Cons and Stuff! Woo!

Rob has his insanity about him, but I'm aware of what I bring to the table too.


Now that I've got your attention...

The two of us are going to be at a bunch of cons in the next couple of months, including Albany Games Fest THIS WEEKEND (check them out here!), and then the Central PA Comic Con (formerly RocCon) on April 5th and 6th (check that one out here!)! !!!  
...  
!

See you there!

What I Wore and Convention Madness

I'll start this off with the first chunk of the 30 day "What I Wore" challenge... meme... thing.  

Day 1 was me dressed for a presentation.  I was nervous as all Hell, even though it was with a group.  
I still can't tell if I screwed up or not.   
Also, I love vests.

Day 2 was me being grumpy because it was Halloween, but I had class from 6-9PM and couldn't do anything fun.  
We didn't even get trick or treaters.
That pink sweater is becoming my favorite Winter item though.  
It's too big and really soft and lovely.   

Day 3 was somewhat exhausting, but in a good way.  
My household is one of introverts, so we aren't great at crowds or entertaining friends for long periods of time, even when we'd really like to do so.  
This day was me entertaining a couple friends I hadn't seen in a long time, followed by going to a loud bar to meet two of my knight's old friends.  
So.  Yeah.
The outfit was dark jeans and a neat, oddly warm top with lots of sparkly things.  I had to push up the sleeves because they are only 3/4 length and it was driving me crazy. 

Day 4...  Why did I look so unhappy?  
I had my gore pants on...  Invader Zim shirt... Comfy hoodie...
I remember.  Headache.  Headache and utter fear of my then upcoming half hour solo presentation.    
This entire semester has been utterly insane. 

Day 5 involved a Batgirl shirt and plaid pants that were given to me when a friend hit puberty and couldn't fit in them anymore. Conveniently, I'm about the size of a child.
No shoes because screw it.   

Day 6 during the day was just jeans and a black tee, since I was going to be meeting with my advisor at some point.  She had a puppy in the room because he was training to be a therapy dog.  Also, my advisor is really nice and helpful, which is new for me.  
The hanging pants are my workout pants.  ...Actually, I reversed the color of them somehow.  (Shows how often I actually workout...)  
Hitting the gym as though I’m healthy!  Yay!

Day 7 was drawn really super tiny before it was scanned in.  I have no excuse for this fact. 
Trigun shirt and blue jeans. 

Day 8! Again, full of angst. 
Again, angsty because of the half hour presentation.
On the bright side, that sweater is comfy.   

Day 9 was presentation day.  I was terrified, but I did my best to pretend I wasn't.  The teacher had a lot of discussion points and I'm still not sure if that was a good sign or a bad one.  
Was she trying to correct me?  It was mostly clarification purposes... Was I not clear?  
Does she just respect me enough to want a discourse?  
Am I going to fail?  
Questions?   

Day 10 and the drawing looks nothing like the actual top.  
The top is silky and has red, grey, and pink flowers, but it's much less simplistic.  
It ties in the back and the grey part over the cleavage is a separate under shirt, needed for obvious reasons.
The choker necklace has the sign for Scorpio. 
My clutch there is awesome because it not only has my cards, cash, whatever, but it also fits my epi-pen and chapstick. 
...The epi-pen is a little more important than the chapstick.      

Day 11 was a day I did not leave the house.  At all.  
Wore my “Cry baby” shirt and drank tea from one of my tiki mugs.
My chair (from my knight's sister) is actually much more awesome than what I drew. 

Aaaand day 12, which was today.  
Again, I'll be doing this for 30 days, but I figured I'd stop and do a post here because today was a convention and I wanted to mention that I went.  
The comic I worked on wasn't quite ready to show yet, but it'll be at the next one!  
Here, I'm dressed as Cassie Hack from Hack/Slash.  

My knight was dressed as Vlad, so he bought a plain mask, I built Vlad's mask on top of it...

and then my knight painted it. 

That's my lap.  

We didn't stay long at at this convention just because the three of us (the other one was Deadpool, by the way) were all kind of peopled out by the time we got there.  

Still, we saw some friends, looked at a lot of stuff, and managed not to buy anything. 
I also learned that in or out of costume I'm terrible at recognizing anyone I know.  

I can tell what character he or she may be dressed as, but I won't know where I know the person him or herself from, let alone his or her name.  
I'm memorable, as are the other two of this household, so this can be an issue. 

Last time we went to this convention was memorable due to 11 leftover House of the Dead credits someone had walked away from while playing.  

Knight and I took over. 

Turns out that my aim isn't bad, but I'll automatically shoot anything that moves.  
As I result I one shot...  

...two of the scientists. 

BUT I killed a lot of zombies too.  

Greater good and all that, right? 

A-Lot-A-Con and Migraine Madness

I had the opportunity to go to A Lot A Con at Oneonta yesterday.  It was a one day, first time out convention and for a first go at it, it was very well organized.  Next year, I hope to spread the word a bit more and get more people to show.  It also unfortunately fell on Free Comic Book Day. 

I dragged my Knight, Rob with me to spread his comic and sell some prints.  
We looked like this: 

And this generally leaves everyone around us like this:

I learned that trick from my sickeningly cute parents.  Blame them. 

In any case, the con was going pretty well.  We met some nice people, I sold some things:

 

And Rob took commissions on site in the form of drawing people as potatoes or doing custom monsters. 

Here is my take on one of them: 

 

His were better. 

Now, to understand the oddity that I really have become, you have to realize that when I'm stressed, I'll respond the same way in public that I do at home.  This is generally fine, but it makes for some strange habits.  One has been rationalized as a positive thing, which makes it even worse.  

You see, if I'm drawing or sculpting or whatever and I am hungry and I don't want to get my food on everything, sometimes I'll just stick my head into whatever I'm eating, like I'm a horse: 

Of course, this also works in the opposite direction, as it prevents my hands from touching my food when I've been doing artwork and my hands look like this, regardless of washing: 

In any case, this certainly looks bizarre to the people around me, and because of the utter CRAP I've been ingesting lately, as well as how infrequently I eat, I've been getting headaches.

...

Duh.  

Having a migraine in a situation I can't really leave is usually something I can power through, but it makes it so I reeeaaallllly don't care what people think anymore.  I'll make strange faces in an attempt to ease the pain, for example.  After a while at this particular convention, I learned that if I closed my left eye, things were much better.  

If I had an eye-patch, I could have just cosplayed as a pirate:

Rob suggested I get a mask, like the Phantom of the Opera:

Instead, I wound up like this:

Still, we reached out to a few fans (both known and new) and we managed to have a good time, regardless of my turning into a pumpkin.  

Yay!

This Post Brought to You By: Collaboration!

My Knight and I went to a tiny con this past weekend.  BadCon at UAlbany.  It was not a "bad con" but there was hardly anyone there.  I'm hoping to help out with spreading the word next year.  Still, we sold some things and met some people and saw some friends.  Mostly, we sat around doodling together.  This was like a dream date for me, as it turns out.

My Knight, Rob, draws people as potatoes.  They show up in his webcomic on occasion here:   http://www.unmedicatedcomic.com/
and he'll draw people at cons as potatoes.  I was highly entertained by this, so I decided to draw him as a potato.  ...But it didn't wind up as cute as his do.

Also, everything scanned for this had gotten a little wet because A. it was raining afterwards and B. we had a spill.  The spill was entertaining in it's own right because while our drawings got a little wet, everything else on the table was saved by the tablecloth itself. 

Since part of that looked like a face, my Knight drew the spill:

...I need a better editing program for my scanner so you kids can see these better. 

To give you an idea of the kinds of stuff sold at these events, we sell art prints, sometimes T-shirts, key chains and assorted body parts:

"Give someone the finger!"  Get it??

At one point, we took two words, put them together and then saw what we each came up with.  First was fish-apple:

His:

Mine (Which I think wound up more frog-like than fish-like.  ...Or maybe just sick):

Then came centipede and barrel.
His:

Mine:

and another try:

I also attempted to show the difference between antennae and penises.  ...I don't remember why.  But here they are:

Now, to conclude, I'm going to express how head over heels I am for this guy.

I don't do outside.

I just don't.

I think of the outside world and I think of the "tweezers" my mom has handed me when I wanted to pluck my eyebrows, knowing those things are for plucking off bugs and out splinters and other horrible outside things.

Seriously.  The fuck are these things?


I'm allergic to outside.  Literally.  Grass makes me itchy and red.

YET I went out by his family's house so he could show me where he spent his childhood days, by rusty pieces of metal and now overgrown thorns... And even with a busted hip from before then and even while stressed out of my mind and ridden with silent panic attacks, I still managed to have a good time.

Why?

Because he was with me.

...Also some of the plants did neat things like this:

Twisty and there's that curl thing at the bottom. 

Because I really never go outside, knowing that I do have some pretty amazingly bad allergies, when I do go outside, I feel a little like a kid in a bubble.  I'm stupefied by the beauty of it all, and TERRIFIED by any little prick of anything at all. 
I used to run into the woods as a kid and climb trees.  I'd walk over rocks and not complain when I got wet in a creek. 
Then 12 years old happened and the learned-the-hard-way-knowledge of what an allergen can do kind of ruined my life and ended what bit of a childhood I had. 

I'd like to go back to being that kid.  I'm not as brave as I used to be, but maybe with the help of my Knight, I'll get there. 

...that being said, I really DO have allergies, so it can't be all the time anyway. 
Still, worth a shot once in a while, yeah?

Exams, Explanations and Excuses

You know how life tends to happen all at once? This week is that.

I started out last week as my normal sort of miserable but functioning self, and then I started to relax a bit because I started getting to know someone cool (a friend started calling him my Knight in Pinstripes), Xena, FATE and I were looking for a place to live, school was going well enough and I even had some commissions to do.

We found a place and the move in date is RIGHT NOW. I'll do a post all about our cute Russian landlord and the area itself... For now, I have no time.

I'm not even sure if I'm breathing.

Moving in is not the problem. We have the place, so I'm putting off packing and doing anything concerning that for at least a week.

No no. The problem is the everything else on top of the moving.

These are mostly good things. 

Like, I now have a bazillion commissions to do.  ...And requests.  This is awesome except that time is a thing.  Time is a thing that I don't have. 

Also, Genericon is this weekend. The fact that I'm entirely unprepared is my own fault.

I have a table in Artist's Alley.

...

I HAVE TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT NOW

and that is not something I can put off.

Genericon and talking to men actually sport the same problem for me these days.

I want physical contact, 

but I instantly talk myself out of it.

...And then I get upset with myself because just shutting off and changing my mind is a difficult thing to do.  

Sometimes, I force myself to accept things, and I'm really happy for a moment.

Like, super happy.

And then the allergy weirdness and paranoia sinks in.

And I over think and can't seem to shut it off.

I wind up feeling like I'm being hugged by cashews.

So, given all that, my interactions at this three day convention might be... interesting.

Still, I expect to have a small army of companions who already consistently put up with my shit by my side.

How does someone so reclusive, twitchy, and anti-social have so many friends? Whatever. I'm not gonna knock it.

Oh, and I have a midterm today.

...and one on Thursday.

Genericon is Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

...Wednesday is game. Game is fine. Game is good. ...I may bring things to sew at game.

...

*flails*

EDIT:  Genericon went really well, despite my poor assistant having a fever.  (Z, I love you)  
I have almost a desk in the apartment and we ...think?  ...my other shit will fit?  The problem is not the bedroom.  The problem is getting it through this tiny, curved hallway that leads into the room.  We'll see.
I have date today.  ...Tonight.  woo

What is this bullshittery?

Okay.  ...guh.  Fook.

Guuuuh.

Right.  I'm SO not okay in the health department at the moment.
Mind you, I've had allergic reactions where I could have died, and I've had pieces of bone refuse to grow... but some how?

This right now is worse.  I'm going to draw this when I feel like it won't come out like a giant glob of black ink instead of a coherent drawing, but right now my head is titled back in a sad effort to desperately not drip snot on my keyboard.

EDIT:  Okay, here's the drawing:

I sneezed and the snot got everywhere.  A head as small as mine should not have so much snot.  It does not scientifically, medically make sense.  Something the size of a bowling ball should not be able to fit an entire liquid slime elephant inside of it's tiny frame.

OH my god.

It's everywhere.

It's in my hair and on my arm and on my PANTS it's on my PANTS AND IT'S WET and it's SNOT ON MY PANTS.

...Jen took an instant Tide stick thing to my pants.  I feel like a small child who needs Mommy to clean up her shit.  ...Oh god.

Oh my fook I have class tonight.  I can't even call out.  Did that last time.  What the Hell am I going to do in class???  I'll be drippy and sleepy and I'll snot on a girl sitting next to me and she'll cry and everyone will hate me and they'll call me snot-girl forever and even if I get famous, that'll be my nickname until even my own mother calls me Snot-Girl for the rest of my life.

Oh muh guh.

EDIT:  I drew these in class:

OH! Oh.  And... and Genericon is this weekend.  YEAH I'm working the Artists Alley and I'm going to sell prints of Deddrie and stuffed cats and skull keychains and I'll be by my buddies and there will be SNOT EVERYWHERE and no one will buy anything because I have SNOT COOTIES.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHGUH what am I doing?  This is terrible!  Why now?  WHhhhyyyy?  I was JUST at the ear, nose and throat doctor.  He said I looked fine.  ...and now... and now I'm full of snot.

Oh, and I was totally illegally in a thing that was not really a study but it's okay cause now my medication for my allergies that works is available to everyone... and I'll never get any money back even though insurance covers it now.   BUT!  But now I can get the medicashuns for my allergeees.

Fuck my life.


UPDATE:  I just sneezed so hard that it felt like someone punched me in the eye.

EXTRA UPDATE:  Genericon went fine... but I was sick for SO MUCH LONGER because of it.