PORTFOLIO PREPARATION GUIDE

• If you do not have a portfolio yet, please feel free to use the guidelines in this document to create one.
• If you have an existing portfolio or website, we encourage you to read through this guide in order to amend your presentation with any missing information or elements.
• Do not link any personal social media profile. However, artist or professional social media pages displaying only the applying artist’s work are accepted.
• The account must be set to Public and must contain a thorough display of your works. The application of an artist whose portfolio is left on Private or is inaccessible will be rejected.

Guidelines Specific to Premium Table Application

Please note that artists who apply for a Premium Artist Table are expected to carry enough merchandise to make use of at least 80% of the available space. They must demonstrate that they are able to fully stock their table and properly use the wider table / area of 8 x 2.5 ft provided in the Premium section.

We are looking for the following items in a portfolio submission:

• At least 10 art samples of distinct artworks or products.
• At least 3 art samples related to Japanese culture (such as, but not limited to: anime/manga, video games, Japanese music, Japanese fashion, Japanese food, Japanese style).

Guidelines Specific to Regular Table Application

We are looking for the following items in a portfolio submission:

• At least 5 art samples of distinct artworks or products.
• At least 3 art samples related to Japanese culture such as, but not limited to: anime/manga, video games, Japanese music, Japanese fashion, Japanese food, Japanese style).

Portfolio Presentation & Structure

We kindly ask that you prepare your portfolio in a structured way in order to assist the staff with processing your portfolio quickly and efficiently.

If you make many types of products, please separate them into categories to facilitate portfolio viewing. Here are some examples of categories. If a product you make does not fall into the following categories, please feel free to create your own or list it under “Other”. If you have any questions or wish to confirm that your portfolio meets requirements, contact us at artistsarea@otakuthon.com.

• Acrylic
  • Including, but not limited to: keychains, charms, pins, standees and coasters.
• Button Badges
• Enamel
  • Including, but not limited to: pins and keychains.
• Manufactured Clothing, Apparel
  • Including, but not limited to: T-shirts, sweaters, hoodies and hats.
• Manufactured Non-Clothing Textile
  • Including, but not limited to: Backpacks, desk mats, mouse pads, pillows, plushies and tote bags.
• Prints
• Stickers
• Handcrafted Products
  • Handcrafted products are made completely by the artist without the assistance of a manufacturer or company.
• Manga, Comic Books
  • Please include a 10- to 15-page preview of your work.
• 3D Prints
  • 3D-printed merchandise must be entirely your own work. Screenshots of your CAD/STL files showcasing 3D models must be included.
• Other

Accepted Portfolio Links

Please note that it is the artist’s responsibility to ensure that the link they provide is available to the public and is accessible to staff. If we are unable to open your link after multiple attempts, your application will be rejected.

If you wish to verify the accessibility of your portfolio link, please ask a friend to check. You can also open a new browser window in incognito or private mode and try to open the link there (this must be done without logging into any accounts).

• Google Drive (set to Public)
• Artist’s own website
• Carrd.co, Linktree
• Online portfolio sites, such as ArtStation, Behance, Pixiv, etc.
• Other cloud hosting service (set to Public)
• Artist or Professional social media page that is organized to facilitate portfolio viewing (personal pages will be rejected)
• Etc.

In case of doubt, please contact Artists’ Area staff (artistsarea@otakuthon.com) to verify your portfolio link.

Accepted File Types for Google Drive / Cloud Servers

• Image : JPEG, JPG, PNG, PDF.
  • Single- and multi-page PDF are both accepted.
• Video : MP4, M4A, MOV.

Do not include files that cannot be opened within a browser window and require a third-party software to access, such as a PSD, CLIP or PROCREATE file. Portfolio requirements are separate from the AI verification file, which can be a PSD.

Other Recommendations

• Photo of table setup: We encourage artists to also include a photo of their table setup from past conventions. Artists who have not tabled before can prepare a setup at home.
• Merchandise catalog(s): Artists who have a large variety of merchandise, in addition to their art samples, can submit images of catalogs they use to promote their products.

Example of Folder Setup in Google Drive

Example 1.

Example 2.

Example 3.