Hello! My name is Toril, or Starlock, and I’m an independent comic artist! In the past two years I’ve tabled at a number of extremely different conventions: Otakon Vegas, Anime Boston, Emerald City Comic Con MoCCA Fest, TCAF, Anime NEXT, Anime Expo, Otakon, SPX, MICExpo, and YaoiCon.
Prior to this, I had never sold anything at a convention before, and I had barely considered the possibility of being able to make a living from my own work. To put it simply: I had no idea what I was doing. I would have crashed and burned without the help of my incredible friend Emily, but since not everyone has a friend who’s been making a living off of anime conventions for years, I thought I’d put together a post about everything I’ve learned to help out artists who may be thinking about jumping on this train.
Full disclosure: I was able to earn back my expenses (and profit) at every con I attended except Otakon Vegas and TCAF. Otakon Vegas in 2014 was a small con with low attendance, high expenses, and I was ill prepared. At TCAF 2014, I failed to account for the currency exchange rate in spite of selling out of everything, and spent a lot on transporting books over the border (I’m from the US and couldn’t drive at the time).
Of course, every person’s work, circumstances, and personality are wildly different, and your experiences will assuredly vary from mine. I can’t guarantee your success. However, I learned a remarkable amount about art, business, and checked bag fees over the past few years, and I hope what I include here proves valuable (or at least interesting) to anyone who’s interested in the North American con circuit!
☆
Before you even think about choosing a convention to attend or what you’re going to sell, there’s an unfortunate truth we have to get out of the way: You need to spend money to make money. I recommend setting aside $500 USD for registration, production costs, travel, and other expenses. This is an extremely rough estimate. Your actual expenses will vary wildly– that said, be prepared to spend at least this much. Anything you save is a bonus.
☆TYPES OF CONVENTIONS
Choosing the first con that you’ll sell at– or any con, for that matter– can be overwhelming.
Comic: Once a haven only for fans of the classic DC and Marvel empires, comic cons now often invite videogame, television, and film guests and companies. Cons like NYCC and SDCC are some of the biggest in the country, but can be difficult to land a table at, especially for a newcomer.
Anime: Mostly centered around fandoms for Japanese media and culture. AnimeExpo and Otakon are among the largest in the US, but more and more are founded every year, and you can find them all over the country.
Small Press: Shows dedicated to independent comics, webcomics, zines, and their creators– shows like TCAF, VanCAF, SPX, and MoCCA can be quite exclusive, as well as expensive– MoCCA’s 2015 tables went for $460 each. Never be afraid to apply, though, because they’re always on the lookout for new blood!
Furry: Cons specifically geared towards furries, and furry and anthro artists. I personally have not been to a furry con, but I’ve heard they can be extremely profitable for artists.
Try to choose a con that suits your taste and intended audience! Artist Alley is the most common name for the venue set aside for independent artists and craftspeople to sell their products. Artist alley tables can range from $50-500, but usually fall around the $75-150 range. Larger cons also often have Dealer’s Halls which provide space for vendors, publishers, and artists who have a lot of stock. Dealer’s Hall booths tend to be far more expensive, often upwards of $1000.
If the cost is daunting, or you’re afraid that you won’t have enough merchandise to display at your table, consider splitting with an artist friend! I’ve split a table several times and it has never affected my sales– if anything, it makes the whole con a lot more fun~ you’ll have someone to talk to and complain with, and you can take turns watching the table while the other takes a break! I can’t recommend splitting a table with more than one other person, however, unless you all only have a few items to sell.
Signup is usually six months to up to a year in advance– get on mailing lists, follow con twitter accounts, and keep an eye out for announcements! Some cons sell out in seconds after they open for artist alley signup, others have tables available for months.
If you can, try to find an event happening in your area– close enough that you won’t have to pay for a hotel or transportation (aside from gas or a train ticket). However, beware smaller cons that no one seems to have heard of! Even if it’s in the neighborhood, putting time and money into preparing for a con where there will be more artists than attendees isn’t worth it. It also helps to apply for a table at a con you’ve been to before as an attendee! That way you’ll have a feel for what people sell there, the attendance, and what the general atmosphere is like. Don’t make any travel arrangements until you’re sure you’ve got a table at the con.
☆MERCHANDISE
I don’t have time to go into detail on how to make merchandise– and there are tutorials for making nearly anything online– but figuring out what you’re going to be selling is important! You’re also going to have to decide whether to manufacture it yourself or pay to have it done for you. Here are some products I’ve seen sold at cons to give you an idea of what’s possible: business cards, prints, postcards, bookmarks, keychains & phone charms, stickers (some cons don’t allow stickers: make sure you’ll be able to sell them beforehand!), comics (zines, books, etc), printed sketchbooks and artbooks, dolls & plushes, apparel, patches, washi tape, buttons & badges, and commissions.
FAST PRICE GUIDE (USD):
8x10" print - 10$ or 3/$25
11x17" print - 15$ or 2/25$
books: 3x the printing cost per book
Always bring AT LEAST enough merchandise so that if you sold 100% of it, you’d earn double your expenses.
☆FAN vs ORIGINAL CONTENT
There’s a lot of waffle over whether original content or fanart sells better at conventions, and the truth is that in my experience, there’s no solid answer to this question. The best advice I can offer is: make what you care about.
It doesn’t matter if it’s fan art for the latest, trendiest manga, or a promotional poster for your own webcomic– your audience can tell when your heart isn’t in the work. If you make things to sell based solely on what you imagine is popular at the time of the con, you won’t get very far.
Do not make fan art of independent properties– especially if they’ve asked publicly that no unlicensed merchandise be sold. It’s disrespectful, and can be damaging to their business. The ethical and legal dilemma around the production and sale of fan art in general is not one I want to get into in this post, but I tend to support fan culture.
If you don’t have an audience for your original content already, it’s true that no one will know what it is and that it will be harder to sell it. That’s okay! You’re at the con to promote your work, and you have to start somewhere.
☆ PRODUCTION TIPS
Make sure everything’s in your hands a week in advance before the con.
If you’re printing books, try to leave enough time to order proofs. Make sure everything you’re bringing can fit in your bags without being damaged. For prints, you can buy a file case, but I find the box they’re shipped (if you’ve ordered them online) in works just fine.
☆TABLE DISPLAYS
There are a number of display methods, but the two most common are wire storage cube displays and pipe/clamp displays. I prefer the latter– for a basic pipe display, you will need:
Pack light. Most of your luggage will be your merchandise & display. Bring a change of clothes, toiletries, and other essentials– phone, sketchbook, etc. Leave valuable jewelry and electronics at home.
ESSENTIAL CON EQUIPMENT
- tax papers & registration confirmation & cheques (you may have to pay your taxes at the con, or register for a table for next year!)
- water bottle & snacks, painkillers, any meds you take
- small bills for change
- do NOT bring a cash box. they’re bulky, heavy, and more likely to get stolen than a money pouch.
Be aware that most domestic US airlines start charging you anywhere from $50-200 if your bag is oversized or over 50lb. You can usually avoid a 50lb+ bag by having two smaller suitcases. Most airlines will also let you check boxes or crates, provided they’re securely sealed and labeled. CHECK on your airline’s website before getting to the airport so you won’t be surprised by a fee.
Be careful taking luggage on Amtrak or buses: usually you’re only allowed one piece of checked baggage, and Amtrak sometimes won’t take check bags at all.
Do NOT book a connecting flight to the con. You don’t want to miss your connection and arrive a day late!
Do NOT carpool with strangers. Ever.
Cons often offer deals on rooms at nearby or sponsoring hotels. These are the most convenient option but can still be pricey– if you have friends going to the con, share the room! I find 3-5 people can generally split an average hotel room comfortably, as long as everyone manages to be respectful and sensible. If you have friends or family in the area, ask if they can put you up! Of course, pay them back with a dinner date or baked goods~ Finally, check out AirBNB! You’d be surprised at the level of accommodation you can find.
Here is a list of travel services and airlines that come recommended: kayak.com, MegaBus, Porter Air, Jet Blue, Southwest Airlines, Virgin America, Alaska Airlines, Amtrak
☆AT THE CON
Confirm that you’ve arrived with the Artist Alley staff, check in for your table, and set up ASAP. Confirm what times the artist alley opens & closes. Ask if the hall will be locked overnight– most cons do this, so you can leave your things under the table (NEVER leave your money or any valuables unattended)
REMEMBER: you’re at the con as a working professional. Act like it!
Get to your table before the alley opens. Regardless of how busy you think business will be, it’s nice to be early. Greet potential customers warmly and engage them in conversation.
Some fall-back lines I use: “How’s the con so far?” “ I like your cosplay/outfit/hair!” “Are you dressed as ____? They’re my favourite character from ____!” “ What’s going on out there? I’ve barely left my table” “This is my webcomic, it’s about _____” etc.
NEVER TALK DOWN YOUR WORK. If you can’t speak about your work or yourself without being self-deprecating, why are you at the convention? If you don’t love your work, why should anyone else? This is the most important point in this entire post.
Never pressure anyone into a sale.
If business is slow and nothing’s going on, feel free to pass the time by drawing, checking your phone, or otherwise occupying yourself– but pay attention. I can’t tell you how disappointing it is to go up to an artist and find them withdrawn behind their table and totally off in their own little world, with barely a word to say to their fans. A lot of us– artists and fans alike– are shy, but we’re all people. Make an effort. Be polite.
SELF CARE:
- drink lots of water
- eat properly
- get enough sleep
Finally, get out from behind your table and walk around! You’ll never know who you’ll run into, what cool artists you’ll discover, or what new friends you’ll meet!!
☆PROFIT!
Congratulations! You’ve spent a weekend selling your own merchandise, and you’ve earned back your expenses– and then some. Treat yourself to dinner with some of your fellow artists, you deserve it!
…or maybe it didn’t go so well. If you weren’t able to break even, it’s okay. Take a deep breath. It’s not easy to earn a living with your art alone, and conventions are by no means a reliable source of income. Even the most profitable cons– and artists– have off years. However, now isn’t the time to make excuses. Ask yourself the following questions– and be honest when you answer them. It’s likely your answers will tell you why you weren’t as successful as you hoped you’d be:
1. Do I have a significant pre-existing following online– fans who are ready and willing to buy my products? Did they know I would be here?
2. Did I bring enough merchandise to sell? Did I price it correctly?
3. Was the con busy, or was it clearly low attendance? If it was busy, was my table ignored or bypassed due to a poor or unclear display?
4. Was I friendly, polite, and engaging? Did I make an effort to sell my products and appear happy to be there?
5. Are my products appealing and well-crafted?
When it comes down to it, you should not be attending a convention if all you want to do there is make money. Cons are an opportunity to meet and befriend peers in your field– people from all over the country (and world) who you would otherwise only interact with online. Don’t be afraid to spend time socializing, buy the things you like, and remember– stay in touch! The weekend will be over before you know it, but you’ll be chatting online (and meeting up at future cons) with your friends for years to come.
And finally, the last piece of advice I have to offer:
This is for the kids that are worried about their standardized tests, reblog and add a tip/ trick/ piece of info that will be helpful to know for the test
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of literature we can learn from. Baby books bore you, but you’re not ready for any type of novel, so what’s left?
Here are some tips
For beginner/A1/A2 learners
Watch a YouTube video in your target language, then read the comments
you’ll already have vocabulary from watching the video, most of the comments will probably use that vocab
it’s a short enough text that you won’t get fatigued
the only downside is that sometimes people utilize abbreviations and slang terms, but even these are good to know
Read news headlines and if you find one you understand almost fully, try to read the full article
sometimes the vocabulary used is not common in everyday usage, but it’s a total win for an A1 learner to fully read and mostly understand any text
while vocab is not used everyday, it will give you the ammunition to talk about that particular topic
Watch Netflix in target language with subtitles in the same language
believe it or not, you will learn to read better, especially because you don’t have to understand written description of visuals (usually uses very niche vocab) or emotion
and now you can slow down or speed up
I watched DARK in German before I felt like I could read a book, and I understood 85% of it. This is because I looked up some vocabulary in the first episodes and they continued to use it throughout the show so it really cemented in my head to the point where I don’t even think about it. Now, I had to rewatch some conversations the characters had, but that’s much better for understanding than switching it to English or looking up full phrases and sentences.
For intermediate/B1/B2 learners
read fanfiction
it’s ALWAYS good to read about something you’re interested in so if you like any major movies, books, television, this is the perfect option for you
most people use relatively basic language and you can choose the length
find a comic book or graphic novel
like watching tv, that visual aid really helps with understanding of the plot without all those tricky descriptions
read a book in your target language that you’ve read and loved in your native language
this is by far my favorite way
you don’t have to worry about trying to understanding the bigger picture because you already know what’s happening/what will happen, you really have to discover the meaning of each sentence and then you begin to picture the scene using only your target language
Check out my other post for methods of how to get the most out of reading !
Imagine your favorite character is the kind of person who you could go to vent out your feelings and frustrations, they will let you cry on their shoulder, and will hug you and tell you that everything will be ok
Imagine you having a terrible day, where nothing seems to go your way, and your favorite character notices and does whatever they can to cheer you up. Imagine them always being there for you on bad days.
How your phone documents your abortion experience and what to do about it! By: the Digital Defense Fund
Risk: receipt for payment for your abortion and/or travel in your inbox Alternative: Make an email account just for this purpose, then delete it after
Risk: period tracking app shares your data Alternative: Use a privacy-driven period tracker like Euki App
Risk: search history saved in your phone’s browser, and with your ISP (internet service provider) Alternatives: - Use a privacy-driven search engine, ex: DuckDuckGo - Install a paid VPN to hide websites you visit from your ISP - Browse with Tor or Firefox - Use a private browsing window, or delete your browser history
Risk: payment history for your abortion in a banking or payments app Alternative: use cash or pre-paid gift cards where possible
Risk: ad tracking & location tracking from apps, browser history, & social media activity Alternative: in your phone settings turn off location tracking & mobile ad ID
Risk: sensitive text messages about your abortion experience are kept forever Alternative: use an encrypted chat app, ex: Signal or Wire, with disappearing messages turned on (important!)
yo here’s a useful tip from your fellow art ho cynellis… use google sketchup to create a model of the room/building/town you’re trying to draw… then take a screenshot & use it as a reference! It’s simple & fun!
Sketchup is incredibly helpful. I can’t recommend it enough.
There’s a 3D model warehouse where you can download all kinds of stuff so you don’t have to build everything from scratch.
reblog to save a life
This is an incomplete tutorial, and it drives me crazy every time I see it come around.
We live in a pretty great digital age and we have access to a ton of amazing tools that artists in past generations couldn’t even dream of, but a lot of people look at a cool trick and only learn half of the process of using it.
Here’s the missing part of this tutorial:
How do you populate your backgrounds?
Well, here’s the answer:
If the focus is the environment, you must show a person in relation to that environment.
The examples above are great because they show how to use the software itself, but each one just kind of “plops” the character in front of their finished product with no regard of the person’s relation to their environment.
How do you fix this?
Well, here’s the simplest solution:
This is a popular trick used by professional storyboard and comic artists alike when they’re quickly planning compositions. It’s simple and it requires you to do some planning before you sit down to crank out that polished, final version of your work, but it will be the difference between a background and an environment.
Even if your draftsmanship isn’t that great (like mine), people can be more immersed in the story you tell if you just make it feel like there is a world that exists completely separate from the one in which they currently reside – not just making a backdrop the characters stand in front of.
Your creations live in a unique world, and it is as much a character as any other member of the cast. Make it as believable as they are.
Great comments and tutorials!
I’m a 3d artist and have been exploring the possibilities of using 3d as reference for 2d poses. I want to add a couple of tips and things!
Sketchup is very useful for environment references, and I assume it’s reasonably easy to learn. If you’re interested in going above and beyond, I highly recommend learning a proper 3d modeling program to help with art, especially because you can very easily populate a scene or location with characters!
Using 3ds Max I can pretty quickly construct an environment for reference. But going beyond that, I can also pose a pretty simple ‘CAT’ armature (known in 3d as a rig) straight into the scene, which can be totallycustomized, from various limbs, tails, wings, whatever, to proportions, and also can be modeled onto and expanded upon (for an example, you could 3d sculpt a head reference for your character and then attach it to the CAT rig, so you have a reference for complex face angles!)
The armature can also be posed incredibly easily. I know programs exist for stuff like this - Manga Studio, Design Doll - but posing characters in these programs is always an exercise in frustration and veryfiddly imo. A simple 3d rig is impossibly easy to pose.
By creating an environment and dropping my character rig into it, I have an excellent point of reference when it comes to drawing the scene!
Not only that, but I can also view the scene from whatever angle I could ever want or need, including the character and their pose/position relative to the environment.
We can even quickly and easily expand this scene to include more characters!
Proper 3d modeling software is immensely powerful, and if you wanted to, you could model a complex environment that occurs regularly in your comic or illustration work (say, a castle interior, or an outdoor forest environment) and populate the scene with as many perspective-grounded characters as you need!
reblogging to save a life
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Look at this amazing addition! This is fantastic!
Not just poses, you can also do this with lighting. Playing with lights in Blender is pretty fun.
Another cool thing: http://www.makehumancommunity.org lets you generate a human model. Like a character creator in a game, but more flexible, and the result is ready to import into a 3d editor like Blender.
This was a lot shorter last time it appeared here. Reblogging for the updated tips and to save a life!
Wish you were enrolled in an intro linguistics class this semester? Starting a linguistics major and looking for extra help? Trying to figure out whether you should study linguistics and what comes after? Whether you’re just trying to grasp the basics of linguistics or you’re trying to construct a full online linguistics course, here’s a comprehensive list of free linguistics websites, podcasts, videos, blogs, and other resources from around the internet:
I feel like so many people on Tumblr would benefit SO MUCH from taking an introductory university-level social science course that tackles questions like “how do you define and measure a social phenomenon” and “what are ways your sampling method can bias your data”
Like honestly so much shit that gets thrown around this site about who’s more oppressed and who belongs in a socially constructed group only stands because a lot of people aren’t educated enough to know how to work these problems through for themselves. They just think they have to comply with whoever yells loudest and uses the most impressive words.
You can do research for yourself. You can go find the raw data and see if it helps your perspective. You don’t have to take any random Tumblr anon’s word for it; there are people who have staked their entire professional reputations on reporting the truth as accurately as possible.
- The picture test: If you can’t tell if something is a hallucination or not, take a photo! If it shows up in the picture then you have a keepsake of that crazy creepy Halloween decoration. If not it’s a hallucination (or a vampire. No, i’m kidding it’s a hallucination.)
- Is some kid in mask causing paranoia? Ask them where they got their costume. Did they make it? How did they get the idea? Focusing on the person inside of the costume will help you remember that it’s just a person!
- Avoid haunted houses, haunted hayrides, ect. Actors will not stop scaring unless it’s an emergency, and I’ve yet to find a place that teaches actors how to deal with anything other than physical injuries. (I once met a haunted house actor who said causing a panic attack meant he was “doing his job right.”)
- There’s no shame in asking friends and relatives to avoid sending jump scare videos or anything else that could cause paranoia.
- (from freeasthepaperburns) Boggart it! If something is making you upset, make it silly. dance with the shadows, sing to the creepies, I bet if make a fish face at the scary face it’ll be a little less scary. I know this is harder than it sounds, but I’ve gotten better at it over the time, and find it helps!
Reading “The Iliad” in prose translation by E. V. Rieu.
What is your favourite translation and why?
(could be any language, of course)
ooooh boy here goes. Of course, I have a very hard time choosing between the 6 I have at home but i have Opinions.
Lattimore: 2/10. I KNOW that he’s all ~academic~ or whatever, but this one both gives me a headache and puts me to bed invariably. reading this gives me a hangover and an extreme distaste for the Iliad.
Fagles!?: is fine. 5/10. solid. I definitely don’t read this one for fun, but it’s the best one to use in a class I think because it doesn’t make people go feral in the same way that other peoples translations do. Definitely doesn’t make me go absolutely buck-freaking-wild, hence the 5/10.
E.V. Rieu: I have no opinions whatsoever. I think its in prose so thats interesting.
PeTer GrEeN: ALright, I’d actually recommend this to people looking for a translation to read for the first time. Not as crazy as Lombardo’s which holds a special place in my heart… He does do freaking crazy spellings with all the glory of a -kh and an -los. but he explains his opinions rather nicely so we’ll give him a pass on them. 8/10
Now, for my boy Lombardo. He was the first I read, and certainly one of the more unorthodox translations (other than that strange adaptation that’s a list of the war dead). But, his translations of the similes are really beautiful and its certainly a lively translation. it doesn’t really have the same grandeur that the epic does in the other translations but it really depends on what you’re looking for. ANd he does silly stuff like fragmenting the dawn epithets and stuff which is Not Cool. 7/10.
And Finally, Alexander Pope: What an icon, translated this at the wee young age of 27 and completed it… some time later. It’s in rhyming iambic pentameter and stunning. you get the same sense of the oral trandition of storytelling that the original greek occupied (fight me. i know the meter was different and there wasn’t a rhyme scheme but you can’t tell me pope’s translation doesn’t pop.) 12/10
this is my quick, unedited response to recent anons asking about help with starting a zine / motivation!
NOTE! I wrote this just a few hours ago, a little sleep deprived on a long flight back home. it’s not complete and it’s just thoughts off the top of my head. sorry to anyone if it’s visually straining,
@sundayschoolkid totally inspired the zine prompt about making lists (Grace is one of my favorite zine makers + based in l.a. also)
