• Lessons

    Artist Alley 101

    This will be part of an ongoing talk about selling in an AA. I have a unique perspective in that I don’t sell traditional art. For those of you new to the blog – I create and sell buttons primarily with text or doodles on them – and I’m known more for my wit and humor than my art skills. Despite (or because of) that, there are many tips and tricks that I’ve learned that I think hold true no matter what you’re selling. I’ve also got over 5 years behind me, and have made friends with a variety of artists along the way, and gotten feedback and tips from…

  • Buttons,  Chatter,  Convention

    Thoughts on Artist’s Alley Pt. 1

    Since I’ve been doing AA’s for, goodness, 7+ years now, I thought I’d share a few observations – These are some of the things that I, as an artist and “business person”, have … wait. I need to cover something first. I frequently hear that if you’re in AA you shouldn’t be running a business because that’s what the Dealer’s Room is for. This is a lame argument from people who aren’t getting enough traffic/revenue/positive feedback at their table. That’s my opinion. Deal. Artist’s Alley exists to PROMOTE and ELEVATE the artist and their work. Presumably, most artists would eventually like to get somewhere with that – be it independently…

  • Buttons,  Convention,  General

    On JAFAX and Future Cons

    Hi all! JAFAX has now come and gone, and again you guys made it a wonderful experience. It was down to hours before to decide if we’d be able to go, since I had had an injury just days prior. On crutches and less than comfortable tucked onto a folding chair you made it worth the trip. Thank you to everyone that came by, and for all the well wishes. Thanks to Brian as always for his understanding, help, and inspiration! NEXT! Our next convention will be GarasuNoShiCon in Perrysburg, OH from July 17 to 18th. Admission is free and I hear they have a FULL artist’s alley. All the…

  • Buttons,  Chatter,  Convention,  Games

    Youmacon recap / End of year ramblings

    Phew – quite the time gap between posts. To quickly fill you in: we decided very last minute to throw together a WEDDING with no budget, little time, and a big dream. That pretty much ate up any spare time we had. It was however a lovely wedding, and everything went perfectly. Not long after we came back from our honeymoon, it was time to get everything together for Youmacon. It was a great weekend, lots of our fan/customers coming by to see the new designs, and a few new people too. I got to draw a squirrel, a goat with a monocle, a wolf, and will forever be haunted…

  • Chatter,  Games,  Go shop!,  Programming

    On Gaming and Games

    I recently heard about a new social site specifically geared to gamers: http://raptr.com/ After poking around and signing up, I found I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a very well made site, and shock of shocks, it works as advertised! You can find me at: http://raptr.com/disjointedimages One of the downsides to developing a game, is that actually getting to play any is difficult. I’ve got quite a few recent and/or soon to be released games that I’d love to sit down with. Hopefully you’ll see my status update as I get that chance, along with further reviews here. Here’s my short lineup: Tales of Monkey Island – C’mon! A new Monkey…

  • Chatter

    Musical interludes

    I added the iTunes widget on the side, because nothing gets done in my office without music. I’ve always been a music lover, one of those choir geeks since elementary school, and yes, I can’t resist belting it out along with the singer. As you can guess based on the list that’s there, I’ve got some wide ranging tastes. One of my favorite radio stations is CBC Radio 2. Though, with the format change, I don’t get to listen to enough of it when I’m on my way to work these days. It’s a station based in Canada, and covers every possible genre over the course of the day. Tom…