Anthrocon, Small Press Expo, and Furfright

I’m hard at work on the fifth episode of Sunnyville Stories.  I’ve delayed it due to having to work on this blog and my recent trip to Huntsville, Alabama.  But now, I’ve resumed work.  I’m not quite done with my travelling though.  No man is an island and it’s important to get out there in the world.  I have to promote myself and make people aware of Sunnyville’s existence.  A big rule of commercial art is that the more people see of your work, the more likely it is you’ll get hired.

Anyway, I’m planning for some big trips in the coming months.  In just a little less than two weeks from now, I will be departing for Anthrocon.  This event is considered the LARGEST furry convention in all the world.  Held annually in the industrial city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it attracts thousands of people from all over the world.  Why am I telling you this?  Furries are a part of my target audience for the Sunnyville Stories comic.  Therefore, this is important for my marketing efforts.

David L. Lawrence Convention Center

The event is held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center (pictured above), a very spacious building and one of the most beautiful I’ve ever been in.

Dealer Room Setup

This is one of the giant chambers that the convention uses for its dealer room as well as its artist alley and its art show.  Speaking of which, I’ll be displaying some of my Sunnyville paintings in the art show this year.  That is certain to get me some more exposure.

Duncan Balloons at AC

There’s a number of costumers known as fursuiters who also attend Anthrocon.  I described these guys in my posts on Further Confusion and Rocket City Furmeet.  This one here is known as Duncan the Dog – he’s quite famous for always parading around with lots of helium balloons.  The event is also notable for having an associated charity to raise proceeds for.  This year’s charity will be the Toonseum.  Last year’s charity was the Fayette Friends of Animals of Uniontown, Pennsylvania.  Their charity table at Anthrocon 2010 certainly got a lot of attention.  They had kittens there!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T9UGfqrKBs[/youtube]

Oh, yes, if you want a sense of what Anthrocon is like, let’s take a “grand tour”.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8x_2uttzm8[/youtube]

In September, I’ll be heading to the town of Bethesda, Maryland.  Why?  Because on Sept. 10 and 11, it will be the location of the Small Press Expo!

This event is considered one of the big events for the alternative comics scene.  That is my other target audience for Sunnyville Stories – the alternative comics readers.  The purpose of this show is like with Anthrocon.  I plan to go there to network and to get my name out.

In October, I’ll be heading to another furry-related event.  This is a Halloween themed convention held over in Connecticut.  This event is called Furfright.  This event though will be very important to me.

You see, my loyal readers…I’m not just going there to network and to get my name out.  I also will be test marketing the Sunnyville comics there.  That’s right; I actually have purchased a dealer’s table at Furfright 2011 and will be selling copies of Sunnyville Stories episodes 2-4, hopefully episode 5, and the Sunnyville Sketchbook along with other related merchandise.  This is important to me because I plan to turn into a full-time professional doing his very own comics for a living.  This will give me a basic idea of how my products will sell.

I’ll give more info on this event as time permits.

That’s it for this blog post.  Is anyone out there going to Anthrocon or these other events?  What comics-related events have you been to?  Why not tell me about them here?

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About Max West

I am a freelance artist and the creator of Sunnyville Stories, an independent slice-of-life comics series.
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