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MFF2013 Report + Post-Con Depression
12 years ago
General
Commission Queue • Ask Me Anything • Art/Life ProTips
My con experience, as pasted from a Facebook status:
Summarizing my Chicago experience would be really difficult to do. I'll settle for the following:
-My friend, Christy, is an amazing host, and knows what's good.
-Metropolitan life is more beautiful and sad than I remembered. It's more everything.
-I hope I never do another sketchbook commission*.
-I accidentally packed my [human] paintings and then accidentally sold them.
-Countless generous friends gifted me with drinks, food, art, conversations, and time.
-Making a friend and then working for him/her is so much better than working on corporate IPs.
-This time I didn't get lost…until I drove off for home in the wrong direction.
And now, my actual FA Journal:
Midwest Furfest 2013
After six hours of driving, I'm back in the comforts of home, second MFF was exponentially better than the last. Even without participating in the Art Show and Dealer's Den, the Artist Alley proved to be more active than ever. I was able to sell the majority of my prints, framed prints, and originals! And speaking of sales, this was the first time I ever did sketchbook commissions. *I found out I can handle those if I have enough reference material, and don't burry my nose in it during AA hours. Yes, more exciting commissions await!
As a policy, I no longer try to include a list of all the people that touched to my lives at any given convention. So here's my catch-all: you all extended love to me, and I appreciated it sincerely. Whether you bought me a drink, found a fun payment for a colour badge, purchased my art to decorate your home, or just sat next to me, thank you for sharing your time and energy with me!
Post-con Depression
When hotaruARC and I were between events, we briefly spoke on the idea of post-con depression. I wanted to bring the subject to a public platform. This applies at least to Stigmata's Con-Experiences, but I hope you will find it useful somehow.
A convention of like-minded people can be a great place to let loose and be yourself. The furry fandom in particular seems to be a majority of kind people comfortable in their own skins, so being anything other than yourself around a bunch of animal costumes makes you the silly one.
Still, if one goes to a furry convention, one no longer has the comforts of his own home when he accidentally does something awkward. His anxieties may push him to say things he'll later beat himself up over. Still, that's the price you pay to meet artists, crushes, celebrities, whomever you want to experience. When you get to meet an artist in person—whether they realize this or not—they are allowing you to understand their work on a whole new level. Same thing for clients, fans, anyone. Their personages, their essences of being,is experienced far beyond what a comment or journal could ever provide.
Understandably, these friendship circles and weekends of having fun and being unabashedly you can end after producing what is commonly known as "Post-Con Depression". After going to about fourteen conventions, I can say each time the slumps lessen, and now I understand why. Cons no longer became special cases for my behaviours or actions. I interact with everyone online the same way I do in person, I always try to push my commissions to a level of personality befitting a discussion in person, and I am able to view a brief interaction with a new friend and love it for what it is: a very, very short season.
I never return from a conventions as the same person. Cons are a time for me to pay as close attention as possible to as many people as I can. At my healthiest, I believe I can encourage a person to be slightly better off than before they interacted with me. If I listen closely, every person I meet can be a teacher to me. Now that MFF is done, I'm less saddened and more preoccupied with these responsibilities that have been dropped into my lap. If you taught me anything today, you have my sincerest thanks. I hope I was able to give something in return.
My con experience, as pasted from a Facebook status:
Summarizing my Chicago experience would be really difficult to do. I'll settle for the following:
-My friend, Christy, is an amazing host, and knows what's good.
-Metropolitan life is more beautiful and sad than I remembered. It's more everything.
-I hope I never do another sketchbook commission*.
-I accidentally packed my [human] paintings and then accidentally sold them.
-Countless generous friends gifted me with drinks, food, art, conversations, and time.
-Making a friend and then working for him/her is so much better than working on corporate IPs.
-This time I didn't get lost…until I drove off for home in the wrong direction.
And now, my actual FA Journal:
Midwest Furfest 2013
After six hours of driving, I'm back in the comforts of home, second MFF was exponentially better than the last. Even without participating in the Art Show and Dealer's Den, the Artist Alley proved to be more active than ever. I was able to sell the majority of my prints, framed prints, and originals! And speaking of sales, this was the first time I ever did sketchbook commissions. *I found out I can handle those if I have enough reference material, and don't burry my nose in it during AA hours. Yes, more exciting commissions await!
As a policy, I no longer try to include a list of all the people that touched to my lives at any given convention. So here's my catch-all: you all extended love to me, and I appreciated it sincerely. Whether you bought me a drink, found a fun payment for a colour badge, purchased my art to decorate your home, or just sat next to me, thank you for sharing your time and energy with me!
Post-con Depression
When hotaruARC and I were between events, we briefly spoke on the idea of post-con depression. I wanted to bring the subject to a public platform. This applies at least to Stigmata's Con-Experiences, but I hope you will find it useful somehow.
A convention of like-minded people can be a great place to let loose and be yourself. The furry fandom in particular seems to be a majority of kind people comfortable in their own skins, so being anything other than yourself around a bunch of animal costumes makes you the silly one.
Still, if one goes to a furry convention, one no longer has the comforts of his own home when he accidentally does something awkward. His anxieties may push him to say things he'll later beat himself up over. Still, that's the price you pay to meet artists, crushes, celebrities, whomever you want to experience. When you get to meet an artist in person—whether they realize this or not—they are allowing you to understand their work on a whole new level. Same thing for clients, fans, anyone. Their personages, their essences of being,is experienced far beyond what a comment or journal could ever provide.
Understandably, these friendship circles and weekends of having fun and being unabashedly you can end after producing what is commonly known as "Post-Con Depression". After going to about fourteen conventions, I can say each time the slumps lessen, and now I understand why. Cons no longer became special cases for my behaviours or actions. I interact with everyone online the same way I do in person, I always try to push my commissions to a level of personality befitting a discussion in person, and I am able to view a brief interaction with a new friend and love it for what it is: a very, very short season.
I never return from a conventions as the same person. Cons are a time for me to pay as close attention as possible to as many people as I can. At my healthiest, I believe I can encourage a person to be slightly better off than before they interacted with me. If I listen closely, every person I meet can be a teacher to me. Now that MFF is done, I'm less saddened and more preoccupied with these responsibilities that have been dropped into my lap. If you taught me anything today, you have my sincerest thanks. I hope I was able to give something in return.
Conventions for me are always stressful, as I don't really have much of a network here locally. It's really the only time I have to interact with other creatives, and for me that brings with it a huge amount of second-guessing and insecurity. I've been doing various conventions for years, and the convention stress seems to wane after each one, but it's still there. Maybe I'm just a hapless introvert, but I feel energized, not depressed, when I return home from a convention.
See you soon, I hope! What does your con schedule look like for 2014?
but I was a pleasure seeing you again! I honestly wanted to hang out and talk art, since I'm always searching for my next level, or even maybe use all these years of art classes under my belt, but anyway looking forward to the next time we meet!