A sunny day in Sheffield

I had a pleasant day at the Robot: Illustration and Creative Arts Convention yesterday. I had to get up at 5.30am for an early start but after train delays I didn't arrive until just after 10am. Fortunately, the Millennium Gallery venue was only a short walk from the station. When I arrived, there were already some people waiting for sketches so it was a matter of setting up quickly and getting right into drawing. It was good to meet artist Ed Syder, who had the table next to mine. Check out his site here:
http://cargocollective.com/edsyder

The pace slowed down as the day went on and the glorious weather may have played a part in that, but there seemed to be a constant flow of attendees visiting the event, attracting people of varied interests. As always at such shows, some were just out for a browse, but it was good to do some sketching and signings and to gain new readers for my Derek the Troll comic. 

It was great to meet up with old friends and familiar faces from the comics industry too. Good to see artist Peter Doherty looking well again after his recent spell in hospital. Also great to catch up with David Leach, Bambos Georgiou, Fiona Stephenson, Mychailo Kazybrid, and Carl Flint. 

Artist and colourist Pete Doherty.

Mychailo, Bambos, Darryl, and two young attendees.

It was a relatively short event, only running from 10am to 4pm, so afterwards, myself and David Leach, Bambos and his wife Jane, Pete Doherty, his daughter and her boyfriend had a walk to a nearby Chinese buffet bar.

100 years of comics experience between us. David Leach, Bambos Georgiou, and me.

Although I've visited Sheffield twice before for conventions on the outskirts of town, this was the first time I'd had the opportunity to stroll around the town itself, thanks to Robotcon being so central. I was very impressed with the place and I hope there's another event there next year. 

My thanks to my comic pals for being brilliant company as always, and special thanks to convention organiser Darryl Robson for inviting me and putting on the event. There's a very good video news item about it on the Sheffield Live! website that includes interviews with Darryl Robson, Mychailo Kazybrid, and Bambos Georgiou:
http://web.sheffieldlive.org/millennium-gallery-hosts-robot-con-return/

More photos from the event can be found on the convention's Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/robotconsheffield/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1872170106355040

Here's a few photos I took around Sheffield after the convention...