Back Home!!
All right! I am back home from my stay in Columbus with yaoikitten, and I'm working to get unpacked and get my room back in some semblance of order XD Thanks so much everyone for all the crackified birthday wishes and things, and a belated Happy Birthday goes out to kasugai_gummie with lots of smoochies and loff ♥ ♥ ♥
Ohayocon was...well it wasn't the best one I've been to. Apparently there have been changes in the con's management this year, not to mention they were understaffed, so things were pretty disorganized and scaled-down. The most disappointing thing for me was the absence of Sasuga Books from the dealer's room, but it would seem they're having some trouble this year and couldn't make it. I did manage to spend money, don't get me wrong, but not nearly as much as I would've had SB been there. I did manage to snag two Brave Story gatchapon cellphone strap thingers of Mitsuru and Wataru, which I'm willing to bet were the ONLY pieces of Brave Story merch being sold there. Other yummies included a foil DGM poster of Allen (SO PRETTY. I'm totally framing it.), Togainu no Chi poster (gawd, the artwork for this game/series is just...effing hot), Irohanihoheto pencil board, Shounen Onmyouji pencil board, Death Note pillow, and a pretty burgundy velvet jacket which was being sold by one of the clothing vendors dealing in fake kimonos and goth-loli-inspired things. Also snagged the Last Exile Dio/Lucciola trading figure, which is cute beyond cute and makes kittens laugh and frolic ♥
The biggest highlight of the convention was probably the Getting Your Manga Published panel. I was curious to see who the guest speakers were, so I decided to attend, maybe hear some good tips from industry professionals for making it in the business, etc. About 15 minutes in, they asked if anyone had attempted to have their work published, and when I raised my hand and talked about Rising Stars and my current bit of work with Tokyopop, I was invited to come up and speak as a panelist. I met Tavisha and Rikki Simons, creators of Tokyopop's Shutterbox manga series, as well as Bruce Lewis, an artist and designer who's been working closely with the industry on countless projects for well over a decade. Getting to hear their thoughts and speak with them was a really valuable experience for me, so hopefully I'll be able to put all I've learned to good use in the future.
I was going to make a longer entry and really break down my little vacation in a play-by-play, but honestly I've had a bit of a fire lit under my ass after the panel and my birthday (22. Egads.), and I'm feeling rather serious and ready to make things move. There is artwork that needs finishing, I need to pay my tuition, my desk needs organizing, and I've got a whole suitcase full of laundry that needs done. Most importantly, I need to kick things into overdrive in terms of skill improvement. I won't survive at the rate I'm doing things, so it's gut-check time for me now, and I've got to get my ass in gear.
This may be the beginning of a hiatus, I'm not sure yet; it depends on how often I get artwork completed and scanned in.
Ohayocon was...well it wasn't the best one I've been to. Apparently there have been changes in the con's management this year, not to mention they were understaffed, so things were pretty disorganized and scaled-down. The most disappointing thing for me was the absence of Sasuga Books from the dealer's room, but it would seem they're having some trouble this year and couldn't make it. I did manage to spend money, don't get me wrong, but not nearly as much as I would've had SB been there. I did manage to snag two Brave Story gatchapon cellphone strap thingers of Mitsuru and Wataru, which I'm willing to bet were the ONLY pieces of Brave Story merch being sold there. Other yummies included a foil DGM poster of Allen (SO PRETTY. I'm totally framing it.), Togainu no Chi poster (gawd, the artwork for this game/series is just...effing hot), Irohanihoheto pencil board, Shounen Onmyouji pencil board, Death Note pillow, and a pretty burgundy velvet jacket which was being sold by one of the clothing vendors dealing in fake kimonos and goth-loli-inspired things. Also snagged the Last Exile Dio/Lucciola trading figure, which is cute beyond cute and makes kittens laugh and frolic ♥
The biggest highlight of the convention was probably the Getting Your Manga Published panel. I was curious to see who the guest speakers were, so I decided to attend, maybe hear some good tips from industry professionals for making it in the business, etc. About 15 minutes in, they asked if anyone had attempted to have their work published, and when I raised my hand and talked about Rising Stars and my current bit of work with Tokyopop, I was invited to come up and speak as a panelist. I met Tavisha and Rikki Simons, creators of Tokyopop's Shutterbox manga series, as well as Bruce Lewis, an artist and designer who's been working closely with the industry on countless projects for well over a decade. Getting to hear their thoughts and speak with them was a really valuable experience for me, so hopefully I'll be able to put all I've learned to good use in the future.
I was going to make a longer entry and really break down my little vacation in a play-by-play, but honestly I've had a bit of a fire lit under my ass after the panel and my birthday (22. Egads.), and I'm feeling rather serious and ready to make things move. There is artwork that needs finishing, I need to pay my tuition, my desk needs organizing, and I've got a whole suitcase full of laundry that needs done. Most importantly, I need to kick things into overdrive in terms of skill improvement. I won't survive at the rate I'm doing things, so it's gut-check time for me now, and I've got to get my ass in gear.
This may be the beginning of a hiatus, I'm not sure yet; it depends on how often I get artwork completed and scanned in.