Sorry for the delay in posting this update, but I spent most of Monday in my car driving home from MegaCon, or stuck in traffic. -.-;;;
The previous week was spent mostly prepping for MegaCon, and the weekend was spent attending or traveling. However, there is a con report and a Monthly Postcard Subscription Project update!
A quick note: I've had a number of people asking if the Sketch-A-Day drawings will be available for purchase, and the short answer is yes! I'm in the process of working up sale information, but in the next week or so, be on the lookout for the sale post for both this year AND last year's Sketch-A-Day originals!
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Monthly Postcard Subscription Project
Seeing as all my subscribers should definitely have received their February postcards, I thought I'd start posting the previous month's postcard image in State of the Artist updates. That way people can see what kind of artwork is available through the postcard project!
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As always, if you'd like to learn more about the Monthly Postcard Project, where you can receive one new, original and exclusive artwork postcard in your mailbox every month, please check out the permanent project info page: HERE! You can read all about it, and sign up to start receiving personalized postcards in your mailbox!
MegaCon
This past weekend was MegaCon in Orlando, FL. It's my first BIG convention of the year, and as such, a Very Important Convention for me.
Thursday, March 14
Driving day! It takes about 3.5 hours to get to Orlando from Miami (depending on route traveled, traffic, weather, etc) and it's a pretty easy drive, if monotonous. The convention is held at the ridiculously sprawling Orange County Convention Center, and they allow for Thursday afternoon/evening set up, which avoids having to deal with the crazy crush on the loading dock on Friday morning. I managed to complete my set up in about 45 minutes, catch up with other early bird artist friends, and headed off to stay with a local friend.
Friday
Friday sees Artist Alley access for about 4 hours before the convention opens to the public, and it's a madhouse. The Artist Alley and Dealer's Room is in the same large set of rooms, so there are a LOT of people and a LOT of large display equipment moving around. It's a good time to catch up with other artist friends I haven't seen for a while as we take advantage of the proverbial calm before the storm.
An old friend from out of town came for the convention and we had a great time catching up with each other for three days!
This year's convention hosted the 25th Anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation, with the entirety of the principle cast, which drew a very large crowd! Friday is generally the "who is here and what do they have available" day. That said, sales were brisk and I took my first early commissions. The AA was open until 7pm, then it was time for food, commission work, and a chance to relax.
This year was my friend, eldanis' first year at MegaCon, and although I only got to see her for a few minutes, I hope the con was good to her and she considers coming back!
I got to catch up with a friend who had attended that evening's Patrick Stewart Shakespeare event at an off-site theater. She had some amazing stories to tell of Patrick Stewart recounting his days with the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Globe Theater working with Judi Dench and Helen Mirren and tales of his various non-Star Trek projects. Some of his fellow ST:TNG cast were in the audience to show support.
Saturday
Saturday was the Big Day. While there are plenty of three-day attendees, Saturday gets the single largest crowd of any day at the convention. It was insane! There were a few more commissions, and a number of print sales over the course of the day, which is great! Around mid-morning, MCA Hogarth arrived to set up her table next to me and sell her books. She writes intricately plotted, otherworldly alien fantasy novels that have incredible character development and grand, sweeping worlds and cultures (and she does the cover art!) She also has a great book available about running successful Kickstarter campaigns! It's a treasure trove of "what I've learned about doing this and how it can help you." I definitely plan on following her hard-won advice when I launch my sketchbook Kickstarter later this year!
It was a bit tough to catch up at the convention due to the sheer amount of people and noise. But, a 45-minute long stop-and-go to get out of the convention center parking lot and an hour-long drive to Tampa makes for great chatting time! :) We went to the most awesome sushi restaurant together with friends later that night for a great night of good food and friends.
After returning from dinner, it was back to commission work in the hopes of getting them done in time for pick-up on Sunday morning. There was very little sleep on Saturday night. *heh*
Sunday
Sunday was St. Patrick's Day, and the con was a sea of green. It was great!
Thankfully, I handed off all my paid commissions by the end of the convention, and made arrangements for completion and shipping of requests that hadn't yet been paid for, yay! So, a few more print sales saw out the final hours of the con. Sunday is generally a slow day, people are exhausted (or they don't come on Sunday) and they've spent most of their money at this point. There are always people looking for those last-day deals or artists they didn't get a chance to see in the crush of people on Saturday.
I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't get a chance to go see comic artist Adam Hughes, who had a booth in the vendor section, but, that's how it goes! I'm hoping he'll be back next year and I can see him then.
Sunday is another good day to chat with fellow artists, as we generally wander around to see how people have done over the weekend, find out what other cons people go to, what they thought of MegaCon, and generally just network. I really do love the community that revolves around convention Artist Alleys. You do certain cons frequently enough and you make friends, you catch up, you talk style or influences or media or technique, you watch out for each others' tables, help each other make sales and spread interest about each others' projects.
A few of us went out for a relaxed dinner and conversation before we had to go our separate ways and back to Reality. I stayed one last night so I wouldn't end up driving the 3.5 hours back home after midnight.
Monday
Monday is Take It Slow day. I get to recharge my batteries with a sleep-in, eat a leisurely breakfast/brunch/lunch, pack up the car, and hit the road. This particular drive home went from the usual 3.5 hours to a much extended 6.5 hours... I really should have paid more attention to the time when I left Orlando, as it put me in Broward County just in time to hit ALL the rush hour traffic from Ft. Lauderdale to Miami... and more than a few accidents along the way. O.o
Overview
I enjoy MegaCon, for all it's crazy insanity, it is generally a good con for me. I get a number of repeat customers, some of whom come to the con just to see me (which is the most amazing compliment I can think of!) I get to catch up with old and new friends alike, I get some new customers, and I generally get my stuff out there in front of people. While the numbers aren't always as good from year to year, the connections and future project prospects are always worth the trip and investment.
If you ever get the chance to be in Orlando when MegaCon is running, and you like sci-fi/fantasy/comics/anime/gaming, I highly recommend attending the convention!
So, here endeth this week's State of the Artist update! Thanks for joining me for another week! If you've got any suggestions for the kinds of things you'd like to see updated, or projects to work on/pieces to finish/etc, please, go ahead and leave a comment below!
Feel free to post links to this journal/community if you feel there might be interest in my artwork!
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