This was the year that went way, way too fast. It was not the best Anthrocon I've had (mostly for personal reasons rather than anything that did or didn't happen at the convention), but it ended on a beautiful high note and was well worth attending. My gratitude goes out to so many people, from the staff and volunteers to all the friends and fans of my work who contributed to my experience this time in Pittsburgh. May you all be safe and well, and I hope to see you again by the time we've made another trip around the sun.

Below in this journal is my traditional blow-by-blow con report; you can read a different version in a more professional voice and with some pictures thrown in on my site's blog.

► Wednesday
rinthedragon and I arrived in Pittsburgh and met up with elronddrakendil to check into the Courtyard. After five years of staying in the Westin, it was a bit of an adjustment to be somewhere else, but the lack of elevator lines and quieter atmosphere were definitely appreciated throughout the con. We got settled, changed into nicer clothes, and briefly parted ways; I met up with Arrow Quivershaft: to catch up. We were hoping LunarKeys would come by so we could inflict some mischief on him, but he delayed until I couldn't wait anymore. Rin, Rondie, and I had dinner at the Fish Market with witchiebunny, chiaroscuro, and Kage. Rondie insisted I sit next to Kage "since you're both bugs." When the waitress came by, the roach blamed me for finishing his wine! I was utterly stumped by the menu (much richer than my normal diet in several departments) and had to ask for recommendations. The sushi and sashimi I ended up with were delicious, and the conversation was delightful.

Afterward, I believe I got back into civilian clothes and ended up in the Zoo. I was working on a last-minute badge order. I probably met up with some people, but whether I encountered them first on Wednesday or on Thursday morning is lost in the blur. Missmab and I sat together for a while, and I talked to LanHao both days as far as I remember. Aside from that, I only recall that I slept very well that night.

► Thursday
I spent some time in the Zoo again Wednesday morning, drawing and meeting up with people. Eventually I decided it was time to drop by the Crawford room for my package - production timing on the bugdanas required me to have them shipped directly to the convention, and I needed to pick them up. There wasn't anything under my name when I got there, which was unexpected, but we quickly sorted the matter out with an email to the screen printer and were able to locate the package. Turns out the staff had accidentally put the printer's name down instead of mine. I took the package back to the hotel room and tore it open. The bugdanas looked exactly as I'd imagined! Seeing them go from a vague idea to a real object I could hold and wear was incredibly exciting!

Pretty sure I returned to the Zoo for a bit until registration opened. Dealer's reg opened the same time this year and had absolutely no line when I got there, so I was done in no time. I did the survey and poked Keys to get his butt to reg – he got the same line as me this year since he agreed to be my dealer's assistant. Various things happened until we went to Dealer's setup at 3. My table didn't take terribly long to arrange, so we helped Rondie with hers until they announced early art show hanging for dealers. I had to run back to the room to get the pieces that were too big to carry with the stuff to the table. Keys helped me out with putting stuff on the top of the panel – I got advance permission to have an assistant there, too, since I am so vertically challenged. :F By the time this was all done, I wanted a proper dinner and encouraged Keys and friends to get pizza.

We did get pizza. And I met a lot of new people Keys had hauled along this year at the Omni. And I finally found catmonkshiro. Arrow had already given Keys the custom box of Goldfish crackers we'd had printed for him, but I did witness the presentation of the M&Ms bag and surprise him with the squeaky fish. Then there were a lot of video games until I left to get some work done. Later, during a break, I popped into the Zoo looking for some friends and found Ampdragoness, who told me about her Rosy Maple moth character. Yay!

► Friday
I headed over to the Dealer's Den early to get some more work done ahead of time until it officially opened. Just before the supersponsors were supposed to be allowed in, Rondie showed up as her new angel dragon suit, “Tachyon,” along with Telephone. She wanted to prank 2 since she hadn't told him she was getting an angel dragon suit. There was some goofing off (I got video) but his reaction wasn't nearly as big as we'd hoped! Oh well.

Business was pretty good: a little slow for Friday, though not terrible by any measure. You guys really wanted sketches this year for some reason, but somehow I was in a sketch sort of mood, so that worked out! I think I've become a lot faster at them recently. The last few minutes of the Den were sacrificed so I could make it in time to Kage's Story Hour and do my thing. I got a seat off to the side with floppybelly and drew the show. Kage had me to bring the doodles to Con Ops to prevent them from disappearing into a void somewhere.

Next, I got back into my dress clothes and went to the Artists and Dealers Reception. I ran into Ampdragoness in the line, so we went into together, arm-in-arm, just because we could! The refreshments were very welcome and the atmosphere was positive and fun, though I couldn't help glancing across the room at the people near my panel now and then. I only thought about making faces at the people who walked right by my art without looking. :U Amp and I viewed the entire show, some parts several times, before I left to finish my coffee and see a bit of the fireworks.

I stopped briefly in the Zoo on the way back to the hotel, then worked on my badges and sketches for a while until Rondie was finally done doing stuff. We met at Tonic to get our drink on. She had my usual drink (margarita) and I had something called “peach rings.” It tasted like liquid Motrin, but in a good way. Then at midnight it was back to the room to work a bit more and eventually go to sleep. I woke up after about two hours freezing cold, put on a light jacket I'd brought in case of such an event, and then woke up too hot again in the morning. Silly booze.

► Saturday
Saturday morning and afternoon were normal – draw, take care of customers, drop off sketchbooks. The parade came through the Den as usual; I got a few pictures. After closing, I ate a bunch of Pizza Parm chicken wings, then zipped over to the Zoo for the TF jam. There were a lot of familiar faces, some new people... I had a chance to talk briefly with angrboda and therian, though poor catmonkshiro was coming down with something and didn't join our table. One of the food vendors was Dippin Dots, so I tried some since I'd never had any. That stuff is intense. I didn't draw on one of the posters this year to avoid getting food on the art.

More work after the jam. I'd been expecting to go draw with a quiet artist group but got directly invited to join Missmab and company instead, so I tromped off to the Omni and stayed there drawing until like 3 am or so. This wasn't a good year for me and all-nighters since I've had trouble sleeping for months. It was still fun to hang out while getting work done, though!

► Sunday
I put hours for this day on my table sign and gave myself time to shop in the Den briefly at opening. Bought myself a few prints and picked up a couple of things for my mom, since it was her birthday. Did the table until around 3, at which point Keys came and helped me pack it all up and check out. I scurried back to attend the charity performance while Keys helpfully picked up my paperwork and unsold pieces (and Rondie's) in the art show.

THE CHARITY SHOW OH BOY. Somehow, Rondie and I got seats in the very middle of the front row, so we had prime view of the shenanigans. We were both live drawing throughout the show: Rondie did a few detailed drawings with more focus on 2, while I paid a little more attention to Kage and made many little doodles. We both covered Fox a bit. If you were there, you might've heard us get shout-outs. From the three of them. On the stage. Damn, that was cool as hell.

I skipped closing ceremonies – the con ending there seemed wrong, somehow. Rondie, Rin, Floppy, Bucktown Tiger, Shujin Tribble, Glelin, and I went down to an Indian restaurant again for Dinnercon. One never attends Dinnercon and leaves hungry. I really appreciated the chance to get real with Bucktown and Shujin in particular. Rondie has done a great job of establishing Dinnercon as a sort of judgement-free zone where you leave your social standing at the door and just talk and eat on equal footing.

Later that night, I wanted to go to the Dead Dog, but I wasn't feeling it when we got there. So there was a photoshoot in the Zoo for the angel dragons. And then I wandered downstairs to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob9MojgYqb0

It was perfect. Just the right note to end the convention on.

► Next up!
My next confirmed con is FC, though I am very eager to attend MFF again and will do everything in my power to go. I need to arrange a room with someone reliable before I'll commit to membership or transportation at this time. (Yo friends, got room for a small bug with one 62” suitcase?)

If you wanted some SWEET BUG SWAG at AC but missed out, get ye to my shop! It's now fully open! I've got bugdanas, buttons, prints, and the originals that didn't find homes in the art show.

As for commissions, I'm pretty well set for the rest of the month with work, but feel free to contact me to arrange something in the near future if I can help you in any way! I still make charms and I love to depict other people's characters. I intend to offer sketches online again after they went so well at Anthrocon. Whee!

Signing off for now. Be well and safe, everybody!