Featured Art(ists) – Catherine and Sarah Satrun

This week’s featured art(ist) post is a double feature – the work of twin animators, Catherine and Sarah Satrun!

Now, I have met both of the lovely Saturn artists. In my quest to find Wonder Woman art at C2E2 that wasn’t excessively sexual, I stumbled upon their booth. I love their styles and I ended up buying two prints (marked above) because I thought they were great pieces. One is now hanging in my office and the other is in my apartment – so that’s my personal endorsement 🙂

Since animation remains such a male dominated field, it’s awesome to see these two making an impression on the Chicago animation scene and the greater fandom world at large.

One of the things I appreciate about a lot of their work is the intentionally behind the diversity of representation. When a lot of fandom influenced art centers around mostly white, sexy bodies in tight clothes, it’s really awesome to see artists creating work that goes against that norm.

There’s a delightful sense of whimsy and fun to their work. I feel like I’m looking into a child’s imagination when I see many of their creations. Below I’ve included their animation reel – it is cool to see how their work translates to the small screen (and they’ve done stuff for MLP!)

– E.B.

C2E2 2013 – Sunday in Review

This year, I had the pleasure of going to the Chicago Entertainment Expo in the city this year. I could only go on Sunday, but the show was still in full swing.

C2E2 had a much stronger gaming presence this year, especially from the indie gaming community. One of the games I took particular note of was called Planet’s Core. It’s being developed for PC/Mac, Android and iOS. It’s a platformer game built off of a multi-planet universe. I sat and played the demo for a while, and while it was a little buggy, it still seemed creative and fun. The demo will launch for PC and Android soon, and the game is hopefully going to be released in about three months time.

Overall, there was a lot of merch. Sundays at C2E2 are more or less a  materialism frenzy of last day deals and children begging their parents for one more plushie. There was a small but strong contingent of steampunk/leather workers, and they had some awesome stuff, like this Iron Man battle vest.

One of my favorite things about cons and expos is the fabulous t-shirt inventory. My friend and I bought about 4 among us, ranging across all of the possible fandoms. My favorite find was this little gem:

I also noticed some distinctly impressive cosplay this year, which was odd since there were no adult cosplay events on Sunday. Adventure Time cosplay seemed particularly popular along with Homestuck. The best quality costume (including hair, make-up, outfit and accessories) was this FemHawke from Bioware’s Dragon Age 2.

I also had the opportunity to meet Felicia Day. When I was a young nerdling, Felicia Day was one of the most influential web-celebrities in affirming the coolness of nerd girls. She’s one of my heroes, and she was super sweet and friendly – it was great to meet her. C2E2 had a fairly extensive guest list this year, which was promising for future years of the Con.

Overall, I felt that C2E2 2013 had grown and developed from last year’s Con. It was a great show, and I hope to attend all three days next year as press! We’ll see.

– E.B.