ORIGNAL MESSAGE
Tue Sep 29, 2009, 12:09 AM
Mood: Tired
Listening to: The laundry room
Watching: Not much
Eating: the BBQ Chicken doesn't stand a chance

That is all.
When I recoop in 24 hours I'll tell you how I really feel.
Something like: it was NUTS!!!!!

UPDATE

I should have been clearer in my limited worded journal. Sorry if I gave the impression I didn't enjoy myself. I really did. Thing is, the Sunday after the festival, I was sooooo exhausted all I did was sleep and go to church. I was awake enough to eat dinner and then...zzzzz.

The HUGE Review

The Artist Alley is more than sitting in a chair for sure. It can be overwhelming for a (semi)newcomer in terms of "business" and environment. In terms of practicality, you got to plan out food and water during the day (something I could have done better), plus possible sacrificing of some of the panels you want to visit. It's also fast paced and action-packed with hordes of people coming down the rows looking at the artists' works--and of course, the ever nervous decision making of potential buyers. Do they buy your art? Do they like your art? Will they come back? Can you part with your work if it sells? Can you do really do a comission for just FIVE dollars? (Hee, trust me, it's worth it and much fun.)

However comaraderie is the best I've seen! Everyone is nice, everyone exchanges their information and art history, they watch your tables while you're away, and they are very encouraging. My table neighbor, a first timer I believe, told me my being there lifted his spirit--it's something that hit me right in the heart. This environment nutures you as a young artist and it's kind of a potential "rite of passage" into a professional artist. I think anyway. Professional people and local TV folks look at artists, offer some critique, possibly give them exposure, and even offer their services. It's all more personal and less "clinical," something lacking in the wider commercial businesses that rely on artists (I mainly think of animation).

As for my table, paws-for-a-moment did well. Didn't turn a profit, but in the end I met a lot of people who liked my stuff and was left with only eight business cards. I sold a few watercolor postcards and one of my Intanglio Prints! I even did a couple comissions. It was easier than last year attracting people to my table, and having my sketchbooks and draft portfolio present definitely helped grab people's attention. My biggest feedback were the "boy and dragon" pieces, which I'm sorry I didn't have the time to at least make prints for the show. If I can get my full color drawings up here, I will.

Stemming from the above [soapbox alert], I'm happy I did as well as I did, especially in such a commercial-based con as NYAF. I made my "artist statement" clear: all original work, no fanart. I'm a stickler for copyright and it bothers me that a festival that has mentioned on its website that NO SELLING of fanart is allowed, the people still sell it. I'm not knocking on specific people and I know people buy what's familiar to them, but I look at it from a personal perspective: what if it's MY stuff people are using to make money? Making fanart is one thing--for example, people looked through my sketchbook and saw my Danny Phantom art--but selling it is a whole different territory.[/soapbox]

There was so much going on this year that it made last year seem like a quiet, intimate convention. It was busy and crowded, especially Saturday! I browsed most of the merchandise booths before the doors opened and bought an OLD SCHOOL Sonic the Hedgehog plush! So apparently there are three series of Sonic plushes: old school (90s, up to around Sonic and Knuckles), regular (current game designs), and Sonic X (anime designs). Sonic and Knuckles seem to have all three types, while Tails has old school & Sonic X, and Shadow has regular & Sonic X. There was so little pokemon compared to last year it was crazy. Even Piplup, the character everyone was walking around with last year, was at only ONE booth. The big show this year was Gurren Lagann, with the flame and sunglasses symbol everywhere. The robes the character's wore, the core drill necklace, wall scrolls, posters, plushes, magazine books, figurines, keychans, you name it, it was probably there. And many people cosplayed as Simon, Yoko, and barechested Kamina.

For me though, I was pretty impressed with "meeting" Afro Samurai . Is it okay that I like this version more than the actual character? I also met Superm--ahem, this fella [link] , who did an AWESOME commission of one of my characters. I even did a comission exchange with ~StratusX who did the same character on cardboard while I drew him a gryphon. It's a nice way to trade art and get to know your fellow artists. I chilled with ~QuackAtMidnight and ~AuroraMaryte on Saturday, the former and I catching Kyle Herbert and the hilarious lesson on voice auditions (no Kamina phrases unfortunately).

I can go on and on, but this entry is nearing three pages XD. So to close, here are some of the people I've met, hung out, and exchanged deviant addresses with:

~QuackAtMidnight
~AuroraMaryte
~StratusX
~larthosgrr8
*Sempai-Kun
*angryangryasian
~KatT3hKittyW0lf
~Skittlezxx
=suzuran

Hoyotoyo [link]
My Art Neighbor [link]