Is it acceptable to ask an artist at a Con to look at your work?

DarkGuyver

Hi everybody!
I like the new format for the forums by the way. I'm going to the Pittsburgh Comicon in April. My first con in almost 15 years. I was hoping to take a couple of my drawings to show some of the artists at the tables. What I'd like to know, is there some kind of unwritten protocol for approaching an artist at his/her table? What's the proper etiquette? Should you buy something to have them sign so they'd be more willing to give you a few minutes? Are there certain artists that are more willing to check out your work than others? Or is it in bad taste and am I just wasting my time?

Torchsong

1) Make sure there's not a line behind you.
2) Ask the artist first if they'd be willing to look at some of your work. Accept that they're allowed to say "No". Some don't like to do it.
3) Get a thick skin and be prepared to accept criticism. Some artists are very blunt. They may ask what your aspirations are and gear their response toward that.
4) Don't bombard them with one of those massive portfolios they have to splay across their table (unless that's all you have).
5) Many conventions set aside an area and time for portfolio reviews. Take advantage of that.
6) Don't be afraid to ask questions back. Remember these guys were where you are now at one point. If they say your linework is choppy and needs refining, don't just nod. Ask them for pointers. How did they accomplish it in their own work. I had a guy show me inkwashing, which up to that point I had no idea you could actually do! :) He seemed to enjoy the opportunity to "teach" (note the quotes).
7) You won't always get the experience of #6. Just a forewarning.

Kat_Rocha

I agree with everything Torchsong said. I would only add that you might want to ask artists who either do artwork that you like/emulate or artists in a field that you want to get into. This way, you get the best out of the review. Nothing worse than giving a critique to somebody who ends every sentence with "well, you see, I plan on going into _______ field and that's why it looks like that." as an excuse.

-kat

KyleMoyer

This one is probably fairly obvious, but you'll want to show them your most recent work. You don't want to waste their time with something that's five years old and they look it over and tell you that you need to improve and work on such-and-such while in the past five years you already have worked on and improved that same such-and-such.

DarkGuyver

Thanks so much for everyone's advice. It's given me a lot to hink about. By the way, Kat, I checked out your work on deviantart. Its absolutely beautiful!