Wednesday 27 August 2014

Otakuthon 2014 Con Report

Otakuthon has come and passed. I must admit, this was probably my best experience at this convention thus far. In the past, I've always been part of their artist alley and I noticed that compared to other cons, the sales and overall experience wasn't all that great.  I've also never done much at a con in general, aside from sit at a table for the whole weekend.  This year was very different because my buddy Alice came down and we did all the things. Hosted a workshop, got an autograph, watched a screening, shopped in the dealer's/AA, cosplayed, hung out with friends! I also had a few commission deliveries.




The Workshop

 


Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos during the workshop, but it was quite the success! I had only prepped 30 jellies because they were tedious and I didn't want to make more than was necessary.  I did think of an extra backup project in case we had more people, and I also found my presentation material from the last time I hosted a workshop, so I had at least a talk prepared for those that didn't get to work on one of the sewing projects. 

The turnout was probably over 80 people since we had to shoe a bunch away by closing the door and not letting more people in.  I wished I had one extra helper because although Alice did a stellar job as my assistant, there were indeed too many people to handle.  Thank goodness for Otakuthon's scheduling which gave us a half hour before the next workshop. It really helped with wrapping up on time.  I'm not sure if I will have the time to do it next year, but I would definitely like to! I might actually suggest hosting a Q&A panel at a separate time where I can more easily help people with their projects. I kind of worked overtime by hanging outside the workshop room and answering questions, lol.


Shopping

 

I know it's not much, but in all my 7 years of attending cons (albeit as an artist), this is my first time buying things!! It was really nice going around looking at stuff thoroughly because I usually speed through the alley to get back to my table.  I'm in love with those bookmarks from Ameru. The print is a really nice quality and they're shiny! XD I was also looking for some Haikyuu merch and out of all the Nishinoya stuff I saw, I fell in love with these buttons by mingh (not sure what to call her since she only gave me her tumblr url!)  I got the Tsukishima on a whim because it was the only other Haikyuu character in that button size, and he's my second fave anyway.  I also bought a double-sided Amon/Asami acrylic case keychain for my buddy Citizen17.




I picked up quite a few business cards: Cottonlop, Myku, Ohmonah, Justin Woo, Shingalas,  Daisy W, and Akimiya. After going through all those business cards, I noticed that most people have their stuff on tumblr.  Back when I started, DeviantART was the place to be, but I guess it's not as popular with the new gen.


Cosplay

Alice brought her DSLR so whatever pics taken this weekend was on her camera. Here are some of the cosplay highlights that I took from her camera!

 





On sunday, Alice busted out Riruka again and I accompanied her with my (last minute) Rukia cosplay.

 
pic taken by Mona
I was missing her arm guards and the sword, but the shihakusho/hakama turned out okay. I might reuse it for AN next year, if I have time to go to the con.



Hakama needs ironing! I didn't like the fabric I used because it kind of puckered at the seams. :/  I like how the sandals turned out. It has the backing on the ankle and it surprisingly held up, considering it was just cardboard wrapped in twine (the base was a flip flop though).  The pic on the right was just a joke from the series where Rukia doesn't know what to do with a juice box.


Conclusion

It was a tiring weekend but it was great! I have no idea what my con plans for next year are going to be like because I'll be studying full-time in an intensive program.  Hopefully, I'll be able to do the workshop again for Otakuthon. :)

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