MegaCon Orlando has become my favorite weekend of the year. The convention that started out as a gathering of fringe element comic book lovers has evolved into a face to face meeting place for fans and giant multimedia companies.
It’s an opportunity for the biggest of celebrities to shake hands and talk shop with the littlest of fans. Just last year I met my all-time favorite artist at MegaCon Orlando. Rather than just pay for his autograph, I had him critique some of my artwork. That moment was the Mt. Everest of my artistic career. I love MegaCon Orlando because my Mt. Everest was delivered right to my home town.
This year, I will be hosting a booth in what is called Artist Alley. Artist Alley is a collection of hundreds of craftspeople from all backgrounds and disciplines. It’s home to everything from late-blooming folk artists to preteens hoping to sell their homespun comic books. I’m using it as an opportunity to meet and greet future customers. It’s essentially four days of spontaneous consultations.
In years past I have tattooed people at the convention, but I was so busy working I wasn’t able to take time to answer the questions of passers-by. A lot of great potential clients slipped by that way, so this year is all about being present and available.
I won’t be working my MegaCon Orlando booth alone this year. I will have an old friend of mine along that has become my de facto ambassador for Sandtiger Tattoos. Ben, well known online as @Jedijunkie, has become a convention attraction in himself. Ben and I have been working for years on covering his entire body in Star Wars tattoos. He has dominated tattoo award competitions, been circulated around the internet more times than I can count, and can no longer walk to the mailbox without being asked to take his shirt off for a picture. After being tattooed an estimated 250 hours by me, Ben can answer any question involving what the tattoo process is like. He’s also pretty sharp with Star Wars trivia if you want to test him.
Sandtiger Tattoos is a business predicated on doing things a different way than the traditional industry model. We tend to think systemically so that we can arrive at what works best for each individual customer. Many of the convention goers are maverick thinkers and outliers too. I think that’s why I feel so at home there.
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