Conventions are not a place of subtlety. Walking the show floor you quickly become overloaded with visual information: walls of colorful prints, vendor booths that reach to the moon, cosplayers, and crowd noise bombard your senses. How can an artist stand out? By doing what we always do -- playing by our own rules.
It’s the morning after C2E2 2018 and everyone in my house is a complete zombie.
Throughout last year, I worked to hire a dedicated salesperson to sell my work at conventions without me. Having Elaine take over convention sales for me has been amazing. The work she puts in has allowed me to focus on my health, my work and my family. Having not personally attended any conventions in nearly 6 months, my big takeaway from coming back is how fucking hard these things are.
Like any artist I like to have my supplies close at hand. I have a pretty good sized bedroom dedicated to my studio space, but there are still size constraints. After cleaning and remodeling I didn't want to go back to a cluttered and cramped space where I found it oppressive to work...
As one of the newest tools in the Independent Artist’s drawer, the prospect of launching a Patreon campaign can be both highly appealing and deeply fraught. Let’s get a clear look at what you need to successfully begin as a creator on the platform.
NEWSLETTER
EPISODE ARCHIVE
My very first convention was C2E2 2014 and I had exactly eight — that’s right, eight — illustrations displayed on a half table. My work at this time was mainly fan art. No banner to speak of. I had two portfolios for people to page through, and when they selected the art they wanted, I signed and bagged it on the spot. It wasn’t exactly an expert set-up to start, but the art community welcomed me. They loved my style and I sold out of almost everything I had. I couldn’t have been happier! I mean, it was my first rodeo and it was a success.