Ohayocon 2012 Con Report

So I’m back from Ohayocon and it was really good overall! Even saw a few friends that I haven’t seen in awhile, since my last Ohayocon which I think was in 2009. Wow, it’s been 3 years since I’ve last seen some people! It was good to be back though. I’m going to keep this brief since it wasn’t exceptionally eventful for me but I had fun socializing with friends. I wonder if it’s because I’m getting older and the fact that I haven’t kept up with any popular Anime or Manga lately that it wasn’t as riveting.

Friday - So I got there early around 2:30pm and it was kinda empty but there were people running around. It was weird, the pre-reg line at the time was longer than the at-the-door line, the staff member said it was a weird time of day for that to happen. Anyways, got my badge and ended up wandering around. Somehow I managed to find the Dealer’s room and got a little lost there trying to find the Artist Alley. Mind you, they changed the layout from 3 years ago but it is the same as it was last year to those who have been to Ohayocon more recently. Bought a few things from friends in the AA. I met up with friends and we followed each other around the Dealer’s Room, AA, and panels. It was good times. :D

Here are some pictures I took on Friday of the Dealer's room and the AA on the top balcony on the outer edges of the room.

Saturday - Much more eventful, there were mass amounts of people that day. I was also super busy that I wasn’t able to hit the AA more than once or twice that day. XD Ended up wandering the Dealer’s room and panels the most. I would have been completely bored without my friends. I came by myself since I didn’t come with anyone in particular. When I first arrived I ended up wandering the Dealer’s room but it was so crowded that I left and I was hungry so I went to eat a snack.

Was still trying to wake up so I went to sit down and sketch until my butt was numb from sitting on the floor. lol I decided to go to the Dealer’s room again because I wanted to look more seriously at things to buy. It was funny because I didn’t expect to run into some friends so quickly after I went into the Dealer’s room. It was difficult to try to dodge people, took forever sometimes to cross through. I didn’t buy anything at the Dealer’s room, ended up spending most of my money at the AA! Woot! lol The AA was actually pretty busy too. The day was long but fun, went to a few panels but hardly stayed the whole time for most of them. I think I only stayed for one panel the whole time. XD

Oh man, the lines for the Food Court were so long for lunch! I don’t remember it being that long 3 years ago. lol I’d recommend bringing your own food if you don’t like waiting in lines. Even around 5 or 6pm when I went to eat there were still lines. XD Shorter lines but still a line where I had to wait around 15 minutes for Subway. Not sure if there ever was a moment when there wasn’t a line. There were shorter lines than others but it also depended on where you went to eat.

Here are some pictures I took on Saturday of the Dealer's room and the AA. Not sure if you can tell it's busier than Friday. This was probably more during one of the down times where it was less crowded. lol

Shots of the AA

Went to a GaiaOnline Panel. XD

Here was an Avatar: The Last Airbender Panel

Some Balloon Artist made some awesome Balloon Sculptures. There was another but forgot to take a picture.

A Mari Iijima concert. :)

Sunday - Was sad that it was nearing the end already. Went to talk to some of my artist friends in the AA since I didn’t really get a chance on Saturday. Strolled both the AA and Dealer’s room for any deals but there weren’t that many so I held on to my money. Tried to limit my budget but was able to pre-reg for the next Ohayocon. Was looking around to pre-reg for Matsuricon on Sunday but never ran into the guys running the booth. I ended up just pre-regging online.

This day was more of a last chance to hang out and talk with for some friends. Some older friends I didn’t even see until Sunday afternoon since I didn’t know they were there. lol A lot of people left early on Sunday because of work and what not. Was a bit of a relief with more space and air circulating, although you could still get whiffs of some con funk and B.O. floating around in which I just hold my breath until it passes. All in all, it was good to see old friends and make new ones. Was sad to see everyone go but to see friends is one of the reasons for me to attend a con. Definitely going back next year and maybe next time I’ll get a table! Hopefully by then I’ll have more art and merchandise. :D

 Sunday line for the Dealer's Room

 Dealer's Room on Sunday

That was pretty much it from a less personal perspective! If you have any questions concerning Ohayocon or want to know more about my experience there. Feel free to comment or email me! :D

Importance of Support Groups

This is unfortunately a subject where I'm lacking. I'm kind of used to doing things solo, I mean, I can work in a group too but I always thought of comic-making as a solo thing. That is, unless you're collaborating with a partner or building a comic in an assembly line(pencils, ink, color, lettering etc). There isn't a wrong or right way to do it, but during those moments of despair or frustration, a support group would be great to turn to in those times of need.

Support groups are those who help give honest critique of your work and are there when you need them. They don't necessarily have to be your friends (but it sure does help! ^_~) so be open to the possibilities! They also can help you brainstorm for ideas if you get stuck. They can be great motivations if you like to slack or procrastinate (like me). They can give you fresh eyes or perspective that you may not have noticed or thought of while creating.

Unfortunately, I have driven some people away due to my anti-social behavior and reluctance to share my stories with others on the basis that I'm not very verbally articulate and think my stories are still raw. It may also be that I don't talk about it much so they don't even know that I draw comics. Not something I take outside, when I go out because I tend to go hang out with friends so drawing comics don't really cross my mind. I've been better trying to bring a small sketchbook/notebook to jot ideas or brainstorm during any dead time.



So learn from my mistake as I'm learning now. Be open, be who you are, be willing to accept constructive criticism. Most people are willing to give good advice so don't close your ears because they truly do want to help.

There is a multitude of support online, which is helping bridge the communication gap. I've already been seeking some established comic creators who have similar tastes as me who are friendly and willing to help. I'm learning a great deal from them! Of course, I'm still working on building my comic so I don't have a lot to show but don't hesitate to find your own group of support. You can even join me!

So I guess what I'm saying is that this is a call out to anyone who would want to be in a support group! Feel free to contact me as well if you'd want any support! I'm still learning but looking for any friendly people who have a passion for comics as well as similar tastes and are open minded!

Comic Creators for Freedom | Fighting Together to End Human Trafficking

Everyone please read this and consider donating!

This year I've participated in drawing a female comic character to contribute to a large wallpaper featuring an "Epic Snowball Fight" in exchange for donations. All donations will go to non-profit safe havens for abused victims. I know I will do my share this year to help these young ladies. For more information please read below. (EDIT: If you want to see my contribution visit my dA Gallery)

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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead

Wednesday, January 11th is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. To participate, we formed the Comic Creators for Freedom– a group of over 100 comic book creators who volunteered our artistic talents to raise money and awareness for this cause. You may not know it, but there are currently 27 million enslaved people worldwide- more than double the number of enslaved Africans during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. UNICEF estimates that 1.2 million children every year are sold into slavery, most of it sexual. The US Department of Justice estimates 16,000 victims of human trafficking are brought into the United States every year. Unlike slavery in the past, what is happening today is happening in secret. It won’t end until awareness is raised, and people like you and me take a stand.

So here’s what we did: each creator contributed an original drawing of one of our own female characters, and combined them into a single wallpaper image! The wallpaper features characters from all over the web, including Girls with Slingshots, The Dreamland Chronicles, Kukuburi, Earthsong Saga, Looking for Group, Love and Capes, The Dreamer, and tons more! Donate today to download this unique, once-in-a-lifetime wallpaper. 

The Donations Drive will last for two weeks, from Monday January 9th – 20th. All proceeds will be split evenly between Love 146 and Gracehaven House- two organizations working on rehabilitation of victims and prevention of this crime.

 

To learn more about the CCA visit www.comiccreatorsforfreedom. To learn more about the problem, visit http://love146.org/slavery. (Note: contains adult themes and actual accounts of sex slavery.)

The Start of the Book Obsession

My current sketchbooks that I desperately want to finish but only about half way completed.

I figure some of you would like an introduction to why I started this blog. If not, feel free to skip it. XD With graduation behind me I began to wonder what I should do with my life. Since I love the manga story-telling style, I decided to try to work on my own webcomic which is why I established this blog. It was mainly to help me track my progress as slow as it might be to help motivate me and for the public to watch me grow.

As I learned more about the development of webcomics I learned the key component is to have a notebook/sketchbook wherever you go to help you brainstorm or remember ideas and jot them down before you forget. This was the start of my book paraphernalia obsession. I started to research the different types of sketchbooks/notebooks and just took off from there. I became entranced with the many possibilities you could fill a book with and fell in love with the diverse amount of designs covers and the textures of the paper.



I started collecting late this Spring(when I graduated) to early or mid Summer when I started looking at the different types of books I could collect. Now my books shelves are starting to fill up and now I try to be more selective of the types of books I get. Still, I love the feeling of the vast amount of possibilities I could fill them with such as doodles, ideas, and daily musings. I'm also recognizing the types of books I prefer which is helpful in identifying the type of books I'll use for writing or sketching.

The unfortunate thing is that I'm slowly filling up my books and am stretching myself across several books. I'm still using the sketchbooks from my high school days because I treasured the books and used loose sheets of printer paper. Realizing that was harder to keep together I decided I need to fill up the book and worry less about tracking the pages. As a result, those sketchbooks show the most growth for me as a writer and artist.

I've always have been fairly frugal so I like to fill up every little space of my sketchbooks/notebooks. You'll see more as I post up newer art. I didn't use to be so frugal with the space in my older sketches but now I find it a fun challenge to see what I could fit in that tiny space. In the end, it's just the fact that the blank pages can be filled with anything is exciting to me.

So some things I learned about my favorite type of sketchbook/notebook:

• Prefer Hardback or at least water-resistant covers
• Eco-friendly/recycled materials/paper
• Largest size: 9x12(large experimentation and fits 8x11 sheets of paper in nicely), 5x8(best for travel size), and smallest 3x5(for jotting stuff down and light-weight)
• Prefer durable white paper but am tolerant of ivory or off-white
• Don't mind spirals too much but do like the aesthetic of sewn-books
• I like bookmarks and pockets and use them if I have them
• Notebook: Prefer plain, dotted, or light lined/grid with 6mm spacing

How about you guys? What made you fall in love with notebooks/sketchbooks? Or do you have a different obsession? What is it and how did you get started?

(Note: I've always loved reading books so that may contribute to the fact that I want to fill my books with my own stuff. lol)