SGIS Con 6: Alert

Go read H4773r's post.

http://elfson.blogspot.com/2011/07/sgiscon-6-alert.html

The D20 Girls Project

(photo courtesy of The D20 Girls Project Facebook)

So I've become involved in a new project. Specifically, The D20 Girls Project. I stumbled upon the D20 Girls Project FB when searching for geek gamer girls. I liked what they had to say about promoting geek/gamer girl awareness in the world and signed up. My first gig with them was at Wizard World Anaheim Comic Con. It was quite exciting because we got to help judge the costume contest.

In the last month or so I've been promoted from D20 member to D20 Assistant Manager of California to D20 Manager of California. It was rather unexpected and right now I'm focusing on organizing myself and the girls under my charge.

Honestly, I joined because I wanted to meet other girls with similar interest and possibly get into cons for free. Now I get to be in charge of setting up which California cons we go to and promoting the con and ourselves.

Photos from my D20 Photo Set (photos courtesy of Lisa Duarte)

 
 

Our Mission Statement/Purpose:
"The D20 girls try to promote a very positive image of female gamers, We break down stereotypes, we aren't barbie dolls, we don't come in one size, and we don't come in one shape... We are Gamers, and yes Girls Game Too!

The D20 Girls is a semi-unique business that combines Social Networking, Talent Management, and Event Services. Yes, there is a business angle to what we do, but we also push the social aspect much needed in the industry.

We also arrange with manufacturers, publishers, and conventions to use our girls as trade show models and spokes models at gaming and fandom related industry conventions across the US.

Why? Our project is crucial, because the gaming industry and related fandoms should be promoted by girls who are actually a part of it – NOT over-paid models who know nothing about the industry, or the people who are a part of it."

So, if you're a female gamer/geek over 16 years of age and want to meet more girls like you and go to cons for free please apply here. If you're a vendor/exhibitor and want a booth model with brains and knowledge and/or a customer service/sales representative please contact me. Or if you're in charge of a con and want the D20 Girls to help promote as a street team please contact me. Also, the D20 Girls are looking for advertisers and writers for our upcoming magazine. Advertisers should know that our magazine is distributed to over 3,000 people.

So yeah, we're a pretty awesome group and I'm excited to see what I can do with California cons next.

AM^2: Was It Successful?

You'll honestly have to tell me. As I was unable to attend AM^2, I have no idea if I would have called it a successful venture. A friend of mine who attended said they succeeded in going 24 hours all 3 days but the con felt "small," especially in comparison to AX.

Chase Wang seems to feel that his venture was a huge success, touting 8,000 attendees showed up for the weekend. Ref. It certainly sounds as though AM^2 will push for another showing next year, although this has yet to be confirmed (as opposed to AX which is already offering badges for 2012).

Again, I can't express how much Wang will choose a different weekend. Even if AM^2 remains free it will still cost gas/mileage and extra parking fees to attempt to attend both cons. Anaheim is close to Los Angeles, but not that close. Also, I would want to fully enjoy both cons and not feel like I'm some child picking a side of who I like best. It feels...unfair.

Original thoughts on AX vs. AM^2 here (includes background info on AM^2).

San Diego Comic Con and Gam3r Con

I'm sure the entire geek world knows that San Diego Comic-Con International is this week. In fact, people have already started lining up. Ref. Many of my favorite comic artists, webcomic artists, bloggers and movie industry people will be making appearances. Unfortunately I will not, as I will be performing in Godspell Jr. But there are a number of excellent resources available for those attending.

I recommend following these twitter accounts:
Official SD Comic Con (the Offical SDCC twitter)
SD Comic Con (a SDCC blogger with great info)
Comic Con Blog (a Comic Con blogger)
Pop Culture Geek (an amazing photographer-it's where my profile pic comes from)
Crazy 4 Comic Con (I really like his packing list on his website)

Also, the SDCC website offers some great information, including a food guide, a customizeable schedule and parking/shuttle info.

Personally, here is what I'm sad I'm going to miss.

Thursday:
Comic Book Law School 101: 'C" Is For Creator (and Copyright!)
The Evolution of Web Series: The Guild to Dragon Age

Friday:
The Big Bang Theaory Screening and Q&A
How to Create an Effective Pose for Paneling and Illustration
Eureka

Saturday:
Attack of the Show! Attacks Comic-Con
Digital Disruption: Comics, Webcomics, and the Business Model of the Future
Webcomics Weekly Live!
The Penny Arcade Q&A
Mythbusters
Masquerade

Sunday:
Full-Time Creative Work on a Part-Time Schedule

Comic Artists/Really Cool People that I Would Love to Say Hi To (If you <3 my blog I don't mind gifts of autographs, merch, and doodles from artists.):
Emi Lenox Creator of EmiTown
Jennie Breeden Creator of The Devil's Panties
Raina Telgemeier Author of Smile and artist of The Baby Sitter's Club graphic novels
Danielle Corsetto Creator of Girls With Slingshots
Scott Kurtz Creator of PvP online
Bryan Lee O'Malley Creator of the Scott Pilgrim series
Kris Straub Creator of Starslip
Dave Kellett Creator of Sheldon Comics
Jeph Jacques Creator of Questionable Content
Vera Brosgol Creator of Anya's Ghost
MC Frontalot Godfather of Nerdcore
Felicia Day Awesome actress and creator of the webseries The Guild
Wil Wheaton Awesome actor and author
Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik Creators of Penny Arcade and PAX
Geek Girl Diva Awesome blogger
Anthony Lee Winn Comic Artist currently working on the Stripperella comic

Brad Guigar Creator of Evil Inc.

Edit 07/20/2011:

While I scoured the internet to see which of my favorite people were going I still managed to miss a few. So I would also like to include

Scuttlebutt, Inc Creator of adorable fan badges and Mahou Shounen Fight

Katie Shanahan aka KtShy Creator of Shrub Monkeys

Hope Larson Creator/Author of Chiggers

Claire Hummel Awesome artist

Ethan Nicolle Artist for Axe Cop

So, perhaps you didn't get badges to SDCC this year, but plan on going downtown and people watching. While you're there you could also check out Gam3rCon. Gam3rCon is a new con looking to revive the gamer presence that seems to be lost at SDCC. They have some other fun things set up besides games, such as GAMERS (a geek play), Dr. Horrible Sing-Along and Repo! with shadow cast, Elective Surgery. As well as a few panels and Rooftop Parties. Tickets are super cheap and this con will continue after SDCC shuts down. Please check them out if you're in town.

The Bitchin' of Blogging

Hey guys,

Sorry the posts haven't been coming along as quickly as they should have. I have posts in queue about Fanime, AM^2 vs. AX, and my experience at AX. Part of the problem has been for both Fanime and AX I was too busy to really enjoy the con. It actually makes it difficult trying to discuss my experience. I'm trying to finish up the AX post as quickly as possible and it should be up in the next week. Followed by Fanime. I might just abandon my thoughts on AM^2 vs. AX, not sure yet. But here is the update/apology before the posts.

T1nk C0n FaIrY

Anime Expo: Recap

There were a number of panels/programming I missed that I would've liked to have seen.
Such as:
Acting Like A Pro
The Copic Beginner Workshops
Storytelling in Comics: From Writing to Penciling to Coloring
Getting into the Animation Industry
AX Idol
Gallagher
Masquerade
Maid Cafe

As you can see I'm into comics and animation so really at any con this is what will appeal to me most at a panel. I have a soft spot in my heart for AX Idol because a dear friend of mine, Julie Rei Goldstein, is a former AX Idol winner. Gallagher would've been interesting, I think. I've been a Megatoyko fan for awhile now. The Masquerade is always an event, especially if you're into cosplay. And I have yet to go to a Maid Cafe and am super intrigued.

There was also stuff I didn't mind missing, mainly, the Miku concert. I'm not a huge Vocaloid fan and really don't understand it's popularity. I am fascinated by the technology but didn't want to pay an extra $15 to gaurantee a seat or stand in a line. Just not my thing. Actually, I don't usually see any of the concerts at anime cons. Again, not my thing.

Midnight Tea, actually I would've loved to go if it was an actual tea. But looking at fake tea settings just isn't for me.

So I had originally planned to take some time this weekend to check out AM^2. Obviously that didn't happen. I did get some feedback from CJ who went. I was told it's basically open almost 24 hours, similar to Fanime, and was very small. I do hope AM^2 will be around next year, hopefully not during AX. I'm sorry but I have to give priority to AX AND I don't want to commute back and forth between the cons.

So yeah, that was AX for me. I wish I had more to say about panels and programming and that will definitely be a goal of mine next year.

Anime Expo: Day 4 (aka Happy Fourth of July)

Mood: Are we done yet?

Another early morning. I had some major D20 Girl business to take care of and was pretty damn pissed when I realized the Starbucks was closed because it was a holiday. Luckily the L.A. convention center has a Starbucks and my coffee was slightly cheaper. Unfortunately I had to make do without internet for the day. (One of these days I’ll a nice smartphone.)

Today’s outfit is what I consider “lazy cosplay”. I don’t own an actual gothic Lolita outfit, yet, so I improvised with some cute black and white pieces from my own wardrobe. Also, I knew I would be helping to break down the booth so I didn’t want to wear anything super uncomfortable/constricting. I also brought my only pair of sneakers to wear as soon as the con was over.

(photo courtesy of T1nk) Me working at Anime Gift.

Today the con went pretty quick. We tried hard to sell as much as possible, not only to make money but everything that wasn’t sold would have to be shipped back to North Carolina, where Anime Gift is located out of. The breakdown took longer than I thought it would because everything that was torn down and repackaged had to be dragged across the hall to the main booth. Luckily, there was a small dolley. Joe was kind enough to let me take home some merch as part of payment and doing an awesome job. Sweet!

We finished breaking down by 4pm-ish and then I changed into jeans and a t-shirt for the long ride home. H4773r and I pretty muched just left the con at that point and headed home. I had told H4773r I would need to try and find internet access somewhere along the road. I figured it would be easy enough to find a McDonald’s or Starbucks and get some work done. We stopped first at a McDonald’s near CalArts, and surprise-surprise, the stupid internet there wasn’t working. So back in the car and further down the road we stopped near Tejon Pass. I really, really wanted Chipotle and knew there was Starbucks and McDonald’s in the lot. But Chipotle was closed. So we ate the McDonald’s and AGAIN the internet there didn’t work. I finally gave and walked across the lot to Starbucks and used their internet. Starbucks, I love you.

That was pretty much the last stop for the night. I managed to stay awake and keep H4773r company and we made it into San Jose at about 1am.

Anime Expo: Day 3

(photo courtesy of T1nk) Food court before the Exhibitor Hall opens.

Mood: In Pain

Today I wore my American McGee Alice costume. I actually saw quite a few ladies dressed up as the classic American McGee Alice. I had not seen anyone with any of Alice new costumes from Return to Madness. This one amazing girl had the horse rook as a prop.

I was in a bit of a panic this morning because I had not prepped from the night before. I still had breakfast to make, lunch to pack, and get to the Starbucks to get my caffeine and internet fix, as well as send out a fax. I was surprised/relieved when I managed to get it all complete and still get to the con early. As a note, the Westin does have a “24 hour” Fed Ex service center. It’s a 24 hour set up for internet/computer use ($0.40/minute for internet; I don’t remember the prices to use the Business software), fax machine and photocopier. I didn’t get the photocopier price but it was $2 a page for faxing, not including the cover page (ouch). I’m sure there was a FedEx/Kinko’s within walking distance from the hotel that probably had cheaper rates, but I ran out of time to search for that kind of information.

Since I arrived at the Exhibitor’s hall earlier than before I wandered around to check out all the Exhibitor’s and some of the Artits Alley. I saw many things I wanted to buy, but only purchased some new kneadable erasers from DickBlick, who were kind enough to sell them to me even though they weren’t officially open yet. In the A.A. I saw Nigel Slade, but didn’t stop to say hi (H4773r had already contributed to his rum fund from the both of us yesterday). I did manage to find Mary Cagle and say hi and give her a very small donation. She was set up right next to Kelhound, but Kel wasn't around yet. I also didn’t stop to see Fred Gallagher which was a bummer.

Today's highlight at Anime Gift booth was watching the G4 crew hanging around the booth across from me, Panda Hat. Panda Hat had also hired a couple of booth models that wandered the floor in their outfits and passed out stickers. Candace Bailey was there and soon a huge crowd surrounded the booth as Candace and the models began to make some mischief and have fun. I was a bit bummed I couldn't talk to the G4 crew or Candace, but there's always another con.

I decided today I was going to stick around and do SOMETHING at the con, other than work. H4773r and I ended up watching some more anime. This time: Utena and a few episodes of Corpse Princess. Both of which I enjoyed. After the anime we decided to head back to hotel since it was getting late and we wanted dinner.

LisaLisa and Rabbit had gone to Disneyland for the day so H4773r and I were left on our own for dinner. The plan was to check out the hotel food court to see if they had any good options. For some reason I got confused and ended up on the wrong floor, where we found a Subway but that was it. The actual food court was two floors down. The Subway guy saw us standing outside and told us to hurry up and come in if we wanted food since they were closing. Honestly, neither of us really wanted Subway but we figured it was the only thing open at this point so we went in. I had my delicious veggie patty and H4773r had a fiasco, not really. Essentially everything H4773r wanted they were out of. EVERYTHING. Eventually H4773r gave up and had the Subway guy just make him whatever sandwich he suggested. I felt bad, but it was all still delicious, so not too bad.

Since tonight was our last night in the hotel, I spent my evening packing up everything. The plan for tomorrow is H4773r will check us out and then park in the lot across from the con. When I'm done with my day tomorrow we'll head straight home.

Anime Expo: Day 2

Mood: Exhausted

I woke fairly early again and got dressed, again, in my Pikachu outfit. I felt super tired and stopped by the same Starbucks as yesterday for a coffee pick me up and to catch up on some business. This Starbucks is turning out to be my savior.

(photo courtesy of T1nk) The hall before it opened for the day.

I actually took the shuttle this morning to the con since I managed to get up early enough not to feel rushed. I ended up sitting next to a lady who was volunteering at AX. She said the parties at the hotel last night were pretty amazing. I wouldn’t have minded going to one, but having to get up early and work just wouldn’t have been conducive. The shuttle wasn’t too bad. It felt pretty organized today with a volunteer directing people standing in line. They had two different types of shuttles running: the tourist buses and school buses. The school buses were awful. There just isn't much room on them and they're built for smaller people so you end up with a seat belt buckle in your ass.

Since I managed to get to the hall a little bit early I used the time to wander a bit and check out some of the vendors. It's a bit nice to see everything without all the crowds, of course since I was early I couldn't buy anything.

I thought I would have another D20 girl with me today, but alas, she was working at the other Anime Gift booth across the hall. So it was me and "mom" again. I also brought my bento lunch like I planned. Things went smoothly enough, although since it was Saturday it was insanely busy. I hardly had a moment to sit down. My next goal is to come up with cosplays with comfortable shoes.

I finally got to meet my new D20 girl at the end of the day. Scarlet is bomb and absolutely adorable. After finishing up business in the Exhibtor’s hall I tried to be a trooper to catch either a panel or some video programming, but I didn't have the patience to wait in line. My feet just hurt too damn much. We decided to call it a day just to head back to the hotel, get dinner, and sleep. We still had to wait for the shuttle to pick us up, but at least I got to sit down.

Back at the hotel it was decided that we should order pizza. Yumm!!! We ordered online from Domino’s and they delivered right to our hotel room. It was awesome. We spent the rest of this evening giggling and watching more Hetalia.

Anime Expo: Day 1

Mood: Nervous

So up at an ungodly hour, for me anyhow. I wanted to impress Joe, the guy I would be working for today, so I decided to wear my Pikachu Gijinka cosplay. I also had to get some work done so I walked on over the Starbucks across the street for internet access. So far I have found four Starbucks within walking distance. Almost every building here has a Starbucks inside it (it most likely has to do with being in the heart of the financial/bank district). The Westin does offer wifi but at the cost of about $12.95 per day it’s just not in the budget. Unfortunately the Starbucks wifi wasn’t the best (also my netbook decided it was time to update EVERYTHING!) so it took forever for me to get shit done. But I managed.

I hate being late and started to worry that I would be late for my first day. When I finished at Starbucks it was only about 9:30am and I though I would take the free shuttles being offered by AX. But then after waiting for 15 minutes with no shuttle in sight and no idea when it would arrive I started to panic. Luckily H4773r was with me and offered to just drop me off at the con, which worked out perfectly. I got to the con earlier than I expected and tried calling Joe since he had my exhibitor, but he didn’t answer and I left a message. I attempted to wait up by the exhibitor hall entrance but con ops was trying to organize things and eventually I had to leave. Turns out I had the wrong number for Joe. I called the right number, but Joe still didn’t answer and I left more messages. Turns out he couldn’t hear me over all the noise but we still managed to meet up before the hall opened.

(photo courtesy of T1nk) AX Expo Hall before it opened.

Joe got me settled at one of his two booths, Anime Gift. I worked at the one nearest the front of the hall with his sweet mom. Seriously she was so nice. Since we were short once person we worked our butts off pretty hard and slammed until about 4pm-ish. The booth sells a wide collection of small plush, collector swords, character beanies and some other anime kitch. I was a bit bummed I didn’t get to wander the hall at all and examine the other exhibitors, but I came to work. I do hope I’ll get some time this weekend, but no gaurauntees. My work consists of customer service and sales. Essentially I’m being played to dress up and help sell items, you know collect the cash, make change, sales stuff. Which is fine by me since that’s where I’ve spent most my realm working in. I was thrilled when a couple of people asked for pictures of me.

(photo courtesy of T1nk) My view at the con.

Since I'm working all day and we didn't bring a lot of money I am bringing my own lunches with me to the con, for the rest of the weekend. I have some adorable bento boxes from LisaLisa and just bring them with me. The boxes are perfect for saving money at con. Today however, H4773r brought me a sandwich from the Quizno's that's located right inside the Los Angeles convention center. The L.A. con center has the standard range of con food for vegetarians: salads, pizzas, and maybe a sandwich. Aside from the Quizno's there is also a Starbucks and some food carts that sold Mexican food, Chinese food and smoothies.

As soon as my day was done we headed back to hotel to relax and get dinner. I was just so wiped out from my day I didn't have the energy to stick around and look at programming. Also, since I didn't get off work til the Exhibitor Hall had closed, most of the panel programming was already finished for the day.

H4773r and I caught a shuttle back to the hotel. The shuttles were organized fair enough, but since the Exhibitor Hall had just closed the lines for the shuttles were pretty backed up and we had a bit of wait before getting onto one.

Back at the hotel we got stuck in the elevator. Luckily we were still on the lobby level and H4773r totally handled everything like a boss. We didn’t wait too long in there so it was ok. LisaLisa was kind enough to make us some dinner; she brought this neat hot pot water boiler thingy and we had pasta and wine! We took a mini adventure to an underground food court, City National Plaza, in search of utensils, since we forgot them. We managed to find a convenience store that had bowls, but no utensils. LisaLisa ended up asking the Weiland Brewery for take out utensils which they kindly gave us. In return we’re going back tomorrow for a beer. We had a nice dinner and watched a few episodes of Hetalia and Black Butler.

I expect tomorrow to be another long day. But that’s ok because it’s what I’ve signed up for and I plan on getting to eat a bit more to keep up my energy. AND I’ll have another D20 representative with me.