Freelancing at Conventions

I've only been to two conventions that dealt with animation and they were simply amazing. I volunteered at both so I could actually get some experience without having to pay so much. I first volunteered at Wondercon last spring and it lasted two days. Those two days were spent gawking at the interior of the convention center in Anaheim and clicking a button to count how many people went into a room. My favorite part was seeing everyone cosplaying characters. I would often see a lot of reoccurring characters like the Gravity Falls characters, Star Wars, Marvel/DC characters, etc. It was like a smaller Comic Con. (One day I shall volunteer there *shakes fist*). I even attended a few panels, but not the ones I really wanted to go to unfortunately.
I volunteered just last month at CTNX, which is a networking convention for animators and illustrators. I loved Wondercon, but CTNX was by far my favorite. No cosplayers but a lot of business cards were handed out to me as I explored the hundreds of tables set up for every individual artist. I made a few friends who also volunteered with me and I even got to see a few panels I wanted to see. A lot of the panels consisted of different animated industries like DreamWorks and Nickelodeon. How I heard about Nickelodeon's new show, Harvey Beaks, was through one of their panels. My favorite panel that I attended was on my last day and it was one I really wanted to go to. Remember when I talked about Daron Nefcy in my last post? Well, her and some people who worked on Star vs. the Forces of Evil were doing a panel. I felt ecstatic when they showed us an entire episode animatic for their upcoming season 2. So, conventions of these kinds are really popular and fun to go to if you're a fan of animation, films, or art in general. I'm hoping to volunteer again for Wondercon next year.
Most of everyone promoting their art at CTNX were freelance illustrators or artists, which means that they work independently from a company like Disney or Cartoon Network. I love freelance artists, they can do what I can't; work alone. The image above is directed to one of my favorite YouTube freelance animators, Egoraptor. He does some really hilarious stuff and his animation is actually really good. Another animator I watch is Harry Partridge, who's animation is something I really admire. He did some online lessons and they really helped me out. These freelance artists know how to promote themselves through either online media like YouTube or they go to conventions where they hand out their business cards while selling their artwork. I've got like a whole stack of cards where I'll be checking out their art.
Knowing how to promote yourself is so important in the animation business. It's about getting your foot in the door that's important. Knowing how to be social and friendly is something that every person looks for. Also, having self-confidence is just as important. I've learned the hard way that lowering your self-esteem and comparing yourself to other's artwork is not the way to go. It'll only bite you in the ass later on so have fun and just do what you love!
Next topic is something I haven't figured out yet but it will be coming soon! :)