Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Animated Events: Artwork at Gen Con 2026


 Was on the fence about going to Gen Con this year. I skipped last year's event because I wanted to save money for a new car. But I found that I enjoyed doing my own 'Gen Con' week of solo gaming a lot more than expected. Started looking forward to a quiet week of cooking and gaming as well as saving all that money on gas, lodging, and food. And it almost stopped there. The issue was, there were a number of friends going this year. So I shared my thoughts with Mom. Ever the fount of wisdom, she mentioned how my Aunt unexpectedly passed away in March and we never know how much time we will have with our family and friends. So, I might want to think twice before skipping out on those chances to spend time with loved ones. Point taken. Badge, hotel, and parking pass bought and paid for. It was worth the time spent. Above and beyond the time I took to reconnect with friends, Gen Con is always a haven of incredible artwork. When I wasn't with friends or walking between sessions, I was looking at all the art like I was at this wonderful museum of gaming.

I don't play this game, but it looks really cool.

Love the annual mini painting contest

I'm not a puzzle person, but this is pretty cool!

League had a much larger presence than I realized.

Battletech, always good for some awesome art.

Wow... that is new!

I miss you Henry Cavill...

I'm not a 40K fan, but this is really cool!

I don't play Pathfinder, but Paizo's artwork and sculptures are always top notch!




Always worth the walk over to the Lucas Oil Stadium to see Genevieve, the Gen Con mascot.

Genevieve

Again, lots of League of Legends artwork, this time from a third-party reseller of the Riftbound card game. I couldn't help but wonder what Riftbound sales would be like if they had released the upcoming K/DA albums and had a K/DA Riftbound pack release...

Cause it's all about the Vastayan foxgirls!

Not much a drinker, but I like how they went all out on this display.

There were a lot of great games to play and purchase at the con, but my favorite was free. Luke Gygax, the son of Dungeons and Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax, autographed a copy of the book he wrote: Luke Gygax's World of Okkorïm. 


Next year is a big anniversary for Gen Con. I'm planning on attending with my college roommate. And it'll likely be my last for a while. I've only missed three since 2002. After a while, as enjoyable as it has been, you start to feel like you've seen and done everything there is to do. And then you start to wonder about what else is out there and what else you could do with your vacation time... like visiting all the great art museums in the world. Hrm...

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