August 2008



Arastin Squid

Arastin Squid by Meg Lyman

Character commission for the Wandering Men

WOW. It’s almost here. Labor Day weekend approaches much too quickly!

I want to share with you a bit of my convention preparation, in the hopes that it might help someone someday. First, a bit of background: I’ve never done business at Dragon*Con before, so it’s all new to me. I have two panels in the Art Show and an Artist’s Bazaar table, which is like a Dealer’s table but in the same room as the art show. In slightly organized order:

  • Get prints and t-shirts restocked
  • Decide what art to put in the show
  • Mat it, bag it, price it, put the pre-printed Dragon*Con barcodes on it, and decide on a layout
  • Print an inventory (so I know which prints, originals, and t-shirts I have and how many)
  • Start and finish a large cephalopod-related painting GAH
  • Update my print book (the one I put out front for people to flip through)
  • Print out a list for people to sign up for commissions
  • Buy candy for the table - free candy stops people like no art can do
  • Get ready to PARTY

It’s going to be a blast, but I am not going to enjoy the anticipation like a non-working attendee until I get all these things done. I have a good handle on them… except for the painting. I am not going to sleep this weekend. And I’ll probably not get to post again until after the con.

AIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! :D


Coulton Squid

Coulton Squid by Meg Lyman

5×7″ gouache on paper

At a recent convention, I was commissioned to create a Jonathan Coulton squid by a fan of his. He’s a cool musician guy who writes fun songs… and some are about cephalopods. How cool is that?

This is one of those commissions I really enjoyed. I love when people ask for cephalopod-related things, because it indicates that I am becoming known for them, but also because I love painting them.

For those artists out there who take commissions, what are your favorite subjects?


Undersea Love

It’s love… strange love, but love.

Gouache on watercolor paper, 8×10″


OK, so I got back from RAGBRAI a week ago. But! I have had a hugely busy week (and weekend) at work and I’m just now getting back into the swing of things. I did update my website with some new art, so check it out.

I’ll post more artsy things later this week. For now, have some photos from my trip, featuring a cute little monster made by treesofmachinery. Let me know if the photo link works or not!

RAGBRAI