I’m back from Son of Monsterpalooza 2017 and I had a great time.
First observation: This is by far the easiest convention I’ve done. Easiest setup and breakdown, 20 minute drive to get there each day from home. If anyone here remembers The Borg Cheese Cube (I doubt it) this was such a pleasant experience by comparison.
And of course, I had my wife with me, who also enjoyed it a lot and bought tons of souvenirs for her friends and family.
Bottom line for me: I love the artwork I see at these shows. Two sculptors stand out as favorites — Dug Stanat and Anthony Watkins. Their sculptures are so texturized and detailed and vivid. It’s realism applied to subjects that don’t exist — is that called Surrealism? Their stuff is so expensive (not a complaint, as I am sure they are underpaid for the real work they put in) and I wish I could buy it all. The sculpture by Dug below is my favorite, and all of his stuff is one of a kind, no reproductions. This one, The Dirty Blade of Throule, is only $2500. No biggie.
I plan to sell some of my more mainstream statue collection and buy their (Dug and Anthony’s) stuff. I’d be much more proud to have more original work by independent creators. Check out some of Anthony’s undead orc creatures.
Another sculptor I just discovered this time around was Inga Lena / Absurdery. Looking forward to seeing more of her art.
Honorable Mention goes to Toki Monster, an up-and-coming artist of strange things. She is picking up momentum at these shows and seems to be doing very well with her art. I purchased some of her stickers to send out with my shop orders.
Good news: I met a heck of a lot of people that expressed interest in working with me on their film / animation projects. It was relieving to get so much interest from filmmakers. My straightforward sign attracted exactly the audience I was after. And I only got one “could you turn it down a bit” request later on Saturday night when I had boosted the volume. Luckily I had 70 minutes of music to play for 7 hours a day, so I didn’t need to recycle just a few songs over and over and infuriate my neighbors.
Most awkward and stressful moment: I noticed Richard Elfman (Danny Elfman’s brother, and director of Forbidden Zone) wandering around, so I approached him and gave him my Grand Architects of the Universe CD. He accepted it, shook my hand, and continued on his stroll. I returned to my booth with a flop sweat, but it was worth it. When the hell else would I get such a random opportunity to say hi?
Also just found out that JJ Abrams was there, walking around. Had no clue.
I planned to record several podcast episodes, but the show is so busy and crowded and loud, it’s just too difficult. I did get one hour long podcast interview at my booth with old buddy old pal Jon Schnepp, who updated us on his next Kickstarter project. We also got in an argument about filmmaking, which will all be included in the episode when I release it.
Hey, I also bought a Dracula shirt. I like it.
I’m going to do my best to be at both this convention and also the original Monsterpalooza in Pasadena each year, if I can secure the table space. I have heard rumors that these shows are difficult to get into, and that there is a waiting list, so we shall see. This year I had no problem, but who knows?