Gen Con 2015 - Day 3

Day 3 of Gen Con 2015 was a blur. It didn't help that I was not feeling by best due to a continued lack of sleep. Day 3 was also SUPER packed with people. I have not seen the hall so jammed packed with people. I think some records were broken. I had an early night on Day 3 due to my waning mood. If I was going to make it though Day 4 I was going to need to get some rest and get to feeling better. Day 4 has a way of taking everything that you have and then some more due to having to pack up your booth and getting everything out of the exhibition hall. This required me to take Day 3 kinda slow and not have too much fun. Here are some images from Day 3 of Gen Con 2015...

I for one welcome our new balloon squid overlord.

Beholder sketch on a really big piece of sheet plastic stuff.

Here is is the really big piece of sheet plastic stuff with lots of sketches on them... all for charity! RAWR!

While the rest of us are sitting around, Tom Babbey is making dragons. RAWR!

MORE Star Wars cards getting signed for all your signed Star Wars cards needs.

There was a birthday celebration on the other side of the wall. With party cake and singing!

Some armor stopped by and while others were taking pictures of the front I grabbed a shot of the back of the armor.

A look around the convention during a pause in the craziness of Day 3.

So many people! Day 3 was off the chain.

Looking over the banner to see Ralph and the line that is stretching from the registers.

Day 3 was super busy and the line for the registers was huge for most of the day. People want to get themselves some art.

For some reason I forgot to take a lot of photos of my sketches and drawing on Day 3 of Gen Con 2015. Here is a happy little monster whale that I remembered to take a photo of. RAWR!

Here is an image that my dear wife took. Those mean little bears stole that man's bike.

That is all for Day 3 of Gen Con 2015, Day 4 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

Gen Con 2015 - Day 2

Day 2 of Gen Con 2015! Yes, Day 2 of Gen Con 2015 was a week ago... but Gen Con was exhausting this year and sleep was super hard to get and things like this blog had to take a back seat. Not sure what else to say about Day 2 except I was really tired and there was a lot going on! It was a VERY full day and there was not a moment to spare. ...okay, that reminds me of a funny story of Day 2. On Day 1 exhibitors can get into the hall at 8:00 am with VIGs (Very Important Gamers) getting in at 9:00 am and the hall officially opening at 10:00 am. For some reason this year I had it in my head exhibitors could get into the hall EVERYDAY at 8:00 am... turns out the rest of Gen Con exhibitors get in at 9:00 am. Thinking I was in the right I just walked in past a volunteer watching the door, flashed my badge, and went to my booth. Oops! The hall was strangely darker then normal and there was NO ONE in there. I needed to work on a commission, so it all worked out... but to realize after the fact I could have gotten more sleep... oh well. Here are some images from Day 2 of Gen Con 2015...

The early morning invasion of gamers on the streets of Indianapolis. Or it is a bunch of commuters fleeing for their lives.

A WIP of said convention commission....

...and the finished commission of Godzilla vs. my Gudul Lurker from Magic the Gathering. RAWR!

All ready for Day 2 of Gen Con 2015! Booth survived the first day, more or less.

Day 2 of Gen Con is when I noticed a sudden shift in the cards I was signing. I began to sign a LOT of Star Wars cards and this shift continued the rest of Gen Con. I was really neat to see that my cards are getting so much use and that I am beginning to be know for my work in the Star Wars LCG.

Another sketch on the back of a Magic artist proof. RAWR!

An unexpected surprise! I got to see my Rancor in card for finally! The newest box set for the Star Wars card game, Imperial Entanglements, was released at the Gen Con and I got to see my card when people brought them to me to sign. I am SO happy with how it printed! Really happy with everything about this piece.

Lots of Star Wars cards to sign!

Really like this comparison... side by side is one of my favorite pieces of Star Wars cards, painted digitally and then my very first traditionally painted Star Wars cards. I am really happy about how well they both hold up next to yeah other. Makes me think I am doing the right thing!

Another sketch on the back of a Magic artist proof. This time around a foil Ancient Carp is eating a guy with an afro and a tennis racket... as per the request of the person buying it. RAWR!

A momentary look up from my booth.

Another glance around at the art show.

The playmat drawings began on Day 2. First off was a happy little beholder... RAWR!

I worked on a playmat that was gridded off into six even sections. My contribution was a minotaur. RAWR!

Loraine Flegal made AWESOMELY AMAZING bingo cards for the artists to use during the con. I got bingo twice with my final square. This was a lot of fun and based on 100% truth if you have ever had a table in an artist alley. If I could combine previous years I could have immediately filled out the card.

Here are a pair of modified Star Wars cards I was asked to do... a pair of Snobby White Spiders! A dashing couple if I may say so myself...

I think the male is my favorite, but how can you go wrong with a hat with a veil on the female Snobby White Spider... RAWR!

Ending Day 2 of Gen Con 2015 was the award ceremony and it was thrilling to see Tom Babbey take home Best in Show! Well deserved and a a great moment to share with all the other artist there. A truly great end of the day and a wonderful half way point of Gen Con 2015.

That is all for Day 12 of Gen Con 2015, Day 3 will be along 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 1

The post Gen Con coverage of Gen Con 2015 continues today with the official start of Gen Con 2015... DAY 1! Release the horde! There is something kinda creepy to hear the crowd outside the main hall cheering and stomping to get in as the opening ceremonies conclude. A wave of humanity washes over the exhibition hall when the doors open. Since the art show is on high ground far from the doors we are safe and only receive a splash of humanity at first. All in all a good start to Gen Con! I was ready to go when the doors opened and never looked back. Here are some images from Day 1 of Gen Con 2015...

All set for the best four days in gaming! I got everything priced and I am ready to go. Only thing left to do is survive the next 96 hours...

If I look over my back wall... OH LOOK! It is Tom Babbey! He is doing something much more interesting then me, he is actually painting and making art. I am standing on my chair taking pictures.

Looking out from my booth I can see Tyler Walpole and Chris Seaman. Not bad company for the next four days. Ralph Horsley is to my right as well.

Oh yeah, and Aaron Miller is across from me as well :P

If you look past Aaron you can see the exhibition hall leading off to the rest of the art show and then exhibitors and game stuff. So much to do and we are all at our booths.

It is Gen Con and that means there are cards to sign...

...lots and lots of cards!

Uh oh... Tom is on to me!

You can see behind Tom the line and the registers you use when you buy something from the artists in the art show.

Looking out to my left from my booth you can see more of the art show and then into the main hall. At the far end from me is the Fantasy Flight Games booth. In the foreground in a wild Steve Prescott in his native habitat.

Sketching at Gen Con! First up this year was a wily Owl Bear! HOOT! RAWR!

Never enough Beholders... this one is more of a Gauth. A ball with a mouth and lots of eyes, some of stalks, you can not go wrong!

OH! Signing cards that are not actually Magic cards.

Aaron Miller is so cool he can sit around and play games on this phone and just wait for the shoppers to come to him! :P

Ran into a monster on the way to and from the hotel at the end of the first day of Gen Con 2015. RAWR!

That is all for Day 1 of Gen Con 2015, Day 2 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

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