How to Survive the Dokomi as a Small Artist

A lengthy vlog about how I plan and survive German biggest artist alley. As a small artists it's quite challenging so my only chance of survival is to prepare well and think of certain strategies. I try to be as transparent as possible but still might miss something of misinterpret things. Feel free to comment on how you survive this kind of convention or maybe why you avoid it.
There has bee some criticism towards the organization of the Dokomi. I do not adress any of those as this is not the purpose of this video. I hope you understand.
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[@pavlina3202]

Such a nice video! I know I'm two years late, so I wouldn't be surprised if you already figured out what the holo effect on prints/stickers is by now, but just in case for anyone interested: it's a special laminating foil (there are many effects that can be achieved, not just holographic stuff). I've even seen people buying it in self-adhesive sheets/rolls and laminating their stuff themselves.

[@olschis_art]

Thank you for the tip!

[@concray]

that was super interesting. Before when i heard that someone went to a convention as an artist i just assumed it would be enough to just show up XD. Now i can see that, obviously, it's more than that. Still thank you for making it so interesting

[@olschis_art]

Thank you for watching! I guess it's always difficutl to imagine the process behind something that we ususally have no experience with.

[@PrincessGretz]

Thank you so much for this video! I'm preparing myself for the 2023 event as a tabler, and while I have a lot of experience doing cons in the UK, the European scene is still new to me so I wanted to see how people have dealt with the previous editions!

[@olschis_art]

Fingers crossed! I'm sure it will be a good experience. This year I wasn't lucky enough to get a table but luckily my publisher invited me. The artist alley is huge so I probably won't see all of it but maybe I will pass by your table.

[@PrincessGretz]

@@olschis_art oh that's cool at least! I've heard that they try to get new artists in to keep the lineup fresh! If you do manage it, I'm in Hall 3 table M74 💖

[@extremesubtlety]

thank u for sharing ur experience!

[@pinchevulpes]

Thank you for sharing!

[@olschis_art]

Thank you for watching ❤

[@aljoschajelinek5339]

Professionell auf allen Ebenen. Tolles Video!

[@olschis_art]

dankeschön!

[@trash-chancosplay631]

wow your art is lovely :'D I've only been to a con as an artist once, and while I liked the experience I missed exploring as a cosplayer ahaha I'll visit Dokomi for the first time this June! I'm from Greece, so I wanted to see some more technical stuff about the con, maybe tips and tricks XD that's how I found your video, and while it wasnt what i was looking for it was very entertaining :> keep it up

[@olschis_art]

Thank you so much for watching. I'm happy you enjoyed the video. Dokomi is a lot of fun!

[@florianott8081]

Hello. Hab das Video komplett geschaut ohne Stellen zu skippen! Das heißt: sehr interessant 🧐 Ja war wirklich interessant zu schauen und Respekt wie viel Arbeit da drin steckt. Ich bin und bleibe Fan! Und ich hoffe wir sehen uns noch auf einigen Cons. LG

[@olschis_art]

Danke! Du hast die Geduld eines Zen Mönchs hahaha

[@tpra8270]

Huhu! :) Weil ich das zufällig gesehen hab: Du kannst bei Wir machen Druck auch eine größere Auflage von Plakaten drucken lassen und angeben, dass 20 davon Motiv x haben sollen, die nächsten 20 Motiv y und so weiter :D Spart noch ein bisschen mehr Geld, als immer nur 20 Plakate als einzelne Bestellungen anzugeben 😄

[@olschis_art]

Ach so. Vielen Dank für den Tipp!!!

[@paule8675]

Vielen Dank für das tolle und nicht ganz so kurze Video und den ganzen Aufwand, den du damit hast!! Auch wenn ich selbst lange nicht mehr auf Messen/Cons war, ist der Blickwinkel aus Ausstellersicht super interessant =) Ich hätte mir auch 2 Stunden davon angesehen. Vllt schaffe ich es ja auch mal (auf der CMC Hamburg oder so) persönlich vorbei zu schauen. peng (Nur Info, keine Kritik: Bei der Einstellung @3:30 hat der Ton etwas geschrabbelt)

[@olschis_art]

Ah, ich glaube ich weiß woran das mit dem Ton liegt. War wohl doch etwas viel für meinen PC. Danke für den Hinweis. Ja, die CMC ist eine Messe, die man sich auch gerne spontan geben kann. Bei 6€ Eintritt hat man nicht viel zu verlieren XD

[@othermike]

Your channel is a great resource for creatives! You've inspired me to improve my drawing ability and create my own comic. What do you like about manga/comics vs. other forms of storytelling?

[@olschis_art]

I'm so happy to hear that! Creating a comics is such a challenging but enriching experience! Hm, I guess the possibility to read at your own pace. But also the accesability of it. All you need to create a comic is paper and a pen (in it's most simple form). But also the combination of visuals and text can give you a way of expressing ideas other mediums just can't.

[@othermike]

@@olschis_art Indeed! It is very much a happy medium between prose and film. Pacing seems to be one of the more difficult things to master in this medium. Thank you again for the video, and response! Looking forward to the next one 🙏😁

[@olschis_art]

@@othermike Thank you for watching!

[@Gold--]

its so weird that youtube will reccomend me german cons because my boyfriend lives in germany. is dokomi a good con for someone that doesnt know german? ive only been to 1 con and i really loved it but i want to go one with my boyfriend when i am able to

[@olschis_art]

Maybe that's a sign, haha! Dokomi is definitely a good con for international visitors. People from all over europe go there and even lots of international artists get tables there.

[@Gold--]

woahh, i didnt know germany did have cons tbh. my bf tells me theres not a lot of stuff there. the great part is that the distance between his city to the con is not bad at all! I might ask my friends if they want to go to such a con in the summer, when do tickets for it come out? @@olschis_art

[@olschis_art]

@@Gold-- There are actually quite a few conventions for manga and anime fans. The Connichi or Animagic are close to that area as well. I actually don't know when the tickets for the Dokomi will be available. You migt check their homepage. I know that the tickets sell out quickly.

[@Gold--]

@@olschis_art ahhh, ill have to look frequently. It sucks how pricey the plane tickets to there are. Also, i love conventions for their panels and artist alleys. Do the panels primarily speak english or german?

[@Gold--]

@@olschis_art ahhh, ill have to look frequently. It sucks how pricey the plane tickets to there are. Also, i love conventions for their panels and artist alleys. Do the panels primarily speak english or german?

[@plantywes]

ICH STAND GHANZ OBEN AUF DE RLISTE UND WIR HABEN UNS NCIHT GESEHEN ARGH

[@olschis_art]

I know 😭 ich habe echt nur Leute besuchen können, die ein paar Stände weiter von mir weg waren. Nächstes Jahr wird es besser. Da plane ich eine Standhelferin mitzunehmen.