Did you know?

That you can look at old issues of Illustration Magazine for free on their website? Happy Holidays!

http://www.illustration-magazine.com/archive.html

Student Spotlight: GRANT HANNA

We are proud to shine the SCAD-Atlanta Illustration Student Spotlight on Grant Hanna,
MFA candidate and all-around great guy. As usual, we asked him the obligatory 10
questions so everyone could get to know him a bit better. Enjoy his answers and his
wonderful artwork...

1. Where are you from?
I grew up in Chiang Mai, Thailand and lived there until I was 18 years old, then moved to the North Shore of Massachusetts for undergrad. I guess I consider Beverly, Massachusetts my adopted hometown.

2. Where have you been to school (and if grad student what kind of degree did you receive)?
I went to Gordon College in Wenham, MA for undergrad, and majored in Sculpture and Graphic Design. Then I took three years off before applying to the SCAD Illustration MFA program. 

3. What attracted you to Illustration?
I’ve always liked drawing pictures that have stories associated with them, especially when I can work collaboratively with other artists like musicians or writers to bring a visual element to what they’re doing – expressing both their and my points of view simultaneously.
My favorite pieces that I’ve done strike that place between communication and ambiguity, where the viewer can sense underlying and overlapping layers of meaning through an expression, a decorative element or a color choice.

4. Who are your biggest influences?
Hokusai, Mucha and Murakami for a long time now. Then James Jean and Sam Weber showed me how to bring those things into a contemporary setting.

5. If you weren’t studying illustration at SCAD, what would you likely be doing?
Probably I’d still be working a day job and painting at night, and going down to the beach at night to look at the lights across the bay.

6. What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love catching up on new music and talking with friends about what projects we’re working on and where they’re going. I spend a lot of time hanging out with my cat, Frog, as well.

7. What is something that most people don’t know about you?
I cook myself a meal from scratch almost every night of the week.

8. What would your dream job/client be and why?
I would love to do a wide-scope collaborative project with a publisher or author where I can
be involved from conception to execution, putting together a complete, intricately conceived design.

9. What’s your typical process for creating your artwork (technique, media, etc)?
I always start with a pencil drawing in mechanical pencil. From there I might go directly into the computer and start doing digital color, or more likely do some painting in watercolor or acrylic, or both, and then scan it and make color adjustments.

I love working with layers, textures and subtleties, especially when they come together to evoke a dreamy or melancholy air to a piece. 

10. Sum up your personal philosophy in 25 words or less.
"By being natural and sincere, one can often create revolutions without having sought them."
-Christian Dior

GENERATE! artwork is getting noticed...

The Battle and Brew challenge that our students did at this year's Generate event has been getting a bit of buzz online by several gaming blogs. Take a look at what they are saying!

Examiner.com
The Military Gamer
Game Informer

The opening of the gallery show will be posted as soon as a solid date has been nailed down.
Great job, everyone!

The Thumbnail

There is a great new blog called Muddy Colors, that is a collective of the best concept artists working today. One of our guests for this winter's Forum, Jon Foster, recently posted about his thumbnail process, which is something that we all should read and follow. Our friend Bill Mayer does upwards of 50 thumbs for each project, and his success speaks to the benefit of such intensive exploration. So, the big idea is to not fall in love with the first idea that pops into your head; dig deep, then deeper and deeper still until you've approached the problem from every conceivable angle. Let your subconscious lead you to new places, and allow things to just happen. But most of all, have fun!

Fall Quarter Bliss

Whew! What a whirlwind quarter so far. Here are a few highlights...

Thomas Blackshear

Thomas Blackshear was in town and stopped in to pay us a visit. What a phenomenal talent, and genuinely nice guy. I had met Thomas years ago and had the good fortune of crossing paths again at ICON6 in Pasadena. I have always admired his work and was tickled when he stopped by on September 22nd. He gave an inspiring presentation of his work, from movie posters to ceramic figurines, and spoke about his career, apprenticing for Mark English, working at Hallmark, and moving on to the world of fine art and collectibles.

Thomas was in town to unveil this beautiful lithograph entitled "Intimacy".

Methane Studios

The next day, on September 23rd, the guys from Methane Studios were here for the opening of their show in Gallery See called "Fuel to the Fire: The Poster Design of Methane Studios".

The show was amazing, and featured dozens of their gig posters and other beautiful screen print pieces.

 
Robert Lee and Mark McDevitt came by the classrooms to spend some time with the students, which was really a bonus. They spoke of their humble beginnings, what they found valuable about their time in art school, and the importance of drawing.

Their lecture that night was also inspiring; they showed lots of their work from Dave Matthews gig posters to advertising and logos, to packaging for clients like Blue-Q. The panel was moderated by Michael Ouweleen, Senior V.P. at Cartoon Network, another very talented and very nice guy. It was an amazing night of great artwork and smart, insightful, funny banter.

Steven Charney

On Thursday, Oct. 14th, Steven Charney, Art Director for Rolling Stone Magazine dropped in for a visit. His lecture was about his tenure at the magazine, his earlier career at other magazines and ad agencies, and the amazing illustrators he's worked with for the Review section of Rolling Stone.
He also took some time to do portfolio reviews for several illustration students, and by all accounts was very impressed, indeed.

Wayne White

 

"You're supposed to act all impressed" was the theme of his visit, and we were. VERY.

 
He charmed us with his genuine Southern Gentleman demeanor and the rich tapestry of stories that flow so effortlessly from a man who has done everything from working on his junior-high newspaper to designer and puppeteer for Pee Wee's Playhouse.

Here's a small snippet from Wikipedia:
Wayne White is an American artist, art director, cartoonist and illustrator.
After graduating from Hixson High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and studying at Middle Tennessee State University, White went to New York City and worked as a cartoonist and illustrator for a number of publications including The East Village Eye, Raw, The New York Times, and The Village Voice.
In 1986 he worked on Pee Wee's Playhouse where his work for his set and puppet designs won three Emmy awards; he also supplied a number of voices on the show. Other television credits include production and set design for Riders in the Sky, The Weird Al Show and Beakman's World.^[1]
He art directed two seminal music videos, Peter Gabriel's "Big Time" in 1986, for which he won a Billboard award for best Art Direction in a music video, and in 1996 he designed all the Georges Méliès inspired sets for the award-winning video for the Smashing Pumpkins, "Tonight, Tonight".


And, he's a very nice man, to boot. If you missed his talk, you missed a lot. Thanks, Wayne. You are welcome back any time!


It's been an awesome quarter so far, and we have even more inspiring and humbling stuff planned, so stay tuned!

GENERATE Winners!

It was a long 24 hours, but for those who stuck it out, it was worth it! What a great day, and night, and next day. Many thanks to our terrific sponsors; Wacom, Adobe and Strathmore. They really came through for us again with great prizes and art materials. Also, thanks to Chick fil a, Papa John's and Publix for keeping us well fed.

There were 17 Illustration entries, and we chose the top 6 for prizes and recognition.

First Prize, and winner of a Wacom Large Intuos4 tablet...
 
Ae Ri Yoon: Half Life2 (digital)

Second Prize, and winner of Adobe CS5 Suite...

Sean Twiddy: Galaga Dogfight (digital)

Third Prize, and winner of a Wacom Intuos4 medium tablet...

Solongo Mellecker: Shadow of the Colossus (Acrylics and powdered gold pigment)

Fourth Prize, and winner of a Wacom Intuos4 Grip Pen...

Annik Huber: King Bowser (digital)

Honorable Mentions, and winners of a SCAD-Atlanta Illustration T-shirt and signed print by Sam Weber or Anita Kunz ...

Julia Berman: Mario (digital)
and...

Andrea Sipl: God Mario (digital)

Congratulations to the winners, and our thanks and appreciation to everyone who participated!

GENERATE!

v. 2010 is here!

Get ready for 24 hours of creative mayhem, courtesy of Battle & Brew!

The Illustration Department's Generate challenge this year is to create a piece of artwork that will grace the walls of Battle & Brew, a gaming bar in Marietta, GA. They are looking for artists and illustrators to create artwork which depicts your creative reinterpretation of your favorite video games and their characters.

The challenge begins at 10am on Friday, Oct. 1, and ends at 10am on Saturday, but everyone should be on campus, ready to create, no later than 9:30am. The main gathering area for the Generate kickoff is the homework computer lab area on the 3rd floor of the main building (B) near the elevators. All the challenge specifics will be handed out at the beginning of the challenge.

There will be door prizes and materials given away all day and night, and the Challenge winners will receive terrific prizes donated by our Platinum Sponsors, Adobe and Wacom.

DO OR DO NOT. THERE IS NO SLEEP.

Sean Twiddy in the AJC

MFA candidate Sean Twiddy's editorial piece entitled "Education in Peril" appeared in today's Atlanta Journal Constitution. It's the second piece of Sean's to grace the pages of the AJC's editorial pages. Congratulations, Sean!

Methane Studios Exhibition Opening

Do You Cartoon?

John Martz from Drawn.ca posted a link to this scholarship a few days ago. If you're a student who does comics or cartoon work in any way, be sure to check it out.

AJC Editorial Artwork

The students in the ILLU764: Illustration for Publication class have been working with Will Alford and Ken Foskett at the Atlanta Journal Constitution on several articles this summer.

The first was a July 13th article written by Wyclef Jean, musician and Haiti native, about the need for further aid after the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010. The children have suffered the most, so Obekr Orhan used the raised hand of a young boy emerging from the rubble as his image of the despair in Haiti.


For the August 3rd article by Terry Garlock about the failures in the communication system between the soldiers and their commanders in Afghanistan, Nazanin Kani chose to depict a soldier's weapon with a trigger lock that has a phone dial as the combination to unlock it.


And for the August 17th article by Reese Halter on the ominous decline of the honeybee population, Semin Chun showed the Earth as a globe made of puzzle pieces, with plants that depend on bees for their survival depicted on each piece. The issue is brought home with the removal of the puzzle piece with the all-important bee on it.

This is the way it appeared in the paper, with the bee in the upper left and upright.
The intended composition showed the bee upside-down, as if dead, in the lower-right corner. Either way, the image just works.
Congrats to all the students whose work was chosen to appear in the paper, and to all the students in the class who worked on these projects. And a very heartfelt thank you to Will Alford and Ken Foskett at the AJC for embracing the idea of having our students work on these projects, and then actually using them. It was a wonderful collaboration that I hope will continue in the future.

The Illustrator as Animator Debate

Print Magazine's new web presence called Imprint has posted an article that looks at the debate that was first broached at ICON6 in Pasadena in July:

ICON Reax, Part 1: Is Animation the Future of Illustration?

It's an issue that won't go away and is worth discussing, so read on...

©Scott Gandell

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators 2010

The Society of Children's Book Wtiters and Illustrators 2010 (SCBWI) workshops are coming up in early September, and everyone who is interested in pursuing a career in Children's Books, or are even toying with the idea of writing and/or illustrating books for kids, are strongly encouraged to attend. It will be on Friday, September 3rd at the Decatur Library.

Bill Mayer and I will be talking, and there will be lots of cool and informative events all day long, including a hands-on workshop with Mark Braught!

DeKalb County Public Library, lower floor
215 Sycamore Street
Decatur, GA 30030-3413
(404) 370-8450

Click here to get the poop and sign up! There's a discount for SCAD students if 6 or more sign up, so do it! See you in September!

Rick Lovell

ICON6

Welcome to Beautiful Downtown Burbank! The flight into Burbank Airport was interesting... the runway was designed for small private planes but they allow MD80's to land there for some bizarre reason. It's essentially a crash landing then a full-on reverse thruster and brake effectiveness test until you hopefully, finally stop just short of a chain-link fence and the freeway at the end. Everyone was suddenly wide awake after the long flight. Then you disembark from the rear of the plane down a metal ladder onto the tarmac and walk under the running engines to the terminal which looks like it's a set from a 1950's movie. It's called Bob Hope Airport, and it hasn't been updated since he retired his Vaudeville act.

This, however, is why I came...

The Illustration Conference is a semi-annual event that brings together top illustrators, educators, art directors, representatives and art buyers to explore The Future of Illustration. This year's event, ICON6, was held in Pasadena, CA at the beautiful and gracious Langham Huntington Hotel.

My room was a cottage set apart from the main hotel by a covered bridge, called the Picture Bridge, that overlooks the pool on one side and a Japanese Garden on the other. This is a view of the pool from the bridge.

That's my cottage in the distance as seen from the Picture Bridge.

This is the Japanese Garden in front of my room. Not a bad place to be for a few days. It was unusually hot there in mid July, but the humidity is low so it isn't uncomfortable to be outside in the shade.

The first night, Wednesday, there were several things to do. There was a Chinatown Sketch Crawl hosted by Jeffrey Smith and Paul Rogers. There were lectures, a visit to the Clayton Brothers studio, a free-for-all soccer game, a rooftop cocktail party at Art Center, and a gallery visit to La Luz de Jesus. Guess which one I did...

Art Center College of Design is just a mile or two from the conference venue and the faculty there were instrumental in helping to organize this conference. Many students worked as interns as well. We didn't get to see much of the school because access was limited, but the rooftop party was very nice. We wanted to make it to La Luz de Jesus as well, but it got too late.


The gang from Savannah: l to r; Allan Drummond, Chair of Illustration, Kurt Vargo, faculty, Mohamed Danawi, faculty (vigorously agreeing to everything John Lowe is saying...smart man), John Lowe, Dean of Communication Arts, and Michelle Anderson, recruiter for the online degree programs.
I also met Hanoch Piven at the party... what a great guy, and I love his work.

Thursday

Thursday was dedicated to workshops. There were lots of offerings and it was difficult to choose which ones to go to, but I'm happy I got to see and meet Jeff Soto at his "Inspiration from the Fringe Artist Workshop".

Everyone was marveling at the ballroom's ornately gilded vaulted ceiling and massive chandeliers which turned slightly whenever the air conditioners came on.

The first part of Jeff's presentation was a slide show. He spoke of his upbringing in semi-rural Southern California, his early influences, his love of graffiti, etc. He showed lots of examples of his childhood drawings, his high-school and early college work, and his early professional work as well as his more recent pieces, which are typically large-scale paintings and installations.
One very cool thing he showed was his portfolio that he carried when he was first starting out as an illustrator. It's a story I keep hearing from successful pros about how important it is to package your work in a distinctly personal and appropriate way for the market you want to enter. His is a handmade box that is decidedly Sotoesque...


And here's the inside...

Jeff also did a painting demo.

He uses acrylics on panels. His palette is a one of many lunch trays that he has a habit of stealing for just such usage.
Edel Rodriguez posted this photo of the completed demo painting:


In the afternoon I went to a workshop sponsored by Adobe, demonstrating the new features in CS5. Some pretty cool stuff there.

Thursday night was the Opening Ceremonies and a Howdy from Martha Rich, President and Mark Heflin, Director

The Opening Keynote Address was entitled "The Future of Publishing- The Great Transformation"

Here is the blurb on the ICON website...


Scott Dadich, Creative Director, WIRED; Kelly Doe, Art Director, The New York Times, Jim Heimann, Executive Editor, Taschen America, and Jeremy Clark, Senior Experience Design Manager, Adobe and moderated by Roger Black, Principal, Roger Black Studios


Brace yourself. In case you hadn’t noticed, technological tools such as the Kindle and iPad are changing the way we receive and read books, magazines and newspapers. Who will win and who will lose? Wait and see, but one thing is for certain: Publishing as we knew it has forever changed. Join these publishing pioneers as they discuss how the new chapter in media will change the way individuals and corporations deploy creative content — and pay for our creative work.

The discussion spurred a bit of an outcry from the audience when it was suggested by one of the speakers that in order to be relevant in this new digital delivery marketplace, we all need to know how to make our images move. Apparently, most illustrators don't want to become animators, too. I know I don't.  Many in the audience felt that illustrators do just fine getting their point across with single frame, static images, thank you very much. However, it was suggested that it might be a good idea to work in such a way that would make it easy and economically feasible for an animator to add motion to illustrator's work. That means digitally, and in layers I assume. In any case, this debate will continue for some time, no doubt.

The two Emmcee's were Paul Rogers and Brian Rea, and each morning they kicked things off with some helpful information, such as how to get oriented to the distances between cities in the Los Angeles area, hence this helpful graphic...

It's more accurate than you think. The shuttle ride from the Burbank Airport to Pasadena felt like going from Bismark, ND to Buffalo, NY, just hotter.

The other interesting graphic they offered was also right on the money. It's a conversation translator for ICON attendees...

The statement in the left column appeared first, then the translation appeared in the right column. Very funny.

Thursday night was"The ICON6 Roadshow Artists Portfolio Salon", wherein illustrators pay for tables and lay out their promo materials while Art Directors and other buyers come in to see all the goodies and maybe hire you for some illustration work.



Friday

Friday Morning - continental breakfast and lots of coffee, then...

BDM, the smallish agency that did the groundbreaking animations and print work for United Airlines talked about that campaign and showed some inspiring animation and illustration.

Kim Witczak and Stuart D'Rozario of Barrie D'Rozario Murphy.

One of the print ads for United. They just gave the artists keywords like "flat" to describe the sleep seats available on transoceanic flights, and let them run with the idea.
This is one of their award-winning illustrated animations:


Different not Better: Increase the Value of your Illustrations Through Differentiation

Dave Peterson spoke of ways differentiate yourself from the market.

Au Currant: Two with Passion for Fashion

Bil Donovan (l) and John Jay Cabuay spoke of their careers in fashion illustration.

Bil Donovan

John Jay Cabuay

Cracking the Code: Making Sense of Contracts
Kathryn Adams had some very helpful translations of the legalese that is often confusing if not downright indecipherable in contracts. She sent me the text of her presentation and you can get it here.

Because You're Worth It: Price Negotiation
Maria Piscopo was next with ways to get more for your work. Her 7 tips are available here.


Before I go any further, you have to see Jason Holley's hilarious videos about the state of freelance illustration today. They played between sessions and kept everyone in stitches. They are available on Vimeo, and are worth a look.
Here's one for starters...

Interview from jason holley on Vimeo.

Then there were roundtable lunches that were offered, and I took advantage of them. The food was not so great (boxed ham sandwiches and such), but for the most part they were informative and useful. There were two roundtables per lunch session; about 1/2 hour at one group, then you'd go to another table for another group.
I went to one about how illustrators can become a cult brand in the fine art market. Meh...really didn't learn much.
Then I went to one hosted by Michael Fleischman about how important drawing skills are for illustrators. I believe it wholeheartedly, but I got the feeling he was really just pitching his new book.
The next day I shared a table with Tatiana EL-Khouri, who spoke about the importance of using social media in your marketing scheme. Good info, but nothing really new.
Then over to John Hendrix's table where the discussion was called "Navigating Two Worlds; Working in Both Editorial and Children's Publishing" (which he does very successfully). This one was great. John is very smart and very funny, and he had great tips on marketing yourself to these two very different types of clients. His handout is available here. A couple of important items; for working in the Children's market, you need an agent. They have all the inside contacts, know the market, and only take 10%. You don't need an agent to work successfully in the Editorial market, and besides, they can take 30 to 35% of your fee. Also, he said to be sure to send your promo materials to JUNIOR designers as well as the senior folks; they are more likely to be flattered and impressed that they were included in your mailing, and more likely to call you for a job.

That's John, going for some more Mrs. Vickers chips. (actually, he's signing a copy of one of his books)

Friday afternoon: these sessions were sponsored by SCAD, by the way!

Euro Smash; Illustration Across the Pond was presented by Rod Hunt, "one of England's most prolific illustrators working in publishing, advertising and editorial, talks about the illustration field in Europe- and more specifically London-, where to find work, how to promote, and how it compares to the market in the U.S."

Jeff Sedlik spoke about the Orphan Works issue and other legal updates.

Basking in the Glow? How Much is "Exposure" Really Worth?

You might have read about this a while back. Remember when Google Chrome came out and they featured artists and illustrators work in their banner at the top of their browser? Well, they asked Melinda Beck to do one, and then they told her what they would pay her. Nothing. Zip. Nada. Said it would be "Great Exposure". Read the New York Times article to get the complete picture.

 
Gary Taxali had similar stories and a similar warning: don't work for free for any commercial, for-profit client just because it might be "good exposure". Non-profits, charitable organizations and causes that you believe in are one thing, but to work for free for a multi-billion dollar company like Google is insane, and ultimately bad for all illustrators as it sends a signal that we are all willing to work for nothing but "exposure".

Wayne White

That's the name of the speaker and the name of the presentation, and if you were there, you'd know that there is nothing else that needs to be said. Here's what the ICON6 website says:
Wayne White’s painting and sculptures have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the world. He is a three-time Emmy winner for his set and puppet designs on “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse,” as well as an art director for music videos such as Peter Gabriel’s “Big Time” and the Smashing Pumpkin’s “Tonight, Tonight.” Recently he created an art installation of a 23-foot-long puppet head of the country music legend George Jones titled Big Lectric Fan To Keep Me Cool While I Sleep at Houston’s Rice University. A monograph of his 30-year-career Maybe Now I’ll Get The Respect I So Richly Deserve edited by Todd Oldham has just been published by Ammo Books.
He's a good 'ol boy from Chattanooga with lots of stories to tell, and I want to bring him here to SCAD sometime just to spread the joy.

A Life in Publishing from Hugo Cabret to Harry Potter

David Saylor spoke of his years with Scholastic Press, and showed an array of award winning books he has published.

Made You Look: The Evocative Books of Todd Oldham

Todd Oldham is a true renaissance man, and a very engaging speaker, to boot. His accomplishments are too numerous to mention here, but if you poke around his website for a while, you'll begin to get the picture, so to speak. His big ode to Illustration is his Charlie Harper an Illustrated Life book, which was a major endeavor and a huge, luscious book.

Friday Night: Gallery Nucleus

We took the hotel shuttle to Nucleus Gallery in Alhambra, not far from the Langham in Pasadena. The show had pieces from several heavy hitter illustrators such as...

Red Nose Studio


Chris Buzelli

Tim O'Brien's Dellas Graphics burning frog, and others. One very cool surprise was seeing the work of SCAD-Atlanta's own Michael Brown...


Saturday

More coffee and pastries, then...

Transdisciplinary Cross Dressing: Illustration + Graphic Design

Arem Duplessis (l) and Christoph Niemann spoke about the confluence of Graphic Design and Illustration, and shared their philosophies about each discipline and how they are more similar than you think. One comment Christoph made was that he thinks of illustrative styles like a designer thinks of type faces; you use whatever is appropriate to solving the visual problem. Thus, his illustration portfolio has many styles, each tailored to solving a specific problem.

Three Two-Trick Ponies: The Trials of the Illustrator-Writer
Peter Arkle, Mike Cho and Matt Kindt (who was at SCAD-Atlanta last year for the SEQA Forum) spoke about the complications and pleasures of being responsible for both word and image, and how they merge to form a powerful narrative.

Clone Them: CDs Who Dig Illustration
Soojin Buzelli of Asset International (Plan Sponsor and Plan Advisor Magazines), Irene Gallo of Tor Books and Tor.com, and Sally Morrow of Sandstrom Partners are great lovers of illustration and have been responsible for some of the most beautiful and compelling images in publishing for the past several years. If there were more Creative Directors like them, Illustration would be experiencing a renaissance.


Choose Your Own Adventure: Three Unique Stories from Today's Picture Book World

John Hendrix (as John Brown, above) was a hoot in his oh-so-believable beard and period outfit. He spoke of the trials of publishing his first picture book called John Brown: His Fight for Freedom. It was inspiring, and a lesson in persistence and passion.

Istvan Bantai, author and illustrator of the book ZOOM, spoke of his disdain for being art-directed to death... he clearly has no use for changes to his work.
And Adam McCauley spoke about his experiences publishing his books, such as Mom and Dad are Palindromes and Oh No, Not Ghosts.

Out of the Box: Original, Non-Traditional Creative

©Thomas Blackshear
Thomas Blackshear is one of my favorite illustrators. I had the good fortune of meeting him early in my career, and I've followed his work ever since. He spoke of his career and his transition from strictly print illustration to the world of collectibles. He has become a major brand in the collectibles market, creating everything from plates for Franklin Mint, to figurines to jewelry. I mean, just look at that Kong painting. How could you not love this guy?


©Kadir Nelson
Kadir Nelson is a rising Superstar in Illustration. He named Blackshear as his mentor, and he has become a force in the world of Books, Children's Books, and Postage Stamps. He fearlessly showed some of his childhood drawings and spoke of his early influences. I got a chance to meet him after his talk and was very impressed with his kindness and humility, not to mention his awesome talent.

Tim Biskup

Tim Biskup was an unannounced speaker, and I didn't know what to expect when he took the stage, but I found his talk to be funny and inspiring.  He shared stories of his upbringing and his influences, and encouraged everyone to "trust yourself...take that leap of faith and just create... paint what scares you!"

Kathy Altieri: Closing Keynote
Kathy Altieri is the Senior Production Designer at Dreamworks. She is responsible for a slew of hit animations, and she spoke about her role in those films, what inspires her, and the importance of being joyful in your work and in your life.


Then it was off to dinner and an early bedtime to catch the 4:15AM shuttle back to the airport. Yes, 4:15AM. Why? Don't ask me ... the concierge said that's when I needed to leave to be at the airport in time for a 7:30am flight. We arrived at the airport at 4:50am. The security check-in stations didn't open til 5am. Then we waited for 2 hours before boarding. Sheesh. Aaaanyway, it was an awesome trip and a terrific conference. I didn't see every speaker, and my camera died so I didn't get as many photos as I wanted, but other folks posted about their experiences there, and here are a few very good posts to expand upon this one and to fill in the gaping holes...

Aileen Holmes did a great job on her blog:
Day One
Day Two
Day Three

Here are some Facebook posts about the conference.

And Rod Hunt posted a great set of photos, here.

The biggie is by Thomas James of Escape from Illustration Island.
He shot video of most of the presentations and did interviews with many of the attendees. Poke around the site to get lots of info about ICON6 and just about everything else having to do with illustration. Great job, Thomas!