Comics, Comics Everywhere!

Hey everyone! Welcome back!

So this week has certainly been a busy week! We had three events going on, one of which is still on running, in fact!

I mentioned in some of my previous blogs that the Degree Show called 'Show and Tell' is being held at Staffordshire University. Being that I am part of the graduating year in the Cartoon and Comic Arts Degree, I'm one of those taking part there, along with my partner in crime for TanraStudios, Nadia. We spent most of this week preparing for this, making adjustments as needed, waiting for the official print of Dreamwalkers to be delivered, but finally, the first day of the Degree Show arrived, and with it, the open night!

Sorry that the picture is a little bit dark. But can you spot us? Yup, there is Nadia and I in front of our displays, though mostly hidden by our heads and that of guests, unfortunately. Still, we met a lot of people, including the mayor, which was pretty cool. He seemed rather interested too! While the event was certainly an.....uh....interesting experience (though everyone in the class really pulled together! I know a few people were rather impressed by it) there was a lot of interest as well. It was really nice to speak with people about the work we have done.

Dreamwalkers is actually having its first run at the show as well, since the first chapter was also my main project (always good to pick something your passionate about for your final project, right?) so it seemed rather fitting that the Degree Show is where it makes its premiere. 

If any of you are in the Stoke-on-Trent area, the Degree Show lasts until Sunday 19th June, with the Wednesday and Friday of being the days that I'll be helping to run the Display area. It'll be cool to see you!

Still, that wasn't the only thing we've been up to, either! Yesterday we attended a mini convention in Gloucester called 'Mall Con', run by the same guys who ran True Believers that we attended earlier in the year. It was definitely a different experience, since it was actually run in a shopping Centre, so it was free for anyone to come and look around. There was even our very own Super Hero Mascot:

This photo was taken by one of the True Believers team. They were teasing us on Twitter. lol. It was actually kind of funny, as 'True Believer Man' kept making Nadia jump (which made me jump in turn - I don't mind too much though, since I did kind of laugh at Nadia too. lol) though I did kinda feel sorry for the guy, too - it was pretty warm that day!

Still, despite it being a small con, we still got interest. We even had a group that came back a few times to buy badges and our comics too. Not to mention we got to see a few pretty cool people and exchange business cards, funny stories and tips. We even got time to look around Gloucester, too, before we had to come home on the train again - it's a pretty nice area. And believe me, we got to see a lot of it, since google maps on both of our phones seemed insistent on taking us the scenic route back to the station. lol! But we'd love to come visit again! There were a few places we'd love to go.

Lastly, we had an event earlier today in Hanley Park for Big Read, where us at TanraStudios volunteered to help AwkwardBex with a workshop, where kids could come up with wacky comics. Basically, you had to pull out names from a hat - an object, a place and a person/job. These could be pretty silly. I even had a go too! I ended up with a skipping rope, a swimming pool and a wizard. It came out a little awkward (I mean, I've not used felt tip pens in years and will admit I've never been good at colouring with them - I'm better with digital colour. Plus it was a pretty quick thing (didn't take me too long), so excuse the roughness. But this was mine:

See what I mean by random, though? You do get some fun combinations. It reminded me of a project we had to do back in my first year on the Cartoon and Comic Arts Course where I had to do a one cut comic about a farmer, a hotel and a wrench lol. 

Either way, it was a lot of fun! We had a few people come, despite the weather, and they seemed like they were having fun, though! :)

So yes, we had comics galoure this week! And there is still more to come! Especially with the Degree Show still running, not to mention finding out my final mark soon as well! I'm really nervous! Still, I will report all that and more next time!

Until then!

Tara