Welcome to Part THREE of my multi-part Comic Con series. Each comic-con has a different personality, and every experience teaches me something new. So having been doing these for a few years now, I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve learned, or comfortable habits I’ve formed in this, Don Sparrow’s Guide to Comic-Cons for Artists.

Click HERE for PART ONE: TRAVEL.

Click HERE for PART TWO: YOU ARE HERE.

DISCLAIMER: Am I saying this is the ONLY way to do a convention, or that you’re a hopeless case if you do a convention differently, or have different motivation or results from a show? NO! Where are you getting that? This is just some stuff that I figured out makes a show go better for ME, personally. Ok? Ok.

SETTING UP

There are a lot of different ways of doing things, and as with everything else in this series of posts, these are just my opinions and experiences. Certainly no one should feel obligated to agree or do any of these things, but I’ve learned a few things that have helped make these cons a better experience for myself.

* A PURPOSE DRIVEN CONVENTION! Before you even arrive at your convention, give some thought to what you want to achieve while you’re at the convention. There are lots of reason to exhibit at conventions–they’re fun, you can promote your work and products, and maybe even get some commissions or publications out of the deal, and hopefully earn some profit. But whatever your motivation is, you should choose what that is before you spend the money to travel to a convention, and try your best to make those goals a reality. I’m at a stage in my career where, crass as it sounds, I’m there to earn money for my family. As said earlier, getting your name out there is great, and it’s always nice to see the other exhibitors and familiar faces and chat with them. But for me, if I begin to lose money on these conventions, then I simply can’t do them any more. Anything else that comes my way (discovery, recognition, Twitter followers, off-site commissions, etc) is all great, but my goal is to come home from these conventions with money for my family. So to avoid disappointment, be honest with yourself about what you want from these cons, so you have a real measure of which ones were successful, and which ones weren’t. From those measures, you can evaluate if the experience is worth repeating. If all you want is a way to see the show, and maybe sell a print or two as a loss leader, and you’re open about that, then that’s great too, so long as that’s all you want out of a convention.

There are even guys who reserve booths just so they can take photos with cosplay girls while they creepily lift them into the air, so, to each their own?

But it helps to remember what you’re there for. This can be tricky even for me, when conventions have guests that I am excited to meet. I have had to make difficult decisions of missing opportunities to visit with real heroes of mine, because I had a line-up at my booth. As much as I would have liked to have the time to meet a celebrity whose work I admire, my purpose for being there came first, and helped quell any disappointment I had over missing out on something fun. And it’s also the best ‘problem’ I could ask for.

*FEATURED GUEST VS. PAYING SLOB! Sometimes, I have had the great fortune to be considered a “featured guest” at a convention. This means I have been listed on their site as a guest, and even given a free table, and travel discounts. It’s an amazing feeling. Other times, I have rented a table and paid to be in Artist’s Alley. ALL of these experiences have been great. So while it’s nice to see your name listed on the same page as somebody wonderful like Margot Kidder, it doesn’t really impact what I’m at a convention to do, which is draw well, meet people, and hopefully earn money for my family. Nobody owes me (or you) anything. So instead of getting huffy and being upset that Con A gave you this, but Con B didn’t, and Con C helped out in this way, but Con D spelled your name wrong–just be glad you have the opportunity to showcase your work at all. Yes, some conventions are more organized than others. But any convention is what YOU make of it. So make it a great con for yourself.

•DISPLAY! Once again, I’m of two minds about this. My gut feeling is, if your work is good, people will find you, and you’ll do OK. All the fancy displays in the world won’t make up for work that is unrelatable, or worse–unprofessional. But at the same time, if you can afford it, it doesn’t hurt to make it easy for people who are looking for you to find you. My display has evolved over the years, as at each show I have learned a little more about what has worked well, and what people have enjoyed about my contribution to the show. I’ve built up the height of the display to add noticeability, but have also removed elements that were just taking up unnecessary space, or didn’t sell well (or at all!). I don’t think there’s a right or wrong approach to these things, but I have noticed a return on my investment of time, effort and materials when creating a display. Plus, building it myself over time really helped keep costs down. The display I have now stands 8’ x 8’, and folds down into a fairly lightweight four foot hockey bag, and cost me about $250 total.

*IT WAS ALL A SET-UP! I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to setting up. I like coming as early as is possible and getting my display up, and then leaving, rather than having to scramble on the day of the show or something like that. Once you’re up, you can stroll into the show with a relaxed minsdet, with the huffing and puffing all behind you. Plus, each venue is different, so you might run into problems if you don’t know your dimensions exactly (or, in that rare case when the convention itself is skimping on the space they promised you). Another advantage of setting up early is with neighbours. At a lot of shows I’ve had neighbours whose displays are slightly larger than their allotted space. But when you’re set up first, they have to work around YOU rather than the other way around. I never go over the allotted space, because I’m not a jerk, but getting set-up early will help make sure no one else can be a jerk to you.

It also doesn’t hurt to rehearse (now this sounds REALLY nerdy!). As I’ve built up my display, I practice putting it together and dismantling it at home well before show show. That way if I’m missing some piece, or have some trouble area, I can address it well before the show, when I should be focused on getting the display up, and getting ready for the customers.

JACOB’S LADDER (OR IN THIS CASE, DON’S LADDER)! My display is pretty tall, and as we’ve covered, I am not, so I usually need a ladder. And while sometimes conventions have stuff like this sitting around, I’ve learned you really can’t count on it (especially since there are about 200 other displays that might also need a ladder) so I bring my own. Same with duct tape, bungee cords, hand sanitizer, markers, pens, whatever–it is so much easier to be the guy that people borrow from than the guy that needs to borrow something.

* ADVANCED PLACEMENT! It’s super hard to put a convention together. While I’ve found where the organizers place my table can improve sales in some cases, the result really is on me. Most conventions have someone working very hard to make sure that your table is placed in a way that will benefit you. Only once have I been placed very near another artist whose style or service is similar or in direct competition with my own. For the most part, I’ve been really lucky with placement. Not only that, but when I’ve had ideal placement, as I did at two conventions last year, the organizers were very amenable about me reserving that space again (or one like it) just because I asked politely. Your success at a con helps the convention, too, and the organizers know this, and really do want you to be as successful as possible. If you have a chance to request your placement, I’ve found that corner booths are great for traffic, as people can get a look at your booth from more angles that way. It also helps when you make friends at a convention, as being near a buddy–especially one with a style different than yours–really makes the hours go quickly!

* GET THERE! Finding an easy route to the convention is a great idea, especially since most conventions are multiple day events. As I’ve said, I’m a big user of Siri’s turn by turn instructions, at least for the first time I go to a new convention centre. But a fun challenge I like to do, once I’ve been to the convention center one time at least, is to try to to get back to my hotel without using a map or Siri or anything. It gives me a better feel for the city I’m staying at, and gives me better confidence for when I have to get to the convention. Plus, you can scope out the banks, 7-11s and food joints on your route, and that could come in handy later.

BEFORE THE CONVENTION
*PRET A PORTER! WHAT TO WEAR AT THE CON. There are a lot of different approaches to this, so there’s no real wrong way to do it, but I’ll tell you my approach. You’ve got to be “you” (even if you look exactly like everyone else). There’s the constant tension between professionalism and comfort. Some people favour comfort over anything, and, as we saw in the plane travel section, that’s not really me. But at the same time, the con hours are long, and the temperature really varies, so while I have worn a suit and tie at a convention, I don’t typically.

The key for me is layering. I usually wear:

* 1. Shoes – Probably the most important decision you’ll make. In my real life, I always wear dress shoes, but I’ve found a whole day on those and my feet and back get pretty sore. I now usually wear chucks as they look cool, and are comfortable, but if I’m doing a lot of walking, lately, I’ve opted for my gym shoes. I know the jeans and sneakers look is a bit lame-dad, but my feet are under the table most of the day anyway. And you can always have the dress shoes in the car if you’re going out after.

* 2. Blue Jeans – Comfortable to wear for a long day, but not so casual as sweats or track pants, jeans also have deep front pockets that are great for storing cash safely.

* 3. T-Shirt – My favourite brand is Gap cotton v-necks ( so light and comfortable, and always keep their shape). Lately I’ve been wearing designs of my own at the con. I know it’s a bit lame–like your favourite band wearing their own tour shirt, but why not? It’s free promotion as you walk the con floor, and and also helps with brand consistency, if such a thing matters to you. (Plus when you get your photo taken with a movie star, there’s your shirt for everyone to see, so long as you get your stupid lanyard out of way.)

* 4. A Hoodie (or bunnyhug, as we call them in my neck of the woods) – I rarely actually wear these at the con, except for the rare time when I’m too cold at a convention. Usually they have the opposite problem of being unpleasantly warm, but on those times when they’re chilly, I’m glad to have the option hanging over the back of my chair.

* 5. A light jacket with zipper pockets – I keep my lanyard, wallet and anything else important zipped in the zipper pocket. Then I know it’s there, and, once it’s zipped, pretty tough to get to.

In my trusty briefcase (6.) bag I carry:

* My auxillary chargers (which have been fully powered up at the hotel) and power cord.

* A refillable bottle of water- I usually just fill the thing with ice cubes, which melt through the day so your water is tooth-cracking cold all day, which is how I like it.

* Hand sanitizer (My preference is grapefruit scented, but that’s up to you)

* All manner of pens, pencils and erasers (you can never have too many, or predict when your most trusted Micron will run dry). I like PITT pens, and Micron felt tip pens, even though I rarely use them for actual illustration work, outside of a con (I’m a nib man, myself). I never use those brush tip pens, as they wear out super fast, and leave weird lines on large areas of black.

* Paper. For every convention I buy a new package of cardstock, as it has a nice weight to it, but is more affordable than artist paper. I also keep a pad of 11” x 17” strathmore on hand for when people want their portraits drawn together.

* Business Cards or other little take-aways – because my business card is pretty sparse, I also made up a little takeaway card with all my social media stuff on it.

* A cushion for your chair – convention chairs are invariably awful, and if you’re going to be sitting and drawing all day, make sure you’re as comfortable as possible

* Snacks – I’ll cover this a bit more on the eating section, but it’s always good to have something at hand in case you’re too busy at your table to get away. Road food like beef jerky is good, as are celery and carrot sticks. I usually avoid nuts, out of deference for people with allergies–I’d hate to be munching on a handful of peanuts one moment, then touch a print or drawing and do harm to some unsuspecting person by cross-contamination.

* Reference – Most of my time at the con is spent drawing commissions, and despite my years of comics reading, I can’t draw all characters right out of my head. That’s why I bring reference for costume details. I have a great old Marvel phonebook of all their character bios, and have a similar book of DC Comics’ Who’s Who series. This is a big help, and also cuts down on data usage for my phone.

Ok, so you’re all set up, and your display is waiting for you at the con. Even so, on the first day, I like to roll in at least an hour early–especially if you’re parking at the convention. I’d always rather have too much time than not enough.

Thanks for reading! Coming in the next post: THE CONVENTION! Keeping a positive attitude, handling money, helpers, and so so much more. It’s a long post, so get a good chair. I love you.