It's so nice to see artists talk about money and the way they make it, as someone who hopes to sell my own art one day! I'm glad you made at least a little profit and got to learn something!
I read a quote from Oscar Wilde which something goes like this (wording could be different) "When bankers gathered they talk about art. When artists gathered they talk about money, "
I have had similar painful experiences as an anime-styled artist with comic cons in TX, so you’re not alone 😅 it’s a learning opportunity for sure. The artists really do feel like they’re passing a $20 bill around to each other. Traveling out-of-state is a risk I’m unwilling to take yet though, so kudos to you for doing this all solo! Wishing you greater success at your next events!
I feel your pain. Many years ago, I ran a photography booth with backdrops and offering digital editing for the cosplayers at a con a with similarly dead artist's alley room. A dragging, awful, expensive weekend.
DC area local here and I've been to a bunch of Awesome Con. Really, this show is all about the celebrity culture around comics and movies and wrestling. It's a real bummer your stuff didn't do better. Otakon or Katsucon which are also in this area are more suited to anime/manga style art. I haven't done Baltimore Comic Con but that show is specifically aimed at comic artists and doesn't invite a lot of celebs so that might be an option, but I feel like BCC is best if you're a local.
The cat cafe was a good treat for you after that weekend! I love artists alleys, even though I live in a busy city (Toronto), there's only 3 major cons which gets too busy for anyone to even walk through. I wish there were a lot more smaller cons in my area.
I'm across the lake near the Falls, and I feel this lol - the only shows that really exist are the big ones, and down here in "vine country", I have to commute to get to anything at all! I'm just a wee artist, and tabling is really hard 😭
OOF yeah I was another artist in the AA (I got ur infp stickers!) and yeah everyone said it was mid but...shit STILL managed to be disappointing as someone that lives local to the con 8,D Hope you have fun at Anime Boston tho!!!
Awesome con definitely leans towards DND/COMIC related things in the artist alley at least. KPOP is also a huge thing especially when a lot of booths dont have this sort of stuff, after that this con really seems to love craft like stuff a lot . i love awesome con and have been going there for 3 years now, i do agree it is not for everyone and it can be a hit or miss, i agree with you on a lot of things you said and this year it was much slower than previous years! i loved loved seeing your booth and at least had fun being around DC
YT recommended me your video and it did not disappoint! I really enjoyed this vlog because you definitely showed a different perspective about cons that most people choose to not disclose. Funny how I had a similar problem with the photostand during a convention but ended up being okay! Haha. Also I’m still 1:42 min in the video but I wanna make sure to comment my initial thoughts now. I hope we can meet each other at a convention in the future! I love meeting fellow artists! Also looking forward for more of your videos.
It sucks to know you didn't do well at this con. I wish you luck next one around, and I hope you make more Artist Alley videos!!! I love these types of videos, so I hope to see more.
I went to the con no way there was 70,000 people. They did have way more people than last year, but it was not as crowded as Otakon. Their exhibit hall is huge though. I was annoyed with the crowds down there.
yeah I have noooo clue how that's a 70,000 person con ^^; Been going to cons for 10+ years, sometimes as an Artist's Alley helper, sometimes as just an attendee/cosplayer. And like..??? huh 70,000 people at this con?? No way lol. I genuinely wonder where they got that number because it's not even like people are in panel rooms/etc for the programming. The programming isn't super extensive at Awesomecon (like it is for stuff like Otakon, MAGfest, etc). So it's just a weird claim from the con gjfmldgmldkgfr
Honestly, I had a similar situation happen with the guy screaming in the artist alley, i was at youmacon, and every 5 minutes, you'd just hear some random guy do that. I dont know if it was the voice actor for like idk goku or just some rando, but jeez, either way, it was really annoying.
ahhh im so sorry you had a bad con i was wondering about this one so thank you for being so transparent about it! your art is so lovely! i hope to see you at another con! and the capsule hotel is so cool! i didnt even know there was an option! the artist discord is so cool!
I went to awesomecon (just as a guest, not selling anything) and tbh, I really struggled to navigate it. There were almost no signs (in my opinion) and they only had life one map per floor. Def my least favourite convention I've been to so far (for reference, I also went to vidcon which was SO MUCH BETTER). I also feel like there were a bit too many sellers there bc on the day I came there (saturday), there was a decent amount of people but a hell of a lot of sellers.
3:50 this shot is my favourite thing ever. Glad to see the capsule hotel was a cool experience! Budget friendly Japanese experience with the con snacks too xD enjoyed this video and the breakdown 😌
I like the deadline idea. I have been just practicing art for the most part and realized I didn't have too many finished pieces. I registered for Fanexpo in Canada to try and give me a deadline to have things done and ready. This would be my first con (if I get accepted into it). What was the discord channel you mentioned about cons?
Hey good luck!! I think deadlines would help me actually get the ball rolling, too. Trying to get 15 pieces ready for the AAN Discord artist application this month is my current goal and it's kicking my butt lol
I was rly lucky to be part of a club at college dedicated to doing artist alley's together so there was lots of support there... if you haven't joined yet, the artist alley network discord has so much resource and community, hopefully it'll make it less intimidating!
Unfortunate that the con was so slow but it was great to hear your thoughts about it! I'd love to have a table at a con one day but it all sounds super intimidating and don't really know where to start 😓 do you have any tips for getting over the social anxiety/nerves that come with it?
I would say try to find an artist friend and try it out with them, either as their helper to scope out how things work, or sharing a table with them, I think it's a lot less intimidating with someone else there!
Fascinating aka terrifying breakdown of the economic reality of the artist, event management, client/visitor mindset etc... Plus the mechanics of travel & set up... & running video production at the same time. This video is an excellent essay & reflection on the entire issue of competition & market forces. Being successful is such a roulette wheel, even if you're talented. The brutal changing zeitgeist of customer sentiment, the popularity contest of franchises, what's hot or not. Is an event for entertainment? Or are visitors actually ready to spend money? Are they primed by the organisers? Are the events marketed well? And now the spectre of AI... What is art? What is talent? What is 'worth' effort & reward (i.e. $$$). If I was an artist I wouldn't be able to sleep from this existential uncertainty...
There's a local con for me that has a similar problem of having waaaay too many vendors. It is a growing con, but they had artists packing up early last year (from poor sales) AND STILL thought it was a good idea to add even more tables THIS YEAR. I think some conventions just need to reduce the artist alley and stop trying to expand. It feels like they don't actually care about anything except the money that comes from selling more and more tables. I hope someone who works with Awesomecon sees your video and tries to learn from it.
😅 I do convention for health 😅...and now I want to do what I really love 😅 creative création 😊 u ,all are so inspiring us 😅... Merci beaucoup 🤩🌬️🫧🌸🪷🪷🪷☁️🕊️🙏🏽
Seeing you walk around DC and know EXACTLY what you are doing, being able to instantly recognize the Hana (Asian market she went to) market FROM THE FLOOR TILES. Feels soooo wierd I have lived in DC my whole life, I also know exactly which cat cafe you went to!
super informative video !! I was pondering doing a con in the near future so this was both grounding and motivating to watch. thanks for the transparency 🫡💕
Oh... most people were over by the celebrity autograph area and trapped in line waiting for Rosario Dawson and Hayden. Sorry you had a rough time! I was on Crew during this Awesomecon. Not sure if I'll do Crew again next year. I vendor at smaller local conventions in Chantilly, VA.
omg if i has known about the existence of this convention and that you were going to be in the artist alley, i wouldve gone bc im in the area 😭😭, i love your work, especially the atla stuff
Hi there! I was one of the people who bought prints from you at AnimeNYC (Your spiderverse one and the Caelus/March ones come to mind). I only realized this after seeing those prints in this video 😩. Anyways, happy to see you spreading out of your comfort zone. Looking forward to what you do next (and hoping you come back for this year's AnimeNYC)!
I had this experience once where I had to drive for a few hours it was just not the right crowd. Most of my friends didn't even brake even, luckily I just did but it was so rough having such an event. Nice that you still met all your goals!
im very concerned with the amount of AI art sellers ive been hearing about. I don't understand why a con would ever allow it and that they don't notice it
As someone who used to live near Washington Dc, I always thought the city was empty and just filled with crime, but this really opened my eyes to the cool stuff in it I just never saw.
This is so shocking to me because I went to AwesomeCon in 2016 and it was BOOMING! Tons of crowds, lots of anime and gaming. The artist alley was packed and there were tons of celebs being featured. It’s kinda sad to see it being so dry…
Had a similar situation two years in a row with a new anime Con in AZ. Its was just big name voice actors for animes, it had fuckin gojos english voice, so yeah, no one was giving a shit about the artist alley shoved in the opposite corner of the room. they also over sold AA and exhibitor tables. There was about, 400+ tables of sellers, and it was also so empty. It didnt help that they were charging like 100 dollars for people trying to get in on saturday.
Thanks for the vlog! I was at table D-29 and sold shitty as well (non-anime indie IP). I felt like artist alley got put off to the side, and definitely not 70k attendees...
I call this hustle con it’s not easy I was selling anime art and did pretty well with all the expenses. I had a corner spot and also someone to stay with I agree though this con is not the best without like very low costs. But you gotta really PULLLL people for this to work. So anime can work but you gotta work a lot to convert. But yeah stick to the west coast anime cons are way better.
I'm sorry to hear that. I feel like they say they don't allow Ai or bootlegs just for save face but in reality they allow it anyway. I seen the same bootleg plush booth at Granite Con that stole a design from one of my mutual plush artists and they didn't care. I even tried to report them and nothing! They just want your money and couldn't be bothered to check and see if they sell something stolen or not. It really sucks and Ai just adds into the mix. At least the Dad could tell fake stolen "art" when he saw it but not everyone there does that. So yea it's not fair to them.
did your backdrop display fit in your suitcase? or how did you fly with it? i'm flying in to a con for the first time soon, and trying to figure out how best to do it with a backdrop display
I went to a one day convention in Delaware on Saturday, it was dead. and I thought the whole time - I should have been at Awesome con, why didnt i try to get into awesome con...thats probably where the customers are" I guess not. so yeah... idk. where were the people?
!["Don't fly for this convention" ...oops [AwesomeCon ARTIST ALLEY VLOG]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
