July 1, 2011
Owly and I just got back from the awesome Anthrocon in Pittsburgh, PA! We were very humbled to be the Guests of Honor along with the amazing Mr. Peter S. Beagle and we had an absolutely AMAZING TIME! I’ve put together a few pictures from our trip below so you can all see just what this show is like, but there are more to see on my Flickr page!
Besides all the friendly faces, the most amazing thing about Anthrocon is all of the costumes, or “suits” if you know the lingo. ;)
But the really cool thing about all of these suits is that they are almost all original characters! Attendees dress as their characters as a form of expression! They usually represent something about their personalities and they craft them carefully, just like I do with Owly! It wasn’t long before I started to recognize them and relate to their individual characters.
Better yet, they usually wear badges with their character’s name on it so, you can recognize them when they’re not in costume.
I had the privilege of drawing a few of these badges at the show, giving me a chance to draw their own characters in my own Owly style. It was quite a challenge because I had to make sure I got everything right, but it was really fun drawing new kinds of animals and doing my best to capture their personalities. I had a blast!
One of the unexpected benefits of Anthrocon was becoming friends with Mr. Peter S. Beagle and Mr. Connor Cochran. Connor astounded me with his stories and Peter is such a gentle soul. Peter’s writing is incredible and I’m a huge fan of The Last Unicorn! What I didn’t know is that he’s also a huge Pogo and Buffy fan! My life is certainly richer by knowing these two amazing individuals and I absolutely can’t wait to see them again!
But Peter and Connor weren’t the only new friends I made this weekend. I made tons of new lifelong friends! All of the convention staff, organizers, and attendees blew me away with how much they loved Owly and all of his little animal friends!
I also became good friends with Mr. Joe Wos who runs an amazing museum of cartoon art known as the Toonseum! I’ve seen other toon museums before, but the energy and love for cartoons in this place blows them all away! Anthrocon was also attended by the incredible Mr. Jim Martin and I couldn’t believe how incredilby nice he was! Jim created and played Gary Gnu on The Great Space Coaster – one of my all-time favorite shows when I was growing up. Jim and I became fast friends and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see an Owly puppet at a convention soon! ;)
All of the Owly fans were very generous and I did quite a few drawings while at Anthrocon! I’ve added them to my “Owly As…” section of my site, so check ‘em out! Thank you all so much for your overwhelming support! If anyone missed out on this amazing convention, I highly reccommend you check it out next year! Everyone is so nice and full of love at this show. I cannot wait to see you all next year!! Anthrocon will blow you away!
June 21, 2011
June 23rd-26th Owly and I will be at Anthrocon in wonderful Pittsburgh, PA! We are very proud to be the Guests of Honor along with the amazing Mr. Peter S. Beagle, author of the The Last Unicorn!
Anthrocon is the world’s largest convention for people who are fascinated with animals that act like humans. The convention is going to be full of artists, animators, writers, costumers, puppeteers, and just everyday fans who enjoy cartoon animals! This will be our first time at this convention so we’re super excited!
This year’s theme was the Anthropomorphic Institute of Magic! And I did lots of original art for this show, including the convention book cover (pictured), the con badges, and the show t-shirts! I’ll be sure to post links to images of these and links to where any of these items can be purchased after the show! If you’re in the Pittsburgh area, come on by! It’s going to be awesome! ^,^
June 9, 2011
Owly and I just got back from the awesome Maine Comics Arts Festival (MeCAF) in Portland, Maine, organized by the incredible Casablanca Comics and the amazing Heroes Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina! We had such a great time at both shows that I wanted to share a few pictures from our journeys! Full-size versions of all of these are also available on Flickr!
On the Saturday before MeCAF I gave a presentation at the Public Library and had a fantastic turnout! MeCAF is only a one day show and we spent every second enjoying the wonderfully cool weather of Portland and enjoying all that the city had to offer. When I got home and realized that I hadn’t taken many photos, so I dusted off my old camera, resolving to take more pictures of the beautiful city and amazing people next year!
For some amazing pictures of MeCAF, be sure to check out the reports by Jen over at The Beat and Jamie on his site!
After the show we returned to Casablanca Comics to sign books and say our goodbyes! Rick and Laura, the staff, all of the volunteers, and everyone who came to the show was so amazing. We can’t thank you enough for all of your support and can’t wait to see you next year, MeCAF!
After we got home from MeCAF we turned right around and headed to Charlotte, NC for Heroes! This show is always one of my favorites, but this year is extra special because they asked me to do the poster for the show!!
Conventions also give me the opportunity to draw Owly and all of his friends for all the fans and this year, I’ve started doing little Watercolor paintings at the shows. I was inspired by the super-friendly Matt Kindt to try this because he makes watercolor look so fun! I did a few samples with Owly as The Doctor to give people an idea of what to expect. :) Heroes is a great original art show and I did quite a few drawings while in Charlotte. In fact, I’ve already uploaded them to my “Owly As…” section of my site!
And nothing is more gratifying than seeing all of the younger fans…. MeCAF and Heroes are incredibly family-friendly and the excitement kids bring to the comics community keeps the electricity level on high throughout the day. Little Katheryn here is a die-hard fan and kept me company for most of the show. Her incredibly talented artist mom, Echo Chernik was set up nearby which gave her easy access, and she wasn’t alone! We saw lots of kids of all ages each day of the show. Heroes is a nice, safe environment for even the youngest comic-book fan. :)
My idol and all around great guy J.Chris Campbell and his Wide Awake Press was in full effect as usual. His mini-comics and design work never fails to inspire me. He was there along with Brad McGinty, Josh Latta, Duane Ballenger, the AdHouse crew, and Adam, Shawn, Ted, Kris, Devin, Heather, Brandon, and all the other guys from the Dollar Bin! There to represent the web-comics crowd was David Malki, Keith Yonai and Brian Dunaway, Angela and Nick, and Danielle Corsetto with her new McPedro plushies!
Favorites of the show, cartoonist Dustin Harbin and crafter Jennifer Bennett both live in North Carolina, but Heroes attracts artists from all over. All-ages artist came in from Athens, Ga while Chris Giarrusso and Jacob Chabot, made the trip from New York to the delight of their fans!
Dusty Higgins and Van Jensen, made the trip from Arkansas and Atlanta and were there with their full-size Pinnochio puppet! Dusty was even drawing anyone or any character as a wooden puppet… always with adorable and hilarious results. ;)
For more photos be sure to check out my Flickr sets and if you’d like to purchase a copy of the Owly “Indie Island” Print, it’s now available for purchase in my store! We absolutely cannot wait for Heroes and MeCAF to come around again! We hope to see you all there next year!! ^,^
Owly Tour 2012!