Success! You’ve made it to the con!
Setup usually takes place either the day before or the morning of the first day of the con. If you’re traveling far, be sure to give yourself plenty of time, because you never know what kind of unexpected traffic, car trouble, or obstacles you might encounter along the way.
Be an awesome con-mate by introducing yourself to your neighbors - they’ll likely help you fight boredom or have supplies you might have forgotten. Everyone I’ve sat next to in the past have been AWESOME, and continue to be a huge support for my work, so please chuck the idea of “no new friends” out the window.
10 minutes before the start of every day, make sure that you’ve:
- Eaten some food
- Gone to the bathroom
- Gotten coffee (or tea) and water to drink
- Gotten your payment system up and running (both for swiping credit cards and cash)
- Put a smile on!
Depending on how busy the convention is, you might even have time to get a sketch or two in. If you’re comfortable doing same-day commissions, this is another opportunity to stay busy at a slower con.
Otherwise, my biggest advice is to try to have as much fun as you can. The days are long, but if you can fill it with corny jokes and goofy dances, it can go by much faster.
That’s it! I hope you enjoy your first Artist Alley experience!
Got more tips or questions? Let me know in the comments!
To read all parts of this blog series:
4 comments
What a find. I am having my first con in October. Thank for your advice.
the article was helpful.
thank you.
wow my first artist alley is in February and your blog has been so helpful (great you actually sent the links to the display items you used, took me ages to discover I needed storage cubes)
thanks and wish me luck
This looks so fun! Do you have any more pictures? I am an amateur artist looking to start a business. I dont have anything yet and reading your post gVe me hope