fantasticon

Fantasticon 2024

| Saskia

Maybe it’s because the necessity to make money of my creations has waned a bit; I feel I’m starting to like smaller conventions much more than the larger ones. Okay, the smallest I attended where fantasy and sci fi ones, the largest mostly comic-oriented; so maybe it’s not a fair comparison. But what I’m getting at: smaller conventions are so much more relaxed to attend than the larger ones, expecially as a dealer!

table with art prints and booklets

It’s been a month already since I attended Fantasticon, the fantasy convention I dubbed the smallest in the Netherlands on my first visit in 2022. This year, I was invited to join a panel about AI in writing and helped behind the bar for a couple of hours. I also tabled with prints and booklets, which would have been impossible to combine at a larger convention. I remember at Dutch Comic Con, during peak times it wasn’t even possible to go to the bathroom; both the visitors demanding your attention as the waiting line made it impossible to leave your booth. Your neighbours would be just as busy so they couldn’t help you out either. And while all those people might drive up sales, it makes the whole experience quite exhausting.

I’d rather stay at the small conventions; where I have the time to chat with other dealers and am able to leave my table unattended for a while. During really quiet times, I can sketch the stand across my table and just do my own thing. Apart from being super relaxing, drawing also sparked new conversations. And in the end, making connections is just as worthwhile, and something I always felt there is little time for at larger events.

people browsing tables with fantasy books, chatting with the authors

I did sell stuff, even though I didn’t dare to hope for it: two booklets, a print and a sticker. Totally not bad for such a small convention!

Will I never attend big conventions like Comic Con anymore? I won’t say never, but probably not in the near future. Bigger means more expensive and most convention ventures up to now ended in the red. Now I don’t need the income anymore, so I can focus solely on the fun.

The Smallest Fantasy/Sci-Fi Convention of the Netherlands

| Saskia

That really must be Fantasticon.

I can’t remember how I got notice of this event exactly, but it must have been on one of my travels into the depths of obscure Dutch fantasy publishers and Facebook groups.

I have been on the fence whenever I should visit this event. From what I can see online, it seems a tiny event only insiders know of. It’s free, held in a local community center in a tiny town just south of Amsterdam. I honestly had never heard of Nieuw Vennep before. Additionally, the people behind this all seem 45+ and have websites that don’t seem to have changed since 2002. All in all it gives me the impression that this is more of a hobby club than a professional affair. But then again, the line between hobbyist and proffessional is very thin in the art and design space.

Anyway, enough assumptions and judgement beforehand. The only way to figure out if this is something for me is to attend, so I did!

After seeing the community centre I thought it was even smaller than I was expecting!

So yes, most of my assumptions were right. It was a terribly tiny event. I guess there where less than 15 tables, mostly people who run their creative practice next to a full time job. There were a few talks and a presentation of a yearly publication of fantastical short stories. But sometimes I got the feeling I had entered a club in which these people had been creating and sharing their work for years, which I came to check out like an intruder.

Nevertheless, it was heartwarming to see and hear how passionate everyone was about their work and the fantasy genre in general. All the people I spoke loved to tell me about their projects, unconditionally: they didn’t try at all to sell me anything.

In addition, I have to admit it was amazingly organised for being such a small event. Communication beforehand was clear and on point, and even written in a whimsical, remarkable style which lends itself well for a fantasy convention. The program was followed by the minute and there was even the option to order lunch from a nearby sandwich shop, which was delivered on location.

On the way home I couldn’t shake the thought that this event has a lot more potential. I feel the fantasy genre is more popular than ever, especially D&D. With a little more marketing, this event could easily grow twice or even three times as big as it is now.

But it is easy talking for me, I’ve never tried to organise anything like this. The small-press publisher behind the event has been publishing fantasy antologies and magazines for decades, if they wanted to go big they most certainly have tried. The publishing world (and convention world even so) is difficult, why bother trying to make a living from it if you don’t have to?

For me, who is trying to make a living from all my creative endeavours, this is food for thought. The idea of having a full time day job to be able to create personal work only is not something I have seriously considered; it feels like giving up on a dream I’ve been fighting for every day. Even though financial worries may cease to exist, time to create will be limited to before and after nine-to-five. I’m not sure I’m ready for that.

To close this off: is this a meaningful event to network as a fantasy illustrator? If you’re looking for paid opportunities, not really, but you will meet wholesome fans of the genre.