Summer Student Work 2017

New work from the ILLU463: Career Strategies for Publication Design, and the ILLU742: Directed Projects in Illustration classes

Blanca Chen

Blanca Chen

Ningning Gu

Ningning Gu

Youna Kim

Sabrina Lu

Dong Luo

Dong Luo

Di Pei

Kire Torres

Shishuang Tu

Shishuang Tu

Shishuang Tu

Shishuang Tu's Vampire Family project is a semi-finalist in the Adobe Design Achievement Awards!

Scroobious Pips

Two classes worked on the Scroobious Pip project this fall quarter. The project was inspired by two different things; James Gurney's video demo called "How I Paint Dinosaurs", and a silly poem by Edward Lear called "The Scroobious Pip", a nonsense story about an animal that is a little of everything. The students created their version of the Scroobious Pip in polymer clay; it begins with a wire armature, is bulked out with aluminum foil, is covered in Super Sculpey, sculpted, baked and finally painted. The maquette is lit and photographed and is used as a model for a finished illustration that tells a bit of a story about each Pip.
Here are a few photos of a Pip being constructed:

Alexandra Badiu

The Exploration of Mediums class used an illustration technique that involves lots of materials and processes; it starts with a drawing on illustration board, then acrylics are used to paint the lightest local color and value. On top of the acrylic layer, watercolors are painted as the midtones and local color, then are lifted using clean water and a paper towel to reveal the lighter acrylics underneath. After that, a thin, cool color of oils in a transparent wash is painted over the entire piece. It is allowed to dry a bit and is then lifted with erasers to reveal the midtones and light values, and left only in the shadows. Finally, the piece is sprayed with fixative and finished with colored pencils and acrylics in opaque colors to extend the value range and color intensity.

Here are a few examples:

Avery Beason

Whitney Childers

Lydia Hancock

The Media and Techniques class built maquettes using the same materials and processes, but the illustration technique was different. This class did an acrylic "grisaille", or monochromatic underpainting using shades and tints of a single base color. Then glazes of transparent acrylics are added for color. The paint gets more and more opaque with the addition of white and more pure color as lighter, brighter values are needed.

Here are a couple of examples of the Grisaille project:

Alexandra Badiu

Sally Geng

RED DOT Design Competition Winners

Congratulations to Jing Li and Diego Peñuela for their selection by the International Communication Design Competition. This is an International competition with entries from all over the world;
"With 7,451 entries from 53 countries in 2015 alone, the Red Dot Award: Communication Design stands more than ever for the best international campaigns, marketing strategies and creative solutions."

Diego Peñuela; excerpts from his "Borges" series

Jing Li; Portraits Series

Jing Li: Romeo and Juliet book cover

Lauren Rolwing interview with Urban Outfitters

Lauren Rolwing Interview

2015 Illustration Forum

Student Spotlight: Yohey Horishita

A recurring blog entry highlighting outstanding current students and their work.

1. Where are you from (hometown, country, etc.

I was born in a city called Kagoshima, the Deep South in Japan.

2. Where have you been to school (and if grad student what kind of degree did you receive)?

            I went to Jacksonville State University in Alabama, then transferred to SCAD Atlanta for BFA and MFA

3. What attracted you to Illustration?

            I’m attracted by its storytelling in both visual and conceptual solution. 

4. Who are your biggest influences?

            My biggest influence is Julie Mueller-Brown, my former professor in SCAD.  The way Julie guided me during my time in BFA literally opened up so many creative doors, and solidified my creative foundation.  I’m still and always grateful that I was given this professor who I can look up to.  I have so many other classical illustrators and painters whom I love, but I don’t think they are the obvious influences to my illustration in personal level.  Plus, as I’m getting more established as professional, I really don’t want to get influenced by anyone too much…  However, I do have great mentors (who I personally call them “mentor”) who I have great trust in their opinion, and also I appreciate the friendship I have with them; Rick Lovell, Yuko Shimizu, and Bill Mayer.  These three illustrators are my philosophical influence in illustration, and I very much listen to them word to word.  

5. If you weren’t studying illustration at SCAD, what would you likely be doing?

            I would go to a medical school, be working for my father’s medical company back in Japan, be wealthy and be unhappy doing work that I was not passionate about.  It sounds miserable already, no?  As much as I appreciated the readymade path my parents laid for me, I’m glad that I could raise my voice to them and say, “No, this is not what I want to do.”  My bank account is skinny currently, but I’m very happy. 

6. What do you like to do in your spare time?

            I do love to cook.  My kitchen is my kingdom (well, it’s more like “queendom” in my apartment if you know what I mean.)  I’m a person who is normally doing several things at the same time, so I recently realized that watching movie is one of a few times that I can sit and doing nothing but watch.  Otherwise I’m doing something work related; sketch, doodling, felting, and reading.

7. What is something that most people don’t know about you?

            This is tough question because I’m very open.  I talk about myself quite openly but way too openly sometimes (wink*).  Now I have to be careful what I say in certain level, but I haven't successfully done it quite honestly.  Since I fully came out of the closet few years ago, I have taken off a duct tape on my mouth and left it in the closet.  Bye Felicia.  I grew up in Japan, such a collective community in general Asian culture.  My family and extended families are very conservative Christian family with well-respected businesses, and I always needed to act out as a good boy, good son, and good brother in front of people.  I was destined to suppress my sexual orientation by this culture and religion, so you can imagine what happened when I had a breakdown after 26 years of being not fully come-out to my parents who are also pastors.  It was living hell, but now I’m free.  Amen, y’all.  So, that’s why I’m very open book to anyone about anything. 

8. What would your dream job/client be and why?

            I have a list of my dream clients, and I put them into categories.  On my list, there are God-level clients like publishing houses and editorial covers, but I need to earn more recognition and trust in this industry to be hired by these clients.  To achieve those clients, there are “Oh Yohey is Upcoming Illustrator, Let’s Hire Him” clients like major editorial gigs.  To support these clients, there are “Okay, I Saw Yohey’s Postcard, Let’s Give Him a Small Spot” clients like much smaller publications and spot editorial illustrations.  I have these three level client list; dream big but always try to see where I am.  I don’t want to just dream big and not focus on my current position in the industry.  Right now, I’m in the small gig moment of my career, and doing it.  Give me a couple more years; I will crawl up there.

9. What’s your typical process for creating your artwork (technique, media, etc)?

            I love both traditional process and digital process, so I do both to finish a piece.  Oil pastel technique, which was introduced by Julie Mueller-Brown, is the foundation of my traditional process.  Digital part is handled only in Adobe Photoshop to colour.  Then I traditionally use gouache painting to establish its light source; highlight and shadow, and compose them in Photoshop to deliver the final piece.  I easily get bored, so cannot imagine myself working neither 100% traditionally nor 100% digitally.  

10. Sum up your personal philosophy in 25 words or less.

            “Know your position and play your position.”

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @YoheyHorishita