My Intro to Entertainment class is near to done... Just a few more classes and then its over. I'm not sure if I'll be able to take the next class - certainly not right away - due to funds, but I'm going to continue trying to work on this project I've taken on. I have mixed feelings over all on the class. It was one day a week which was good and bad of course. I don't know if I got everything out of it that I wanted to, but I know it did make me do things I hadn't done before and that was important. It also has given me a bit of a direction to work towards and I did get a lot of good information from my instructors. Information is always invaluable.
The following is some of the work I've done so far. I'll do a final post showing everything and a bit of what the actual project is. Maybe it will end up being a game some day?
The finalization of the main character:
The finalization of one of the environments:
The start of the next environment:
Beginning character development of one of the creatures:
We'll see how this all develops... Does it look interesting so far?
Before moving on to any other subject, I am going to get into the sticky mess of something that can be a bit controversial for many artists - specifically those that attend Anime Conventions.
Fan Art.
(dun dun DUN!)
This is probably going to upset some people and I acknowledge that.
I, and other artists, have had a love/hate relationship with fan art. Not that there is anything wrong with fan art, so before you click off the page, let me assure you, I'm not condemning anyone for doing it or for selling it. It is a part of the Artist Alley and convention art and will be for years to come. But it is an issue more so than in the past as conventions have gotten more involved in limiting the amount of fan art allowed to be sold in the Artist Alleys.
Ein: Yellow Puzzle
When I was doing conventions, initially, most of the art being done was fan art. It made sense as we were all fans of the anime and so we did the characters we loved and the other attendees loved. But at that time, we were not doing much in the way of reproductions of our art. If you recall from my first How To Be A Con Artist blog, I was one of the few that had started selling copies of my art, but few of it was not an original character. Most of what we did was commission work. Slowly, over time of course, the items sold in artist alley started to grow. The internet and the ability to have items printed at places like Zazzle and such helped artists get items made featuring their art in relatively inexpensive ways. This helped the stock at the table expand. Now it wasn't just copies, it was prints. Then it wasn't just prints, but t-shirts and then key chains and mugs and now ipad covers and so on and so forth. The artist alley, in many ways, doesn't look much different than the dealer's room sometimes.
Then of course, this can lead to people using copywritten art and putting it on products and selling it. It has happened, it does happen and you have probably seen it - and it has happened in the Artist Alley.
I used to teach a workshop on being a convention artists and I always took the time to cover copyrights. I gave information about the website to go to and how to copyright your art and ideas - because its important to know that as an artist. And important safety tip kids: If it is posted on the internet, that doesn't mean it is free use. In fact, if you post YOUR art on YOUR website, it does not mean it is free use. It doesn't mean its copywritten, but it would be like... using an image from your book in real life. It can get hazy yes, but be aware of your ownership.
Anyway, I then would go into fan art. There is fan art in all genre's of course - comic books, science fiction etc... But the issue of fan art seems most prevalent in anime and manga. I suppose it has to do with the fact that early on, access to anime and manga was limited so, you got what you could where you could, or that the fan base of anime is sort of different than other genres... who knows? I'm sure I could do a study on it and write a small book on it, but that isn't the point here. Many young artists don't understand why there is even an issue about fan art or selling it. To them, I present this situation:
You are an artist. You have created a manga with original characters featuring your art and your story. You've worked hard on it. You've put in long hours for no money creating this thing. It is a labor of love and you love these characters. You manage to self published a few issues and lo and behold, you have started actually selling some of them! It takes a while, but you start to get a following! You present your work to a publisher (at the time I was doing the class, I threw out Tokyo Pop - sadly they are no longer with us) and they like it - they see it has potential and agree to publish your manga. You are making some money now, doing what you love! Maybe an animation studio comes along and offers to make your manga into an anime - This is your dream! All of this is happening and your hard work is paying off! Now, companies are approaching you. After all the story and characters are still owned by you - Its your copyright. These companies want to make your characters into figurines... put them on some shirts and posters - maybe some iphone covers or what have you. They have to pay you money for the right to do that. But you get to see your work on things that people want. This is your livelihood right now. This is your job, this is your rent, this is your food on the table, this is your life.
Then, someone comes a long and maybe does some ok fan art of your work or even really awesome fan art of your work and they start mass producing items featuring your characters. They sell it for less than what the actual licensed stuff is and people are buying it. They are buying it instead of buying the items you gave the right to a company to create.
No big deal you say?
I'm going to throw reality back at you.
If your items don't sell, the companies stop making them and they stop paying you for the right to use your images. That's YOUR money you are losing.
When you are young and just starting out, its easy to fall back into this 'whatever' kind of attitude because you may not be at an age where you have to support yourself. Maybe you aren't hungry yet for success or self-support. When you get older, living on your own and maybe start a family and have those sorts of financial responsibilities, your attitude will change.
Again, I'm not condemning fan art or fan artists. My point in the workshop was to present a reality that was just as real and true as the reality of young artists trying to make sales in the artist alley.
The Artist Alley existed for those that loved art, loved the art of manga and anime. We showed our love with our craft. s-girl wrote an amazing blog on the change that has happened to Artist Alley that I suggest you read: HERE
While the focus of her article is on Anime Expo, I can tell you that I saw the same thing happen at Otakon and Katsucon and others. As an artist just starting out, it is important that you be a smart business person. You are there to make money, but keep in mind, are you selling yourself or are you just selling stuff? Anyone can sell stuff. Heck, I sell stuff! But I also wanted to sell MY art and my self. Artist Alleys now seem less about the skill of the artists and more
about what they can sell - and I get that, I really do. I made fan art
too for resale, but only in the first few years... Then, at my table, I
sold original artwork. The fan art I did was only originals that were
put up in the art show. It was a one shot that would never be made
again. I still showed my love, made some profit and a person got a
chance to have a pic of a character they loved. At the same time, I was
at my table, selling my work - selling me and what I loved. And over
time, I developed my style and look and skills. I saw that I didn't
have to cater to one style or just have anime type art to sell. People
would buy my other things - sometimes BECAUSE they weren't anime style.
Faye: Serene
So now, when conventions start to limit the artist alley work to percentages of fan art, it is not because they hate people who do fan art. It is because the purpose of the Artist Alley was for artists to be there, not overflow from the dealer's room. Some of those who run the Artist Alley now remember what it was in the past and they don't like what they are seeing now - because, again, that wasn't the purpose of the Artist Alley. And also, there are legal issues that might be rearing their ugly heads in.
Here is another thing to think about: Otakon (just using this as an example) has companies from Japan and across the world coming to their Dealer's Room to sell items. They pay money for that space and pay money to ship their items or transport their items to the Dealer's Room. They pay money for hotel rooms and pay the staff attending to represent them. Some of those displays are pretty pricey. Now... these companies that paid to come here get to see what they consider knock-offs being sold in the Artist Alley.
Or the creators of the anime and manga come to these cons and see people selling their characters on items in the Artist Alley... Otakon looks bad now because this is being allowed. Sure, some creators might be cool with it, but what about those creators and companies that aren't? Otakon has a responsibility to these people who are guests - because they are the reason people are coming to the convention, not the artists in the artist alley. What if those companies and creators decide not to attend Otakon because of this? To them, it might be the same as allowing someone to sell blackmarket dvd's in the Dealer's Room.
Again, I'm not saying fan art is bad, but the purpose of this blog is to discuss being an artist. And part of being an artist is growing and stepping away from other people's work. Do you want to be known for YOUR art or for doing other people's art? As s-girl said in her blog "when I die is what I leave behind going to ever be seen as mine?"
Yes, fan art sells. Yes, its hard to sell your own work. Yes, its hard to put yourself out there.
Welcome to the scary world of being an artist.
Let me repeat here at that end that I AM NOT AGAINST FAN ART! But I would hope that we can be open to the realities of it, on all sides.
Now, I'm going to duck all the items you guys are going to throw at me....
I do not count myself as some big innovator or doing art that is breaking new ground. I do the art and jewelry I enjoy making, or I experiment with what I have. Having limited space and resources, I can't do some of the things I'd like to, how I'd like to do them. So, I find things I can do, simpler things - mostly in regards to my jewelry since I haven't been drawing or painting very much outside of what I'm doing for my class.
"Wood Elf" pencil on wood by Georgia Horesh
During my time doing conventions, I had people who would come up to my table, look at my work and say, "Oh, my cousin paints." or, "My nephew works at Disney." or "Well, my daughter draws." Now, these comments come with no build up with conversation. They look at my work and I smile and say hello and they smile back and then inform me that someone they know does art too... Not a big deal except it all depends on how they say it. Some people might just be trying to make conversation, and I usually would respond to, "Oh? That's really great." Because, really, I don't know what else to say to them. Sometimes I follow up with, "What type of work do they do?" because I'm trying to be polite and I'm curious as to what made the person inform me of their artistic relative. They explain what those relatives do, (ie; watercolors, still life, cartoons.. what-have-you). Sometimes though they say, "Oh, you know, stuff like this..." gestures at my work, "They're really very good."
Now, I don't pretend to know what all this is leading up to or what their intent is with the conversation. Others might have better insight than I do though I am an excellent 'Devils' Advocate'. All I know is, regardless of intent, I would end up feeling annoyed and belittled. As if the person was saying to me, "Well, this person that I know can do this sort of work... if someone I know can do this, anyone can do it... You aren't all that special."
Obviously, that may not be what they meant. But that is how I felt.
At the table at the time, I would smile and manage some more conversation with the person and then that person would walk away. I would never gain any insight as to what the purpose of the conversation was, but would always have that feeling like they were just saying it to feel... superior in some way. I was younger, granted and not sure of myself or my skills so I look back at it all with a an attempted grain of salt.
Now, working on jewelry and coming up with different ideas of how to make things, I find different challenges - mostly monetarily. Buying supplies for jewelry isn't cheap, even if you can manage to get things wholesale. I look around and see what I can use, see what projects might work while keeping costs as low as possible to make them - in fact, till recently, I had abstained from doing new work because I'd have to buy new supplies. Its hard because I felt the itch to make things, but couldn't afford to do it.
So, when I post something and people comment that they like it, I do get warm fuzzies. It makes me happy. The same happy it made me when people came up to my table at conventions and looked at my work and smiled, or oohed and aahed, or called friends over to see a print. It made it worth it to put my work out there. Yes, I won't lie, selling my prints and work was great, but it was made better when people expressed how much they loved the work, or how it made them smile. Even when a group of deaf and mute people came by my table at a show once - I remember because they gestured for their friends to come over and signed excitedly. And no, they didn't buy anything and that was ok because the smiles on their faces communicated to me, all that they needed to say.
On the other hand, when people post, "Oh, that's easy to make. Just go to the store and pick up a few things and you can make it yourself." or, "I could make that." the old feelings reappear. Again, let me assure you that I do know that the intent is not to hurt my feelings or say something negative! They might actually be saying, "Oh! That's not a complicated piece so even I could make it!" in an positive and excited way.
But the old ghost comes a spooking... And I feel deflated, as if they are saying my work isn't all that great... after all.... Anyone can do it.
That's when I have to do something that's really hard. I have to remember that I am me... I do what work I do as it comes to mind because that's what inspiration is. Sometimes I can't follow through because I don't have what I need to make the art happen and the idea will flutter away or it will stay, waiting till I can create it, but I have to follow what my internal muse whispers to me. There will be times I make something complicated and other times when I make something simple. There will be things that I make that are beautiful and things that, yes, are ugly. And some things that people wouldn't be able to create and yeah, things anyone can do...
And I have to remember that even though anyone can do it... not everyone does and they certainly can't do things the way I do because they don't see the world through my eyes: And that's what makes me special.
Previously I talked about organizing yourself to choose what shows to attend and a way to keep track of those conventions. I'll repeat what I said before: Go to conventions that are interests you have. If you like fantasy, go to a fantasy convention. If you like Star Trek, go to a Trekkie convention. If you enjoy the show, you'll have a good time and feel excited about being there and that will translate into sales, even if your items aren't specific to the convention's theme.
I'm going to talk a little bit here about what you are selling and also, the big issue of pricing.
Many people who are anime artists worry about selling at other cons. People who do fantasy illustration worry about selling at anime cons. These same artists will change their style and attempt to do other styles to try to appeal to the audience of the convention. This tends to be a mistake. The most important thing I can tell you as one artist to another is this:
You be you.
Do your art. Do your style. Create your work. Its possible that audiences won't buy your work at a specific type of convention. If that's the case, then you don't go to that convention to sell your work. If you keep changing to try to make sales, you aren't going to develop as an artist and your personal style will get lost. We are all selling art, no matter what form it is, but most importantly, you are selling you. You are selling YOUR vision. No one else sees the world the way you do, so no one else can create what you create.
Red Dragon Hatchling by Georgia Horesh
When I started at the conventions, I drew what I was inspired to do. Some of it was anime style, some of it was fantasy... I sold both. As time went on, my work stood out from the other artists because my way of drawing wasn't what anyone else was doing. My most famous pieces were my cute dragon sets, which at the time, no one had or were doing. And those sold at all the conventions I went to, whether it was anime, literary, or sci-fi fantasy. Heck, they even sold at comic-book conventions. I did do fan art, but those pieces were one of a kind that were placed only in the art show. I didn't sell fan art at my table - but I'll get into that in another blog.
Create the work you love to create. You will eventually find your audience and place to sell it and it may be in places you didn't expect. I'm not saying don't go out of your comfort zone and don't grow -
experiment, try new things and don't be afraid of change. My point is,
don't try to be everything to everyone.
Now on to the rough stuff.
Pricing your work a huge hurdle and there are many ways to go about it. First, lets talk about prints, photos, jewelry, paintings, plush or what not.
The most important thing I can tell you is to not undersell yourself. Selling items cheaply does get you sales, but a lot of times it won't get you profit and it makes your work... well... cheap. I undersold a lot of my work and it wasn't till I was going to conventions like Dragon*Con where I was meeting full-on professionals that I saw I was really undervaluing my work. Remember, you can always lower prices at a show if that appears to be the big hurdle of attendees buying from you, but you really can't raise them at the show. And here is a secret: if YOU think your work is worth something, then guess what? So will the customers looking at it. I mean, do you really want someone to buy something from you just because it was cheap?
Drowess. 1 of my 1st copies sold for $2 at my table.
The other side of this, is that we as artists have to train the audience. What you are doing, what you can do as an artist, is a skill. See how I bolded that and underlined it? That's because its important. Art is a skill. It is a skill like any other that is worth paying for. Electricians get paid, plumbers get paid, mechanics get paid - and even if people complain about paying, they pay. Why? Because they can't do what electricians, plumbers or mechanics do! If someone comes up to your table and likes your work, even if they are artists, there is something you can do that they can't, or something you captured in your art that they didn't. They should pay for it! By undercharging, you undervalue your work and you undervalue ALL art work. If people see they can pay $2-$5 for art, they think others are overcharging for the same work for more money. They believe those other artists are snobs or demanding for some reason. So as a community, we have to stop that thought process and teach the audience that they should pay good money for good art! (And trust me, that's training that will carry on through your professional career in the arts - ask any professional graphic designer!)
This is also why you should rarely, if ever, do work for free. Anyone who says to you that if you do the work for free for them, you'll be paid in "experience" or "free publicity" or "free exposure" or "to add to your portfolio", should be sending out a bunch of red flags in your brain. Basically, they want you to do work for free and are using those excuses to get away with not giving you money. The creative industry is one of the only places this happens for a good reason. Its because they get away with it. Artists are a needy lot and we want people to like us and our work and we fall under the sway of those who approach us with offers and say they want our art. Its acceptance. And it all sounds good. But think about this... Let's go back to our electrician... Have you EVER heard of someone saying to an electrician, "I'd like you to wire my living room... Instead of paying you though, you'll be getting free publicity. I think it will really be great experience for you and it will be a great opportunity for exposure. I mean, I'll tell everyone what a great job you did and your signature will be on the wall by the light switch." That wouldn't go over well... but that's the same thing that happens to many young artists all the time.
Below is a great rant/speech by Harlan Ellison and while it is regarding writers, I think it applies to other artists as well. I'd give it a watch if I were you.
Yes, he is vehement, but there is a reason for it.
Now, let's look at pricing...
You need to look at this as a long range situation. You need to be thinking in regards to a year rather than convention to convention, you should be thinking of yearly income... How much you want to make a year as an artist. You have to decide if you want to sell a lot of inexpensive pieces or go with a few expensive ones. Below is an example of price thinking assuming that the artist wants to make about 20,000 a year to see it in simpler terms:
2 for $10,000 each
4 for $5000 each
8 for $2500 each
16 for $1250 each
32 for $750 each
64 for $313 each
128 for $157 each
256 for $78 each
512 for $40 each
1024 for $20 each or
2048 for $10 each
You also need to be asking yourself the following questions:
How much are you comfortable selling your work for?
How many pieces can you realistically sell in a year?
Who is your audience?
For pricing individually, you can follow this sort of formula:
1.
Add the cost of all the materials (cost of print, cost of mat board and
tape or cost of plastic bag if it isn't matted, cost of frame and
glass, wire and screws, clay, fabric, stuffing, buttons, thread: EVERYTHING you used to get the final
product.)
2. Estimate how many hours it took you to create the item and multiply this by how much you'd like to make an hour. ($8 an
hour? $10?) Add that to the previous figure. For example, if it took you an hour and you want to make $10 an hour, you add $10 to the previous number.
3. Multiply the total by 2 at the minimum.
4.
Now compare that price to others in the area or that you've seen. If
your price is much higher, you may have to look at cutting the costs of
producing your work. If your price is much lower, then you might to
raise them to be a bit more competitive.
Don't confuse income
with profit! Income is what you get from the customer. Profit is what
you have after you've paid your expenses. You don't want to just cover
your expenses, you want some profit.
Here is an example to figure out a pricing. I'm rounding up to keep it simple.
1. I made a necklace. The cost of chain was $7. The pendant was made from two different pieces which add up to $15. Jump rings come in a package of 10 for $2 so, figure each jump ring costs $.20.... I used 3 of them so that's $.60. The lobster clasp was $.50. That leaves the total of the cost to make the necklace at 23.10. But wait, I include packaging and price tags to add another 1.40 to bring my total to $24.50.
2. I want to make $10 an hour and it took me an hour to make the necklace so I add another 10 to my total, bringing it up to $34.50.
3. Multiply by two and that brings it to $69.
4. Now I can look at my pricing and decide if that is too high or not. I can look around on the internet and see what other similar products are selling for and adjust my price accordingly. Even if I lower the price, I can still make a profit - you don't want to undercut yourself.
Even if you are making prints at home on your epson (which I did), I had to pay for the paper and the ink cartridges. I had to take that into account when I charged for my prints. I bought mats wholesale so I got a good price and that got put into the cost. (If you can, buy wholesale!) If you can't make a profit you need to figure out where to cut costs and what is putting you over the edge. Always keep in mind that it isn't just about selling, its about making income!
Now... about Commissions. This is a big issue for many artists. I'm going to give another sort of list to follow:
Start with the cost of the actual materials that you will be using. (note: This is an example and so, I'm throwing a few numbers around, but you'll get the idea)
Full color commission
In this example, a customer wants a full color copic marker commission. My 12 x 18 Bristol pad cost me about $20 for 10 sheets,
so I'll start with $2 for the paper. The markers aren't too expensive and are
pretty darn cheap when you realize how many pieces you can get out of them, so I'm just going to call that another $1. I almost
always ink my drawings before I color, and since
this is a pretty complicated piece, maybe I'll use up a whole pen. Let's
call that another $3, which is pretty generous and can include the
pencil and eraser wear and tear and some sketchbook pages making the
initial sketches (if I decide to do that). So, I'll have about $6 invested in actual art
materials.
In the case of digital art, you've got the cost of your computer and
your tablet to consider, but there aren't any tangible costs, unless you
count the price of electricity. Do include the price of a print here, if you will be mailing a hardcopy
of the final version of a digital painting. You need to figure out what you are printing it on and how much a pack of that paper is so you can determine the cost of printing on one sheet. Its hard to figure out how much printing you can get from a cartridge, though it sometimes does say on the box... Figure at least another $4 - $5 on top of the hourly rate - more for the paper to get a digital print. Each print you make of digital art should include a percentage of the cost of the ink and paper and added to your commission rate.
The customer wants the original mailed to him, so I'm going to charge him $5 to
cover priority mail and insurance on the image.
Now I'm up to $11. No matter how I decide to charge for my time and
efforts and extras, I don't want to go below this number, or I'd be
losing money on the project. And that's just bad business.
Again, now its time to add in my hours. Again, you have to ask what kind of wage you want for doing this. I want to make $10 an hour so... I add that in because I'm guessing it will take me about an hour to do the piece (it always took me longer but we'll keep this simple for now) Now its $21.
There is also a little something called overhead. This is to take into consideration the situation in which you find yourself doing the work. Overhead is the cost of electricity, or studio space, the past cost of your tablet or computer, the past cost of your drawing table if you do a commission at home. Overhead is the cost of your artist table, your parking spot, your hotel room, convention registration, and other such costs if you are doing the commission at a convention. You can always adjust, but $5 is pretty good start. So, the work is now up to $26. That's a lot better that some starting prices I've seen for a full color commission but the price should be higher. I just threw this together as an example of how to approach pricing your commission.
When making your sign for your commission rates, make sure you leave leeway for pricing. For example, a black and white shouldn't just be $20. It should be shown with a scale so the customer understands that if they ask for more, they will be paying for it. So you could have it as $20 - $30.
Make sure you note differences in prices for pencils, black and white and color, whether its traditional art or digital. Those can be divided down further to head portraits, upper torso, or full body shots. One person or two people. Full illustrations with backgrounds. Character design and so forth. On your sign, you should have small illustrated examples of those things as well. This will help people understand what they are getting when you say a pencil drawing or a full color one. If you can, I also recommend a commission portfolio, featuring previous work you've done for others - again to give customers an idea of what they are getting and to see your skills.
But I will say this - no one should be charging less than $10 for a pencil drawing. You can disagree with me if you wish, but I'll point to my arguments above.
Here is something to give you perspective (it is directed at attendees buying art, not artists, but you get the point):
You'll figure out what you are comfortable with, but be fair to yourself as well. See what others around you are charging and figure out how long it takes you to do the work. As I said, if you start out high, you can always lower it. Remember, you shouldn't be thinking just about the show itself, but about your income for the year. You'll be doing taxes and will have to take into account the fact that you will be paying taxes on that income as well.
So you've set your prices and are ready to go. You are approached by an attendee who likes your pricing and wants you do work for them. What do you do now? You should have a commission list ready to keep track of customers. This is where you are going to write the person's real name if possible, an email address and/or phone number and a brief title or description of the commission they are getting. This should be a numbered list so you see how much work you have to do and can give customers later on an honest answer for a timetable on when they can expect their commission to be done. On the same piece of paper or a different one, write down notes on the image - especially if its an original character.
Ask what the customer wants and make sure you can give it to them.
If this person wants you to draw robots and you aren't comfortable or able to do it, then you aren't doing yourself any favors by attempting it. I personally didn't draw characters in explicit sexual situations. If a person requested that type of art of me, I apologized and explained that I didn't do that type of art, BUT I was aware enough of the other artists in the artists alley and I would direct the person to another artist who I knew was comfortable with the subject. Yes, I lost the commission, but I didn't force myself to do something I didn't want to do AND I established myself as an honest person who could be trusted. Trust is important when you are selling yourself as an artist.
Black and White Commission
Sometimes the customer has unrealistic expectations that you might not be able to fulfill - turn the job down. Better to lose out on the money than go through the time suffering and ending up with an unhappy customer and an unhappy artist. The headache isn't worth it.
Ask them what they want to see in the art.
Look for broad answers that have to do with the way your art makes them feel. Get details and specifics about what colors they want and what that want to see. If its an original character, ask them for personality aspects, maybe a brief history so that you can bring something extra to the work. If the character thinks danger is fun, then drawing them having a grand time killing something will make it a better drawing then them standing there staring at you - the customer will appreciate the aspect that won't take that much more time to do and may become repeat customers. I had customers that found me at EVERY con so I knew walking in I had at least 3 - 5 commission slots filled before I even sat down at my table.
Ask them if there is anything they don't want to see.
The last thing you want is to put in something the person won't want. If its pencil, sure you can erase it, but removing ink or marker is a bit harder.
Ask them if they have any other questions or requests.
This is the moment for the customer to make a change or to clarify any confusion about what they are getting. This is when you give them a quote on the price and you can make sure you are both ok with that before starting anything.
If everything seems ok, give the customer an idea of when they can pick up their work. I started getting people's cell phone number so that I could call them at the con when the work was done and they could come get it when they were able rather than having them swing by repeatedly. That way I wasn't feeling pressured by them popping in a lot asking "Is it done yet?" and they could relax knowing I would let them know when to come get it. Or, you can say it will be ready for pick up on the last day of the convention and everyone comes for their work then. Having the phone number also helps you out so that if you are there with work and someone is REALLY late picking it up, you can contact them and see what's going on. Sometimes people forget they even commissioned work. I remember standing at my table on Sunday afternoon, everything packed and ready to go, but I had a commission and the person hadn't shown to pick it up. They were closing the artist alley down and I finally called. The girl was actually just getting into her car getting ready to leave and if I hadn't called, she would have been gone. Luckily she was able to run in and pick up the art.
Payment depends on each person. Some artist like to take all the money up front. Some like to be paid only after the work is done. I think doing half up front and half when the work is done is also fine too. What ever works for you! Just remember to mark down what has been paid by who. I'll discuss receipts another time, but this is a moment when that will be a good idea. On the receipt you can say it is a commission and write down what has been paid. When they pay the rest, you just add that in and know its all set.
There are many different ways to handle the payment art exchange. Some artists do a situation like a coat check at a laundry mat. You give the person a ticket and they return it and get the art they paid for. You can mark it on your commission list. Whatever you are comfortable with.
Don't feel badly if this all feels overwhelming. Pricing is the hardest part for any artists, no matter if you are making jewelry, plushies, illustrations or sculptures. Our first instinct is to go for a lower price due to our ideas of our self worth, but keep in mind, EVERYONE is feeling that way. Some of what you'll do is trial and error. What might work well in one aspect, might not work in another. What I've posted here isn't law and might not be your cup of tea. Use it as a guideline - something to help get you started as you try to figure this out. Be patient with yourself and remember to have fun!
If you have any questions or even some suggestions, PLEASE feel free to post it in comments. Even if it isn't directly connected to this posting.
Since things have settled a bit and after reading posts on an Artist Alley group page on Facebook, I decided to pick back up on this and post another blog on being a convention artist. Sorry to those who thought this was about something else, but you can read the first part here:
We've covered my brief history lesson of conventions as I knew them and a bit about myself so you know, I have some experience under my belt. I've done just about all types of conventions (manga, anime, fantasy/sci-fi, comic, literary and so on) and so, I'm coming at this from different angles.
So, you've decided you want to not only attend a convention, but set up a table or booth in an Artist Alley or Artist Bazaar, or Seller's table? Congratulations... I hope you enjoy loud music, bad acoustics, weird smells and the taste of coffee. I'm not being mean! Anyone who has attended a con will attest to those things existing and being experienced!
Dealers' room at an anime convention. (Source: Google images)
The first question you really need to ask yourself next is: Do you want to be/are you a professional artist OR do you just want to hang out and have fun as a hobbyist?
The reason I ask is because you really can't do both.
See, if you are doing it as a hobby, there is no pressure. You're there to have a good time, not make money. Sure, hey, getting some money for your art is great, but whatever... Its all good! And whatever money you make can go right into the Dealer's room with no guilt! Your friends can come and hang out with you at the table, block it, yap, show off the latest cute plush they bought and it doesn't mean a thing.
That isn't how it can go if you're going in to be a professional artist. This isn't to say, it can't be fun. I had a GREAT time in the artist alley, no matter where it was. Socializing, looking at the new work, sharing ideas, yapping, drinking coffee and a lot of laughing were all part of the experience. But it wasn't why I was doing it.
I was there to make money and to expand my audience.
Yes, the dark side of art rears its ugly head.
When you are a professional, you have to have your paperwork in order, you have to keep track of your expenses, you have to keep track of your income, you have to be able to talk to people - and you have to know when to joke and when to have a professional demeanor. The money you make is going to parking, your hotel room, your registration cost, your supplies. Your friends hanging out at your table are distracting you from addressing customers, and them standing in front of your table is blocking your items from being seen by potential buyers.
I'm not saying you should shun your friends, but be aware of the balance of socializing and working. Because as fun as conventions are, they are work too if you want this to be a business of any kind. I learned the balance and because my friends were all professionals, they understood that when a customer walked up to me, they stepped aside to allow me to do business - without me even having to ask them to. Same thing for me... when I went to see another artist, if a potential customer walked up, I stepped aside, no questions asked.
So, you want to be a professional artist? Great! Get ready to work for it.
The first thing you have to do is start thinking in terms of what you can afford to do so you can make a profit. Some cons are close but might have a smaller audience. Other cons that have a large attendance might be too far away to go to. Many shows have Art Shows you can submit work to on top of having a table to maximize the amount of views of work. There are sites like this one: animecons.com/events/ that list all the anime cons all over the world, or this one devoted to Science Fiction conventions: www.upcomingcons.com/science-fiction-conventions that you can use. Just Google Convention List and see what you find.
Once you do that, you can see what conventions are close to you - usually more than you think. One point I'll make here is that you shouldn't limit yourself. I've gone to all sorts of conventions and I changed my inventory very little. I brought the same items to all the different cons I had a table at. At anime cons, my fantasy work was something different and stood out. At Literary cons, my more anime inspired items drew attention. The reason is, people who like one genre, tend to like others as well. Sci-fi/Fantasy lovers probably also like some anime. Manga fans probably also like comic books and so on. So go to different conventions if you have the time and money to do so, keeping in mind that the anime stuff MIGHT not do as well at a literary convention right off the bat. Best rule of thumb here is... GO TO CONS YOU ENJOY GOING TO!
When you get your list of conventions that you are interested in going to set up, go to each site for each convention and start your pricing. Calculate hotel room cost, table cost, any parking cost and if you can, gas cost. Also, write down how far away those cons are from you (Google Map directions with the address of the hotel or convention hall to your house). Write those things down next to the con title and go down the list. You'll be able to start seeing what conventions are plausible and what others might be too difficult to attend. It will also help you prioritize.
What I mean by that is this: You may have to sacrifice a closer cheaper convention to attend a larger more expensive one. For example... Let's say you want to go to Otakon in Maryland. It is expensive to attend and have the cost of the hotel room, but you REALLY want to go because you know its large and you'll have a larger audience and besides, there will be a guest you want to see there. To have the money to go, you may have to forgo 3 smaller conventions that are closer and won't cost much. OR, you may not go to Otakon because you'd rather attend other mid-sized cons. You don't want to spread yourself and your finances too thin and now is the time to make decisions and figure it out. Keep the cons you wanted to attend but for some reason couldn't go on another piece of paper... you'll see why in a bit.
Now we have a list of conventions you want to go to - Great! Give each of those conventions a separate page and list under each, all the things you need to get ready for it. That means things like:
Hotel Registration
Convention Registration
Artist Alley Registration
Art Show Registration
Etc...
Think of all the things you might need. As you do each item or arrange for each thing, you can put a check next to it and know you have done that part.
Sometimes, even though a convention has been announced, the registration isn't available yet - MARK YOUR CALENDAR! Check the site every other day. Many Artist Alleys work on a first come first served basis and the tables go fast.
http://www.geocities.ws/fujiakon/dragonpics.htm
Read the Artist Alley rules for application before you apply. If they require a portfolio, provide the work in the format and way they request. Some Artist Alleys judge what work will be a part of their show. Dragon*Con does and there is a reason: REAL ART DIRECTORS ARE THERE! (And professional artists like Keith Parkinson and Yoshitaka Amano have shown there...) They have a reputation they are trying to uphold and present to the audience at large. Is it fair? That isn't even a question. Fair has nothing to do with anything and you do have to suck it up and accept it as a professional artist. If they ask for jpegs of your work at a certain size, send your artwork as jpegs in the requested size. Some panels may not even consider your work, no matter how amazing it is, if its not in the format they want - if you can't follow directions, why do they want you?
If you don't get into an Artist Alley, cross the convention off. Keep in mind why you didn't get in (missed a deadline, didn't register fast enough, wasn't chosen, etc...) so that you can adjust for next year. Don't make it sour grapes and say, "They didn't want me so screw them!" Learn from what happened and move forward. If you don't get judged into a show, KEEP TRYING THE NEXT YEAR. If you are working as an artist should, you will improve and who knows, you may get in next time! And sometimes, you can contact the person in charge and find out why your work wasn't accepted. Sometimes it makes sense and sometimes it still doesn't and might not seem fair. Take it as a lesson and move forward. There are plenty of other conventions to try for!
Get some folders, one for each convention, and a planner or calendar (electric or real - though having a real calendar hanging on the wall is a great in-your-face reminder of when you have to do things and you can see things coming up). Print out paperwork and confirmations and put them in the appropriate folders. For example, hotel, artist alley, art show and convention paperwork for Otakon ALL goes in the Otakon folder. You keep this with you when you go so if there is a problem, you have easy access to the papers you need. Conventions are dealing with thousands of people and those in charge are HUMAN BEINGS WHO MAKE MISTAKES. Having paperwork to back you up will simplify things and streamline situations into solutions for everyone. Don't expect the convention to be keeping up on YOUR information. That's YOUR responsibility. Failure to do so isn't the convention's fault. Its yours.
I'll go more into what to do when things go wrong in follow up posts. I know I am sounding harsh, but remember, this is from years of experience and seeing things happen from personal experience and from friends.
So, let's say you have not gotten into all the cons on your original list. Well, now is the time to bring up that back-up list! See if you have time to go to those and do the same as you did for your first cons. Sometimes going to small cons is great because you can build up your audience faster than jumping into a big con where you are a small fish in a big sea.
There is another aspect here and that is, even if you can't attend a convention, perhaps you can mail work in to their Art Show. Most conventions have a mail-in policy for their Art Shows and its a way to get your work seen, even if you aren't there to have a table. It is also a bit more cost-effective if you can't afford to go traveling. Handle this the same as the convention list above. Read all the rules! And follow them! Not just because you want to make sure your work is seen, but you want to make sure your work that doesn't sell gets sent back to you. I know a few cons where people didn't follow directions and the staff couldn't send the art back to the artist... Not where you want to be - especially if you are planning on using that art in another show. Follow the directions! You may not have to register for the con, but you may still have to register for the Art Show and see if you get in. I'll cover sending to art shows in a later post as well.
There are some of the first steps to consider and hopefully some ways to start thinking about attending and being organized about it. If you have questions you specifically want answered, post them and I'll do my best to answer them! Even if it isn't business oriented!
