Always remember to smile and be polite.

>>4435982

What about rude people that come to the table? I've read on here in the past that a few people have had incidents...like one girl came to someone's table and said what shit their artwork was...or that so-and-so has stickers/whatever for cheaper to the sellers face

>>4436204
Ignore them.
People that have stuff like that to say is just idiots really, never go to violence on any levels.

If they become a problem call the security to your table and make them move em away.

But i think that's just common sense, some people miss that i know, but hold out, im sure you can do it, else bring a friend that can help you with these kinda things, do you have any that have been at the alley beforehand?

>>4436204
Keep smiling and tell them to buy stickers from so-and-so then.

Bump.

Make sure you get a lot of change, especially $5 bills for the beginning of the day when all anyone has is $20 bills.

If you do deals like $2 each, 3 for $5 then most people will generally buy 3!

Make sure you print a lot of business cards. I've gotten emails about commissions and stuff after cons!

Having a display with some height to it is really good so people can see your stuff from a distance.

And yes, smiling and being polite is obviously super important (and pretty much common sense haha). I hate going around the alley and seeing other artists looking grumpy and miserable! I've never had anyone say anything bad about my art so I really wouldn't worry about that. I HAVE had some people say stuff about my prices, but I just ignore it because I know that my things are very reasonably priced for the work that I put into them. If someone wants to politely haggle with me then that's fine, but if they're rude about it then whatever. Not worth my time to worry about it... the lovely compliments and sweet people more than make up for the rude ones. So don't stress about people being rude, I'm sure it won't happen often, if at all.

I don't know, it's hard to give random general advice - any specific questions?

bunp

Look happy the whole time. People like to be greeted with cheerful faces. I've seen artists looking really down, so i usually try to cheer them up for 5 minutes then i get weirded out and walk away.

-When charging for things, try to keep your prices as multiples of 5, since those are the bills people carry around the most.

-Play to your strengths. If you're good at crafting, capitalize on that and don't bother with prints just because others are doing it. If you can draw, but suck at crafting, stick to prints, etc.

-Printing in general: Cheap, fast, high quality. You can only pick two, so plan accordingly

-People at cons can be idiots. Roll with it and don't waste your time on them if they're rude to your face or anything since you're technically a feature at the con and they spent buttloads of money to come and see you. And, well, they're just not worth your time

-Concerning interacting with customers, you don't have to be super happy sunshine McCheerfulpants the entire time (shit gets REALLY tiring after a while) and can even get away with a little bit of aloofness. It depends a lot on your personality. If you can deal with being cheerful, go for it, if not, just stay professional and cordial.

-You will repeat yourself. A lot. You can have signs with prices and everything, but you will be asked the prices for everything anyway. Just roll with it.

-Stand-up displays are good, but put stuff directly on your table as well because for some weird reason, people always look down when they're walking around at cons, particularly in the artist's alley.

-Have fun. Make friends with table neighbors, etc. Don't be too discouraged by slow sales in the beginning or even throughout the con. Use every alley as a learning experience, especially if you plan to do this in the long run.

bamp

I miss doing AA so bad. I used to do it every year for years. I want to get back into it again.

-If you live near by/are driving in your own car, bring your own printer. Only print a few copies of your prints and see which ones are popular. You can print more on demand.
-If you have a laptop and a tablet, bring them. You can charge extra for a COMPUTER DRAWN COMMISSION that you then send them THROUGH THE INTERNETS! And people love to watch anything novel. I set it up so I was sitting on the outside of my table so people could watch my laptop screen as I drew. So many were just like "OH WOW, HOW DO YOU DO THAT?! I WANT ONE! IT'LL BE COLORED LIKE THAT?! STRAIGHT TO MY FACEBOOK?! TAKE MY MONEY!" Also if you have your printer there you can make a print for them for a small added fee.
-Do "portraits" that are quick easy sketches. A basic anime face with their hair and clothes. Weeaboos eat this up like nothing else. Sell them cheap, about five dollars, don't spend more then five minutes on it. Face, neck, shoulders, hair, done. Charge them extra for inks and colors.
-Print out a bunch of sheets paper with your name, website, email, the and the name of the con and the year around the edges. Then you draw your portraits and commissions onto these pages. It looks official, and they can't lose your info now.

>>4438706
I am intrigued by your ideas and would like to subscribe to your newsletter...

-DRAW THINGS YOU LOVE! Seriously, this is important. I've seen so many artists get death glares when they could have gotten a sale when someone runs up super excited that an artist has so and so from their favorite show and they try to talk to them about it and the artist goes, "lol, I dunno, it's popular so I googled them..." I've also seen the reverse where a fan will get talking with an artist and if they have a great conversation the fan will buy a ton of unrelated stuff and check out their original work. Some fans don't care, but the obsessive ones, the ones throwing down the big money, they want the connection with another fan. Also in my experience it's way fun to geek out with a stranger, and your AA table should basically be a giant resume of your fandoms.

Tim next time your on can you tell me all the cons that you sell at. Also goes for anyone else do you just do one con a year or do multiple cons.

I'm thinking about doing my first U.S. con but I've never done printed stuff like posters and stuff before. So if anyone can tell me which dimensions of print are the best or most common that would be really swell.

>>4438714
I used to do fanime every year for about five years. I've been out of it for about three years now. I'm thinking about trying to get into AX since the major reason I don't do Fanime anymore is I moved to LA. I really miss AA. I always had a blast, and if things went well I'd cover my trip and blow the rest in the dealers room and getting stuff from the other artists.

To this day, every con I go to, I walk around and I buy any original comic that someone has for sale. Most of them are shit, a few of them are great, but as an artist with beyond fanart ambitions, I like to support original work. Plus I ask them about how they published it, who they work with, what programs they use, so I can plan releasing my own original comic... eventually.

>>4438706
The issue with doing digital commissions at cons is power, usually, but if your venue is good and you can get access to outlets, seems like a pretty swell idea~ I've definitely seen some artists doing stuff like this and it's pretty cool. They always get a good amount of attention for the novelty alone.

>>4438714
For large prints, 11x17 or 12x18 are the most common. After that, 8.5x11 or 8x10 because most people can just print those out at home. Postcard prints (4x5 or 4x6) are also pretty popular and are really cost-efficient to make since you can print several on one 8.5x11 sheet

>>4438737
And obligatory print post:

>Cheap, fast:
-Any office supply store with a printing service (Office Depot/Max, Kinko's, Staples, etc.). Ask for tabloid (11x17) cardstock. Quality is meh, but the only option in a pinch, usually.

>High quality, cheap
-catprint.com-Tons of paper options, super cheap, great quality. They're slow, though, unless you pay out the ass for next-day shipping, so plan accordingly

>High quality, fast
-Costco photo center- depending on your location. If you or a friend has a Costco membership, this is a great place for printing and my personal favorite. 12x18s for $3 each, photo quality, sweet paper. Relatively cheap, but it does add up, and catprint is still a lot cheaper
-iprintfromhome.com- Great print quality, but definitely on the pricier side. Shipping is fairly cheap, sometimes free if you order enough. Cost per print also goes down the more you buy. Photo quality, several finish options

>Cheap, Fast, High Quality
Getting your own large-format printer. Canon is usually a good choice because their printers tend to be the most ink-efficient. It's an investment, of course. Probably a better choice for those who want complete control over their image quality and plan to alley frequently.

others:
-overnightprints.com
-psprint.com
-vistaprint.com
These guys are good for other miscellaneous things. Bookmarks, business cards (especially!), maybe even stickers or other things.

>>4439686
Badge sizes are often popular. For basic portraits, keep them small. Maybe cut up a 9x12 pad into four squares or something.

bunp

>>4438768
Saved.
Thanks for that- definitely helps those who are looking to get started in the AA

Anyone have any suggestions concerning organization for things like jewelery? Necklaces, bracelets, rings, hairclips...

I was thinking about doing AA next year but I don't know what exactly should I sell. I usually do decoden cases and jewelry but I see so many people do it. So I was thinking about selling boxes shaped like cake or food but they seem kind of big and bulky to sell. I'm wondering is it a dumb idea or should I just go with the safe deco cases?

>>4441217
Whoa. What did you use for a base for that? It's neat.

>>4441217
>big and bulky to sell
How big are they? I think it'd be nice to sell both, maybe have a few of those boxes to see how well they sell.

>>4441200
Look for racks and small display stands in craft stores. I know I saw a bunch recently either at a Michael's or JoAnn's or something. Maybe also some Art supply stores, if you've got a good one nearby. If you can't find a good rack/stand, maybe prop up a cork board, cover it with a dark fabric (like velvet or something soft or, at the very least, something that contrasts with your merch) and pin your display merch to that.

Oh, office supply stores might also have some neat things to fiddle around with, especially their desk organizers which might sound weird, but you could definitely work them to your advantage. I have one of those wire racks that's missing a leg and it stands up at an angle by itself, so I just hang my keychains onto it.

>>4441217
Even if there is a lot of deco stuff, it's still quite popular and I'm sure you could find a way to get an advantage over your competition. Those boxes look way cool, so maybe try both? They'll definitely be bulky, but if your alley is good, they'll lock the room afterward so you'd only have to transport it to and from the con at the beginning and end. Use those really huge plastic tubs to transport your stuff. They usually have them at JoAnn's and probably some other craft stores.

>>4441243
I used a normal brown box you get at art stores for 99 cent.

>>4441261
This one was about 8 inches by 6 inches I think? I usually try to make them the same size as real food.

>>4441277
:) Thank you!

>>4441278
Oh, neat! I was looking at plastic boxes to do the deco thing with, something smaller and all... How sturdy are those boxes?

>>4441299
They are really sturdy, specially after you cover them with caulking and stuff. But they are made out of paper so their only weakness is water.

I was thinking about selling things like Matryoshka hoodies and various tote bags, do these things sell well, and how much would be a good price?

>>4441373
How much would making the hoodies cost? It would suck to lose money.

>>4441381
it depends, if people would be interested I could probably buy the hoodies themselves in lots, and the paint for them doesn't cost much a $4 bottle goes a loooong way.

>>4441396
Well how would you know what sizes to get? Would more hambeast buy hoodies or thinner people buy hoodies? Totes seem safer and you don't have to worry about sizes.

>>4441414
That's what I was thinking too

Any other suggestions? What really sells well, I'm more of a plushie/craft type person, so I can't really do prints, but my friend who I'm sharing the table with is a really good artist so I don't want to epically fail...

Would this sell?
http://xscarletmoonx.deviantart.com/art/Komui-Wall-Hanging-Colored-189909287?q=gallery%3Axscarletmoo
nx%2F26683161&qo=2

>>4441423
Purses shaped like plushies? Scunchies shaped like cute things.

>>4441423
michelle?

>>4441435
No

Different anon, would this sell? and if so, should i add a border so that its not square, or does it matter?

>>4441466
Wait I take that back after looking at the rest of your gallery, you have some extremely rough looking stuff but if this (http://xscarletmoonx.deviantart.com/gallery/27051260#/d3fvs3c) was a shirt I would buy it.

>>4441478
Probably.

>>4441478
>>4441435
Honestly, I think both of you guys could use more refining in your work before selling print stuff. If you want to do printed items, small keychains or bookmarks would probably be better, but it'd probably be a hard sell if you went for full-blown prints, especially if you alley at larger cons where there are usually a lot of really, really good artists.

Small and cute is a lot easier to sell if your artwork isn't quite up to par. I sold some keychains for a friend at SakuraCon, and while the art was cutesy weeaboo stuff, the image/resolution was REALLY low, pixelly, and grainy. Still sold a bunch of them because they were popular characters.

>>4441510
I'm >>4441478. Thats not too bad. I dont plan on selling till next year and this was my first work done in SAI. Thanks :)

>>4441545
No problem! Your linework and coloring is pretty solid and you definitely draw in a way that appeals to a lot of congoers. If you work some more on anatomy so you can do more detailed images/poses and spruce things up a bit with some more detail and maybe graphic elements to kind of decorate your composition, you could probably sell some 8x10 prints at the very least. Good luck!

>>4441478
I would definitely recommended honing your style a bit more.

>>4441510
Oh, and about the Komui thing, it is gonna be a keychain...so..yeah...

Guys where do you get your posters printed at?
I'm planning on doing them but I checked with the printers around me and it's like 15$ for 24"ish

>>4441591
See
>>4438768

>>4441591
How big are you looking at? The cheapest place I know is $3 for 18x24 at shortrunposters.com. I've never actually used them, though, so I don't know what their quality is like. They also offer door-sized posters (24x36) for about $15, like you quoted. Most places will be more expensive and in that case you could probably also hunt around your area and ask for quotes from local printers.

>>4441617
>>4441600
I see, thanks bros!

Any recommendations on getting a button maker? Is there a site of button makers or does everyone buy one from eBay?

Pic unrelated but useful for AA

this thread rocks. bump!

bring lots of sustenance.
and a garbage can.

>>4445612
that is fucking brilliant, i wouldnt have thought of a trash can. no sarcasm what-so-ever.

What button size should I make? My buttons will likely be original art. Any ideas of what might be interesting enough to buy? :/

>>4445828
Doing cute catch phrases about anime culture or little cute cats and dogs, desserts with faces... Just think what a random anime fan would want to put on their bag.

>>4445828
i want noitaminA themed pins! :<

>>4445839
I think I'm going to do a guinea pig actually!

>>4445854
Go on? :0

>>4445885
princess jellyfish, tatami galaxy, C-control, eden of the east, house of five leaves, mononoke, fractale. I want to see them all!
Takemymoney.jpg

Any one have any AA horror stories?

>>4445906
I'll have to check some of those shows out!

My friends are all about DRAW SHIT AND TAKE THE MONEY but I can't draw something without at least a slight genuine interest :<


>hawk. tocryy

>>4445938
All fantastic. The noitaminA time block has a great variety of weird and amazing. you will not regret it. please watch tatami galaxy if anything :3

>>4445930
Man, aside from the occasional weird-ass commission, I don't think much really happens in artist's alleys, haha. I mean, unless the con/AA is really poorly organized, there usually isn't much to bitch about.

>>4445828
1" is the most popular, I think. As for what to draw, if you're doing original art, the artwork itself should be interesting or good enough to draw interest. I guess generally popular themes like catpeople or bishounen would work. Or you could be boooorrrinnnnggggg like everyone else and just put lolrandom text and faces/emoticons/icons/logos on them. They do tend to sell pretty well, but I've always found those kind of cheap.

Oh, my friend does buttons and she usually does chibis or faces. SHe's a huge K-popfag so that's where she reps her fandom, haha. SHe sells like sets of boy band chibis (TVXQ/DBSK and Big Bang, mostly. I think she also has Shinee but idklol) alongside other popular anime/manga character chibis.

>>4445974
Just found out I can watch it on the funimation.com!

YEAAAAHHHH

>>4445906
a previous thread said:

Popular things:
Panty & Stocking, Hetalia, Naruto, Bleach, Death Note, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and Vocaloid.
Fullmetal Alchemist, Pokemon, Yugioh, Inuyasha, Sailor Moon, Evangelion, Dragon Ball Z, and Cowboy Bebop.

Funny stuff sells well... as does pretty boys and boyXboy.... , meme stuff, Marvel/movie stuff (like Iron Man, Tron, Thor,...) My Little Pony.

On a poll I did in my blog and DA, people said Classic anime/games like Sailor Moon and Ranma 1/2. also XXXHoLic,

>>4446050

For button sizes I found out it's actually 1 1/4". I forgot my friend gave me some and I measured it just now and it seems like a default for a lot of button machines I've been looking at.

Back at my first AA I remember doing the kind over 2" and people still bought that shit. I was just curious of what people would still buy :3

>>4446050
There was OTAKON 2008 and Ramy-and-fucking-Amuria, remember that?

>>4446082
Of course, haha. I thought they meant like personal stories.

It's kind of interesting, though. I feel that con attendees were a lot more pissed about it than some of the AA artists. I remember a few artists I watched on DA throwing a huge shitfest over it, but when I talked to my AA buddies, they were pretty ambivalent about it. Ramy is generally well-known and well-liked in the AAs, but Sylvia's the one that people are a little more wary of.

But from what I've seen, artists are generally a chill bunch. There are noticeable cliques within larger AAs, as most popular artists already know each other. I've been in some AAs where people have been poor sports about sales just because they weren't selling as much as other people, but it's never gotten out of hand.

When it comes to more non-print goods (plushies, hats, clay stuff, etc.), how do artist determine how much should be made to sell at cons without selling out early? I'm worried of not making enough.

>>4446109
I know/have met some cool shit artists, but that stunt pissed a few off them off to no end. I personally dislike their stuff because it's the laziest digital art in the universe, but those guys trying to buy up tables was just disrespectful.
Admittedly, one reason they were pissed was due to the idiocy con staff displayed over it. I mean, artists are chill, but if there's going to be dramu over it like there was then, they they can't sell their stuff. That can be incredibly bad for them.

All I know is, thank god Sylvia and Ramy are peddling in the Dealer's Room now.

latest E3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JlmIeEPFik

>>4446126
Mostly trial-and-error. After doing a few cons, you get feel for how much people buy at cons of a specific size. You could also maybe contact some craft/plushiemakers you know to see how many they'll bring with them to cons.

>>4445930
>>4446050
>>4446109

I've got one (MAJOR TL;DR WARNING) that still gets under my skin...well, maybe that is because it just happened a few months ago. I'm going to leave details out, due to paranoia that some of the people involved my be reading.

[1/3]
I was setting up the same time another girl was. I was putting a print of xxx up, and she looks at it and gets somewhat disappointed. She says to her friend helping her, "See! They have xxx! I should have too..."

Now, a bit of back story here...this girl is connected to a large, well-known forum, and she is one of the BNF's net-friends. These group of girls like to spend their time making up lies about people they don't like for one reason or another (stupid stuff like they don't agree with a person's otp). I am one of the people they like to make up shit about the most.

They made a lot of lies up about me that the net believes since the BNF is so popular, and she is the one that initiates it.

ANYWAY, I wanted to show this girl that I'm *not* like what the BNF writes about me. I wanted to speak for myself and show her how I really am if someone just spoke to me themselves.

At the time, I I followed Hello Kitty theories...and I thought that you could make friends out of enemies, and that you should treat people well...even if they treat you badly (I know, I was stupid).

So I went up to said girl, and I said, "Oh, you like xxx too?" She said she did, and I had also made another item of the same series...lets say it was a bookmark.

I *gave* her the bookmark...and she was so happy. That night, she even invited me out to dinner with her and her friends...which turned out to be a bar where they got plastered pretty quickly...

So, the con started the next day, which she was late to by 3 hours, and bragging about it since she had a "lolhangover"...

>>4447690
[2/3]
Her table came before mine with the way the flow was going. People were coming over to my table and giving me this "look". They saw that I had the xxx "bookmark" on my table for sale, and they would say stuff like, "Oh? So you made the bookmark?"

I could see certain girl's table from where I was...I saw her drawing tons of commissions of xxx-series. It was pretty obscure at the time, and I was the only one that had stuff of it at the con.

I was wondering what was up...and I would hear her talking about the series a lot with people. I thought, "Okay, maybe she is just really obsessed with it."

Boy, was I wrong.

As the con continued, a few more people came to my table. They got excited seeing I had xxx stuff for sale. They would then whip out a commission that certain girl drew for them, telling me that, "I got this commission just now from ___! I wish I hadn't spent all my money just then...or else I would commission you and buy your xxx print!"

>>4447591
these are fucking adorable....do they sell well?

>>4447698
[3/3]
I finally walked over to her table, and I saw that she had MY "bookmark" out in the smack middle of her table that was attracting people. They would come to her table all excited about the series it was from, where she would then engage them about the series and they would end up commissioning her.

To add salt to the wound, she was bragging about this to me...this was while she was working on a commission of the character that was on the "bookmark". She said to me, and I quote, "I'm getting SO many 'xxx' commissions! This is my second [character name] commission! I'm just drawing the same pose since I'm lazy, haha." as she shows me a picture on her phone she took of the exact same pose/color commission from ealier that day finished of the character.

....Because I was trying to be nice and prove myself that I wasn't a crazy selfish bitch like the net says about me...I just congratulated her and went my own way...but it left me feeling pretty down....until my friend actually went up to her and told her to take my "bookmark" off her table on Sunday...

After the con, I checked her DA and Tumblr...in total she got 8 'xxx' commissions...and I got none of the series (and no, it wasn't a matter of skill. I had cheaper prices than her, and my art skill was a bit more advanced than hers). Meanwhile, BNF of the group she is a part of was the FIRST to "like" all her xxx commissions...hmmmm...
------------------------------------------

And no, I never wrote about this before anywhere, as to not insight wank/pa. So thank you for letting me get this out somewhere.

>>4447708
Wow, what a bitch. I would be pissed. At least you know not to associate with her again.

>>4447690
What does BFN mean?

>>4447792
"Big name fan", basically the popular fanartist/fiction writer in the fandom for whatever reason.

>>4447708

I would have wrecked her fucking shit, then talked to someone at the con staff about it. I mean, technically she wasn't selling your "bookmark", but it was bringing in a lot of business and she was using it without your permission. That's fucking ridiculous, man.

Not really a horror story, but one of those that just makes you mad on the inside, lol.

At A-Kon 21, a friend and I were selling in the artist alley, and because our table was situated downstairs we had the option of leaving our display up for 24 hours, just in case there was still some business to be had. Not to mention, our table was really close to the room where the rave was being held (how close, you ask? We could smell the body odor from our table half an hour after the rave started, that's how close). So, Saturday night, me and my tablemate and bunch of other cool people were sitting around minding our own business, when a bunch of raverfag-teens ran up to an empty table about two tables down from us, jumped over/crawled under it, pulled out a box of cheap glowsticks, and started selling them. Not only were we pissed (because you know, we'd actually spent money on our table), but the table they chose belonged to a con-regular who had left her own personal table-cloth out...and because these douches didn't even shell out for nice glowsticks, there was glowy shit leaking out of the boxes and all over the fucking place. And one of them even had the nerve to come up and try to sell to us, too. We tried explaining why they weren't allowed to sit there and be grand assholes, but they didn't give a fuck. So it was nice seeing a staff member go up and verbally ruin their shit.

I mean sure, things could have been much worse, but honestly it was a dick move...and it wasn't fun to explain to the girl whose tablecloth got fucked up.

tl;dr - don't try to sell shit at a table just because the artist packed up for the day.

>>4447953
I didn't know how to react. It's what I wanted to do...but in the past I was told by someone from their group that they purposely do things to try and rile me up.

I stopped reacting to it on the net, but now the garbage has crossed over to the the real world, and it is ultimately affecting my business.

Someone posted about me on fandomsecrets a while ago from their site, hating the fact that I was "making it" with my art (this was before the recent con thing happened), and they were determined to bring me down.

I don't need them writing yet *more* lies about me online to tear people away from my art...which is how I basically make my income...I just don't know what to do anymore.

The sad part is...these women are in in their mid twenties-thirties. I've met teenagers that are more mature than them.

Would it be possible to get a large group of buyers to get to you if you advertised that you sell 0% yaoi?

I hate yaoi. With a fiery passion. Yaoi, boy love, boy x boy, shounen-ai, whatever you name it, I don't want it, I don't need it, I hate the fangirls who squee and cum all over it.

Fast forward to the latest convention I've been to - AA was FILLED. EVERYWHERE. with fucking yaoi. That, or shoujo art, which was basically just copy-catting CLAMP. Nothing wrong with that, except that it's neither original nor all that great quality wise.

Draw in customers that don't go there for the yaoi either, win/lose?

>>4447988

Definitely lose.
I don't draw any kind of fanservice whatsoever, and I'm sure that's a big part of the reason why I don't always do well at cons...but the absence of material isn't the same as openly advertising that you're opposed to it.
If you want to avoid yaoi and the like, visit your con's website a couple of days before the convention and take a look at the artist list/ table layout. Lots of times, the website will have artists by their business names listed (which you can Google), and some add gallery links/descriptions of the artists' works. This might help you avoid the shit you don't wanna see.

>>4447988
That is a way to make some friends, but not money.

The reason why the AA is filled with boylove stuff, is because it sells--a lot.

It might seem like there is a large group of yaoi-haters online, but there's more, lots more, yaoi-lovers at cons.

If you don't want to draw it, don't draw it. However, I would advise not advertising that you don't like it or draw it, because that would piss off a lot of people if they saw such signs, and just not go to your table then.

>>4447988
Acting like a militant hater is going to drive away people who might otherwise buy from you. I don't suggest advertising it... Just don't sell yaoi if you don't like it.

>>4447988

Sadly, there are more con-goers who squee and cum for yaoi than don't. Advertising that you're against it would alienate a LOT of potential customers.

>>4447987

Ugh, some people. I'm glad it hasn't discouraged you from the con scene completely though~

I wish I could see your work, but I know you wanna hide your identity. Feels bad man~

I might be given my own table in a next con, and I heard of people doing drawings in real time, like real time commissions.
Has anyone done this? what media did you use? what were the most recurrent topics you were asked to do? how much did you charge?

So I've seen quite a few people accept credit cards at their tables at AAs. How does one go about being able to do this?

I made this a few nights ago. Would anyone actually buy this?

>>4448014
I do this all the time. I used everything from inks, markers, and watercolor. In relation to what I said here, >>4447994 90% of my commissions is porn, mostly yaoi in marker.

I'm still a bit iffy on my pricing, because I don't have a lot of confidence in my art (yes, I know it's an oxymoron to say that and to be in AA's). For a two character marker color, I charge $30.

For watercolor it is $40 for two charas. Sketches are just $9. I have been told I need to raise my prices though.

TIP: If someone asks you how long it will take you to finish it, just say you are not sure. Tell them you will have it done by the end of the day, or tomorrow if it's a more detailed drawing, though.

I learned that people will not want to wait more than an hour for their commission.

My first con, I told a girl it would take me 2-3 hours (you spend a lot time selling and talking to people while on the commission too), and she got very angry, "Two to three hours!? That's ridicules! I'll find someone else who can get it done faster."

Also ask for half or full payment up front before you start, too. Mark down in a book who paid what.

>>4448014

I do this c:
I usually only do sketches though. Like, quick pencil sketches...and maaaybe some simple color added if the customer asks. I get a lot of requests like, "draw me!" or "draw my favorite character!" or "draw my OC!"
If it's "draw me!", I say "FUCKING HOLD STILL" and take their photo so they can walk around and enjoy the con. I just tell them to come back later and check on my progress. I also do this if someone asks me to draw the character they're cosplaying.
If it's "draw my favorite character!" and it's someone I know I can easily find a reference for on site (either from merch in the Dealer's Room or Googling in the hotel room), I just do that.
If it's "draw my OC!" (which is probably the most common), usually this person is prepared with their own drawings of their OC that they will provide you with. On rare occassion, you might get someone who says "just draw a cute girl with long hair and choppy bangs", give 'em what they ask for and don't worry about details they didn't give you.
Also, ask for payment in advance. Lots of times, if someone walks off while you work, they'll spend their money elsewhere and then you're left with a drawing you probably couldn't turn into a print later :/

I offer sketches based on how much of the character the person wants to see. So basically, headshots, waist-up shots, and full-body shots.

Pricing is kinda difficult, because a well-known artist can sell sketches for however much they want and they'll make sales, but inexperiences or obscure artists have to be careful to not look "arrogant" with their pricing. At the same time though, people are going to look at your prices and see that as a reflection of how much you value your own work. Don't short-change yourself, but don't let your head swell either.

Hope it helps!

>>4448026

Maaaybe, but there's this one artist group who did a series called "My Little Badasses", where they basically drew My Little Pony versions of popular anime characters (like InuYasha, Naruto, etc etc), and those bitches make bank. Only thing is, I've only been to Texas cons, so I don't know how popular they our out-of-state.

>>4448023
You would have to ask Ramy/Silvia/Jinny Liang about that...or just one of them, as they are all the same.

>>4448041

Yeah, I have no dickfucking idea. A card-reader would be cool and all, but I'll bet it'd be expensive as fuck.

>>4448035
At least there's somewhat of a market for stupid shit like that. lol Thanks for telling me about the My Little Badasses, I'll go look them up.

>>4448049

LOL, you have no idea.

Also, I couldn't find their shit anywhere for some reason, and I've been looking all over the place. It may because it's 4 am and their name is escaping me...I'll probably wake up in 3 hours screaming it. :I

>>4448041
I'm sorry, who?
you trollin

>>4448014
People have already answered in terms of pricing and stuff. As for subject matter, sometimes what you have at your table will influence what people want to commission you for. THe first time I sold my Homestuck print, I got a bunch of Homestuck commissions. At SakuraCon, a lot of people liked my Glee print and I ended up getting a bunch of Glee commissions (one girl even bought the print, which was KurtxBlaine, and then asked for a commission of... KurtxBlaine...?). Aside from that, there's your usual fare of OCs, characters, portraits, etc.

I use colored pencil and charge $10~$40 depending on the complexity and whether it's bw or color.

I would still like to know if any knows how many buttons one should come prepared with to a con, please.

>>4446109

Artists are chill buwhahaha

Ignorant little fuck aren't ya? Artists are about as back stabbing and coniving as lolitas

>>4450136
This.
I hate to be associated with them. Look at >>4447690's horror story. That sort of crap happens all the time between artists.