1st con as a collector

[Simplyrob]

Next month, Wondercon will be my 1st convention as a collector of commissioned works. How do i prep if im looking for commissioned art? Will art get done same day generally? How do i find out whos gonna be there (official page doesnt really help). Figured some of you vets could help. Thanks, Rob. Also, only have 1 day pass for con.

[Yzerman99]

I'm going to Toronto Comic Con in March and was thinking the same thing. Phil Jimenez and Dale Keown are going to be there and would like to a commission from each of them. I'm new the game, so I'm not sure how it works. Do I just line up and ask for a commission?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

[galactus]

All artists are different, and sometimes they even vary their "procedures" from show to show. Some take a list the first day for the entire show. Some take a list each day. Some people do their commissions in the order they're requested, others hop around on the list. There isn't any standard practice.

The best thing to do is pick the order of importance to you for who you want something from. Go to the first person immediately and ask what's going on, then proceed from there. Also keep in mind that some artists aren't there first thing, so you may get to an empty table with a short line of people waiting for the artist to show up. It's up to you to wait on line too (which guarantees nothing) or head to the next person you want something from (which also guarantees nothing).

[Yzerman99]

So you're saying it's a crapshoot then, eh? Guess I'll be there early and hope for the best ...

[Punisher1919]

Originally Posted by Yzerman99

I'm going to Toronto Comic Con in March and was thinking the same thing. Phil Jimenez and Dale Kwown are going to be there and would like to a commission from each of them. I'm new the game, so I'm not sure how it works. Do I just line up and ask for a commission?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

We had the Dale Keown thread a little while ago, and it sounds like you can get a piece from him just by lining up and waiting while he draws your piece. Last I heard, was that his rates were like $100-$200 depending on your request. Check out his facebook page, I think he usually lets people know if he's going to be sketching at the cons he's attending. Good Luck, I hope you can snag a Keown piece, he's at the top of my want list!

[JadeGiant]

It is a bit of a crap shoot IMO. I have employed two approaches for art at cons: 1)lots of prep 2)wing it. Both have been successful for me. For the prep-heavy approach, I try to review the list of artists that are scheduled to be at a con and make a very short list of any artists that I REALLY want to get something from. There may be 5 artists or there may be none. I try to be very selective. If there are artists I really want, I plan my day around them and try to hit them up first. This can be restrictive in terms of your time and possible $ layout for the weekend but you are very likely to end up with some great art. For the wing it approach, I usually scan the artist list and might hit a specific table or two up first but really just plan to walk around in no particular order and get lost in all the great art. I did this at the first NYCC that I attended and scored some great pieces and established some good relationships with artists that I still correspond with today. You can’t go wrong IMO. When I go to cons now, I quickly scan the list and see if there is an artist that is high on my want list. If so, I will even try to contact them in advance to see if they are taking any pre-con orders as that can work out sometimes as a way to free up some time at the show. Good luck – can’t wait to see your first con haul!

[Punisher1919]

Originally Posted by Simplyrob

Next month, Wondercon will be my 1st convention as a collector of commissioned works. How do i prep if im looking for commissioned art? Will art get done same day generally? How do i find out whos gonna be there (official page doesnt really help). Figured some of you vets could help. Thanks, Rob. Also, only have 1 day pass for con.

I'm still fairly new at the con game, but my advice would be to figure out the artist or artists you want pieces from, email all of them and see if they are taking a pre-con list. At least this way, you can guarantee con pieces without having to fight the line-ups and potentially miss out on something. I'm going to ECCC at the end of March and out of the 7 Artists I'm hoping to hit up, 4 of them take pre-orders for Conventions.

This forum is very helpful with Con Questions, if there are specific Artists you are curious about, chances are that someone on here knows the answer.

[SunnyLee]

From my perspective (which albeit - is a dim one), the key to getting commissions is flexibility. You should definitely have a plan (a list of artists you want pieces from) but be flexible enough to move from place to place. Download the map of the artist area and make sure you mark off where their tables are. The next thing is to try to contact those artists (via facebook, deviantart, or email) and see if you can gleen any info on how they operate (some do pre-orders, others first day only, others per day and others are just doodle as you wait). Make note of their MO, and proceed accordingly (ie, try to get on the pre-order list if they have one and arrange a pick up time, get early in line for those who make lists for all three days, and then stop by once in a while to artists who take lists every day).

Most (not all) artists are usually pretty accommodating. Because some artists are arbitrary on what they want to draw and pick from the list as it were for the entire weekend, and you're only going for one day, I would probably move those artists to the back of your list unless you can arrange for a friend or acquaintance to pick it up for you. I would be wary of artist's offers to mail said piece to you after the con because those types of arrangements usually lead to months of waiting. Artists usually have assignments waiting for them when they return home, they're tired, exhausted and more often than not usually just throw their con-bags into a corner and sleep for a week and usually forget everything that happened during those three days. (Guilty).

Hint: Sometimes, if there's an artist you really like, try to chat them up, buy some of their prints, and suck up to them. That'll usually get you a nicer piece of art.

[Argonus]

Decide whether or not you want to chance waiting in a line/on a list for an artist who's at the top of the artist food-chain and has a ridiculous line, or maybe "settle" for getting pieces from your 2nd, 3rd or 4th choices of artists who may have shorter lines.

Also, if you appreciate an artist, something I've done is conversed with them briefly, just to show my appreciation for their work over the years. This doesn't guarantee you ANYTHING, and you should do it out of sincere appreciation and nothing else, but I've also found that those artists remember me when I catch them again at a later convention, or holler at them via this wonderful thing called the internet.

Have fun at your first con! If you see some lesser-known artist that's putting out some Grade A stuff, go for that guy! You'd be surprised how many people at those things have next to nobody at their table, and then within a year Marvel or DC picks them up and they acquire the line of fans that goes with it.

[Underdog07]

things I will add to the others

(1) Make sure you bring paper and a portfolio to keep your art in

(2) contact artists in advance via email to see if they will pre-do a piece. It works about 5% of the time.

(3) Get to the show early and plan on standing in line. Early means different things for different shows, but a good rule of thumb is a minimum of 2 hours before the show opens or you likely will be shut out of any "name" artists.

(4) Find out where the artists you are targetting are sitting so you can make a bee-line to them


Ways to increase chances -- buy a VIP ticket or anything else that will get you into the show before others.