OAX 2 2

[KirbyCollector]

Thoughts?

[Will_K]

I wasn't going.  I think the ticket price reflects the overall ticket count being capped. 

[RBerman]

See you all there!

[JC25427N]

What are your thoughts?

[KirbyCollector]

On 12/14/2023 at 12:56 PM, Will_K said:

I think the ticket price reflects the overall ticket count being capped. 

I get the sense that exclusive access to artists seems to be the main focus of the show, like the one in Lake Como

[Dr. Balls]

So for the uninformed such as myself, what exactly happens at an art show?

(I did try to visit the website, which wouldn't load for me)

I mean, I've gone to car shows where you walk around and BS with people for half a day, look at cars, etc - which seems like that's kinda what could be expected here. But is there more to the show?

If it cost me $110 to sit around and BS with some buddies all day about comic art, that would be worth it - but if you go for a few hours because you don't know a ton of people, it might seem pricey. I assume ticket prices is reflective in how many tickets there are, who's there to speak and show art and a determined amount of vendors.

Also, do the dealers who have websites or youtube shows - do they bring stuff people haven't seen?

[alxjhnsn]

It's projected to be pretty much like an Artist Alley at most shows with a smaller crowd in front of the large number of artists.

There will be:

• Dealers with their stock 
• Artists doing sketches and pre-show commissions
• Collectors with tables showing and selling

The pre-con commission opportunities have been a real surprise to me. Lots of folks that don't normally do commissions are doing them for the show. Not all are affordable, but that's supply and demand for you.

I'm flying in on Friday and out on Sunday.

They have 49 artists posted with more to be announced (they've said the target is 60).

Dealers:

Publishers and Affiliates

 

Collectors:

And some gallery space.

 

[RBerman]

On 12/14/2023 at 1:35 PM, Dr. Balls said:

So for the uninformed such as myself, what exactly happens at an art show?

(I did try to visit the website, which wouldn't load for me)

I mean, I've gone to car shows where you walk around and BS with people for half a day, look at cars, etc - which seems like that's kinda what could be expected here. But is there more to the show?

If it cost me $110 to sit around and BS with some buddies all day about comic art, that would be worth it - but if you go for a few hours because you don't know a ton of people, it might seem pricey. I assume ticket prices is reflective in how many tickets there are, who's there to speak and show art and a determined amount of vendors.

Also, do the dealers who have websites or youtube shows - do they bring stuff people haven't seen?

Artists have tables with their work so you can look through it up close, talk to them, and decide whether you want to buy anything. Dealers do the same; what they bring is up to them, though obviously a large dealer (or busy artist) has more art "back home" than they are going to bring to a convention.

Most conventions (say, Comic-Con) have tons of stuff going on besides comic book art. At those conventions, most of the space is for booths selling costume supplies, Funko Pops, imported Japanese videos, T shirts, stuffed animals, etc. They have Hollywood actors there for photo ops and paid signature opportunities.

A few conventions are more art-oriented. At Heroes Con this year, it took me three whole days of nonstop looking through portfolios on artists' tables, and I still didn't see it all.

Lake Como put more of an emphasis on talking to the artists by, for instance, putting a chair on the outside of each booth, implying that it was OK to sit down and stay a while with each artist. Here is a video I took showing what that looks like, starting with an evening reception and then walking around the convention center the next two days.

It's my understanding that OAX follows the Lake Como model rather than the Comic-Con model. Receptions where artists and collectors mingle. More artists per attendee, thus more time with each artist. More recognized and published artists, not just indie creators trying to break into the business.

Also, collectors are bringing some of their collections to OAX so we can ooh and aah over each other's treasures and build relationships.

 

 

Edited December 14, 2023 by RBerman

[Dr. Balls]

On 12/14/2023 at 12:58 PM, RBerman said:

Artists have tables with their work so you can look through it up close, talk to them, and decide whether you want to buy anything. Dealers do the same; what they bring is up to them, though obviously a large dealer (or busy artist) has more art "back home" than they are going to bring to a convention.

Most conventions (say, Comic-Con) have tons of stuff going on besides comic book art. At those conventions, most of the space is for booths selling costume supplies, Funko Pops, imported Japanese videos, T shirts, stuffed animals, etc. They have Hollywood actors there for photo ops and paid signature opportunities.

A few conventions are more art-oriented. At Heroes Con this year, it took me three whole days of nonstop looking through portfolios on artists' tables, and I still didn't see it all.

Lake Como put more of an emphasis on talking to the artists by, for instance, putting a chair on the outside of each booth, implying that it was OK to sit down and stay a while with each artist. Here is a video I took showing what that looks like, starting with an evening reception and then walking around the convention center the next two days.

It's my understanding that OAX follows the Lake Como model rather than the Comic-Con model. Receptions where artists and collectors mingle. More artists per attendee, thus more time with each artist. More recognized and published artists, not just indie creators trying to break into the business.

Also, collectors are bringing some of their collections to OAX so we can ooh and aah over each other's treasures and build relationships.

 

 

Sounds cool - between your post and @alxjhnsn 's post, it sounds like a lot of fun for $110. If I weren't 2500 miles away, I'd try to be there! - don't any of these promoters want to venture to beautiful Montana for a show?

Edited December 14, 2023 by Dr. Balls

[alxjhnsn]

@Dr. Balls, I look forward to it primarily to meet new folks and renew acquaintances with others. Compared to Comic Art, airfare is cheap. Fly down.

[Dr. Balls]

On 12/14/2023 at 1:08 PM, alxjhnsn said:

@Dr. Balls, I look forward to it primarily to meet new folks and renew acquaintances with others. Compared to Comic Art, airfare is cheap. Fly down.

Good point! I do hope to get to one back east and meet some boardies someday, that is a bucket list thing for me. My biggest issue is travel time and being away from the business. It's a hard thing for my personality to break away from things even for a few days. But I'll get there, that's a life goal!

[vodou]

On 12/14/2023 at 4:09 PM, Dr. Balls said:

My biggest issue is travel time...

Interesting. My biggest issue is still time travel.

[Aahz]

I have not had the opportunity/time to go to a lot of cons.  Art usually seems to be more of an afterthought.  I like the idea of getting to see a lot of it ... new and vintage ... and meet the collectors.

[cloud cloddie]

I’d imagine it will be a fun show for those that attend. Seems like a good bang for your buck if you don’t attend a ton of shows. Lots of good commission opportunities, some from artists that don’t commonly do them. And lots of mingling with like minded collectors - I’m sure many will bring pieces just to share that’ll be drool worthy. Those are the pros. 
The cons - having that many dealers in one place is not a selling point for me. I’ve had better OA luck at cons where dealers are low and haven’t scoured the floor pre show to scoop up all the best stuff for resale. I do a good amount of cons a year, so there’s nobody on the roster I’m jonesin for I haven’t seen in the last year or two. And Florida. Nuff said on that. 

[Unstoppablejayd]

Absolutely excited for this! I’m going .. lots of my OA friends from around the country are going … artists are excited about it… I can not wait! 

[KirbyCollector]

On 12/15/2023 at 10:40 AM, Unstoppablejayd said:

Absolutely excited for this! I’m going .. lots of my OA friends from around the country are going … artists are excited about it… I can not wait! 

Perhaps Jay you could persuade Bill to actually comment on OAX here. He may not like this board, but it does represent a space which has built-in growth potential via the larger comics collecting community here. Concentrating on just CAF and the OA FB pages is fine, but it doesn't "grow" the hobby the way or expose it to new people the way this site can... I wonder how many pure comics collectors who have never thought about OA would be interested in OAX, if he chose to market it to them from the POV of meeting all these artists.

[Unstoppablejayd]

On 12/15/2023 at 11:02 AM, KirbyCollector said:

Perhaps Jay you could persuade Bill to actually comment on OAX here. He may not like this board, but it does represent a space which has built-in growth potential via the larger comics collecting community here. Concentrating on just CAF and the OA FB pages is fine, but it doesn't "grow" the hobby the way or expose it to new people the way this site can... I wonder how many pure comics collectors who have never thought about OA would be interested in OAX, if he chose to market it to them from the POV of meeting all these artists.

Good idea.. I’ll mention it to him when I speak to him 

[Will_K]

On 12/15/2023 at 11:02 AM, KirbyCollector said:

I wonder how many pure comics collectors who have never thought about OA would be interested in OAX

CGC and the like will be on hand. Good chance to get sigs. I would assume CGC would do some promo. 

[RBerman]

On 12/14/2023 at 6:02 PM, cloud cloddie said:

The cons - having that many dealers in one place is not a selling point for me. I’ve had better OA luck at cons where dealers are low and haven’t scoured the floor pre show to scoop up all the best stuff for resale.

I had not heard it put quite this way, but this is a fair point. In fact, some art collectors have bought booth space which which functions as a back door 'VIP' status to give them more direct access to earlier hours, artist contact in the green room, etc. I don't know any way around this with respect to either dealers or collectors, but it doesn't warm the heart to contemplate the possibility that the best pieces and best deals were already taken before the show officially opens. Regardless, I will be there to see the sights.

[cloud cloddie]

On 12/15/2023 at 10:17 AM, RBerman said:

I had not heard it put quite this way, but this is a fair point. In fact, some art collectors have bought booth space which which functions as a back door 'VIP' status to give them more direct access to earlier hours, artist contact in the green room, etc. I don't know any way around this with respect to either dealers or collectors, but it doesn't warm the heart to contemplate the possibility that the best pieces and best deals were already taken before the show officially opens. Regardless, I will be there to see the sights.

Yeah, that’s not a knock against Bill, because no way of really getting around it regardless of the con. Just the nature of the beast. I know some artists and reps that won’t put the good art out til the floor opens.