Tag: genghis con

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New Ideas All At Once – The Genghis Con Mini Pop-Up Event

pictured is an artist alley table set up at a mini pop up event hosted by Genghis Con. This event happened at Superscript Comics and Games in Lakewood, OH.

This past Saturday, I showcased my work at the Genghis Con Mini Pop Up Event. Being surrounded by comics readers and fans…talking to other creators…it gave me so many ideas, all at once.

It just felt GOOD to be back in the comics scene at a live event.

But How Was the Show?

We got a bigger turnout than expected! I sold out of a handful of small things, like stickers. And The Case of the Wendigo was the most popular book on my table!

I want to give a quick shout-out to my friend Deci Belfry. They designed, printed, AND cut my new business cards. Plus they printed and cut new Mr. Dino postcards for the table! (This reminds me: I’ll be sending a portion of proceeds to Margie’s Hope. They’re a local nonprofit serving the trans and nonbinary community).

New Mr. Dino Postcards! A portion of sales of these will go towards Margie's Hope in Lakewood, OH. On the postcard is a dinosaur holding a transgender pride flag.
New Mr. Dino Postcards! A portion of sales of these will go towards Margie’s Hope in Lakewood, OH
Here's one of the business cards that Deci Belfry designed for me! Pictured is a stylized velociraptor jumping on a business card, with the text "You. Are. Awesome." Below that text is IG: @mrdinoandfriends as well as kelcidcrawford.com
Here’s one of the business cards that Deci Belfry designed for me!

What Kind of Ideas Did I Get?

SO MANY.

I’ve mentioned on Instagram that I have a personal project, called the Character Compendium. I’ve decided that the first batch of compendiums will be zines. They’ll be easier to assemble, print, and share that way (instead of making one large book. The book was the original idea, but zines are faster).

Speaking of zines, I need to give a shout-out to Matt, aka haberfish on Instagram. His perzine inspired me with the idea of a Mr. Dino “anthology” zine. He also makes delightful cartoons, and you should follow his work.

Not only am I thinking of a Mr. Dino perzine…but Matt and Deci gave me another idea…

My personal project, Kitties By Kelci? What if there’s a comic strip with those witch kitties? I will say: if I move forward on a Kitties By Kelci comic strip, they’ll post once a week on my email newsletter. That’s how I first published Thoughtful Dinosaur and Charlie & Clow: The Bonus Arc. I think it’s high-time that another email comic strip happens. Don’t you?

Cool! But Don’t I Have a Lot Going On?

Honestly? Yeah. That’s why I’m going to make some of these new ideas small projects, like zines. (Actually, this ties in nicely to one of my 2021 goals: make more minicomics). Small projects are easier and faster to finish.

When it comes to making and finishing things, I just need to remember: One Thing At A Time. It’s been my mantra for a while now, and I find it helpful in times like this.

That’s all I have for now. Be sure to stay up-to-date by hopping on my email newsletter, where I talk about current and upcoming projects. Like new books.

And be sure to check out Deci and Matt online! I also want to give a shout-out to a few other artists from the pop-up event: Caleb from Village Comics (he has a KickStarter next month!). Lindsey J Bryan. And Quill. (I know I’m forgetting other cool peeps, so tag yourself in the comments).

Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

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Genghis Con 2017

Genghis Con happened last Sunday, November 26th in Lakewood, a suburb of Cleveland.

This was actually my first time in Cleveland, and I had no idea that the city was so FREAKING HUGE.

Genghis Con happened in a building that was once a former warehouse – as such, the elevator the exhibitors used was a cargo elevator.

At least attendees could take the stairs if they were able. I didn’t see a people elevator when I was there.

Anyway! I originally requested only a half table, and I was set to be seated next to my buddy Carlos Rivera, who runs Youngstown Indie Creator Expo (he was going to promote Yo-ICE at Genghis Con). However, he had to cancel at the last minute because of bronchitis. Carlos, if you’re reading this, for the love of Pete, take it easy and take care of yourself.

So yeah, I ended up having a full table.

genghis con 2017 artist alley table

I have this layout down to a SCIENCE.

I would like to tweak the table layout again, though: there are so many small things that it takes a long-ass time to set up, AND a long-ass time to break down everything.

That’s partially why I have a sale going on Storenvy. More on that in a minute.

In terms of sales (and trades – I’m always up for trading books with peeps), the show went well! It wasn’t as successful as the YWCA Mini-Con, but it was more of a success than RathaCon. Still, people got to discover my work and sign up for the email newsletter. Plus I got some cool stuff.

To top it all off, I came across my old caricature buddy, Clarence, from my days drawing caricatures at Cedar Point back in 2012. He invited me over to another caricature buddy’s house for Burger Fest – an annual-ish tradition where caricature buddies get together and eat burgers.

To which I was like “HECK YEAH.”

There’s something to be said about saying “Yes,” to the right things. Don’t say yes to everything (otherwise you’d have some weird experiences, if Yes Man is any indication). It also helps to know what your focus, or as Neil Gaiman put it once, “your mountain,” is. Anything that pulls you away from your mountain does not deserve a Yes.

To me, being in one place with people I hadn’t seen in years just after a good indie comic convention was a good reason to say Yes.

Thank you for reading.

You. Are. Awesome.

P.S. Yes, I’m running a sale on Storenvy – from now until December 18th, you can check out the new Clearance section, where things like mini-prints, mini-comics, and posters are anywhere between 20-50% off. Once these are gone, they’re GONE. So be sure to get them before December 18th.