With barely enough time to catch my breath from Magfest, Interrobang Studios put in an appearance at Gigacon, a small arts & animation show put on by the Art Institute of Washington. We made quite a splash. Watchbabies and Spinks in particular were a big hit with students, staff, and guests alike. I got to chat with a lot of seasoned pros of the animation and design business as well. Most notably...

Sam Ellis -- Got to talk to him about pitches for television and stuff. He ran a demo on putting solid pitches using sequential art. He's done on a lot of comic work as well as some "Adult Swim" projects.

Garette Johnson -- A fashion designer and illustrator. She had some very lovely watercolor work on display as well as some pretty sick "My Little Pony" designs. I was bummed I missed her watercolor demo. *sigh* Maybe next year....

Massa Kuwana-Muelhaupt -- An animator from New York. She also had some nifty knitted gear at her table. She was very nice and even came by the booth to buy a couple Spink books.

Joe Weatherly -- An INCREDBLE fine artist specializing in drawing/painting animals. His was another demo I sadly missed, but I was able to pick up his book, The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals.

David Colman -- Speaking of amazing animal artists, I DID get to sit in on David's demo on shape exploitation and WOW! did I get some useful info out of it. Picked up his book as well, The Art of Animal Character Design, and haven't been able to put it down since I got home. He's done a lot of feature film and TV work for Disney, Blue Sky, Cartoon Network, and Fox. And he's a very fun and personable guy to boot! (of course, pretty much everyone was)

Thanks and cheers to all the guests and staff--especially to Fenia Norville, who invited us to the con, and Bryan Tillman, who put it all together and ran one heckuva tight ship. Next year, Gigacon plans to expand with more space and guests. We've already been invited back for that show, so expect more info on that as things begin to take shape. I, for one, am really looking forward to it.

Next up, I'll be prepping for the Society for Children's Book Writer's & Illustrators Winter Conference in New York City. I'll be participating in the portfolio exhibition as well, so that's where most of my concentration will be in the coming month.

Good times!

...and boy, are my arms tired! Wait, no...

Magfest was a video game & music festival held in Alexandria, VA over the weekend. Interrobang Studios was there in full force and I was at the table taking commissions for attendees. This was a VERY fun convention. I met some great people, bought some awesome swag, and did artwork up the WAZOO! If you'd like to check those out, some of my favorites are in my Commissions Gallery on Deviant Art.

Magfest was also a great convention for buying old games dirt cheap! For under $50, I scored...

-F-Zero (SNES), sealed and in box

-Willow (NES)

-Dick Tracy (NES)

-Super Mario 2 (NES) Couldn't BELIEVE I didn't have a copy of this already.

-Bad Dudes (NES) to replace my broken copy

-Dance Aerobics (NES) because DAMNIT, I need more games that use my Power Pad

-Monster Party (NES) Quite possibly the most BIZARRE platformer I've ever played

-Two different Ranma 1/2 Gameboy games (one with box and manual)

-Haunted Junction (PS1)

-Holy Strikers (Super Famicom) Crazy fantasy rpg/soccer game

-Super Mario Kart (Super Famicom)

-Popeye RPG (Super Famicom)

Wonder Project J (super famicom)-Looks awesome, but need a translator to actually play it. X_x

-a couple other Super Famicom games I don't know the titles to (including the most goddawful fighting game ever)

-Go Go Ackman! (Super Famicom) My favorite from the lot. Akira Toriyama-designed devil boy punching angels in the FACE!

On top of all these sweet buys, Magfest also had an EPIC game room and I got to try a lot of awesome titles I would not have had access to otherwise. Of course, there were arcade machines set up, a lot of bad-ass bands playing, tournaments, and even treasure chests around the con for attendees to exchange loot. All in all, a phenomenally fun-tastic show. If you're in the DC area and LOVE video games, I highly recommend you attend next year.

Mad props to the most excellent con staff I've ever worked with and shout-outs to all the fans and fellow artists I got to meet. Don't be strangers now. I love hearing from you all.

Take care, gang!

Hey gang!

After a long and mildly dreadful moving adventure, the Kevin is now in Baltimore city proper and BACK ONLINE! WOO!! Which means I'm catching up on projects and updating the comics section again. Also, I'm prepping for our last convention of the year, namely Anime USA this weekend in Crystal City, VA. After that's wrapped up, I'm hoping to get around the the long-awaited convention photo post I keep promising you guys. Soon! I swear! X_x

In other news, the fine folks at the Greenbelt Arts Center are presenting "The Cartoon Art of Kevin Bolk" exhibition now through Dec. 19th. They're displaying original comic art from the "I'm My Own Mascot" comic strips, as well as selling signed art prints and other goodies. They're also running "Little Shop of Horrors" for which I had the honor of doing the art design. That's running for another two weeks, so be sure to get down there and check it out. It's an AMAZING show and a lot of fun.

Well, I think that covers the big things. Enjoy the new comics and I'll talk to you guys again in a few weeks!

Until then...!