A comic book and gaming convention began in Billings Friday morning with over 50 vendors, many dedicated to tabletop games, trading cards and the artists who created them.
Hundreds of people mill around the 10,000 square feet sprawl, a venue chosen to give Montana a large premier event for this type of convention, which highlights all things nerd culture including creative costuming known as cosplay, competitive card game and video game tournaments, educational panels and the many vendors and artists.
Washington-based artist RK Post is one of the convention’s special guests. Cards cover the tables he sits behind, and he says he’s been illustrating Magic the Gathering cards for nearly three decades.
Magic the Gathering is a popular card game with roleplaying elements. Each card represents a spell the player can cast and features intricate characters: figures with flowing hair and gowns, monsters bristling with thorns and creatures posing with ferocious-looking weapons.
“So, maybe if you’re falling short of understanding the text, you can look at the art and maybe get a notion of what the card does,” said Post.
Also at the convention are local Billings artists, like Holly Ward, who creates whimsical illustrations with elements from nature.
Tattoo artists Rena Higaki and Kendra Thorn displayed their art and offered their tattooing services at the event.
Freelance artist Sage Windfeather creates bright, colorful art with equally colorful characters.
