Holiday Card 2010

Ever since 2006 I've been designing my own cards. What I usually do is draw a Christmas image and find a quote that best represented the image I had in my head. Last year, I designed a card based on my books. As it turned out great and quite humorous, I felt it didn't quite have a Christmas spirit about it as the cards done previously. So I wanted to get back to what I originally did. I had two ideas in mind but at first only thought to do one depending on which quote was the strongest. Luckily I had my wonderful girlfriend find me two great quotes that I was inspired to get both ideas done this year. So some of you will get this:




And the others will get this: http://justincastaneda.blogspot.com/2010/12/holiday-card-2010.html

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! We'll see you in 2011!

Human Centipede Exclusive Print @ Atlanta Comic-Con

If you're heading down to Atlanta Comic Con this weekend stop by and visit table 1105. Drew Blank, writer of Memoirs of an Anti-Hero hit me up with a print based off the disturbingly bizarre horror film, The Human Centipede in honor of the film's stars attending the weekend's convention.

This was such fun to work on! Click for more info on this limited print exclusive to Atlanta Comic-Con:


Human Centipede Print by ~happyfestivus on deviantART

Links:
Drew Blank - Memoirs of an Anti-Hero: http://www.drewblank.com/shop.html
Atlanta Comic-Con 2010: http://www.wizardworld.com/home-atlanta.html

Mid Ohio Con 2010

Mid Ohio Con marks the end of my convention run for the year. Wow, I thought I had a good show last weekend, MOC was just great fun all around and a terrific way to wrap up the year.

This year's show marked the 30th Anniversary of Mid Ohio Con and they really made it worthwhile for the artists. There weren't a lot of Media Guests and dealer shops but a big focus on artists, writers, independents, and comic superstars.

Saturday was a huge success. I probably ended up leaving my table once or twice to go to the bathroom and the rest of the time I was glued to my seat responding to sketch requests.

I think by the end of the day I did about 25+ sketches with another 10 carrying over into Sunday. It flew by so fast! I think posting some of the unique character sketches (at least to me) on the blog, I gotten a lot more of those requests from people at the shows.



I've also noticed that whoever I make my sketch sign of for the weekend, that is usually the most requested character. Hence the army of Iron Men:




Big win for the Pixar prints I framed as within the first two hours, [I think, I have no concept of time, the day was a huge blur of amazing-tude] I was able to sell it.

I seriously thought I'd be taking it home after Sunday.

The only thing that stunk about the show which isn't a real huge complaint, was that I missed 75 percent of the artists/creators who were there. Nic was a real trooper scouting the tables for me and keeping me in the know with what was going on with the show. I was way too focused into drawing to even pick my head up. I tried my very best to meet and greet with all the folks who stopped by the table.

Sunday was nice and light but I was consistently busy. I was able to take some time to meet with some new creators but not really a chance to talk shop. I did get some things signed and met with friends I've made at the show last year.

With the spending spree Nic and I went on last weekend, we decided to put a limit on purchases and instead we focused on getting stuff for other people.

Sunday worked out perfect for me, heck the WHOLE SHOW worked out for me. I am always surprised by the amount of people who dig my work and have a really affection towards the book series. So to all those who got a sketch, prints, or books from me, a big thank you goes out to all.

It was a great time and I hope to do it again, I'll see ya next year. ;-)

Detroit Fanfare 2010

This past weekend I attended the Detroit Fanfare at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn, Michigan.



The Fanfare was a great con for me and quite a fun one. I think having it take place on Halloween weekend opened up the flood gates for creativity on Detroit Fanfare's part. They had a Zombie Walk, a kid's costume contest, charity events, and a well rounded group of artist and creators.

It was nice to walk around and see an enormous amount of talent everywhere you turned. There weren't any ex-wrestlers, porn stars, or tv stars in attendance at all.


This year I shared a table with the very talented Mike Roll whom I met at SPACE back in July. There I picked up Apooka, his Adorable Zombie book. Check out that and some more great artwork here:

Having Stan Lee as your guest of honor really drew in the crowd and the flow of people was consistent. I did tons of sketches for people and met some great new creators and book dealers who were looking to purchase books for the comic shops.


The movie geek in me couldn't pass up the chance to meet Brian O'Halloran, better known as Dante from Clerks and Clerks II. The guy is real nice and very welcoming of the fan appreciation for the work he's done.

On Halloween there were a lot more people dressed up and even some artists passing out candy for the kids. It was a bit slower that day but I did manage to sell quite a few books and sketch some more unique requests like an Iron Fist and a Thanos. The guy who wanted Thanos actually went and bought a comic for reference. I thought that was real nice of him considering he told me he just dropped 2 and a half Gs on an X-Men #1 for Stan Lee to sign.



And the award for most requested character sketch goes to:



The volunteers at the Fanfare were really accommodating, always coming by with snacks and water for the artist. One of the coolest things was that they gave out one of the Fanfare exclusive comic books that they were selling at the welcoming tables.

Overall it was a nice weekend getaway and even nicer introducing my art and the When I Was Little series to a new audience.

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!