"No. Not even in the face of Armageddon. Never compromise."-Rorschach, Watchmen novel (1988)
So,
I dressed up as everyone's favourite inkblot-mask-wearing psychopathic vigilante and waltzed off to the armageddon expo I was
so unsure of. Here's my summary...
This was the first time I've ever cosplayed", and the reactions I got were generally very positive. Several watchmen fans wearing the comedian's blood-stained smiley badge (anyone know where I can get one of those?) and many others enjoyed seeing someone emulating a character they enjoy. One guy I talked to told me he'd made a rorschach costume too but didn't wear it because his parents were embarrassed

I must have posed for at least ten photos in the first three hours. Anyone who's met me in RL knows how shy I am in person, so it felt bizarre getting so much attention. It was nice to entertain people though

At 12:00 my girlfriend had finished shopping and went home since she was now bored. I changed out of my costume and washed the ink that had leaked from my mask off my face. Now out of character, I went to the dA stand and hung out with ~
spikeyheadedfreak as he drew "a demon being impaled from behind" as per request of a rather violent 12 year old.
I set up to sell some 6x4 prints of some of my best works. At just $1 a piece (most likely the cheapest thing being sold at armageddon) and with some quite genuine interest from the patrons, I was very disappointed that not one of the 100 prints I had made got sold. In hindsight, I should have kept with the theme of the event and made more sci-fi and fantasy art to sell, but I was hoping to add some variety to the dA stall, and represent some photography and digital art beside the drawing, anime, inks and paints of the others.
On the topic of selling art, I saw some neat New Zealand comics and publishers but didn't really discuss the industry or art form with them. I also noticed that mass-produced artwork posters were
selling for two-thirds of the price it would cost for an average artist to merely get their work
printed. If anyone knows how Victoria Frances gets such unashamedly dirt-cheap publishing, I'd be interested to know.
My failures as a professional artist aside, I also hung out with =
HyperCannon (who was rather amused by my costume) watched Hulk vs Thor (not that I care much for either character) played Secret Agent Clank (typically awkward as any PSP game), killzone 2 (fairly enjoyable, but not the halo-killer Sony is desperately hoping it to be), and finally failed epically on drums for Guitar Hero World Tour (essentially "Band Hero" with its multiple instruments).
I must say that overall I was a little disappointed by this year's event. As I mentioned in my previous journal, many of the attractions didn't appeal to me, none of the celebrity or panel guests interested me, I had no playing cards for the competitions (and didn't find out about a "sealed deck provided" contest until too late), and the films and anime being played were average at best. Fortunately, it was not as over-crowded as last year, but neither was it as eventful or enjoyable.
My final message to the organisers: try the food you give away in the goodie bags before you endorse it. That instant macaroni is atrocious.