Jennifer's 365 Project

JAFAX is back this year and this time it's at DeVos Place. We arrived very early, around 9:30. There were long lines on Friday and we knew that early in the morning meant a short line and plenty of time for Quinn to run around.

And boy did he have an amazing time running everywhere, yelling "hi" at everyone then scampering off all shy when they replied.
 At 11am the vendor hall opened, so we entered to see our friends Comfort and Adam.
We also stopped by Corrine's table and picked up a few small prints for Quinn's room (I really like dragons!).
We didn't end up staying too much past 11:30, since Quinn really need to take a break and a nap. But I did get a badge (for awhile they were passing out wrist bands) and Quinn had a fantastic time. Chris and I had a good time too, although a little limited in what we could do since a 16 month old won't sit still for an hour long panel.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the con grows over the next few years. Hopefully it does gangbusters like the Grand Rapids Comic Con has done.

On my lunch I walked over to DeVos to check out JAFAX. Like all anime cons seem to be, it was just a massive registration line. Sigh.

It's day two of JAFAX 18! We visited Adam and Comfort at their table in Artist Alley.
And watched their second panel, Creating Your Comic/Manga from Concept to Publication.
We also wandered around a bit on campus. It was pretty hot out but not unbearably so. We did miss the costume contest but there were certainly plenty to see out and about as well.

I look forward to next year!

JAFAX 18 is this weekend so we headed out to the local university where it is hosted to check things out.
Adam and Comfort are guests at JAFAX this year and they're featured in the program guide. HOORAY!
They're also hosting two panels at JAFAX. The one today, Lets Make A Character, is about character creation and development.
In the second half of their Lets Make A Character panel, the audience participates and Adam and Comfort create a character on the spot based on the different personality traits the audience has provided. The whole thing is awesome and fun to watch. I'm also looking forward to their second panel which is tomorrow - Creating your Comic/Manga from Concept to Publication.

While we were there, I did noticed this year that there are a lot more commercially made costumes being worn as opposed to something homemade out of cardboard and paint. Not that there weren't homemade items, especially props, but the availability and cost for high quality anime costumes has probably shifted a bit over the years, making it easier to just buy something as opposed to crafting it.
Anyway, Leki seemed to really miss us for the short time we were gone. So excited he insisted sleeping on my chest while I checked my 3DS for all the StreetPass stuff I'd picked up from the convention.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's show!

So this weekend is JAFAX, which is essentially a free anime convention at GVSU. We've been to two conventions already this year (C2E2 and ACEN) so we decided just to pop by this year for a short bit and not make a whole day of it.


We sat in on Comfort and Adam's panel on how to create your comic/manga from start to finish. It's a good panel and they're always fun to watch.


The rest of the afternoon we ran some errands and watched a movie. In the evening we hung out with Comfort and Adam a bit before bed. I think the cat had an especially good time being dramatic while playing in front of everyone.

Today after class I headed over to a local anime con with Amanda called JAFAX (www.jafax.org). This is their 14th year and while this is only my 2nd year attending, I'm impressed at the size of the event given that it is free.

Since we got there with half a day to spare we checked out a cosplay costume crafting panel, artists and vendors, as well as the cosplay contests and a few other things.

If this all sounds foreign to you, then you've never been to a con. If you have an interest, I'd highly recommend the experience. And not all cons are about anime, if thats not your thing.

Anyway, here is a shot of the stuff I picked up. A Trigun manga, vol 13 (I have 1-11), Trigun kitty mini-backpack/purse thingie (I think the cat is called Kuroneko), Kilala xmas ornament, and the JAFAX program.