Monday, October 19, 2009

APE Con - Reflections

Well, the APE convention is over for 2009, and I have to say it was an exhilarating new experience for me, selling my creations in a large convention hall for the first time! It was great, as always to see work from all the other artists, and I purchased quite a few items, but the the first time, I also got to trade art for other art and comics, which was a lot of fun.

A lot of why I chose to enter the convention was to just get my stuff out in front of a wider audience. Sharing it with other artists whose work I admire was a great new avenue for that. The web is great for allowing almost anyone to access my art, but if only certain groups of people are already aware of you, there are only going to be so many new people to stumble onto you. APE was a great experience, not just because I got to sell some of new latest creations to people who really seemed to like it, but because I was part of a larger community of artists, from the Bay Area and beyond, in a way I never quite was before. I'm looking forward to Wondercon, though I will probably tick to being just a visitor to Comic Con for now. That convention is pretty damn huge and intense! besides, it will give me a chance to wander without having to mind my booth!

Thanks again to Daria, Gerald, and Olivia, who shared the table with me. They all had great creations as well, and it was fun to start off with other great artists who were new to APE. Looking forward to next year!