Phoenix Comicon 2012 [#PhxCC]

SOO EXCITED!!!! Just thought I would share the link to all of the photo ops they will have this year!! I'm soooo getting the Star Trek group pack for $175!!!

View Phoenix Comicon 2012 Photo Op List!

Phoenix Comicon 2011 [#PhxCC]

Comics, Zombies, and Dancing Robots oh my!...

I just had one of the funnest weekends, ever. This weekend I was one of the lucky 20,000 people that came to the Phoenix Comicon. It was my very first time going to a convention of any kind, and I loved it! My feet were dead tired afterwards but it was worth it! I had such a good time, I wanted to tell the tales of my epic adventure and share some photos and videos.

To be honest, I haven't ever had the urge to attend a convention.  Especially something like, the comicon? Isn't that were all the people who like comic books, game systems, and those weird cartoons... anime? I was asked to go last year and I said no.

This year my dance group, Thrill The World Phoenix Valley, was asked to attend so we could teach Michael Jackson's Thriller.  I really enjoy doing Thriller FlashMobs so I decided to check out the Phoenix Comicon website. I got to the Phoenix Comicon homepage and the first thing I saw was Leonard Nimoy's photo. HOT DIGGITY DOG!! Spock was going to be there, super cool! The more I kept looking the more I got pretty pumped up about the whole thing.  I signed up for my photo opportunity with Leonard Nimoy and Adam Baldwin right then and there! I came pretty close to buying a photo with Wil Wheaton too.

I don't know how you gain the title "nerd" or "geek" but I suppose at times I would fall into that category from time to time.  I'm not really a die hard Trekkie fan, but at the same time I am.  Star Trek reminds me of my Granddad, we would watch Star Trek every day together.  I'm pretty sure I didn't know what was going on 1/2 the time but I was having fun with my Granddad! So, getting to meet one of the biggest icons of our time and the star of the show I used to watch with my Granddad made me pretty excited!

I'm a pretty big fan of the TV show Chuck.  I have been rooting for Chuck since the first episode hooked me in like a fish.  I found it by accident too, just random channel surf fun back in the good old days before I had a DVR. I've always been into computers, gadgets, and fixing things so the show instantly caught my eye.  Don't believe me? Check out this blog post I wrote about all of the gadgets I own, I have even more now too [Heather's Gadgets Post]. So, you cannot believe how excited I was to meet Adam Baldwin [John Casey] in person.  He was such a cool guy in person! The first thing he said was "Hello Gorgeous" so he's an A+ in my book, Hahaha!!! Looking back on this opportunity... I wish I would have asked him to do his annoyed man grunt that he does in Chuck... hahaha! I love it!

Wil Wheaton [left] Elvira [right]

Another famous person I got the opportunity to meet was Wil Wheaton.  I didn't pay for a photo or anything but I did see him by the photo booth hang'n out.  So my group of friends went over to say hi and see if we could swindle a photo or two with him.  He was such a chill guy, he let us down easy about the photos but he did tell us when we COULD get a photo with him without having to pay an arm and leg. Awesome!

On a side note...  I'm almost certain Wil does his own tweets because he was face-planted in his phone before he chatted with us in person.  You see all of these famous people on twitter and you always wonder if it's really them doing it.  I think he was tweeting right when we came over to say hi. How cool and legit is that? Later on we saw him again and I was able to snap a distant photo and then I saw him walking downtown Phoenix when we were on the Darth Vader Bike Taxi. I vote that Wil Wheaton is the winner of the Phoenix Comicon Mr. Congeniality Award. I ended up getting to see him 3 different times, super cool.

Did I mention this was my first "Con"? That means my schedule planning was WAY off. I'm kicking myself in the shins right now thinking about all of the stuff I missed out on. I bought a full event pass but I only was able to make it on Saturday and Sunday.  I guess I'll have to learn how to play dungeons and dragons on my own time.  I was also looking forward to the film previews, the rockband concert, learning how to draw a dragon, the Chuck panel, and of course the Leonard Nimoy Star Trek panel.

The Line to get your pre-paid ticket

Being busy all week took a toll on my Thursday, Friday, and Saturday [evening] availability. I was finally Con-bound Saturday at 11:30am.  I had my photo op with Leonard Nimoy at 12 and the notes on the ticket said to be there 10 minutes before.  Since I had already pre-paid for my tickets I thought I wouldn't have to wait or worry at all.  I couldn't have been more wrong in my life.  If you hadn't already gotten your lanyard pass the line to get it was Six Flags extreme roller coaster line long... It was 100% certain I wasn't going to make my photo appointment with Leonard unless I did something drastic. I could feel my arm pits and palms starting to get sweaty...

Luckily, we were able to call in a favor from our artist friend Derrick.  He was one of the comic book artists with a booth so he had an extra pass.  He let me have that pass so I was able to jump out of the line from hell and get into the Leonard Nimoy line. I was lucky enough to run into my friend Chris who let me have some cutsies in the Leonard Nimoy line, he wasn't far from the end but it made waiting in line a lot more fun. I guess I was wearing my lucky socks or something Saturday.  They should have called it Phoenix Line-Con 2011 instead of Phoenix Comicon 2011, haha! I give many many thanks to all of my friends for saving the day for me, like a true comic book heros for real!

My adventure doesn't end here...

After my Leonard Nimoy and Adam Baldwin photo we went to get something tasty to eat. I was so hungry so I didn't even think to get a photo, but the tacos I got were so tiny it was "comic"al. I think the shell was 3 inches wide, I had a pretty good laugh.

Every Diva needs her wardrobe change.  Since my nice photo ops were finished I was ready to get into my Zombie Trekkie costume.  I went into the restroom and a nice girl came in and as it turned out, she was a zombie makeup artist expert.  It was so cool, she took charge of the whole thing and my zombie makeup has never looked better.  I picked a really awesome bathroom to use I guess.  What are the odds?  There were two sisters in the bathroom getting ready with too.  They were working the Star Wars booth and the one was dressed as Princess Leia. Seems like a start of a bad joke... 2 Star Wars girls and 1 Zombie walk into a bar...

We walked around for a while, in full Trekkie costume.  I had a few people ask me for a photo, wonder if I'm out there on the internet somewhere looking very cool and undead!  It was getting close to Thrill time with my dance group so we headed to my car to grab the printed goodies I made to pass out.  It was such a far walk, after standing around all day and I hadn't even danced in thriller flashmobs yet.

On my way back to our special Thrill The World Phoenix Valley room I could hear Thriller blasting through the halls.  I looked at the time and my tiredness must have gotten the better of me, I must have been walking really slow.  I ALMOST missed my Thriller flashmob! I ran down the hall stumbling through the crowd and made it to the dancers... At this point I remembered I didn't pass off my backpack or any of my things... I went in anyways.  I started busting out my rawr turns and booty bounces and before you know it I heard a loud plastic break noise, I thought something of mine must have fallen.  I ran off to the sidelines to see if it was my camera filled with photos, I had been wearing it around my neck all day and now it was gone.  These little girls said it was a makeup case, but they weren't for sure.  Soon I found out that I passed off my camera and I was able to pass off the rest of my stuff.  I was ready to get back into the Thriller flashmob!

It was like a game of double dutch, I waited for the right time to hop back in...  Rawr turn rawr turn, I was back in...  If you watch the video you can see I had a fan.  A red shirt wearing Trekkie guy bolted through the crowed and plopped down right in front of me to get his paparazzi on. It was really cool having a fan, but it was also awkward because my costume wasn't the greatest for all the Thriller dance moves.  I regret the decision to dance in a skirt, haha. It looked cool and I was also wearing shorts, but it wasn't cool when you had a photographing fan on his knees taking photos of you. Live and learn, I still had a lot of fun! :)

We did another flashmob in the food court, nothing fell and there weren't any kneeling photographers this time. We directed everyone into our room so we could teach the everyone Michael Jackson's Thriller! Our room was already filled with potential Zombies. It was pretty amazing to teach that many people the dance moves.  They caught on quick [only a 45 min class] and we were able to do the entire dance a couple of times through. They "killed" it, haha!

I'm almost certain this blog post could be a small novel.  I'm not even close to being finished yet. Haha!

Darth Vader Bike Taxi

My legs and feet were ready for some sitting and my tummy was ready for some eating right about now. This is where we found one of those bike taxi's to take us to our friends Dain and Sherry for food. This was my first time getting to ride one of those bike taxi things, and it was soo cool! Did I mention it was the coolest bike taxi, ever?  The driver was dressed as Darth Vader and as you drove down the street he played the theme song.  It was by far, my favorite part of the whole Phoenix Comicon event. Everyone cheered as we drove past and we even spotted Wil Wheaton walking down the street! I'm telling you, award winner of the 2011 Phoenix Comicon Mr. Congeniality! We made it to The Rose and Crown in pure Comicon style.  Dain let me sample one of his chicken wings and I'm telling you, nothing has ever tasted so good in my life. I had no choice but to order a full plate for myself. I'm having a mini daydream about those hot wings right now. It was a lot of fun to wind down with friends, meet new people while enjoying those wings over conversations of "Con" adventures.

My first day of Phoenix Comicon was over.  I had to drink a gallon of water and take 2 Aleves to make the pain and dehydration go away. Pure Awesomeness, I'd do it all over again! I think I'm just a wee bit out of shape, I wasn't even there that long.

Sunday, I slept in way too late.  I blame my alarm for not punching me in the face to wake me up.  Like a beep beep is going to do the trick. Finally got my "Con" back on around 4pm.  I was feeling pretty pumped because on my way there I saw a DeLorean parked by the gas station.  Ok... here is one of my nerd alerts.  What is my favorite movie of all time? Back to the future!  If anyone from that movie was ever at Comicon I'd pay any amount to meet them and have my photo taken with them.  If I was rich, I'd buy a DeLorean and pimp it out time machine style.

Sunday was a nice and calm day at the "Con". We were able to leisurely walk around and look for goodies to buy. I ended up finding the coolest shirt design ever.  It's a picture of a number 6 all freaked out because 7 is eating 9.  Hahahaha!! Too cute!  While we were looking, we ended up getting to meet the artist of my shirt and he agreed to sign my shirt.  We were both very excited about the whole thing. I knew I had brought special markers with me for a reason! You should check them out online. HouseofHaHa.com and HouseofHaha on Facebook

Aaron the artist from the HouseofHaHa.com

Our next stop was the karaoke room, but it looked like it was already finishing up so we went to the wrap it up panel down the hall.  It was the only panel I got to go to, so I was still pretty excited.  At the end, they gave away all of this stuff and I got my very first comic book.  I don't know anything about comics, but I have ONE now. I think that's pretty cool.  I almost left without getting one. Whoo hooo! Look at me getting my geek on! I have it in a safe place so I don't have a photo of it yet.

That's the end to my glorious journey!  I have many photos you can view and a video of all the video clips I took here and there, you can even see the Thriller flashmob.

HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL NEXT YEAR! My goal is to try for the San Diego Comicon one day, so I can meet more and more people.

My 2011 Phoenix Comicon Photos --- Comicon Flickr Album



I found a video of our Thriller Flashmob

Happy 311 Day Everyone!

March 11, 2011 marks a very special day in my rock'n'roll heart. March (03) Day (11) Year (2011) puts this month and today's date at "311". Funny enough, that is the name of one of my favorite bands! I made a special playlist just for the other 311 fans like myself, turn up the volume and enjoy!

Heather Kant's 311 Radio Player

I'm pretty sure I can remember listenting to 311 back in MIDDLE SCHOOL! Lets just say I'm "down down" with their music! Not to mention their music makes my energy a shade of amber. Here are a few photos I took at a 311 Concert @ The Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona [July 10th 2009].

Fresh & Easy Design-A-Bag Contest

Over 1,300 bag submissions were made, only 8 bags left on Design-A-Bag Idol. Who will be the final winner receiving free groceries for a year and getting to see their bag printed in every store? Well, we'll just have to wait and see. You can visit Fresh & Easy's website to vote on your favorite designs. 

Good News: This was the first design contest that I've ever entered. I had a fun time designing my bags and I'm really pleased on how they turned out. Adobe Illustrator isn't one of my favorite programs, so it was nice to get creative using it to enjoy it more. 


I'd have to say sometimes it feels good to let yourself go and design what YOU want. When I was creating my bags the only thing that ran through my head was: "What would I like to see on a bag? What would I buy?" So, that is what I designed... Well, of course a beach scene or flowers would have been better but I had to stick with the company's theme too. haha.

It was fun and I learned a lot. I'm very happy I participated in this contest and now I'm looking for more contests to enter. I also had a lot of fun getting creative with my design co-workers who also designed bags. We won in my heart! =P

Bad News: Tear down my eye. My co-workers and I didn't get into the top 8. Next time! Next time!

Sadly, I don't think the top 8 designs were the best though. I wouldn't see them in the corner of my eye and think, I need to have that bag [girl talk "SUPER CUTE"]. I wish the dog one would have been a cute happy dog instead of a mean angry looking dog, and then I'd vote on that one. I'm not sure what they were looking for or who picked the top 8 designs, because these aren't my favorite.


I'm happy for the winning designers though and I cannot wait for them to have their bags in the store, that would be a such an honor. It will also be nice to have free food for a year! WHOO HOO! I hope it goes to someone who could really use the free food, then I'm ever extra happy for them.

Here are the bag designs I made:

Sex and the City 2 - Movie Premiere

How lucky can one girl get?  When the Sex and the City movie came out 2 summers ago my friend Melissa and I called into the radio station trying to win tickets to the movie premiere. We both called and called... WHOOO!!! I was the winning caller 25!!!!!!  I had never been so excited in my life! It was like winning the lottery for me, haha.

The night of the premiere Melissa and I headed down to Tempe after work, dressed up in our super cute shoes and outfits.  We arrived and the line was already around the building, our jaws were on ground.  This was our first premiere so we didn't know what to expect. We waited in line with our fingers crossed and for a couple of hours. In the end we made it into the theater, we were the last of the 10 people to get in. We had to sit in the very front row, but it was still super fun!

Now Sex and the City 2 is here!  SUPER EXCITING!!!! **girly screams**

Last night was the movie premiere for Sex and the City 2 and my friend Angela landed tickets and she took me with her! Whooo Hooo! I was sooo excited to be able to go to a Sex and the City movie premiere again.  This time it was at the Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall and it fit the scene a lot better. [Waiting in line next to a Louis Vuitton store instead a dumpster behind the Harkins at the Tempe Marketplace makes a difference, lol]

I really am grateful to Angela for picking me for her extra ticket! We had such a fun time and the movie was great! I cannot wait till you all can see it this Friday, you're going to love it! Thanks again Angela!

Movie Review: I did like the first movie better, there was a lot more going on and it showed more of the deep friendship the women have for each-other [I enjoyed that part the most].  But this one was still super cute and filled with the best fashion. You'll never believe what happens!

Top Ten Graphic Design Tips

I was recently asked what advice I would give to someone studying to be a professional graphic artist. I had a whole list of things and I thought I would share with you. Enjoy!

1. Ok, I know those art school commercials say you don't need to be creative to be a graphic designer. FALSE. I strongly believe art/design/colors/layouts/fonts should all be something your passionate about. It isn't something you can just LEARN overnight. Yes, you can learn programs and how colors work but if you think it will happen magically without work and goals you are kidding yourself.  There were people like this in my college and it just took time away from the us, the students who seriously wanted to learn and succeed. 

2. An important tool to master would be the pen tool. It is one that I use all of the time... learn it, love it, own it. You'll use it a lot including one of my biggest pet peeves, cutting stuff out in photoshop. It's embarrassing for everyone involved when we watch people cut stuff out using the marquee or lasso tool. I mean those other tools work, just not as good and not as easy to make adjustments. It makes you look like a total nube or a lazy, just say'n.

3. KEEP EVERYTHING! Never use the eraser tool if you can help it. It's always best to mask your things out incase you need to modify in the future. Photoshop has layers and groups for a reason, use'em. Nothing is more irritating than opening up someone's files and finding everything low res and flattened. TEARS. 

4. SHORTCUTS. They hounded and hounded us in college to use shortcuts and I'm thankful for that. There really isn't any reason you should be mousing up to do things. I have worked with several designers in the past that didn't even know how to copy paste with shortcuts. RED FLAG, they ended up being horrible workers and they were horrible designers as well. Know your stuff, shortcuts are EASY.  If you aren't using them, please know we are all laughing at you behind your back. 

I'M TELLING YOU THIS BECAUSE I CARE.

5. Macintosh computers. Gosh I hate to bring this up again but seriously you should be working on a mac for graphic design. It's just meant for our programs. Don't be scared... once you go mac you wont go back. I'm serious.

6. Backup your work and hit save as much as you can remember. It's only a matter of time [especially on a pc] when your computer will bite the dust or freeze up. It has happened to me one too many times. I should know better by now. SIGH. 

7. When your in college design things that will work in a professional world too. You need to think about what potential employers will be looking for [DVD cases, posters, ads, business cards, logos, and packaging...ect]. I'm not saying to suck out all of the creativity and fun but just to keep in mind you will need good marketing portfolio items, don't make everything pink.

8. Networking. This is one of the biggest things in the design world. You have a friend that needs a logo, DO IT. The more people you meet and know the better off you will be. Plus, you'll have items to use in your portfolio. Try your best to be friendly, I've won freelance jobs just because I'm friendly [and they told me so, a feather in my cap!].

9. Design Fun. Make sure to venture out and do things for yourself. Make sure you have the coolest business cards, myspace profile, facebook icon, custom t-shirts, and custom artwork on your walls. Stay freshy fresh and creative. I notice when I design for fun it really gets my creativity going.

10. HIGH RESOLUTION. Make everything in the highest resolution as possible [including: custom shapes and smart objects] so you wont lose quality if you need to go back.  

I hope this might help any new designer looking for tips, or even an old designer that is looking to pump up the volume. It was fun to share some of my knowledge, it's second nature to me. 

Heather Kant, on YouTube!

What an exciting week for me! I've managed to get so many things done, including my cool new ----WAIT FOR IT --- "Graphic Design Video Resume".  I'm sure you just gasped due to excitement and cannot wait to watch it.

The awesome idea came to me a week ago while driving home after a delish meal from good ol' Applebees. I was trying to think of ideas that would be eye catching and one of a kind. BLAM! The idea hit me like a ton of bricks!  I came home and started trucking away at the graphics.  Now I'm up and running! =)

I think the video turned out pretty awesome! I already have 85 views in 2 days, yowza!!!! I know I don't have that many friends, who is clicking?!  I think that is a pretty good sign I'm doing something right.

Feel free to check it out, rate me, or even add my video as your favorite. I'd really appreciate it, and will gladly return the favor! Enjoy my awesome graphic design skills, with music... inst inst inst inst...

hmmm... I wonder if Applebees gives you super graphic design idea powers??? I should go back and see if I can think of anything else. HAHA!

The beautiful store called...they want their Arizona views back

I recently went browsing through my photos to take a trip down memory lane and I picked out a few photos I thought you might enjoy. 


Over the past year I have fallen in love, with hiking. I'm not hard core or willing to climb crazy rocks [yet] but I do enjoy a leisure hike to the top of a moderately sized mountain. I really enjoy the trail by my house because it's a nice steady incline. Not too hard... Not too easy... Just right!


My friend Melissa got me into hiking, I'm surprised she got me to go. At first I was NOT excited to be stomping around in nature [bugs, birds, rocks, snakes, and who knows what else - scary!]. After the first time we went - I was HOOKED! 

If you haven't ever been on a hike or anything like that before I think you should try it! I don't know if it's because I'm artistic but my personal feelings of the world and Phoenix have changed a lot, because of hiking. It's like an entire different world up there, plus you're getting a work out too! Personally, before my hike adventures I didn't even notice all of the mountains around town. I just saw Phoenix as this flat desert with a few palm trees with rock landscape instead of grass, boy was I wrong.  Looking around there is a mountain almost ever couple of miles and always in looking distance.  It's really quite beautiful.

I think the one of the best things about hiking in Phoenix would be the photo ops. I have taken so many photos on my hiking adventures that it is just crazy. I have even woken up at 6am [and I'm not a morning person at ALL!] just to be sure to get a hike in my day. A hike a day keeps the laziness away?? Is that the saying? haha!

Heather Kant's Photo of the day! Downtown Phoenix Arizona

Believe it or not...This photo was taken with my cell phone [Motorola Rokr].  I think it turned out pretty sharp.  I took it about a year ago from one of the buildings downtown Phoenix while I was waiting for the elevator.

What a spectacular view!  Can you imagine working in an office that overlooks that every day? Actually I can! I worked in a building down town Phoenix once [Cableone]...and truthfully it was VERY distracting. Everyone would catch their-self looking out during meetings and training classes. Ha ha! It was sure a nice location right by the freeway too.

Heather Kant's Photoshop Magic...Spray!

My secrets reviled! Lets take a look behind the red curtain!

Do you ever wonder how I create such splendid graphics and designs?  Do you ever sit behind me as I work my magic and wish you could do it too? Doesn't it look easy, almost like sending a quick email? Do you ever think to yourself... Heather can fix/make it!?

Well, just like the magicians on TV I am also willing to reveille my magic tonight.  If you think I learned things in college or perhaps with 6+ years of design experience - You're wrong! CLEARLY It's a spray I use to spritz my computer monitor when nobody is looking.  Nobody can be that good...all of the time.  (tehe)

Side-note: Costo sells the spray, you can buy it in bulk if you're a member.  Enjoy! Hey... I'm just kidding. Heather's Photoshop Magic Spray isn't real.  So sorry!

Scroll-Tas-Tic-TIME! Fun website!

Working in the computer world sometimes you get friends that forward you the coolest or strangest things! A couple of weeks ago my friend Scott emailed me this! How impressive!

Check it out!
http://toki-woki.net/p/scroll-clock

Happy Thanksgiving! From Heather Kant!

Whooo Hoooo!!! Hopefully you have the day off to eat like a pig & lazy bones with your family and friends! I Just wanted to wish you a happy Thanksgiving! I cannot wait to put up my Christmas decorations!!

ps. Christmas is getting close! Let me know if you need me to help you with Christmas cards or any cool projects! <3 crafts!