Cosplay Article by Cheyanna Gayle Shypitka

Greetings, fellow geeks!

I am Cheyanna, and I cosplay. I’ve done several large cosplay outfits in the past; I design and build jewellery, and I am also a face painter/ entertainer for events and parties.

I have been invited by Geek O Rama to write a bit about cosplay, and I’m pleased to oblige. I love cosplay, not only because it gives me a way to spend money that I otherwise would waste on silly things like bills and Pokemon cards, but also because the community and people I have encountered while building my costumes have been so supportive and helpful. I love to commemorate the characters that have influenced and entertained me!

Here’s a couple of costumes I built  before realizing the importance of creatively documenting my work. Few pictures survive, but definitely chronicle my love for gigantic headpieces.

This year for my birthday my hubby bought us four-day passes to the Calgary Comic Expo. I  thought this would be an excellent opportunity to build a new costume, something I haven’t been able to do for the last year or so. I  tend to procrastinate, so having definite deadlines is essential for my methods, which usually involve staying awake to all hours of the night the day before I need to showcase something. Hopefully you will all find better time management techniques than mine.

I thought I’d add my voice to the chorus of cosplay blogs to show that the process need not be intimidating or even especially difficult. I’ll be showing you my own personal process, from concept, design and materials sourcing, right through to construction and documentation. Hope you enjoy!

The way I start every costume is pretty much the same. I sit down with a beverage and my laptop and ask myself, “Who do I want to be?”

I consume a fair bit of media, from TV and movies, to books and anime. It’s important to me that I remake a character I truly care about. I think about my favourite films, TV shows, etc, and list characters I’d LOVE to bring into my closet. (Dream cosplays for the future include Arthur Dent, the Faun from Pan’s Labrynth and a Boxtroll)

This year, I’ve decided I want to do a Studio Ghibli costume, and have settled on San from Princess Mononoke as my inspiration.

Once I know WHO I want to be, I study the source material well. I’ll likely rewatch Princess Mononoke dozens of times as I work. I draw out the entire thing, and then I break the costume down into its key components. Once I know which pieces I need to build, I can decide which materials I can use to best make the costume. I always look to make a costume  a) affordably b) convincingly c) using skills I already possess. I might not always abide by those three rules, but they are an excellent guide when starting out. I have approximately six weeks to complete this costume, so learning an entire new skill set is likely not going to work for me.

You don’t have to be any sort of quality artist to draw out your costume. Here are my costume design sketches. 

I am definitely not DaVinci here by a long shot, but I know from these sketches how I want the pieces to fit my body, I know how large I want the various bits to be, and I have a cohesive list of the things I’ll need to acquire to make this costume a success. I’m currently in the process of sourcing affordable faux fur for the mask hood and cape. I’ll be buying sculpting materials for the mask, as well as designing the necklace to be built in my jewellery shop. I’ll comb thrift stores and rummage sales for bits of shiny glass I could use for the crystal dagger, off white fabric to make the apron/outer dress dealy, a long sleeved navy blue or black dress I can alter for the inner dress, etc. Once I have my materials together, I’ll begin building! Stay tuned, my next article will show where I got my materials (or failed to get materials) and will begin building!

~Cheyanna Gayle Shypitka

Phoenix Comicon 2014

Phoenix Comicon 2014 has come and gone. It seems that I wait all year for this one weekend and suddenly it's here and just as fast it's gone. I've referred to it as the 3.5 longest shortest days of the year. The days whip by being surrounded by amazing talent and in my case, friends..yet, at the end of the day, the physical exhaustion (and my fitbit!) tell me just how long the day actually was. In fact, even on the shortest day, I averaged walking about 4+ miles each day! No wonder I had some sore feet and legs!

Now...on with the good, the bad and the summary!

The Good -

• Phoenix Comicon got it's fire drill out of the way on Thursday. Granted, it wasn't planned, but it made me chuckle hearing that it not only happened again, but also seeing the jokes regarding Throw Back Thursday - PCC fire alarm.
• Expansion - Over the past few years, the convention has grown and had begun to stretch the fabric of space and time..or at least the sections of the convention center that were rented for the event. This year, the good folks in charge made some pretty big changes! Entire sections of street outside the convention center were closed off for various events. Registration was moved over to the South building and I believe that they even held a few panels over there. On top of that, there were still things happening in the North and West buildings as well as the Hyatt and the Sheraton. It meant for more walking but helped a lot with crowd control issues.
• The App! - I was super excited when I heard through the grapevine that there was a conquest app for this year. I've loved the conquest in the past, but being able to have it on my phone and not print things out was fantastic. I did hear some complaints about it not working, but it did for me and was really handy.
• Scheduling - I am a huge fan in the fact that PCC places a 30 minute gap between all of their panels. This allows for some movement time. Also, if you look at their schedule within the programming guide, it's laid out in categories, so if you're only interested in anime,  you look at that column. If you're interested in comics, you look there. It saved me a ton of time when I was sleepily trying to decide which panels to attend the following day.
• Friends - For me, this convention has become a where's waldo adventure of trying to find where various friends and folks that I enjoy are located. It can be frustrating, but when I do find them, there are hugs and laughs and lots of catching up being done. 
• Costumes - Holy canole do people come out with the most amazing things! I could spend hours just looking at all of the amazing costumes that people come up with. I don't always recognize the characters but I appreciate the time, effort and passion that goes into making one of them. Not to mention the dedication of wearing some of them in 108 degree temperatures!
• Variety - I love that this show covers anime, steampunk (Tea dueling, anyone?), comics and writing. There's a bit of everything for everyone. I do hope though that they never forget that they're a comicon and the core of that is comics. Otherwise, it will be time to rebrand as an entertainment expo which will make me horribly sad.
• Great attendees - This year I only signed a few autographs (yes, I grin ear to ear over that) and I
  was asked when I'm going to do a panel regarding reviewing and what it takes to be a good reviewer. I told them that all I'm waiting for is an invitation. Seriously, I am. ;)  This show has some of the best attendees..they're fun, they love their fandoms and even on the hottest days, I've never encountered someone who didn't have a smile in them.

One of Angelwolf's fans!
My first autograph for the show.

The Bad  - 

• Expansion - While it does help with crowd control, it does mean for a lot of extra walking and for those of us unfamiliar with the area, it also sometimes means us getting completely lost. Thank goodness for the bike cab gentleman who sent me in the right direction after I'd walked a block in the wrong!
• The App! - I heard quite a few complaints this year that the app wasn't working for them. Like I said above, I didn't have this problem but if others did, it's a problem. What I would love to see for next year is the ability to set alarms on the app that go off before a scheduled event. I lose track of time and this would help me to actually get to the things that I want to be at. Perhaps an option to connect your Google Calendar might help with this. 
• Exhibitor Floor - Everyone that knows me knows that this is my favorite place to be. However, this year, it left a lot of people confused. I had a tough time finding people and I heard more than one complaint that the numbering system was confusing this year. I more than once commented that I needed a con floor gps where I could plug in a booth number and it would guide me to where I needed to go.
• Exhibitors - From what I heard, there was a wait list to get a table this year. I'd like to congratulate the convention for getting to a popularity level where that happens. The problem with this? You need to start being selective in who you allow to have a table. It can't just be anyone who is willing to pay for one. This year, I saw not one but two ladies selling Scentsy. While they sell great products, there are more appropriate venues for them to sell their wares. I would have rather have seen a great table selling custom costume pieces or figurines/statues. Yes, even geeks and nerds like their houses to smell nice, but I can get Scentsy-like products just about anywhere. I live in the middle of nowhere, with no local comic book store...so conventions are my place to buy up all my geek goodies.
• Safety - Last year, the bag check system was smooth as can be. This year, it was hodgepodge and random. Over the course of the weekend, I had my bag checked once. I'll be honest and say that it annoyed me to a minor extent. With a media badge, I feel as if I've been vetted and shouldn't have to do this. That being said, I'd rather they search everyone if it keeps everyone safe. 
• 
  
• Safety Part 2 - Every single weapon like item that comes through the door must be checked and tagged. This is awesome. What isn't so awesome is the fact that you could buy real weapons on the convention floor. I'm not talking about the amazing light sabers but that at least one place was selling knives. While I personally love ornamental knives and blades, it doesn't make much sense to put a ziptie on an obvious toy gun, just to have that same person go downstairs and buy a very real knife.
• 
  

• 

  Loved these guys and their metal parrot!

• Communication - 
• Badges/Media - I had to go to 3 different locations because nobody had told me where mine would be located. I also gave directions to no less than a dozen people over the course of the weekend because they didn't know. On the media side, I was also very frustrated because I was never given the opportunity to sign up for interviews. I received my email saying my badge had been approved and that another email would be coming but I never received any further communication. I also keep hearing rumors that there's a press/media room, but I'm never told where it's located.
• Geek Prom - Every year I comment that the convention does little to promote this event. It disappoints me since all proceeds go to a very awesome charity. This year was worse than others because not only did they change the location of the event, they also changed the day that it's held on. I lost track of how many people didn't realize it and then missed the event because of it.
• The App - Most of us found out about this from folks who were actually part of the convention staff. I would have loved to have seen a press release or something on the site about this.
• Parties - One of the things that is very loved about this particular show is that there have always been after parties for each night of the convention. However, for whatever reason, every single of the 3 well known parties was moved to the same day. This just doesn't work. First of all, every single party has a different theme and for those of us who like to dress up, 3 costumes in one evening is just too much. On top of that, holding Geek Prom on Friday night was rough. I quite literally did not get out of there and into my bed until about 3am...followed by Saturday, which is always an exhausting con day. If I had a vote, I'd suggest rearranging the parties: Party Like a Time Lord (Thursday night), Captain's Cantina (Friday night) and Geek Prom (Saturday night). Let everyone enjoy their fandoms without running themselves into the ground.
• Badge Art - I loved the badge art this year (yay for my Jeff Pina badge!), but one of the things that I used to brag about when it came to this show was the badge art contest. It gave unknown artists a chance to show off what they can do. It gave the fans a way to feel involved in the con planning. I missed it this year and I know that others did too.

Are you my mummy?

The Summary -
I know that my list of bad looks pretty darn long this year, but honestly, this is still one of my favorite events every single year. I love the guest lists, the panels and the chance to visit with friends. I love that during the day I have absolutely no excuse to say I'm bored. There is always something going on and since escalators are the easiest way to get up and down, I get to work on my fear of the darn things. I love that the convention really seems to care about the fans and does its best to bring in the best. I won't hesitate to still recommend this show to anyone who is looking to check one out. With an attendance of 77,818 this year combined with someone new at the helm, growing pains are to be expected. I've already been told that next year they'll be opening up even more convention center space, so I'm looking forward to another year of awesome! Phoenix Comicon 2015, I'm already looking forward to walking your halls, listening to your panels, interviewing your guests and just having an amazing time.

To check out our full Phoenix Comicon Photo Gallery, check out our Facebook Fan Page!

BONUS Kickstarter/Indiegogo Spotlight: New York Comicon Booth Funding

Ah, NYCC.  One of the big ones, especially here on the east coast.  I try to make it as often as possible, and have even more motivation for this year knowing my good friend is trying to bring her awesome small business there.  She creates all kinds of fun geek things, like Doctor Who accessories, as well as her doing lots of cool cosplay.  In that light, she's started up a campaign to help raise funds for this effort.  Jump on over to her Indiegogo page and see all the great ways you can help her out!

Kickstarter/Indiegogo Spotlight: Cosplay in Colorado: Photography Gallery Show

This week's spotlight is one that sits close to my heart as a learning cosplayer.  I've always looked up to the amazing cosplayers I have seen, and know personally, throughout my con experiences.  This project is one that looks to bring positive exposure, education and appreciation of the art of cosplay.  That's totally something I can get behind, and if you would like to do the same, head on over to their Kickstarter page!

Wild Wild West Con 3 - A First-timer's Perspective

I had never made it out to Old Tucson Studios for Wild Wild West Convention previously.  The fledgling, western-themed steampunk convention always interested me, but time and money had always been a factor.   This year, I finally made the decision (last minute, I might add) to attend.  My expectations were high, but I kept them marginally at bay as I entered the east entrance, which was opened specifically for con-goers. After an hour or so, I noticed Tucson's movie-studio-turned-tourist-attraction had continued their admittance of regular, non-con-attending tourists.  I had the hope that the convention would overrun the entire lot, complete with the entire park redecorated for the convention and  running organized shows in the stunt areas, much like they do in October for the Old Tucson-run "Nightfall" event.  This concerned me at first, worrying for the unsuspecting folks who had *no* idea this was a specialized weekend for the attraction.  Later, I noticed tourists being turned away from attractions and exhibits that were normally open to the public because WWWC has organized a panel or a workshop in the space. Although there was little I could do, I was slightly relieved in overhearing other convention attendees and staff voice the same concern.

Overall, the experience was a pleasant one: over the course of the weekend, I took in a steampunk fashion show, a costume contest, perused the vendors, and took part in a hive-mind, character-creation panel hosted by 2 of the crew of Airship Isabella.  I normally suggest this for most cons, but since this one is spread out a bit, I've also included my tips for the experience:

1) Grab a program.
Heck, grab *two*.  They will get lost and they WILL come in handy. There are times when you'll have a short amount of time to get to an important thing you want to see (it's easy to wander away from your desired area)

2) Dress for the occasion
It's greatly encouraged if you want to cosplay, but if you're not part of a cosplay group, the Arizona sun will quickly make you re-think your decision of getting dressed up in leather and/or Victorian corsets/bustiers.

3) Bring water and, if you can swing it, something to munch on.
Even during the cooled month of March, Tucson can get a bit warm.  The bottles of water I saw were about $2.50. The food, however, can make a bigger dent in your wallet. If they don't get confiscated, bringing in granola bars and beef jerky will help you stave off hunger.

The convention was extremely fun and I look forward to making some not-so-last-minute plans to return next year!









Thanks for reading,

Kickstarter/Indiegogo Spotlight: Men vs Cosplay

We’re celebrating the talented male costumers of the cosplay community with a video game-themed calendar for 2014!

Our group, Men vs Cosplay, is launching it's first calendar and highlighting some of the very best the male costuming community has to offer in gaming!

Our team reached out to gamers, convention goers and cosplayers, and we're putting together a roster that brings our favorite characters to life - plucked from the realms ofSkyrim, Metal Gear Solid, Dragon Age, Assassin's Creed, Resident Evil, Warhammer 40k, Fallout, and more!

The gaming calendar also acts as a showcase piece for the amazing talent involved! 

For more information, head over to Kickstarter and back what's sure to be one amazing calendar. The previews certainly make it look like one of the best ones that we've seen! Rumor has it that our very own Eric is one of the photographers involved with this project!

Announcing Big Dog Ink Cosplay Edition Variant Covers

Big Dog Ink is proud to announce a new feature for convention appearances: Cosplay Edition Variant Covers.  Limited edition, collectible variant covers have become a mainstay of the convention scene.  When the family goes to a theme park you buy a collectible key chain or shot glass.  When you go to a comic book convention, the variant cover is your must-have take home commemorative item.  Cosplayers are also a huge part of the convention scene.  Very little beats the thrill of seeing someone so in love with comics that they are inspired to dress up in a costume and wrap themselves in the personae of their favorite character

So what’s a Cosplay Edition Variant you may ask?  In short, it’s Big Dog Ink’s way of saying we love our devoted, committed, fanatical, amazing fans who come to conventions dressed up as Big Dog Ink characters and we want to support and reward their time, effort and general bad-assery.  Starting with our first 2013 convention appearance at Amazing Arizona Comic Con at the Phoenix Convention Center Jan 25-27^th, any fan that shows up at the Big Dog Ink booth dressed as one of our characters will take home one of a series of special super limited Cosplay Edition Variant Covers, completely FREE!

To start the series off with a bang, the first Cosplay cover will be a variant for Critter #8 featuring a gorgeous Mike DeBalfo cover with colors by coloring master Nei Ruffino.  So come out and visit Big Dog Ink at a convention appearance near you, get dressed in your best Naomi, Danica, Lucifer, Critter, Tin Man (or any BDI character that tickles your fancy) and pick up your very own FREE Limited Edition Cosplay Edition Variant Cover as a token of our appreciation for helping us prove that Big Dog Ink has the best and most committed fans in all of comicdom!

 About Big Dog Ink

Founded in 2009, Big Dog Ink is an independent publisher of diverse comic book properties such as PENNY FOR YOUR SOUL, URSA MINOR, CRITTER, KNIGHTINGAIL and REX: ZOMBIE KILLER.  Since its inception, Big Dog Ink has quickly become a top publisher in the industry with its hit series, THE LEGEND OF OZ: THE WICKED WEST, which has consistently charted in the "Diamond Top 300" list.  BDI has gained a loyal fan following due to our high quality art, stories and dedication to elevating the art of small press and creator owned publishing.

Editor's Note: Wow, wow and wow again! BDI is pulling out all the stops! I've never cosplayed but I've wanted to. This might be just the incentive I need!

Wizard World Austin 2012 Wrap Up Part 2

Believe it or not, the day I could have slept in because it was quiet was the day that I had to be up the earliest! I'm telling you, I lead one glamorous life. Typical con day routine : Get up, get around, check email, check Facebook, head to the convention. I wasn't honestly feeling breakfast so I decided to skip that and head right down to the convention center. It might have had something to do with my excitement about finally meeting Shawn and his wife, Sun (see the bakery post for more information about her) for the first time in person.

So, it was off to the convention center. Since I was anxious combined with oh crud, Saturday parking is always miserable, I actually ended up at the convention about 45 minutes before the VIPs and Press could access the show floor. Oops! That's ok though because it gave me time to check out some of the costumed folks standing in line and chat with people.

 I love that comic conventions give all of us grown ups a chance to safely play dress up. It's something that a lot of us never outgrew and other than Halloween, we don't really get a chance to indulge in. It's something that I honestly want to do but haven't gotten comfortable enough, plus, is it really professional? Oh the dilemmas! However, on Saturday, there were some fantastic costumes spanning ever genre and comic book imaginable. A lot of them I recognized and there were quite a few that I didn't. No matter though. Everyone seemed to be having a great time and the volunteers were keeping everyone's energy levels up while we waited to get inside.

Once inside, I headed over to see someone that was drawing free pictures based upon any one question he asked you. Unfortunately, he chose to arrive late so a lot of people didn't even realize he was there or what he was doing. Tip to vendors..be there and ready to go when the doors open. Otherwise you give off an unprofessional vibe to those who walk by early in the day. After I received my drawing (which I will try to scan and post another day), I headed back to Artist Alley.

The one thing that I didn't love about this convention was the odd L shaped layout*. It made it more difficult for me to remember where I had been and where I hadn't. I have a tendency to be pretty straightforward in how I handle the vendor floor. I start in the front and work my way up and down each aisle until I get to Artist Alley and then I do that section separately. The L shape totally threw me off.

That didn't stop me much though! I managed to get through a decent sized chunk of "the alley" before it was time to go out and meet Shawn and Sun to say hi and to pick up my baked goods. Since I wasn't 100% sure how long it would take them to get to the convention center and park, I found a chair and relaxed while watching everyone walk by. Again, people watching at comicons is a fantastic way to waste an hour or two if you have it to waste.

There were some amazing costumes. I especially loved the girl dressed as a weeping angel. She stayed in character for ages while people took photo after photo. Sadly, the one that I took of her earlier in the day just didn't come out good enough for me to share with you, but I can say that anyone willing to stay in character for photos is dedicated to their character and a real hit with the convention attendees.

When Shawn and Sun arrived, they were also dolled up in fun Weird West costumes. Sadly, I didn't get to snap a picture because Sun rushed right off. I'm not sure where she headed to, but she was in a hurry to get there. Luckily, I got to talk to Shawn for a few minutes, snag a hug (and those bakery boxes) before we were both off to do our own things at the convention. For me, it was to drop off a couple of bakery boxes before heading up to the Zenescope panel.

True to form, this was the only panel that I managed to attend all weekend. One of these days, I'm going to manage to actually attend two or more. Until that day comes, Zenescope panels will always be top of my list. In this panel, Stephen and Pat filled us in on what Zenescope is up to and what we can expect. Here's just a bit of what they shared:

• Robyn Hood issue #1, written by Pat Shand, is the 2nd highest selling issue for them, not only this year but ever.
• Wonderland will continue in 2013 with Madness of Wonderland (written by Dan Wickline). Watch for that in February or March.
• Mark Miller will be continuing work on Jungle Book.
• Pat and Raven Gregory are in the process of pitching a book with 2 male leads.
• The pilot for the Animated Series is now complete and they were in the process of pitching it to various networks. 
• Zenescope works with a multitude of online sites, including Geek-o-Rama..yes, he said us out loud to the crowd!
• This was Pat's first ever panel and he mentioned that he'd brought 20 Pat Packs* with him in the hopes of selling out at this convention.

After the panel, I walked back downstairs with Pat while Raven talked a mile a minute in his ear (via cell phone technology). If you've never been the 3rd party while someone is talking to Raven on the phone, I highly encourage it. I had to stop myself from laughing out loud a couple of times. Raven's enthusiasm can be heard, for sure.

Sadly, by this point in the day, I was feeling tired and a little run down, so instead of getting back to work, I decided to finish handing out my baked goods. The folks loved getting those pretty pink boxes and it was a lot of fun to surprise them. I'm thinking that this is something we should work on continuing at other conventions. I'd love to work with small, local companies to get their name and product out there and to treat our site friends with a yummy treat. 

Once I finished that, I managed to meet back up with Walter and the kids..Did I mention that they were there too? Crud, I bet I didn't! Well, they were and the kids were full of energy and having a great time. There's something magical about 5 and 6 year olds and their enthusiasm for life and all things magical and mysterious. We made our dinner plans and then they were off to a fantastic time at a local museum. I wish I'd gone with them. It sounded like so much fun!

For me though, there was more convention. I had to meet up with Shawn again so that I could give him his prize pack for the giveaway. With the handing off of the baked goods and running to the panel, I had completely forgotten to earlier. Luckily, he managed to spot me in the crowds and so I got another hug and he let me take this picture of him. I confess that I was having trouble with the lighting at that point, but I did want to show off how Geek-o-Rama contributors have fun too! Sadly, Sun wasn't with him so I couldn't get a photo of the two of them together. They made a great looking couple in their costumes.

After we parted ways again, I decided that I was worn out enough that I could safely sneak back to the hotel and relax before I met up with Walter and the kids for dinner. Turns out, I was wrong. I stopped by a few tables on the way out just to say see you tomorrow and yet again got sucked into the Zenescope table. Pat and I stood talking for a while, I sold more of their books for them and actually had someone come to the table looking for me so that they could get more information about the site. It was the first time something like that had happened and honestly, I felt a bit like a celebrity for a minute there. I can't imagine how someone like Pat feels every time someone comes up and asks him to sign their books for them. I'm wondering though if I shouldn't spend more time pimping other people's books at conventions since people seem to know that the best chance of finding me is at that table...

So, my plan of leaving early was a total bust, but it did mean meeting some more awesome folks so it was worth hanging around a bit longer. From there, it was back to the hotel where I plugged my poor dead phone in and relaxed until it was time to meet up with Walter and the kids. We had a fantastic dinner together, where Ohana and I totally beat Walter and Turk at the word search (or maybe it was a tie because we all started cheating..). The kids zonked out and we ended up carrying them to the car but I hope that they had fun too. 

Once back in the hotel, I glanced at the clock and groaned. Morning was going to come far too early but another good con day is always worth the lack of sleep that may come with it. Come back tomorrow for the Sunday wrap up and general summary! 

* Did you find the answers to yesterday's prize giveaway? If not, they were: 

• The L Shaped Layout
• Zenescope's list
• 20 Pat Packs
• Me (no, I didn't say this but c'mon...that one was a gimme)

Since nobody answered any of these, this book will return to the giveaway vault for another day.

Con Recap: Wizard World Ohio Part 2

When last we met to talk about this con, it was Friday night and I was zonked out in the hotel room. At least I think that's where we left off. If it's not just go with it. That way we can talk all about Saturday!

Since I had covered most of the con floor on Friday, I decided to be lazy and sleep in on Saturday. In reality, I tried to. The hotel cleaning crew had other ideas. While they respected the Do Not Disturb sign on my door by not coming into the room, they didn't grasp the concept that sweeping the hall outside my door and the rooms on either side of me might be disturbing. In the end, I gave up and headed back down to the con.

This time, however, my little lot was full. So, I tried following the signs for the convention center parking. That didn't go so well. There was more construction and signs ended up vanishing before I found parking. It turned out ok, though. I turned up the one street whose name I recognized and discovered a parking garage under the convention center itself! Granted, it was at the other end but close parking is close parking and I took it.

Then, it was back to the convention. Friday night was pretty dead so I wasn't sure what Saturday would be like. It turns out that I didn't need to worry. The crowds came out in full force on Saturday and almost every single table had people standing around checking things out. While this makes my job more difficult, it always makes me happy for the people sitting behind the tables.

Blair Smith with Spiderman -- and the crowds.

As for me, I made my way back to artist alley, stopping to see a few friends along the way. In my head, I was already making my shopping list but I try to make myself finish working before shopping. Plus, if I'm buying prints, the last thing I want to do is carry those around all day and potentially damage them!

I do have to say, though, that artist alley is almost always one of my favorite places at any convention. It gives me a chance to meet some really cool people and they're almost always open to talking for a few minutes, not only about what they do but also about what I do. For example, I had the pleasure of meeting Jamie Tyndall, who not only gave me some great advice about putting together a media kit, but also donated two of his art books to our giveaway!

Speaking of cool people that were hanging out back in artist alley, I also got to meet these guys:

Aren't you envious? These guys were totally awesome and even let me hang out behind their table(s) for an hour or so. I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciated that. Convention floors are almost always concrete which is just miserable to walk around on all day. I was lucky enough to have an in because they knew Keith. Remember Keith from yesterday? Yep. Looking for him on Saturday turned into an adventure, but scored me a chair. He was forgiven for being elusive. 

What else can I tell you about Saturday? The people I got to meet were awesome. The traffic congestion in the convention hall wasn't misery. There were some pretty awesome cosplayers walking around. Don't believe me? Check out these costumes:

I love when people take the time to put together awesome costumes. I honestly have no idea how they do it. I think that we saw these guys on Sunday, but either way, awesome costumes were all around. As Saturday drew to a close, I yet again missed dinner with Blair and Keith. Turns out they were looking for me as I was looking for them. There was a whole slew of mis-communication and failed attempts so I ended up back at the hotel doing some ordering in from a local pizza place.

The bonus of being back in your hotel by 7:30? You get to have amusing Facebook conversations with some of the very people you just missed for dinner, plus, you get to be extra organized for the next day. Here's what I mean: 

From Back to Front, Clockwise : Giveaway, Stuff for the kids, My goodies!

Review Stack!

Sunday dawned and I headed back down to the convention center one last time. First, I made one quick stop. The guys at Zenescope had been talking about how much they loved White Castle so I picked them up 10 burgers. I love doing little things like that. They're small but they can change someone's whole day. Their faces were priceless when I dropped the bag off at their table on my way in.

Other than that, truth be told, I spent the entire day socializing and hanging out with friends, both new and old. As much as I enjoy the bigger shows for work, I enjoyed this smaller show for the chance to see people that I adore. I even got the chance to man another table, thanks to Jon Lennon.  Plus, just for a bit of fun, we took over a table for about ten minutes while I was waiting to see Keith one last time. 

Keith's things were behind this table and so I was guarding them while I goofed around with the folks at Last Call Comics. After this, I went around and said my goodbyes to folks and then it was back to the "porno room" at the hotel to relax and watch some tv while I packed up for the drive home on Monday.

 Oh! I almost forgot to share one last picture with you! This is Pat Shand, writer at Zenescope with Keith, writer of awesomeness. Turns out they were roommates over the weekend. Either way, they're both great guys and great writers. Pat has a brand new book out, Robyn Hood. You should read it. We'll be reviewing it here soon. 

Keith and Pat

So, my over all take on Wizard World Ohio? It was small, but good. Small let you have a chance to really meet and talk to people. It also gave a chance to catch up with friends. Plus, let's face it, it can be fun to "stalk" your friends around the convention floor. If you're looking to dip your toes into the convention world, this might be one you want to check out next September.

We received a press badge for the purpose of attending this event. All commentary, thoughts and ramblings are 100% the authors. All pictures, except the one of me, are thanks to Keith Thomas and Blair Smith.