where: Garden State Exhibit Center, Somerset, NJ

when: June 10-12, 2011

anime next……. it was great…. people are amazing.. staff and buyers.. also my tablemates were really nice.. shinyumbie shared the table cloth and provided me lead so i can continue my commissions.. also for the cute print as seen in the pic at the bottom of this long journal.. and to my other tablemate lossingfeathers who lent me her awesome fan….. it was really hot especially in my hinata cosplay.. =_= but coz of her fan, i felt fresh all throughout the con.. thank u..~ *hugs*

so yeah… first of all, the great difference with americans to canadians from con experience is that americans give tips… and not only a dollar or 5s but 10s to some… XD the biggest tip i got was $14 for something worth $46.. and also, didnt think some people would spend so much like a single person spent $95 for my stuff.. i wish i took a pic of her but she was sort of in a rush.. i really appreciate that she bought a lot despite of the rush… and a few others spent more than $40.. plus the tips…. i never thought i’d get tips… lol…. i have enough change or could’ve given them something worth their tip but i guess they wont have any use for them.. XD so yeah… thats one happy thing… ;p

another thing.. they give free cookies and free popcorn… one guy walking around giving free cookies and one girl cosplaying some character with popcorn.. never heard of such character but she’s giving free popcorn while she’s at it.. XD

if there’s a bad thing about this con, it’s the location… the artist alley is next to a super loud background.. it was really hard to hear myself especially since i have a soft voice… x_x i couldnt even hear myself but i tried… there was a lot of talking too.. >v< but it was fun… there’s one japanese girl named Temaki-chan.. i will remember her name for a long time.. we had a long chat in japanese and i cant believe it went smoothly.. XD i guess my japanese works fine.. and i was told my accent is perfect.. lol… it’s all because of the anime, drama and jpop everyday… XD

anyways… sales went so well.. there’s less people compared to anime north and there’s a lot of down times but i sold out 7 posters out of 10…. sold 8 copies of my manga.. thats more manga sales than anime north.. XD also sold out hitsugaya bookmarks again…. as well as chibiusa, for you and enma ai….. like wow.. my enma ai stuff sold so well…. a lot preferred poster size of it than the prints so i still have 14 prints and i think it’s enough for ai-kon… but i have to order more posters for others and a banner order for a guy named Geof who already bought so much from my stuff almost everyday…. i dont even remember how much he spent for my stuff…. thank u so much..!!

*edit: thank you for this pic.. he even put them in frames.. :D

ah, yes yes… the 30×47 enma ai banner shall be sent to him soon… >v<!

so yeah pics… i was kinda busy working on commissions to take pics of cosplayers but i had a few and failed blurry pics….. OTL

this is shirorogunsou cosplaying Len from vocaloid.. i now have a live reference for my future len fanart.. *^^*
she bought my enma ai bookmark.. and the stress pic in poster size… <3

while im at it, i didnt think the stress pic would sell.. it’s just a face with a bunch of hair.. but some asked for a print size.. unfortunately, it was not meant for small prints.. only poster size and im really satisfied on how the quality turned out… <3 thanks again to snowp for the awesome prints..~ *hugs*

anyway, some people who commissioned me were cosplaying too.. ♥

their happy faces were definitely worth losing some sleep.. XD i wasnt gonna take on the spot commissions coz i was also working on a previous commission but it was kinda hard to say no to the first person.. they were a couple *i assume* and wanted the couple pic as seen in this pic

i even told them i dont have a paper.. i actually have but it was a watercolor paper that i was gonna use to print something to make it look traditional but i didnt have enough time and forgot to take it out in my portfolio showcase.. they came back with a piece of paper and so i finally accepted… there was not much people anyway so i figured i could earn this way too.. and so yeah…. but later on a few more asked for commissions.. i only took 2 more and had the others to leave their address….. in total, i have 7 commissions to do from anime next.. some unconfirmed commissions thru email, 2 from deviantart notes, 3 previous commissions which will be in my gallery this week and a commission to be picked up at ai-kon… woot..~~ i need to plan my stuff for ai-kon…… i might have new prints and bookmarks especially since fanexpo is coming… XD i need to top up my cellphone too coz my balance went down to $2.10 from all the international text messages from commissioners…. i didnt even had a doubt giving away my number…. but that number is my toronto number anyway and i’d change it again when i go home to winnipeg… >v<

anyways… aside from that, i met star petals from theOtaku.. ♥

it might’ve been a coincidence.. i havent been that active in theO but glad she recognized my art and thankful she bought my poster.. *hugs*

also rubberducky from theOtaku but i dont remember her full username nor i have a pic of her.. some subscribers from my website dropped by.. they called themselves allen and crishell <– loving this name…. <3 and also some friends from the forums ginger oil, cracked black mirror and litza…. i wish i took their pics as a remembrance.. but well, some of them expressed their interest in going to fanexpo.. hopefully they will and buy more stuff.. i’ll have new prints by then.. >v<

before this post gets any longer, i want to thank everyone who dropped by my table and bought stuff… *hugs hugs* im really glad i attended this convention and met awesome and interesting people.. i really appreciate u guys buying my stuff.. i now have less stuff to bring home to canada.. =P

now for the loots…

majority of them are in deviantart.. go check them out..~ i missed a couple of bizcards as i just finished cleaning up my room and found a few more but anyways…. there was really a lot of awesome people in the alley and the convention itself…especially to those who noticed me despite my quick walk and said “hi hinata-chan”, “hey it’s hinata” or “hinata~~” when i was cosplaying hinata.. XD i wish i can see the pics they took coz i dont have a pic of myself cosplaying… OTL

and i wasnt able to take lots of pics but u can see some here –> anime next @fb

and so.. once again, thank you.. if u were there and had a chat with me, u know who u are.. i really enjoyed this con though i was basically stuck in my chair doing commissions.. XD but it was a fun and new experience.. hope i can come back next year.. *^^*

*now off to work on commissions* =v=;