This past weekend, I had the pleasure of participating as an artist at Anime Fargo 2025. As someone who loves creating and sharing art, these conventions are always a valuable experience, even if they come with their unique challenges!
The Beach Episode Stamp Rally!
This year’s convention theme was the “Obligatory Beach Episode,” a classic anime trope that inspired my first-ever stamp rally. Working alongside four other artists, we created a collaborative Pokémon beach-themed rally. Essentially a convention-themed sales game, it turned out to be genuinely fun and exciting. All artists involved contributed a piece of art merch to the prize packs, funded the custom stamp cards, and worked together to promote. To complete the rally and receive all five prizes, attendees had to make a purchase of $10 or more from each participating artist.
For my contribution, I created a print featuring Misty and Psyduck at the beach. The art is an honest reflection of my own beach days: my wife is the joyful Misty, and I am the sweaty, uncomfortable Psyduck who was dragged along. I believe that even Psyduck will ultimately learn to appreciate the simple pleasure of relaxing next to his partner, reading together on the shoreline.
What Resonated with Fans
- My Hero Academia prints were unexpectedly popular
- The whimsical Derpy Tiger design found its audience
- Nostalgic pieces featuring the Powerpuff Girls and Dexter’s Lab connected with fans
- Mystery Art Packs were reliable sellers
Artist Alley Insights
One of the most enriching aspects of conventions is connecting with fellow artists. My table neighbor, AsterSky, and I had a great conversation about the dilemma many convention artists face: balancing incredibly labor-intensive original comics that are seemingly never profitable versus the higher convention-selling fan art. These conversations remind me that we’re all navigating similar creative journeys, and her work totally blew me away. See AsterSky’s work.
This convention also marked the first time I’ve drawn live at my table on the iPad, and mirrored onto a screen facing attendees. It transformed my booth from a simple sales space into a mini-performance area. This dynamic was fascinating; many attendees were captivated by watching the creative process unfold, sparking meaningful conversations that went beyond typical sales interactions. While I occasionally felt like an exhibit (“Look, an artist in their natural habitat!”), and noticed some visitors hesitated to “interrupt” my work, the benefits were clear. Even during slow sales periods, I remained productive, making every convention hour valuable.
Lessons for Next Time
Every convention teaches valuable lessons for improving the next experience. This time, I’ve learned that presentation matters. There were many very elaborate set-ups when compared to my straightforward display. I think finding the right balance between an approachable display and one that showcases my work efficiently is key.
I’ll definitely ditch the large print bin. It’s very heavy and numerous people would pick a print from the wall behind me and I’d have to tell them to dig through the bin to find it. This created unnecessary friction in the sales process.
For upcoming events, I may try to address the “hesitation factor” by adding a sign welcoming interruptions. Despite these small challenges, the moments when someone’s eyes light up watching a piece come together make the convention experience truly special and prove the value of sharing the artistic journey.
While I sometimes felt a bit out of place in the anime-focused event, I still found my people and made meaningful connections. And isn’t that what conventions are all about?
