So im going to my first ever convention today (super nervous) and was wondering if you possibly had any advice or tips?
ohhHHHH okay !!!
well some things to keep in mind are -
Knowing the convention center !!!! if there's any way you can gt a general idea for the layout, it will be super helpful !!!! depending on how big the convention is will depend on how easily you can find access to things like a map though. Knowing your way around the con or just general locations are super good if you're in groups/going with parents and you split up. Whether its a large landmark or an entrance/exit it gives you a place to meet with the people you went to the con with if you ever need to find each other !!! Some examples are; The front entrance Large landmarks (At anime boston, my friends and i had the giant rainbow yaoi flag in the dealers room.) The registration areaThings like that are good to know! Even if it's just finding them at the con, it's best to have a meeting place.
Knowing what panels you might want to attend !!! A large part of conventions is getting to go to panels! Theres a wide variety of panel types (informative, Q&A, cosplay, games, etc)! Usually the convention website will have a schedule posted with all of the different panels and events that will take place during the con. If you wanted to go to anything, I would recommend picking out things to go to and then figuring out where they are before hand, especially if its a bigger convention!!!
Artist Alley and the Dealers Room !!! Depending on the size of the convention, this may just be one large room, or it might be seperate rooms! Either way, this is where you buy everything. The Dealers Room is a massive compile of all kinds of merch, food, manga/dvds, art, figurines, and so on. You can buy so much stuff here, especially if its a massive convention. Artist Alley is for artists!!! Here is where you can buy prints, keychains, stickers, smaller trinkets, and sometimes things lke shirts or body pillows! (A lot of this stuff is also found in the dealers room as well, but the different between the two is that almost all of the merch in Artist Alley is by the artist in the booth, while a lot of stuff in the dealers room is going to be more official stuff!) EITHER WAY, if you plan on buying stuff, be sure to save up because some of it can be pricey. Have some stuff you might want to get (A specific series for prints, maybe a figurine you really want, or merch from a specific artist going to that convention!)
Remember to eat and drink water !!! This is more of a personal thing, but I have a very bad habit of forgetting to eat/drink water at conventions. I get very caught up in the general con-excitement and because of it I forget things like that. I tend to actually lose a decent amount of weight because I will literally forget to eat unless I'm reminded to. It's a bad habit of mine, so try very hard to remember to eat and drink water!! It's very hot inside of conventions and there's usually a lot of walking involving, so you can get dehydrated easily. Know places near by the convention you can go to get food!! Sometimes food sold in the convention center (if its a larger convention) is very expensive.
Have a camera ready !!! Cosplayers love it when you take their picture! it's like your way of saying "HEY i really love your cosplay/you look really great/etc" and it's very flattering for people to ask this! It's also super exciting for people. If you see a cosplayer, there's nothing wrong with asking for a picture! Be sure to ask first though because it's generally frowned upon to snap pictures without asking before hand in case someone wants to pose, or is in the middle of doing something!
Know about fandom meetups !!! Fandom meetups are super fun and always a blast. They usually involve photoshoots for the people who are in cosplay, and are most likely listed as such. Generally it's a great time for people who like the same series to get together and make friends, take pictures and have fun together!! Usually if theres a forum or facebook page for the convention, you should be able to find info on it there if there will be a meetup for that series! I can't promise there will be a meetup for your favorite series, but if it's very popular and the convention is on the larger side I wouldn't be surprised if there was going to be one at some point! Usually a day, time and place will be listed ("Saturday at 2pm, we'll meet in the courtyard outside of the convention" as an example!)
hmmMMM i can't really think of any other major points, but if other people want to add on to this feel free to !!! I hope you have fun at your convention !!!!
