Iced Earth has just been confirmed to be joining the lengthy lineup for 70000 Ton of Metal. Barlow is good, but I must make it known (again) that I still miss Ripper. If Iced Earth were performing with Ripper, I’d probably start selling organs to go to this. I think they should have kept both vocalists.

Other bands performing are: Agent Steel, Amon Amarth, Death Angel, Epica, Exodus, Fear Factory, Finntroll, Forbidden, Moonspell, Obituary, Raven, Saxon, Sodom, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Swashbuckle, Testament, Trouble, Uli Jon Roth, and Witchburner. They will have 40 bands confirmed for this cruise.

This 4 day cruise sets sail on Monday, January 24, 2011 aboard the Royal Caribbean “Majesty of the Seas” from Miami FL to Cozumel, Mexico. Ticket prices start at US$666 plus US$249 taxes and fees per person and include all on-board entertainment, all meals, non-alcoholic and non-carbonated beverages at the dining rooms, most on-board restaurants and 24 room service.

This sounds really cool. I am cranky because I can’t quite afford to go this year. If someone is going and willing to write up a trip report for me I would love to blog it here.

Link.

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Last year they had a team of Vampire Fashionistas (This is actually my video that I took! Yay!):

This year they have Sylvie, the lead singer of My X:

Click here to check out the site. They also have a My X song up for download. Yes, you read right – they ACTUALLY RECORDED A WHOLE FREAKING SONG to sell the concept. The story is being slowly rolled out with teasers. Not a whole lot is revealed yet, but it seems that she was spurned by her ex-lover and is out for revenge. The question is – is she a vampire? A psycho killer? Something else? I guess we will have to stay tuned to find out. Inside the Magic has a detailed description of all of the photos that HOS Insider “found” here.

Regardless of what is to come, it looks like there will be a lot of music incorporated into the show this year. I can’t wait until I can get down there to document it for you all. I had planned to come back while I was still in the park last October.

Theming is so critical for a good haunt. It is always so great here because they actually *gasp* engage with their target market. Sylvie is on Twitter. You can follow her. You can talk to her. She will reply to you. Of course, my favorite twitter person to tweet crazy things to is HOS Insider. He is back this year to provide a lens into the world…and tweet to me that I’m crazy because I guessed the icon would be a Vampire Kangaroo before Sylvie was revealed.

Well, I certainly did guess something original, right? :) My specialty!

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I’ve had several years as a touring webcomic and several years working as con staff. I’m like that chick on She-Ra with the face that rotates. If any of you have the opportunity to staff a con, I highly recommend it. Oh sure, you will likely work a ton of hours and go insane, but the benefits far outweigh the craziness.

When I began staffing cons, I gained a different perspective on the industry. I was able to see my work as staffers saw it. Here are some tips I can give you that will make you much more attractive to conventions:

- Location: Make sure you have an “About” page on your comic’s page that is easy to find. Make sure your location (at least by state) is listed and that this is easy also to find. Why? Many cons have small budgets, especially when it comes to webcomics. If the comic lives close by I am more likely to invite them because they are probably more likely to be able to come. If I am really tired, I may be put off if I can’t find a location listed at all and decide to come back later. I might forget to come back later. Make who you are, what you do, and where you are from easy to find.

- Con Invite Manners: Always reply to con invites within a few days. Even if you can’t go say something positive about the event. It’s just good manners. Con Staff often feel very close to their events. Their con is the same as your webcomic. It is their creative baby. Make them feel wanted. They work just as hard as you.

One con staffer probably staffs anywhere between 2-6 different cons in a year or two of varying size. We all know each other. The big cons know the little cons and vice-versa. You do not want one of us telling another con that you are a douchebag that never replies to emails or replies as if you don’t care about the person’s event. Even if the event is not for you, man up and say something nice.

The best business people know that posting a link to the event and publicly thanking them for inviting you doesn’t cost you anything, and it’s a great way to spread some good will. For example you could reply with this:

“I’m sorry, I can’t make it this year because XX. It’s a shame because this looks really cool! If you’d like, I can post a link to it to drive some traffic your way. Good luck!”

Then follow up with this on your next blog post:

“Hey guys, I was just contacted by XX from XX Con (Insert a clickable link). I can’t go, but you should really check it out. They are doing some pretty cool stuff!”

If someone did all this and posted a link to the event I was working on, I’d file them in the back of my head as a real stand-up person that I could think of the next time I have something good to throw their way. This person knows how to market to their fans and is clearly a value-add to an event.

- Train Your Fans to Listen to You: Just like the previous point – if you are always telling your fans to click on things that you post they will get used to looking toward your blogs for their information. This gives you more power to drive traffic. Even small comics can have a more powerful ability to drive traffic than a comic with a larger fanbase. I’ve seen it many times. Years ago when I just started out and was an unknown I still had a huge posse gathering to see me at cons. A much larger comic approached me and asked me how I “did it”. I was rather shocked because…this person was not unknown. A quick look at his website showed a neglected blog that barely posted a sentence each time it updated. How I “did it” was I talked to people on my blog and let people get to know me.

If you communicate regularly and well to your fans, your value as an internet personality is much higher than someone who never says much. Your blog is just as important as your comic. If you want to be attractive to events, you need to train your audience to listen to you. What good is a webcomic guest who can’t get anyone to buy a ticket?

So, Oni – What Does it Take to Get Invited to a Con?

The honest truth? It isn’t always talent. The best and brightest are not always rewarded if no one knows who they are. The people who get con invites often fall into one of these categories:

1. They have a ton of traffic.
2. They are friends with or dating someone who has a ton of traffic.
3. They have contacted the con and asked them if they could please come.
4. They paid to get into a convention’s Artist’s Alley and made friends with the staff who got them invited next year.
5. Someone who has decision-making power at the con is specifically a fan of theirs.

It’s not about your skill as an artist or writer, but these things are factors. The biggest factor is either your traffic or your charisma because these will get you on the radar of the people making the decisions. When I started doing this, I didn’t have any friends in the industry or a magical “in” to get me on anyone’s radar, but I got in and I did and am doing well. If you aren’t already famous, your best bet is to be nice, don’t give up, and make friends with as many people as you can. It would be much easier if all we had to do is sit, draw, and post the comic but that’s not how it works for most of us. I had the hard road just like most people. Your ability to network and do good business is almost more important than how skilled you are.

Own it, rock it, and never give up!

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“Falling Awake”, will be released in the UK on July 19th as a vinyl 10” via Spinefarm Records UK and Tarja’s web shop. The album, “What Lies Beneath” is scheduled for release in the UK on September 3rd 2010. No word yet on the US release dates.

Here is a promotional video for “Falling Awake”:

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It is amazing what AMP Energy Drink, Red Bull, or Starbucks can do. I was chillin’ out here waiting for the caffeine to kick in.

The problem is that once I am awake enough to do anything I end up being too awake to go to sleep that night. For example, I am writing this post at midnight and I have to get up at 6. Wheeeeeee…..

But..I have to finish this awesome painting of Cthulhu and his awesome babies invading Paris. She doesn’t have a face yet!

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I’ll be at Otakon this coming weekend. I am unsure if they assigned Intervention a table. If no, I’ll be wandering about handing out flyers or sharing a table with friends.

I’m scheduled for interviews and stuff. If you are attending Otakon and you want to Interview me, you need to contact onezumi at onezumi dot com to make arrangements and I will stick ya on my schedule.

If you want flyers, do the same and I’ll hook you up with a box. :)

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I have to say – what is the deal with everything being in 3D these days? Am I the only one absolutely turned off by the concept? I thought movies were fine before 3D. In fact, my favorite films are in 2D. I can’t imagine Indiana Jones, Big Trouble in Little China, or Escape from NY being any better in 3D. Maybe I am just a crankypants.

Regardless of pants that are cranky, here is the trailer for SAW 3D:

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At this particular con I had been at an industry party late the night before and still managed to be awake before everyone else. After all, it was my job to make sure everyone had eaten and gotten to their vendor tables on time. While the lot of us webcomics were eating breakfast, my colleague Brad Guigar stopped, looked at me and asked, “How on earth do you look fresh as a daisy this early after having no sleep?” So, thanks for the blog post idea, Brad! :D

The answer is makeup. I’m an artist, so makeup isn’t really much different from blending colors on paper. I know this might bore the guys, so I’m going to keep these posts infrequent. Also note if you are an artist that knowing this will also help your ability to paint people. :D

Products Used:
Neutrogena Healthy Defense Tinted Moisturizer or Makeup Forever HD Foundation
Benefit Erase Paste Concealer
Benefit Cosmetics High Beam
MAC Paint in Bare Canvas
Benefit Eyeshadow in Leggy
Benefit Brow Zings

Procedure:

Tinted Moisturizer or Foundation:

If you wanna be low maintenance or fear makeup, just use a tinted moisturizer. I like Neutrogena Healthy Defense SPF 20. It’s one step and gives your skin protection from the damaging effects of the sun.

If you want more coverage for photographs, use 1 or 2 pumps of Make Up Forever HD Foundation. This stuff is so amazing I almost can’t stand it. It’s formulated to show up nicely on HD film and has an easy to manipulate, buildable coverage. It’s definitely worth the expense. It lasts forever too.

You don’t need a foundation brush. I just put it on with my fingers.

Concealer and eyeshadow primer:

Concealer and Eyeshadow Primer are the main thing here. Here is an AWESOME CRAZY diagram of where they go:

- Use your finger and apply your favorite concealer under your eye. Blend from the tear ducts outward. I’m using Benefit Erase Paste.

- Use your finger to apply a tiny amount of MAC Paint in Bare Canvas from your lashline to your eyebrow. Be sure to blend it nicely so it doesn’t look unnatural.

Eyeshadow:

Sweep a neutral eyeshadow from lashline to brow. I’m using Benefit eyeshadow in Leggy. Since you have a primer on, you can even use cheap Wet n’ Wild. Just make sure that it is a neutral skin color. The primer will grab onto the shadow and hold it there ALL DAY. It even lasted on me all the way through a day at the Magic Kingdom and through a rainstorm. If you want, you could probably go out with just the MAC Paint on. It’s the main component that makes you look awake.

Highlight:

Dot Benefit High Beam on your browbone and blend with your fingers. You can also blend it in the tearduct area. This will bounce more light and make you look awake. glowy, and defined. If you don’t have High Beam, you can use any shimmery eyeshadow for this. Sparkly:

Here is what the eye looks like when you are done:

I also used Benefit Brow Zings to fill in my eyebrows. I don’t believe in covering up what I look like, so it’s super light and natural. I often skip eyeliner and mascara because I can’t really be bothered with it unless I’m going out somewhere that is fancypants. :) Now GO GRAB A RED BULL, RUB DIRT IN IT, AND TAKE A LAP, FELLOW GLAMAZONS!

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Hey guys – Harknell and I are guests on the TGT Podcast this Sunday July 25th. We will be talking about about Intervention, the story behind it, and the webcomics scene in general.

The interview is scheduled to air live at 9pm EST, and be available later for download. Don’t miss it!

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