Getting Ready for NanDesuKan 4

Finally finished prepping the frames and artwork for tomorrow. (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧ The only things left are to make the labels that will be used for the silent auction. These labels will contain the name of the pieces and the starting bid. Once I have that done I just need to head over to the convention which starts… tomorrow…

“And the Con’s tomorrow~!”   ∑(゚ロ゚〃)

It has been quite stressful this past two weeks, more than I thought it would be. Getting the artwork ready to be presented took quite some time. Especially considering that I had to get 16 frames ready (this includes cleaning, painting, fitting, backing etc.). But I powered through it. ρ( ̄ヘ ̄ メ)

The thing that really has me stressed out though is that I had to do all this while attending college since last week. For this semester I decided to take Japanese II. I haven’t had a Japanese class since I was in high school. About six years ago now… it’s been quite a while… On top of that I am attending the class of my high school teacher who has been teaching at my university. I was surprised how well I was at getting right back into it and taking off from where I last left off. But on the other hand I can see quite well how much more I have to learn and also how much I have to perfect in understanding what I do “know”. This worries me because we have daily quizzes, which I luckily am able to replace by writing sentences at home (which does take quite a bit of understanding of the material in order to pull off). What really worries me is the tests, those I have to do no matter what. And as I just found out, I have a test this Tuesday. Right after NanDesuKan… (❁°͈▵°͈)

[loud exhale]…

Will I be ok? I guess I can cram as much knowledge on Monday…

Ah, I’ll figure it out. For now let’s just focus on getting a section secured tomorrow and hopefully enjoying this weekend.

Of course I will be taking pictures (…of cosplayers … and artwork of course!..). On top of that I really do wonder if I will do ok tomorrow, will my artwork move people enough for them to buy something? Let’s see if my skills are good enough.

Hasta la próxima,

-Nube

CHANCE!

Getting Ready for NanDesuKan 3

Alright, so Sunday and yesterday I finished fixing, cleaning all the frames (and painted some). Now I just have to buy some masking tape so that I can affix some of the artwork (the one’s that don’t have glass) and also covering the back side with paper. Some of the frames also need a hanging attachment. It should be easy to do, but I will have to go and buy these parts. Tomorrow.

I am missing one frame, the Adventure Time piece. I had to repaint it, so it will be absent from the photos presented.

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For the Wind Rises piece I had to actually cut the top and bottom parts of the paper to make it fit. This was a good chance to bring out my cutting mat! It’s been a while since I bought it, and just now I had an excuse to take it out of it’s packaging.

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Although this frame did not have glass, this is my favorite. I really feel it fit the Totoro drawing.

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Hasta la próxima,

-Nube

CHANCE!

Getting Ready for NanDesuKan 2

This post will be a bit short in that I will only be showcasing the artwork and frames I will be taking and using.

You will notice that I am showing the Adventure time piece twice, that’s because I decide to trade the frame with another piece (the one shown at the end). This photos only show they artwork and frames, I’m still not finished positioning and framing them in the photos shown below (so please keep that in mind).

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So these are the pieces and frames I will be using. Some of them I decided to just clean up and use as they are, while others I decided to paint up. For a couple of them I also had to create some backing paper so they looked a bit more presentable. I will show the end results tomorrow. It took me almost all day to finish them all, but I did it. (•̀o•́)ง

I will talk a bit more on my thought on the next post.

Hasta la próxima,

-Nube

CHANCE!

Getting Ready for NanDesuKan 1

So as I said in my last post, I will be taking some artwork to a local anime convention. One of the first steps I had to do first was choose the pieces of art I will be taking. Having decided to wait until I had a good amount of pieces I could showcase to the public I noticed my first hurdle, there are far too many to take… This meant I had to decide which ones to take this time around and which ones to leave behind.

Now, I was told that I would be provided enough space for all the artwork I decided to take, but I don’t wan’t to take too much space and monopolize the room! One other thing I need to keep in mind is frames. Rules state that they have to hang and can’t just be stuck to the wall (though I really wouldn’t do that in the first place). The most cost effective way to do it is to make my own frames. Wood would be to expensive and would cost almost as much as buying them new, so I did think of using paper frames. Although that wouldn’t be such a bad idea, I had two spare frames given to me. After seeing them framed I couldn’t help but like they way they looked, so I decided to frame them all.

This meant that I would have to buy some frames, a task that can get extremely expensive. So I did the only option I had, and that is to go to the thrift store. Luckily every Saturday they have sales which would really lighten the burden of the expenses. When I arrived it quickly became apparent that it would be so easy. I had to scavenge through the piles of frames out on display. I had to make sure they were the right size, or at the very least close to it. This took quite a while and two thrift stores. When I arrive home I found out that one of them was defective and broken (even though it was packaged in its original box and looks new) and another one was a great frame but would accommodate the pieces I currently have.

One thing to note is that I did have to cut a couple of pieces off from the original line up I had originally decided to take. After much thought I decided upon 16 pieces well 18 if I count the Keyblades, which thinking about it now is already a big number… I wonder if I will really be ok taking all this pieces? Only one way to find out I guess.

Choosing the pieces to take, check. Buying them frames, check. And I already went ahead and chose which artwork went with what frame. These were the hardest parts, but they are now finished. The next step is to clean them up, paint some of them and get them ready and packaged so that they are easy to move around.

Hasta la próxima,

-Nube

CHANCE!

Big News! (((o(*゚▽゚*)o)))

So… because I was so focused on working with the Youtube video and the Traditional X Digital I kinda forgot that just how close the local anime convention NanDesuKan was. To my surprise the convention is only a little less than two weeks away. Now that wouldn’t be too big a deal concerning the amount of time I can dedicate to new work. But an amazing opportunity became available this year! But more on this a bit further down, first let me give a little background.

I started going to NanDesuKan when I got out of high school. One thing that I look forward to the most (well along with looking at the cosplayers) is the Artist Alley where artist come together and sell prints of their work. I have seen some amazing artwork and dreamed of joining the same stage at some point. But I knew that my skills had a ways to go till I was worthy of showcasing my work. But I soon found out that not only did I have to worry about my skills but I also had to take into account that they have a raffle system to get a table. On top of that, past artist also have a chance to continue getting a table on the subsequent years. So really in the end getting a table will be solely based on luck. Now, once I do get a table I can be voted to come again the next year. Which is why I feel that having a high level of skill was of utmost importance.

Funnily enough now that I felt I had created a good number of  artwork that could be sold, well I was too late to apply to get a spot. So for that reason I had no choice but sit this year out (assuming I would even get a spot).

As if by luck or fate I found out that I also had a chance to sell my art in the Art Show. The difference between the Art Show and the Artist Alley is that the Artist Alley is all about selling prints and duplicates of goods. The Art Show on the other hand is all about selling the original physical artwork. This includes drawings, paintings, statues, etc. So in essence this works to my strengths since I prefer to do traditional art work. On top of that, most of the artist go to the Artist Alley instead since they tend to focus on digital artwork. This means that not that many people submit artwork leaving spaces open. So all of that sounds good right?

Well, it gets even better… The system for showcasing artwork in the Art Show is done by just showing up with one’s artwork the first day and securing a spot. So as long as I get there early enough I get a chance to showcase and sell my art! On top of all that, after contacting them to clarify some of my concerns, I also learned that I really won’t have any real restrictions in how many art pieces I can submit. In the last years there was a limitation of using a 4×4 foot panel to hang artwork. But now that has been done away with and they will provide even more space if needed! Just thinking about it…

For that reason I will be focusing on getting things ready. I want to make some special frames for a couple of art pieces and I only have a little less than two weeks so I will be using all my time and focus on that. There are a couple of things that will also keep me busier on top of getting ready for the Art Show. School has started this week, so my schedule will be completely packed. Hmm.. I don’t want to keep neglecting this page though, so I will do my best to give updates on the work I have prior to the convention and during it.

This will be a great step for the Artist Project! If I can make this work…

“hhfffuuuu” σ(≧ε≦o)

I will call these opportunites:

CHANCE!

Hasta la próxima,

-Nube