BatsyBunny

Woah, at probably 900 booths, this has to be the biggest Artist Alley I've ever been too. Yes, Artist Alley in the underground area of the LA Convention Center never caused more claustrophobia or had more to offer as this was easily the most booths ever at AX. No longer a tattoo parlor or some sort of lesser manga company trying to break into the West. No, here was only a sea of artists, merch and very little spacing.

I'll give credit to Anime Expo for finally recognizing to let Artist Alley expand. Heck, maybe with some sort of covering they can hold it outside next year on one of the many open spaced roads they now control. But, for what it was, and endless amount of fan art it was truly amazing. Aisle after aisle of art from Sonic to Garfield. Name any anime under the sun and there was probably art for it there.

Strawbearrymilk Booth

To go back to complaints, spacing and air conditioning can always be improved down there. I mean, with rows almost making through the entire alphabet you gotta give people room!

Had the chance to talk with artist Luke Ge aka Strawbearrymilk at his booth as his Balatro (video game) Stamp Rally grabbed my attention. (A stamp rally is where you earn stamps on a provided postcard/piece of paper by visiting and purchasing some set amount from various booths to earn a prize/s) Luke was telling me the multiple stamp rallies he was a part of were generating interest in his booth. He also had a rally going for Disco Elysium, a PC game. I asked him why Balatro, a favorite of many right now. He answered, it's because many games don't get merch made and at least for his table he wants the stuff he wants to buy at Artist Alley. And fact that he had 300 hours already in game and had delete it off his computer because it got so bad probably was a factor.

Many artists like Luke Ge were just as friendly and happy to meet fans of their work. It's way different to get to look at what someone's made in person and if not mobbed by other people waiting to by their merch getting to talk to them. Patrons of Artist Alley must have had it tough this year with so much to choose from. I know I did.

Here's some more photos from the event: