So, basically, my trip to Fanime was rad as hell. Usually I enjoy my vacations for a day and then proceed to hate them for the remaining duration, but this time, it was fffffffffabulous all the way through. Much thanks to
for having me, and for being obsessed with animals. Being obsessed with animals is thank-able because that means when we go hiking, it’s like a BUFFET OF LEARNING. My brain never stops going 8DDDDD, and I am pretty sure my face did that, too. I learned a lot of things.For instance, redwood forests look like crazy fake fantasy movie forests, but they are totally real and you are allowed to walk around in them. Banana slug mucus is really sticky, and resistant to washing. Logs = adventure. When a tree falls in the forest, it makes a creaking sound. Lizards do push-ups, and it’s really funny.
I also learned that I am capable of making money at an anime convention! I didn’t go with any intention of making money, though Alys (
) was kind enough to offer half of her table to me, should I want to use it. I decided to do so on a whim, and ended up making my plane ticket back in commissions. Breaking even may not sound that impressive for most con-goers, but it sure is when you have no prints, don’t draw anime, and had no intention or expectation of making money in the first place. It turns out that every anime convention has a niche for a semi-realist. There are totally people who will buy your work. I learned to bring business cards, because surprisingly, people do ask for them. I have mixed feelings about selling fanart (which I will elaborate on if asked, but don’t care to include in this post for the sake of length), but I did have some pangs of regret over not having any Hamsteak or TF2 fanart to sell. There were an abundance of cosplayers for both IPs, and only one table with Hamsteaks fanart (and none with TF2, that I saw). Given that an abundance of my dA watchers and tumblr followers are either Hamsteaks or TF2 fans, I can conclude with some small certainty that fans may be willing to purchase prints from me. I could have done much better than breaking even had I known, but I had no idea, le sob. I learned that I should make one of those PVC stands to hang prints on, so people can see your art from really far away. I learned that funny signs are more effective than fancy ones, but a big fancy funny sign would probably be more effective than my small funny sign. I learned that I draw faster than I thought I did.I met troffie (
) , 
, Dan ( 
), gfong ( 
), Mark (shocktv3, a fellow old-school Gaia avatar editor who I’ve apparently met before in person years ago), and 
, and was happy to discover that none of them are IRL creepers. ALWAYS A NICE FEELING, THANKS, GUYS. Dan was incredibly nice to me and I was super-flattered (he gave me a print, though I’m still not sure he meant to!). I did an art trade with troffie * u *, bought a print from mmmira, and I met Mina again after not having seen her since she was … I dunno, 14, 15, ha ha oh god I am so old. I heard RJ ( 
) was there, and I THIIIINK I saw him, but we never spoke! I made friends with dent90 and limitedcreativeoutput, who are both unmatched in classiness. I also met up with 
again, whom I have not seen IN YEARRRSS (he still looks the same). He drew me a picture. 
is a great Marceline.IN SHORT it was really excellent, I think tabling in Artist’s Alley is my favorite way to do a convention. I will probably do a lot more of them, because they appear to be more profitable than I ever would have thought, PLUS they are more fun when you’re behind the table (does this make me weird?). I’ll be at APE (Alternative Press Expo) in San Fransisco this October, so I hope I see a few bros there, as well.
skin by CypherVisor
