To boldly go where every fan has gone

Tue Aug 12, 08:51 | Media

The Manitoba Comic Con is coming up fast, and I really need to start working toward my table. Too often I leave my own work until the last minute.

Every year I’ve appeared at the comic con, I’ve made enough to almost – but not quite – break even. I really want to change that and at least make back what I put into it. Sure, it’s an appearance, and the publicity has a value itself, but I also tend to buy a lot of neat things there.

My issue this year is fanart. Should I do it?

Original work
Pros: Being creative and doing my own stuff is so much better for me as an artist. It’s good self-promotion, and a good step to doing better things. It’s also a good way to generate more work for my portfolio. It forces my original stuff to be good enough that people will buy it, and forces me to not slack on it.
Cons: with this method, I’ve never sold enough. Also, from a realistic standpoint: who wants to pay money for local relative-unknown work?

Fanart
Pros: This would sell a lot more easily and a lot faster, so long as my print quality was good. I have some pretty obscure (by fanart standard) taste, and could probably be the only one at the con offering a few of these.
Cons: I’m personally against fanart for artists – too many young people do nothing but fanart, never receiving recognition for anything else and never really flexing their creative muscles (take bleedman, for example. Awesome? Pretty much. His own stuff? Not at all, and his fanart is wildly more popular than what he really does). It’s making money off of someone else’s idea, even if it’s my execution.

Here’s a list of what I’d do if I did do fanart:

  • Yukari Takeba -> Persona 3
  • Dr. Horrible -> Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (would only print maybe 3 copies, it’s more of a joke. Winnipeg isn’t that internet-savvy)
  • Molly -> Molly/Oban Star Racer
  • Daria and Jane -> Daria
  • Leeloo -> The Fifth Element OR Alice -> Resident Evil (movies)
  • Hank, Dean, Dr. Venture and Brock -> Venture Bros.
  • The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend -> Venture Bros.
  • Triana, Kim, Dr. Girlfriend, and Molotov -> Venture Bros.
  • Alyx and the Companion Cube -> Portal/Half Life
  • Chell and a gLaDOS eye -> Portal
  • Gordon and a headcrab -> Half Life
  • Major Kusanagi -> GITS: SAC
  • Tachikoma -> GITS: SAC
  • Betty Boop -> Betty Boop (goth chicks are obsessed with her right now)
  • Prince Zuko and Aang -> Avatar: The Last Airbender
  • Jade -> Beyond Good and Evil
  • Fry, Leela and Bender -> Futurama
  • Painting of Hypnotoad -> Futurama

I’ll still be selling previous years’ prints, and I’ll still try to do some original stuff. My Ohai stickers, NuRal pinup girls, and painting prints will still be front and center on my table.

I also have to consider my table layout and pricing scheme. What would you pay for an 8.5×11?

So: would you buy any of the above-mentioned drawings? Can you suggest any other ideas I should do? Should I sell my soul to make a profit at a comic convention?

  1. Would I buy:

    * Yukari Takeba -> Persona 3 Yes

    * Dr. Horrible -> Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (would only print maybe 3 copies, it’s more of a joke. Winnipeg isn’t that internet-savvy) Yes

    * Leeloo -> The Fifth Element OR Alice -> Resident Evil (movies) Yes

    * Alyx and the Companion Cube -> Portal/Half Life Yes

    * Chell and a gLaDOS eye -> Portal Yes

    * Gordon and a headcrab -> Half Life Yes

    * Jade -> Beyond Good and Evil Yes

    * Fry, Leela and Bender -> Futurama Yes

    * Painting of Hypnotoad -> Futurama Yes


    — Aaron    Tue Aug 12, 12:55    #
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