AnimeNEXT 2010!
I returned home from AnimeNEXT 2010 a few hours ago, and now I am super clean and clear of con funk. :DD :D J/k, I'm pretty sure I wasn't that dirty, but...some people were. =-_-=
This year, instead of getting a hotel room, since we live 20 minutes from the place, Jess offered to drive us to and from, so we stayed in her basement. Hotel Hobbit! A charming vacation in the Hobbit Hovel.
I've noticed that my con experience has changed a lot over the years, especially since last year when Jess and I started attending as Artists instead of Attendees. Like last year, I didn't find myself at many panels or official con events. But I did what I always do -- lots of shopping! And sitting at the table and selling things, of course. But yeah, shopping. :D And then there were the events that were arranged just by the people attending the con, like the doll meetups and the lolita picnic, both of which were fun! Unlike in previous years, I didn't have a cosplay (not even a half-assed one), because, well, I figured since I have acquired a massive amount of lolita since last year, I might as well wear lolita every day. :D Soooo I did. And the weird/frustrating thing is that I found myself getting more compliments on the Bodyline dresses than on my BABY. =>_>= Not that Bodyline is bad (God knows I love it), but it's just...funny. XD My $30 dresses vs my $150 dress. Yeah.
Unlike previous years, I also bought a lot more art and a lot less, um, useless crap. LOL Maybe because I'm not really "into" any animes. I still like anime, but I don't really consider myself part of any current fandom trends. So there's no one I want to buy plushies or keychains of, really. And my art is all of my fun little quirky fandoms, or just art that I happened to like that is not really associated with fandom. I also commissioned my first drawing this convention. :D I'd never done it before, but people were commissioning Jess, and I was like, "Hmmm, I can pay someone to draw an awesome picture of basically anything? Sweet!" I didn't know what I wanted drawn or who I wanted to draw it, though. However, during one of my strolls through Artist Alley, I bought a Heart Gold/Soul Silver print from these girls, and they were very happy, because apparently I was the first person to buy a print from them! I bought it basically because I love Gold and Silver (and SilverXGold :DDDDDDD), so Jess suggested that I get a commission of the two of them, so...I wound up commissioning those same girls. =^_^= They drew me a cutesy holding hands picture of them, and I love it. <3
It was really a lot of fun this year because I found that I knew a LOT of people! Whether it was from past cons (past Artist Alleys), internet communities, or outside of the anime genre entirely (lol people from Montclair/Old Bridge/East Brunswick Mall), I knew a lot of people. :D And I also met a lot of new people, too, like our table mates who sold lots of very pretty art, jewelry, and buttons. I finally got some girl/girl pride buttons to wear around, because I just don't show enough pride. And I chatted with a few of the other artists who were very nice, and now I feel I've made some friends for next year as well. :) And I'll be stalking them on Deviant Art, so we can stay in touch. lol
Just some highlights from this year:
-There was a guy in a towel running around. We're preeeeeeeeetty sure he had shorts on underneath, but it was still incredibly disturbing (especially being that he was very unattractive).
-We tried so hard to go to the raves, but they were both so packed! For the Friday one, Jen and I just sat outside at the picnic tables and looked into the glass wall at the dancers. There was this group of guys dancing in the window at us, and we were unimpressed.
-I finally learned wtf Vocaloid is and who those characters are I've been seeing everywhere. :D
-Yugioh GX revival! There were multiple GX cosplay groups, and one of them was sitting around in the Doubletree lobby dueling. It wasn't part of a photoshoot... They were just dressed as Yugioh characters and playing Yugioh to pass the time. It was beautiful. <3
-Aladdin! There was this dude dressed as Aladdin with a stubbed Abu on his shoulder. But the best part was that this guy seriously looked and sounded like Aladdin. He had the hair, the face (nose especially), and his voice was so much like Aladdin's. I like to think his friends told him he looks and sounds like Aladdin, so he should dress as him. Because he does, and he should.
-Dude dressed as Tony Stark. Not as Iron Man -- as Tony Stark. XD
-Last year, I told Jess that Hetalia was going to be big (man, I called that one), so I told her she should make joke prints of countries, not characters -- actual landmasses, humping each other. So she did. She got three commissions on them this weekend, and the girl who ordered them was SO EXCITED. SO EXCITED! I was amazed at how excited she was to see land masses humping.
There will be another post, of course, with pictures. :D But for now, that's all I have to say.
This year, instead of getting a hotel room, since we live 20 minutes from the place, Jess offered to drive us to and from, so we stayed in her basement. Hotel Hobbit! A charming vacation in the Hobbit Hovel.
I've noticed that my con experience has changed a lot over the years, especially since last year when Jess and I started attending as Artists instead of Attendees. Like last year, I didn't find myself at many panels or official con events. But I did what I always do -- lots of shopping! And sitting at the table and selling things, of course. But yeah, shopping. :D And then there were the events that were arranged just by the people attending the con, like the doll meetups and the lolita picnic, both of which were fun! Unlike in previous years, I didn't have a cosplay (not even a half-assed one), because, well, I figured since I have acquired a massive amount of lolita since last year, I might as well wear lolita every day. :D Soooo I did. And the weird/frustrating thing is that I found myself getting more compliments on the Bodyline dresses than on my BABY. =>_>= Not that Bodyline is bad (God knows I love it), but it's just...funny. XD My $30 dresses vs my $150 dress. Yeah.
Unlike previous years, I also bought a lot more art and a lot less, um, useless crap. LOL Maybe because I'm not really "into" any animes. I still like anime, but I don't really consider myself part of any current fandom trends. So there's no one I want to buy plushies or keychains of, really. And my art is all of my fun little quirky fandoms, or just art that I happened to like that is not really associated with fandom. I also commissioned my first drawing this convention. :D I'd never done it before, but people were commissioning Jess, and I was like, "Hmmm, I can pay someone to draw an awesome picture of basically anything? Sweet!" I didn't know what I wanted drawn or who I wanted to draw it, though. However, during one of my strolls through Artist Alley, I bought a Heart Gold/Soul Silver print from these girls, and they were very happy, because apparently I was the first person to buy a print from them! I bought it basically because I love Gold and Silver (and SilverXGold :DDDDDDD), so Jess suggested that I get a commission of the two of them, so...I wound up commissioning those same girls. =^_^= They drew me a cutesy holding hands picture of them, and I love it. <3
It was really a lot of fun this year because I found that I knew a LOT of people! Whether it was from past cons (past Artist Alleys), internet communities, or outside of the anime genre entirely (lol people from Montclair/Old Bridge/East Brunswick Mall), I knew a lot of people. :D And I also met a lot of new people, too, like our table mates who sold lots of very pretty art, jewelry, and buttons. I finally got some girl/girl pride buttons to wear around, because I just don't show enough pride. And I chatted with a few of the other artists who were very nice, and now I feel I've made some friends for next year as well. :) And I'll be stalking them on Deviant Art, so we can stay in touch. lol
Just some highlights from this year:
-There was a guy in a towel running around. We're preeeeeeeeetty sure he had shorts on underneath, but it was still incredibly disturbing (especially being that he was very unattractive).
-We tried so hard to go to the raves, but they were both so packed! For the Friday one, Jen and I just sat outside at the picnic tables and looked into the glass wall at the dancers. There was this group of guys dancing in the window at us, and we were unimpressed.
-I finally learned wtf Vocaloid is and who those characters are I've been seeing everywhere. :D
-Yugioh GX revival! There were multiple GX cosplay groups, and one of them was sitting around in the Doubletree lobby dueling. It wasn't part of a photoshoot... They were just dressed as Yugioh characters and playing Yugioh to pass the time. It was beautiful. <3
-Aladdin! There was this dude dressed as Aladdin with a stubbed Abu on his shoulder. But the best part was that this guy seriously looked and sounded like Aladdin. He had the hair, the face (nose especially), and his voice was so much like Aladdin's. I like to think his friends told him he looks and sounds like Aladdin, so he should dress as him. Because he does, and he should.
-Dude dressed as Tony Stark. Not as Iron Man -- as Tony Stark. XD
-Last year, I told Jess that Hetalia was going to be big (man, I called that one), so I told her she should make joke prints of countries, not characters -- actual landmasses, humping each other. So she did. She got three commissions on them this weekend, and the girl who ordered them was SO EXCITED. SO EXCITED! I was amazed at how excited she was to see land masses humping.
There will be another post, of course, with pictures. :D But for now, that's all I have to say.