...at Anime Boston, you can *pay* artists to draw an anime version of yourself...

And I think that is a Good Thing. Artists doing badge decoration have a long tradition in our conventions, and I definitely approve of it.

As a matter of fact, there might be conventions who have members who want a photo of themselves on their membership badges, for whatever reason. For them, I'd offer it as a value-added service.

But requiring it of all members seems Very Wrong to me.