alicenpai

[alicenpai]

i forgot about these doodles.....!!!

in response to:

made for a 5 charas shitpost on twt.. i feel like the characters i find pog aren't the types of characters i usually draw 😶 this image feels like 4 gay men or something standing protectively around their hyperactive daughter obsessed with rainbows and hamsters idk. idk!

[alicenpai]

Redditors crashed the website with donations over $25k and 0 wishes left. via /r/MadeMeSmile

Click here and follow to get more daily positivity on your dash!

[alicenpai]

Hello! I’m just wondering if you have an idea of when your big cartel may be opening up again?

hi! It all depends on when I have new merch ready! I'm taking a break from merch right now, I've been feeling a bit burnt out/lost and I want to focus more on illustrations for the time being. but I'm hoping for either February or March..? thank you so much for your interest!! ❤❤

[alicenpai]

jack frost & black frost poofies!!!!!! ❄

[alicenpai]

nanananaananana!!!!! 🍓🩷💜 (only nana O available)

[alicenpai]

yu yu hakushoes 👉💥 (will likely be discontinued in the new year!)

[alicenpai]

let's eat!!!!!!!!!!! 🐰🍽🐉

[alicenpai]

you can smile again!!!!! 🎣🛹⛓🩺 (being discontinued so grab em while you can!)

[alicenpai]

acing your attorneys!!!!!!!! ⚖🔍

[alicenpai]

rozen maiden! 🎀🌹☕ (will probably discontinue in the new year so grab em while you can!)

[alicenpai]

gakuen alice buttons!! my ultimate childhood comfort manga....... there's been a nostalgic 2000s shoujo resurgence lately and that makes my inner teen heart happy i only have a few left and only natsume :') in my store!!

they come with a plaid holo finish, matching the plaid patterns on their uniforms!!

[alicenpai]

Hello! Sorry to bother but I was wondering if you happen to know any updates about the dungeon meshi zine? Will they actually ship out this month? There's been no updates at all since pre-orders closed :((

hi! as far as I remember they're printing all of the merch + zines and quality checking, which does take some time! i'm not a part of the mod team however, so it will likely be best to send questions to their official accounts in the future! hope this helps 🛐

[alicenpai]

they're back in my shop for a limited time, until dec 6 at 11:30 PM EST! shipping to EU + UK + canada (domestic) OK!

kuroshitsuji rewired my 14 yr old brain fr 🎩🕷🍬 buttons here !

[alicenpai]

taking a break from merch!

been feeling incredibly burnt out, so here are some thoughts on merch and events and shop stuff this year 🤔 LONGGG ass ramblings below

im going to be posting maybe like 1 or 2 merch posts daily for the next week-ish, just as a heads up!

i apologize in advance bc i feel like sometimes people just do not care about merch posts as opposed to regular ol' drawings (yes i know the psychology is that people dont like to be advertised to)... but i think the launch of my shop opening was pretty poorly timed 😬

the canada post strike (making canadians averse to purchases online, although i do not use canada post, i think a lot of people are under the assumption that most businesses use canpost) + combined with the EU product safety scare + maybe with tons of black friday competition + posting on the weekend has mixed results ..

i'm reconsidering the decision to reopen the store in dec, as i won't have any new items. additionally, this has been long overdue - i'm going to take a break from merch (besides the few events i already have coming up in dec+jan) to focus on what i really want from art. another thing that i gotta bring up is - this is the first year where i started doing more events past the summer, and well into the winter. i usually make a huge batch of new designs in late spring (for my biggest event, anime north), and a smaller batch in late summer (otakuthon). but, now i've been making new designs year round, which really is not something i'm used to, and contributed to the burnout. i've often been questioning myself, "does this need to be made?", "is this good art?" and it leads me to spiral more than necessary.

similarly, i should be working on my portfolio instead, as a lot of my portfolio works are from art school T__T i keep postponing it, i tell myself "oh just one more event, just one more event" bc i have trouble dividing my attention. how did i even do personal art + buttload of homework during animation school? HAHAHA. not to be harsh but like. what am i doing honestly 😭... i love making personal art, but i WISH i had MORE to show for my career. i want to go back into visual development. once im ready, i'll go back to drawing illustrations. in the meantime, i'll do a lot of reflection and chatting with friends, playing games, etc. getting in touch with the things i missed while i was busy crunching... --- also compiling a list of products that i have thoughts on - charms: - right off the bat, as i mentioned before, i think i've exhausted all i can from this lineless/borderless charm style! chibis for me are not artistically that interesting to draw hahaha... i don't think i'll make any more of charms in this style (unless i get a really good idea?). - i've been thinking of either stopping charms altogether, or lessening charm designs in the future. if i still... want to make charms after my break... i might opt to draw in a bust style instead. i'm really inspired by these one piece designs by my friend avenoirn..!! and these rdr wood charms by searift are so good!! but otherwise my current plan is to just focus on prints and stickers. they are infinitely easier to store too AHAHAHA.

- above: furthermore, this style does not suit all series unfortunately, examples above where i think the design is a bit weak... and i think that's where my weakness lies T__T i make things to satiate my curiosity for a short while HAHAHA but there are so many times where i'm just not proud of, or i feel indifferent, to the merch i make months down the road. - unfortunately charms are a huge seller at conventions, because of their small nature and cute quality i guess they make good gifts? i find that for me my charms didn't sell well in the past, until i switched over to this new style in 2023. i think along the way i started prioritizing charms more, and just making things that didn't work in the style like above. in reality, my heart wanted to make illustrative stuff like prints and sticker sheets, even though these products take infinitely longer to create, due to the amount of drafting and research i put into each piece. (funnily enough charms dont sell as well online + people buy stickers more) - it's getting infinitely more and more expensive to import charms from asia. first of all, shipping costs have increased, and secondly... government customs fees are truly the icing on top. it's been hard for small businesses since covid, and how heavily chinese packages have been taxed. - to be transparent, here are my suppliers: - i used vograce from 2015-2022, but over time felt that their quality declined so i stopped using them. - i use juno consistently, but also opt for kuien if i need a rush order done (~within a week, but also gotta pay premium for that rush service!!). - i have tried wooacry and can attest that their quality is good! to me it's not much different than juno's quality, besides small colour nuance and there (since wooacry's printers have the ability to print from RGB), however my designs tend to be on the simpler side.

- above, wooacry: although, it's hard to keep sizes consistent between designs (but i am a fool in this regard because i didn't check the digital mockup that precisely), so i probably won't use wooacry for huge character lineups unless i am 100% sure my charm designs are all the same size. - also geez... i didn't know people felt so hostile towards charms. (the entire disk horse on twitter if you've seen it. the original poster made a 2nd post that clarified their intent, which was, honestly?? incredibly well thought and nuanced. but the first post opened a whole can of worms, that didn't need to be that explosive from the get go, exposing myself and many other artists who make charms to other people's aggressive viewpoints). - at the same time, i understand that the scope of "anime fan merch" is very much "lowbrow art", but to act superior because one doesn't make acrylic products is a bit discouraging to say the least. i have already wanted to stop or slow down on charm designs for a long time, but this is the final blow for me. like damn. okay. ---

stickers: - importing stickers from US suppliers into canada has also similarly become more expensive with taxes TT to be transparent, i use stickerbunnies and i personally love them, however with taxes and slow response times, i cannot vouch for them all too much if you don't live in the US. however i think they would be okay if you didn't have a deadline (e.g. off peak con season) - currently i'm looking into local canadian manufacturers with affordable pricing, as well as the ability to commit to rather large orders (a few hundred)... unfortunately i'm rather picky with vinyl quality. my biggest character flaw. i used jukebox for a few designs, however they are pricey if there is no current sale. --- specialty: - also this is something ive been thinking for a while, but i'm likely going to discontinue "specialty" merch in the future..

- above: anything that's not prints, stickers, regular charms... - it's ironic bc as artists grow bigger they want to branch out into new unique types of merch.. i just don't find that they sell that well for me >< i'm a bit sad at the marcille pudding, i honestly thought it would sell better. still fawkin love it though. - they cost an arm and leg to boot = higher price = harder to sell? or maybe my design sense is just bad!!!!! - the only specialty stuff i have ideas for right now are some baccano coins + poker chips... wooacry posed a potential interest for them so im. rubbing my hands greedily like a fly. -- wood: - whoa i was really negative above LMAO. one thing i DO want to try out more are layered wood pins!!

- i really enjoyed working on the wooden layton pins i have... they don't sell that well online anymore i guess bc all of my followers have seen it a million times already LMAO but they sell quite well in person!! - thankfully wood is not that pricey and i can stick to small batches for them (like 10 quantity each?) - inspiration: i LOVE these wooden dunmeshi pins seirui made. i cant wait for mine to arrive...!! also love the backing pins, they add so much character!! general - oftentimes when i make a set of products, i find that main characters sell better than supporting characters. after a while of promoting them as last chance items online + bargain bin items at cons, they just don't sell and i'm left with a ton of unwanted merch T__T what do i do with the rest of the characters that don't sell? i do have to admit i'm concerned about waste, and there are no good resources on recycling old merch. - what i did in the past was - for buttons specifically - tear them apart AHAHAHAHA. buttons are made out of metal + paper + plastic and the former two can be recycled in my area. i'm not sure if it helps but i tried to do it as per my area's recycling rules... - acrylic charms are another matter altogether. i try to gift them as much as i can... - prints are great however because i can just use them as scrap paper or recycle them if unwanted!! - i got a little carried away making merch this year. i think i'll have to go back to my old method, which was making merch in small quantities, and only sell a small number that i can confidently rely on (~10 or less).

[alicenpai]

yayyyy i can finally compile all of my witch hat stuff!! :> store here

keeping this under the cut bc i don't have it available anymore but it was still fun! i handed one of these to my friend to give to miss shirahama personally, when she visited TCAF (toronto) this year

[alicenpai]

Friendly reminder that my tees can be bought at Kirumade !

Currently there’s free delivery with the code ‘KIRUFRI’ if you purchase any two or more items from their store 💃

[alicenpai]

my shop is now open for a limited time! from today, nov 29 to dec 6 at 11:30 PM EST, get 15% off your order with code "BF24"! shop is subject to close earlier if i feel i need to cap orders. thank you so much for the support!! take care of yourselves and take care of one another 🫡🫶

🌠 alicenpai.bigcartel.com ✨

if there are any products that you've seen in older catalogues (from 2024) that you don't see here, chances are i might still have it or it's sold out, but i don't have the space to list it on my store, please contact me via email! alicenpai@gmail.com