Well, this past weekend was a lot of fun. I’ve always like AnimeUSA, ever since I started going to it a few years ago. Something about small conventions, with just a couple of thousand fans, makes it feel more comfortable. AUSA always has a good selection of recent anime (not always licensed, of course) for viewing, their dealer’s room although small always has good companies, with good selections of “stuff” to buy. This year I made a pretty good haul, I bought some wall hangings for the first time, bought a droolicious Yomiko Readman figure, and snarfed enough anime DVDs to keep me dazed through the Thanksgiving holiday.
This AUSA is also the first one I’ve participated in as an “artist”. I painted a picture of Fuu staring into the sunset, and got quite a few compliments (although I wasn’t there, my friends relayed some of them), plus the biggest compliment of all, someone bought the painting! Some of the comments were interesting, in what they said about the kinds of things that are being displayed at anime convention art shows lately. It seems that more and more people are creating “paintings” using Photoshop, and very few are taking brush to canvas. Some people were surprised (and the guy who bought the painting said he was pleased) by the fact that I had actually painted a picture for display. There were also a lot of prints of paintings by very good artists, but I’ve seen the same prints from the same artists at con after con this past 4 or 5 years. The person running the Art Show said that this year she had only seen about half of the works that were in the show just last year, and I’m wondering if the crowd is just getting tired of the same things, or if fans don’t have the time to create, or worse, that they no longer have the motivation to do so. It’s a bit worrisome, especially if it’s a trend. I intend to find out at next February’s Katsucon, where I plan to have at least 2 and maybe 3 paintings done and displayed.
I told my friend Speaker that I’ve been slowly participating in the con-going experience, first by attending, then last year by cosplaying (I made a passable, if very overweight and old Jigen from “Lupin the Third”), and now by participating in an Art Show. If my talents went in that direction, I’d make an anime music video, or possibly amateur animation, but those are extremely time consuming, and I don’t think I’ll have a lot of time once I get a job (if I can get one, grumble grumble). Also, if I did make an AMV or something, and it went over well, Speaker’s head may explode from the sheer amount of incredulity! (He was astonished by the fact that I sold my painting, and mentioned it more than once during and after the con. Heh. ^===^ )
At any rate, AUSA is always fun, and I’m looking forward to Katsucon! Anyone reading this, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
Everything re-arranged and re-packed (had to discard some things, reluctantly). Only things left to do are to dispose of trash, grab a shower, pack up the laptop and grab a cab. Further updates will be through the phone or iPad, depending on WiFi and/or 3G availability.
