The mystery item from the last Daily Misfortune is... an unlimited metro card! I've lived in NYC for five and a half years, and have NEVER lost a metro card... until last week. Of course, it happened only a few hours after I bought a weekly pass. In perspective, at least it's not as bad as losing my phone or ID or something that's more of a pain in the ass to replace. But still... $31 lost! And even more because I had some $ for single passes on there too, like $6. $37 is a lot for a freelance artist to just lose. UGH. At least I can make web comics out of my misfortunes :/ So ends the trio of 3 Daily Misfortunes that happened within 3 hours.
The Daily Misfortune 452
After being annoyed at the previous misfortune, when I was about to leave, I realized I lost something. I was in Times Square to top it off. Now, every so often I can enjoy Times Square - it does feel futuristic and it's entertaining. It's annoying if you're in a hurry, but I don't actively avoid it like other New Yorkers. But it's THE WORST place to be if you're upset about something or have to retrace your steps in futile hope to try to track down what you lost. Had to look through all 3 levels of Toys 'R Us (a fun place to be when you're not furious). So many people, it probably got picked up the minute I lost it. The item in question will be revealed in the next Daily Misfortune.
Pow Wow This Sunday!
No, it's not an actual Pow Wow (although I've heard they're really fun!), but a new pop up market in Bed-Stuy! This Sunday, October 25th, from 11A-5P, at 1058 Bedford Ave in Brooklyn. They'll have vintage clothes, records, jewelry, hand-made stuff, and me doing my on-the-spot drawings. Kind of reminds me of when I did the Gowanus Nite Markets a few years ago! It'll be nice to be in an artsy market again - people usually ask for the more random imaginative drawings rather than just their kid as a hero (but that's cool too!).
Pow Wow NY is more than just a market, though. They're an artist collective, check out www.thepowwowny.com. Seems like they have a lot of great artists on their team! Also they have an artist retreat thing which I want to go to at some point. If you're an artist in the Brooklyn area, it's worth checking out this fall market on Sunday just to meet the people that run Pow Wow and network, etc.
I have a string of 3 Daily Misfortunes for you that happened over the course of almost 3 hours.
I'm someone who has always been a planner. I schedule every project, meeting, and even fun things in my calendar. Sometimes projects take longer than planned, but it's ok as long as I get back on track. But when someone wastes hours of my time when I have a deadline the next day, I'm very annoyed (to put it lightly).
Life is more fast-paced in 2015, especially in NYC! This isn't the '80s or before, when people didn't have cel phones, made vague plans, and waited hours to meet someone. Things that come to mind are when Cher meets Nick Cage for a date in Moonstruck, and the '70s Spinners song "Games People Play." People don't have time for that anymore!
Recovery 2
NYCC turned out to be pretty great this year! Tabling with Jennie Wood was super as always :) Very thankful for lots of repeat customers - thank you! Thursday was surprisingly intense. However, I got a bad cold last week and lost my voice for Thursday. Luckily I got in to see a Dr. (yay Obamacare!) and got anti-biotics, so I actually started to feel better before the weekend hit, and was back to full speed for the busiest days of the convention. Because if I hadn't gotten to see a doctor, I imagined myself just getting more miserable for each day of the show, and losing $ or not making as much as I could have. Conventions are pretty much the worst place to be if you're not feeling well, especially if you have to work at one.
Because I wasn't 100% on Thursday, I ended up being a day behind on my sketches for people with multi-day passes. On Sunday I was just taking orders and drawing them this week. Finishing up the last few now, such as Breakdancing Ryu. I was wondering what a cool pose would be for him, because you always see him in fighting poses, but martial arts kind of looks like breakdancing, so voila! The more I sketch characters, the more I like to draw them in funny/ironic situations, like Captain America grilling hot dogs in an apron, or the Flash just sitting there relaxing.
Results from the tip jar experiment! This time the question was: Which show is funnier? South Park or Family Guy? Family Guy won by a quarter! $1.50 vs South Park with $1.25. Yeah, not many people voted, but this time I had only half a table, whereas in Baltimore I had a whole table with room to spread out. At NYCC, there was SO MUCH stuff going on, that only a few people noticed the voting cans, and most people passed before I could point out the cans after saying my usual speech. This leads me to think that when I have a half table, maybe the small real estate taken up by the cans could be used better to display the Daily Misfortune books instead, and maybe I should save the tip cans for when I only have a whole table. The experiment continues.
Oh and the Comic Performance went well! I recorded it, and will upload it to YouTube sometime. Many thanks to all who came! It was so much fun I want to do more! I have plans.... (rubbing hands together evilly....)
The life of a freelancer happens in very intense spurts, with recovery periods after. I've noticed a correlation of my working habits after days of intense work at a comic convention or coloring gig - I always take a full day to relax the day after. Lots of sleep, no plans for work or even social activities, just chill time for a whole day. The following week, I find it hard sometimes to get back into the groove I had with other freelance work before the intense burst hit. But I always get back on. Listening to productivity podcasts helps too - more on that in a future blog post, perhaps!
Indie Comic Performance with Mindy Indy & Friends TONIGHT!
TONIGHT! My friends and I will do a comic reading of Apartment Hunt and more! FREE ADMISSION! FREE CANDY! 9P-10P at Gotham City Lounge 1293 Myrtle ave in Brooklyn. Literally just below the Central Ave M stop! The M is running weird today, as shown in the picture. If you're coming from Manhattan, just transfer at Delancey/Essex to a Brooklyn-bound M train.
My event was featured on Bushwick Bomb! Very exciting!
I'd be even more excited if I didn't come down with a bad cold :( OF COURSE it happens on the most important week of my year. I tried drinking tea and soup nonstop, but it got worse. Luckily I was able to see a Dr. today for an extra boost! I should be back to normal by the weekend, which is prime NYCC time (I'm table S6 in Artist Alley, sharing with Jennie Wood!). But tonight, THE SHOW MUST GO ON! See you at Gotham!
Tip Jar Experiment
Baltimore Comic Con was great this past weekend! Sketched a lot of kids as heroes, caught up with friends, and stayed at an awesome AirBnB. I also tried a new experiment - you may have seen voting jars in cafes where they pose a question and have you vote with $ to get more tips. Why not do the same for comic cons? Sometimes I get tips and it's a nice extra surprise, but I've learned that the act of suggesting tips brings more tips. And yes, that is an egg beater holding up the sign. I asked my room mate when was the last time either of us used an egg beater? The answer was never. The cans are also the "Hell or High Watermelon" beer cans (yum!), which I liked for the awesome design. Yay recycling!
So who would win in a battle - Star Wars or Star Trek? It was interesting hearing people's responses as to why either side would win - "Guns don't work in Star Trek," "The Force has awesome fighting skills," etc.
THE RESULTS: STAR WARS WINS at $7.75! Star Trek got $1.20.
This was a fun game and I want to pose different questions for future comic cons! It's another great conversation starter with fans, and I get a little extra $. Every bit helps - that's enough to buy some chai lattes, or lunch!
OH also I got into NYCC, finally! I'll be at Artist Alley table S6 with Jennie Wood! Very exciting! I can't believe it's already happening next week!
I've traveled a lot and it's neat to see all kinds of different living spaces. The problem with having a big house is that you can't find your phone a lot & have to search multiple floors to find it. I don't have that problem :P
Baltimore Comic Con This Weekend!
I made a map of the important things. Considering insisting I become a graphic designer for Baltimore Comic Con. I'll be in Artist Alley table A322 this weekend at Baltimore Comic Con! It's Fri Sept 25 - Sun Sept 27 at the Baltimore Convention Center
FRI hours: 1p-7p. SAT hours: 10a-7p. SUN hours: 10a-5p.
One West Pratt Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
(PRATT & HOWARD STREET ENTRANCE)
THIS YEAR WE ARE LOCATED ONE BLOCK WEST ON THE OTHER END OF THE CONVENTION CENTER!
Here are some cool panels going on that I wish I could go to. If you go to these, please stop by my booth and tell me how awesome they were! (They should really put these rooms on the map, but it's not as huge as NYCC, so I think it shouldn't be too hard.)
Friday, Room 347-348. 2:30-3:30 – Living in Harmony: Digital and Print
The world of digital comics created quite a stir in the world of print comics. However, after a few years of co-existing, they are both still around and seem to be helping each other to become a strong industry. Join this panel to check in and see how digital and print are doing with Mark Waid, Amy Chu, Katie Cook, Christy Blanch, and James Tynion IV.
Saturday, Room 345-346. 12:15-1:15 – It’s an Ad, Ad, Ad World — Advertising in Comics
From SeaMonkeys to “The Insult that Made a Man Out of Mac” to TNT’s The Last Ship, ads have been an integral part of the comic reading experience. But are they a speed bump in the entertainment process or an integral part of comics and Pop Culture? Moderator Ed Catto (Bonfire Agency, Captain Action) takes a brief backwards glance at nostalgic comic ads, and then focuses on the future of comic advertising with an all-star panel of business professionals.
Saturday, Room 347-348. 12:15-1:15 – Superheroes Under a Microscope
AtomicUniverse.org’s very own Christopher Preece, who is also a science consultant for comic creators, and creators Mark Waid and Ramona Fradon discuss science in comics. Superheroes defy scientific laws all the time but how close are superheroes to reality? Just how fast can the Flash go? How can Ant-Man get so tiny?
Sunday, Room 339-342. 1:30-2:30 – The Fifth Beatle: Exclusive Film Presentation!
The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story was the most celebrated graphic novel of 2014, and is now becoming a feature film with the blessing of The Beatles and unprecedented access to their music. Join award-winning graphic novel and screenplay writer Vivek J. Tiwary as he presents never-before-seen scenes from the screenplay and discusses how the film will differ from the book. Moderated by Patrick Reed (ComicsAlliance, Depth Of Field).
I worked as Kyle Baker's coloring assistant for our segment in The Fifth Beatle, and never got paid or even credited. And now they're making a movie out of it. Just saying. In fact, I'll post a page of it here. Kyle usually did some special effects to the pages after I did the flats. I think he may have toned down the bright colors for the final version. This is part of a 10 page dream sequence. From the script: "We now enter an old-school comic-book sequence modeled loosely after / in homage to The Beatles’ animated cartoons from the late 1960’s." The story segment takes place when the Beatles went to the Philippines. That's Imelda Marcos in the suitcase - she really liked shoes.
Correction and Liability Shift
For the Brooklyn Book Festival this weekend, Papercutz will be in different locations on Saturday and Sunday, and that means other publishers will too. In yesterday's post, the Metro Tech location is for SATURDAY ONLY, and Papercutz will be at booth #3. Most Children's Day activities will be going on in the Metro Tech Commons. Sunday, the main day of the Festival, Papercutz will move outdoors to Booth 308, near the court house, and here's the map. It'll be beautiful weather this weekend, so hope to see you there!
If you're an indie artist or own a small business and accept credit payments, listen up: you need to be ready for the "Liability Shift" in 2 weeks. Basically, credit cards are moving towards having tiny chips inside them instead of the magnetic strip, which will apparently be more secure. If you have a Square card reader, you have to buy a $49 new reader to accept credit payments. If you don't, and you swipe a fraudulent card, YOU'LL be responsible for the lost charges, NOT the banks. It looks like getting the new reader is the way to go because it will protect everyone more. Granted, Square said they'll reimburse for the reader up to $49 in their fee credits after you use it for 3 months. However, their fees are very small, and I don't use the reader that much. I use it once a month for comic conventions, but actually most people pay in cash. I'm glad to have the Square reader though, because it does help like 20% of the time. But no way will I charge enough people to make up the $49 in small fees over 3 months, and will probably still end up paying around $45. So even though I pre-ordered the new chip Square reader, I feel forced into it.
This brings to mind that the way technology is going, we artists have to keep buying more and more expensive tech tools just to keep up. Adobe's new payment system has me and others locked into paying $50/month for the programs we need, and they have a monopoly because they're the industry standard. My Mac is pushing 5 years old, and is running terribly show. I fear the day it will konk out completely, because I can't afford a new one. This has already happened to some of my artist friends, and it's like a catch 22 - they can't afford a new computer or the programs they need, so then they can't get new jobs in their field. And because they can't get those jobs, they can't make more money to buy new upgrades. This is something that seriously scares me and I don't know the solution to it.
Thanks for listening to my little rant :P But it's the weekend - everything is better on the weekend!
Brooklyn Book Festival This Weekend!
Did you know the Brooklyn Book Festival is this weekend? Actually, they've been having all kinds of interesting events all around Brooklyn this week leading up to it, and they're celebrating the Festival's 10th Anniversary! I'll be signing/sketching Power Rangers (and possibly Thea Sisters?? Wow that would be a miraculous turn-around time for that book!) at the Papercutz booth for Kid's Day this Saturday Sept 19 from 3-4pm and also Sun Sept 20 from 2-3pm. Papercutz is numbered as 308 booth #3, in the Metro Tech Commons. The address is: 1 MetroTech Roadway, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Saturday has lots of kids programming and activities, like live readings and pop-up book workshops. There are quite a few comic related events going on too! George O'Connor is talking about his Olympians comic series along with other cartoonists and authors Saturday at 2pm. On Sunday at 1p, cartoonists Ayun Halliday and Leslie Stein join 30 Rock actor Judah Friedlander at the Brooklyn Historical Society "for a conversation about creativity, performance and the incessant inspirations of ordinary life, and making light out of the dark in our day-to-day." More events are scattered around the Downtown Brooklyn area. And of course there will be TONS OF BOOKS too :) Actual books. Like, not on your iPad.
ALL FESTIVAL EVENTS ARE FREE!!
TICKETS ARE NOT REQUIRED
SOME BOOKEND EVENTS CHARGE ADMISSION
In other news, I made a Facebook event for my Super Week comic reading on October 7th! It's never too early to start planning. If you're around NYC the day before NYCC begins, come celebrate with me in Bushwick! Ironically, I'm still on the wait list to get an artist alley table, which makes me nervous. Hopefully I can squeak in somehow. If you know of any cartoonists who may be looking to split their table last-minute, please let me know!
As a freelancer, usually every day is different. I didn't get a headache doing Photoshop for 20 hours a day, but after 4 hours of intense research, correspondence, reading text online, etc, my brain is unsettled. Probably has to do with the blue light the screen emits. Which is why reading from an actual book is much better! Which is why you should go to the Brooklyn Book Fest this weekend! ;)
Thea Sisters Coloring!
An older, but very cute, Thea Sisters cover. They have a lot of books out! I'll post the new cover once it's released.
I'm back to life after about 2 weeks of the most intense work I've had since art school. I colored a Thea Stilton book for Papercutz! The characters are all humanized mice and everything is super cute and they go around solving mysteries and saving nature. One of their books is even titled "Saving Five Puppies." THIS IS THE SERIES FOR ME. The coloring style was more complex than the Power Rangers coloring I did, because there were more textured backgrounds and highlights vs just making a shadow with a solid line. But it's great learning new Photoshop coloring techniques!
When you work from home, it's important to go outside at least once a day. I went outside because I kept running out of food :POccasionally just for a walk. And of course, it was beautifully gorgeous weather every single day I had to be inside working from like 10a-5a (that's not a typo... yes on the good days it was 5 hours sleep). But after I finished the project, it's all rainy and crappy out like today :/ Why don't I ever get coloring gigs in the winter? Although maybe in that case, the stir-craziness could be worse, because you want to go outside, but at the same time, don't want to.
But I really like having intense projects like this - I really get into a groove of cranking work out and I'm really proud of the work I did. It's nice to be just working on one thing for awhile instead of 10 different things. Although I'm still catching up on the other 9 things...
Mark Your Calendars: Oct 7th!
Here's a secret: ANYONE can propose panel topics for NYCC, and the same goes for Super Week events! Super Week is a week of comic-themed events going on around NYC the week before New York Comic Con. Ever since it was born last year, I wanted to be a part of Super Week!
On Wednesday October 7th at 9pm, I'll be at Gotham City Lounge with my room mate Molly and friend Daniel (they're "& Friends") reading "Apartment Hunt." Comic pages will be projected in an awesome comics-themed bar with cheap hero-themed drinks. Q&A will follow the reading, including any questions about apartment hunting tips! Feel free to share your own crazy hunting experiences too. Readings of other comic zines will follow, including "The Misfortune Cookie" and "The Lucky Penny."
Gotham City Lounge is an amazing comics-themed bar in Bushwick. Life-sized sculptures of Super Man and Batman greet you, busting out of the wall near the entrance. Comics and movie paraphernalia plaster the ceilings and walls, with lots of Star Wars figurines, Iron Man stuff, etc. Cheap booze, an arcade game, and a pool table add to the dive bar's fun atmosphere.
I came across Gotham City Lounge years ago before I even lived in NYC on a trip. It was the coolest thing ever! After I moved to Brooklyn, I didn't venture to that area of Bushwick much and kind of forgot about it somehow. But it's pretty near my new 'hood and it was one of the first things I thought of for fun places to go. Ray, the owner, is super chill and very open to new things like the comic reading I proposed. They often project animations on the pull-down screen, but so far they haven't had a comic reading event... UNTIL NOW!
Gotham City Lounge is at 1293 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11221. It's literally RIGHT UNDER the Central Ave M stop. Come hang out there any time! More comic fans should know about this awesome place.
At 6am while trying to make a subway transfer to catch the megabus for Boston, I realized I'd be late if I didn't take a cab. I kept trying to flag cabbies down, and they drove away with empty cars, not even noticing me. Until I had to step out right in front of one. But OH when it's midnight and I'm lugging a suitcase coming home with plenty of time, of course they honk to try to get me to ride. So many times have I lugged a suitcase, not needing a cab, and they honk at me. But THE VERY SECOND I need one, they all ignore me.
"The Forward" spotlights my work on "No Tears: Life With FD"
"The Forward," a Jewish American online magazine focusing on politics, arts, and culture, recently highlighted my work on the weekly comic "No Tears: Life With FD." There's a video of me creating the comic strip. The video also shows David Brenner, executive director of the FD Foundation, talking about Familial Dysautonomia and how this comic has helped connect patients, families, and others beyond.
Read the corresponding article here: http://forward.com/culture/318404/sketching-life-with-a-rare-disease/ It came out wonderfully! I also love how I'm referred to as "Indy," like how reporters refer to interviewees by their last name. The only thing is that I don't live in Manhattan anymore, haha! Thea interviewed me in the midst of all my moving boxes! I made sure to warn her that she'd be walking into the middle of a tornado, but she was cool with it. You have to be prepared for some things, y'know?
All in all, it's been great to be involved with the FD community for so long, and to touch people with the comics I create. Hopefully this article and video will spread more awareness of Familial Dysautonomia.
And Boston Comic Con was a great success! Special thanks again to my friend Jennie Wood for sharing her table space! I got lucky and was on the corner of an aisle - more visibility! Also the AirBnB was AWESOME!!! I stayed with an older couple in what was practically a mansion. The bathroom alone was bigger than my room in Harlem. It was a whirlwind trip though, taking Megabus at 6AM going there, and this Daily Misfortune happened on the midnight bus back. I switched seats with the guy so he could lean on the window instead of me :P
Boston Comic Con This Weekend!
I managed to squeak into Boston Comic Con this weekend! This Friday July 31- Sunday Aug 2 at the Seaport World Trade Center! I say "squeak" because I got rejected from Artist's Alley at first because they cut a lot of artist tables this year. Luckily, a friend I made, Jennie Wood, who was sitting next to me at Chicago's C2E2, decided to condense her table space and offered me the other half of her table! If only there were more awesome people like Jennie, the world would be a much better place!
This is Jennie's recent graphic novel: Flutter! Written by Jennie Wood, art by Jeff McComsey. "Fifteen year-old Lily shape-shifts into a boy to get the girl. Chaos ensues from pretending to be someone she’s not. While coming to terms with who she really is and what she’s done, Lily learns that life as a boy is just as difficult." The more I heard her pitch at C2E2, the more curious I became about it!
Jennie and I (and also her friend Eric, a comics podcaster) will be at tables D320 and D321, kind of in the corner. I'm listed as "Steffen, Mindy" this time, under "S". Looks like all the Artists Alley peeps are in the D aisle, with some more well known artists in C.
Also excited to be trying out AirBnB for the first time for my stay! It's like the more legit form of couch surfing. I've heard lots of good things about it. Hopefully it won't end up in The Daily Misfortune.
Honestly though, this is small potatoes compared to in my last place when the power went out all the time. In my new place, the super is ON IT!
You Ain't Zine Nothin' Yet: I'm in the Brooklyn Paper!
EXCITING NEWS! A reporter from the Brooklyn Paper contacted me earlier this week about Brooklyn artists that are in Pete's Mini Zine Fest this weekend! The article came out online yesterday, and is in print today in various locations around Brooklyn! You can find it wherever there's a bunch of free paper stands in a row on the street, or sometimes in the entrance to businesses (I used to read it working at the Pratt Store). Here's the article link: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/38/30/24-petes-zine-sidebar-2015-07-24-bk.html
I'm honored that my cover image is the first one shown! Also something I noticed is that all the artists mentioned are women :) BROOKLYN WOMEN REPRESENT!!! I was surprised to see there's a complimentary article to this one, featuring Alison Wilgus, who's also drawn a comic about apartment hunting! It's an experience that plagues cartoonists. We are definitely swapping war stories.
COME TO PETE'S MINI ZINE FEST!
Saturday, July 25th
2pm-7pm
@ Pete's Candy Store
709 Lorimer St, Brooklyn,
L to Lorimer, or G to Metropolitan
I've witnessed this.
Pete's Mini Zine Fest this weekend!
Wow it's been awhile since I last posted, but I've had a lot going on. Moved back to Brooklyn (WOOT WOOT!) and am finally almost settled in. And a bunch of other commotion has passed. Now, onto Pete's Mini Zine Fest! I'm tabling there again with 25 other zinesters. In Williamsburg at Pete's Candy Store (it's a bar, not an actual candy store. Although it probably used to be). Saturday July 25th from 2-7p! Free admission! Booze! (the booze is not free though - it's a bar). 708 Lorimer St in Brooklyn. Take the L or G to Lorimer.
This year, PMZF is part of NYC Zine Weekend, which is part of International Zine Month! Other zine goings on:
Friday July 24, 8pm
Summer Zinester Potluck at ABC No Rio.
Free, but bring food to share and zines to trade. 156 Rivington St., Lower East Side zine@abcnorio.org
Sunday July 26, 2-5pm
Zinester discussion & skillshare at Bluestockings. Free, donation solicited
172 Allen St., Lower East Side NYCzinegroup@gmail.com
This was the aforementioned "other commotion." It's not right that artists keep encountering situations of working their asses off for something that has only a slight chance of happening. Sometimes, as in this case, the company will build you up and make you feel like you pretty much already have the job. It's like a big juicy steak (or tofu burger if you're vegetarian) is being dangled in front of you, and then it's SNATCHED away.
This and That
So back when I was in Motor City Comic Con, a guy came up to my table and was like "I'll write an article about you if you draw me with a penguin." Here's the drawing, which he absolutely adored, and here's the article! http://annecarlini.com/ex_interviews.php?id=1309 Sometimes the bartering system DOES work! Interview by Russell Trunk of Exclusive Magazine.
Ah last time I blogged it was about Special Edition, which was great! My friend and fellow cartoonist Warner helped man my table when I couldn't be there on Sunday. I took a bus, then cab across town (cabs were hard to catch at the west end... maybe this is a sign I should get Uber) to draw at the annual FD Day for a few hours. FD is short for Familial Dysautonomia, and I draw a weekly comic strip for their organization. I was even drawing and eating on the cab on the way back to Pier 94 - a super busy day! But I like the excitement.
Haven't posted in awhile because the current apartment hunt has been such a time sucker! Literally every single night this month, Molly and I have been going to Brooklyn for hours. The sequel is practically writing itself. I think the end is in sight though.
Special Edition NYC Next Weekend!
Next weekend I'll be in Special Edition NYC! I'll be tabling with Nadia Burgess in Artist Alley table H5 - moving up in the alphabet! I'll be there the whole day Saturday June 6 from 10A-6P. But on Sunday June 7, I need to leave in the afternoon to draw at FD Day. Sunday I'll be at Special Edition from 10A-Noon, and then at 3:30P-5P.
Breaking news: tickets to New York Comic Con in October are already sold out! HOWEVER, there will be some tickets AT Special Edition! "Very limited quantities are available on a first-come first-serve basis and only while supplies last." So if you're kicking yourself for not getting a NYCC ticket sooner, you still have a chance! One Special Edition: NYC ticket = the ability to buy ONE NYCC ticket.
Other reasons why you should go to Special Edition are they have some interesting panels! Sat June 6 at noon is "The Princess Who Saved Herself" Kickstarter talk, and some informative comics business panels like "Let's Talk About Checks" at 1p.
Special Edition is at PIER 94 (DO NOT go to Javits!) For the musically inclined, it's more near Terminal 5 than it is to the Intrepid. Hope to see you there!
I don't think I'll order from Vistaprint again. They didn't even send me an email telling me the package had been sent back to them. I only found out today from my friend/client that the package never arrived a month ago. Other printing services like Clubflyers.com always send me an email if there's something wrong with the file (like the text is too close to the cut-off borders).
MCCC was awesome, and hey it's Memorial Day Weekend!
Usually I draw people with more natural features, but upon request I can do caricatures and exaggerate them! These women loved their portraits!
It seems like I've done so much in the past 3 weeks I can't believe it! My midwest tour was pretty successful, and I'd like to do it each year! The Motor City Comic Con was awesome, and I think Russell Trunk of Exclusive Magazine reviewed it best! It was great exhibiting in my home state and seeing lots of friends I hadn't seen in ages. I snuck out from my table on Friday to see Billy Boyd's talk and laughed so much my face hurt! OMG on Saturday though it took about 45 minutes to drive like 1 mile to get into the convention because of the traffic! This was my first time driving to a comic con, but now I know to get there super crazy extra early :/
I'm not even exaggerating here. Due to fog, all the NYC flights were cancelled and all the bags went into one baggage claim carousel. I should've taken a picture.
Luckily I had family to stay with when an emergency like this left me stranded in Chicago!
And Happy Memorial Day weekend! Bar-B-Q it to the MAX!
Motor City Comic Con THIS FRI-SUN!!
If you're in Michigan this weekend, check out the Motor City Comic Con! I'm at table C-6 in the artist's alley. The map couldn't zoom in enough to see numbers so I just circled the whole row. Their panel schedule is up, and I just saw that BILLY BOYD (Pippin in Lord of the Rings) is having a panel on Friday called "Pippin Ain’t Easy". He was SO adorable in LOTR! He'll also be at table Q-1 in the Media Guest section.
Get even more of your Hobbit fix with makeup artist Daniel Phillips! Even in a world of computer technology, we still need talented special effects makeup artists like him to bring characters to life! He'll be at table 843/845 in the Exhibitors section.
Continuing the fantasy theme, stop by the Art of Kellianne Stakenas right next to me at table C-5! Kelli and I went to high school together and she still draws the most awesome dragons in the universe! It's so awesome that years later, we're both exhibiting at Motor City!
See you there!
Motor City Comic Con next week!
How appropriate for a Sponge Bob car to be at the MOTOR CITY comic con!
The next stop on my comic tour is the Motor City Comic Con next week May 15-17! This is a convention I used to go to with friends as a teen and it's changed a lot! It's in a brand new center: Suburban Collection Showplace 46100 Grand River Ave., Novi, Michigan. And it's 3 days long, bigger and better than ever! Hours are Fri 12:30p-7p, Sat 10:30a-7p, Sun 10:30a-5p.
So many super awesome things are going on there! I for one want to see the Sponge Bob car and meet the voice of Sponge Bob: Tom Kenny! Dave Aikins, an artist on the show, will also be there.
Of special note is that besides the Artist Alley, there is a separate section for "Crafters," which don't usually get a different listing in other shows. Crafters have comic themed jewelry, buttons, perler bead sprites, etc anything else artsy that isn't on paper. Next week I'll highlight other cool things and people at the show!
Seeing old toys in the basement, I wonder when was the last time I played with that huge bubble blower wand...