Artist Alley - Part I

Some definitions in case you are new to this:

Convention - A convention (or con,) in the sense of a meeting, is a gathering of individuals who meet at a pre-arranged place and time in order to discuss or engage in some common interest. (wikipedia) The Cons I refer to mostly feature anime, manga, comic, gaming, and other types of communicative art as a focus for attendees who indulge in them either as fans or as creators.

Artist Alley - A section from a con dedicated to independent artists who may purchase a space (usually a table) to display and sell their creations

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The Artist Alley is a great way for artists and craftspeople to promote themselves and make some money on the side. I have had a space in the Alley for three years now, and have experienced it in Anime North (Toronto), FanExpo (Toronto) and Otakon (Baltimore.) Not the most impressive list, but I feel it had given me enough material to reflect upon.

I just came back from FanExpo this weekend. I had a decent time, punctured by some dreadful lulls and general boredom, but buoyed by some really cool moments as well. I have to say though, out of all the alleys I have been to, this was my worst performance yet. I was still able to sell, but it wasn't as great as I'd wanted it to be. I was a little bummed out, I'm not gonna lie, but it was nothing compared to the discouragement that I saw in some of the other artists who were not doing so well either. Throughout the past couple of years, I have seen and heard the same type of discouragement echoed, accompanied by anger and self-doubt. It's a very reasonable way to react to the situation but is it really justified?

Here is the way I see it:

You can't let the numbers rule you.

Sometimes we all get so caught up in the money-making aspect of it that we lose sight of why we're in the Alley in the first place. We should not be there to make money. Period. It is simply idiotic to look to the alley as a source of income unless you're a professional, in which case all of this is non-applicable. Sure, it'd be nice to have extra money, but it is important to go into this without expecting anything in return. If you're just starting out like me, the most important thing to you should be promotion and networking, and not how much you sell. Instead of an investment to be earned back, consider the money you put into it as paying the convention to show your lovely artwork (and your beautiful face) to the masses. Big companies spend millions of dollars each year on ads and brochures, most of which get defaced and thrown out, yet why do they keep doing it? because any recognition is better than no recognition. As long as your art is displayed and thousands of people are looking at it, flipping through your portfolio, taking your business card, the money is already well-spent.

Zero profit does not mean your artwork sucks.

I hear this sentiment a lot. When an artist doesn't do well, they think: my art sucks, that's why no one is buying it. Ok, so I admit that the skill level of some of those artists are not as high as other individuals, and yes, sometimes that may be the reason why no one is buying it, but my point is not directed towards those individuals, it is to those artists who ARE good - the ones who are producing great pieces of work that they think haven't been doing well. I say "think" because this is what I hear a lot: "people keep saying - oh that's nice, but no one is buying it! this is pissing me off!" And this type of comment pisses ME off. Treat the compliments you get like gems. These people have no reason to even compliment you, and if they don't think a piece is attractive, they wouldn't have said anything.

Too often artists view it as # of prints sold = how good the print is, and I think that's way too negative. There are tons of factors that prevent people from buying your work, or any artwork, that's something you'll have to get used to. To most people, art is an indulgence, not a necessity, so there will be times when they simply don't want to spend money on it. Other factors may have something to do with the popularity of fanart, and your mediocre drawing of Naruto may sell out, while your excellent original piece gets lots of compliments but zero sales. Judge your artwork by the comments and critiques you get, instead of how well it sells. And NEVER get discouraged after all that. You've been told all day that your work is good, how much more validation do you need? Sure you can think of ways to increase your sales through your presentation, or creating art based on popular characters, but don't get too upset just because you're not making good money.

Remember your purpose there; you want to improve, you want to meet people who like your work, you want to make a good impression, you want to learn from your mistakes, you want to have fun chatting with other artists. You don't want to alienate the customers with your scowling face, and you definitely don't want to doubt yourself and your skill. Because if you start doubting yourself and being bitter and depressed about the whole thing, that's just going to prevent you from doing better in the future.

So the bottom line is: recognize the fact that you're still unknown and learning. Treat every compliment like gold - they are a sign that people notice your talent. Use the chance to interact with those people and give them a card. Sales are a one-time thing but leaving a good impression whether through your work or your speech can lead to them contacting you in the future for opportunities.

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This entry is getting long, so I'll stop here for now. Like I said, I'm no pro and being discouraged and depressed because of bad sales have happened to me a couple of times in the past. But after I changed the way I look at it, I was able to move on and not let that discouragement bring me down. Of course, you shouldn't completely disregard the business side of all this, so next time I will post my thoughts on ways of pricing, value of artwork, presentation, coping with boredom, etc.