New York ComicCon 2018
Welcome to SPRING! Given the possibility that large gatherings in the community are beginning to return, some earlier advice given on why and how I attend events seemed appropriate to revisit now.
Over the past 25 years I have participated in over one hundred various events, from the San Diego Comic-Con to the World Science Fiction Convention, to Magic tournaments in South America, to the gathering of painters at IX Arts, to small cons at colleges and the attendee busting Lightbox Expo in Pasadena, and to signing at local game shops and hosting open studios here at home. I think I’ve experienced every style of event the field and genre has to offer and thought I would share ideas on why I continue to purposefully participate in various levels of gatherings to this day.
MOCCA Fest 2022, New York City
Basically I feel there are four factors how to assess any given event and why I may wish to attend it – sales, education, marketing/reputation development, and community building.
I have come at this approach because I could spend every weekend, month after month, traveling to one event after another. And while that may be fun for a while (as long as it remained profitable and motivational), I have business obligations back in the studio, a family, and other interests I like to spend my time upon. Thus it is smart for both personal and business reasons to objectively assess each event and determine which I should, and want, to attend.
San Diego Comic-Con 2010 -Barbarians capturing a hapless Donato
Let me state that first and foremost, rising above all of these factors, is that I am a FAN of the genre. I would go to scores of events annually if I could! It is wonderful connecting with people, discussing common interests, and commiserating deep into the night. I love these art forms, I love telling stories through this medium, and its roots reach deep into the core of my being. Thus take everything I say here with that in mind. If you are not already a fan, then reasons for attending most events will lack justification, making them seem uninspired and a waste of time.
By the nature that I find pleasure at nearly anything and any where I go, I have to make travel/event choices based upon sound, objective business driven factors. These four issues – sales, education, marketing/reputation development, and community building – are what my evaluations are focused upon, and may drive your own if you go to events as well. Mostly I am looking to attend events which have at least two to three of these factors as strengths, outside of that only extenuating personal circumstances will likely get me to attend (a family member living nearby, a museum I haven’t seen, etc).
Underlying all of these assessments is a big question, is this my audience? While this aspect plays a major part in considering which events to attend initially, I have learned not to overly restrict who I think my ‘audience’ should be. Too many commissions have come from areas I had not expected them to, thus as long as an event is in the general right theme, I am game!
Onto the assessments.
IX Arts 2021 – Reading, Pennsylvania
1. Sales
Pretty straight forward, this is how likely I can retail my work at a show/event. You can nearly ALWAYS sell something, but the issue here is just how much and of what quality are those sales? Am I moving drawings, paintings, original works, or is this a place where lower price point retail hits better – prints, books, playmats, small collectables? Am I making possible return customers, or are these just vanity, opportunistic sales which could have easily been made by another vender occupying my booth space?
I consider all of these opportunities and rate an event accordingly. A strong lower retail event may be great for the immediate pocket, but an event where I am moving originals to genre collectors and fans typically has ‘deeper’ potential connections for return customer relationships. Again, this could vary my assessment if that low retail sales environment was in an intense genre fan event (large Comic-Cons). Sales are also how most inexperienced artists solely evaluate a show – how much cash they walk home with. While it can be a critical factor, it is by far not the most important one for me.
Trojan Horse Was A Unicorn Events
2. Education
What are the opportunities here to expand my knowledge base and grow as an artist and person? Are there seminars, demonstrations, workshops? Any break out skill development side events? Business lectures or presentations by other professional artists, writers, industry professionals which may provide insights on any number of issues, known and unknown? Aspects of the event which will allow me to grow artistically? Education is a factor a bit easier to assess, as many events will list programming, guests, workshops, and seminars weeks and months in advance and allow you potential planning for structure interactions.
Petar Meseldžija live demo at IlluxCon 2011
3. Marketing/Reputation Development
This is the hardest factor to get a grasp of, yet can be the most important issue for me in why I participate with an event. It also has the vaguest parameters – for how do you judge effectiveness of marketing? There is the old adage that 50% of all marketing dollars are wasted, you just don’t know which 50% that is… Do you evaluate right at the end of the show, or three months later when an email shows up for an inquiry/commission? Or two years later when a fan becomes a collector?
Basically I evaluate an event here on the likely size and character of their attendees. Is it a group of fans/people I have not made outreach to before? Are they interested in the genre and approaches I take in my art, will it appeal to them? Is it a professional show with a small attendance, but high percentage of industry represented? Are there art directors there, art collectors, or people I would like to work for? Or is it so massive, that I can reach thousands of fans, many of them new, over one weekend?
It is this factor which requires the greatest long term commitment and can result in the greatest career pay-off.
Lastly,
4. Community Building
This is the real fun part of any convention, hanging out with friends and peers, old and new, pros and fans, as you share and build the world together. These are the people you will see again and again over the years, some frequently, others maybe just once, but you typically all have a high degree of common ground which brought you together at this event. Find out what that common material is and you will increase the likelihood you may return and/or cross the paths of these peers again and call them friends!
Far too often I see the stresses and weight of sales and marketing burn people out from events and participation in the genre, at the expense of the other two aspects, education and community. I understand it. Many people want to make events a financial success, they may be depending upon. But remember that other factors are at play as well, and can lead to successful business strategies at nearly the same level of returns.
You need not spend thousands of dollars to set up and host a booth at a major show to reap the rich benefits offered by that event. Understanding the range of possibilities offered for career development and advancement will allow you to better assess the reasons why you may and should attend any particular gathering.
You will also enjoy the experience of a gathering on a much deeper and pleasurable level.
Best of luck at your future events!
Spectrum Live! 2017
I really wish there were more places other than conventions, social medias and classes to get in touch with artists. I feel like I’m missing out on huge stepping stones of what people’s careers are built on. Big conventions are too far for me and ones near me are rare, small and don’t attract much. I’ve had too many bad experiences to go back to social media and many artists I’ve come to find have openly admitted to a “post and go” approach so trying to connect to them via online is impossible. Sadly classes I’ve taken are also over crowded, impersonal and leave no time to actually chat. In person ones being the worst since everyone wants it quiet and teachers I’ve seen didn’t like to stay long before or after. Donato, do you or anyone have any experiences other than conventions where you made connections, mentors or collaborators ? I feel like I’m at a loss and could use some advice.
Hi Zach, try getting into mentorships or make friends on Instagram. People usually are part of discord groups where you can get into to meet people.
I have a discord server with some friends if you are interest.
HI Zach,
No easy answers there. Communities are ‘built’ not established overnight. Certainly online social media is difficult to foster an intimate feeling, but no community is ever ‘that’ intimate anyway.
Sebastian mentioned Discord artist groups which are a possible place to start.
Sometimes all you need is just a couple of other artists, not a giant network., to gain benefits out of collaboration and feedback.
Professionals like me have very little time to add to our social network, thus it is hard to connect. But again, you do not need professionals to benefit from a group. Being sincere with a few artist friends can open a bridge to other experiences you could not have planned for.
Good Luck.
Thank you so much Sebastian and Donato for your kind, thoughtful replies and suggestions.Your advice is making me appreciate the connections I already have cultivated and need to appreciate more. I get blinded by the internet sometimes that this stuff just takes time.
For many personal reasons, I struggle with online interactions and connecting the best the way I think and how to put it down the way the site wants me too. it can take me hours to make a reply detailed enough to get my point across but short enough to keep it from a wall of text or jell with how the site works and I can see it being annoying when the other person wanted a quick reply. Personally Instagram and discord give me too much anxiety to join and use. I agree with finding mentors but most I’ve seen are often already full or have in the past been wild goose chases that lead me down where I didn’t want to be artistically. I have had some success with emailing some people but overall, I have a hard time telling the difference between being passionate and persistent or bothersome and asking too much. Do I possibly wait a month for a reply from 1 or ask 4 others and risk getting only busy and all respond at once? With just text, I stress out if I’m sounding professional or opinionated and childish, especially if its a disagreement.
Thank you very much again for both of your 2 cents!
Zach, to be honest, most of the good conventions are out of the way for us too. We just make the drive because it’s worth it. I would recommend going to one of the bigger ones that you can drive to within a day, and attend every interesting panel you can. You’ll meet lots of likeminded people, who likely will carry over into an online community (with annual in-person reinforcement).
I’d love a more in-depth series on conventions! Can this be an ongoing series?
Good article, Donato. For me, I’ve discovered that it’s always not about the obvious conventions either. I stopped doing comicons mainly due to the fact that I’m seeing more and more people interested in Fan art or signatures. So, the sales were downward spiraling and so much of it seems to be a race to the bottom. So, when I first started, comicons were, for me, about sales.
In the last couple of years, I’ve moved on from Comicons to Tattoo Shows, Oddity Shows, and Gaming conventions. The audience seems to be more of those types who like the dark art and, even though they are small, the sales revenue is extremely good (about 5K to 10K for one to three days of work).
More importantly, these new conventions satisfy some of your other comments: Community and Marketing. At a tattoo show, I generally sell 3 or more paintings . Gaming shows would be around 7 – 10 paintings and Oddity shows around 1 – 3 paintings. Most of the sales in the tattoo shows are actually to the vendors rather than the customers who come to the show. The other thing that I love about tattoo shows is that, for me, it’s a family. When I show up after a couple of months, some of the other vendors wondered where I was. A lot of people always recognize me and say hi during setup. Never had that happen at comicons.
Question: Never seen how to get the education part in with the shows, though. Since I’m the only one at the booth, the panels and other happenings are usually done during show hours. Is the only way to get the education part is to attend the show instead of being a vendor?