Jukeboxprint is also a good place for stickers! They use eco friendly inks and recyclable packaging! They also do business cards, notecards, buttons, bookmarks, and other things!
Very insightful! I've survived my whole artist alley career on Gundam Fanart and finally learning to branch out to my other interests. I'm extremely lucky that sells well at big anime cons but doesn't make smaller shows worth it. Its definitely a balancing act of drawings whats too Niche or generic plus whats popular online vs actually sales at AA can be completely different. - Also the PVC booth callout 🤣 I want to upgrade but I dont want to carry more suitcases lol
Hearing what you said at the end is encouraging, Ive done 3 events so far and two broke over 500$ and i felt kind of disappointed the second time I did since my expenses were a lot higher and I was hoping to make closer to 1k$. Maybe I'm just a greedy newbie, haha. But it also kind of got the gears turning in my head of how to improve, having so many other artists around to compare to. But mostly I cant wait to make more work and keep upgrading my display!
These observations are spot on. I spent a year helping a vendor booth in exhibit hall and participated in a handful of California conventions and the over saturation of AA and growth of new events were very apparent. I attended my first AX in 2012 and the type of merch that you see in AA has come a long way. It’s exciting to see artist/small business branch out and move into product design, but it leaves me wondering if that means a decline in illustration work.
Hey man, thanks for doing these videos - I just started doing cons recently, and I actually just had a really bad bust this weekend at my second con. Trying to figure out how to optimize my setup and get my stuff sold has been on the forefront of my mind the past few days, so it's super helpful to hear you say how big of an impact it can have. It feels super hard to find any info about art cons online period, so this channel has truly become a gold mine for me! can't wait to see more!
Great video seeing the ins and outs of all the convention discussion about costs and such. Any thoughts if you'll be making a video on the growing number of resellers or studio entities in Artist Alley?
Another great video and great insight. As a person making my own products and also going to conventions to sell them, these videos provide a ton of value to me. Thank you.
as a longtime con-goer and artist alley supporter (first con was in 2009), I REALLY love this as someone who is only on the consumer side. its fascinating to be old enough and in this long enough to see changes in my personal exp so its very cool to see how others view this industry and ecosystem.
I am a new artist of sacred geometry, do you have advices? It is another kind of niche, I need to monetizzare fast. do you know galleries that can be interested but that accept to take money only after the purchase of one drawn? thank-you for your videos.
The transparency is why I watch. I don't want to watch any 'buy my stuff' artist videos. It seems every artist online does that now... Makes a difference. And I don't think you are revealing that much. What I get out of it is that it is difficult to stay in the con artist game.
It happens with union, these people damage things and laugh it off. I’ve seen it happen at AX and comiccon, but at least you stuff wasn’t stolen by their volunteer staff.
Thank you for all your insights and videos! The secret I really want to know from you is, is art still fun for you? Would you rather make art than play games or scroll? I really want to get back to that place where I'd rather pick up my pencil than my phone, but the frustration of failing my expectations is crushing. Any advice for rediscovering the joy and letting go of the results? How much art do you do daily? Thank you.
Making art is my favorite thing to do, honestly, its these shows that are a big distraction, but that is how I get to stay home and do what I love. I paint almost every day
I forever believe artists that gatekeep simply feel the need to protect what they already have because they are incapavle of (or too lazy to ) making anything new or better
This video should be on the top page of RU-vid for all artists. New and veterans need to watch this. You hit all of the points everyone should hear. Congrats on Gen Con!
I actually appreciate you and other artists taking their time to make videos so we can see the realties of participating in artist alleys at conventions. I also agree that it is becoming more and more difficult getting into conventions. I'm from the DMV so Otakon, Magfest and Katsucon are considered our biggest conventions that people go to while the lesser shows don't attract much people unless it is a very niche, small-town con. At the end of the day, you have locals and people from all over trying to get into the events that draw out crowds. In a way, it makes me worry about newcomers who want to get into the space because there is a ceiling that need to reach to be on the same playing field. It goes to show how things are changing a lot in the space.
For sure, you also end up seeing people competing with artists from all over with shows like the 3 you listed, I know Otakon in specific will get artists applying all the way from like Asia and Europe
I’d love to get your insight someday on whether you think the average congoer is receptive to new categories of products besides the typical acrylic and paper goods. I know plenty of elder nerds who’ve been looking for unique, original merch in artist alley for years now, but I think there’s a real fear that the average attendee just isn’t ready or interested in anything too out of the box, especially anything that remotely gives off handmade (god forbid craft fair) vibes. I’m sure buying merch that can pass as officially licensed is a huge part of the appeal. But then again, the crochet flower and plush artists seem to be doing pretty well. Congrats on a successful Gencon!
I don’t think there is any question if people would be interested in unique products. it’s just more risky and costly for the seller, if I make something new and can’t move it quickly it becomes less profitable when the typical print which has huge profit margins and is super easy to travel with so it La a cost/ risk thing. And then if it dose sell super well you will see half the artist alley copying you within 6 months and it not unique any more. If I had like a permanent store front I would definitely push this idea more.
I was probably about 100 feet away in the hall and didn't get a proper chance to walk through and say hello. I run Archon Games and, despite setting up exhibitor booths for years, I've never had an artist table. Your videos inspired me to start selling prints at this convention, and it went way better than I expected! Cheers!
Absolutely love and appreciate these videos. These behind the scenes looks into not just what's behind the process but also a lot of the foundational "how"s and to an extent, the "why"s of starting, building, and then growing as an artist. And congrats on such an awesome Gencon showing!
@@Inkwell some arists I know in my area, those that are pretty good, sell for 400 euros as a baseline or more. Not thousands, though, that's for sure. I wonder how much you'd earn outside the states.
@@alittleofsomethingwhere are you from? German’s and Austrian’s cons actually can be quite profitable 🤔 I made around 3500 euros in DOKOMI, Vienna Comic Con is pretty good, Leipzig book fair is amazing, Gamescom is very profitable (if your stuff is gamer’s oriented). I have some colleagues from artist alleys they are able to make 10k and more! but they selling apparel or figurines… I am trying to say, It’s possible to make good money in European’s cons and make living out of it😉
I almost never comment, but Inkwell is spot on in terms of how the con industry is at and headed. I vend at a lot of shows in the Southwest, and know show runners. Inkwell is truly a renaissance person, incorporating the different aspects of modern industry in an extremely synergistic way. Great work and thanks for giving back to the community.
I feel like the intention behind this video was supposed to be a very gentle reality check on the direction the convention scene is going, but it ended up being incredibly encouraging to me lol. I especially appreciated the bit on innovation and how a “big name” doesn’t always mean what we think it means. You make it very clear that the path to success is not particularly narrow and that there are several ways to do it. Thanks for that! Love your videos
I love that you (and other artist RU-vidrs) don't gatekeep the "convention secrets." As a con attendee its given me a better understanding of how these shows work and help small businesses. Also knowing the cost of artists bringing their stuff to a con has actually convinced me to make my artist alley budget a little higher. Usually I buy a few things from around the hall and just pick up loads of business cards so I can buy from the artists after the con, but now I know how expensive it is for you all to be there I'm prioritising buying art from cons now.
Thank you for not gatekeeping and for promoting transparency! We should be helping each other as artists to grow, because the better these events go, the more it benefits all of us.
I’m very grateful and appreciate that you make these videos - i like that you talk about your experience in the AA with depth and honesty; no AA experience is universal, you can only share your experience and give others the space to share theirs too, and I love that about your channel a lot. I owe a lot of my ability to enter the artist alley to someone who was making RU-vid videos and talking about their experience too. You and sang have some of the prettiest booth setups and you guys match your tables so nicely! I learned a lot from you guys! Especially I hear from a lot of people that the con scene changes quite fast, and so advice that used to work a few years ago might be outdated etc so we are always learning and adapting!
Thank you for sharing with us another amazing video 😢😢😢 I do think if independent artist become more successful and make better work tgt, we are not just compete each other but competing with brands and hopefully slowly changing buyer habits. Arts is not exclusive or nerdy hobby or need to be gate-keep.
Oh man! Masturbation; you almost made me spew my lunch.😁🤣😅😂. You Sir, are a riot.😂 But seriously, this is another great video. Helping people to let them know it’s more than ok to keep raising the bar for themselves, to make them all they can be. When you talk about exhibitors whose table is just having their work flat on the table - that is what many, if not most do at Mid-West Cons. I’ve learned a lot from you, and my time as a Giftware designer. Promotion is key; as is being a sponge to soak up good advice from people like you, and being persistent. Thank you.😀
