Updates and The Detroit Fanfare!

Hi all,

Sorry for the lack of updates but I've had some busy weeks with welcoming two new additions to the family. My brother just had his second child, a beautiful girl they named Jenevieve Pearl or "Vie, Vie" for short. My cousin also had his first child, a healthy baby boy named Nicholas Apostole. They've taken to calling him "Stole.

With all the hoopla and baby excitement it's been hard to manage the blogs and keep you posted on my where-abouts. So let's get right to it!

A while ago I had mentioned on twitter that I had a few things to share, I was just waiting for information to come my way so I can give you all the proper details.



On Halloween Weekend I am invited to be a part of the inaugural Detroit Fanfare Convention down in Michigan at the Dearborn Hyatt Regency. That is October 30 from 10am-6pm and October 31 from noon-5pm!


I will be at table 85 with the very talented Mike Roll. It should be an exciting time and please click on the link to see more details and buy your tickets.

If you're in the area, come on by and say hi! And for more news....

Mid Ohio Con 2010

This has got to be one of my favorite cons and I will be attending again this year. The Mid Ohio Con goes from Nov.6-7 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus,OH. I will be at table CC22! I'll be selling my books, a variety of prints, and doing sketches for the weekend. I hope to see you there!!




Click on the banner to find out more!

Recap: 57th St. Children's Book Fair 2010

It was a bit chilly on Sunday but people still came out to attend the 57th St. Children's Book Fair. It was my first time attending so I was a bit nervous on what to expect. I heard someone say it was one of Hyde Park's biggest events and it did show. They had a nice balloon archway to greet you and stage performers and a parade to kick things off.

My brother and his family came down to see me. My niece is super cute and she was dancing to the music they had playing at the festival. Also my coworker came down with one of her friends to see me and they told me how amazing the 57th St. Books was.

As an exhibitor at the event I'd have to say it was a bit underwhelming. The key reason being location, location, and location. The entire event was a stretch along 57th St. and Kimbark Ave. and if you looked at it from above it was kind of a reverse L shape. I was one of the last tables on the end, a bit further from where the main intersection and balloon archway. 57th St. Books being at the central tip obviously drew the most traffic.


Being where my table was, I missed a majority of the people coming in and got a lot of people coming on there way out who have already purchased for the day.

I still made a good chunk of change just a little less than I'm used to. It was a good experience and I was able to talk to some fellow exhibitors and the locals about my books. With the amount of kids that showed up and it being a book fair, I was expecting to connect with the audience instantly. It was not the case, and it seems the comic-con crowd is really where I fit. It doesn't hurt to reach out to a different market. Hopefully with all the business cards and mini one-on-ones I did, I'll see a spike in online orders.


After the fair, Nicole and I checked out that 57th St. Books and it was an impressive book store. There are about five rooms filled wall to wall with books. It was like a cave with each room descending further and further back. If you are ever in the Hyde Park area, you should certainly check out that store. It was hard to walk away and not buy anything. Our post fair dinner was at Giordano's and we ended the night with a trip to Family Video. It was quite the Sunday.

Until the next show!

Special items for 57th St. Book Fair

Hi all!

Just a quick reminder that I will be attending the 57th St. Book Fair this Sunday (please weather, keep the rain away!) and I have some special items that I will be sellin' at the show.

I was informed that the theme for this year's fair is Mystery and Science: What Will You Discover at the 57th Street Book Fair? So I decided to do a special print based on that. I'll be selling these limited exclusive prints for 10 dollars a piece OR free with any book purchase.


57th Street Book Fair Print by ~happyfestivus on deviantART

Also my wonderful girlfriend had the idea to design some bookmarks I can sketch on the back of. So come on down and pick up one of these $2 dollar sketchmarks and you'll get a free doodle done by me!



Once again, here is the link to the fair: http://www.57cbf.org/

The 57th St. Children's Book Fair

Just a reminder:


Click on the poster for more info!

I'll be attending this year!

Buttons!

My good friends over at Mutant Cactus were kind enough to make some When I Was Little themed buttons which I will be debuting at the 57th St. Book Fair this coming September.



And please if you haven't yet, go check out Mutant Cactus, they have some great stuff for sale and even have their own web comic, Blue Collar Invasion!

Thanks MC!

Process: Green Lantern Print

Hello all. It's been a while.

I finished a new print that I'll be having for the Mid-Ohio-Con this November. I've been doing these special When I Was Little limited prints this year for my 2010 con tour. I thought it'd be a cute way to put my own personal spin on well known comic characters and incorporating the idea of my children's book. The response to them have been great.

I have two new ones I want to do for the end of the year which I'll be selling well into my 2011 con tour. One of them is Green Lantern and the other I'm working on is Bat-Girl.

I thought I'd share you my process. I've seen other artist do this and found it interesting to see the layers that go into a finished piece. Here's my take on it.

Whatdya guys think? Click for big!



Starting with top left: rough, inks, flats, shades, highlights, glows, and the Final.

Save the date! On a side note, don't forget I'll be at the 57th St. Book Fair this year on September the 19th. I'll be selling my books and other goodies too (more details to come).