Azkatraz 2009!

I am leaving tomorrow morning for my first trip to San Francisco! I am PUMPED. I’ll be there for a week. The main reason for my going is that I am attending Azkatraz 2009, the Harry Potter Convention. Yes, I am a nerd. But I really wanted to visit San Francisco anyway AND I was also asked to give a presentation. Myself and a few other artists who were/are fanartists turned professional artists are having a panel called From Fanart to Full-Time. If you happen to be attending the convention, please check us out! We will be presenting at 4pm on Saturday July 18th.

Yes, I was a fanartist. Back in college I used to relax by going home and drawing my favorite characters (and not just from Harry Potter). It was pretty good practice though. Constant drawing along with eventually getting commissions and small jobs from it helped me start learning about the business. We want to give advice to other hopefuls and talk about our creative paths. I’m talking about childrens books and illustration (of course), another panelist is discussing the comic book industry, another computer games, and another graphic and website design, so it will be fairly well rounded. Anyway, here’s one of the old fanarts from 2006. This was actually a commission – Remus and Sirius hangin out in Hogsmeade.

Aside from the convention, I am also planning on checking out Alcatraz, Muir Woods, the Exploratorium, horseback riding on the beach, and many other awesome things. WOOHOO San Francisco!!!!