Southern Maryland ComicCon 2021
Shows like Southern Maryland Comic-Con have a different vibe than their bigger counterparts. The attendees genuinely appreciate the ability to attend a community based and reasonably priced show with their fandom loving families. This generally leads to some fun and interesting interactions.
These same attendees also expressed excitement to see Art Way Alliance and our immersive workshops. We were pleasantly surprised to see a group comprised of a grandmother, mother, and 4-year-old son dressed as Batman sit down and begin to draw. Upon getting settled, the grandmother announced that she could not draw, but she surprised herself with the artwork she produced. This was the women's first time at a comic book convention, and they both reported having a great time. They left with artwork, books, and business cards in hand. They also mentioned that next year, they would cosplay with their Batman themed kid.
“The Ready Set Draw was a hit, Eric and I were able to gather a good 10 people to participate in the competition. He did a great job as the MC; mixing in humor and moderating the Ready Set Draw. It was nice to see the level participation and alot of the attendees won a few rounds. It was an all around great experience with friendly competition.”
Another highlight of the day was our Ready, Set Draw! challenge with Jordan Jackson of JPJackson Art. For this workshop, participants were tasked with drawing superhero anatomy. To get diverse options, we asked random con attendees to name their favorite superhero and then randomly selected an body part from a hat. We gave participants 4 rounds ranging from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. The goal was to draw more of these selected hero’s anatomy than Jordan. We enjoyed every round, of course, but the funniest one involved the Flash and the body part "mouth.” The attendee that supplied the superhero threw in an extra detail: “Draw the Flash with a bug in his mouth!”
Everyone roared with laughter at the idea, but one contestant actually drew a fly stuck in the Flash’s teeth. (Maybe he got it from running too fast?) This earned the artist an extra point to win the round. We really value these unique moments that happen on the fly (see what we did there?) and could only happen at Southern Maryland’s Comic Con.
Check out our pictures below!
