Gen Con 2018 - Day 0

Another Gen Con has come and gone in a blink of the eye and we are all left with great memories and a longing for more. Each Gen Con seems to fly by faster and faster and the best laid plans to see everyone and do everything go unfulfilled. That said, we had an AMAZING time! It was so wonderful to see everyone, meet so many new people, see such amazing art, and send some of my art home with folks. My original drawing sale was a huge success and while this was not my best year, it is most likely my second best when it comes to sales. I can not say it enough... it was so great to see everyone and to reconnect with art family. There is never enough time, no matter what you do, so the time we had was a gift. I miss everyone already and hope to see those that I can at IX and will count the days till next Gen Con to see everyone else.

I was clear to me that the winds of change are blowing and I am even more excited and determined to get The Grand Bazaar of Ethra VanDalia completed. I am ready to have the book with me at Gen Con and to be sharing my work with everyone and not just the work I have done for clients. I was invigorated at Gen Con to make my work and to share it with everyone there. More on this soon.

Here are some images and thoughts from Day 0 of Gen Con 2018 that involved travel and set up...

Once again it somehow all fit in the car. This year's challenge was the rain that lasted all morning while I was loading the car.

Passed some sort of mech or Transformer ... or something futuristic post apocalypse war cart.

Another year driving north and another year passing the rocket...

...and the dinosaur.

Made really great time this year and arrived in Indianapolis earlier. It really felt like I beat the surge of people that flood into town on Wednesday.

The table came together well and I was all set to peddle my wares during the best 4 days of gaming!

You never know who will see at Gen Con, like Darrenn Canton on a banner.

That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, see you back here tomorrow for more coverage of Gen Con! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Gen Con 2017 Recap - Day 0

There are back again! Another Gen Con has come and gone and it was another blur of fun and adventure in the artist alley. This was not just any Gen Con, this was Gen Con 50 and it was one for the record books. It was said that there were 75,000 attending every day and on many of the days it certainly felt like they were all in the artist alley. This was my best Gen Con to date and I thank everyone who came to my booth and made that happen. It was great to see so many familiar faces and to meet so many new people. There is definitely an amazing community of artist at Gen Con and I am thrilled to be a part of it every year. As with every year it feel like we have a huge week of convention fun ahead of us and with a blink of the eye it is all over. I will be sharing images and thoughts from Gen Con 50 over the next several days to give you a glimpse of my experiences at a record breaking convention. SO MAY people work tirelessly to make the Gen Con art show what it is and it would now happen without the work of Barbara Fisher, Diesel LaForce, and their awesome team. I am still getting my head around everything that happen over the four days of Gen Con 50, but it was certainly a lot of fun. Hopefully as I write these posts the memories and adventures will come together into a coherent tale. Here are some images from the travel to Gen Con and set up to get things started...

It is always a challenge to get everything into my car for Gen Con. I often think I have brought too little until I try to fit it all in. This time around it was going really smoothly... until the end, where it all went horribly wrong. But it all fit.

I had planned to head to Gen Con, but I was persuaded to go in another route thanks to some extremely powerful marketing.

It would not be a drive to Gen Con without a gratuitous image of the rocket...

...and the dinosaur along the road. I think this was my best image yet of each of them.

Indianapolis was CRAZY busy. This image does not even come close to showing just how much traffic, both on the streets and sidewalks, there was. For as many people as there were, everyone for the most part was well behaved and organized.

The booth came together extremely quickly this year.

It would have been even quicker if I wasn't talking to everyone around me and catching up.

In reality, more and more each year to becomes clear to me that I am at Gen Con to see my art family more than to promote myself as an artist.

A look from the 12th floor of our hotel of the convention center.

Another look at the surroundings. This area is quickly becoming our home base in Indianapolis.

That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, see you back here tomorrow for more Gen Con coverage! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Gen Con 2016 Recap - Day 0

What better time to recap my adventures at an event then over a week after it began and after everyone else has already posted about it. Gone are the days when I had the time or energy to do my recap posts the day after. This year's Gen Con took a lot out of me and we took our time getting home. This longer then normal return plus a VERY full schedule upon my return has resulted in delays everywhere, including here on the blog. I think we can live with this in the long run...

Gen Con 2016 was easily one of my best Gen Cons to date. Sales were great, met lots of great people, and drew a lot of Pokemon. This was the first year that we could take in our own money and it really did make a huge difference. Gone are the days of handing purchase slips over to an interested customer and hoping they return after braving the 2 hour wait in the line for the Art Show registers. Impulse purchases are alive and well in the Gen Con Art Show. I know I would not have sold nearly as much this year if the cashier lines were still in place. Granted, I have to deal with collecting sales tax now and making sure Indiana gets their cut, but it should be a small price to pay see an overall increase in sales.

Got to meet a lot of people at the con this year, some new, some old, and some that I have only known virtually. There is never enough time at Gen Con to see everyone, but we all make the best of it. Even if Gen Con was twice as long their just would not be enough time. When so many great people all end up in the same place at the same time it can be a bit of an overload. There should always be next year and in some cases, there will be Illuxcon.

Here are some images that more or less make up my experiences of Day 0 of Gen Con 2016...

No matter what, it all goes into the car much better at the beginning of the trip then at the end, even though we are bringing less back with up.

Once again, that rocket I pass every year in Alabama.

An unexpected gift in Tennessee. THANKS, SAM!

AND that dinosaur I pass every year. RAWR!

This year we were in the Westin and I love how close we were to the Indianapolis Convention Center. I could keep an eye on Gen Con even when I was a the hotel. I will be making a point to stay at the Westin in coming years, it was so nice to not have to lug all our gear so far.

Oh look.... something I did in 2009 has FINALLY been released!

More on this soon! RAWR!

It was a blur of activity as I set up my table for Gen Con. I forgot to take any pictures during the process, but I took lots of pictures when I finished getting everything ready. Not a bad looking table this year! From the moment I started unloading the car until I got back to the hotel room and was done it took me about 5 hours. I actually kept track this year. I was able to unload the car in only two trips, which is a record for me. All that is left is for Gen Con to start...

That is all for another exciting week on the blog, see you back here on Monday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Gen Con 2015 - Day 0

Gen Con 2015 has come and gone. Another exciting adventure for gamers and monsters. I have returned home safe and sound, though exhausted and needing to catch up on a lot of stuff. It was another great week of seeing friends, making new ones, reconnecting with fans, and meeting new people. There were ups and there were downs, but in the end Gen Con is a ton of fun! Over the next several days I will have for you some images and thoughts from Gen Con 2015. Starting things off is the travel and set up day(s)...

Thankfully my convention gear fits neatly into my car still. I fear for the day it does not! The good thing about doing conventions over and over again is that packing and planning gets a little easier. Once the convention kit is set up it is a lot easier to tweak it and replenish it rather then making it from scratch each time. There are still ways to make it better, and that can only be determined by going to conventions.

Apparently I was not the only one driving north to Gen Con, a whole truck of little dinosaurs were going to Gen Con too. I think...

Another year driving to Gen Con and another picture of the rocket by the side of the road...

...as well as another picture of the big dinosaur by the side of the road.

The bridge from Kentucky to Indiana. Well, it is a bridge that is definitely near the Kentucky and Indiana border. Like the rocket and the dinosaur it is one of the major landmarks for me on the drive north.

Finally at Gen Con! The dear wife could not be there for set up, but there was a facsimile to stand in for here. You can follow the adventures of dear wife over on her Facebook account if you know her. Lugging all the boxes from the car at the hotel to the convention center is a thankless task, but I am glad to have the push cart. It makes things a little less horrible and reduces the number of trips. ...speaking of horrible, the convention center does not have any climate control during set up due to the loading doors being open. While this is not new, the conditions in the main hall during set up were bleak and the temperature was getting a little unbearable. I think we all survived...

My Gen Con 2015 booth is almost set up!

I was about 97% done when I finally had to abandon the main hall for cooler places. Pricing all of the work on the wall and label some drawings was all that remained for Thursday morning. I have learned a lot from setting up previous years and learned more this year. There are things I think I would have done differently in regards to this set up if I had it to do again. I always feel that NEXT Gen Con will be the best, and so far I have always been correct.

Strangely, in the restaurant we had dinner there was an image from my blog from Gen Con 2014. This was not just one of many images cycling out on the TVs, this was a single image that was on the vast majority of the TVs in the restaurant. It just lingered there... taunting me. So many unanswered questions...

Of all the images, why this one?! It was just a random shot and is not remotely a good representation of the art show... or Steve. Did someone Google search "Gen Con 2014" and grab the first image they found? We will never know...

That is all for Day 0 of Gen Con 2015, Day 1 will be along tomorrow! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Illuxcon 7 - Day 0

Illuxcon 7 is here! Wednesday was my travel day to Allentown, Pa and was the set up day for the main show of Illuxcon. While I did not get over to the museum during set up... not that I think I could have gotten in, there was a three hour preview of the show. I am still very much getting acclimated to the new venue. I missed Illuxcon last year expectantly at the last minute, so this is my first time in Allentown and the Allentown incarnation of Illuxcon. So far, I am finding it VERY awesome! There was not a lot more going on yesterday for me then getting to Allentown, finding the hotel and museum, catching up with friends, looking at and buying art, and having ALL THE FUN. I almost forgot to take pictures of things I was so distracted with fun and friends.  I have four days ahead of me to make up for that.

I have a fun day ahead of me, so I will leave you with some images of my adventures arriving to Illuxcon 7...

Gratuitous shot out the window of a plane...

I got a little lost navigating Allentown at first and went every way but the right one trying to find the venue. Luckily my phone saved me.

There we are! That looks like the place I need to be!

YUP! Found it! I have arrived at Illuxcon!

Spent a lot of time hanging out and catching up with Chris Seaman.

My dear wife bought me very very first Omar Rayyan piece. YAYS!

Ended a late dinner with this larger then life nightmare... RAWR!

More images and coverage of Illuxcon 7 to come! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

IT'S OVER 900!

*Insert Vegeta clip here*

While I was at Gen Con the blog rolled over the 900 mark. This is actually the 904th post. How time flies when you are having fun! Thanks to everybody who has stuck with me so far... because things are about to get interesting (hopefully). I am hoping to make an announcement in early October if all goes well over the next month or two. ...but that is a conversation for another day.

Speaking of Gen Con, it was a really good year for us. Being awarded second place in the Art Show for my Yoda piece was a tremendous honor and it still has not fully sunk in, but Gen Con offered up even more. The whole convention felt different compared to previous years. Maybe it was more busy, maybe I was in a better spot, maybe it was because some of my Magic cards are now out, maybe we were firing on all cylinders, maybe all of these or none of these... The entire convention was WAY more fun and WAY more rewarding. If you missed any of my posts about Gen Con here are handy dandy links:

Gen Con 2014 - Day 0
Gen Con 2014 - Day1
Gen Con 2014 - Day2
Gen Con 2014 - Day3
Gen Con 2014 - Day4

Gen Con also say the release of a lot of my work which means I can now start sharing so much of what I have spent the last year working on. To that end, here are some sneak peeks at the work to come! Starting on Monday I should be bringing you new work...

With the 5th Edition Monster Manual now spoiled I will be sharing with you the 18 monsters I redesigned for 5th Edition and the 5 monsters I illustrated for the book! Here is a peek at one of my favorite illustrations (and redesigns). RAWR!

Lots of Star Wars work got spoiled including the very first creature I got to design from scratch for the SW Universe! Here is a peek at its hand. RAWR!

The first of my Kaijudo cards are finally being released! I have three cards in the new set and I can't wait to share them. Here is a peek at one of the cards. RAWR!

That is all for another exciting Thursday on the blog, see you back here tomorrow! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Gen Con 2014 - Day 0

Gen Con is beginning! Getting there is a big part of it and we spread it over two days. I need to get to the hall to finish getting my booth set up, but I do have some images from our drive to Indianapolis. We journeyed north on a new using a new route and it was a lot less stressful and offered up new sites! Here is a visual record of the lead up to Gen Con...

The car is all packed with all the art I can manage... and then some more

That semi offered up more then meets the eye

Then we found a rocketship!

A dinosaur smiled on our journey

The booth before the art goes up.

The boxes are all moved in, but there is SO much more to do.

Here is what the booth looked like by the time we had to leave the hall at 8.

Still a bit to do, but that is why they let us in early the next morning!

A little closer look at on side of the booth...

...and a closer look at the other side.

The catching up and socializing begins!

Four more days of friends and art lay ahead!

RAWR!

That is all for Day 0 of Gen Con 2014! See you back here tomorrow for coverage of Day 1, Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com