-------------------
Reapercon Day 3
After another early morning and good
breakfast, I didn't have anything scheduled until 4:00 in the
afternoon, so I took my time in the morning. I read the forums,
considered whether or not to bring pizza or other goodies, looked for
interesting games, that sort of thing. After a slow-going morning, I
headed over to the con to do some stuff.
On the way in, I'm sure, I got stopped
and asked about my Backpack. I got noticed for it *all the time*.
People were super curious and wanted to know more about it, and I
can't blame them. Its primary goal seems to be looking really,
really cool. I'm going to change my Forum name to
GuyWithCoolBackpack.
My first stop was to talk with Jeremy
Bonnot, he's the guy that taught the 'how not to suck' class. Really
nice guy, I asked him about getting smoother blends, and he invited
me to just sit and watch him paint. It was very informative, and I'm
super glad I took the time. I watched him paint for about an hour
until they announced they were going to start the VCR teardown
competition. That's where you get to break apart a VCR and build
something cool out of the components. I was the only one there, at
the start, and so I got to tearing it down and getting all the cool
parts out. I found the head of the VCR, and pulled out the innards,
and made the cool thing that I made. I'm sure you've seen pictures.
It took a while, and my paint job was pretty spotty, but it was an
absolute blast. I spent a lot of time working on it. Eventually a
few others joined in, too. Tonya and Adam, Richard, and another lady
named Lynn. There were some pretty good ideas in there, though all
the paint jobs were clearly pretty rush affairs. I had a lot of fun
doing that.
(This is my guy. the neat metal thing in the middle spins!)
After a lot of that, I joined my color
theory class. Yes, more color theory. It was incredibly useful,
though. Whereas the beginner class focused on more practical rules,
the more advanced class talked about visual design, composition, and
other graphic design ideas that really made me think about color and
where to put it in really great ways. It was a super-great class.
After that, and a little more milling
around, and some dinner, it was time for the awards ceremony. My
piece won a Bronze, which was actually right about what I was
expecting. A lot of other people won bronzes, slivers, and golds,
too. We were all very pumped. Richard, Ben's dad, actually won a
Silver Sophie...completely by accident, as it turned out. But he got
to take the trophy and hang onto it, and I'm sure they'll just cast
another if they need it. It was neat to see one of the Sophie
trophies, too. Something to aim for in the future.
After all of that excitement, I went
out to dinner with Ben, Aaron, Vincent, Tonya, Adam, and a whole big
bunch of other people. We had sushi, and I had a couple sets of
crazy rolls. We sat around and chatted, handed around the Sophie,
made jokes, and met a few new friends. A very nice ending to the
eve. I got back home, did some packing, and then went to sleep.
Day 4:
Got up bright and early, got some
breakfast, and packed up my stuff. Managed to get it all in one
trip, surprisingly enough, and then got my stuff out to the car. A
guy asked for a ride, and I said I would, as long as he would stop
somewhere to get bagels for me. We went to one, but it turned out to
be at a University, and it was all closed down. So instead we just
drove back down to to convention, getting some donuts on the way.
Yum.
I got there in plenty of time for my
morning class: brushstrokes. I got some more instruction on
layering, side-brushing, and plenty of other techniques. I'll have
to go over my notes again to make sure I've got it all, but it was a
very useful class. Anne Forester, the lady that taught it, had lots
of energy, and she's actually in charge of the paints for the entire
company, so she is an endless font of knowledge. She gave me some
good advice on my minis, the same advice pretty much everyone gets:
more contrast with highlights and shadows.
After that I stumbled into a CAV game,
a mech-based wargame, and played that for a while. It was pretty
fun, but large-scale wargaming isn't something I'm looking to get
into anytime soon. Regardless, it was neat to learn the system, and
I got some Reaper Bucks out of the event.
After that, we gathered everyone
together that did the VCR build, including the guy I gave a ride to
the Convention with. He had built something overnight. So we all
stood up there while Reaper Brian announced the winner. I was
expecting the lady that made the imps tearing through the wiring to
win, especially when Brian announced that it was the one that made
the judge laugh the most. But in a shocking turn of events...they
gave it to me! I was genuinely surprised, and really happy! I got
some cool mousesling bar-goers. I really like the mundane kind of
stuff, so getting such a nice set was a real treat.
(Myself, ReaperBrian, and the Mouselings I won!)
Then was the Auction. There was a lot
of neat stuff, but nothing I was planning to really go after. I
figured the really cool stuff would be out of my price range, so I
thought I'd bide my time and wait to see if there was anything I
wanted. Also, the whole event was a lot of fun to watch. Cool
things going, people winning stuff, it was a hoot. After a while, me
not seeing anything particular I wanted, Tonya and Adam started
bidding on some magnetic character markers that they used in their
gaming. Not really having anything I wanted that badly in mind, I
just gave them my tokens to see if they could win with it. Turns out
they didn't need it, but the gesture was kindly received...
...especially a few minutes later, when
something did come up that I wanted. A case for carrying miniatures,
something I didn't have but could really use. I bid on it, and it
ran up to $220, which was as much as I had. It looked like I was
going to get it...until someone bid $230. Tonya just gave me some of
hers, putting me up and letting me win it. Very nice of them.
Of course, as the auction went on,
people had less and less money, and Vincent managed to clean up on a
couple of really cool things. He got to design his own mini, got a
bunch of cool figures, and then, in the greatest gesture, picked up a
figure case that was going for far too cheap and just gave it to Adam
and Tonya. They were quite pleased, and there were hugs and smiles
all around.
Then the auction wrapped up, and I was
anxious to get back on the road, in case I got to see Tyler before he
went to bed. I said my goodbyes, thanked everyone I met, and many
people at the company for putting on such a great event, and then got
on the road. There was some really annoying traffic, but it was an
uneventful drive. I got home filled with figures, painting
knowledge, and really, really warm memories.
-N
No comments:
Post a Comment