Otakon 2013
Otakon was a lot of fun and super humid! I was sweating like a pig when dragging my stuff up to and back from the convention center. I even had help from the wonderful Jen and Jaye (I’m sorry I don’t have a link for you, email me it if you want me to link you) who helped me bring the suitcases up and watched them as I figured out where I could go in.
I had 2 suitcases which were heavy but after the convention was determined to find a better method of transporting my gear. My poor table mate and I had a heck of a time at the start of the con. We were already late to setting up and we both brought our wire cubes thinking we had the clips and were setting up. Well I brought the wrong clips (they were for a different set of cubes and I thought they would fit) my table mate had forgotten his completely. XD We were crazy stressed because we couldn’t drive the eight hours back to Ohio and the idea of having no set up was appalling but the amazing Savi and Del saved us by letting us use their binder clips! So our ghetto set up wasn’t ideal but was hilarious and it worked. Thanks again guys!
Overall I had hoped to do better sales-wise and was actually quite disappointed that not many people bought my prints and was a bit surprised that customers were more interested in my commissions. I had hoped to do more sales of my prints/pre-existing work but after awhile I realized that it didn’t matter as much as the experience since it was my first Otakon selling in the AA. I was up against a lot of amazing people and the point was to get my name out there but I was stunned by all the great artists that were there.
I’m still a complete noob when it comes to Artist Alley and selling but it was still a lot of fun. I really hoped that I could run around and meet new artists but that didn’t happen as much. I really wanted to make new friends and was able to sort of but not nearly as much as I had hoped. Next time I need to gather business cards before the con starts (still need to go through them).
The hours were long but it flew by really fast since I was busy with commissions (I’m so happy that people like my work!). I also wanted to look around more and buy stuff but that didn’t happen much either until last minute. I didn’t even get a chance to look at the Dealer’s room which I also sort of regret but I was busy with commissions and was pleased with that. We were exhausted but had a ton of fun and I really hope that I’ll be able to attend again next year! Thank you to everyone who bought from me and supported me! I really appreciate it!
Matsuricon 2013
Matsuricon was a little better in terms of me not stressing out getting things done before the con. It’s not a far drive from where I live so it was good. I just used the merch I already made from Otakon (2 weeks earlier) for it so I just had to condense it into one suit case and go. I met up with E-llusion Studio which included Kagar, Naneki, Diallobe298 and more. We all tabled together and it was a lot of fun!
Again I was extremely busy with commissions so my friends were awesome enough to stay with me as I finished them up each night. I didn’t have too much stress this time around but I still couldn’t find my clips for my wire cubes in the two weeks I had in between from Otakon. So Kagar and I had to do our ghetto set up again using binder clips even though he had his clips and I didn’t. We had fun and although we were tired late at night I think we still had fun. Poor Kagar had to put up with me most of the time since the others took off or were tired. lol So thanks for putting up with me!
Kagar, Naneki, and I made a few pledges to each other about getting some projects done before the next Matsuricon so hopefully I can keep that promise to them and myself. The goal is to get a comic done by next Matsuricon. Naneki and I planned to have thumbnails done before October to run by each other before continuing but I really wanted to get a script done and finalized before getting there which I set the deadline to be the end of this week but that doesn’t look like it’s happening. lol Crap. Well I was going to work on a one shot but ended up wanting to work on Blindfolded Love which I’ve had going on but I might be better at finishing a one shot. We’ll see. lol
I wasn’t nearly as stressed out here as I was at Otakon but being surrounded by more friends in a familiar place definitely helped. I even saw my friends from No Need for Bushido and White Noise there again! I wish I was able to talk to them more than I did. I did go to their panel which is the only one I went to there when I planned on not attending any at all. lol The time went quick and I’m glad that I was able to table with such awesome people. Thanks again to everyone who bought from me! I appreciate the support! I know my work isn’t too manga-styled and most of it is original but I’m glad people like it enough to warrant the support. 🙂
Well I think that’s it for the most part for the con report! I’m sure there are more details that could be shared but that’s all I’ve got for now. lol I hope you enjoyed the report/pictures! Below is the sketch dump for your viewing pleasure. 😀
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