is so much I don't understand and my art style is fairly cutsie. If it is needed, I can supply my deviantart so one could see what my art is like.

I want to make sure I can do it before I commit to doing it.

[AbiChu]

No community love.

[Jo]

well it is still months till this con, so the board isn't as active as it could be, in fact it's really more dead. Don't worry, I'm sure this will get answered for you soon.

Btw: Loving the Touhou avatar <3 Flandre Scarlet from the Bad Apple Shadow art video ^^

[AbiChu]

Well thank you. <:3

And I cosplayed Flandre at Anime Festival Wichita (Kansas native).

[Jo]

omg really? I cosplay Hina Kagiyama ^^ she's from touhou 10

er... anyways this is getting off topic, there is a cosplay thread for touhou already ^^; and if you wait for the Artist Alley people they will be able to answer your questions. Just give them some time they are all very busy people.

[iiblackrosesii]

honestly, alot of the people who DO artist alley aren't the type to come on the forums..

but you might try contacting elfgirllithirnial on here, i know she had a booth last year at izumi and one at TnT this year. nice girl c: she might be able to answer ur questions on pros/cons.

any more questions, you can email me at kaiba.corporate@gmail.com i check it most daily and am on staff to help u c:

-seme

btw, don't be frightened! you'll do great!

edit, food allowed, sweet!

[Cain Eyebright]

To answer the cake question, which i was given for izumicon 2009:

Yes you can do cakes, but they have to be individually packaged, sold whole, and be anime related.



This hasn't changed that I am aware of

[AbiChu]

To answer the cake question, which i was given for izumicon 2009:

Yes you can do cakes, but they have to be individually packaged, sold whole, and be anime related.

I actually think I'm the one that asked last year. <:3

Thank you very much, may I call you Rose? ( iiblackrosesii )

[iiblackrosesii]

no problem c: and yus, rose is fine

were u able to get some feedback? i'll also talk to a friend who helps run artist alley and see if she has any input c:

[Tsume]

I've been thinking about doing Artist Alley as well but, I'm short on funds so I wont be able to do it this year
Good luck!!

[iiblackrosesii]

psha, i was talking about u. u worked it last year, any comments? and i know... it takes a little money to start it up.. eh...

[Tsume]

psha, i was talking about u. u worked it last year, any comments? and i know... it takes a little money to start it up.. eh...

Hahaha! Oh really now??
Prepare to sell popular stuff, like Hetalia, Bleach, Soul Eater, Black Butler, etc. Look up on deviantart and other art sites for what's popular, anime-wise

[AbiChu]

-Taking notes, seriously-

I was thinking of doing a series of nyoro~n buttons of everyone's favorite characters, like from the series you mentioned. Does that sound good?

[Quarender]

Selling anime cakes sounds awesome! I love baking so much! I'm sure that they would sell really quick. <3

Hello everyone, btw I'm new to this whole convention thing as well. ^^''

Umm... Soul Eater cookies? o - o'' I know it's kind of new but I think it's gaining popularity. ;D Hope I could help out a bit. >w <

[Celia]

Ohhhh, I look forward to seeing what you have to sell, food-wise.

As far as art goes - My friend and I actually blew almost all 200 dollars we brought with us on art from Artist's Alley. Most of it was actually spent on commissions. If you're able to do those that would be a good idea, especially if you have a way to look up references for series you aren't familiar with. I know my friend got a sketch from a girl who was unfamiliar with the series we were requesting because she was able to look up references on her cell. I still have my commissioned picture hanging on the wall in my room.

If you're unable to do commissions, and even if you are, I'd definitely reiterate what Tsume said - be ready to sell popular stuff. Personally I'd say check into Hetalia if you haven't, considering (a) Todd Haberkorn's going to be there and he was announced to be voicing Italy and (b) the anime and the first manga will be out in English by then. I'm willing to guess the Hetalia cosplayers will be running rampant, myself included, and there will be a big demand for fanart from it.

But that just may be me. I look forward to seeing what you'll sell! If you don't mind, could I see your dA? I adore fanart <3

[iiblackrosesii]

i second that, i'll be on the lookout for that stuff, especially for america. soul eater is love, too! remember tho, its never bad to do the stuff u love c:

[SolFirefly]

I'm gonna have a table in the alley and it will be my first con too! I'm kind of nervous about it and have spent my summer getting ready. There is so much to do!

As far as art goes, I've got pieces from Soul Eater (2), Bleach (1), Saiyuki (1), plus three completely original pieces. I've also got a set of 10 mini prints and key chains/ cell phone charms to sell. I've been taking request on fanart from people and am looking on deviantart for more popular series.

From other people's posts, look like I need to do some Kingdom Hearts fanart too!! Lol.

I'm still taking suggestions BTW ^^.

[iiblackrosesii]

awesome! and well, i love saiyuki, more of that? ;D

[Strayabot]

I was in Izumi's artist alley in 2007, 2008 and 2009...and I'll be in again for 2010. So here are a few things I've picked up that might help a bit. (Get ready for some tl;dr!)

Having a range of items is definitely good. Prints are what most 2d artists are going to have, but the keychains, buttons and mini-prints are a great idea. Things you can sell for a couple of bucks a piece. Sometimes people don't want to drop a lot of money at one time, but they won't mind parting with $3 for a small print or a couple of buttons. After a while, this tends to add up in your favor.

As Celia said, offering commissions is also a great way to make money. I never fail to pull some cash that way. Just make sure not to bite off more than you can chew, as it's a good idea to get everything done and to your customers with payment received by the time the convention is over. Some people might be alright with paying you in advance and having you mail a finished piece to them after the fact. Just make sure you have their address along with an email address or phone number for contact purposes.

Know how much you want to charge in advance for your commissions, as well. I usually start at $10 for a single character pencil sketch and work my way up from there. Been times I've pulled in $40-50 for colored inks finished in Copic Markers and prisma pencils. Typically I'll tip the scale up or down $5 one or another on my set scale depending on what's being asked for in terms of complexity. Mechanical stuff takes longer than human characters so I usually charge just a bit more for them, since they eat up more convention time and reduce the number of overall commissions I can handle.

Keep track of how much you make using a receipt book or notebook. I usually write down what I sold and for how much, that way I can keep track of what's popular and I have the info on hand to compare to my earnings when I count them up later. This also helps minimize confusion for tax reporting purposes.

And speaking of keeping track of money... Change for your cash box (or whatever it is you're keeping your funds in). It's always a good idea to have some $1's, $5's and a few $10's on hand so you've got change to give someone when they pay with a larger bill. It's not a bad idea to sell things in whole dollar amounts so you can avoid dealing with coins, as they're heavier and harder to keep track of than bills. I've seen other artists deal in coins, but to me it's a hassle and something to avoid if possible.

One problem I always ran into early on was how to make sure the art I sold my customers didn't get banged up. Sometimes people will have folders with them to put art in, but often times they won't. The best solution I've found so far is cheap page protectors. Get a package of 50 at a local Walmart for a couple of bucks and when someone buys a print or you finish a commission, slip the goods in there so that they don't get dinged up.

Business cards! These are great to have on hand if you either order them off a site online or make them yourself. Just something simple like your name, email address and website. Someone might not commission you or buy your art at the convention, but if they go home and know how to locate you online later, they'll have a chance to see more of your art and possibly commission you at a later time. Plus having business cards makes it easy to give out your contact info to your fellow AAers. I've picked up several new people on my DA watch list thanks to easy info exchanges at conventions via business cards.

Bottled water. Or juice or whatever your preference is in terms of beverages. I've found it's really easy for me to talk myself half hoarse at an AA table, what with all the conversations that get going about art, anime, movies and everything else. Keep something around to drink.

And finally...

WASH YOUR HANDS. Or keep some Germ-X or something similar around your table. Trust me, this is nothing against anyone who exhibits in AA or visits or anything. But we all know that Con Plague gets around and it's really easy to shake a bunch of people's hands, handle their money (and oh god, money can be so filthy, you know this if you've ever worked regular retail as you never know who had the bills before you or your customer), use your art supplies, open doors into panel rooms that like two hundred other people have touched, etc, and then forget to wash your hands before rubbing your eye or eating something. Which is very easy to do when you work an AA table and you've got commissions to do and customers to talk to. I picked up Con Plague in Tokyo in Tulsa's artist alley in 2009 and it took more than two weeks to get rid of. I love conventions, I love working AA and I love drawing for people and meeting them, and no one means for anyone else to get sick, but it does happen. And nothing is worse than getting the Con Plague before a convention is over and having to finish art while sniffling and dealing with that itchy throat feeling. Washing your hands with some degree of frequency or using hand sanitizer can help cut down on your chances of getting sick. I also start taking vitamins a few days before any convention now just to boost my immune system. My personal favorite is stuff called Emergen-C. Most grocery stores carry it and it's a powder you dissolve in 8 oz. of water and drink. 1000% vitamin C. I swear by that stuff.

[AbiChu]

Omigosh... You're so helpful. <3

Thank you so much, I really appreciate all the help and tips. From everyone, this means so much to me! >w<

[Tsume]

Man, I wanna sell stuff in AA X3 Ah well, next year perhaps

[MnM]

Also! If you have no idea how much to price an item don't be scared
to ask a few of your fellow Artist Alley dwellers for opinions! I did
that last year and everyone was very nice about it and were very
honest with me. I will probably end up doing this again if I have
an item that I am not sure what to price it at. This really helps
specially if the other Artist Alley peeps are more experienced.

[AbiChu]

Man, I wanna sell stuff in AA X3 Ah well, next year perhaps

I'm sharing a table with my friend, or I'd invite you to share with me. : <

[AbiChu]

AHH Well I'm not sharing with my friend any more and thus might not get to do it this year. : < I don't have the money to get the table all on my own.