[dc]T[/dc]his past Saturday, I appeared in Artist Alley at the MSU Comics Forum. This was my first outing at a comics show exhibiting/selling Clattertron comics. Nervous does not describe with enough detail how I felt, but I am glad to have my first show in the books.
Hi! Photo by Stephanie.
Forum Thanks and Forum Thoughts
First, thanks to Ryan Claytor and Jay Jacot for putting on an amazing event. Attendance was great (I’m sure the mild weather helped) and there was plenty of foot traffic (I think this year had the best attendance in all seven years of the event, but I’m not certain).
Second, I learned a lot. Mainly, I need to work on my signage. I threw together my signage, such as it was, the night before and the morning of the show. I played it by ear and thankfully Stephanie helped, putting her years of retail knowledge to use. Still, looking back, my signage could have been a bit better–but I really didn’t know what to do. Seeing what other artists did with their tables gave me several ideas.
Mini-Comics and Sketch-O-Tron
I sold mini-comics and sold random sketches using a dice system created by Dave Malki (of Wondermark). I hope Malki does not mind me using his sketch system, but it looked like a fun idea and I wanted to give it a try (and I told folks where I got the idea).
Speaking of sketches, here is me drawing the first. The word combination was Owl+Dinosaur+Batman+Werewolf.
Sketch! Photo by Stephanie.
And here’s the completed version.
Owl Batman rides a dinosaur into battle against a werewolf.
I sold two other sketches throughout the day (so three total, which is three more than I expected to sell). Both, amusingly enough, featured a platypus.
Here is Ninja+Platypus.
He is hiding in a mail box, because WHY NOT.
My last sketch of the day was Goblin+Platypus. Ha.
Skip this dungeon.
Fun times (I think I will pick up some color brush pens or maybe a travel water-color kit for coloring next time. Coloring with Sharpies ain’t so easy.)
Artist Alley by the Numbers
I sold 17 mini-comics (which included three packs of five), so I more than made back my printing cost (always a plus). I’m happy with how many I sold. It may not seem like a lot, but considering there was around 40 other comic folks around and being a rookie, I think selling 17 of anything at my first show is a win. Sure, it was only five separate sales, but I’m still happy.
Lessons Learned
As I said, I need to come up with better signage (or just rework what I already have). I also need to get better at the face-to-face sales and, more importantly, talking with my Artist Alley neighbors. It helped I was near folks I knew (Sherief Abouelseoud and Mr. Pantz from The Bait, Jason Strutz, and Jay Jaycot), but I didn’t go out of my way to meet many other artists. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, I’m just not good at cold introductions (and that whole introvert thing).
I consider the MSU Comics Forum a success, and I’m looking forward to my next show in April: the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo (SPACE) in Columbus, Ohio.
After listening to many of my Artist Alley comrades sing its praises, I sent in paperwork for the Cherry Capital Comic Con on Sunday. As the name hints, it takes place in Traverse City and its held near the end of May. Let’s do this.
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