Yamamoto was mentioned on the MangaGamer blog page a couple of days before the convention. Katakura was listed as being a guest in their blog about two weeks before the convention.theultimatebrucelee wrote:woh, can't believe I missed Kazue Yamamoto attendance, don't think she was even advertised for the event..
The only one who was not advertised until a couple of hours prior to Saturday was Alpha. I only found out after another site updated with their twitter message. Although I had seen her work on several YJ auctions, I didn't know who exactly she was until I saw her signature.
Yamamoto & Alpha were at AX on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, Yamamoto was initially selling pre-printed shikishi and she would draw on the back of it for $20. However, after a few people, if you gave her a blank shikishi, she would draw on that instead of the pre-printed ones. Alpha was selling a pre-printed shikishi and a file for $10. After being prompted to sketch, she decided she would, and if you gave her a blank shikishi, she'd draw on it instead of the back of the pre-printed version. Initially, on Sunday, only a couple of people lined up for Yamamoto as everyone was in the Alpha commission line. I felt bad that Yamamoto didn't have much business, and thanks to some nice people in line that were willing to hold my spot, I purchased another commission from Yamamoto. Since she wasn't busy, through a translator, we asked Yamamoto if she would be willing to do color sketches. I brought my COPICS with me, so Yamamoto used my pens and made a few colored shikishi. Once word got out that Yamamoto was willing to draw in color, a lot more people lined up for her. The Alpha commission line was nifty, and there was no set price on her artwork - it was just whatever you were willing to pay. I think most people gave her $80-$100 for the sketch. I was a bit bummed that Alpha wouldn't allow me to take a picture of her with her finished drawing, but a lot of artists are very sensitive about having their pictures taken. On Monday, since Alpha and Yamamoto were out enjoying LA, there were a bunch of pre-printed shikishi with sketches done by Yamamoto on the back of them. They were heavily discounted, so I purchased several of them. Most of the characters were either from Izumo or Angel's Feather.
I'm still a bit bummed that Katakura wouldn't draw anything but Kirakira except on Monday. But judging from what you mentioned, it looks like Katakura raised the price for his colored sketches on Saturday.
If you two go next year, let me know. It's always fun to talk to other collectors in line and at the charity auctions.
