I've been very quiet as I've been working hard on creating content behind the scenes to help build up myself as a brand and a content creator. Quietly I was planning and working and however in becoming an independent creator and building an audience I've reached my first set back.
Power-Con 2018
I've been planning on building my audience through the convention circuit and my first goal was to exhibit at Power-Con 2018 in Torrance, CA on August 25 and 26. I've been working on artwork, sample testing products, and waiting for the time exhibitor tables came on sale. When the time came the tables sold out.
Below is a small gallery of some of the artwork I have been working on. The first picture of Battle Cat is the most complete. I was toying with the idea of a border for the art prints. Below him is a work on progress picture of Tyrantisaurus Rex. You can see part of my process which I plan to cover in another blog post. Also included below is Skeletor with a design inspired by the Alfredo Alcala mini comics that were included in the original toy line, Mantenna, and one who needs no introduction, She-Ra with Swiftwind, who will also be part of an upcoming process blog.
Artwork that is not included here are Scareglow, King Hiss, and a pieces that I refer to as "Brothers in Arms" which consists of Ram Man, Fisto, and Man at Arms.
These are all pieces that were in progress for Power-Con 2018. I tell you about all of these for 2 reasons.
One, accountability. I've put it out in the universe and you can see what I've been working on and will continue to work. Masters of the Universe is a passion of mine that was born in the 80's with rich story telling. These are pieces that I will continue to develop. Not getting into Power-Con is a setback on getting these pieces to an audiences however I will still continue to work and offer them on my own web store.
The second reason I bring all of this up is to show you that on the road to becoming an artist things won't always go as planned. What people see when you go to a convention is someone who draws pictures and prints it on to paper to sell. So why do artists charge $15 or $20 for a print? What we see is the time, the frustration, the setbacks, and the hard work and years of passion and technique that is poured into every piece. We have setbacks but it's nothing more than a wall that we have to climb to show ourselves and the world how bad we want it.
So setbacks do come. No matter how bad we want something, no matter how many months of planning, work, and sleepless nights we have, as we work on our days off from out 9 to 5, the setbacks will come. Life will come up put you back down to your knees. It is with this post that I say, and hope to inspire within you, we say "Not today."
-Pat