Artist Alley Tips #1 - Prints
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- čas přidán 18. 10. 2016
- The first of a few vlog series that I want to focus about conventions and artist alley!
DCS Printing! : www.dcsprint.co.uk/
A recommended list of services/cons and merchandising : / recommendations
☆ Kiwiji ☆
Twitter : / kiwijiarts
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Thanks for all the info, I'll be trying to set up my first booth in a few months and all this helps.
I’m really glad to hear that~~ Good luck!
I am hoping you continue this series. Looking forward to #2
Thank you! Do you have any questions or a certain theme you want me to tackle in #2? :3
Preparing for my first con, which I am gonna try for 10 months down the road, but my biggest worry comes down to trying to keep it simple for my first con and avoid unnecessary complication. I am currently researching like a madman on things like table-displays, registration tips, gearing yourself to markets outside your expertise (Primarily I am a horror illustrator, but our local horror con is next month and I feel I missed the boat on that one, so I am preparing for next year as well). I am hoping to get 7-10 pieces to sell, but I am also trying to find different ways to add variety to my booth as a new comer without adding too many new skill sets. Was thinking a few book marks or something akin to that. I am under the impression that having a few cheaper items ($1-2) along side prints can help out those who are down to pocket change during the con but want a keep sake.
Now I am under the impression that most regular Alley Artists are slowly building up an inventory, adding 1-2 new prints and cycling out older work once their inventory starts to grow in variety, so I am not sure where that line is tackling too much for a first timer, and I'd rather have a small booth with a few higher quality pieces rather than trying to cover a whole board of stuff I whipped up in a day.
I know these arn't questions, but this is where my head space is at. I got time, but I want to make sure it's my best foot forward.
Ooooh :3 How to prepare for a first convention would be a pretty good topic X3 I have several friends getting ready for their first Con so it's just the appropriate time :)
I'm sure I can get it out before 10 months XD But just in case I don't! A few short (as short as I can make it) tips for you.
1) Variety in terms of merchandising (so buttons, keychains) is not your priority :3 Prints will always be your best seller, which is one of the few things I said in the video and for your first time you'd want to focus on prints more :3
2) I'm not sure what size your convention is but try to make your minimum the average of prints that other people are selling (maybe 1 or 2 less than that) remember that you are in a space with other artists and people aren't going to know if you're new or not :3 10 is always a good number to aim for! Fills out the table space without all that little stuff
3) I'm not into horror myself =w= I'm terribly sorry. However I know a few other artists in that genre myself and I feel its less important to work in all markets as it is working in the market you feel the most comfortable with. Case in point a regular artist at my convention has a comic about Zombie Bears, quite gorey but strangely adorable and he's a huge hit! Conventions are an opportunity to show what you're good at and there will always be some people interested in what you have to offer!
4) If you are a horror artist tho, please check the guidelines of merchandising at your convention as some cons have a huge children attendance on Sunday and parents tend to complain if their children point at your prints and cry so some Conventions have guidelines on what to sell! (some children would enjoy it I'm sure)
I think thats about it! This is a bit longer than I expected I'll try and speak more about table displays and all in my future video but I hope all this helps calm some of your worries. If you have any other thoughts or questions I'm happy to answer them!
I appreciate you taking the time to respond. Thank you! :3
Right now I am thinking of table setup and the cost of doing so. Cloth, banners racking, bagging, envelopes change box duct tape cloth covers binders etc etc etc. The issue is I can easily figure the cost to start up being somewhere in the $400-600 range given my current options. Buying a printer to make my own prints is a long term investment into something I am not sure if there will be a second time around so again, cost cost cost.
This is one of those things were I am trying to do the best presentation I can for a reasonable starting point, something that can go from convention to convention and grow as it goes on. I think you get the idea of where I am coming from.
My sales goals arnt over the top, but I would like to be able to recoup the cost of the table at first, but I am not counting on it. I am just worried my ambition may be more than my current reach right now, and I am somewhat in need of a reality check as to what I should focus on when starting up so that it's at least a decent display for the merch I would be selling.
It often feels like I am jumping into the deep end of the pool, and I am trying to figure out just how to keep my head above water for the time being.
I've always shared my table with friends so my final cost never came up to nearly that much :3 But the next time I go I'll be paying the full price myself so... fingers crossed!
You'd be surprised but even for regular artist alley attendees, things like banners, bagging, envelopes, (you mentioned cloth twice XD) isn't really as important. I didn't even have a change box my first convention. I brought a Tupperware from home and I just kept the box in between my feet. I did that for two conventions. No one's going to dive under the table and yank the money away XD And I didn't have any bags for my prints, I still don't even have them now! I simply roll them up and slap a rubber band on them :3 They seem happy enough because when you roll it its easier to carry!
Its worth spending some time going to see the prices at local print stores, I was lucky enough to find a place that did really high class prints for really cheap! Saved me nearly $50 dollars! Prints can get expensive but there's bound to be some good places out there!
Don't forget commissions are always helpful to puff up your final earnings! Be creative :3 Offer something no one else does. You could draw people as Zombies perhaps thats always entertaining.
Your display IS important. You can never go wrong with good wire cubes. Not only do they pay off by being able to be cube shelves for the rest of the year, they make a very good display :3 You definitely do not need to go over the top with banners or anything. In the end your art will be what draws the people in, you just need something to keep it up!
Its ok to be ambitious. Thats never a bad thing. And you can achieve more than you think if you just stay calm!
Such simple and great advices. Thank you girl! :)
Thats so sweet aah :DD Thank you!~
Howdy!! Just wanted to say thank you for taking your time to make this series, because I literally have no idea what I'm doing, and these videos really help. ;0;
I'm really happy to hear that
'Ey I'm an old lady (not really) thinking about going back and trying art alleys. I personally love keychains and was gonna yolo get acrylic ones, but I never would've thought of hand making them from craft stores to save money. Thanks for the tip!
This is awesome! I'm moving towards straight art table instead of arts and crafts
+Madelyn Janelle I'm glad to hear that!! Good luck!
jshfjlk,!!!!!! you are adorable. My first convention is coming up and I'm so excited/nervous! Thank you for posting this series
jshfjlkhskd!!!!!!!!!! YOU are adorable my dear :3 I'm glad you enjoyed the videos :DD I wish you good luck for your first con!
Thank you
I'v been binge watching your videos like idk why but it's so addictive?? 😂 See you at MCM London in a week! I'm maystorm btw (hides)
Hey Maystorm!! Where’s your table? I’ll definitely come say hi~
Sorry I forgot to reply, my table is AQ13! I forgot which side it was on
aah this is so comprehensive! I'm going to my first con in a couple months and am a bit nervous but all this is nice to hear ;v; thanks for the info!!
I'm very glad it was helpful :DD If you have any other questions feel free to ask me I'll include them in my next vlog :3 Which convention are you going to?
Kiwiji hmm can't think of any at the moment but I'll keep it in mind!! and its SacAnime :D
Ooooh my goodness
Kiwiji aah that's cool you have friends there!! oh man now I'm more excited hahah qvq everyone seems really nice just from the fb group💕cant waitt
Ah its really just some artists I know on Tumblr who go :3 They say its a lot of fun!! Have a great time :3
this is very insightful thank you for cutting out all of the bs and getting straight to the point lol! xD SERIOUSLY O.O!
Thank you! It's quite an old video so there might be some Bs in there idk xD but thank you!
@@Kiwiji lol nontheless im here at work binging your videos because we're preparing for that first artist alley so your videos are bringing up a lot of good points to think about lol pardon my like spam of the videos xD
No problem~
omg unrelated to the video but you’re so cuuute!!
;//w//; thank you so much!!
Thanks for this video ! I do artist alley since... 10 years maybe ? But I found very useful tips in your video ^^ I always struggle with : how much do I need to print ? Will it ever sell ? So thanks and keep doing what you do 😙
Lemme just say your art is gorgeous ;w; absolutely gorgeous and I'm honoured that I can be helpful to you especially since you've done artist alley for a whooping 10 years and (by definition) should know more than me and so thank you
Kiwiji You always have something to learn, always ^^ And you're far more mature than me when I begun ! I appreciate your tip about making less prints, I always do a LOT of prints (like my last Sailor moon drawings with all the girls) and I sell NOTHING (I was SO disappointed last month when nobody buy the Sailor prints... For me, I was sure they will be a big hit, but no) So yeah, definitely, you put some perspective on how I approach artists alley. And you know what ? I'm going to tomorrow's con with less fear and stress about selling or not ^^ I subscribe, because you deserve it and YOU made my day 😙
Ooooh!!! ;w; You're so sweet bless you
How does the DCS print website work? Sorry for asking but I don’t see anywhere on the website show that u can order size print of ur own work like in charm web sites.
Also i love your channel, just subscribed!💙
Hello my dear! I'm sorry but DCS printing is not an online company ;3; it's just a local printing shop I recommend for people in London to use! But thank you for subscribing ;3;
Hello, is 10 to 15 the number of prints per design? Do you limit the different print designs you offer?
Hello hello :) 10-15 is the number of copies I print per design! I have this particular bothersome habit of bringing EVERY print design I have to a convention only to run out of space on the table and displays, after tabling for so long you tend to have a lot of print designs which is not a bad thing however when you travel overseas it can be heavy and I recommend testing table displays before going to a con. Testing table displays also helps you decide how many prints you'll offer on your table.
@@Kiwiji Thank you for your reply. Do you have any tips regarding small cons? The con I will be going is a small, 1 day con, it is also their first con so I am not very confident in the possible crowd size because its not yet established . This is also my first con. I also have another question, how many designs do you have if you have a habit of bringing all of them? Is there such a thing as too many designs? I am thinking of limiting the number of designs and prints because I am worried I might not sell it all. Thank you again.
link for producers doesnt work :((
Thank you for letting me know! The facebook group that used to host that list has recently underwent huge changes and the list itself is different, I tried finding one that was similar in the group because it is a fantastic group with good resources so I definitely recommend digging around the group itself!
A recommended list of services/cons and merchandising : facebook.com/groups/artistalleynetworkinternational/recommendations/
I have a question! For a new artist ally merchant, should you print 10-15 prints for one day or all three days of con?
+Victoria Pavan 10-15 is for all three days :3 I started with 5 myself and then worked up to 10!
what do you do when you want to sell merch but you feel like your art sucks? I make stickers for myself and I make buttons and sketchbooks for myself. that's for me... I don't think anyone would but my stuff. = A =
Its quite normal to worry if your stuff isn't going to be good enough, and sometimes it can be a good thing or a bad thing. The good thing is that it makes you work harder to try and improve. The bad thing is that it can sometimes hold you back and not do conventions for months, maybe years, when you're probably already good enough.
I feel that you have two options there, you can either continue to improve :3 Or just take the plunge. Try selling at a small convention, and remember that your first con will never be as good as you imagine it to be! (I personally chose the latter) :3
Also remember when you're in a convention hall, there are hundreds of people around you, one person is BOUND to enjoy what you have :3 And you're also not expected to draw everyone to you, its not possible XD So, keep that in mind :3 I hope you try to sell at a convention!
Kiwiji Thanks. I thought once I graduate art school I could go sell my stuff at cons. But I guess it doesn't hurt to try now. haha.
It definitely does not hurt :) I did my first con in my foundation year before Uni XD It did not go well but like, you can only improve :DD
Subscribing :)
Thank you!!