Happy Fluttershy Friday! (#129, 130, 131, 132(?)!!!)

Hello my followers and HAPPY FLUTTERSHY FRIDAY! It has been a while, and I have been SUPER remiss about keeping up with this, especially with NYCC slowly creeping up like a bad cold. I hope that if you are at NYCC this year, you will take some time to come over to the education panels over at the Public Library. While I know not everyone who might read this is in education, some of the things we discuss are quite interesting.

Now, ONTO PONIES!!!

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Oh my goodness, I broke 130!!! And I will be honest, I AM RUNNING OUT OF ROOM! For real, like I don't know what I am going to do! Right now, I still haven't fully integrated the ponies I got from BronyCon into the collection. I feel like I need another bookcase, it's that nuts! Maybe I should...

Anyway, let's check out the newcomers!!!

First up, while I am NOT taking this girl out of the collection, I did want to point out that at least one Fluttershy came as part of this new set. I may try and find her individually on eBay just so I can add her. This is a cool set that came out this year, which I believe was meant to celebrate the 35th anniversary of MLP. I like this idea of merging the current characters with the old school style. Very vintage and I like the homage it pays to us who remember the old ponies. 

Next up, this ADORABLE Flutterbat that I swear to God I want to cuddle ALL THE TIME! From Sew Adorkable, this little Flutterbat is done in her teddy bear style, where it's super cuddly and is begging for hugs. And come on, even with that mad face, who wouldn't want to SQUEEZE this little critter?

Next up, this Fluttershy seapony bath toy. I am glad I am finding SOME seapony stuff. I feel like there's not enough. Now, because of how she is, I may keep her in the packaging, because there's no way for her to stand up outside of it. Plus, I don't really take baths. But the cool thing is is that she lights up! And even in the packaging, I can still press the buttons to make her light up!

Lastly, the mystery box Fluttershy. I never got one of her, and honestly never really thought about it too much, but lately, I've been kinda digging this girl for the stand out of black and pink (two of my favorite colors, even if black technically isn't a color) and I saw someone selling her and decided to cave. At least I didn't have to spend hours trying to find her!

Movie Review Monday (GOOD BOYS!)

Happy Movie Review Monday! It's been a while since I've gotten to go to the movies, mostly because there aren't many movies out there that I am dying to see. However, while I am not huge on some of the humor that has come from Seth Rogan, the trailer for "Good Boys" did intrigue me. So I went and saw it this past weekend on a date. And oh my god! I was DYING! Let's take a look:

"Good Boys" (Director: Gene Stupnitsky)

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"Good Boys" follows three boys who are just starting out in 6th grade (oh, the memories from middle school) and already they are starting on the wrong foot. The major issue is following little guy Max (played by Jacob Tremblay) as his issue sort of overtakes his friends Thor (by Brady Noon) and Lucas (by Keith L. Williams). There are a lot of vibes from different movies that seem to remind me of a combo of a bunch of movies, from "The Sandlot" to "Ferris Buller's Day Off." There even seems to be some "American Pie" thrown in as well. But not in a bad way! Honestly, the humor in this movie had me just about falling out of my chair with laughter. It's just so much awkwardness that makes you want to laugh because you can remember similar things happening to you (or maybe not quite so similar, but still awkward). 

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The topics are relatable, and the laughs just kept coming. The movie was short, sweet, and to the point, just like this review! Honestly, I would go see this movie again, and probably will!

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Happy Self-Promotion Sunday!

Hey all! It's me! I know it's been a bit since I have posted--between work starting back up (remember y'all, I'm a teacher) and moving on with my love life, I have been quite the busy bee! So I am finally getting a chance to put up some stuff for Self-Promotion Sunday. But I also have some news to share!

First up, my news! I mentioned this is one of my last posts, but just in case for anyone who missed it, I will be presenting at New York Comic Con this October!! I am SUPER pumped about this, but it does mean that a lot of stuff on the side is going to be cut in half until after the presentation. I want to make sure this presentation is well received. But for anyone who might want to come check it out, here's the info:

Title: Fan Art: Teaching It Is OK!

Date: October 3rd

Time: 1:30pm to 2:15pm

Location: Room 67A at the New York Public Library!

I hope if you happen to be at NYCC, you will come check it out!

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Now, my newest designs. These are up on my Redbubble, but remember, a lot of my stuff has also been moved over to my TeePublic due to sweeps, so just make sure you take a look over on my TeePublic as well as Redbubble. 

My latest designs are based off of paintings I did recently, and they were quite popular. Because of that, I have turned them into digital pieces so that others could get them. They are my Nintendo Princess Stained Glass Series. I got Peach, Daisy, Rosalina and even Bowsette! Check them out below, and then check them out on my Redbubble! There are two variants of each, but below I am showing off the variants that include frames. I also do know that the Rosalina background is finer than the rest in terms of looks. When I was doing the filter on the background to make it look like stained glass, it didn't look right when I had it bigger like the rest, so I went smaller with the fractals on her design and I think it works. I DO still have two of the paintings, those are up on my Etsy site.

Princess Daisy 

Princess Peach 

Princess Rosalina 

Bowsette

I am hoping to have some figurines done within the next week or so, including some projects that have been SUPER long in the making. So keep an eye on my Etsy site and make sure you check out all my digital pieces! Cause remember, we got Halloween coming up! I've got Jack Skellington designs, and a few cute Care Bear designs as well!

 

The Pumpkin King 

 Candy Corn Bear

 

Witch Bear

Sugar Skull Bear

Pumpkin Bear

 

Con Review and News!

Hey all! So I missed Self-Promotion Sunday (SPS) by like a mile, which I am a bit sad about cause I got a lot of new stuff up! However, I was a bit preoccupied by being at LI Tropic Con for all of Sunday, so I think I can be forgiven. That being said, just a heads up: I am moving a lot of my stuff from my Redbubble page to my TeePublic page. I have not updated this in a while, focusing solely on Redbubble. But, make sure you check out the TeePublic page as some of my designs are no longer up on Redbubble. 

Redbubble Link: https://www.redbubble.com/people/TrotLOeilArt?asc=u
TeePublic Link: https://www.teepublic.com/user/trotloeil

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While you go check out my designs, let me review LI Tropic Con. First off, I have never done this convention before, so I have no idea if they have done this before or not, or if this was a new venue or not. Now, I have stated MANY times that I am a big supporter of smaller cons, and I stand by my statement. Small conventions are VITAL for us who sell at them, because without the small cons, the big ones would not exist. Heck, even San Diego Comic Con and New York Comic Con started out very small. 

Oh, on a separate note: MY PANEL GOT APPROVED FOR NEW YORK COMIC CON! I and two others will be presenting a panel on Thursday, October 3rd, at the Educators Panels in the New York Public Library on Fan Art in the Classroom and Why It's OK! OH MY GOD!! THE REALITY OF IT! I AM SUPER EXCITED!!!!

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Ok, I digress. Now, back to LI Tropic Con. So, I still stand by my statement about small conventions. However, if a small con is going into year two or three, hopefully they should have figured out MOST of the kinks that they need to work out. If not, then it shows. Now, I do not know how many years LI Tropic Con has been running, but there were DEFINITELY some things to be worked on. First off, the directions they gave for where the artists were supposed to unload, while fine, was lacking direction. They said people would be there to guide us, and no one was there. I was one of the earliest to arrive, so I get that not everyone might have been there, but that's still not an excuse to not have staff waiting. Next, while a cute idea, the "vendor badges" were nothing but flower necklaces for like a luau. How can you tell who is a vendor and who is an attendee? Seriously! Also, their main stage was RIGHT by the AA, and I didn't even figure out where the vendor area was until I had to go find food.

While I had a decent amount of foot traffic, not enough people were buying, so I didn't even make table. Even with nice table neighbors again (I seem to get very lucky in that department), I was unable to break even. Ugh!

Con Review Tuesday! Looking Terrific at TerrifiCon!

Hey all! I am back from con 3 of 4, and am starting to hit the wall!

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But anyway, I got one more con before I start to close out my con season for this year, although I might have a few smaller ones before the end of the year. However, the next con is another small one, which honestly, after these past two cons, I think is the wiser move for me. So, next up is LI Tropic Con, which is another con I have never done before, but I am excited to try out. We will see how it goes, but come check it out!

In the meantime, let me talk a bit about TerrifiCon. First off, I have done events with the people who run this event before, specifically CT Gamer Con (which I intend to go to again if timing works out), and I usually make bank at that con, so I figured why the heck not, give this one a shot. Figure it's in the same location, run by the same people so they know their sh*t, can't really go wrong, right?

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TOTALLY RIGHT!!! I will say, though, I was BEYOND intimidated by the space. This was NOT CT Gamer Con! We were in a TOTALLY different space, what felt like a sort of warehouse, but when I saw ALL the vendors and artists and such, I was SUPER grateful that it was in that area! Oh my goodness! This thing was NUTS!!! Like honestly, my friend from Action Fuzz who came up for this, he was like, "This is a lot bigger than I expected!" I know I missed half the hall myself, but seriously, it was just beyond!

Size of the space aside, this was a very good con for a first time. Friday was slow, but I totally made up for it on Saturday. Sunday was an in-between day, which was better than I could expect. I definitely made friends with my neighbors who were around me, super nice guys, who were great to chat with. While I missed getting autographs and such (seriously, guys, this place was PACKED beginning to end, no way I was able to get away for more than a few minutes) I DID take time for myself to get a voice recording from Phil LaMarr doing a Hermes impression using a quote from my favorite movie, "Clue."

It was definitely a different set-up than what I have been used to before, and the space I was in felt pretty tight, but my neighbors and I made it work. I couldn't use my extra gridwall, but one neighbor made a suggestion with my set-up that worked out fabulously. Overall, I did well for the first time at this con, and I hope to return next year!

In the meantime, COME TO LI TROPIC CON! (Oh, and come to TrotCon, which I applied for!)

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HAPPY FLUTTERSHY FRIDAY! BRONYCON FINDS!! (#125, 126, 127, 128)

Of COURSE I was going to be getting at least one Fluttershy plush while I was at BronyCon. With that haven of a Marketplace??? There was NO WAY I would escape without ONE new girl! But with all the temptation, I found FOUR! Well, technically two, since two were preordered. Honestly, I should have stopped at those two, but I could not resist! And since I was helping my friend set up, I got to check out the merch early. Plus, by Friday, all the plush artists were at least 80% out of their plushies. It was NUTS! 

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However, this year was very much bitter sweet. I not only also got to say hi to Andrea again, but I got a pic with her with my 100th Fluttershy, which is just special to me in and of itself. I also got her to do a voice recording for me, which just made me super giddy. And the fact that she remembers the VERY FIRST piece I made for her--a Zilla Flutterbat with fluffy and posable wings--just means the world to me. 

So, 5 cosplays (regular Fluttershy, two variants of Gala Fluttershy, Flutterbat AND a half Fluttershy half Flutterbat combo), 3 autographs, 2 pictures and a voice recording later, we are almost at 130 Fluttershys. I am seriously running out of room, guys! And yet, I found soooo many more I want! So let me show off the newest girls! First up, the newest addition to the Flutterbat Special Unit, this one is from Emberfalls. I have a slightly larger Fluttershy from this studio already, and I couldn't resist a Flutterbat from them.

Next up, this ADORABLE Seapony Fluttershy from SenSews!! Oh my god, I could not resist! And the BELLY! On my god, it's like my kitty's belly! And the tail is perfectly floppy!

Another pony here was from a bigger vendor that I missed the name of, but they said they were from Russia. All I know is, the minute I saw this girl, I squeed sooo hard! All I wanted to do was cuddle with this little girl! I wish I could remember the booth that had her! Would love help, anypony!

And lastly, an absolutely GORGEOUS girl from Serenity Studios. I'm seriously reminded of the Puppy Plushie Studios when I saw this girl, only she's in mini form whereas my Puppy Plushie is much bigger!

As one of the cosplayers at the Princess Brunch said to me: "Here's to 100 more!" Now to find the room...

Con Review, pt. 2: BRONYCON!!

Hey fellow readers! Welcome to part two of this Con Review Tuesday, and now, we review BronyCon!

First of all, TERRIFICON is coming up this weekend, y'all! Yours truly will be there selling my wares, so just come by and give me all the money! Remember, I'll be in the Artist Alley area, at table 65, so make sure you come by!

Now, BronyCon has been a con near and dear to my heart for many years. It was the first BIG con I ever vended at, and I vended at it for many years. This fandom was also a fandom where I made many friends, many of whom have been there through the years where I had my highs and my lows. I can honestly say, without this fandom, I would not be where I am today. So I was extremely sad this year to find out that it would be the LAST BronyCon. I was also a bit bummed that I did not OFFICIALLY vend at the con, but I got lucky. My good friend, Kitty Sapphire, got an AA table and graciously allowed me to share with her. So I brought a few items, and I got to sell some of my work. I was super happy I got to do that. I also had items in the BronyCon Art Show, as many of you know, since I have been posting about them. I had about half of them sell, the other half did not, but I am getting them to the Traveling Pony Museum to travel with them. One of my biggest moments came when someone came by wearing my "Opposites Attrack" design from For Fans By Fans. I geeked out and was like, "THAT'S MY SHIRT!" The guy geeked out too, asked for a pic with me and for me to sign the shirt. It was awesome!

Kitty did very well herself, so check out her set-up below. I was between being with her and doing my own thing, since the share was last minute and I had already paid for a few panels in advance (mainly ones that required supplies). My biggest thing was actually the Cosplay Fashion Show. I have NEVER done anything cosplay related, cause usually contests, you have to make almost everything yourself, and I have next to zero sewing skills. You give me a base, and I can do epic stuff to it, but honestly, I can't sew. However, I got a LOT of compliments on the cosplay, and had a lot of fun with it. I am sorry to see this con go, as I have made lots of friends and have many good memories from the convention. I am just grateful for all the memories I have been given over the time that BronyCon was in my life.