Category Archives: Conventions

Dec11

Blue Genie and Shirt Woot design: Birds

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Blue Genie and Shirt Woot design: Birds

Sorry, I’ve been sort of silent for a week or two but me and Shawnna have been setting up and preparing art for our space at the Blue Genie Art Bazaar. Which is currently running all the way up to December the 24th.

I’m so excited. So, if you’re in Austin, Texas please drop by the bazaar and check it out. Free Admission and there’s a bar so you can shop and drink!

2009_art_bazaar_poster

I’ve made a bunch of new wood art and little cute magnets and ceramics for the show. Which now that I’ve managed to un-bury myself from work, I should be posting as the days go by. I think I’m really getting the hang of the wood art. Though looking around at some of the other artist stuff I really want to try using resin to seal some of it. The show is so inspiring.

I also have been working on more shirt designs. This weeks Shirt Woot Derby theme is Birds and I just happened to be working on a messed up version of the ugly duckling. I like to think of it as THE UGLIEST DUCKLING.

DXS-the-ugliest-duckling-sm

Vote for it here:
LINK: http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=37909
LINK: http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=37909
LINK: http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=37909
LINK: http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=37909

You’ll need to have bought something from any of the 4 Woot sites to vote. Maybe my friend’s X-treme bear ATV shirt, now back in stock: http://shirt.woot.com/Friends.aspx?k=10653

Oct7

Shirt Woot Derby #115 Design

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Shirt Woot Derby #115 Design

Woot! I got into the art show I had tried out for! Awesome! I’m going to be one of the artists participation in the Blue Genie Art Bazaar along with my friend Shawnna. So, that means I’ve got to get my shit together and make a lot more cute stuff to sell. I’ve been working really hard on doing more little wood paintings so I have a few of those done. What I really want to do is another Pathtag or two and Christmas Card design. I have a lot of planning to do, I’m not good at planning. Makes a list.

Then, right after Blue Genie I have 4 conventions all in a row. The beginning part of 2010 is going to be REALLY busy. =D

In other art news I did an image for this week’s Shirt Woot derby: National Parks, which is a really tough theme. I decided to do floating rocks because I really like the idea of rocks floating in the air.

Larger Version, too big for my site’s formatting!

But I think Shawnna’s Exploding Bear shirt design is the best in the bunch! So, I encourage you guys that can vote(you have to have bought a shirt to vote… oh shit yeah Miss monster has a shirt up for sale on Shirt Woot today! So if you want an awesome shirt you can buy hers and then vote for us in the derby), to vote for both me and Shawnna! Or hell, just Shawnna! I give you a link!

Exploding Bears!!

I also just put up a shirt design on Threadless that is so cute it hurts. I’m still waiting for them to approve it but here’s the link: http://threadless.com/submission/235163/Cute_Has_a_Flavor

Sep3

My Cat Pathtags have arrived!

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My Cat Pathtags have arrived!

Oh my god, my order of Pathtags came in today just in time for AnimeFest. I hadn’t mentioned ordering them cause I wanted to see what they turned out like before I talked about them. But they turned out so awesome and they actually glow in the dark!

I had a set of them made from these little circular doodles I’d drawn for the Catalyst folio that just didn’t get done in time. So, I have a Sun Cat and a Moon Cat. Pathtags are about the size of a US quarter and are made from metal so they are very sturdy. The images are based off of my cats when they are sleeping and stretching.

Here’s an image of the Sun Cat’s blueprint:

pathtag-sun-blueprints

And here’s how the Pathtag turned out:

DXS-sun-cat-01

Special on this tag: The cat’s orange colored enamel GLOWS IN THE DARK, limited time only.

BUY SUN CAT!

Here’s an image of the Moon Cat’s blueprint:

pathtag-moon-blueprints

And here’s how the Pathtag turned out:

DXS-moon-cat-01

Special on this tag: The cat’s light blue colored enamel GLOWS IN THE DARK, limited time only.

BUY MOON CAT!

Now I just need to make a large sign for Animefest for these guy. So much to do!

Aug27

PUKE CATS, index card prints, and one last convention!!!

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PUKE CATS, index card prints, and one last convention!!!

Wheee, I have new art.

I have made an image of the cute puke cats from this image as their own hellish repeating design. =D


Buy this image as a print at my online store!

In Photoshop this tiny image of bright colored kittens can be tiled forever… think about that. I know I have. =P I had fun making multiply sized prints of this by just using the pattern fill option in Photoshop.

After all the cons I’ve been to in the last three months I’m glad that Animefest, next weekend in Dallas, is the last on I have planned for a long time. Me and Shawnna will be in the Artist alley somewhere. We’re going to have to go up there early again and pick hopefully a good table. But it should be fun. There are a bunch of people that I’ll be happy to see in the Dallas area again. Hopefully it will go smoothly like San Japan did and not like how Animefest went 2 years ago. I have much hope. =D

And now some images of the 4×6 post card prints that I had printed recently. The printing came out so nicely. I had four images printed:

Pancats

Read the rest of this entry →

Aug18

Back from San Japan

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Back from San Japan

Yay, San Japan is over and I’m all recovered and rested. Both me and Shawnna sold pretty well so the con was a success for us. Which is good cause this is our first year braving a San Antonio convention and we had no idea what to expect.

We made the effort to get there and pick our table on Thursday, which was a new thing for us. I don’t know if table check in needs to be quite so early, it started at 2PM but we got there in more then enough time to get an okay spot. Over all the attendees were really nice and well behaved and the con seemed very well planned out. The panels had microphones and the people running them were really good about time. I’m not sure I’m suited for public speaking or if I just need more work on it but I think the panel I did on furry art and writing went fairly well.

I loved the codes of conduct being posted up right next to the bathrooms. =>

Mostly I wished they’d turned up the air conditioning more because on Friday we were sweating our asses off. The small side rooms they had for the artist alley seemed to get hot very easily.

LOL, every time Shawnna would say “Today’s going to be slow” business would totally pick up and prove her wrong. Our table neighbors were really great and friendly and everything went way more smoothly then some of the anime cons I’ve been to in the last few years. It helped that Shawnna’s boyfriend Sterling was able to come and help us once he got off work on Friday. We were really struggling without him on Friday. We had some great roommates for our hotel room, Spizzy and her boyfriend stayed with us and we spent most of the con laughing about very weird sleep deprived stuff and making fun of our hotel room.

I’m very happy that Shawnna had a Tomtom cause even though I’ve driven around San Antonio a few times, the downtown area confuses the hell out of me. Got turned around more then once. The Tomtom is a life saver except for the times it would flip out and not know where we we’re… LOL. Sadly overpasses and flyover confuse the hell out of it.

Also, I can’t believe I have another con in less then a month. I have to plan these better, next up for me is Animefest in Dallas over labor day weekend. Me and Shawnna will have a table in the artist alley or what they call the Bizarre Bazaar that we will be set up in. Hopefully we’ll be downstairs near the food and the dealers room but since tables are first come first serve I won’t know until the actual con.

I have been working like crazy to get more things ready to sell and I have a lot of stuff I haven’t posted about, which I’ll be doing in a few days as I clear out all of my backlog and clean up around here. Rachael mentioned that when I posted about the T-shirt design on Teextile there was no vote button so here is the link again. Please vote if you want it.

09-t-swim-kitty-final

Jul14

Watering the pond… I mean garden

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Watering the pond… I mean garden

Yay, I’m back from Anthrocon… write up to follow. Short version: things went really well and I sold lots of stuff, ate awesome things, and meet cool people.

My next con is San Diego Comic Con which is coming up on me really quickly. I’m going to be selling my art and helping out at the Clubstripes booth, 1633. I’ll also have an art show panel or two filled with my art… of which I am making somewhat last minutely. =/ This is one of the images I’ve been working on but first some background…

Our house has this really giant nice looking backyard that my dad likes to use to grow vegetables and generally do little down to earth things. So, whenever my dad leaves to go do field work, he’s a paleontologist, he puts me in charge of watering the garden at home. And I always feel vaguely guilty as he tends to come back to dead plants. So, I drew a little picture of me watering something that hopefully I couldn’t kill but the image kept growing and growing until I had this.

dxs-water-cat-lilies-f
Buy this image as a print at my online store!

Sorry dad! I’m trying. REALLY! Right now the heat wave we’re having in Texas is doing it’s best to shame me yet again. Come on little plants don’t fold up like a house a cards. Edit: These little cat lillies are actually from an image in the Catalyst folio… that now I’m realizing I really need to post up cause I haven’t posted it yet. Sorry about that.

Jun30

Art for AC 2009

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Art for AC 2009

dxs-artshow-ac-2009

Just a small photo of the art I’m putting in the Anthrocon art show this weekend. The tiny images in the center are the tiny paintings on wood that have been giving me sooo much trouble for the past 2 weeks. But now they are finished and sealed and awesome. Here is a close up of them. =^_^=

dxs-catfish-dance-dance

The top image is a couple of Dancing puke cats and the bottom one is of the cat that dreams of swimming riding a huge catfish. It only took me a day to make the painting part but it took me close to two weeks to find a good sealer. After much effort and help from many friends and from the awesome girl at the art store I now have an Acrylic sealer to finally seal this pesky wood art that I make. Oh god but it smells, I’m still airing them out on my friend’s porch area. I actually sealed these images with 3 different sealers but thankfully this final one has done the trick and it makes the images look very nice and now they don’t stick to stuff. Which are things that are good in a sealer. I am pleased.

These were originally the wood that some brands of fish cakes are sold on… the idea of painting cats on fish makes me very amused. Does anyone any left over fish cake wood they’d be willing to send me to paint on? I sort of like this awkward odd size. =D

Jun3

Cat Puking Kittens

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Cat Puking Kittens

A-kon was really good this year… which I’m posting as if it’s news because even I didn’t realize that I made close to 3 times what I made last year until I got home and checked the numbers. Woot, estimated tax money and health care! The laminated signs and extra larger weird cat prints really seemed to help draw people into the booth to get clobbered by both me and Shawnna’s adorable buttons and art. My most popular piece of art for people to stare at and point friends to, was this image of the “Cat Puking Kittens” from the new Catalyst folio.


Buy this image as a print at my online store!

Speaking of the Catalyst folio, YAY! Oh my god, it printed soo nicely. I got the book from the printer and ran around the house showing it to both of my cats… they seemed to like sleeping on it. The paper is all smooth and glossy and the printing is very rich and sharp. I’m so happy with them. It’s 16 pages of weird kitties doing odd things in a convenient 5.5″ x 8.5″ inch size. Look I offer photos!

It has a wrap around cover!
catalyst-inside-photo

Meow World! A 4-page comic of adorable alien cats flying space ships in the shape of cat heads.
catalyst-inside3-photo

And here’s a link where you can order this folio: Catalyst! Also there more photos and links to some of the cat images inside the folio. Um, it’s weird!

In other news my iMac’s hard drive exploded… freak death, it just stopped working and now it won’t boot. Thankfully I’m totally covered by Apple Care so, woot, free hard drive. The only bad part is they’re not sure they can save my important data from the dying drive. I have to cross my fingers and hope that I can backup most of the new My Muse comics, some of my prints/art, and hopefully my tax info for last year when I take it back in. Thankfully, I do most of my art work on my laptop. Which reminds me I really need to back up some data on that computer. Sigh. Well, at least I’m not paying for the repair.

May28

Off to A-kon

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Off to A-kon

I’m finishing stuff here before I take off for A-kon, which is an anime convention this weekend in Dallas. Me and Shawnna have a Komik Market table right next to the escalators in the main hall, A-8 supposedly.

I just got the Catalyst folio back from the printer, it printed really great, and I finally have new business cards. I’ll also have huge giant prints of some of my weird cats (Like the pancats, flower cat, and cat puking kittens… I really need to post some art when i get back from the con) and a few new buttons. So I’m full of new cool things to buy. Come by and chat me up… er you know in the talking type way.

Ugh, sadly I ran out photo paper and can’t print any more small prints. Con struggles. Oh shit, I should go to the bank soon.

Feb11

My Muse, Just do it already

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My Muse, Just do it already

Trying to get back on track with the My Muse comic. I plan to layout a page a day this week. I’ve managed to do ones for both Monday and Tuesday, so I have high hopes. My current finished page total for My Muse is 46 pages plus 7 layouts. I’m working to lay out as many pages as I can so I can get a handle on where the story(?) is going. I’m trying to bridge a gap where I stopped drawing on the comic for over a year, which I’ve had difficulty finding a good way to express. I don’t want to just gloss over this bit of Muse history as the whole point of the comic is how hard it is to draw comics. It’s a on and off struggle. Note the Motivate image, it fits into this theme nicely. Does a small art dance.

I just got back from Ikkicon, which worked out well. I enjoyed rolling out of bed and being able drive to the con, that was awesome. The artist alley was a bit disorganized but we sort of lucked out with our table placement. So, we did okay over all with some surprises, I sold two prints of my “I draw all stupid” image which totally made my convention brighter.

The crowd going to anime cons seems to be younger and younger, which is an awesome thing if the cons were run a little differently. Sadly most of these cons are still being run like the cons are being attended by college aged dudes or older. So the cons seem a bit like daycare with no rules, which can get stressful. But still this con went well… thank you con god for not smiting me like you did that one time.

I saw a girl dressed as Coraline on Friday which is nuts as the movie had only just opened that day. Crazy! I really liked Coraline, we ended up seeing it on Sunday. I wish I could afford to get one of the puppets from the movie. But there’s no way. I still want it though!