Peachtree Publishers Field Trip

Many thanks to Loraine Joyner (art director), Margaret Quinlin (owner and president), Paula Herr (director of Creative Marketing) and the rest of the folks at Peachtree Publishing for taking time out of their crazy schedules to speak with several Illustration Grad students in their Atlanta offices yesterday.


Loraine works with illustrators daily, and shared some of her vast knowledge about the art of illustration and the business of children's book publishing.


Loraine walked us through several books, explaining the process of working with the authors, editors and illustrators to bring a book from an idea to a finished, published work.


We got to meet many of the other folks at Peachtree and learned a little about what they do in the publishing process.


In Loraine's office, she showed us a few of the MANY, MANY promos she receives on a daily basis, and gave us a few hints about what she keeps and what ends up in the round file. And finally, she walked us through a wonderful set of working drawings for a book in progress, explaining the importance of flow, continuity, pacing and point of view. It was a wonderful tutorial on how to think when laying out a picture book.


D'oh! Look who beat us there!

Thanks to Loraine Joyner and everyone at Peachtree Publishers! We really appreciate your hospitality.

Drive by Press this Week!

Check out the Printmaking rooms this week for a visit from the wacky folks at Drive by Press!

The Illustration Asylum

The people have spoken, and the new name for the Illustration student club is The Illustration Asylum! (As artists, we admit, we are all a little crazy...) We're working on getting our own blog up and running with posts of our art challenges and events, but until then our Facebook group page will be our home...and maybe this blog a little bit too.

Our first challenge to the group is to create a logo for the Illustration Asylum. The logo will be featured on T-shirts, so it is up to you to make us look good. Bring your finished designs, 300 dpi JPGs for viewing, to the meeting on Friday, October 30th. Judging will be held then.

Also, take note that meeting times have changed! We now meet on Fridays at *11am* til' 2pm-ish, Rm. 379.

Some upcoming events to keep on the calendar:

Wednesday, October 28th (8pm)
International Animation Day
High Museum of Art, Rich Auditorium
8pm, FREE (secure your free ticket at the link below)
http://www.asifa-atlanta.com/

Friday, October 30th (11am-2pm)
Sketch trip to Oakland Cemetery - (11am -- meeting at school first, then driving over)
Color Workshop with Laura Martin (Gaijin Studios) (held by our friends at the Temple of Cartoon Mojo, Rm. 347) (1pm)
Challenge: Blog Banner Design

Good luck with the logos this week, and see you at the Asylum! :-)

Picture Book: Children's Illustration Contest

I just entered this contest online through Picture Book, and thought others might like to as well. It's FREE to enter, you just have create an online account with them, and once you do that you can upload them a single image for the contest.

Prizes are:
Two (2) winners get a free page in the 2011 Picture Book's Children's Illustration Directory
Four (4) runners up to get a free online portfolio subscription

Check out their website for more info. Could be a great way for those in the Children's Illustration market to advertise for free!

ILLU Students did Sketch workshop at Neiman Marcus

Illustration grad students Fernando Vazquez, Ethan Mongin and Solongo Mellecker did fashion sketch workshop this Thursday night for Neiman Marcus at Bloomingdale's in Lenox Mall, Atlanta. Neiman Marcus was looking for people who can do quick portrait sketches that have a fashion vibe to them for their huge Annual event throughout Bloomingdale's Department store. The event went very well, students did some great sketches using ink pen, color markers and watercolors.

Please check out more photos from the event.

SEQA Arts Forum 2009

ILLU Folks! Our buddies in Sequential are having their annual Arts Forum on the weekend of October 23rd. It's always a great event, and there is lots to be learned from these amazing artists. So let's all support our SEQA brethren and pack the house!

Threadless Tees Design Challenge

Threadless has teamed up with the Tate Modern Museum in the UK to create a t-shirt design to coincide with their Pop Life exhibition. The prizes are great and the recognition would be amazing. So everyone is strongly encouraged to participate and show the world your stuff. The closing date is October 29, so don't hesitate!