Home from Day 1 of Montreal Comiccon

We got up at 6:30am, because John wanted to shower and shave and the last train into downtown that we could take (because we decided to take the train) was at 9:02 and we decided to walk to it.

We wasted time window shopping downtown, went to lunch to La Belle et la Boeuf where John had the Captain Flamm burger on rustic bun (that was yummy) and I had the Grill grilled cheese, before walking to the convention centre.

I would say the convention is 150% of the size of last year's, just in square footage.

The first section was the fan-built prop and costume groups like the Ghostbusters, the Delorean from Back to the Future, a bunch of Daleks all along a wall.

Then there was a bunch of artists, both famous comic book people and fan artists.

Then it was the Vendors' section, which made up about half the floor.

Then it was the promo people, mainly convention sponsors like Playstation and local entertainment things.

And finally, the autograph booths.

The Photo Ops were off to the side, in a section they never used for the main floor before, it used to be the section where they would host the panels and viewings for movies and other videos.

The panels and viewings are all on a separate floor upstairs, which may actually bring the whole square footage of Montreal Comiccon to nearly 200% of last year's actually.

Caught a glimpse of Danny Glover, or at least the top of his head, and of Julie Benz, because we walked into the autograph area and I turned around and she was RIGHT THERE behind me at her table... LOL. We also saw the professional cosplayers and Monika Lee still does not smile (does that girl ever smile outside of Heroes of Cosplay? she's much cuter when she smiles), and Yaya Han who is so freaking cute in person we decided to get a photo op with her tomorrow. Seriously, I don't know what I expected, but that woman has a permanent smile on, and she is much prettier in person than on TV.

As it turned out...

My stepfather's gallbladder removal surgery went really well. They were able to do it without having to open him up (he has massive scar tissue from two major abdominal surgeries in his early 40s and that may have been a problem for surgery, but all went super!), and he's home and resting, mildly nauseated from hunger and side-effects of anesthesia and high on Dilaudid.

I've been betting my mother he's going to feel like a million bucks once he's over the surgery, because he's been having the same alarming symptoms as one of my friends' father when his was really bad, and it mimicked heart-attack symptoms (chest pain, shortness of breath), and other things. I mean he even had a bad day last weekend while we were there, and vomited twice in the 30 minutes following supper.

Question for my peeps who draw digital art...

What material/programs do you use?

Is it expensive?

Is it worth it?

What would you suggest to a beginner who used to draw with oil pastels, sanguine, charcoal and graphite (both pencils and sticks) as well as paint with oils and acrylics and tempera paint pastilles/discs, and hasn't drawn/painted in years that would be decent but not overpriced? Or maybe secondhand?

I think that would be it...