telophase | (no subject)

Prints made, matted, labeled on back, and boxed. Paperwork done and in box. Free stickers for whoever hangs it in box. Return postage in box. Forgot to make return mailing label until after box taped up, but they'll survive making their own.

I have the Box of Awesome sent to me by clearbags.com when I ordered 11x14" backing boards and bags. It's cardboard, 18x15x6", and inside has cardboard forming a sort of padding around an 11x14" hole, so all I have to do is lightly pad the bottom and top to protect the prints and mats. Whee!

Also, Samurai Deeper Kyo 29 purchased at the Barnes & Noble near the Hobby Lobby I went to at 7 PM when I realized I had a 4' x 8' panel to fill and only 10 11x14" matted prints, and therefore a lot of space left over, so I went and got 8 5x7" mats for 5.5x3.5" prints, which just happens to be right about the size of an 11x17" print reduced to that size, so I filled in the gaps with small ones. :)

I hope I at least break even on this. If you work out the math, it's pretty scary...

$25.00 - panel
$11.25 - Priority shipping to get it there on time
$11.25 - Check for return shipping, even though it should be less as I told them to send it parcel post
$20.00 - prints (19 prints [11 8x10, 8 5.5s3.5] at an average of $1 each in paper and ink)
$33.00 - cost of 11 11x14 mats (for 8x10" prints)
$12.50 - cost of 8 small mats @ $1.57
$17.60 - cost of 11 11x14 backing boards
$  .56 - cost of 8 sheets of 5x7" cardstock to back the small mats
$ 3.04 - cost of 19 bags at about $ .16 each.
-------
$134.20 - total cost to me for this

[ETA: Since the con snuck up on me, I had to pay full price for paper and for mats. If I order them ahead of time, I can cut that price by close to half, so I shall be putting in orders for mats and printer paper after my next paycheck.

chomiji, I'll be printing your nice version of Les Marchands then, since it turns out I don't have any more 11x17" left, and the 13x19" stuff I've got is pretty cruddy and not worth printing on/]

If I sell every single one at an average of a hair over $7, I'll break even. I've put my minimum bids on the larger ones at $8 and on the smaller ones at $4, in order to attempt to attract bids and get a bit of a bidding war going, and to provide those without much money a chance at buying some art. Quick sales are $20/$10 respectively.

And there's ~~two~~ three problems: (1) it's a first-year con, so no telling how many people will be there, and (2) it's the first time I've shown there (well, duh) and you usually need to show a couple years before you really start getting sales. And (3) no originals, all prints, because I've been working digitally lately.

At least I've got possibilities in Anime Weekend Atlanta and ... er, something up north that I've forgotten, as well as Otakon. AWA and Otakon want original work, not fan work, so I need to get off my ass and do that (hah, hence my reserving the right to sell prints of commissions, because I NEEEED non-fanart desperately. XD)

I am also considering flying out to AnimeExpo next summer if I can get a table in the artist alley there. My bank offers reward points on my credit and debit cards, and one of the things I can exchange them for is money on airfare. So far I've got points worth $225 in airfare, and I can probably pay for most, if not all, of a plane ticket to LA next summer with that so it won't be as huge an outlay.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Wow. I admire your motivation. XD I have a poster in a frame (un-matted), that I've been meaning to mat and hang up for about 10 years. *sweatdrop* Of course, it is only for me, but still. Good work! I hope you break even - you deserve it! :D

The matting is easy, as all I'm doing is taping the print on the mat, then slipping the mat and backing board into a bag and taping it shut. XD I just have to remember to write the title on one of my business cards and slip it into the bag before I tape it.

Come to Anime Expo!! You know you want to. :3 I would thrill to see you in the Artist's Alley, since they finally wised up and put it in a proper hall rather than in random thoroughfares.

Start hoping like mad that I can get a table, then! XD

I hope you make a nice tidy profit. :-)

Thank you! :)

Actually I think the scariest thing is those are the numbers without factoring in the time for the artwork.

Which can at least be divided up by number of prints sold over its useful lifetime. I prefer not to think of the time I invested just because if I did I'd go INSANE.

woo I was about to poke at your numbers, since i *never* spend that much on supplies, but then read your bit about how it snuck up on you. Yeah that'd do it. *pets*

I really hope you break even, or moreso.

And aren't those clearbag boxes fabulous?? I love them to pieces. *squishes them*

You usually cut your own mats, correct? Do you know of any inexpensive places to order pre-cut mats? So far of what I've found, bagsunlimited.com has the best prices, but I haven't checked too far into it. I'm planning on ordering on August 1st, or whenever my next paycheck hits my account. :)

Yes! The box is wonderful! I am half-seriously considering ordering more backing board solely to get another box!

I couldn't even begin to tell you where to go for precut mats. I cut them myself. You can get a fairly decent sized mat cutter for around $120 (less if you get it at a place that has them on sale). And I get my mat board discounted because I buy the scraps off of frame shops (otherwise it just builds up like crazy for them). So I end up spending *maybe* 50 cents for an 11 by 14 double mat. It's really, really, really worth it to just do it yourself.

ahaha I'm ordering more just for those boxes too. They're just awesome. Luckily I also need more boards/bags so... yeah. But still the box is a great bonus.

I'll probably end up getting a mat cutter eventually. I've done it before, even the hardcore way with a ruler and a utility knife ~~never again~~ - (my first MA was in Anthro and museum studies and you do what you must when the mat-cutter is being monopolized by other students and there's a line to use it XD).

Well, not saying I did it well, but I did it. XD

ahahahaha oh those were the days. I remember doing the 'handheld' method in college too. Pure desperation to make your assignments ; ;

And that's where I learned the essential tip of cutting your foam-core at an angle so that the visitors can't see the ratsy edges. XD I passed that one on to some Architecture students doing presentations at my previous job in a university's architecture department. XD

Cripes, Otakon is on a weekend when we can't go. I had convinced myself it was this coming weekend. Oh well, we probably didn't need another manga/anime shopping spree so soon anyway! (The Mr. bought quite a lot of crazy stuff at the charity auction at Katsucon.)

I completely understand about the picture ... you and the kitty need to eat, after all!

My mom and I did craft fairs last winter and I'm trying to decide if it's even worth it. It was fun, but maybe I'm just going to knit for afghans for Afghans instead.