I-Con! Where every type of fandom under the sun gets naked and runs through the sprinkler...

[merimask]

So! I-Con was a hoot. It claims to be the largest sci-fi/fantasy convention in the Northeast, and it sure looked that way. Over six thousand attendees milling around the Stony Brook Campus...none of which I got to see because I was so freaking busy.


The drive wasn't too bad...until we approached NYC, which is simultaneously the world's most stunning, exciting place and a blight of crowded humanity. If we were small pets owned by some giant super-race of alien beings, New York City would be a habitat deemed "too overcrowded and stressful...may cause females to eat their young in distress...avoid keeping your humans in such overcrowded habitats."

Anyway that's how it makes ME feel...too freaking many damn people, too many trucks, wholly inadequate roads. NYC turned a pleasant seven hour drive into an eight and a half hour drive, with the tail end of the trip being the most frightening part. Eeep! Next time, screw the GW bridge during afternoon rush hour...I'm taking the LI ferry from New England. Seven pleasant hours of driving with a pretty boat ride at the end...now THAT'S my idea of the proper way to conclude a road trip.


The convention site was awesome and very pretty, Stony Brook University on Long Island Sound = SO pretty. If Charlotte ever wants to go there she has my blessings. We were in the sports complex, a huge indoor arena. I don't know how many vendors there were (my guess is about fifty or so, great ratio of customers to vendors by the way) but I was SO happy to find that my table was right near the rollup door entrance. We arrived at 5;30 PM, the sales hours on Friday were from 6 to 10 PM and we had time to spare (I set up ~lightning~ quick even under the most dire circumstances, Yay me!).

I got sandwiched between a Star Wars card -n- crap vendor and a really nice booth full of anime stuff. There was a HUGE booth of anime stuff directly behind us, too. I knew where my money was gonna go, I can tell you that.

This is me at my table. I only had one eight foot long table, but I think I crammed everything on it rather nicely. PLUS I made pretty signs for everything. I actually had my shit together (a nice alternative to the usual state of affairs, you know?).


The Cosplayers were ~everywhere~. I think the ratio was one out of every ten or so, at least on Saturday. Every other person had ears on or something, and a number of people went absolutely crazy with really elaborate stuff. I saw some disturbing things (like a guy who MUST have been pushing 60 or so...overweight, pasty, Coke-bottle black-frame glasses, looks like someone's dad, wearing a complete Inuyasha outfit...I threw up a little in my mouth there), also there were a lot of kids doing Naruto...a LOT. It was like a truck full of Naruto cosplayers backed up to the door and unloaded them. You couldn't swing a dead chocobo without hitting a Naruto kid (heh...get it? FF humor? Those were there too and I took great pride in recognizing the Final Fantasy cosplayers by name. I so rock.)

Without further ado, my cavalcade of cosplay pics:












And that was just some of the stuff I saw. Everyone was really nice, and they got a big kick out of being recognized.


So anyway, I did really well. I sold all my little arm dragons and a TON of masks, including that really nice gold and copper Medusa that took me so long to make. Normally I'm hap-hap-happy when I sell such a pricey piece but THIS one I was actually quite attached to...I'm afraid I sniffled a little. Stoopid emo artist chick.

I did so well, I paid with cash for next year's table in advance. Saved about a hundred dollars that way. So, I know what I'll be doing next year on the second-to-last weekend of March. :-)

Picked up a TON of anime swag while I was there (of course. I was like a gambling addict in Las Vegas, surrounded as I was with anime crap dealers on two sides). Rumdiculous and Ash-Grey-Sky...I have neat stuff for you (going to mail it out tomorrow, probably).

Oh, which reminds me. On Res's advice I picked up an anime series, "The Twelve Kingdoms". Greg bought me BOTH box sets, so I have the whole series (yay for sweet husbands!). Been watching it...it's SO addictive...like potato chips, I can't stop once I start watching. More on that later (but thank you for telling me about it, Res...I LOVE the story).

Aaaand...that's enough for now. My fingers are bleeding!

Comments

[lotus-faerie.livejournal.com]

(Sorry, I posted from the wrong account the first time.)

Wow, your stuff is so beautiful! You look so natural standing there, too. :)

Too bad we missed each other, but it seems like I'd better learn a lot more about current anime before I try to attend something like that, or I'll have no clue what's going on. :P

Okay, time to force myself to get to work on this paper abstract that's due at four-thirty. . .that's why I'm skipping class. *guilty grin*

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry we missed each other. :-( You would have loved it...there was something for everyone there.

Eh, me = geek. ;-) I love recognizing obscure anime cosplay...it's like a hobby. The kids got a kick out of it. There were still a few that I totally couldn't place, though. This year was the Year Of The Naruto. I predict next year will be Bleach.

[rumdiculous.livejournal.com]

Aw no Kikyou love, what's the world coming too? I would have praised that girl for having the courage to even dress up as the dreaded priestess. ;)

Hee, Auron. He's a pretty decent one. I would have tackled him. :P

You were stuck beside a Star Wars booth? Oh god, you poor thing. That had to be at least a little annoying. At least you could attract the fanboys attention with your fabulous masks. Aw, I'm sad that you sold the gold medusa mask too. It was so pretty...

I'm dying to know what you got me. Really. They say that a Taurus is supposed to be patient, but that is a load of crap.

I'd love to go to a event like that. It had to have been a blast. How long did it last?

Twelve Kingdom's! How long is that series? It looks wonderful. Plus it has unicorns, that's always a plus in my book.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Auron was such a nice guy too! You would have liked him...underneath all the cosplay he looked kinda cute (but too young for me!).

The Star Wars booth was funny, because Greg is a total Star Wars nerd and even HE was sick of the SW smack by the end of the convention. You really can only take just ~so~ much of that stuff before you snap...and suddenly you find yourself saying snarky things like "Who's that guy...Girth Vader? Is his friend Boba Fatt?" I hate it when I become that person. :-/

Hee hee...I'm torturing you with the prospect of anime swag and you don't know what it is, la la! :::taunts you with potentially cool convention stuff::: Anyway, I ~hope~ you like it...I hope you don't already have one!

We were there from Friday evening to Sunday evening...it's a three day event.

AND, "The Twelve Kingdoms" is SO pretty and shiny...pure fantasy but with such a rich mythology it seems almost like it's based on a real legend (much like Tolkien's Middle Earth). I got the super hard-to-find deluxe box sets (I'm lookin' at em now). Premium collection one has three disks from the "Shadow Of The Moon, The Sea Of Shadow" story arc, and the two discs of "The Sea Of The Wind, The Shore Of The Maze" story arc. Collection two has all four discs of "A Great Distance In The Wind, The Sky At Dawn". The last disc (I presume it wraps up the entire series)is "The God Of The Sea In The East, The Mighty Ocean In The West". Ten "chapters", ten discs in all, each disc has 5 to 6 episodes. So far I've ~just~ finished watching collection one, and I'm starting collection two tonight.

Oh, and Keiki? He totally rocks. I would be his bitch if I was able to become anime. :-) I'm going to be drawing SO much fan art for this series, I can feel it coming on.

[rumdiculous.livejournal.com]

It's a good thing I wasn't there, I would have stalked Auron.

The Star Wars booth was funny, because Greg is a total Star Wars nerd and even HE was sick of the SW smack by the end of the convention.

*snerk* Some of those fans take it above and beyond serious. It's kind of frightening.

Ya know, some people just shouldn't cosplay. Really. I don't mean to be rude or anything, but come on. If you look nothing like the character, don't try to be the character. (I'm thinking of the "grandpa Inuyasha") If I ever had the urge to cosplay the only character I could even approach the idea of being would be Integra from Hellsing. I very vaguely look like her, being blonde and blue-eyed and all. I have a friend, though, who looks a great deal like Yuna.

Hee hee...I'm torturing you with the prospect of anime swag and you don't know what it is, la la! :::taunts you with potentially cool convention stuff:::

You're so mean!!

Anyway, I ~hope~ you like it...I hope you don't already have one!

Well you could just tell me what it is and then I can tell you if I have it or not...Yes, I know that's not going to work... Trust me, if it's anything related to anime, odds are I don't have it. My collection is so small it's almost non-existant. :P

Gah, three days! That would have been so much fun.

Great now I'm dying to see Twelve Kingdoms. Just out of curiousity, is the stuff at these events relatively cheap? I was wondering if there was a price difference and all that.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Re: you doing cosplay... I could SO see you as Riza Hawkeye from Fullmetal Alchemist. She's the advisor/assistant to Roy Mustang, and she gets to wear that very cool state alchemist uniform. She's neat! And smart. And I like her. All you'd need is the uniform, and to tie up your hair, and you'd be perfect. Plus she likes dogs (she has that little black husky pup she adopted...so cute!), just like you!

If I were ever to cosplay I know ~just~ who I'd be but no one would ever guess who I am. The artist hermit-type woman from "Kiki's Delivery Service" (I love Miyazaki). She's down to earth, loves nature, is helpful and artsy, and helps Kiki get her groove back. That feels like me. She even sort of looks like me.

As far as cheap stuff...hmm. Some of it is a bit less expensive than you'd normally pay at, say, Barnes & Noble or MediaPlay (RIP). The big thing is...you can easily find stuff you'd normally have to order from Japan or off E-Bay, you save on shipping, and you can get limited-edition and rare stuff (because larger stores/vendors have access to stuff you normally can't find). Big vendors bring "first release" thingies and rare things to large conventions...it's good for repeat business.

But I found no Pocky! Wahh! Vendors weren't allowed to sell ANY food items and I was SO looking for strawberry pocky for Char (she saved her last box of Glico strawberry pocky and actually sniffs the empty box and gets weepy! What a weird kid).

[empath-eia.livejournal.com]

Wooh! *claps hands* I love the Yuna best, I think, followed closely by that Kakashi. His forehead protector is actually metal! I'm majorly impressed! Yay, Auron! (I'm a huge FF fan). And the Kikyo too. Waaahhhhh for being way up in the middle of nowhere, far from I-Con! Some day I'm going to have to take a trip to this, because it looks like way too much fun to miss out on. If I were to cosplay... I'd go as... actually, I have no clue. Kikyo would work well for me. I could pull off Kikyo. Funfunfun!

Your stall looks awesome!! So that's what you look like! *glomp*

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Yuna was actually Yuna-like because she was so ~sweet~! Such a nice kid. I had so much fun talking to the cosplaying kids, I can't stress that enough. They were all so eager to talk about their costumes, and they liked being recognized.

The Naruto headbands were being sold by almost all the anime-stuff vendors, actually. Really nicely made cloth bands with the metal plates with all the various symbols attached...I guess there was such a big demand for it that it's a licensed item now. They were ~Everywhere~!

That's an awfully blurry pic of me. This pic of me working at the Origins convention last summer is a little more like me. :-) I exist!

[pzb.livejournal.com]

Damn woman, you do have a nice table set up. :D One of these years, I'll get mine down, though I can say I've set up in under ten minutes on several occasions. :D This weekend included.

That is definitely some nice cosplay. There were a handful of nice ones at Sakuracon, but the nice to crap ratio wasn't very good. :D

Stoopid emo artist chick.

Hee hee...yes, there's a reason I don't sell many originals. XD

[merimask.livejournal.com]

It's taken me years to figure out how to create a nice table...years! I just got the idea last week to use wire file racks (you can buy them at Office Depot for just a few bucks, and they're even graded so stuff in the back is higher than stuff in the front) for my prints...I was really very pleased with the way those worked. The trick is to go vertical and get things up off the table. I've found you only have a few seconds to make an impression at a really big busy show, so you need things at eye level, and also things up high (above people's heads) so they can be seen from a distance.

The cosplay was awesome. :-) I had so much fun people-watching. Some of the kids got really elaborate.

[pzb.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've certainly learned the goods on having items vertical. I started using the simple plexiglass 8x10 stands a couple of cons ago and that helps significantly, though I've recently started playing with a method of propping up my 12x16s (which mat to 16x20 so they're even bigger :D) This weekend's method was certainly half-assed (eg, my yardstick, taped to the ground, leaning against the table, with the back of the bagged piece taped to the top of the stick, resting on the table) but it worked, and I was able to change out what was being displayed easily enough. It's the old truth that unless you shove it in people's faces, they don't see it. It's the other reason I like to have a lot of prints on the table top.... they're more likely to see them there than flipping through my book. My biggest issue at the moment is I have too many prints (around 50 different ones) and some people lose interest too quickly. I'm phasing out some of my Inuyasha ones, but there's just such an insane variety of animes out there, it's really hard to narrow down beyond that.... One of these years, I'll get it figured out. But by then, the fads will have changed 8 times over. XD

[a-hollow-year.livejournal.com]

XD I love you at your table! It's so full of stuff I want to pick up and get dirty fingerprints all over. And I'd feel bad about having to sell something I was so proud of, too. Not stupid or emo at all! That's one of the reasons I could never really be an artsy person (well, a professional artsy person) ^^; I'd never let any of my babies go.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I have a sign on my table that says "Please touch"... :-)

Normally, I'm totally okay with selling my leather art because usually I KNOW I can re-create it...very confident that way. I actually get a kick, sending them "out there"...some of them go off to the neatest places! But that gold/copper Medusa was SO very pretty, and I was so pleased with the way it turned out. There are a lot of variables involved with that mask and they all came together just right on that particular one. I really feel like it was one-of-a-kind. Plus it looked awesome on me. :-) I'm so vain.