I have a question - I think you've gone to CTN Expo before? I was reading mixed reviews and I was wondering if it's worth going as a general attendee. Sorry if I'm mistaken!
I did go last year! I didn’t get to spend the whole weekend, and while the day I went was really neat and fun, I don’t know if it’s worth the price and hassle for a general attendee pass, especially if you don’t live close by.
It was definitely neat to meet other artists and I got a portfolio critique that was super helpful and helped point me in the right direction, but pondering going again as a general attendee this year seems a little pointless. You can walk around the booths with a general pass but that’s about it - anything extra is sort of dependent on chance (like that portfolio review) or if you’re making plans with people to hang out apart from the convention, but even that you can do without the pass.
If I were to go again I’d really only be down if I invested in a better pass that allowed me to see the panels/extra hosted events (but even then I’m concerned it would be below my expectations considering I didn’t hear much about those extra events afterwards or during the convention perhaps aside from the speakers, which begs the question on whether they were worth the price and lines.) Still, it was a bummer to not be able to experience anything other than the booths on the general pass. Thinking about the whole deal now without the initial excitement clouding things over, I don’t feel that I got as much out of the general pass as I should have for what I paid, so ultimately I think there’s better ways to spend your money.
