Original post: It's an anime con, but certainly has a decent webcomic presence! I'll be heading out next weekend for the artist alley. I don't have a comic to sell at it, but I'll be selling prints, commissions, stickers and other items.
Ohayocon OverviewBack from Ohayocon, and I certainly had a blast!
We got there Thursday night intending to check in and set up for the Artist Alley, but it seems weather issues prevented the co-ordinators from arriving in time. Not sure when they'd be coming, we hung out with some of the other AA artists(who are awesome, by the way) until we learned nothing would be happening that night. So we moseyed up to our rooms and pretty much passed out.
Anyway, I was trying a vertical display this time and think it turned out rather nice, and I'm pretty sure it garnered me more attention than the previous year. I used the wire stackable shelves for my display and hung prints, badges, and corkboards full of pins and stickers.
My friend
vicemage had a table across from me, and I met a few new cool people who I'll try to keep up with! The first day was kind of laid back. I got a few commissions and finished all but one that night. I packed up just a tad early because I had to hurry to Lisa Ortiz' autograph session. I got a fanart of Slayers made into a box and had her sign it. She seemed to like it. She said she'd stop by my table, although she never did. Her panels seemed all over the place, so I guess she just forgot.
Saturday was certainly brisker. I did a good amount of commissions but luckily got them all done before we closed up. Since it was busy, my girlfriend-slash-assisstant, San, went to Mike Sinterniklaas' panel for me to get out Xelloss stuff signed(while we can't see him in action for Slayers Evolution-R or Revolution yet, his voice is a very good match, in my opinion). Apparently he was very happy to have his first signings for Xelloss, so I gave him a Xelloss print. And he DID stop by my table on Sunday, which made my day! He was highly energetic and friendly.
Saturday night we went to a few interesting-sounding panels. I was rather disappointed with 'Name that Anime Tune' because it featured mostly newer animes that don't interest me. We did end up going to the Art Jam, which was, simply, awesomesauce. I saw someone with a t-shirt of Winter, a character from
White Noise, a comic I read, and it turned out she was the creator. She gave me a keychain for recognizing it. We drew random things...mostly dragons, Jareths, and things like that for me. After we cut up the paper and traded sketches and DA's. Unfortunately they ended the jam early....right after we got caffeine, too!
Sunday was slow. I made a few sales, but mostly hung out and drew fun sketches to shake off commission burnout. I made a few item trades and exchanged business cards with several AA people, so came out with some cool things.
Things I sold: I sold mostly my mythological creatures...dragons, kitsune, and demons, as well as the cute and the funny. I also sold a very good number of commissions.
What I'd like to sell next year: I hope to have more badges, at least a floppy of my Overlord comic by then. I'm also planning on selling steampunk prints next year.
Suggested merchandise: Comics have a large presence at the Artist Alley. I know Vicemage almost ran out of hers. If you sell comic prints or merch, make sure at least a few are more accessible to people unfamiliar with your comic. Steampunk is also VERY popular at this con, so if you can draw or make crafts having to do with it, you're set. Commissions are also a very big thing. You don't have to draw anime, a furry artist and fantasy artists seem to have done very well.
All in all, I didn't break even. But cons are about networking and advertising too, and I think that has value in and of itself. Oh, and fun. Which I certainly had.
Certainly planning on going next year.
