Artist Alley Question

Started by Alejandro Cuba, February 09, 2013, 10:47:28 PM

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LiL Moon

Quote from: chibimonster on February 17, 2013, 03:42:19 PM
I wasn't asking for pictures of fanime's AA. I was there LOL. I was wondering about AX's Artist alley and how cramped it was. A google image search turned up nOthung that would suggest that it was super cramped. That's why I was asking for pictures.

AX and Fanime are both wonderful cons. I've never felt cramped in AX's AA. The tables are spaced out pretty nicely. It's just the mass amount of people that walk by make it feel a little cramped. It really all depends on where your table is located. High traffic occurs in the first few rows and in the center. There is much more walking room in the back or on the sides of the alley. I did take some photos from my table. You can check out my con report here:http://lilmoon.deviantart.com/journal/Anime-Expo-2012-Con-Report-312884484. I was located in the about the 3rd or 4th row center.

chibimonster

Quote from: LiL Moon on February 18, 2013, 10:23:37 PM
AX and Fanime are both wonderful cons. I've never felt cramped in AX's AA. The tables are spaced out pretty nicely. It's just the mass amount of people that walk by make it feel a little cramped. It really all depends on where your table is located. High traffic occurs in the first few rows and in the center. There is much more walking room in the back or on the sides of the alley. I did take some photos from my table. You can check out my con report here:http://lilmoon.deviantart.com/journal/Anime-Expo-2012-Con-Report-312884484. I was located in the about the 3rd or 4th row center.

Judging from your report, AX looks like a lot of fun. Also your plushies are very cute.

If the most traffic is in the middle, the middle should be the best place to be because more people might notice you, right? Or does everyone just walk past? I've never been to AX before; this year will be my first year. I wonder when they'll start emailing the artists... Actually, I also wonder when Fanime is going to put up registration. Is it just me or is everything taking forever this year... Every con I'm going to seems to be behind schedule.

Also, how many tables does AX's artist alley have? More than Fanime? Less? Is it crazier? At Fanime last year I got completely swamped with commissions - I had to take some home to work on (I live close enough to make getting a hotel pointless). My biggest fear is that someday I'll get so many commissions that I'll hurt myself trying to finish them all (I actually know someone who passed out at AX once). In general, how do you deal with being given lots of commissions?

Oniko

wow this thread is great!  I'e been thinking about AX for awhile now. Their website said AA is sold out already though :( is that just old site info?
06- Ragnarok Huntress / 07- Haruhi Suzumiya
08- Shana / 09 - Luluko
10 - Holo / 11 - Flaaffy
12 - Inga / 13 - Lizbeth

chibimonster

#23
Quote from: Oniko on February 20, 2013, 08:37:22 AM
wow this thread is great!  I'e been thinking about AX for awhile now. Their website said AA is sold out already though :( is that just old site info?

I haven't heard any definite info from the staff, but rumors have been circulating that the AX AA is sold out. As for the AX website, the Artist Alley tab is still around in the registration tab, and I haven't seen any mention of it being sold out. Where does it day that?

I bought my table back in December, so I don't know much.

mod edit: for clarity AX AA and not Fanime

Oniko

https://www2.cmrreg.com/anim_2a/register.aspx
If you scroll down it says "Artist Alley Table registration is now sold out. We are currently taking waitlist sign-ups. As soon as tables become available we will notify you in the order your Artist Alley Table waitlist registration was received."
06- Ragnarok Huntress / 07- Haruhi Suzumiya
08- Shana / 09 - Luluko
10 - Holo / 11 - Flaaffy
12 - Inga / 13 - Lizbeth

chibimonster

I see. That's definitely new site info. Either that or I didn't see it back in December. O.o I don't think AX's AA sells out in December, though. I think last year it sold out in March or April or something. Pretty late.

Now I'm getting paranoid. Although I haven't gotten an email telling me I'm on the waitlist, so I'm assuming I have a table at AX.

All this registration stuff. I'm still sort of new to Artist alleys. Last year was the first time I sold at Fanime; this year will be my first AX entirely. So I get extremely freaked out about registering because it's still pretty new to me. I rushed like crazy to get a half table at Anime Conji even though I didn't need to; they still have half tables available. I suppose the table war at Fanime is the worst in terms of stress, though. How fast do you think tables are going to go this year?

Oniko

Quote from: chibimonster on February 20, 2013, 03:28:56 PM
I see. That's definitely new site info. Either that or I didn't see it back in December. O.o I don't think AX's AA sells out in December, though. I think last year it sold out in March or April or something. Pretty late.

Now I'm getting paranoid. Although I haven't gotten an email telling me I'm on the waitlist, so I'm assuming I have a table at AX.

All this registration stuff. I'm still sort of new to Artist alleys. Last year was the first time I sold at Fanime; this year will be my first AX entirely. So I get extremely freaked out about registering because it's still pretty new to me. I rushed like crazy to get a half table at Anime Conji even though I didn't need to; they still have half tables available. I suppose the table war at Fanime is the worst in terms of stress, though. How fast do you think tables are going to go this year?
If I remember last year was 15-30 min....
Considering how fast hotels sold out this year....
.............*sobs like a baby*
I would say it'll go at least as fast as last year. Just gotta watch the site like a hawk.  Like their FB page. Most stressful year yet.
06- Ragnarok Huntress / 07- Haruhi Suzumiya
08- Shana / 09 - Luluko
10 - Holo / 11 - Flaaffy
12 - Inga / 13 - Lizbeth

chibimonster

Quote from: Oniko on February 20, 2013, 03:44:52 PM
If I remember last year was 15-30 min....
Considering how fast hotels sold out this year....
.............*sobs like a baby*
I would say it'll go at least as fast as last year. Just gotta watch the site like a hawk.  Like their FB page. Most stressful year yet.

Last year tables at Fanime sold out in just under 15 minutes. Aaaaaahhh the anxiousness. This year to be on the safe side I'm aiming to finish everything within 2 minutes. Hopefully the interface will be nice and easy to use like last year.

I heard that in years before the servers would crash and people would take hours just to get the site to load. How different was 2011 from 2012, for example? Or years before, if you've been. I'm kind of curious.

unicorn_lord

I'll be trying as well. Gotten a table every year I've tried. I'll probably have to sell off part of the table, since nobody goes with me to the con, so hope for best, I guess.

chibimonster

Quote from: unicorn_lord on February 26, 2013, 07:39:57 AM
I'll be trying as well. Gotten a table every year I've tried. I'll probably have to sell off part of the table, since nobody goes with me to the con, so hope for best, I guess.

By sell off, do you mean share? There's always a huge demand for table sharing (people not getting a table before they sold out), so I'm sure you'll be able to.
Last year there seemed to be tons of people who didn't get tables looking to share and posting about it on the forums, but very few people who actually got tables went on the forums to offer to share. For some reason I thought there would be many more people with tables wanting to share, so it was kinda strange.

unicorn_lord

most people use all of the tables, doesn't suprise me.
I saw 1 or two people with two tables, I don't think that should really be allowed if your have people waiting, but whatever.

chibimonster

Quote from: unicorn_lord on February 26, 2013, 08:02:41 PM
most people use all of the tables, doesn't suprise me.
I saw 1 or two people with two tables, I don't think that should really be allowed if your have people waiting, but whatever.

Using two tables isn't allowed and if they're finding a way to get around the rule that could get them kicked out of the Artist Alley. I saw someone who appeared to be using two tables, but I didn't go talk to the staff because I couldn't be totally sure of the circumstances and frankly enforcing the rules isn't the job of the artists.

I'm actually pretty cheap and I've found that I don't really need a full table, so at smaller cons I'll often get a half table. I keep my prints in a binder, so my PVC thingy is kind of useless and just for show anyway. I'm considering thinking of some wire cube display that would work well on a half table.

I've found that having a half table gives the illusion of having more merchandise and it makes me stay organized. Sometimes when I have a full table and I'm working on a commission I end up with markers EVERYWHERE. I guess with me more room = more mess.

unicorn_lord

When they did have two tables, it was usually in the setup of have basically 1 artist at 1 table and having a "second artist" with very similar art at the second. It basically gets around the rule because you have 4 people at two tables.

Hachimitsu

Quote from: unicorn_lord on February 26, 2013, 08:02:41 PM
most people use all of the tables, doesn't suprise me.
I saw 1 or two people with two tables, I don't think that should really be allowed if your have people waiting, but whatever.

I remember that back then (2012) they change from obtaining 2 tables to just 1, so that other artist may have an opportunity. Last year, i was kinda puzzled how they obtain 2 tables. Is that even possible to table share that way? have one of your friends order a table and then ask to be sit next to the other??

phr34kish

You essentially have two ARTISTS in your group, not an artist and a helper. That guarantees you sit together, and it satisfies the rule of 1 artist = 1 table. But because you're a group, you count as a single payment. At least that's how it has always worked for me. :)

LiL Moon

Quote from: chibimonster on February 19, 2013, 07:33:58 AM
Judging from your report, AX looks like a lot of fun. Also your plushies are very cute.

If the most traffic is in the middle, the middle should be the best place to be because more people might notice you, right? Or does everyone just walk past? I've never been to AX before; this year will be my first year. I wonder when they'll start emailing the artists... Actually, I also wonder when Fanime is going to put up registration. Is it just me or is everything taking forever this year... Every con I'm going to seems to be behind schedule.

Also, how many tables does AX's artist alley have? More than Fanime? Less? Is it crazier? At Fanime last year I got completely swamped with commissions - I had to take some home to work on (I live close enough to make getting a hotel pointless). My biggest fear is that someday I'll get so many commissions that I'll hurt myself trying to finish them all (I actually know someone who passed out at AX once). In general, how do you deal with being given lots of commissions?
Thank you. ^^ It's so crowded walking in the middle, people are bound to notice your table. Even if it's just because you can't move. I hate it when so many people crowd around one table that you can't see it or walk around it. But believe me, the traffic is great. The middle or the front is great!

I'm used to applications being slow. The head of the AA staff changed this year for AX so naturally they are behind. But they are slowly working on getting applications out. Just check back every now and again, same goes for Fanime.

Hmm, I don't know if AX has more tables than Fanime. Perhaps about the same or more. AX is crazier since we are grouped with the dealers hall which is like 10 times the size of Fanime's. Fanime is more organized with the AA being separate from the dealers. That's not to say it's a bad thing. It's just a different environment. I wouldn't know about commissions since I don't take any at cons. You'd be surprised though how many people think plush artists can take commissions on site. O.o Like we got an invisible sewing machine and unlimited fabric stock behind us. Best thing at any con is to limit commissions and take breaks. Don't kill yourself for money.

LiL Moon

Quote from: Oniko on February 20, 2013, 08:37:22 AM
wow this thread is great!  I'e been thinking about AX for awhile now. Their website said AA is sold out already though :( is that just old site info?
AX starts selling tables the last day of the con. I bought mine the day after so it's no surprise if tables are already sold out. That's not to say you should give up though. Sign up for the waitlist. There always seem to be empty/extra tables the day of the con.  ???

unicorn_lord

This is starting to get irrating. the longer fanime takes, the more scrambling the artists have to do to prepare.

Hachimitsu

Quote from: unicorn_lord on March 07, 2013, 03:04:47 PM
This is starting to get irrating. the longer fanime takes, the more scrambling the artists have to do to prepare.

actually, because the web started late, its going to be a while before things gets really off!

My biggest concern is if they pull another registration error!!
the second biggest concern is the lottery idea being brought back!
my third biggest concern is the price being raised to $75 as opposed to $60

rest assure I hope AAA will get this fixed and organized in a clean fashionable...uhm....clean! with no issues at all

I LIKE HOW the gaming hall forum thread, wants more games/arcades, while the artist alley hall thread wants more tables!....
i swear its like team magma versus team aqua all over again!

chibimonster

Oh god if there's a lottery I think I'll go insane. Ugh. I DETEST lotterys because they give the slackers the same opportunity as the super motivate people.
Apart from the lottery, I would really hate a 50/50 fan art vs. original rule. 75/25 in favor of fanart I could deal with, but 50/50 would be a real pain.

The table price was already 75 last year, so this year it'll most likely go up to 85 or something like that.

Anyway, the delay is probably Because they're trying to prevent errors. Think of it this way: they could rush to get everything up super quickly and there would be tons of glitches and errors and confusion. This would be even more frustrating than waiting. They're taking their time to make sure everything is in place and running smoothly so that in the long run, the Artist alley won't be total mayhem.