Artists Alley Information Thread

Selling at Cons is best during the...

Spring	11.6%	[ 83 ]
Summer	30.3%	[ 217 ]
Fall	7.0%	[ 50 ]
Winter	5.3%	[ 38 ]
Any time!	45.7%	[ 327 ]
Total Votes:			[ 715 ]

[Vicemage]

What is AI's policy these days? I really don't do any fanart (I have a few charms that I pull off sale at restrictive cons), so I don't honestly pay too much attention to those at cons other than the ones I'm doing myself.

[AEAcomics]

Uhm, let me look for it again...

This is from the 2009 AA Guidelines:

Quote:

“In the interests of protecting the intellectual property rights of all artists, all items must be entirely the work of the individual displaying the piece to be eligible for sale or auction. Items for sale may not included copy protected or trademarked material, unless the artist can produce written permission from the individual or corporate holder of the intellectual property rights. Pieces portraying copy protected or trademarked material are eligible for display only. This rule applies to all artshow art as well as art available for sale in the artist's alley.”

If I am interpreting this correctly, fanart is okay to display, but not to sell. I think that it applies to on-site commissions as well.
I remember reading some huge thread arguing about it several months ago, but I think it's a good policy. I'd be pissed if I found out someone was profiting from my story or characters without my permission.

Also, here's a thread I found on the AI forums about the QC Con.
I dunno, it set off a few alarm bells for me. What's your take?


I just finished my finals, so I need to start getting things together for SoDak Con. I'm going to try making some ears with craft fur and hair bands, I'll post pics when I get those started next week. I need to make some new art samples, adjust my commission prices, and update my DA too.

[Vicemage]

Wow. In my personal opinion, that's actually very poorly worded, as it could go the way you're interpreting it, but I'm reading it as "not using screenshots, official logos, traces, or any other copyrighted material as part of your work or display," not as "no fanart drawn by the artist." They really ought to clarify that wording.

I just sort of skimmed the QC thread; looks like whoever holds the "QC" screenname either got hacked or butthurt over something, to try to start some dramu. If there's this kind of drama happening ahead of the convention, though, I'd want to wait a year or so and see if they could get their act together. Nothing against them, I've just gotten a little tired of first-year condrama, and the con is going to have to really convince me I should show up for their first year. Yeah, that might sound egotistical, but I'm not rich, I don't have money to throw away taking a chance at every first year con. I'm also not all that well known currently, so if someone's going to take the time to come talk me up personally? Now they've got my attention. Doesn't mean I'm going to show up, but I'll start asking questions and looking at it. Either they're looking for people established from other alleys to come help theirs get started, or they're interested in good relations with their artists/exhibitors. (They're probably not after me personally, I'd probably die of shock if someone did that.) Either way, that's a good starting sign that they care and I'll take another look.

[AEAcomics]

It is very ambiguous, but I skimmed the forum and it said no fanart is allowed to be sold. However judging by some of the other posts the enforcement of the policy is / will be very lax. =/
I think I'll wait on QC too. So far I'm shooting for Nebraskon and Anime Iowa. No Brand is a maybe if I can find someone to come with me.

Maybe I'll leave June open, so I have more time to make some new things. I just switched to an art major, so I want to focus on that next semester.

[Vicemage]

I'll be shooting for Nebraskon myself, so maybe I'll see you there!

I need to get some new stuff worked up myself. Need to decide what it can be that'll go with the rest of my table and not be repetitive of other tables...

[AEAcomics]

Yeesh. Drawing at the size that will fit into the badge-holders I bought is hard. I cut some bristol board to 2.5" by 3" and I'm not sure if I can color them decently with marker. I could probably paint them, if I had used watercolor paper.

I want to do a new piece for SoDak's Art Show. I'll matte and submit one of my prints, but I want to do either a marker or watercolor piece too. Or mixed media.

[Sakura Alchemist]

hmm... Does any one Know where i can get a fan comic printed?

[blazeingfox]

^_^ this thread has been really helpful. I'll be doing my first AA at Tora-con in April. I make hats and plushies and I'm thinking of doing little bracelets and maybe a few scarfs. Most of my stuff is going to be anime or video game related but I was just wondering how well non-anime related things sell. Most of my plushies tend to just be cutsie woodland animals. And I'm not sure scarfs would sell to well in April.

[Vicemage]

DarKlaw: I'm actually playing with art cards, I did a color one at Fallcon this year (I'm sort of insisting on doing them in ink, but for awesomeness of request I offered to do it in color for no extra charge) and it worked okay at that small trading-card size. I've done some pretty teensy drawings, too... it's sort of fun, in its own way.

Sakura: Your best bet is a regular print-shop, to evade the copyright issues... I just had a... um... 32? page ashcan printed at OfficeMax ImPress for about $2.50 each for black and white interior and color cover, with them doing the stapling for me. You can also get a long-arm stapler for about $30-40 and staple them yourself, if you think you'll be doing a lot of books.

[Sakura Alchemist]

I see thanks for the advice ;u; i will try that~ I don't think i will be printing very many so I'll pass on buying a stapler for myself. (i was thinking maybe printing 5 at most. )

@blazeingfox: I'm going to Tora-Con too 8D awsome~

[blazeingfox]

Sakura Alchemist

@blazeingfox: I'm going to Tora-Con too 8D awsome~

^_^ lol nice! is this going to be your first year to?

[Sakura Alchemist]

blazeingfox

Sakura Alchemist

@blazeingfox: I'm going to Tora-Con too 8D awsome~

^_^ lol nice! is this going to be your first year to?

no i was there the last two years.
I always learn something new each each year~

[jillythefoo]

DarKlawStudios

It is very ambiguous, but I skimmed the forum and it said no fanart is allowed to be sold. However judging by some of the other posts the enforcement of the policy is / will be very lax. =/

I was at AI for 2009, It was no fanart, but mostly geared to cg colored fanart prints. There was a table right next to ours that had to leave because all they had to sell was cg colored fanart prints.

[Fiammetta Rey]

Anyone know any info about when Tekkoshocon info is going up?

I looked on the forum and all that's there is info about getting a tax license, which I know is important, but it doesn't tell me much about the artist alley rules and stuff.

But no one seems to be asking for more info... last I heard, they were going to put the rules up in November and open registration in January. But the rules aren't up yet, I don't think. Except usually when they say it'll be up by a certain time and it's not people get pissed... I don't know.

[Xx_Im_LoOkInG_gOoD_xX]

thanks