Question regarding what section to apply for at Anime North
(Please answer privately or publish anonymously) Hello there! I'm new to the convention artist scene, and was considering applying for a table for Anime North 2023. I'm a small artist looking to split a table to sell merch/fanart, but I'm not sure which section I'm supposed to apply under. A reply back would be much appreciated!
Hope you see this anon, because I can’t figure out how to reply privately to your ask on the current desktop interface...
A general disclaimer/reminder that we’re not an official Anime North communication channel; for latest and most accurate convention info you should always doublecheck the actual convention site and talk to actual event representatives.
In this case, check out the dropdowns for “Exhibitors” - each section has a short blurb at the very beginning explaining what the section is intended for. https://www.animenorth.com/
My immediate thought is that Comic Market is probably the best match for you. It’s closest to the original incarnation of artist alley at Anime North before they started breaking it up into different sections roughly by medium/experience/size etc. So in other words, smaller/independent/learning-more-to-hobbyist artists who have print-based work for sale, both original and fanart.
If you go to https://www.animenorth.com/index.php/exhibitors/comic-market you’ll see the top of the page says “ The Comic Market is for Independent Illustration Artists, whose main focus is self-published 2D printed/painted media. Materials may vary between paper and canvas media. Most plastic, fabric, metal, or 3D material cannot be sold in this section."
Roughly speaking, these are the different sections. Again, please do read the latest info on the site; things can update and change year to year.
Comic Market - As stated above, 2D print-based creations.
Crafter’s Corner - For non-print based creations.
Pro Plaza - No fanwork.
Gallery Momiji - You don’t want to sit behind a table most of the con and would rather have a gallery space displaying and selling your work. No restrictions on mediums or fanworks assuming it can fit on their display options.
The other sections discourage fanart and point you to one of the above sections as being more appropriate for artists:
Dealer’s Room (or Vendor Hall now, looks like) - bigger companies/businesses/stores.
Nominoichi: one day garage sale/flea market.
Hope this helps!
