After attending Artist Alley for ANW 2025, I applied again for Dealer's Den. I had only a little experience at furry conventions, back in the early 2000's. While I did have fun meeting new friends, the experience was less than stellar and I kind of chalk it up that I'm not suited for social events like this one, However, this Dealer Den was quite different. The communication in their Telegram was great and the staff was quite responsive and helpful. This year we set up to not just have my own art, but my partner's books, which sold pretty well. I don't think my prints, buttons or stickers sold that well, but I did manage to do four to five commissions. I'm still trying to learn what about my art speaks to people. I have a lot of encouragement, but something about the products themselves don't make people eager to buy? I'm not sure what else I can do.
Overall the expirence was made with the enthusiasm of the friends, fans of my art, and the staff of the convention itself. And working with my partner! We learned a lot about what we need to do to work as a team.
I knew I wanted to make a zine and to challenge myself further, I volunteered to host a panel: How to draw cartoon animals. I was a little unprepared but I think the presentation went great. After the success of making the zine and the panel, I did have some further thoughts about how I can improve. The zine itself is a good introduction, but because of the lack of space (and lack of time, maybe), I can conclude that I have left a lot out that people want and need to know. One interesting question which I want to go more in depth with is how to draw birds. So, I would like to make a series of books where I dive into different animals and species.
I've always wanted to make educational stuff (I mean, I have a BA in Art Education) -- this zine is the first attempt to put things together. I used Affinity Publisher to construct the book -- but somewhere along the way of the construction, I ended up messing up the page order. My partner was the true MVP who made it possible to print, running back and forth with Affinity and the printer to make sure it came out right. So, first lesson: Do not print books in weird sizes. Legal sized paper will not print properly and can not print back to front on a home printer.
Putting the zine together was rather fun. I did end up doing some late nights to get it done, which I don't recommend but blah blah blah, do as I say, not as I do, right? The zine is an attempt to teach not just HOW to draw, but how to THINK. I didn't do either part well, but I think that is because I put too many eggs in the basket. Again, if I make a series out of these zines, the longer length will allow me room for explainations.