Ah, Artist's Alley. That crazy, massive part of the convention that stole my heart ages ago and refuses to give it back.

I've spent a LOT of time in Artist's Alleys over the last 8 years or so. Some of the craziest stuff I've ever seen in my life happened in Artist Alleys. I've made tons of friends, and even forged relationships with people whom I now consider family. The AA is an important thing to me, something I consider a part of my 'job' so to speak, but also something that will always be an enjoyable part of said job.

Back when I started as an anime style artist, I spent a small amount of money on an AA table so that I could network with other local artists and maybe make a buck or two. It was nothing fancy; my setup was minimal at best. I had no bells, no whistles, no huge setup or even an impressive portfolio of work. It was me, a stack of paper, a pen and a prayer. No joke. I had NO idea what the hell I was doing. And contrary to popular belief, you do NOT need to be well known or exceedingly talented to have an AA table. If you have the will and the want, go for it!

Let me break for a second here. If you aren't sure what an Artist Alley is, it's a specific part of a convention where individual artists or studios can purchase a table to sell their artwork or craftwork. Usually these tables are infinitely cheaper than purchasing a dealer table, have different hours than the dealer hall, and have more lenient selling rules and guidelines. It's a place for the fledgling artist, or even the more experienced, to get together, share their artwork with the convention, and hopefully make a living...or at least make up the expense of the convention.

I spent years in Artist Alleys, meeting people, networking, utilizing them for what they are; a great place to meet people! But there came a time when my husband and I took a look around and realized that many of the things we were doing were out of the ordinary. I won't get into details, but after a long discussion, we decided that our place was typically in a dealer hall instead of the AA.

So when do you make that jump from Artist Alley tables to Dealer Halls?

This was a tough choice for us, and not one that we made easily. The first thought on the subject was probably the most important: Do we belong in the dealer hall? Over the years, we've branched our selection of items from simple art pieces to prints, the occasional poster, shirts, buttons, keychains, and most importantly, professionally printed books. When I realized we had solid merchandise, that was the first sign to me that we really needed to be in a dealer hall. It's one thing if you're doing commissions or just selling prints all weekend. It's another if you're selling a ton of items that aren't just solid artwork, you probably belong in a dealer hall.

The second thought involved the dreaded "F" word...FANART. Many artists nowadays don't take into consideration that fanart is somewhat of a grey-illegal area. If you're selling tons of stuff with a character on it that you don't own the rights to, that is a copyright violation. You can't usually get away with this in dealer halls, and no, the 'parody' rule doesn't always hold up. Now, I'm not saying some cons don't allow it. Commissions are one thing. But if you've got a stack of hats designed to look like a Furuba character and you aren't paying for the liscensing of that...well, nine times out of ten that's considered illegal. And yeah, you could even get kicked out of a con for it. I've seen it happen. So think carefully about what you are selling, not just what type of item it is.

The third point to think on is pretty simple...TRAFFIC. I'll be the first one to admit that nine times out of ten, we'd rather pay to be in a dealer hall when we have to than be in the AA. It's not that I don't like being in the AA. It's that I find we get better traffic, and better response from the public, being in a dealer hall. But at the same time, our studio has solid merchandise to sell (i.e. hats, wristbands, books, etc.). If you lack that, you may be better off sticking with the AA or even getting rented space to auction your goods in the Art Show. It's an easier way to make money, and that way you aren't glued to a table all weekend.

There are many folks who would argue that any artist belongs in an AA, no matter what. I tend to agree most of the time on that. I think it's unfair to single out a specific artist just because they are considered 'professional' or whatever the case may be. So many people these days are so worried about it being a competition, about outselling and outdoing the people around them in the AA. I love a little competitive spirit folks, but you know what? My first convention I was right next to Steve Bennett and Robert Dejesus, and I didn't see it as a threat. I saw it as an opportunity to learn! It was motivation! I learned more watching Steve and asking him a billion questions that weekend than I would have by being catty and obnoxious, and bitching that "zomg he's taking all my business!!!11one!!" Also, to those of you who frequent AA's, remember that often the guests who are artists have no say in where they put us. We've been G.O.H.'s for several cons now, and sometimes we're put in the AA, sometimes we're put in the dealer hall. It all depends on what the con wants to do with us.

It all comes down to common sense, when you look at it. If you feel you can justify the additional cost of a dealer table, if you have a ton of merchandise other than just artwork, and if you are fairly well known in your medium, it might be time to make the move over to dealer halls.

Till next time...

Roku