Welcome back to reality... I wrapped up my annual pilgrimage to IlluxCon yesterday, in a dramatic fashion I might add. With people screaming in the plane as we went through extreme turbulence. I'm a bit of adrenaline junkie and actually found myself enjoying it. Yep, I'm kinda stupid that way I admit. I've said it before, but it bears repeating, if I had to choose only one event that I could attend it would have to be IlluxCon. I found myself explaining that statement a million times during the event, let me explain it one more time. I attend conventions for three business reasons, and two personal reasons. Business plan: 1. To find new talent. 2. To reconnect with my existing pool of artists. 3. To have conversations with the best talent in my field (that I can't afford to work with). Personal plan: 1. Renew friendships. 2. Pick up some art. When I scan the list of cons that occur through out the year.
IlluxCon is the only convention that hits all of those goals. So, when I have limited travel funds I will always prioritize this event on that basis. I ended up having a similar discussion with Raphael Horsley from NewsBite concerning how he chooses the conventions he attends. If memory serves me, his list went something like this: 1. Maximize sales / commission opportunities. 2. Reconnect with artists. 3. Making new contacts for future work opportunities. His list, as an artist, was quite different from my art director list. It just points out the different reasons that each of us attend events. If you've got a limited travel fund (don't we all?), take some time to evaluate your reasons for attending an event, and then do the research to find an event that will maximize your expenditure. Let me take a moment to wander down memory lane and talk about a few of the highlights of my trip...
I got the opportunity to sit down with three of my mentees! I really enjoyed the time we got to spend together and talk about where you are at, where you want to go, and how you want to get there. I'm truly excited to have the opportunity to work with these folks. And as an aside Micah, your illustrated native american story took my breath away. I can't wait till my luggage catches up with me so I can share it with some of my friends and colleagues. Breakfast with Robh. I don't mention this for any other reason than to highlight the fact you can develop some great friendships with folks you meet at the events. I don't know about you guys, but I spend the rest of the year looking forward to the opportunity to reconnect.
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