Animazement Con Report
May. 31st, 2011 01:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tohma2004Well Animazement was..interesting this year XD I'm not sure how else to explain it. A lot happened so it was kind of crazy. Being in the dealer's room was very different but getting to enjoy my evening instead of sitting in a room for twelve hours..was amazing.
Won Best Masters Craftsmanship with my manga coat. Say yay ^_^ It was going to be its final competition regardless of the outcome so I'm glad it could go out like that. I entered three contests with it and won three awards so that is a pretty good record.
Let's see if I can somehow explain how this weekend went.
No pictures because..I honestly didn't take any.
Thursday
So even on the Thursday that day was interesting. The first thing we had to do was attempt to get all our stuff into Pam's car. K-9 got loaded up first and then the dealers room stuff and then the costume stuff. The car was definitely full. We stopped at Wendys on the way and got some lunch but when we were walking back to the car a guy in a big motorhome thing was parked really close to Pam and when he opened his door he nicked the handle. Pam just went off on him because she is very protective of her car. After about a thirty minute delay we finally got on our way again. I had to stop at Kinkos because my business cards never arrived so once we got that out of the way we made it the rest of the way to the convention center without any major excitement.
We checked into the hotel, which Utai and Dark were already at. We dropped off our stuff then drove the car over to the loading dock to drop off the dealer's room stuff. The parking deck was hard to find and even harder to negotiate. But we managed to get parked and went in to find our table. The space was not quite what I was expecting but I had hoped we could make it work. once all our stuff was in we started to assemble it. Just as we were about done some of the other artists that were at the table with me arrived. I went and helped them carry their stuff to the table and just as we were about to start setting up two more of the artists arrived. Eventually everyone was here and I started to sense a brewing issue. They had too much stuff. All my stuff fit into 2 suitcases and I hung 99% of it, leaving the table for someone else to use. Well..the next two artists had 2 rolling trunks that were bigger then my suitcases, various boxes and totes and crates as well as some other stuff. Then the ones after that had huge boxes of stuffed dolls. I knew it was going to be an interesting weekend right then. Not needing to really stick around while they set up we headed out to get some food at McDonalds. Our whole room had arrived by this point and had gotten their stuff into the room.
After some dinner we headed back to the room and just as I started to unpack, Mina texted to say that it was time for skit practice. I threw on Syaoran and headed downstairs to do so. I choreographed the whole fighting sequence and then ended up helping them a lot with their staging to get things to flow better. We had to keep moving though because the audio was very difficult to hear. My Clone and I worked it out until we got tired and then headed back to our rooms for some sleep.
Friday
Woke up and put on Sakura to match Kiki's Syaoran. Headed out to show Angie around and she was in Tsubasa Syaoran. I gave her a tour of the convention center and then headed downstairs to attempt to find where the craftsmanship judging would be. The info people told us it was down by artist alley but a tweet later in the day informed us it was actually being held in the Marriott. Eventually found Kiki and we headed outside to attempt to actually get pictures of these costumes. As we were setting ourselves up for some pictures this guy actual started to video us in what we can only assume will be one of those cosplay montage video thingies. The wind kept blowing my hat off and it was actually not hot outside which is a rare thing for Animazement. After taking pictures for awhile Kiki went off to get changed while I headed to the dealer's room to see how the set up looked and make sure nothing had collapsed overnight.
When I got there I stared at the booth in just..amazement..annoyance? Not sure what was going through my head. One of the members had purchased another table and placed it right smack in the center of the booth so that basically no one could get inside and see the merchandise. We got her arranged so that it was moved to the front and side of the booth which would allow a space that people could walk into and look around. It was the best option and gave me a look at just how much stuff there really was. We looked like a garage sale but I tried to keep my hopes up.
The dealer's room opened and the sales on Friday started off pretty well. I sold out of my Gurren Laggaan scarves the first day and the towels were also getting a lot of interest to my surprise. As it got close to 3 o'clock I started to get myself ready to go and get changed into Fai for the contest. Once I knew my stuff would be watched over by Pam I headed off to put on the coat. Luckily the dealer's room is really close to the hotel so the walk to and from that was really short, but since I was giving myself so much time I decided to go back to the dealer's room after I got my stuff on so that I could be there for a bit before going to judging. Well when I got there the staff wouldn't let me in with my Fai staff. I told them I wasn't putting it in that room since I had to get it judged and that I was a dealer and just going to my booth. After about a ten minute discussion with another guy, they finally let me in with it. Of course as soon as I got into the dealer's room it took me about another ten minutes just to get to my booth because I kept getting stopped for pictures.
Eventually I make it back and set my staff out of harm's way to get ready to sell more stuff. When it was judging time I headed back out with Angie as my handler/minion (still dressed as Syaoran). Judging was actually running ahead of schedule which was awesome so I didn't have to wait long before it was my turn. When I got in there I began story hour.
I call it story hour because I had created these panels with pictures and explanations of the progression of the coat, from the very first version with the applique all the way to its current state. I explained how I tore it apart and why I used the trim and how it evolved into its current form. Well..as soon as I start talking about the old coat I started to cry. I had a feeling I would. But that coat was a labor of love and I had so many memories wrapped in that coat and to talk about its evolution..just broke me. I felt like such a fool and I was beyond embarrassed but thank god for nice judges. Then as I was talking they started to inspect the costume and I don't think I have been as crawled over as I was in that judging section. They looked at everything. We were all on the floor investigating the staff and stuff too. I slowly started to compose myself and get through the judging and apologized profusely for my ridiculousness before making my exit.
Angie was in the judging with me and was witness to my breakdown *shaaaaaame* After that we headed back to the dealers room where I stayed until it was time to shut down. Then I actually got to enjoy my night. it was so strange to be out of my cave before dark. I wandered around as Fai until every decided they wanted to go to the bar. So we headed back to the hotel and I changed into Mukuro because apparently that is a drinking requirement. We went down and I had 2 "blue motorcycles" before Kakyou and I headed off to enjoy the rest of the "Awesomely bad JRock video" panel. It was hilarious..and disturbing..and it might cause nightmares. After that we strolled back to the hotel room. What we found there was two people asleep, Utai getting sick in the bathroom, and Crystal and Angie and Jean on drunk person watch.
After eating a little ham and drinking some water I collapsed onto the bed and texted for awhile. Then it was time to pass out. Though I didn't sleep particularly well even though I figured the alcohol was going to help me do so.
Saturday
This was a day that I would mostly like to forget. I woke up early and got into Syaoran because I had been told I had to be in costume and go to the mandatory meeting. Well I got there in the hopes that I could do what I had to really quick and rush back to the room to change before I had to be in the dealer's room. Well..I really don't see why I needed to be there at all and I certainly didn't have to be in costume. So I ran back to the room, threw Frau on in record time and ran back to the Dealer's room. I made it there 2 minutes before it opened.
I stayed in there until it was time for rehearsal and I went up in the hopes that we could get on the stage and off quickly so I could get back to dealer's room. Well I get there and 2 of the members are still missing. As we are waiting for them I get a text from pam saying that she has to go since David was close to arriving. I start texting around to see if I can find someone to watch the table while 1 of the members arrives. As I am getting that worked out Mina tells us that our other member can't find anyone to watch her table. So we recruit the boyfriend of the one person and throw him into the role. Then we rush onto the stage and do our run through before I head back to the dealer's room in a hurry. When I get there I make sure it is covered and go off to get changed back into Syaoran so I would be set for the rest of the night.
As I was getting off the elevator to get changed I noticed the bag that a girl was carrying. I point to it and smile, "I made that bag." Apparently she had just bought it in the dealer's room XD She thanked me for letting them get the two bags at a discount and I told her it wasn't a problem before heading off to my room. I got changed and went back to stay at my table for the remainder of the day. It was so damn cold in that outfit. I was freezing so bad that at one point I was wearing a cloak and one of my Syaoran scarves to keep warm.
About an hour before dealers room closed and I was supposed to go to the masq to line up, Mina texts me to say that our Kurogane had dropped out. In a panic I text Crystal in the hopes that we can find someone to replace him. Luckily the part was small so I knew we would be able to get it worked out if we could just find a body to put in the costume. Utai agreed to do it and somehow they were able to find her some pants and shoes to wear. I told them to meet me in the dealer's room and texted Mina to tell her to bring the costume to the holding room as well as her laptop so we could rehearse. Once that was settled we closed up shop and I ran off to the holding room with Utai.
We got there and quickly taught Utai the skit as well as get her dressed. During one of our run-throughs, my clone (who was one foot taller then me and gave me a slight height complex XD) actually stabbed me int he leg with the sword. It hurt like hell and started to bleed but I ignored it and we continued to rehearse even though she felt really bad about it LOL. It was then time for the skits to start so we settled in to watch.
Our skit went without a hitch except the other Syaoran and I got a little a head and we had to do a little improvising. Also..walking through back hallways and kitchens in your bare feet..kind of disgusting. For all the issues we had I'm just glad the skit even happened. I didn't care about anything else at that point. we went and watched the last of the skits and then they ushered us back into the main room for the awards.
The hall costume awards were first and I was sitting there admiring the winners, not really expecting anything. I was really impressed by the Choji with the moving hand and the Ashe that I had actually been admiring in the dealer's room. Then they got to "Best Master Craftsmanship" and started to talk about the winner. There was talk about the costume taking years to create and actually being assembled, taken apart and reassembled and suddenly I realized that they might actually be talking about me. I shrank a little in my seat and kind of covered my mouth to keep from getting too excited just in case. Then they talked about the excellent gradient painting on the back and I was done. I was OMGing in my seat and just about melting into the floor. So then they called me up and since I was all the way in the back I jogged up there to get my award. I refrained from crying as best I could and hugged each of the judges before rushing off with my envelope.
I got back to my seat and looked at the envelope, not really expecting what was inside. I saw the $50 bill first and kind of flailed and then I noticed the $100 bill XD Oh yeah..Verrrry happy. thats the kind of award I like to get XD After the awards for the skits were handed out we went out and took a group picture before I went off to get a couple picks of me actually in the Syaoran outfit before heading back to get changed and go to the bar to celebrate.
As I was finishing my drink Angela came over and was chatting with me and she told me about Matt's most awesome of shirts so I had to go see it. I went over and got a group hug from the judges and the coordinator XD!! Now there is a highlight~~ They are all so awesome and nice and I love them. I almost started to cry again when I talk about how much I adore my coat. They told me that my crying over it was "adorable". I was like..oh man..embarrassing much? XD But yeah we talked about CLAMP and Subaru from X and pope hats. Makes sense if you think about it.
Then apparently my roommates got tired because before I realized what was going on I was being hauled off to my room XD I don't really know what progressed after that except I stripped, crawled into bed and everything was heavy. But I actually got some sleep that night.
Sunday
Woke up, got dressed into Ken and waited for Pam to get back to load up the car. Me, Pam, David and Angie carried our stuff to the car and then me and K-9 headed to the dealer's room for the last day. I sat in the chair outside my booth watching the dog for the entire day. I didn't sell anything but there are a lot of reasons for that that I would prefer not to go in to. Let's just say the walkway into the booth was too small and 7 people in one booth is too many.
I did get to see almost everyone before they left though and hung out with people as they stopped by my booth. K-9 was crazy popular and people kept stopping to take his picture. One guy even tried to feed him a nickle.
After the dealer's room closed, Pam went and got the car and we packed everything up and loaded it onto a cart. WIth K-9 in tow we pushed the cart out to the loading dock and loaded up both Pam and David's car. I said goodbye to Angie and Crystal who had helped and then it was off we went and our convention was over. Sunday wasn't too exciting a day.
And that was Animazement. A fairly good convention, then again it always is. I didn't do a whole lot except be at the Dealer's room. But it was still nice to be able to hang out and do what I wanted at the end of the night instead of continue to sit at a table until it was 10 at night. I'll seriously consider doing Dealer's room every con for that reason.
I have already bought my registration for next year so I'm good to go again. I only took one picture the entire con so I don't even have a photo link. Though I did find a video with me and Kiki in our CCS costumes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxqsNmlwLwk&feature=share
So that was pretty cool.
And thats it. Next up: Anime Mid-Atlantic
Won Best Masters Craftsmanship with my manga coat. Say yay ^_^ It was going to be its final competition regardless of the outcome so I'm glad it could go out like that. I entered three contests with it and won three awards so that is a pretty good record.
Let's see if I can somehow explain how this weekend went.
No pictures because..I honestly didn't take any.
Thursday
So even on the Thursday that day was interesting. The first thing we had to do was attempt to get all our stuff into Pam's car. K-9 got loaded up first and then the dealers room stuff and then the costume stuff. The car was definitely full. We stopped at Wendys on the way and got some lunch but when we were walking back to the car a guy in a big motorhome thing was parked really close to Pam and when he opened his door he nicked the handle. Pam just went off on him because she is very protective of her car. After about a thirty minute delay we finally got on our way again. I had to stop at Kinkos because my business cards never arrived so once we got that out of the way we made it the rest of the way to the convention center without any major excitement.
We checked into the hotel, which Utai and Dark were already at. We dropped off our stuff then drove the car over to the loading dock to drop off the dealer's room stuff. The parking deck was hard to find and even harder to negotiate. But we managed to get parked and went in to find our table. The space was not quite what I was expecting but I had hoped we could make it work. once all our stuff was in we started to assemble it. Just as we were about done some of the other artists that were at the table with me arrived. I went and helped them carry their stuff to the table and just as we were about to start setting up two more of the artists arrived. Eventually everyone was here and I started to sense a brewing issue. They had too much stuff. All my stuff fit into 2 suitcases and I hung 99% of it, leaving the table for someone else to use. Well..the next two artists had 2 rolling trunks that were bigger then my suitcases, various boxes and totes and crates as well as some other stuff. Then the ones after that had huge boxes of stuffed dolls. I knew it was going to be an interesting weekend right then. Not needing to really stick around while they set up we headed out to get some food at McDonalds. Our whole room had arrived by this point and had gotten their stuff into the room.
After some dinner we headed back to the room and just as I started to unpack, Mina texted to say that it was time for skit practice. I threw on Syaoran and headed downstairs to do so. I choreographed the whole fighting sequence and then ended up helping them a lot with their staging to get things to flow better. We had to keep moving though because the audio was very difficult to hear. My Clone and I worked it out until we got tired and then headed back to our rooms for some sleep.
Friday
Woke up and put on Sakura to match Kiki's Syaoran. Headed out to show Angie around and she was in Tsubasa Syaoran. I gave her a tour of the convention center and then headed downstairs to attempt to find where the craftsmanship judging would be. The info people told us it was down by artist alley but a tweet later in the day informed us it was actually being held in the Marriott. Eventually found Kiki and we headed outside to attempt to actually get pictures of these costumes. As we were setting ourselves up for some pictures this guy actual started to video us in what we can only assume will be one of those cosplay montage video thingies. The wind kept blowing my hat off and it was actually not hot outside which is a rare thing for Animazement. After taking pictures for awhile Kiki went off to get changed while I headed to the dealer's room to see how the set up looked and make sure nothing had collapsed overnight.
When I got there I stared at the booth in just..amazement..annoyance? Not sure what was going through my head. One of the members had purchased another table and placed it right smack in the center of the booth so that basically no one could get inside and see the merchandise. We got her arranged so that it was moved to the front and side of the booth which would allow a space that people could walk into and look around. It was the best option and gave me a look at just how much stuff there really was. We looked like a garage sale but I tried to keep my hopes up.
The dealer's room opened and the sales on Friday started off pretty well. I sold out of my Gurren Laggaan scarves the first day and the towels were also getting a lot of interest to my surprise. As it got close to 3 o'clock I started to get myself ready to go and get changed into Fai for the contest. Once I knew my stuff would be watched over by Pam I headed off to put on the coat. Luckily the dealer's room is really close to the hotel so the walk to and from that was really short, but since I was giving myself so much time I decided to go back to the dealer's room after I got my stuff on so that I could be there for a bit before going to judging. Well when I got there the staff wouldn't let me in with my Fai staff. I told them I wasn't putting it in that room since I had to get it judged and that I was a dealer and just going to my booth. After about a ten minute discussion with another guy, they finally let me in with it. Of course as soon as I got into the dealer's room it took me about another ten minutes just to get to my booth because I kept getting stopped for pictures.
Eventually I make it back and set my staff out of harm's way to get ready to sell more stuff. When it was judging time I headed back out with Angie as my handler/minion (still dressed as Syaoran). Judging was actually running ahead of schedule which was awesome so I didn't have to wait long before it was my turn. When I got in there I began story hour.
I call it story hour because I had created these panels with pictures and explanations of the progression of the coat, from the very first version with the applique all the way to its current state. I explained how I tore it apart and why I used the trim and how it evolved into its current form. Well..as soon as I start talking about the old coat I started to cry. I had a feeling I would. But that coat was a labor of love and I had so many memories wrapped in that coat and to talk about its evolution..just broke me. I felt like such a fool and I was beyond embarrassed but thank god for nice judges. Then as I was talking they started to inspect the costume and I don't think I have been as crawled over as I was in that judging section. They looked at everything. We were all on the floor investigating the staff and stuff too. I slowly started to compose myself and get through the judging and apologized profusely for my ridiculousness before making my exit.
Angie was in the judging with me and was witness to my breakdown *shaaaaaame* After that we headed back to the dealers room where I stayed until it was time to shut down. Then I actually got to enjoy my night. it was so strange to be out of my cave before dark. I wandered around as Fai until every decided they wanted to go to the bar. So we headed back to the hotel and I changed into Mukuro because apparently that is a drinking requirement. We went down and I had 2 "blue motorcycles" before Kakyou and I headed off to enjoy the rest of the "Awesomely bad JRock video" panel. It was hilarious..and disturbing..and it might cause nightmares. After that we strolled back to the hotel room. What we found there was two people asleep, Utai getting sick in the bathroom, and Crystal and Angie and Jean on drunk person watch.
After eating a little ham and drinking some water I collapsed onto the bed and texted for awhile. Then it was time to pass out. Though I didn't sleep particularly well even though I figured the alcohol was going to help me do so.
Saturday
This was a day that I would mostly like to forget. I woke up early and got into Syaoran because I had been told I had to be in costume and go to the mandatory meeting. Well I got there in the hopes that I could do what I had to really quick and rush back to the room to change before I had to be in the dealer's room. Well..I really don't see why I needed to be there at all and I certainly didn't have to be in costume. So I ran back to the room, threw Frau on in record time and ran back to the Dealer's room. I made it there 2 minutes before it opened.
I stayed in there until it was time for rehearsal and I went up in the hopes that we could get on the stage and off quickly so I could get back to dealer's room. Well I get there and 2 of the members are still missing. As we are waiting for them I get a text from pam saying that she has to go since David was close to arriving. I start texting around to see if I can find someone to watch the table while 1 of the members arrives. As I am getting that worked out Mina tells us that our other member can't find anyone to watch her table. So we recruit the boyfriend of the one person and throw him into the role. Then we rush onto the stage and do our run through before I head back to the dealer's room in a hurry. When I get there I make sure it is covered and go off to get changed back into Syaoran so I would be set for the rest of the night.
As I was getting off the elevator to get changed I noticed the bag that a girl was carrying. I point to it and smile, "I made that bag." Apparently she had just bought it in the dealer's room XD She thanked me for letting them get the two bags at a discount and I told her it wasn't a problem before heading off to my room. I got changed and went back to stay at my table for the remainder of the day. It was so damn cold in that outfit. I was freezing so bad that at one point I was wearing a cloak and one of my Syaoran scarves to keep warm.
About an hour before dealers room closed and I was supposed to go to the masq to line up, Mina texts me to say that our Kurogane had dropped out. In a panic I text Crystal in the hopes that we can find someone to replace him. Luckily the part was small so I knew we would be able to get it worked out if we could just find a body to put in the costume. Utai agreed to do it and somehow they were able to find her some pants and shoes to wear. I told them to meet me in the dealer's room and texted Mina to tell her to bring the costume to the holding room as well as her laptop so we could rehearse. Once that was settled we closed up shop and I ran off to the holding room with Utai.
We got there and quickly taught Utai the skit as well as get her dressed. During one of our run-throughs, my clone (who was one foot taller then me and gave me a slight height complex XD) actually stabbed me int he leg with the sword. It hurt like hell and started to bleed but I ignored it and we continued to rehearse even though she felt really bad about it LOL. It was then time for the skits to start so we settled in to watch.
Our skit went without a hitch except the other Syaoran and I got a little a head and we had to do a little improvising. Also..walking through back hallways and kitchens in your bare feet..kind of disgusting. For all the issues we had I'm just glad the skit even happened. I didn't care about anything else at that point. we went and watched the last of the skits and then they ushered us back into the main room for the awards.
The hall costume awards were first and I was sitting there admiring the winners, not really expecting anything. I was really impressed by the Choji with the moving hand and the Ashe that I had actually been admiring in the dealer's room. Then they got to "Best Master Craftsmanship" and started to talk about the winner. There was talk about the costume taking years to create and actually being assembled, taken apart and reassembled and suddenly I realized that they might actually be talking about me. I shrank a little in my seat and kind of covered my mouth to keep from getting too excited just in case. Then they talked about the excellent gradient painting on the back and I was done. I was OMGing in my seat and just about melting into the floor. So then they called me up and since I was all the way in the back I jogged up there to get my award. I refrained from crying as best I could and hugged each of the judges before rushing off with my envelope.
I got back to my seat and looked at the envelope, not really expecting what was inside. I saw the $50 bill first and kind of flailed and then I noticed the $100 bill XD Oh yeah..Verrrry happy. thats the kind of award I like to get XD After the awards for the skits were handed out we went out and took a group picture before I went off to get a couple picks of me actually in the Syaoran outfit before heading back to get changed and go to the bar to celebrate.
As I was finishing my drink Angela came over and was chatting with me and she told me about Matt's most awesome of shirts so I had to go see it. I went over and got a group hug from the judges and the coordinator XD!! Now there is a highlight~~ They are all so awesome and nice and I love them. I almost started to cry again when I talk about how much I adore my coat. They told me that my crying over it was "adorable". I was like..oh man..embarrassing much? XD But yeah we talked about CLAMP and Subaru from X and pope hats. Makes sense if you think about it.
Then apparently my roommates got tired because before I realized what was going on I was being hauled off to my room XD I don't really know what progressed after that except I stripped, crawled into bed and everything was heavy. But I actually got some sleep that night.
Sunday
Woke up, got dressed into Ken and waited for Pam to get back to load up the car. Me, Pam, David and Angie carried our stuff to the car and then me and K-9 headed to the dealer's room for the last day. I sat in the chair outside my booth watching the dog for the entire day. I didn't sell anything but there are a lot of reasons for that that I would prefer not to go in to. Let's just say the walkway into the booth was too small and 7 people in one booth is too many.
I did get to see almost everyone before they left though and hung out with people as they stopped by my booth. K-9 was crazy popular and people kept stopping to take his picture. One guy even tried to feed him a nickle.
After the dealer's room closed, Pam went and got the car and we packed everything up and loaded it onto a cart. WIth K-9 in tow we pushed the cart out to the loading dock and loaded up both Pam and David's car. I said goodbye to Angie and Crystal who had helped and then it was off we went and our convention was over. Sunday wasn't too exciting a day.
And that was Animazement. A fairly good convention, then again it always is. I didn't do a whole lot except be at the Dealer's room. But it was still nice to be able to hang out and do what I wanted at the end of the night instead of continue to sit at a table until it was 10 at night. I'll seriously consider doing Dealer's room every con for that reason.
I have already bought my registration for next year so I'm good to go again. I only took one picture the entire con so I don't even have a photo link. Though I did find a video with me and Kiki in our CCS costumes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxqsNmlwLwk&feature=share
So that was pretty cool.
And thats it. Next up: Anime Mid-Atlantic
