Artist Alley 101 From Application to convention

Forward from Cari Corene's artist alley 101 deviant art journal:

"Most cons require you to be 16. Check the con's rules. [..] Start by observing artists at AA tables. Consider how they display their work. Ask them before you photograph their display. You need to also consider the finances involved. Pick a local show for your first learning experience. Count on at least 100$ for the table, 100$ for printing and display material, and another 100$ for random unforeseen expenditures. You will hopefully make some of this back, but this needs to be 300$ you can live without incase everything imaginable goes horribly wrong (and it may not even be your fault. The shit. It happens.)

Are you good enough? Can you emotionally handle it? Artists are the biggest pile of self doubters the professional world has ever seen! It is because our work is more intimately associated with our hearts than, say, [real estate] might be. These questions are difficult to answer and may not be answered until you're in the middle of the experience. The best way to prepare yourself is to establish beforehand how you will react if everything ever is a complete failure. Having a sucky first AA is never a reason to quit drawing or to quit striving for a dream. Before entering into the challenge, confirm with yourself that your first AA is unlikely to be the beginning or end of anything. It is a middle rung in the latter." @storyofthedoor

Get Social (Media)

Social media has an important role when applying to cons especially starting out. Most artist alley applications ask for a website or social media link for examples of your art to be considered for tabling. It also comes in handy for advertising what cons you'll be attending, sharing projects, and connecting with folks who love your work!

Ready, Set, Apply--ahead of time!

Starting out, you'll want to pick a show in-state. If you can, attending at least once to get a vibe for the show is helpful. If you see an artist who is doing work similar to what you'd like to do, ask them how the show is going and if they would recommend it for other artists. In North Carolina, and many states, the unnofficial con season is Memorial Day through Labor Day. A con that happens in May might have applications open in January. Sites like AnimeCons.com, GetConnned.com, Artist Alley Confidential, and groups like Artist Alley Network Internaional can be helpful to find cons and see reviews for cons. You can always email con staff to ask when to expect the artist alley applications to open then check back during that month.

Make Products

Once you're accepted, or anticipating acceptance, it's time to plan what you'll sell. If you have already been creating for a while, it's time to adapt that for selling. Generally there are a few staple categories in alley: print/commission artists, merch/stationary/apparel designers, jewelry/plush crafters, and book/comic promotion tables. My experience is as a print/commission artist. Prints, stickers, and commissions can be a great place to start, but there are resources listed below for other ideas, really the only limit is your imagination.

If drawing for someone else isn't fun for you or you don't like drawing tons, focus on your strengths! If you have strong design skills in typography and don't want to focus on the stress of drawing at a con, merchandising might be your best friend.

I get asked occasionally about craft artisans fit in artist alley and the answer is yes! Anything from needlepoint, lasercut designs, sewn plushies, crochet bags, and handmade jewelry, and more arevalid! You'll find folks interested in what you have to share, some crafts can be expensive to produce so you might need to get creative with how to share it. For example, making plushies by hand is a time-consuming process resulting in a more expensive product, a way to make your work accessible might be to sell prints, greeting cards, and books like @fluffmonger does on instagram.

Table Displays

Think of your table as your shop window. It can be overwhelming seeing artists with 5-10 years experience with towering displays. Start simple and work your way up. Practice your booth setup at home before the con to see how everything looks ahead of time and how long it takes you to setup. Many cons have a 1-3 hour window for setup, and generally it takes twice as long to setup at con than it might at home. Really whatever idea you have for display is worth trying, artist alley is largely built from a community of DIY and trial and error! Some fairly universally agreed on staples for setup however can include but are not limited to:

• Table cloth for presentation
• wire or plastic storage cubes
• Photo backdrop for a banner or print display
• Table top display sign stands
• Foam core boards!

Make a Prep List!

This is a sample list I have for my own con packing. There are also other artists who have sample lists like these online you can work with and modify as needed. but in addition you'll want to have a packing list for your table as well. Sharpies, scissors, masking tape, and credit card can be in short supply and someone is bound to forget theirs. So bring as much as you can remember, when in doubt you can always ask around the alley! Most artists are friendly and want to help out. :)

Money Management

It's up to you to determine how you want to accept payments. Both Square and PayPal offer card readers for free as of writing this, so you can request a couple sent to you. Both serviced have transaction fees, so build fees into the cost of your products for card sales. If you use Square, you can do this by setting up an inventory and calculating taxes and fees with each transaction on the app. Each artist has their own way of handling cash, but an increasingly popular option is to use a fanny pack so it's close to you. Focus on having 5's and 1's because many folks carry around 20 bills.

Pricing is important! I see a lot of new artists pricing their products too low! This can not only signal that your product isn't valuable, but undercuts the market, and you won't get compensated properly for your time! I'm going to turn it back over the Cari Corene for this:

• "The three most important aspects of pricing are firstly having prices that are easy to make change for, secondly having a wide variety of items at different prices, and thirdly having prices that can build on each other.
• Round numbers are a good thing. 1s, 5s, 10s, and 20s prices are easy to make change for. If you price an item at 6 dollars, you will run out of ones much to fast and run out of sanity counting out the ones because most everyone will pay with 10s or 20s for a 6$ item, so every transaction will involve you giving 4 ones. [...]
• Your prices need to build on each other so that you can offer good deals for multiple item purchases. [...] A buyer could even pair up with their friend and split the cost. 4 out of 5 people will take the upsell because they had a hard time deciding which item they wanted, anyway.
• This is optional, but having one or two items around at a higher price point can be a good thing. [...] The big, beautiful display item usually serves to sell its smaller counterparts, but those one or two giant purchases can make a huge difference for your profit margin. Don't be afraid to have at least one Big N' Shiny at your table."

Analytics and data!

The artist alley community is growing stronger all the time as each individual brings their unique skills. A great example is this the artist Kiriska. For the past several years, Kiriska has gathered post-con surveys from a growing sample pool of artists and delivered the information in cheap and free reports! If you have questions about sales, attendance, a fair price for an art table, and average sales for con size-- these reports can offer incredible insight and help you understand what's typical, where you're excelling, and room for improvement. Public sites you can review cons on like Artist Alley Confidential, GetConned are also helpful! They are supported by direct feedback from participating artists.