More MegaCon 2011 pics.

I knew more pics from MegaCon would pop up. This time they're from my great friend Cary Bivins.

There's Alex and Cary.

Not sure which one of us is manliest.

Oh wait, It's me!

A better shot of Hailey and Maya Duron and Alex in costume.

At TGI Fridays.

I KNOW there's more pics out there, and when I find them, I'll post them here.

MegaCon 2011: Wrapup

MegaCon 2011 is OVER! I don't know whether it's the fact that I'm getting older, that I'm desperately out of shape or that the convention was, in fact, incredibly demanding in every way, but I'm EXHAUSTED. I had fun though! I did manage to snap some pics on the last day.

Here's a partial view of the convention from the walkway overlooking the hall. The bottom right-hand corner has cots set up for a blood drive. Above that is the LEGO area. The area with the large black partitions is the celebrity area. The middle of the con is all of the vendors. Artist alley is in the opposite end. I was set up in the upper right-hand corner.

This is D'Shay, one of my new friends and easily my favorite vampire.

Tie Fighter head. How he makes it into a bathroom stall, I"ll never know.

One of my favorite games, Plants vs. Zombies!

"Wish", did somebody say "wish"? It's Jambi!

A study in contrasts.

Alex wore his DinoBoy shirt (designed by himself). He managed to accumulate all kinds of stickers, pins and badges, some of which you see here.

After the con. That's Michael McElroy, Alex, Cary Bivins and Big-Head Kenny.I do happen to have some books left over. As always, you can order all of my books by clicking the links to the right. I'll get the new ones up there asap.

Megacon 2011: Day 3...tomorrow

MegaCon is over, and I am WIPED OUT!

I had a great time, but I'm exhausted. So come back tomorrow for the MegaCon wrapup. See you then!

Megacon 2011: Day 2

For the second day of Megacon, I was joined by Alex, (who will be with me tomorrow as well). Apparently, it was "Bring your kid to the convention day" (otherwise known as "Saturday"), because all my fellow artist friends brought their kids as well. They even dressed up!

 That's Mike "Locoduck" Duron's daughters Hailey, as Hitgirl and Maya as Poison Ivy with Alex as Voolvif Monn, the wolfman Jedi.

 

Later Alex met up with Barry and Jenny Gregory's kids, Fox as Cap'n America, Molly as Wonder Woman and Chloe as a mummy.

 Alex's friends from school stopped by too!

I sold a bunch more books, and did some sketches in a few people's sketchbooks. A lot of people have "themed" sketchbooks in which select artists are asked to draw whatever they wish within the confines of a particular theme. The theme is usually of a certain specific interest to the customer.

In this case, the sketchbook's theme was "Fat Animals". I drew a fat cat on the beach. He looks like a distant cousin of Kit's dad in Black Cat Bone. (If you haven't read the book, BUY IT NOW! Just click the link to the right).

 This person's sketchbook was themed "Priests and Nuns" The rest was open to interpretation, so I went with a rocking nun (with a ruler fretboard). Unbeknown to me, the customer was a huge Sister Act fan, and loved the drawing I did.

 It's not a party until Gonk shows up.

 He's alive, and in perfect hibernation.

 

This guy looked just like a young Christopher Reeve.

 End of day exhaustion. Could I have bigger bags under my eyes? Time to go rest up, I have one more day of the con to go!

Megacon 2011: Day 1

 Day one of Megacon was tons of fun. I sold some books, caught up with some old friends and met some new ones. My day started out rough, I had some strange stomach complaint going on. I was shaky, sweaty and dizzy. I couldn't keep down Pepto Bismol, or even water. It took me a while to get out of the house. As far as I can tell, I think it was a prepackaged Boars Head Turkey and Swiss sandwich that I ate from the grocery store the night before. Eventually I was able to drive my way over to the Ka-Blam office and pick up my books. Then I went to the convention center and set up.

 This is one of the signs at the entrance to MegaCon.

There I am in the Burgundy section. I love the sight of having my name shown for all the world to see. Right up there with Stan Lee!

 This is my booth setup.This year I've added the shelving units and the banners. I have a 4 foot banner on the front and a 3 foot banner on the top. Next year I'm going to get displays to go behind the booth, and possibly expand to an 8 foot table.

I spent most of my time at the booth today, so the only other pics I was able to take were of the costumed attendees walking by. I love seeing fans dress up, and so many of the costumes and makeup are incredibly authentic and professional.

Here's HellGal.

Tygra.

Does it matter?

Okay, I'll throw a guy in there. Asian Marty McFly.

I'll have assistant photographer Alex with me the next few days, so I'll have better pics of the remainder of the con. In the meantime, I've got to get some SLEEP! Stay tuned!

I'm (slightly) frantic.

Between two Jett appointments today and work tonight, I am frantically trying to get ready for Megacon tomorrow. I'm about 92% prepared, I just have some last-minute odds and ends to take care of. I'll have tons of up-to-the-minute pics and stories on this blog throughout the Megacon weekend, but in the meantime, here's a picture of Batman on an elephant.

MEGACON in one week!

Megacon will be in Orlando next weekend, and I'm going to be an attending artist. I'm just going down my checklist of things that I need so that I'm fully prepared.

 

Get banner printed: Check

Get new Scraps book printed: Check

 

Print updated version of Durkin's Dragons: Parodies and Tributes: Check

   Order more Durkin's Dragons books since I sold out of them last year: Check

 Make sure I have enough copies of Black Cat Bone: The Blues is Born: Check

Order more copies of Black Cat Bone: Flood Water Rising: Check

Okay. So I wasn't able to finish the third chapter of Black Cat Bone in time for Megacon this year. But I still have a lot of  merchandise to sell. I still have to design my table space and get some shelving and fixtures to make my area look cool. I have to say, this is the most prepared I've been for a convention yet!

Work in progress: Updated Durkinworks Logo

I'm updating my logo a bit. Just getting rid of the self-effacing tomatoes being thrown at it and trying to incorporate some artwork in it.

I'm keeping the font because I like it so much. I'm still tweaking it a little, but eventually this will replace the logo you see on this blog and I'm going to have it printed on a banner to display when I'm and attending artist at conventions.

2011: The Resolutions

At long last, here are my resolutions for 2011. As you see, they're very similar to the resolutions from 2010:

1. Lose weight/get in shape. Ahh, the old standby. Everyone has this one, and no one does it. Thing is, I'm turning 40 this year, and I'd like to be in the best shape I've been in for years, if not my whole life, at that point. I still need to lose about 20 pounds, and I'd like to run more than 50 feet without having a heart attack. I have my nutritionist/art director/publicist/wife working on a plan for me, and with her support, I should soon be seeing some results.

2. Publish MORE: Black Cat Bone issue 3 has been taken out of mothballs and dusted off, The book of Scraps is being compiled as is the expanded version of Durkin's Dragons: Parodies and Tributes. All three will be available at Megacon this year. I'm sure there will be other projects cropping up this year too.

3. Conventions: I'm locked in to Megacon, and I have no excuse not to attend the ISCA convention as it's in Florida this year. I think two cons a year is plenty.

4. Expand the Durkinworks empire: Online I mean. It all hinges on my new computer, which I will be getting soon. When that happens, expect a major overhaul of this blog, Cafepress, Zazzle, Deviantart, and Durkinworks.com and .net which have been lying dormant for so long. Look also for live shows via Ustream and maybe even a podcast.

5. Continue posting regularly on the blog: Now here's the one I need some feedback on. I've been posting every single day. But sometimes it's not easy, and I put a lot of pressure on myself to get it done. I don't mind posting daily, but is that too much? Or do you visit every day to see what I'm up to? What do YOU think?

I think that's about it. Again, I have some personal resolutions as well which I'm not sharing here, but as I said before, I have some great feelings about 2011, and I'm off to a terrific start.

ISCA Convention 2010

Today marks the beginning of the annual International Society of Caricature Artists convention, this year being held in Las Vegas.

 

 Although I've been to many ISCA conventions in the past, sadly I will not be able to attend this year. I'm really going to miss the friendship and inspiration. However, I wish everyone the best of luck especially my dear friend Steve Hearn, who is now the ISCA president! Congratulations Steve! Have fun everyone, and I'll see you all next year!

MegaCon 2011

It's official! I'm going to be an attending artist at MegaCon in Orlando, March 25th-27th 2011. I will be selling Chapters One and Two of Black Cat Bone as well as debuting the third Chapter, Black Cat Bone: The Devil's Music. In addition, I will be selling the updated Durkin's Dragons: Parodies and Tributes with over 20 all-new dragons. Also, I will be selling my new quasi-sketchbook entitled "SCRAPS". Finally, I will be selling original art and doing sketches and commissions per request live at the con. When I get my table assignment I'll let you know. In the meantime, check me out with some of the other attending artists here.

Don't want to end up a cartoon in a Cartoon Graveyard

Spooky Empire's Ultimate Horror Weekend is going to be held in Orlando next weekend. My good friends Michael "Locoduck" Duron and Dennis Hart will be attending as guest artists at the event. In anticipation of the convention, Mike has prepared a great book called Cartoon Graveyard.

According to Mike, "Cartoon Graveyard is about to prove that none are safe from the zombie epidemic. The peaceful and usually happy Cartoon Town has been rocked by a strange zombie like virus. Leaving none of our treasured toons safe, it is spreading like wildfire. Cartoon Graveyard is a parody book that documents the tragic event. The book will feature zombie parodies of some of your favorite cartoon, and advertising characters."

I've seen some of the artwork for the book, and it's twisted, gory fun. I was inspired to throw together this little sketch of one of my favorite 'toons...

Check out Mike's blog here and Dennis' blog here, and if you're attending the Ultimate Horror Weekend, tell the guys I said "Hi".

Star Wars Celebration V wrapup.

Well, Star Wars Celebration V has officially come to an end. Alex and I had a blast! It was easily the best convention I have ever attended. Besides all the cool, free swag, I took over 200 pictures, and I am showing you some of my favorites. I can't possibly convey the massive scope of the convention, but I'll do my best.

The convention was chock full of vendors, seminars, exhibitions, activities, celebrity signings, artists and lots more. Among favorite things was the costumes. The fans really showed their skill and attention to detail, adding a fun, interactive element to the con. Here are just a few of the ones I saw.

Hmm...an awful lot of metal bikini pictures in here...

Hey, it's Elvistrooper!

Let me think about that, Jar Jar.

Umm..NO.

I think the costumed characters are funniest when they are engaged in the most mundane of activities.

Most of the Stormtroopers attending the show are members of the 501st Legion. According to their legion charter:

"...The Legion is an all-volunteer organization formed for the express purpose of bringing together costume enthusiasts under a collective identity within which to operate. The Legion seeks to promote interest in Star Wars through the building and wearing of quality costumes, and to facilitate the use of these costumes for Star Wars-related events as well as contributions to the local community through costumed charity and volunteer work..."

The 501st had their own room at the convention displaying some of their costumes and promoting their cause. These next pics are from their room.

Several of the international 501st garrisons provided Celebration V with life-size props and environments
The 501st is also in charge of the TK Project. The TK Project is a charity event for the Make A Wish Foundation. The 501st Stormtooper Legion is inviting our Honorary Members, Friends Of the Legion and a few 501st troopers to create one of a kind Stormtrooper helmets. Read more about the TK Project here.

www.501sttkproject.com
Pictured below are just a few of the helmets.

There were many vendors and companies there, but one of Alex's favorites was of course the LEGO booth. Here are some life-size LEGO creations.

There were many seminars as well. Alex and I were so busy, we were only able to attend the Robot Chicken panel. Here's some shots of the hysterical Seth Green.

I have an affinity for astromechs (the type of droid R2-D2 is). There is an astromech building group which also had their own room showcasing their work.

The infamous R2-KT. Read about her touching story here.

This is how I like my Artoo. The grungier the better.

NOBODY puts Artoo in a corner!

A few miscellaneous pics:

I'm with the band.

These pics are from outside the Hoth Ice Bar. I regret not grabbing a drink here.

They even had a speed dating area set up...

I guess the men-to-women ratio at a sci-fi convention is severely skewed.

Although romance was still in the air.

That's the most striking thing I've come away from this convention with; Star Wars brings people together. The Star Wars Celebration was unlike any convention I've ever been to, because of the sense of community and family. The fandom crosses all genders, races and ages.

Its an exciting universe that sparks our imaginations and fuels our need for stories and mythology.
The next Star Wars Celebration won't be for a few years, and it most likely won't be in Orlando. I'm fortunate to have been able to attend and I'm glad I was able to experience it with Alex.