tabbiewolf | Entries tagged with convention prep

Or is it Presidents' Day weekend? I guess it's both, really.

spotweld and I did our traditional Valentine's Day dinner on Friday night, cooking up porterhouse steaks, potatoes, and brussels sprouts, with a side of red wine (Apothic's Crush, if anyone's curious; Apothic makes amazingly tasty wine blends and I highly recommend them). Then we shagged good & proper.

Saturday we headed down to NYC for PonyCon. I've never done a brony convention before, and I wanted to meet a friend from Twitter (a friend who is part of the team responsible for Twilight Sparkle's Secret Ship Fic Folder, which is the kind of game I wish we had in the furry fandom -- why are all our card games porn? Luckily they're working on a new game that isn't pony-specific [I may get to help with the art, woo!]).

It was neat seeing a convention that I'm not a dealer for, which I haven't done in literally years. We picked up lots of swag, supported the Traveling Pony Museum (Dear furry fandom, This is a great idea! Steal it!), and totally missed out on any panels because we wanted to eat at a local British pub and also wanted to catch Munchkin World NYC before they closed for the night.

Munchkin World NYC was a pop-up store, located in NYC because everyone was already there for the New York Toy Fair, and devoted to Steve Jackson Game's Munchkin series. We learned about it on Twitter as we were traveling to PonyCon, and considering SpotWeld is a board/card game geek and I have absorbed a fair chunk of this geekiness by marrying him (my geekiness is like a sponge), we both wanted to go. Munchkin is a great game if you've never played it, and it's simple enough that I actually know how to play (I prefer board & card games that don't require much brainspace, as I often am also cooking/cleaning/playing host during gaming meets -- and please don't think I mind because I very much like being the host! :) ), and the guys at Steve Jackson games are all pretty awesome. Spot takes advantage of their Men in Black during ~~FurFright~~ Furpocalypse, and they're always great guys. I suspect Spot would be amongst them if he wasn't playing minion to me at most conventions!

So we got some of the limited edition cards, looked through the new art for the cards coming out in Star Munchkin 3 (Time Lard!), saw the new box artwork for Steampunk Munchkin -- which, besides being steampunk, has art by Phil Foglio (who is definitely one of the Gods of Steampunk), so I imagine Spot will be purchasing it the moment it comes out (sometime in July this year), -- learned about Munchkin Loot Letter (which is Love Letter, but with Munchkin; it's very cute and doesn't require the amount of girls hitting on girls that Love Letter did last time we played...not that there's anything wrong with that ;) ), and oh yeah, Spot won Munchkin Quest! Signed by Steve Jackson, John Kovalic, and Andrew Hackard! Meaning, admittedly, that game will never leave our house (it will NOT be coming to any conventions with us, sorry, guys), but hey, how cool is that?

After Munchkin World, we ended up walking through Times Square, which is as bright as day even at 9pm. A quick detour into their giant Disney Store earned my Figment hat (thank you again,

world_dancer, it's definitely my favorite hat!) a lot of compliments, and then we wandered our way back to the subway station, trying our best to ignore the heaving masses of tourists and people in badly assembled costumes (fursuits: they spoil you). A quick ride over to Grand Central, and then we were on our way back home.

Sunday we spent mostly lounging around the house, though I did randomly get the urge to go buy frames for my new pony art and some art I got in Disney...which was oddly fortunate, because Micheal's is having a big President's Day sale, so it cost a lot less than it would have if I went later this week. We also hit Target for random necessities like shampoo, and I ended up grabbing some jars because I plan on making bumbleberry jam or jelly sometime this week with all the berries we have sitting in the downstairs freezer.

Which means I will be putting up a "WHO WANTS SOME JELLY" post sometime whenever I finish that.

I also ordered a few things for working on convention stuff, since ReGeneration Who is a mere month-and-a-half away and I need to get started on prep for that. I'm planning on making a new cocktail book of Doctor Who-related drinks, which means I'm gonna be playing the "power through that art" game before the month is over.

All in all, a great Valentine's Day weekend :) And now, to work on some commissions!

Driven through the canyons I was
Dazzled by the mountains and we didn't go very far
Close enough to heaven if you
Climb up on a mansion you too can swing like a star

In ONE WEEK,

spotweld and I will be on a plane somewhere over the middle of the country on our way to San Jose. I'm just a little excited, in that I have brought back lyrics to describe myself, which I have not done in quite some time.

The unneeded excuse for going, of course, is Further Confusion. I haven't done a BIG furry convention in years, so this con is going to be a big deciding factor in a lot of things…mostly: Are big furry conventions still worth going to? Is the time/money/travel stress worth it? Or is staying close to home and focusing on my online commission work the way to go?

As you all know, I've been overly critical of big furry cons because the money I made didn't make up for the time/money/travel stress that went into one a few years ago. I was completely underwhelmed by the traffic, though I can fully admit: it may have been the economy and it wasn't just me (though I've heard similar things from other, much bigger name, artists). Further Confusion seems to have taken the dealer:attendee ratio into account for their dealers room, which as a dealer I agree with wholeheartedly. I've heard nothing but good things about it from artists who've gone previously (as in: you barely have time to eat, you get so many commissions), so I'm hoping it'll change my views on bigger cons.

Then again, the last big convention had the whole "terrorist attack" issue so who knows. I'm hoping for the best but expecting the worst, which is my normal state of being (yeah, I'm that kind of person).

At least I fully don't expect to pay for our transportation with convention earnings. Sadly, cross-country plane tickets are a WEE BIT too expensive to expect something like that. Though…that would be a HELL of a convention.

I was just a passenger a
Rider on the tremors that were shaking all our beds at night
A visitor a stranger thought I
Might pass for a regular if I just kept out of the lights

Besides Further Confusion, which again is the unneeded excuse to get out to California (I can write those plane tickets off as at least a partial business expense), I've got a dorky, happy excitement going on for staying with

tugrik. It's a feeling very similar to meeting a crush for the first time, which it pretty much is (we've probably crossed paths before, but I spend most conventions braindead and in "work mode" — if you've ever worked retail you hopefully know what I mean…I've re-introduced myself to people I've met before at the same convention a few years in a row because of this. On the other hand, I get to meet folks for the first time several times!). And yes, Spot knows fully about my crush and is okay with it, as far as he's let me know.

Can I mention how glad I am that I married Spot? Let me mention that again here: damn, I'm a lucky girl.

After Further Confusion, all three of us will be driving down the beautiful California coast — assuming no major storms show up, anyway, as I know that makes the Pacific Coast Highway kind of a bitch to drive — to Anaheim. Despite being a huge Disney fan, Spot's never been to Disneyland, the place that started it all. Sadly since it's off-season a lot of it is closed or under construction, but hey, it won't be crowded!

I really wish we had more time on the trip. Part of me thinks "Damn, I wish the convention wasn't that weekend" even though that's part of the reason we're going. But I think no matter how much time we had, we wouldn't be able to see it all. Tiki bars, jade hunting on the coast, the Missions, weird tourist attractions, San Francisco & Los Angeles/Hollywood/etc. in general…and we won't even be going further down the coast, which is sad because the San Diego Zoo is amazing but we just don't have the time.

Of note: the International Tiki Marketplace at Don the Beachcomber's will be taking place THE DAY AFTER WE LEAVE. Aaaaaaaaaaaugh. Though two cons one right after the other might be nuts. We should plan to do that some year, though.

I wonder if people who actually live in California feel like there's no way they can possibly do everything. It's been forever since I lived there (or near there, considering my years in the desert of Arizona) but I can't help but think it's more normal than anything (similar to what I imagine living in NYC is like…"Oh, yeah, Empire State Building? Walk by that every day."), despite that it takes 6 or more hours of driving to get anywhere.

Well, I can't be pissy about it: we're gonna have a lot of fun and I'm gonna eat a ridiculous amount of In & Out Burger.

(That is not the only thing I'm excited about but damn I'm looking forward to it.)

Tore my heart out from my chest
Mixed it up in my mind with the best freshest pieces of my soul
Chose the ones I loved the most
Drove 'em all down to the coast
Threw 'em in a big black hole

Now, back to convention preparations. I've gotten most things done, but I still need to work on my Sketch of the Day book (if it doesn't get done I won't be TOO depressed about it), pick up some more new markers, and make some more badge examples.

And if you're also gonna be at Further Confusion: Lemme know and/or come say hi! Space 25 in the dealers' room, I'll be there most of the convention selling my wares and drawing all the things. I also take badge & commission orders in advance, if anyone wants to throw money at me now ;)

This is copy-pasted from

spotweld's journal, though I'm pretty sure everyone who follows me also follows him =p

Hello everyone!
The Connecticut Furry Convention, FurPocalypse is coming up fast.
8 days and counting.

The main website is here: https://furpocalypse.org/

But a bunch of other useful information has also been uploaded.
Here's the direct links. If you'll be there be sure to look things over ahead of time and also check out the gaming rooms!

Dealer List and Dealer's Room Layout: https://furpocalypse.org/docs/dealers.pdf
Events Schedule: https://furpocalypse.org/docs/events.pdf
Panels Schedule: https://furpocalypse.org/docs/panels.pdf
Gaming Schedule: https://furpocalypse.org/docs/gaming.pdf
Movie Schedule: https://furpocalypse.org/docs/movies.pdf

Let me know if anyone out there is looking for more information, I'll see what I can do!

Also, volunteers are always welcome. Anyone working the graveyard shift will have those hours count double towards reward swag. Details here: https://furpocalypse.org/volunteer.html

~*~
Not included in Spot's post: I will have a table in the Dealer's Room, smack in the center of the damn thing. I am hoping to be premiere my Bawdy Bartender portfolio there, as well as my usual buttons and comics and prints, along with bottle openers. I will also have plush Tigerdiles if neither Caribou or Tanabi show up.

If you want a custom button (1.25" or 2.25") or bottle opener, please poke me now! I can happily make badge buttons featuring your character, since I'm not sure how I'll pull that off in a non-digital fashion (I might experiment with doing it with markers this weekend, because being able to do that on-site would be neat). I am also taking pre-con badge commissions. Don't worry,

dalesql and

fenris_lorsrai, your badges will be done by then :) I've just been in the middle of a "OH MY GOD THE CON'S NEXT WEEK" thing. Though the portfolio is nearly done, and I've already started printing, laminating, and punching pages :)

Yesterday was

spotweld's birthday, so I made him a rum cake and we went to Mohegan Sun to eat fancy-schmancy food at Bobby Flay's Bar Americain. VERY tasty steak and seafood. We also goofed off on the fancy slot machines that are always full on weekends. Didn't win anything, but eh...it's a birthday, you get to splurge :)

I also bought him a fire pit that arrived today. Because FIRE. It is sitting on the porch now because it weighs 40-some pounds and is kind of huge so I don't want to attempt moving it. But if you come over to our place, marshmallow and weenie roasting will be done!

I was going to spend today finishing the last minute stuff for ConnectiCon: finish making a few more buttons, organize the stuff that hasn't been yet (the bigger buttons need a method of storage that I've only actually figured out in my head AND the big Con Box needs to be reshuffled), print up some lists of buttons and stock sheets.

Unfortunately, I woke up today feeling rather like someone had driven a fork into my head. NOT as bad as a migraine, but definitely similar. Same feeling of nausea, too. I took a hot bath, which sometimes helps, but this time it didn't...so I took a nap, only a couple hours after waking up, trying to get rid of the nausea. Thankfully, it worked, so I ate something very mild and I'm hoping that whatever it was that's causing it has gone away. The headache stuck around, so I've taken some Pamprin and am trying to get stuff done anyway. Once again I'm stuck grinding in first or second gear, when I SHOULD be operating in fourth.

#TMITuesday: It's probably PMS. My body seems to think that excess progesterone (the hormone that is responsible for morning sickness) is a really great plan during my cycle, and worst off: I know it's genetic because my mom went through the same thing (at least I know it's NORMAL, though, even if it's a pain in the ass). Also PMS seems to come into effect the moment my period ends, which I'm really enjoying [/sarcasm] The moodiness is steady, though the nausea is only occasional. I will be talking to my OB/GYN about this when I see her for my yearly checkup later this month; she put me on Prozac for it two years ago, but the side effects of Prozac were fucking with my sleep schedule so I stopped taking it. Might be time to find a new drug or to start taking it again.

And if you ended up getting Huey Lewis & the News in your head thanks to that last sentence, I apologize.

So, though I'm now getting started many hours later than I'd like to, I AM going to try to get a majority of the con stuff done today. Official con setup is on Thursday, and thankfully I'm pretty far along in prepping...probably because I've been working on it, a little bit each day, for a month and a half. The opposite of procrastination, guys, be proud of me!

I'm hoping to use that preparation motivation to work on a comic or two after this convention. But I've been saying that for years so don't hold me to it.

Actually, no, hold me to it. I need to fucking do it. I'm awesome, and the stories in my head are awesome, and I really should draw them.

That job I was having second thoughts about, after 3 days of "testing it out" and sending a bunch of references, has not called or contacted me. Clearly I made a great impression =p Not too bothered by not getting it, in all honesty. It's probably saving me a lot of trouble.

I do wish they'd pay me for the 10+ hours I spent learning how everything worked, though. That's kind of unfair, I'd like those hours of my life back.

~*~
Getting prepped for ConnectiCon. Received my order of charms, postcards, and plastic bags for customers (not enough artists/indie crafters include bags to actually carry the stuff in). Only thing I'm waiting on is my new button-based business cards. Currently making a ridiculous amount of buttons so we're not making them on the fly like we were last year. Redoing the displays using foam board instead of cork to allow for more buttons to be displayed (can fit 81 or 100 depending on how many I want to cram in each row; the cork only allowed for 42 per board, I think? Amazing how much an extra two inches does #thatswhatshesaid). Also adding graphics to a vest that I am going to cover with buttons so I can be a walking advertisement, for those moments when I actually leave the table.

~*~
Our CSA starts this weekend, huzzah! We will be getting fresh veggies every week and maybe I can lose this weight that I've put on since the whole Job From Hell Part 2 stress last year. Jobs From Hell: Question your own competence AND gain a pants size!

(I think it's probably my metabolism changing with age, but I'm sure the stress didn't help.)

I know I need to exercise more and that it will help my fitness, my weight, and my depression, but getting the motivation to get started is the issue. Once I get started I'm fine -- just like when I'm drawing a comic -- but actually getting to the point where I DO start is the difficult part.

~*~
Speaking of comics...a famous comic art site of the erotic persuasion is accepting submissions. I'd like to try, but they say outright: No furries. I can draw things other than furries just fine, but I've never really had an excuse to draw human erotica before...so I worry that submitting the best examples of my comics (which, of course, are all anthropomorphic animals) will make them go, "Ehhhhh...we SAID no furries..." even though they'd just be examples and not anything I would expect them to publish.

I'm annoyed that the kind of art I like to draw is a very tiny niche that freaks a lot of people out. Dear world, Just because I draw people with animal heads gettin' it on, it does not mean I want to fuck animals. I just think animal heads are more fun to draw than people heads! Oy.

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