How To Be A Con Artist Part IV

This is Part IV in a series.  You might want to read the previous entries first before reading this one:

How To Be A Con Artist Part I
How To Be A Con Artist Part II
How To Be A Con Artist Part III

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....

Next is: How To Be A Con Artist Part V