The Independent recently attended the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), which took place from March 27 to 29. C2E2 describes itself as “the biggest geek party in the Midwest” because of the large variety of sights: from comics to anime, fans of multiple genres and series can show their love. Similar to last year, with the Independent’s coverage, the con took place at McCormick Place over three days. On the floor were vendors selling merchandise to visitors on the show floor and a variety of panels taking place in the meeting rooms along the concourse. Undeniably, a lot of activity sprawls the three-day con.
Aileen Kung, Supervisor of Operations at Equus Workforce Solutions and a cosplayer from Milwaukee, dressed as Violet Evergarden, said, “I really see conventions as a space for people to pursue their interests openly and freely, and I think that’s important for everyone,” continuing, “I don’t have to cosplay only pretty things either. Like, it’s all about art and showing your interpretation of that to the world.”
Adam Nusrallah, producer and head of creative development at Cyanide and Happiness as well as C2E2 Exhibitor and panel facilitator, gave the Independent a follow-up interview this year. As part of a popular webcomic, Nusrallah is no stranger to improvisation. “Sometimes we just go into panels with no idea in mind just to kind of see what we could wing,” he said.
Sometimes carrying ideas like during improv may not be the challenging part. Instead, the challenges may be lacking confidence, being nervous or having fear. “Just get comfortable with the idea of being uncomfortable,” Nusrallah said in regards to gaining confidence.
“I still sometimes get nervous before a panel,” Nusrallah admitted. “My whole thing has always been I want to get to know other people that are also creators creating cool stuff because I’m excited for what they’re making and I want to connect with them and I want to learn from them.” His desire to connect and learn from others is stronger than the fear.
The Independent also followed up with Rick Heinz, Chicago-based author of “The Seventh Age” series and Founder of Storytellers Forge Studio. In the past, the Independent interviewed him at ACen last year. Asking Heinz about what types of books NEIU students should focus on reading to get their creative juices flowing, he responded, “Just read. It doesn’t matter what you read, as long as you’re reading.”
Margarita “Maggie” Hernandez, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System Administrator at Midwestern University and C2E2 veteran since 2013, started going to C2E2 by bringing her little brother to the expo year after year. “When my brother was growing up and having this goal to be a writer, I would take him to these panels and then afterwards we’d go down to the show floor and get a book signed, and he would ask the authors questions about: what inspired them or what advice do they have for writers? And they would always be so kind to talk to him, even him being a kid,” Hernandez said.
Last year, Nusrallah talked about drawing and animation programs like Toon Boom, Adobe Flash, Autodesk, Maya and Procreate. This year Nusrallah added another program, Adobe Animate, and he described it as an OG program.
Nusrallah encouraged creation by saying, “I think that everybody should pick up a pencil and a piece of paper and just get to doing art or just get to drawing and get to creating and learn that way because no matter what the tools are in the future, if you don’t know the foundation, it doesn’t matter what tools you get.”
Heinz is one of many art and writing directors looking to discover talent at C2E2. “If you’re a writer who is interested in comics, but you don’t know how to draw, you can maybe find someone in the Artist Alley,” Hernandez said. “So, it’s just really good to network and make connections because people are really passionate here about what they do, whether being an artist or being a writer.” Heinz cautioned, “your ability to do Artist Alley or go to conventions does require some level of monetary investment and always have original work behind your table because we can’t hire you as a studio if all you have is fan art.”
For NEIU students to get hired, Heinz made some recommendations for them to get discovered. “Every convention I go to now, I actually walk around Artist Alley as an art director or a writing director and I’m actually looking for [someone] who has original art that is of a style that might fit a project that we’re working on,” Heinz said.
Heinz’s suggestion to students who are looking for writing advice would be, “500 words a day. Just sit on down [for] 15 minutes, [or] 30 minutes every day, write 500 words towards your book. Usually what will end up happening is we’ll write way more, but if you do 500 words a day, it’s a small time commitment and over the course of a year, you will end up with a freaking book.”
If a student has a book or artwork ready to showcase, Heinz emphasized the need to network with the community of that particular genre. “A smaller literary science fiction convention or even just a smaller anime show that might only be a two-day one, that is a far better convention [than C2E2] to actually get more one-on-one time,” Heinz said. He specifically mentioned WindyCon as an example of a better convention for networking.
Asking for tips about how students can juggle classes, jobs and creative projects while also being highly consistent, Nusrallah responded, “Consistency really means consistently putting in the time and doing the work, but also respecting your body, your mind and your health to not burn yourself out,” Nusrallah elaborated.
“I struggle with that all the time,” Nusrallah admitted, “I’m currently balancing multiple shows, balancing the conventions [and] balancing family; and so I think the key is to find the time to take care of yourself, so that you don’t run into burnout.”
Nusrallah’s last remarks for NEIU students were: “so just put yourself out there even if it’s just talking to a new friend.”
Hernandez’s last remarks were to encourage students interested in art or creative writing to pursue their careers by visiting conferences. “I would just say if you are a current college student who is interested in those types of a career path: that is a writer or artist, [then] C2E2 could be a great place to network or just to maybe find a mentor.”
C2E2, ACen, Fan Expo and WindyCon are just four places in the Chicagoland Area where fans of nerd culture can unite. On that portrayal, “I feel like there aren’t many spaces nowadays where you go somewhere and everybody is just happy to [be] genuinely ecstatic to be there. And so don’t be afraid to be a part of that and take advantage of it,” Kung said.
