Art Track -What exactly is it?

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Tuberat
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Art Track -What exactly is it?

Post by Tuberat »

Okay....i've only seen one complaint about the Art Track, but i figured that not only should i ADDRESS it, but I should fill you guys in on what we're attempting to do. After reading this, if you have any activity suggestions, go ahead and throw them out there.

HISTORY:
First off, the Art Track was created by Marc Dell'Erba 2 years ago as a way to promote artists rather than 'industry' guests. (i'm sorry, even if an industry guest is an artist, i know that "Artist" is not the first thing i think when i hear we've announced a new industry guest. i can't be the only one with that confusion)

However, Marc did not return this year, and any and all ideas he had for the Art Track left with him and i hadn't been involved in the process at all. so even though the Art Track already had a test out year, we were once again, testing it out.

So for this year, we asked two of last years Featured Artists to return who are very nice people: Dee Dupuy and Bettina Kurkoski. Then we also asked Mookie and Novablade to be Featured Artists.

[highlight][color:red]Complaint:[/color][/highlight]
now the complaint I've heard is that Featured Artists shouldn't be in the Artists Alley. Specifically and Particularly Svetlana because she is published by TokyoPop. However, Bettina was okay despite having also been published by Tokyopop.

[color:red]PART 1: Addressing Svetlana First:[/color]
Well first off - we actually didn't intend on Svetlana. But when we asked Dee, she brought three people with her and Svetlana was one of them. Svetlana - point of fact - had already PLANNED on being in the Artists Alley, and as you all already know, we've never turned anyone away unless we run out of space.

And i figured, if Dee was at the table and had 3 other artists with her - one of which i knew was very popular - why not make them ALL Featured Artists? Table space allocation was limited to keep spaces left for everyone else, but if they were going to share a table, all the better for the Art Track. They didn't ASK for F.A. status for the rest of the table, nor did they have any reason to expect it. So once again, even if I had NOT made Svetlana a F.A., she would STILL have been in the Alley.
[color:red]
PART 2: NOW to address whether or not F.A.'s should even BE in the Alley:[/color]

While you guys don't see it because this year we were floundering a bit, not ALL of the F.A.'s are going to be people EVERYBODY already knows. And they certainly are NOT all going to be published. Either Self Published or through a major distributing company such as TokyoPop.

And even if i get one of the latter, i am NOT going to be splitting up the F.A.'s. that would make things pretty confusing and i'd be stepping on other peoples toes by saying "hey, i want this artist, but they can't go in the AA so you have to take them instead..." in reality, i really don't have the authority to do that.

Lastly, (in regards to one TP artist was fine but the other was not) we are NOT going to have double standards. either ALL F.A.'s are in the alley, or none. And most of who we're going to be picking wouldn't survive in the Dealers Room (maybe further down the line, but not now).

So that should be it for the complaints...now on to a little more of what the Art Track wants to actually DO.
[highlight]
[color:blue]ART TRACK CONTENT AND PLANS:[/color]
[/highlight]

[color:blue]First[/color] - we want to promote Artists, known or not, specifically Artists who are in the Alley with the original intent in mind

(yeah, I've seen the discussions about this as well....and i'm sorry, but the AA WAS intended for Comic Artists trying to break into the business or - like in bettina's case where her comic only has one more book to go - try to get into the next big gig. I'm sure animators could have tried the same thing, but i don't think that happened nearly as often if at all.)

To this end, I have picked a couple of people through wandering our Alley this year who do comics online...while my Art Track Coordinator picked some 2D artists the same way that she really liked (i don't actually know if they do comics though) and we'll be discussing what we want to do there.

Also, despite what we did this year, we've decided that in the future, we will not have the same F.A. twice in a row....to do that would kinda stagnate the whole intent behind the Featured Artist. If we had the same F.A.'s over and over again, people will eventually get bored. It's a once a year spotlight, and next year, the spotlight SHOULD move on.

[color:blue]SECOND -[/color] Thanks to you guys, and our experiment this year, the AATC will be an official Artists' Alley Activity - information for that and any OTHER activities WILL be on the Art Track Page for next year.


[color:blue]THIRD -[/color] I am going to ATTEMPT (this is kinda outside my power though, so we'll see what happens) to try and snag a room for a late night artists jam for after the Alley itself closes. It can be a place for artists to finish up any commissions they wanted to do, or just hang out and help each other and goof off.
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Art Track -What exactly is it?

Post by Kogarashi »

This sounds great, Nikki. Nicely addressed, and the future plans sound terrific.

Curiosity Question: do your potential FAs for next year know already, or are you waiting to deliberate and narrow down the list first?

Fair enough on the original intent of the Alley, and thanks for not turning away artists who don't work exclusively (or even primarily) in 2D. :)
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Post by daisuke88 »

good. i think that there were a lot of rumors starting because of the threads, so this overview was DEFINITELY needed. and i support all the decisions you've made! =D i think that the FA should feel welcomed by the other artists, and stay in the alley with us. i mean, otherwise it seems almost like we're shunning them, and they're still there for the same reason we are.

and the artist "jam" type thing would be so cool! **crosses fingers** good luck with making it happen! =D
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Art Track -What exactly is it?

Post by Tabikat »

I had someone working at AB come up to my table and put me on a list, she said something about artwork for next year's AB and such and I was going on the list, I don't know if that was you or not but if I could do the artwork for the program next year, I would love to, even if I couldn't come at all, speaking as an artist slowly getting her way into the industry, any form of publication and exposure is good and being the program artist for AB is definitely good exposure for my art.
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Art Track -What exactly is it?

Post by Lu the Crappy Artist »

Well said.

Now. . .I know I'm going to get the Glare of Doom from people. . . But who is Svetlana? And why are so many people talking about her right now? (I must be even more out of the loop than I thought!!)
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Post by Tabikat »

I don't know her either so don't worry.
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Post by Kogarashi »

The extent of my knowledge is what I've gleaned from the forums here. It sounds like she's an artist published through Tokyopop (quite likely thanks to the Rising Stars of Manga contest).

One beef I've heard that might've been connected to her was that she had more "commercial" stuff at her table instead of things like prints and an art portfolio, whereas Bettina's table was more "like ours." Or something. ::shrug:: I agree that we shouldn't differentiate like that, nor do I think our Featured Artists should be asked to sit in the Dealer's room. I mean, hey, Mookie was selling scarves and the one guy who does art for Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comics had an advertisement for one of the issues he's drawn for, as well as some very nice, professional looking prints. (I bought one of his badges. ^__^)

Tabikat, that would be so cool to do art for the program guide (or other things, like the badges). I was actually just thinking how they choose who does that.
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Art Track -What exactly is it?

Post by daisuke88 »

she has a manga out that's called dramacon. i haven't read it myself, but it's supposed to be good.
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Art Track -What exactly is it?

Post by Tuberat »

Thanks Kogarashi :)

Two of next years Featured Artists already know that they're in - as long as *I'M* still in (once directors have been officially elected/re-elected, i still have to reapply to be the AA head. While i see no changes likely, i always like to make sure we're prepared) the rest, juri wanted me to look over her choices (she made sure i got their cards) and we were going to discuss.
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Post by Tuberat »

thanks very much for the feedback! :)
i'm always glad to hear when im on the right track (the art track! D'oh! okay, i should be punished for that sad attempt at a pun...)
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Post by Tuberat »

ah yes...i don't remember her name off hand, but she went through my entire list of artists to see who was local/semi local and then took my list and ran around to see who she could find.

the intent WAS to scout out possible artists for next years Theme. I have no idea when they'll make a decision on that - it would probably be quite a while.

for others, if you are SERIOUS about your commitment to be able to do LOTS of art - and you want to inquire, i believe the best thing to do is to submit yourself for consideration thru the AB mailor to : pr@

but keep in mind that it may be going through a changeover in the next month or so because of elections/re-elections and then all the people under them re-applying.
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Post by Tuberat »

i'm only slightly more in the loop then you are, so don't worry.

Svetlana is really nice, from Canada actually, and i keep INTENDING on buying her Dramacon comics (i KNOW 2 books are out, and i THINK 3 books are out) which are published through Tokyopop. Someone said that our very own PatrickD even has a cameo somewhere in the books...

(patrick, for the latecomers of which i know we have, used to be Vice Chair for AB's 1st year and then Chairman for a few years before he passed on the torch)

Now as far as i KNOW, Dramacon is her thing...and she's a regular artist like the rest of us, with not much else under the belt, but i have never really had a chance to actually sit down and talk with her at length, so i can't actually tell you, but she IS very popular. alot of people came up asking for her throughout the con. if it wasn't her, they asked for Mookie (and he was practically on TOP of the Info desk!)

i'd also like to point out (in continuance of the subject in my original thread) that i was sitting next to this row of F.A.'s which included Svetlana. she, and the wirepop table that Svet sat at, actually only came for limited hours each day - i think their max was around 6 hours out of the like 14 we had available on saturday alone! and my sales did NOT suffer as have been implied that it would because of the 'professionals' in the room, in fact, i did better then last year.
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Post by Bettina Marie »

*psssssssst*

Dramacon 3 IS out...has been since December I think >.>;;

[quote=Kogarashi]The extent of my knowledge is what I've gleaned from the forums here. It sounds like she's an artist published through Tokyopop (quite likely thanks to the Rising Stars of Manga contest).
[/quote]

Actually, Tokyopop discovered Svet thru the Wirepop site and her then webcomic Night Silver...so no RSoM for her....me on the other hand, I DID get into Tokyopop thru RSoM vol 2 ^_^;;;...so maybe that's where you're confusion is from >.>;


Also...someone had mentioned that Aya Takeo was published thru Tokyopop and shouldn't have been in AA last year...well...Aya Takeo is NOT published thru Tokyopop and is actually a webcomic published locally (despite Sonia being/living in England, her writer and site manager residing in Massachusetts) and thusly they were in AA to promote their webcomic and sell Sonia's other published work, all of which is not Tokyopop related.....Just thought I'd clear that up a bit^_^;;



*wimpers in a corner knowing she'll most likely NOT be a FA next year*;___; oh well...twas fun while it lasted ~,~
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Post by Kogarashi »

Thanks, Bettina. I wasn't sure, actually, since I'd never read anything of Svetlana's, but I did know you were published because of RSoM (I've got that volume). I just didn't know if Svetlana was a RSoM winner either. It seemed to me that a lot of Tokyopop's North American artists were found via RSoM, so it was probably a good guess.

And even if you aren't a Featured Artist, you could still try for a table with the rest of us. ^_^ I know my table partner (the jewelry-maker) would love to see you there again.
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Post by Tuberat »

aha! thank you! i knew there was something like that, but i didn't deal with sonia at all last year, marc did, so he knew all the details.
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Post by Bettina Marie »

[quote=Kogarashi]Thanks, Bettina. I wasn't sure, actually, since I'd never read anything of Svetlana's, but I did know you were published because of RSoM (I've got that volume). I just didn't know if Svetlana was a RSoM winner either. It seemed to me that a lot of Tokyopop's North American artists were found via RSoM, so it was probably a good guess.[/quote]

Welcome dear!^_^

and yea, a good majority of the Original English Language manga these days are done by RSoM winners, tis the reason Tokyopop started the contest in the first place I believe, to scout out talent to start their OEL manga line! XD

[quote=Kogarashi]And even if you aren't a Featured Artist, you could still try for a table with the rest of us. ^_^ I know my table partner (the jewelry-maker) would love to see you there again.[/quote]

Man...I HOPE so!!;__; but knowing the record of them selling out so fast...am REALLY going to have to be on my toes next year!O_O; I had it easy for two years...guess it's my turn to suffer the stressful wait ^_^;;

and if I don't get a table, I'll STILL be at AB anyways! XD the lack of an AA table tain't gonna keep me away from my homestate con!^,^V and yea, if I don't do a table, then I'll just work with Comicopia to arrange some signings, as I'll have several new books out by AB2009 and I'll have panels to run...perhaps it'd give me a lil break from the long(but still enjoyable!! XD) AA hours. ^_^....but yea, it being my homestate con, am thinking by next year it'll be the ONLY con AA I'll be in >.>;; but we'll see^^;


[quote=Tuberat]aha! thank you! i knew there was something like that, but i didn't deal with sonia at all last year, marc did, so he knew all the details. [/quote]

Welcome dear! XD Tis what I'm here for! ~_^

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Post by marikotoeii »

some of aya takeos products really botheres me.. especially the led lighted pins.. it was just like.. i guess professionally merchandized? And i didnt exactly think that was OK for the alley.. i mean.. i ame all my stuff myself in one way or another.. and it just seeme dlike her table was sponsered by a business. thats the feeling i got.

i dont want fa's to be gone. i just feel that they should be in one row at AB. thats just my persona; feelin on it..

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Post by marikotoeii »

im local to new england. been working on the same comic for almost four years now and have been at AB showing it since 06. We had the comic online at the start, but right now we are looking to find an easier way to get the comic up there. we are also guest artists at portcon this year. i was so busy, i dont know if anyone came by our table..

well maybe one day we will make FA at AB. dilligence!
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Post by Tuberat »

[quote=marikotoeii]some of aya takeos products really botheres me.. especially the led lighted pins.. it was just like.. i guess professionally merchandized? And i didnt exactly think that was OK for the alley.. i mean.. i ame all my stuff myself in one way or another.. and it just seeme dlike her table was sponsered by a business. thats the feeling i got.
[/quote]
I never really got a chance to look at her table, so i can't really say myself.
[quote=marikotoeii]
i dont want fa's to be gone. i just feel that they should be in one row at AB. thats just my persona; feelin on it..

[/quote]

well then, we're all ready off to a good start. except for mookie, all F.A.'s WERE in one row (and he was practically on top of it anyway). Plus, you don't have to worry about them "taking over" because we only allot 4 tables for F.A.'s.....to be fair to everyone else trying to get in.
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Post by Tabikat »

Ah thanks, like I said, it would help with the exposure and I know I can draw well so it would be a nice opportunity, but we'll see.
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Post by TwinEnigma »

I feel really sheepish for saying that I was so busy I didn't really notice any of the featured artists, especially since I didn't get much time to mill around looking. ^^;

Heh, I'm pretty local too, but until I get my professional portfolio in some semblance of order, I'll stick with the "Starving/Student Artist" side of things over the professional side.
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Post by marikotoeii »

i like the idea of pooling the alley for future fas. theres a lot of talent in there.
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Post by ang »

I'd like to go ahead and announce the artists for the 2009 Anime Boston Art Track!

Nigel Sade - http://nigelsade.com

Jennie Breeden - http://devilspanties.keenspot.com/

Robert "Sketch" Scholz - http://sketchedoutlife.com

Susan and Everett Soares - http://www.skypiratesofvalendor.com/

More information including biographies and panels will be hitting the website in due time. So say tuned!
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Post by marikotoeii »

hehe well as an original comic artist showing the same self made self promoted works since 2004 i officially would like to throw my hat in the ring for this :P
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Post by ang »

I'm not the art track coordinator for this year. If the new one would like to have you, I'm sure she'll notify you. :)
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