This provided a regimented deadline for the work to be completed by, and the last minute receipt of our table meant the project duration ended up being just four weeks.
Presenting the work at the event made it different to my other briefs as there was an immediate audience and result (physical sales). It is clear which products are more popular as they sell more, and the feedback comes conversationally from customers who are not all deeply integrated in the illustration world.
Live events are a valuable and intensive learning exercise.
It was jolly good fun and I learnt a lot.
This year we were initially rejected which really bummed me out but then a month before the deadline we got a table because someone cancelled, so then we had a mad rush of making work in that month to make it a feasible studio brief and therefor not a waste of time. Though I suppose a months preparation is better than the week I gave it last year, when I knew about it way in advance. I am growing as a human, slowly but surely.
The Thursday night there was an event on at LS6 that Adam Becky and Tom were part of where they drew people live in the bar and there was a little comics exhibition. I initially declined to attend because I had a billion things to finish before Saturday but in the end they were still there after we left college at nine so I went and joined in. It was a real test to the drawing skills having people right in front of you and sketching them live, in pen, next to five other illustrators. People seemed to enjoy it though and the drawings were free so it's fine. Nearer the end the management gave us a donation pot and we got about £16 in the last half an hour. Imagine how much we'd have made if that had been there all along.
Here is my dashing table and an even more dashing me.
I finished everything in the end and was not printing zines out on Saturday morning like I was last year.
When it came to the actual event I was very grumpy because the night before at work I'd been given a flu jab and thus had a mild but quite debilitating case of fake flu.
I soldiered on though because I am very hardcore. After a litre bottle of pink lucozade I was back in the game.
Once I felt better I took advice from Kristyna, when she said at the zine fair, that she stands up at the table to get her more actively into talking to people and look more approachable. It did work it forced me to talk to people and them to talk to me, and I had a lot of nice chats.
-Then a guy came who bought Giant Tess last year and came back to see if I had something new, there was a heartening longevity to that, I remember him too because I was pleased that someone had finally bought Giant Tess after I'd spent Saturday morning printing it out.
-Then Mark Ellerby bought my Giant Tess and I told him I have his book and he's great.
-Eat sleep sniff bought some stuff too, then later he messaged me on tumblr to say how much he enjoyed Giant Tess and was looking forward to part two.
-Adams grandparents bought my cabaret poster, which they have framed and hung in the study.
-I had a chat with a guy who claimed to hate digital work then I told him mine was significanlty digital and he hadnt realised and it blew his mind.
It was also pretty good going up to other peoples tables and chattin' vendor chat with them
Made me feel very spiffy.
The best sellers were the posters, at £5 each, and I sold all 18. I think part of the reason for this is that other people were selling posters for a lotttt more, but they've cheaper to print at college so I guess I could afford to lower the sales cost. That and it was the most recognisable thing on my table, the closest thing to fan art, and we know how people love to buy stuff they recognise. I still refuse to draw someone elses characters though. People are fine thats still a visual interpretation of information.
Aside from that I sold out of Tinder and cat zines, people have predictable tastes.
A lot of people picked up the cat zine thinking 'Ahwh cats cute I like cats' and then flicked to the end and saw it died, put it down and walked away, which is real nice. Lots of people would read most of the Tinder zine with their friends and laugh, like last year, and then put it back down. C'mon guys it's only a pound. Cheap bastards.
Giant tess did a lot better this year, I only sold two last year, one to the guy who came back this year and one to a girl called Tess, but this year I sold way more just by redesigning the cover, so that paid off. That really showed me how important the first visual impression is. I literally didn't change a thing about the interior, which I thought was overly scrappy and needed redrawing, but the sales increased just my changing the front. I think I will spruce up the inside at some point though, my drawing has improved since then so now it lets the cover down when you look inside.
The heady leggy comic only sold a few copies which was a bit disappointing but it sold more than my other old ones, so there's that. Maybe it's just not clear what he is, and it isn't the best place for him either. I will not accept that he isnt great.
In the end I made just short of £200, which when you put it down to earnings per hour is quite poor and doesnt match up to my dentists job BUT it was £200 earnt doing something I enjoyed, both making and selling the work. It was more of a social experience than a job, so despite the low hourly rate I'll be applying again next year.
In the brief time I had to look around I bought made some pretty rad purchases.
I accidentally spent £40 just at Drawn and Quarterly's table where I got the 25 years of D&Q book with all the special convention ephemera they add for events. It's so nice, and Adult Contemperary which Bendik Kaltenborn signed and its really nice and we talked for a while. He was just sat there alone while huge queues were snaking around rubbish DC tracers. Criminal.
Broco and friends, by Sajan Rai or Childish Butt Vomit are the most hilarious comics I've read in a long time, if not ever.
The World is by the swedish risograph guys and they seem to have expanded significantly since last year.
Theres a lot of great stuff going on when you get past all the back issues of batman.
