Finally, back from PhreakNIC! (Also, the complete #104...)

Just in case nobody believed me when I said I did the shirts. :-p

Apologies for the "incompleteness" of #104... apparently the internet connection at the convention, in addition to being a source of much pwnage, was going down more than a... well, let's just say I'm happy the amount that DID get through included enough content that you were still able to enjoy it. Either way, I've fixed it and provided an intact version of #104.

(I'm also going to have to remind myself that no matter how urban the location, how connected to the internet I am, or how smart the hackers I'm with are, to either upload the page BEFORE leaving town or else finally figure out how to automate updates. It ain't worth the headache otherwise.)

As always, if you love what you see, go ahead and leave a comment on the forums or right here.

Convention Alert: PhreakNIC is October 24-25!

There's one more convention to hit for this year: PhreakNIC's up in Nashville this weekend, and things are... a little different this time around.

Namely, guess whose art made the convention shirts?

Sorry I couldn't tell you folks sooner (well, unless you already caught wind of it on Twitter or otherwise), but it'll be hard to keep under wraps after this weekend for obvious reasons. I expect things to be low-key (since it's a small convention), but safe to say I'm thrilled.

... And yes, there shouldn't be any delays in the comic as a result. It's a hacker convention after all; I'll find an internet connection somewhere, I'm sure.

Something's a little early... [AWA Details!]

Shh. I know better than to count on internet access at a convention. Enjoy your early, longer-lasting anticipation. ;)

For those going to / at the con, I'll be at Table #32 in the Artist's Alley Marketplace. There will be commissions and other goodies available.

Come say hi!

#98 Was a Triumph.

Okay, that's enough Portal jokes.

Just to remind people: if you're coming to Anime Weekend Atlanta, I'll be in the Artist's Alley Marketplace (Near the Dealer's!) selling various pieces of comic merch, so come on by, say hi, and buy something. ;)

#97 is here...

... and I am so glad I'm working off a buffer because I've been knocked flat the past couple of days from a nasty case of con crud.

Of course, I've not had a great chance to catch up on said buffer because I've also been working on stuff for Anime Weekend Atlanta -- only a couple weeks away -- and trying very hard to look like I actually know what I'm doing. In theory (note that word!) I'm on track, but until I have everything I want printed out and on that table when I get there I'm still a nervous wreck.

Oh, and at some point schoolwork is involved. More on that as it happens.

In the meantime, enjoy this weeks new page, and hey -- if you liked the sharpie art that was featured last entry, speak up! I'm making plenty more and I have no problem showing it off before AWA (which is when I assume most of it will be sold off, so . . .)

CONTEST - Free Art For Dragon*Con Folk!

Dragon*Con is dead as a dog, and I've barely got time to recover from it (including a mild but annoying cold -- blegh!) before getting ready for Anime Weekend Atlanta, which means one thing -- I need to make a LOT of stuff to fill up a big table, like the quick Sharpie sketch of Arikos up there.

I also need to make some examples of commissions that I can offer, and that's where you come in: I'm offering MORE free commissions for you!

The catch is, it's only available to "certain" Dragon*Con goers...

• If you picked up one of the Last Resort Stickers for your badge (or heck, if you have any clue what I'm referring to when I mention the "Elevator Game"), send me a picture / scan of the badge with its sticker and you win!
• Parade Watchers: Anyone take pictures of a short mad scientist with curly hair and carrying a Geiger counter / radiation detector? If so, I need the picture(s), and I'm offering prizes for 'em!

Don't worry so much about WHAT your commission prize will be; I want to see how many people respond first before I say what the actual commissions will look like. Rest assured though, everyone who turns in something will get a prize (and maybe even featured on the blog if I get them done fast enough!)

Oh, and if someone on staff picked up a dark grey / yellow shoulder bag with a ham radio in it at the Dead Dog staff party... my friend wants his stuff back. I'll give you a commission in return for it and we'll reimburse you for the shipping. Honest.

#96!

So who wants to try and figure out everything Cypress said first?

Currently at Dragon*Con and taking advantage of a slight pause in the fun/chaos to post this. If you're at the Convention, get off the freaking internet (you're at a CON!) and come to the second floor of the Hilton in the "Reality Wing" where all the cool technology stuff is.

Take care!

#95!

And now we see why Cypress was willing to wear that haircut.

For those who'll be doing convention-hopping in Atlanta soon:

• I'll be working at Dragon*Con in Atlanta next weekend -- literally, I'm on staff. Don't expect much if you find me, but if you're hanging around the Space/Science tracks anyway, say hello -- I'm bound to have something on hand, after all, and I doubt you're the type to pass up frozen liquid nitrogen ice cream* anyway.
  
• However, my working at Anime Weekend Atlanta is all for the comic. Still putting together what I can to make the table awesome, but as I said before, speak up and you'll be rewarded.
• Hope to see you there!

* Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream is made WITH liquid nitrogen, not made FROM liquid nitrogen. Never consume liquid nitrogen. (Seriously.) Available whenever the schedule says it's available -- my best guess is Sunday -- and while supplies and sanity Last.

THIS JUST IN: Last Resort At Anime Weekend Atlanta!

Last Resort's movin' on up, folks!

Just yesterday, I secured a table in the Artist's Alley Marketplace for Anime Weekend Atlanta (Sept. 19-21, 2008), which is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin -- except it's not only filled with plenty more artists, it's also a good bit larger than MomoCon (and if my success from the spring is any indication, this is a VERY good thing!)

For those that'll be there, now's the best time to sway my opinions on what ought to be offered at the table, (or suggest something you want me to make especially for you!), so if you've got a great idea, send me an e-mail -- and even if it's something that I won't be able to get done in time for AWA, a good idea could still end up being something I make and offer later!

Page #82, then Bad News, then Good News...

[Insert Shiny Preview Graphic to Comic Here]

Bad News: Apparently my work on the comic is going to involve character design and scripting for a while, because as of writing this, my laptop refuses to boot. Fortunately, I live among one of the highest concentrations of geekery in a 700-mile radius, so hopefully this will not take long to fix. (No, I don't need donations for a new computer or anything. . . at least not until I attempt to fix this! I believe it's "just" a driver issue, but it's still going to take a little time.)

Fortunately this is the exact sort of situation keeping a buffer is for (for those who like to keep track, it'll be about eight weeks of buffer as of this update... however only about five of those weeks are not in danger of getting completely devoured by the laptop, so I'm still not a happy camper), and so it should not affect my ability to post the comic, at least until it's time to start posting bits of the convention pamphlet, which I just remembered is about a week away.

Good News: Speaking of conventions, the stars have decided to align: I should be showing up at Anthrocon June 26-29! This is an announcement I know several folk on the forums have been waiting on for the past few weeks, mostly because I wanted to finalize and secure my arrangements before I announced anything officially (Christmas teasers notwithstanding)!

Since this is the only big convention I'll be at for the next few months (Atlanta's fall conventions are freaking insane to secure a booth at -- not to mention expensive!), I'm gearing up for this one. I've already started replenishing my usual stocks for buttons and business cards (seeing how MomoCon cleaned me out of BOTH!) , along with coming up for new, interesting, and hopefully easy-to-pack merchandise to sell at Artist's Alley. I already have a few ideas for things, including dead tree versions of the convention pamphlet, but what I really want to hear about are ideas from you (especially if you'll be AT the convention!). The general criteria?

• Something flat (or can at least be stored flat!) as I can only count on taking so much with me since the Artist's Alley is once again first come first served.
  
• Something that can be made with a printer, laminator, and/or Shrinky Dinks (I've just gotten my hands on some printable materials I can use for this, which opens the door wide for jewelry and other charm-type developments!)
  
• Ideally something that isn't a commission, unless I find it real easy to make. (The rationale for this is obvious -- until my laptop returns to working order, all I'm good for are sketches or drawings I've already made! I'm optimistic about my PC, but 'optimistic' does not mean 'certain'. )
  

Remember, don't suggest things you just think are "Good Ideas". . . suggest stuff you actually WANT! I don't make merchandise unless I can see myself using it, because quite frankly there's enough comic strips selling umpteen dozen types of t-shirts and mousepads though CafePress and you folks deserve something different!

(Also, in the unlikely but still entirely plausible event I can't sell everything I make, it's far easier to console myself with items I at least enjoy vs. sitting on a box of tent-sized t-shirts.)

Don't be shy if you can't come up with a new item. Suggest merchandise featuring your favorite characters, great panels, your favorite lines from the series . . . I still have an entire month to work on things and try to make cool stuff, so if you think you've got an awesome idea, comment and say so!

Until then, expect another book review this next week, and here's to hoping I'm not left without my drawing computer for much longer . . . I've been going crazy enough without being able to draw yesterday as is!

(EDIT: Well, I told y'all I thought it was going to be a quick enough fix... thankfully, it was! . . . One downloaded build of Knoppix and 90 minutes of futzing later. Time to get some sleep!)

(MORE EDIT: Bleh, so much for AC either. Looks like business as usual, folks.)

#79, and a Convention Pamphlet Contest!

[insert obligatory link to the comic here]

Who wants to have a hand in crafting this year's convention pamphlet?

Hang on, what convention pamphlet? In previous years I've done several leaflets, which then get passed around at some of the various conventions I go to. Prior to now they've just been an easy way to show off my artistic skills, but since it's still a little early to start making huge books...

For quick examples, check out the bonus section. The one you'll be helping me with looks most like the four-by-four special!

Since we're nearing the end of the current storyline and I'm sure an awful lot of you have been itching to get some answers, I'm going to do the simplest thing I can think of and give you some. Specifically, for the week between the end of this storyline and the start of the new one, there's going to be daily updates of the bonus comic variety, where you can write to the contestants (and perhaps certain other characters) on the comic and hopefully get some useful responses back.

Yes, that's six special updates to help pad things out. I'm expecting at least 4-6 of those will consist of our contestants answering your questions . . .

. . . but of course, they can only answer them if you provide them.

Ways to Enter Your Questions:

1. On the Forums! If there's not a Contest Thread already started by the time you get there, go ahead and make one.
   
2. Email Me! No, seriously, this works. Just don't ask me anything regarding \/1@GR@ and you should escape the spam filters.
3. Blog Comments! Well, this IS a contest post, so it'll hold onto them just fine. If you choose this route though, please provide a way for me to contact you later in case I need your mailing address (see below)
   
4. Twitter! If you're going to go this route, PLEASE reply (so it starts with '@lastres0rt') or Direct Message so it doesn't get lost in the feed.
   

Winners not only get their questions answered, but they'll also receive a free copy of the otherwise print-exclusive pamphlet once they've been printed up as a token of my appreciation.

Non-winners can still get the pamphlet mailed to them as well, but they'll just have to pay a little cash for their copies in a quaint ritual known as "retail". :-p

Not all questions will be answered, obviously; some might take too long for a simple strip, others might spoil the plot, and a few might even just not be good questions . . . so the more entries I receive, the better the bonuses (both in terms of the strips themselves AND the final pamphlets) will be. Heck, the print version might even be in color if enough people enter -- let's say 50 entries total to guarantee print color.

Fame, fortune, and fandom-snark awaits! Enter today!

Another Bonus Comic On The Way! (also, Another Commission Complete!)

Well, it looks like fortune's smiled again, so another Bonus Comic is due for this upcoming Wednesday!

. . . all this convention bonus stuff must be spoiling you guys. As happy as I am to get out there, have fun and keep you guys entertained as a side effect, I'm even happier I don't have any more to worry about until summer . . . especially as I have a few commissions to catch up on. Thanks to all the way-too-generous and just plain entertaining folks I've seen at the cons, and I hope you're enjoying all the fun.

Speaking of which, speculation is already rampant in the forums as to who gets picked. Feel free to place your bets (there or in this post, I'm not picky), or you can just go and stare at the pretty commission of Mischa featured in the previous post. Either one works; I think they both look pretty awesome.

Hello from Outerz0ne!

Well, we've had our bonus comic for this week... so if you missed it, just go back a click. Don't worry, we'll wait.

Not much to say beyond that at the moment, so... have fun, folks!

Bonus Comic Wednesday!

The news is good, the money is counted, and whoever left the pills in my tip jar... well, I sure hope those were prescription. (EDIT: Plain old ibuprofen.)

Long story short, we've hit the bonus threshold so everyone gets to see the bonus comic update on Wednesday. Images will be updated to reflect this as soon as I get to a computer that has 'em. Actual con reports come later.

Enjoy! (And for those who're fresh from MomoCon... say hello?)

Ready for MomoCon!

Things are finally falling into place. I've done what I can to get ready - prints are printed, sharpies are purchased, and I'll be getting my badge in not too long.

Just as a reminder to those who'll be seeing me in Artist's Alley, convention sales also count towards bonus updates -- so those of you telling me to update more? Here's how you can speed stuff up while getting some good art in the process.

See you there!

Jigsaw's Convention Plans

Just a quick reminder that next week is in fact Momocon, and those who have oh-so-coincidental Spring Break time should consider checking out one of the most awesome conventions that you can attend for free. It's only for next Saturday and Sunday, though. I'll be somewhere in Artist's Alley, so feel free to stop by and keep an artist company.

And for those paying attention to the Twitter feed; there's another convention after this, and it's not what you'd expect; Outerz0ne is right on Momocon's heels, and the con head talked me into spending some time behind a table there as well! It's a security conference, so it's not the usual audience, but it wasn't like I didn't have plans to head there with a few of my friends anyway...

... although it helps that I'll pretty much be the entire Artist's Alley for that one. Really, how was I about to turn that down?

17 Things I Learned from the Furries at Furry Weekend Atlanta

Well, I've been back from Furry Weekend Atlanta for a while already, but there's no time to waste; MomoCon's only a couple weeks away! The good news is the artist's table was free at this one, but I need to actually make money back this time around.

I had a great time and I certainly had plenty of fun beside the point (The posters were awesome!), and fortunately I made sure to take plenty of notes from some of the other vendors, so in the hopes that I actually follow some of my own advice... It's getting posted here.

1. Bring more material to sell / give away at the next con.
   Selling art at conventions is a given, but as far as actual material for people to take away from the convention goes, there were only two items I really had available: my pre-made buttons, and the Moo minicards. This was a BIG mistake that I didn't account for, and I need to try to at least have more materials I can shed off at the convention itself to have more after-convention influence.
   
2. Having loose sketches has a purpose.
   Not having a theme is bad, but maybe having things too 'tightly' organized is also bad. Most people who lost interest in the comic stopped flipping through the binder after the third page or so. And that's not including the big mistake of requiring people to flip their own pages; some general art sitting out couldn't have hurt.
   
3. Bring more example badges!
   Most of the other artists I saw offering badges usually had at least four examples of each badge type available. By comparison I had only two -- my own, and Llearch's "Box" badge. This was clearly not enough to encourage badge sales, because the sample size involved was also decidedly low. More examples (and possibly even new badge types) would have been useful.
   
4. Next time, get static, guaranteed convention space.
   A good portion of the tables available in Artist's Alley were squatted quickly by those who could wake up extra early to get down there; as a result, I rarely had a chance to work the tables for more than a couple hours at a time. More time to spend at the table -- or more importantly, rented space where I could freely return to rather than having to wait several hours for a space to open up. This is solved for the next upcoming convention (MomoCon), but this may be easier said than done for other conventions.
   
5. Adult Artwork -- it's more useful than you think.
   I'm still not about to draw anything pornographic (for many reasons, not the least of which can be summed up in two words: "Hi, Dad") , but one of the more interested passers-by made a good point: drawings involving nudes provide a good 'standard' for comparing a given artist's grasp on general artistic concepts like anatomy, shading, and so on, and let's face it; nothing quite reveals an artist's pathetic grasp on anatomy quite like nudes. Fortunately, it gives me a chance to try out those ideas on pinups I had a while back, so maybe I can still use this tip without having to resort to full-frontal.
   
6. Freestanding Price-List
   Letting everything I have lay 'flat' against the table was a mistake; lots of folks had freestanding sheets to help announce their tables, and often had the price lists on them! By comparison, my price sheet was in the back of my binder (so only those who read through to the end or were there when I showed them the list were able to see my prices!) Having made a sheet in advance would have been an exceptionally good idea...
   
7. 3D Artwork!
   This sort of goes hand-in-hand with the free-standing price list idea; 3D artwork stands up from the table and provides additional physical presence. This is a little difficult for illustrated artwork, but in my case at least, I have one ace in the hole: I crochet. While I don't want to be known for just crocheting, it does give me a chance to use this for my advantage.
   
8. Mechanical Pencils
   Sketching with pens sucks. It just does. Pencils allows me to make my sketches more 'legible', and while pens have their own charm, I still sketch too wildly for them to be easily understood. (read: While I can follow it for later, I draw over my other drawings too much.)
   
9. More stuff that can be Made at the Convention
   See the stuff about "Take-away material". The more I can make, the more I can sell to others right there while they wait. Plus, everyone loves to see an Artist at Work, and people walking around with my art already on them is just good advertising.
   
10. Moo Cards are good.
    Yes, as business cards go they are a bit more expensive (and all the more so because they come from freakin' England), but they offer several advantages over other business cards in that they have really high print quality and allow you to put whatever images you like onto the back (and they don't even have to be the same image on every card)! As an artist, that can be incredibly valuable in allowing you to show off your work - it even gives prospective card-takers a chance to rifle through them all to take the one they like best. It also worked quite well for referencing with other artists, and helped me stick out that little bit more.
    
11. The Binder was good, but...
    So apparently there's such a thing as "making a too tightly themed portfolio". Worse, when people decided they weren't interested, they just stopped reading rather than noticing the improvement in the art in the later sections. Having some random pieces for people to look at (or at least SOMETHING that deviated a bit from the comic pages!) would have been good. This goes in with my earlier statement, but it seems to indicate that I need a bit of both; some fluff stuff for the passers-by, and some real meat for the interested ones.
    
12. Need to make a new Jigsaw Model Sheet!
    In trying to gain some of my own artwork, I forgot one of my own rules: I didn't have good references for my own "personal character", Jigsaw! Granted, I had comic pages with her in it, and I had her face on some of the business cards, but I didn't have a full-body character sheet. More to the point, when I tried to direct folks to this sheet, one artist didn't read it closely enough and put wings on my character without realizing that she had not only drawn them improperly, but that they were a later development; she had considered it a mistake later on and refunded me the $3 for my trouble, but this was still something that could have been fixed if there was an updated sheet for only the "current" form that had left these wings out!
    
13. Offer Model Sheet commissions
    Well, if I need a new one, other people probably do too... plus, it isn't like I don't need the practice / don't do this already, even if I don't always color the stuff in. Even my concept sketches for commissions seem to trend towards this sort of thing anyway, so it's basically taking more of the sketches I already do anyway and pulling them into a finished product, right?
    
14. More variety in merchandise / commissions!
    Statement speaks for itself. More variety gives the consumer ideas, so they take credit for finding some great use for your talents when you planted the suggestion in their heads in the first place. Also, having different price ranges for different items also makes the cheaper crowd more willing to part with their monies.
    
15. Photo Viewer worked quite well!
    Well, when it got used anyway. It was slightly impressive, since it was something most of the other artists didn't have (if only because they weren't allowed to have devices that needed to be plugged in), and it did show off some of the later pieces in a flattering format, the same way as the Moo cards did.
    
16. Wear the right thing to the right convention.
    The stupid thing about conventions? If you're not dressed up for 'em, you tend to turn invisible; and there is still a definite switch between "Normal, mundane outfits" and "what you wear to a convention". For more general conventions, this is pretty loose, but for a niche convention, the rules are tighter. This doesn't mean "get all dressed up in a fursuit", but it does tend to mean that the more you look (sort of) like everyone else, the more likely folk are to remember who you are among the crowds.
    
17. Furry cons are not like normal conventions!
    Sci-Fi cons are all about running around to see the movie stars. Anime conventions are all about the merchandise and the manga-ka and whoever else we can throw in. Furry conventions... everyone's running around to see what everyone else is up to. There are so many artists / creators there that everyone is basically trading around with everyone else, and there's a huge level of community there that other conventions just don't have. It's tightly-knit, communal, and really it just reminded me more of what would happen if you mixed a hacker convention with what people usually think of cons. It's a difference I wasn't counting on, and it's one to definitely keep in mind.

Some other ideas I'm probably going to try out given the chance (which given my likely workload going into the next couple of weeks, may have to be trimmed down a bit):

• Tip Jar: Maybe not in the literal sense, but having someplace where I can let funds accumulate is good, and ties in with the website nicely. Plus, it allows me to keep the $50 per update thing going, so it might spur some folks to buy more if they know I have a general convention goal.
  
• Getting my hands on a laminator: Okay, having one (or at least access to one) would really open up what I can do with art stuff. I know that there are some portable ones I can get for about $50-100 and so it may just pay off to go ahead and get something reasonably professional. The main thing keeping me from asking for one outright is that I know how little use my scanner gets now and I'd want to be reasonably certain the laminator would get enough use to justify its purchase.
• More Personal Commissions/Badges (for me!): This may have just been an artist's Alley thing, but a lot of the artists there were using their badges to hang off of the tablecloths there to better announce themselves... and it's certainly an idea worth trying. Besides, it's not like I'd mind a few more personal drawings like that.
  

Now, the real challenge is to see how much I can turn around from what I did at FWA... and it'll certainly be a little more difficult to prepare for this time because of midterms. I have a decent baseline, though, so I can 'probably' coast on what I did for FWA along with what I do special for this one, but it'd be stupid not to at least try a few new things.

On the other hand, if anyone's got a special request or two, now's the time to speak up...

And I'm gone to FWA!

In an attempt to save space in my bag and not bring the laptop, I'm updating the site early. Enjoy, folks!

Those curious can follow Twitter. :)

The Convention Checklist - Artists

Running tables at a convention may very well be an artist's dream, but it's not easy! There's a lt of merchandise to deal with, convention stress, the whole "You're sitting out here to make a spectacle of yourself" kind of problem... To say the least, artists (and wannabe-artists) have a special checklist the average congoer doesn't!

Only yesterday I managed to get my ducks in a row enough to feel like I can take on FWA, so in an attempt to assure myself I'm doing it right, Here's a good rudimentary checklist for anyone planning to work conventions who wants to know how to run an artist's table:

• Do you have multiple works to display?
  Not only does having more than one piece of work available make sense (in case any one work sells out), but multiple works allows people to develop a better sense of your style so in the case of commissions, they can go ahead and try to imagine what a piece done by you will turn out like!
  
  • Know what your table allows! If all your work is on the internet, you're going to be high and dry if the artist's alley doesn't allow for continuous power consumption, let alone an internet connection! Likewise, there may be restrictions on the rating of works visbile, so if you're drawing adult work, you better censor it before someone else censors it for you!
    
  • Is there a theme in your work? Theming helps create a cohesive identity to your work, which may be important if you're attempting to appeal to a particular segment (comic readers, anime fans, etc.). More importantly, it helps hook passersby into viewing more and more of your work. If you're doing a webcomic, you've already got this in spades - just print out a short storyline (or an excerpt of a longer one, as long as it's all contained) and you're good to go!
    
• Are you going to be able to create any art at the convention itself?
  This is a BIG thing to remember. Customers like Instant Gratification. You'll like not having to ship shit after the fact.
  
  • If you're going to make art on-site... have all your tools available for working. Your convention art shouldn't be lower quality just because you left your nice drawing paper at home.
    
  • If you plan on shipping commissions out later... have a form available before you even leave home for customers to fill out later so they can receive your work! Ideally you should have forms available for ALL your different commission types just to make sure you produce the right work, but make sure you have them especially for those that require shipping.
    
• Do you have a CONCRETE price list for your works?
  Even if you're willing to create a variety of work, people appreciate having a pricing list to look at so they can figure out which actions are worth what. Also, if you have a special commission type (such as conbadges or comic pages), specifying that you can do those things in addition to ordinary commissions may attract more business!
  
  • Are you making sure to specify what each commission type involves? Saying "Color Commissions $30" is fine, but you need to have the reader assume a certain level of complexity so you don't end up getting only $30 for drawing some 50-character 30-inch poster.
    
  • Do you have general 'add-ons' for the different commission types, so customers can mix and match for their specific orders?
    
• Do you have a contract / terms-of-service available for customers?
  Absolutely Important! You need this so when customers complain (and they will!) you have a concrete position you can negotiate / argue from. The more detailed and professional you are with this, the less likely protracted arguments will occur (not to mention if your unhappy customer decides to try and "summon the internet" against you, you can make your case all the more convincingly).
  
  • It doesn't have to be complicated. Obviously the more ironclad ones protect you better, but if you're afraid of scaring off potential customers, even a few disclaimers such as "I won't draw pornographic materials" can go a long way to dealing with pesky customers.
  • Make sure you have a general refund system available; if all else fails, you don't want to be accused of keeping people's money for nothing!
    

Now, even with all of this done (or at least in mind), you'd think we'd be done and dusted. But we're not, because we haven't even started talking about running the actual table yet!

Unfortunately, that one I can't talk so much about yet, because it's still before the convention. But if you're willing to find out how that turns out (and the advice therein), go ahead and subscribe to the feed to keep up a little better.

Have I forgotten anything that I need to know before I go to this convention? Comment, quick, before I take off for the weekend and make an ass of myself!

Checkpoint! [Countdown To FWA]

For those heading down to Furry Weekend Atlanta, it's coming up fast next week... or maybe it just feels fast to me because it's just now occurring to me how much this whole "get out and try to be an artist" stuff scares the heck out of me.

I'm doing the best I can to project a "calm, collected, experienced" artist-type persona, but for all of my general bravado, I'm scared to bits. It may just be that it's the first convention I'm actually trying to work at, but it hit me last night just how unprepared I feel about all this.

And it's not for lack of preparations; I mean, I've been going down the general checklist and making sure I have my ducks in a row, although I've not done convention-exclusive work like I have in the past, mostly because:

• I'm not certain that new pamphlets would be worth the efforts.
• I have enough comic pages 'published' now that I can print them out for a portfolio as opposed to needing to fabricate a sample, which was basically what the old pamphlets were for.
• I've been a lazy artist and actually doing my schoolwork rather than drawing.
  

Of course, this could all change pretty easily if I decided to do a few extra things in time for MomoCon, but for now, I've got lots to prepare for.