ArtisticallyChill

Day 3 was a very successful day for Serena despite Sundays being the slower days for most comic-cons. She had several commissions and sketches to work on before the masses eventually made it back towards her table after the show opened up. We got there a good hour early and Serena was already working hard on a commission to be picked up later that day.

While on a break, Serena decided to visit J.Scott Campbell and pick up his 2011 Fairytale Fantasies Calendar. Unknown to her, I secretly purchased the Blue Beauties sketchbook and, after introducing myself and recapping how I thought it was cool that he stopped by Serena’s table, told J.Scott that the book was a surprise for her to commemorate another successful appearance in Artist Alley. To make the sketchbook even more special, J.Scott Campbell did a quick profile shot of Fathom on the inside cover even though he was already booked with commissions til the end of the show.

So when she handed J.Scott the calendar to get signed, I gave that secret nod to bring out the sketchbook!

So here’s a pic of Serena with artist, J.Scott Campbell. For Serena, it definitely is a cool feeling when one of your favorite artists, whose work you admire and study to improve your own, becomes a fan of your work!

Even though Serena was busy, some were not. Looks like some folks decided to leave early due to lack of interest and sales from convention-goers.

Serena sold a few more prints and sketchbooks thoughout the rest of Sunday and got through two more commissions. She even sold some of her original work that was on display in her portfolio! She’s gonna have to do some more original work for next year’s conventions. Hopefully she’ll have more than one portfolio filled with original art she wouldn’t mind parting with.

As the convention started winding down, Serena did a quick sketch of Abbey Chase from J.Scott Campbell’s Danger Girl in one of her 2010 sketchbooks and then gave it to J.Scott Campbell!

As for my purchase, I swung by the table of Anthony Coffey (left) and Jesse Labbe (right) as they were packing up to pick up my copy of Berona’s War: Field Guide. I met these two creators and had a blast talking with them about the convention and their awesome creation: Berona’s War.

They were more than happy to sell me their last copy of the book that they brought with them to sell at the convention before it becomes available everywhere else! They even sketched inside the book and signed it!

I definitely can’t wait for graphic novel series to hit the shelves! It’s definitely worth checking out!

Well that’s it for Wizard World Chicago Comic 2010. Despite the lack of the big publishers, Serena’s appearance in Artist Alley was a huge success! Not only was she able to please her fans, she made new ones and met one of her favorite artists. She also got some recognition by other companies looking to someday hire her for some freelance work! Even though she still had some prints and sketchbooks left over, she ran out of business cards! We celebrated afterwards with a well deserved dinner at Olive Garden. We reflected on the weekend and talked about future convention appearances and revamping her portfolio so that she’ll have more original prints to sell. If she has time, Serena wants to try doing some watercolor pieces as well. If it all work’s out Serena’s next convention appearance next year will be even better than this year’s!

~ LoneWolf

Day 2 was off to a rough start due to the insanity of getting into the parking garage. Cars were backed up on both opposite sides of the cross street. Serena decided to jump out of the car as we were just sitting there idling. She made her way to the convention hall and was set up well before I even got the Irken Elite (my car) into the parking garage. It wasn’t until additional police officers showed up to help direct the traffic that the lines started moving more efficiently. We are definitely gonna try and leave as early as possible to beat this rush tomorrow.

Once we settled in, the atmosphere was a bit more normal for a convention. Lines of people were in crowding the lobby as they were waiting to pick up their wristbands and badges they had bought online. The entry way to the hall floor was crowded as well as lines were forming at the autograph booths. Why Wizard World decided to put the autograph booths closest to the entrance is beyond me and anyone else with common sense.

Putting my game face on, I navigated through the aisles. I bumped into Ethan Van Sciver and we both shared a look, and, as if by telepathy, we could hear each other saying, “Wow, this section is ridiculously crowded.” He zigged and I zagged, going down another aisle. When I reached Serena’s table, she was talking to another passer by. I breathed a sigh of relief as I slumped into the chair and told Serena how jacked up the parking garage thing was.

After catching my breath, I went into my meet and greet mode – saying hello to everyone who stopped by Serena’s table while she worked on a new Executive Assistant Iris piece to warm up and add to her portfolio. She noticed a lot of people marveling at her finely detailed Grace sketches and decided to add a finely detailed Iris piece would be a nice addition. She’s also a bit hesitant to sell both Grace pictures so the addition of the Iris will hopefully encourage fans wanting a finely detailed sketch to contact her post convention for a commission by mail.

One of my roles at Serena’s table other than Public Relations Manager, CFO (Chief Financial Officer aka money handler), and Model is that of a Gopher. If Serena needs references for a sketch I go out into the wilds of the show floor and find her that reference. Sometimes money is involved if the reference material is a comic book. Other times, I take our digital camera with me and snap a few pics of the target reference. This time, she needed some fabric with intricate designs. I really didn’t have wander around too much as my keen awareness for my surroundings lead me to a vendor who happen to be selling oriental weapons and dresses.

My recon mission didn’t take too long, but by the time I got back to Serena’s table she had sold a few more sketchbooks and was already done with one of the free sketches. As she worked on another sketchbook sketch, another person came up and requested a commission in his personal sketchbook. After she took down his info and the kind sketch he wanted, another person came up to the table and bought two of her prints. And soon after that another sketchbook is sold then another commission requested. This went on for a good hour. By 2 pm, Serena was booked solid for the whole day!

One of those commissions was for a picture of Jubilee (X-men). The guy requested this after he had bought one of Serena’s original pieces of Jubilee she did a while back. So when Serena asked about a pose for the commission, I came up with this:

An hour later, Serena finished the commission:

As you can see, Serena has been experimenting with shading and highlighting using Warm and Cool Grey markers by COPIC. The Jubilee fan was all too pleased with his very own Jubilee sketch by Serena!

The highlight of today was definitely Serena’s last visitor at her table – J.Scott Campbell. Serena went off to stretch her legs after a long day of sitting down. So I manned the table while she was gone. J.Scott Campbell was walking back to his table when he stopped to chat with one of our table neighbors, Jeremy Sorrell. I knew it was him. But I didn’t wanna get all fanboy about it. So I sat there and was hoping Serena would make it back in time to catch him as he would pass her table. Just as Serena came back and sat down. He finished up his conversation and started walking past her table. Before I could nudge Serena and say ‘Hey there goes J.Scott Campbell!’ like a giddy little boy on Christmas morning, J.Scott Campbell stops and begins talking to Serena. He tells her how he had looked over her shoulder while she was sketching earlier and that he thought she did beautiful work. I was completely speechless. I didn’t even bother introducing myself as that would have surely killed that moment. After she said thanks they chatted for a bit and he told her that his table was right around the corner.

After he left for his table, I said “You know who that was?” all excited.

She said, “No…”

“That was J.Scott Campbell!”

Serena was surprised, and a bit embarrassed, that the gentleman in the denim hat, who stopped at her table to tell her that he admired her work was one of the many artists that inspires her! After getting over the ‘OMG’-like moment she got up and walked over to J.Scott Campbell’s table and then proceeded to geek out and explain how I had told her who he was and how she knew his art and the name but never what he looked liked and whatnot. She spent a good ten minutes chatting with him some more alongside some other fans. I remained at the table guarding her wares but mostly still feeling a bit giddy over the fact that J.Scott Campbell liked Serena’s work!

And that, my friends, is definitely a Chicago Comic-Con experience worth remembering!

~ LoneWolf

VIPs get badges. Everyone else gets wristbands.

Serena has her table all set up and is ready to create works of art for her fans.

It’s Marvel vs. DC as Hulk and Superman duke it out in Artist Alley!

In between quick sketches and commission work, Serena draws on a few cards which will be auctioned off at the Chicagoland Entertainment Collectors Expo next month in Carol Stream, IL. All proceeds will go to The Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation. If you want one of her rare sketch cards and help out children and teens suffering from cancer, hit up the expo and attend the auction!

Despite the slow start, Serena had a successful day. She sold several sketchbooks, a few prints and did some commission work. Every hour or so I would go out to the show floor to break a twenty dollar bill. I would hit up the discount comic book vendors and by a $1 comic book. But I wouldn’t just by any $1 comic book. If Serena needs reference material for a commission, I would get that. But if no reference is needed, I’ve been hunting down of Michael Turner’s earlier works i.e. CYBERFORCE # 9. Michael Turner’s first gig was doing some background work for this book. I also picked up BALLISTIC # 1. This was the first comic book completely penciled by Michael Turner.

Even though the atmosphere of the convention is a lot different than it was 2 years ago, we’re both having fun and Serena’s putting out some great work that her fans will take home and cherish for a lifetime.

HAPPY COMIC-CON!

~ LoneWolf