Thank you to all those who applied for FanimeCon 2014's Artist Alley

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Thank you to all those who applied for FanimeCon 2014's Artist Alley.

Artists were reviewed by the 5 member jury of multi-year veteran staff members, including professional artists and crafting enthusiasts, in order to minimize the potential effect of any personal bias. Applications were reviewed based purely on their submitted samples. We primarily looked at the works to ensure rule compliance and evaluate at a minimum bar of overall skill and quality of the works submitted. With almost 500 applications and roughly half that many tables available, that minimum bar was set very high due to the overall amazing quality of all the applications received. We did not do any 'load balancing' based on art type or medium. The identity of the artist was not a factor in the review process, nor was their activity on any social media sites.

The only thing that we were really looking for is what would be offered at a table in Artist Alley if approved. That is the purpose of samples - to show the work, style, and quality of what would be at their table in the Alley. We weren't looking for any particular thing as we wanted an overall representation of the works that would be brought to the convention. The shift in the process this year should allow us to give the best experience possible to all those in the room - fans and artists alike.

FanimeCon is staffed by volunteers, and so we all do this because we love it. This was a very difficult and labor intensive task for us. A number of great applications weren't approved simply because there are not enough tables for everyone that wants one. Rejection is never easy to take, or give out, and we understand that. We hope that it is understood that it's less about what a certain application may have been lacking and much more about those that were approved having amazing sample submissions. At this time we don't feel it is appropriate to be discussing any specifics regarding why a particular account was or was not selected. As such we will not be releasing scores publicly or privately for this year's review process.

Each type of art and artist is different. We not only recognize that, but we celebrate it!  Artist Alley is always evolving. That's part of what makes it such a vibrant and wonderful part of FanimeCon to me. Each year there are new and different things to see in the Alley be they from convention veterans or those running a table for their first year.

For those curious about sharing tables, we can merge an existing 'not-selected' account into an approved account, but that means they need to have already submitted an application while the window was open and needs to be requested by the primary artist on the approved account. The artist on the approved account would send us an email letting us know of their request, along with the account number for the artist they would like to have merged into their account for Artist Alley staff to review. If approved, AA staff will then contact the artist not selected and verify they wish to be merged before doing so. If the merge request is not approved, AA staff will reply to the approved artist and let them know that.

We hope that you'll all come and join us for FanimeCon 2014 and that you'll apply again in the future. We're always looking for ways to improve the Alley and the experience for artists, fans, and staff alike and we welcome suggestions and constructive comments sent to [email protected]. Please understand that we're very busy with getting everything ready for this year's convention, so any responses might take a while.


-Jonathan Crawford,
FanimeCon 2014
Artist Alley Head