A full report will have to wait for later, but Day Two can be summed up as follows:

“My hand hurts.”

Here’s a LITTLE more detail.

11:00-12:00: Howard stakes a claim to a table, posts some flyers, and warms up his drawing hand.
12:00-1:00: A webcomics panel replete with “I know none of these people.” It’s still fun.
1:00-2:00: Lunch at Carl’s Jr.
2:00-8:00: Howard draws until his hand is fit to fall off.
8:00-9:00: Dinner at McDonalds, complete with the stereotypical crazy muttering man.
9:00-10:00: Masquerade, during the half-time of which I led the audience in a two-artist game of “SF Pictionary.” Somebody needs to talk to somebody about what “SF” is, because even though I communicated “The Wizard of Oz” in just under 18 seconds, I’m a little bitter about having to draw the Emerald City and the Yellow Brick Road at this event.

For most of the day I hung out with Dan Willis, one of WOTC’s Dragonlance authors.

I’ll post pictures of the commissions I drew once we download them from the camera. The good news: I made enough on commissions yesterday that all the gas, parking, and meal expenses associated with this event are covered. The bad news: I was making about $13 an hour in a non-sustainable activity. My hand is killing me. Today I either raise prices, or get sloppy.

If you’re reading this and planning to be at CONduit today, I’m at the Gaming Registration table across from the Art Show starting at 11:00am, and I’ll be there through about 4:00. Then I have a panel on Inking, and then I go home!

–Howard

CONduit has been fun so far. I’ve not seen much of the convention, but I did find a place to sit and draw pictures. This was good, because I actually got a little work done — about 80% of a Sunday strip is complete, thanks to some quiet time between whipping out sketches for fans.

I’m too frazzled right now to give a blow-by-blow. I will, however, post a scan of the dragon I drew for the Charity Auction.

Picture behind the cut…

I spent the afternoon getting ready for CONduit, sorting through my pile o’ artwork and trying to find stuff suitable for the art auction. Sandra helped a lot, sifting through my pile of “presentable” stuff, and selecting the things that she thought would sell best.

We found a goofy picture I did of Link, from the Nintendo “Legend of Zelda” series of games, and realized it needed a little something. So I took a few minutes and colored it. See?

A few days ago my 7-year-old son grated some cheese, piled it between two slices of bread, and nuked it for a minute. He then ate the whole thing.

I didn’t think much of it. Obviously Sandra had taught him how to make a quick-and-dirty cheese sandwich.

Sandra, however, was puzzled. The only person in the house (up until now, anyway) who grabs materials on hand and synthesizes dishes for which we have no recipe is me. Link just sort of guessed that he could make a cheese sandwich this way, followed through, and fed himself something hot.

I wouldn’t have bothered posting about it, except that he invented a new sandwich again last night: butter, jam, and cheerios. This morning he showed me how to make one, and roped me into prepping a nice butter-jam-and-cheerio sandwich for his lunch.

He’ll never rope me into eating it. If I’m going to eat some weird new dish o’ doom, I’m going to have invented it myself.

–Howard