👀What are your thoughts on this year's AX? Did you go this year? Or were you deterred by the big crowds from last year? 💖 Support me on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mualcaina (+ get Artist Alley reviews and tips I don't share on KZfaq 👀) 🌸 Shop my stuff! mualcaina.com/ 📌 Helpful Resources Artist Alley Network (AAN) Discord discord.com/invite/artistalleynetwork Mualcaina Artist Alley Vlogs: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/od-Aec-VpsrNaZc.html

This was my 9th year attending AX and I feel this is year was organized the best. Since COVID a lot of entrances were opened and not a lot of crowding. I loved the stamp rallies it is a great way for the attendees to find hidden gems that may have been overlooked due to sometime crowded isle. I participated in five and two of them were free and at the end was given a goodie bag with mini stickers its a great way for the attendees to discover new artists.

Hiya! I was at Anime Expo all 4 days and I have to say, this was one of the best ones since we had the Covid restrictions (ticket capped then). The crowds were really manageable and not as bad as last years. This could be for a number of reasons, AX Crossing opening up and diverting the flow of people, new security actually handling crowds and lines properly (imo), less people because of the economy and all the guests of honor and autograph sessions going on that pulled people away. I remember certain areas like against the walls in the exhibit hall and the artist alley where people just sat down and clogged the ends cause it to backup since there wasn't much room to move through. Security this year was on top of that and keeping the people moving and not sitting down in locations so close to high movement areas. The isles for the artist at artist alley DID get smaller (I heard some artist liked and disliked this) but giving up some space made going through the crowds so much easier and there was actually room to breath and made seeing the vendors easier because people didn't bunch up from a traffic jam as much. Additionally, if you go to the r18 section like I do, it was WAAAAAAAAY more roomier than last year when it was in the exhibit hall. The r18 section always had such a small space for the amount of people it has that it would make it a slog to get to and go through. But not this year. Temp in the con, personally, inside the artist alley, I was fine. It felt fresh day 1 just because there was a lower amount of people. But I did notice the temp and humidity rise day 2-4 because it was hotter and because there was a lot more people those days. Last year it was much worst, felt like the AC wasn't on at all or at least on eco mode. lol I felt like this years exhibit hall was kind of lackluster in terms of props and just general flashiness going on. There was some good ones like the Demon Slayer, One Piece and a few others but it really felt kind of empty and having the big ole gundam awkwardly alone in the main hall and not in the exhibit hall added to that empty feeling. I feel like the exhibit hall is slowly losing those amazing props and stages. My thoughts on your thoughts on moving to the exhibit hall (as a consumer). I think on paper it sounds like a good idea, more space, more inventory and more brand recognition. But the con is that it costs more, you lose a lot of your current stock because no fan art, that also means it cuts into your profit and best sellers. That and when you enter the artist alley, I feel like I have more of a curious eye and a consumer mindset where I want to buy and support small businesses. Not so much in the exhibit hall. I also feel like if they had opened the south parking lot, the one right next to yall in artist alley, it would have been better to manage inventory as you can basically just get it whenever you needed when you needed it. That being said, it doesn't hurt yo try it one year and see how it goes first hand. Might give you more insight since you have that experience, Loved your booth, I bought some stuff from you too! :D

thats great you're trying to focus on original art. i think its much more stressful for artists to focus on fandoms and do regular cons cuz whats popular one year/season could be forgotten in the next. finding fanart is fun but i'll always encourage original works by artists.

Exhibitor booth 2024 cost is $2000 for returning vendors. New vendors cost $2500-$3000 for a 10x10 booth. There's definitely less people this year. Last year was shoulder to shoulder crowds and we almost didn't have any downtime selling. This year there were 30-40 mins of no sales for supposedly busy days (friday/saturday).

Yesss! I loved seeing your booth and seeing how crowded it was! It was crazy how in the end it was still so crowded with everyone sitting and all!! 🥰😝

Hey Maci! I got to visit your booth but was too shy to say hello lol. Thank you for always sharing your perspective with vending and being an artist. Your videos always help give me confidence in my goals of vending in artist alley and I’m so happy I got to support you this year at AX!! Again, I’m glad you had a great con and I look forward to meeting you next year 🫶🏾

i love watching your success! it gives me hope. thank you for never gatekeeping and instead helping other artists dodge the pitfalls you didn't have help dodging!

I remember Teal felt the same way about growing out of the artist alley and moving into the exhibit hall last year. It's a tough choice as a business but always so glad to hear you're growing! These are good problems.

YIPPEE!!!! I'm glad you had a gr8 AX! It's always nice getting to stop by and say hi~

This was my first anime expo and I had such an amazing time! I got to see and say hi to you on the last day which was great! I really hope you are able to be in the exhibitors hall next year! Manifesting for you truly, you deserve it! :)

Awhhh! I really loved the bit where you were vlogging behind the table cover 😆 you’re hella relatable omg

I don't really know much about artist alleys but it's really interesting to hear your thoughts on potentially switching things up next time 🥰

As a resin artist, I REALLY enjoyed this vlog! I have a very hard time finding craft fairs in my area, but this has inspired me to try harder and maybe expand my search area. Thanks for sharing your experience with us!! 💙💙

Im seeing all these artists uploading day 0 or -1 setup and its so cool. Im trying to remember all the artists and their booths but there were so many!!

We do appreciate you sharing your experiences ♥

Dang I wish I had the time to come find your booth! Been watching your channel since earlier this year ever since we started doing more anime centered cons earlier this year as well! We had a booth too in kentia hall next to Otsku collective with all the CRT TVs. I’m glad it was a successful event for you 🎉🎉🎉🎉

i'm glad this year's ax seemed to be a little bit less overwhelming than last year! i doubt i'd ever be able to attend a california con anytime soon, but i hope to catch you at otakon since it'll be my first time attending!

Good vlog documenting what goes on from the inside. I do see that they’re transitioning having corpo big name stuff in the exhibit hall and the mom-n-pop anime shops in the artist alley. Glad u made money, keep doing what u love

Been looking forward to your AX vlog! ✨ I'm glad the crowds weren't as crazy as last year, because last year was a hot mess haha. Hoping to get into AX one day~

I don't see myself ever selling in California since it's so out of the way for me, but it's really cool to see how well people do at these events in case I ever changed my mind. I'd have to be exhibitors since plush and pins are my main items I sell.

Obsessed with your Demon Slayer headbands, so cute! Thank you for another amazing video, enjoy some well-deserved rest!!

I enjoyed watching your AX vlog! Hope you're able to get some rest :)

I was a vendor at my first con (both as a regular visitor and as an artist!) and your videos really helped me prepare what I should bring, setting up my table, and con expectations. I also had a lot of one piece related merch so its really cool to see how many people enjoy the series! As for your potential switch to the exhibitor hall, Kayozia is an artist who has a huge setup who sells lots of fanart, primarily vocaloid and genshin, which from my understanding are not as litigious as viz and other media companies and attended AX this year, but maybe check them out and see how they go about it! Can't wait to see more of your future videos, your doing amazing :)

I’m really hoping I can get into anime expo and some fan expo cons! I’m glad you did so well

I got most of my pins from you last year but i missed going to artist alley this year 😢

So happy for you!!!! 🎉 im going to be selling at my first ever artist alley/market, i hope it goes as well as you did!

What a lovely stand! I have a question about your magnets though: They look very flat - what kind of magnet is there on the back? I tried to find a very flat magnet as I want to make some sort of magnet bookmarks but never was able to ... I would much appreciate if you could tell me. Thanks. :)

One day I want to sell at Artist alley so this video was super helpful!!

Might be an unusual question but how do you make your headbands?? They looks so cute! How do you attach your plushies and acrylics so that they don’t fall off? Anyway thanks for the vlog!

do you know how they judge for apps? I've seen AI, tracers, and lets say "meh" art get selected and I'm so confused.

For the Stamp Rally stamps, where do you get them from?

Just curious, do you share your funds with JJK and One Piece companies due to copyright?

I was so happy to see your booth and sorry for disturbing your lunch during day 2 😆

I've never been to AX. The biggest anime convention I've been to was Fanime, but that was back in 2012 or so. Somewhere around there. But from how you described it, it sounds similar to what SDCC was at it's height. But I have a feeling that AX has the bigger attendance due to the massive success of manga/anime in America. Hopefully this is something sustainable. Though if you are feeling like you need to get a bigger table to sell product but can't sell fanart, then maybe it's time to do a collaboration with an unknown or small to modestly successful mangaka to develop and sell their exclusive merch? They can set up shop in Artist Alley and you can set up shop in the Exhibitor's section and the both of you can cross promote and sell each other's product. Something like that. Either way, I hope you get to long-term sustainability with what you're doing.

I wish I could have made it ): Hope you weer able to get some rest!!!

The crowds were much better than last year's. But even though it wasn't bad, artist alley felt extremely congested, at least in the front part. So, there were numerous lines and most were clustered in the front section. I know that a handful of artists had issues with AX staff. Some mentioned that AX didn't care when they said that they were expecting a huge line at their table and when the day arrived, they got dinged for having long lines which felt really unfair because they warned staff beforehand. Other artists mentioned that their booth got damaged because either the tables were too old or because the staff wasn't careful when they drove their vehicle. Also, I talked to another artist and I found out that she was trying to upgrade to an exhibitor booth to accommodate the amount of people coming to her, but AX never got back to her. So she is stuck in the artist alley. I felt really bad for the artist alley this year because I felt that AX wasn't responsive to the artists needs. I remembered when I applied, AX hid the link to the AA app and never announced it. Hopefully, AX can make improvements to the artist alley next year. I even suggested in their survey that they should have premium AA tables so they can offer a bigger space for artists who doesn't want to leave the artist alley and not be fined with a DMCA. I went to the other halls, and they were great! I liked how sponsors stayed in one hall instead of splitting up like Aniplex last year. But again, I didn't how some of the exhibitors are lumped with AA. I rather have that whole hall dedicated to AA than having exhibitors randomly there. So sorry about this long post. I'm an artist myself and didn't make it to the AA this year. But, it just infuriates me that AX didn't treat their vendors better. I saw some of the comments in AX's IG post and many commented how well the con went. But, they don't what happened behind the scenes and I just want to let people know. BTW, good luck with otakon & sacanime mualcaina! Hope to meet you in person in the future!

omg my mom bought a bag from you

can't wait to meet you at otakon!! :3

How do people make travel worth while to things like this. Having a big van and driving across country must be almost impossible to make profit. Our products are large so to bring enough stuff... Good god, idk how that would even look and talk about time... We wouldn't be able to fly, i'm sure. I'd love to do a show like this but seriously, how to people do it if they aren't localish!

Why do you wear a mask?

The parking situation was very frustrating and I can only imagine the stress all the artists were under. Hopefully next year it doesn't happen again

Thank you again for the vlog (as always huhu)!! It’s definitely a dream of mine to vend at AX 🥹🤍