Sunday, August 17, 2008
I'm so bad at updating these things!
argh, its been too long since i've updated. i need to make a new blog that i can update on my iphone so I'll actually do it >_<;
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Nekocon stuff!
booo, cant have vinyl decals because its sticky backed :(
I'll see if i have time to make some cling-on decals instead.
I may have a little booklet of 'samples' and have people order it there and i mail it to them or something.
Also, here are sketches of what im going to do for their charity auction:
I'll see if i have time to make some cling-on decals instead.
I may have a little booklet of 'samples' and have people order it there and i mail it to them or something.
Also, here are sketches of what im going to do for their charity auction:
Moon kitty, not unlike the bunny lady on the moon...
Night of the Melting Kitty!!! Boo!
Night of the Melting Kitty!!! Boo!Monday, October 15, 2007
Scarfs! Vinyls! UMPCs Oh My!
A lot of people seem to like my pillows, but I would really rather not sew anything. It is really time consuming, and takes up a lot of space. So heres an alternative idea: Fleece Scarfs.
They would be very soft, and since its fleece I don't really have to finish the edge as long as i can trim it nicely. I've tried ironing onto them and they seem to work pretty well. I'm planning on having the Insomnia Friends series on them, and maybe start a new "winter theme" version too. At the moment I'm only going to do black scarfs, maybe later I'll stock up on color ones.
Another thing is I may make vinyl iron-ons. The quality may look a lot nicer than ink-jet iron-ons... so we'll see. And I still need to make some of the window decals and vinyls for the next con... which is in... 2 weeks. SHIT. Why nekocon, why?!?!?!
Lastly, at SPX I saw a girl with a tablet PC thing, and the more I look into it, I found that they are called "Ultra Mobile PC", aka UMPC. So I want one, badly. Not sure if it is a wise investment considering I already have a freakin' cintiq!!! But I really wish I could be more mobile... as in I wish I could sit at the couch and draw while watching TV lol.
They would be very soft, and since its fleece I don't really have to finish the edge as long as i can trim it nicely. I've tried ironing onto them and they seem to work pretty well. I'm planning on having the Insomnia Friends series on them, and maybe start a new "winter theme" version too. At the moment I'm only going to do black scarfs, maybe later I'll stock up on color ones.
Another thing is I may make vinyl iron-ons. The quality may look a lot nicer than ink-jet iron-ons... so we'll see. And I still need to make some of the window decals and vinyls for the next con... which is in... 2 weeks. SHIT. Why nekocon, why?!?!?!
Lastly, at SPX I saw a girl with a tablet PC thing, and the more I look into it, I found that they are called "Ultra Mobile PC", aka UMPC. So I want one, badly. Not sure if it is a wise investment considering I already have a freakin' cintiq!!! But I really wish I could be more mobile... as in I wish I could sit at the couch and draw while watching TV lol.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Small Press Expo 2007!
My coworker told me about SPX last week so I decided to go after hearing about Jeff Smith, the artist of Bone, would be there!
It was quite different from what I expected. Well, I wasn't sure what I WAS expecting... I guess more like an anime con artist alley?
The main difference would be: no dealer room, only the "artist alley" area and a couple of panel discussion rooms.
There was also a contest going on that the attendees could vote on their favorite story.
The room was PACKED like you would expect of a "dealer room", but of course people were piled up to see artists and publishers, big and small. It was also kind of strange for *me* because I rarely saw anyone selling prints. Given, that its CALLED "small-press-expo" so it would be mostly stuff people publish themselves instead of stuff like art prints and the like. There were poster prints (very nice silk-screen ones too!) along with some people having t-shirts, plushes, some small 1" pins here and there. But the majority of the people all had a story they were trying to share.
Its really impressive seeing all those people doing (mostly) COMICS. As for an anime con, its mostly illustrations, trinkets, etc. It really makes me wish that there would be more doujin circles in the US. Hell, it even made me want to start doing comics again (even tho I can bet 99% that my lazy ass wont go and actually do them).
Besides going to see Jeff Smith to sign a book (which cost a "Donation" of $10 that limits to only 2 signatures, which I did pay but ticks me off about the limitation of signature part. Dude, thats no donation, just say it as it is, a FEE!), I was surprised to recognize one of the artists who I've seen at northern-east-coast anime conventions. She does awesome mini-comics and also very lovely small poster prints (>.< I always forget her name)!
I was also surprised by three things I saw there:
1- a doujin of Nights (the sega game)
2- two volumes of Moomin stories
3- the book "Sticky" being displayed on a table next to a big bald guy with his big not-bald friends with more very homosexual porn-comics.
Ok, first of all, I didn't get to pick up the Nights comic so I can't tell you what thats about. Secondly, Moomin Valley was an animation I grew up watching. I don't remember what happens in it, so I'm glad I can pick up the comic and find out again. Thirdly about "Sticky", one of my friends was offered to draw the sequel to "Sticky" at one point (I'm not sure if she ever did finish it), and in case I haven't made myself clear, its a very gay comicbook. Literally. And NO IT IS NOT YAOI. It is hairy lumberjacks and firefighters in NOT-manga style, having butt sex. I'm not offended by it, but I guess I've just never thought about it so I was surprised to see people representing and being so proud of it (which I'm not saying its a bad thing, its just not something I would be interested in).
OK, back to about the showroom area:
The majority of tables I ended up stopping at are ones with very creative covers for their comic or mini-comic. There was one with a pair of real fake-mustaches on the cover and it was a guide to many different uses of a fake-mustache (like giving you thicker eyebrows). Other books were *beautiful* bound comics, big and small. Some silk-screened, some were printed with large-format printer and accordion folded and wrapped in vellum. The saying goes "dont judge a book by its cover", but I cant help but noticing only the ones with creative looking covers. Some were not even "books" at all, like a printed brown paper bag that was labeled "trade paper bag". I really wish I can somehow find a way to display these little books (since I couldn't afford to pay the big books).
I also got to talk to a few very interesting artist; one whom drew a pirate octopus and a zombie for me; and another whom I got into a geeky discussion of tablet PCs and she let me try out the one she had and now I really want one.
At the end of the day, I went to the Jeff Smith Q&A session. To summarize it: Jeff Smith does not like manga (other than Akira and Nausicaa); Jeff Smith have a new sci-fi story coming up that is about art thief that can go to different dimensions and steal expensive artwork back to his own world for collectors; Jeff Smith is going to come out with a sequel to Rose. Teh end.
Another thing I would like to mention is that it has been a while that I attended an event as a 'normal person', and not sell stuff. Its rather fun, but I seem to have finish walking around and bored very quickly (after 3-4 hours).
As a normal person I also would like to mention that item display at SPX is very different from Anime Cons. Everything is flat, or leaning on a book display, with a "sample" copy up top and a stack of the new book underneath. There were not many pipe-work backdrop displays, and they only show the name or logo of the artist, and NOT stuff for sale. There were very very little amount of buttons, and they are all original characters, none of the crap I do (lol). Every inch of space was filled up with books and artwork, you cant even see the table cloth!
I have decided that there really is no need for having a pipe backdrop to display artwork, nor logo and name, because NO ONE WILL SEE IT. Everyone just look at the table, rarely look up unless to talk to the artists. There is no point! I really am going to rethink about how I display my artist alley table from now on!
SPX was excellent, even if i only spent about 4 hours there. Anyone in the Washington area should go!
*edit: I'll post crappy pictures later, my camera was running low on battery)*
It was quite different from what I expected. Well, I wasn't sure what I WAS expecting... I guess more like an anime con artist alley?
The main difference would be: no dealer room, only the "artist alley" area and a couple of panel discussion rooms.
There was also a contest going on that the attendees could vote on their favorite story.
The room was PACKED like you would expect of a "dealer room", but of course people were piled up to see artists and publishers, big and small. It was also kind of strange for *me* because I rarely saw anyone selling prints. Given, that its CALLED "small-press-expo" so it would be mostly stuff people publish themselves instead of stuff like art prints and the like. There were poster prints (very nice silk-screen ones too!) along with some people having t-shirts, plushes, some small 1" pins here and there. But the majority of the people all had a story they were trying to share.
Its really impressive seeing all those people doing (mostly) COMICS. As for an anime con, its mostly illustrations, trinkets, etc. It really makes me wish that there would be more doujin circles in the US. Hell, it even made me want to start doing comics again (even tho I can bet 99% that my lazy ass wont go and actually do them).
Besides going to see Jeff Smith to sign a book (which cost a "Donation" of $10 that limits to only 2 signatures, which I did pay but ticks me off about the limitation of signature part. Dude, thats no donation, just say it as it is, a FEE!), I was surprised to recognize one of the artists who I've seen at northern-east-coast anime conventions. She does awesome mini-comics and also very lovely small poster prints (>.< I always forget her name)!
I was also surprised by three things I saw there:
1- a doujin of Nights (the sega game)
2- two volumes of Moomin stories
3- the book "Sticky" being displayed on a table next to a big bald guy with his big not-bald friends with more very homosexual porn-comics.
Ok, first of all, I didn't get to pick up the Nights comic so I can't tell you what thats about. Secondly, Moomin Valley was an animation I grew up watching. I don't remember what happens in it, so I'm glad I can pick up the comic and find out again. Thirdly about "Sticky", one of my friends was offered to draw the sequel to "Sticky" at one point (I'm not sure if she ever did finish it), and in case I haven't made myself clear, its a very gay comicbook. Literally. And NO IT IS NOT YAOI. It is hairy lumberjacks and firefighters in NOT-manga style, having butt sex. I'm not offended by it, but I guess I've just never thought about it so I was surprised to see people representing and being so proud of it (which I'm not saying its a bad thing, its just not something I would be interested in).
OK, back to about the showroom area:
The majority of tables I ended up stopping at are ones with very creative covers for their comic or mini-comic. There was one with a pair of real fake-mustaches on the cover and it was a guide to many different uses of a fake-mustache (like giving you thicker eyebrows). Other books were *beautiful* bound comics, big and small. Some silk-screened, some were printed with large-format printer and accordion folded and wrapped in vellum. The saying goes "dont judge a book by its cover", but I cant help but noticing only the ones with creative looking covers. Some were not even "books" at all, like a printed brown paper bag that was labeled "trade paper bag". I really wish I can somehow find a way to display these little books (since I couldn't afford to pay the big books).
I also got to talk to a few very interesting artist; one whom drew a pirate octopus and a zombie for me; and another whom I got into a geeky discussion of tablet PCs and she let me try out the one she had and now I really want one.
At the end of the day, I went to the Jeff Smith Q&A session. To summarize it: Jeff Smith does not like manga (other than Akira and Nausicaa); Jeff Smith have a new sci-fi story coming up that is about art thief that can go to different dimensions and steal expensive artwork back to his own world for collectors; Jeff Smith is going to come out with a sequel to Rose. Teh end.
Another thing I would like to mention is that it has been a while that I attended an event as a 'normal person', and not sell stuff. Its rather fun, but I seem to have finish walking around and bored very quickly (after 3-4 hours).
As a normal person I also would like to mention that item display at SPX is very different from Anime Cons. Everything is flat, or leaning on a book display, with a "sample" copy up top and a stack of the new book underneath. There were not many pipe-work backdrop displays, and they only show the name or logo of the artist, and NOT stuff for sale. There were very very little amount of buttons, and they are all original characters, none of the crap I do (lol). Every inch of space was filled up with books and artwork, you cant even see the table cloth!
I have decided that there really is no need for having a pipe backdrop to display artwork, nor logo and name, because NO ONE WILL SEE IT. Everyone just look at the table, rarely look up unless to talk to the artists. There is no point! I really am going to rethink about how I display my artist alley table from now on!
SPX was excellent, even if i only spent about 4 hours there. Anyone in the Washington area should go!
*edit: I'll post crappy pictures later, my camera was running low on battery)*
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Namatako Ramen (or Tako Ramen for short?)
I had an idea of making my artist alley table set up looking like a ramen shop, with cloth panel banners hanging above my table (like the doorways to ramen shops).
The name would have been "Namatako Ramen" (for my namatako production), but that is sorta too long of a name, so maybe just "Tako Ramen" for short.
Only problem with this idea is that I wont be able to display much of my large prints, nor pillows. The set up I have in mind will be very simple, and not too crowded nor clustered, which would be the exact opposite of how I set up my AA table.
I'll still need to think about how to make it work... so more on this later (maybe).
The name would have been "Namatako Ramen" (for my namatako production), but that is sorta too long of a name, so maybe just "Tako Ramen" for short.
Only problem with this idea is that I wont be able to display much of my large prints, nor pillows. The set up I have in mind will be very simple, and not too crowded nor clustered, which would be the exact opposite of how I set up my AA table.
I'll still need to think about how to make it work... so more on this later (maybe).
About Studio ID @ Blogger
This blog is created by Zelas with the intention of recording my anime convention adventures!
Basically this place is for me to jot down new ideas to have at my table, how to set things up, slight con review, etc.
-------------------------
About the name Studio ID:
It was originally a name Shadra D and I thought up, since both our names have "D" (shadra "D" and "D"ty). Also several variations of Studio "Infinit-D" or Studio "I Dunno", etc.
Even though Shadra and I have another 'studio' by ourselves (Second to Nun & Namatako Production), I continue to use the name "Studio ID" whenever signing up for Artist Alley tables for convenience sake and also for making it easier to place our tables next to each other.
-------------------------
Members of Studio ID:
There is me (Dty, aka Zelas), and Shadra. And then there are the honorary members, our friend Brandokay and Squshie. They're all welcome to post on here, though I'm not sure if any of them would actually want to (lol) considering Brandokay isn't going to do more conventions, Squshie rarely go do cons stuff with us, and well Shadra have her own site. No matter, this place welcome all my friends! ^_^
Basically this place is for me to jot down new ideas to have at my table, how to set things up, slight con review, etc.
-------------------------
About the name Studio ID:
It was originally a name Shadra D and I thought up, since both our names have "D" (shadra "D" and "D"ty). Also several variations of Studio "Infinit-D" or Studio "I Dunno", etc.
Even though Shadra and I have another 'studio' by ourselves (Second to Nun & Namatako Production), I continue to use the name "Studio ID" whenever signing up for Artist Alley tables for convenience sake and also for making it easier to place our tables next to each other.
-------------------------
Members of Studio ID:
There is me (Dty, aka Zelas), and Shadra. And then there are the honorary members, our friend Brandokay and Squshie. They're all welcome to post on here, though I'm not sure if any of them would actually want to (lol) considering Brandokay isn't going to do more conventions, Squshie rarely go do cons stuff with us, and well Shadra have her own site. No matter, this place welcome all my friends! ^_^
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