Files delivered, proofs approved, the Souvenir Book and Pocket Program are off to press. I've compiled all the files, made low-res exports, and uploaded them to the gallery.

My goal for the Souvenir Book this year was to focus on the general content of the convention; giving information relevant to people new to OryCon as well as long-time veterans. I also wanted to spotlight the people that make OryCon a unique experience; including full color pages for the Guests of Honor, more photos of members throughout the book, featuring panelists by programming track categories, short bios for panelists (if provided), and extended text about charity organizations that partner with OryCon. Listing the panelists by category was new and a ton of work. We didn't have existing reports to create those lists so I had to do a lot of scrubbing manually. In the end, I think it was a pretty neat feature. It looked really good and I hope people like it.

My goal for the Pocket Program this year was to provide a pocket sized book that contains all the details of the convention programming. I wanted the book to be a single source of information to find panels (date/time, location, description) in both grid and text formats; with a compromise between making the text large enough to be legible and the book small enough to be portable. My intention was to make this the book you carried around the con; giving you easy access to hours of operation, quick reference programming schedules (readings, concerts, autographs, panelist locators), maps, fan groups, dealers coupons, policies, and local area restaurant information. I upped the page count (from 80 to 104) and we moved to a spiral binding. It's the cheapest print media we have so I am hoping that more content (like paid ads) can be added to it over the years.

Another success this year was reworking the ad pricing and focus for our printed pubs. I evaluated the purpose of the ads we print (2/3 of our ads are swaps or for charities) and decided that this year our mission is to support the convention community instead of trying to make money. We analyzed the cost per page and set fan/non-profit ad rates to nearly at-cost. As a fundraiser, however, we offered the premium space of our inside front and back cover at a premium price and we sold one! I also created layout options for half page and coupons in the Pocket Program. In the end, even though we cut costs, we nearly doubled last year's ad revenue. Plus, the ads are more focused on the community of the convention.

OryCon needed a generic ad for situations where we're doing a swap but the latest convention information isn't ready yet. I've made this a full page but will also make a half page and maybe a quarter page too. A web ad probably wouldn't hurt as well.

This version of the ad is updated with just a bit of the O37 information we have right now. Photo credit goes to Phil Whitehouse.

It is that time in the production schedule to make ads for everyone. Westercon69 needed a new full page ad to be used for a flyer and I had to create a half page version for the OryCon36 publications. Not exciting stuff but it needs to be done. /smile

The original painting had a wolf howling at the moon. The modification of a Weeping Angel was obvious.

“Fascinating race, the Weeping Angels. The only psychopaths in the universe to kill you nicely. No mess, no fuss, they just zap you into the past and let you live to death. The rest of your life used up and blown away in the blink of an eye. You die in the past, and in the present they consume the energy of all the days you might have had, all your stolen moments. They're creatures of the abstract. They live off potential energy.” – The Doctor

While at the event I was asked "What is that?"
I replied, "A sonic screwdriver."
"A what?"
"A sonic screwdriver. It's from Dr. Who."
"Who?"
"Yes. Doctor Who."
True story.

I went to a painting event again last night. Added my own spin to the painting but had to finish up some things at home because they didn't have small brushes. Can you find the Dr Who reference? 

Adding dots and patterns was my attempt at playing around with a style of folk art I had seen

I needed to make one last ad for our Westercon 69 bid (published in the Westercon 67 program book). I had been thinking about it for days, trying to think of something that would be striking in black and white, use images that we already have, and incorporates our logo. I came up with the idea of using keywords from the website and used one of those word cloud generators to pull text from the website text. I then pared the list down and started playing with the layout. It was a bit of random luck when I placed the logo into the document that it got tossed onto the text and I really liked the moon effect it created.

This was the highlight of my weekend at Norwescon 37. I was invited to the Costumer's Tea Party with Anima! X and not only did she sign my book but she gave us all a backstage tour of the costumes presented in the book. We also talked a bit about my work in the art show and I explained how I was inspired by her work. She loved Fea and said the gown was "beauuuuuuutiful!"

At the end of the art show I discovered that Fea had won three ribbons: People's Choice Best of Show, People's Choice Best Horror, and Best Textile. That was not something that I was expecting. I'm also all out of Fea business cards. It was a very positive weekend for Fea and I.

The Gown of Fea the Soul Weaver is an art project that I completed during my senior year at UWT. I'm pulling Fea out of storage and will be displaying her in the art show at Norwescon37. Why? Because Animal X, a costumer who created a costume that was inspirational to the creation of Fea is going to be a guest of honor at the convention. <fan girl squee!>

To celebrate Fea's public showing I've been freshening up the content on this blog; including a couple of new images for my Pinterest albums. My gallery has all the photos of Fea posted as well as a PDF of the complete story.

All the posts about Fea are available in April 2008 section of this blog. Enjoy!

It's bigger inside the painting.

Went to one of those hosted painting events where they supply paint, canvas and instructions. It was seriously fun to kick back and follow along! The event was hosted at a restaurant/bar so we were able to get drinks and snacks while we painted. Good times.

“In the Vortex that lies beyond time and space tumbled a police box that was not a police box.”
― Doctor Who