Wonderland Show at Kai Lin Gallery

Kai Lin Art, the contemporary art gallery in the heart of Midtown Atlanta on Peachtree Street near the Fox Theatre, will host its sixth art gallery opening, “Wonderland” on Friday, December 4 from 7:00-10:00pm.
“Wonderland” is a group show presented by over fifteen established and mid-career artists, all professors, deans or chairs from the Savannah College of Art and Design-Atlanta (SCAD-ATL):
Kent Knowles, Larry Jens Anderson, Carl Linstrum, Michael V Brown, Dale
Clifford, Amanda Dumas, Richard Lovell, Mike Lowery, Jay Montgomery, Brett Osborn, Alex Kvares, Robert Brown, Tom Francis, Matt Maloney, Ann-Marie Mankur, Lisa Hart, Matthew Burge, Kelley McClung, Jim Gladman, and Alessandro Imperato.
The exhibit will be open through January 22.

Congrats Renee Rivas!!

Atlanta INtown Magazine unveiled Renee's winning cover last week at Atlantic Station.


Read all about it on Renee's Blog!
Way to go Renee!!

Sterling Hundley Interview

Painter Sterling Hundley who graciously came to ACA in 2006 for an inspiring lecture and demo was recently interviewed on the Podcast Sidebar. It's a great talk about his beginnings, self promotion, being an illustration professor, and his first gallery show in September called "Emergent". A true intellectual with a great work ethic and some mad drawing and painting skills. At the end he talks about the story behind this piece entitled 'The Bends" If you have iTunes, subscribe to the Sidebar podcast here to listen to tons of other famous illustrator interviews.

Josh Cochran interview

Our good friend Yuko Shimizu recently interviewed Josh Cochran, an amazing young illustrator who Mike Lowery and several SCAD-Atlanta students got to meet last year. The interview appears on the Illustration Friday website.
Here is the direct link to the interview. Enjoy!

Student Spotlight: Corinne Francilus

Corinne Francilus (aka Corinne Stevie to the musically initiated) is one of the last ACA folks who transitioned to SCAD way back in 2006. As she nears her graduation, we'd like to make sure her awesome work is recognized before she leaves us. She brings a colorful island vibe to her work, and somehow it also feels like music - no surprise there. Enjoy!

Where are you from?

I was born and raised in Miami, Fl but my parents are from different parts of Haiti.

Where have you been to school?

Well I was at Atlanta College of Art the last year it existed and then I came to SCAD in 06.

What attracted you to Illustration?

I’ve always been an Illustrator at heart. I was always interested in drawing when I was younger because my older brothers drew around me a lot. Once I got into college I knew that I would get into Illustration because of my drawing style.

Who are your biggest influences?

My older brothers, graffiti art, comics, fashion photography, Audrey Kawasaki, Kehinde Wiley and Michel Gondry. I have a lot of big influences.

If you weren’t studying illustration at SCAD, what would you likely be doing?
Illustrating is my life but um, I would probably be studying sound engineering somewhere. I love hearing unique sounds in music and trying to create them.

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love working on music. When I’m not drawing or painting I’m normally messing around with garageband and making tracks. I actually just got a midi keyboard so I’ve been working on composing my own music and writing songs. I’ve been recording music since high school though.


What is something that most people don’t know about you?
I’m really shy.


What would your dream job/client be and why?
My dream job would be to work on a movie with an amazing team of artists and create the soundtrack for it.


What’s your typical process for creating your artwork?
First I sketch out the image I’m creating in pencil. Next, I spray fix it and then I paint. I like to use acrylics but sometimes if I’m being really experimental I’ll use tissue paper, house paint and spray paint.


Sum up your personal philosophy in 25 words or less.
Never stop creating. The more you create the better you get at it.

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!

Generate Winners

Thanks to everyone who stuck it out for 24 hours last weekend to participate in our Illustration Challenges! It was great fun and you guys did some remarkable work in a very short time.

The Illustration department offered three different challenges:
1. INtown Paper: "Best of the Holiday '09" cover artwork.
2. Strathmore: "Going Green", which required an image using dry media on Strathmore paper that best represents your idea of what "green" means.
3. VOICE Today: Character Design challenge.

Adobe was again more than generous in donating copies of their industry leading graphics software suite, CS4, as prizes for our challenge winners. These packages retail for $1800 per copy, so this is not an insignificant thing here folks. In fact, it's huge. So we send our deepest appreciation to Terry Hemphill and the folks at Adobe for making this event a very special one.

Please know that every entry was carefully considered, and that many were deserving of prizes. The criteria for judging were both subjective and objective; the work had to be solid artistically and well executed, but the deciding factor for each was the application for which it was intended.
Some images were absolutely gorgeous, but might not have been a perfect fit for the intended usage, so we made a conscious effort to look at the work through the client's eyes, which is often a difficult aspect of judging illustration; is it about the art or is it about the marketplace? Truth is, it's almost always about both.

And, with that being said, the winners are... (drumrolllllllllll)

For INtown Paper Holiday cover; Renee Rivas!


For Strathmore "Going Green": Julia Berman!


For VOICE Today Character Design: Shanique Crenshaw!


Again, many thanks to all who participated, and congratulations to the winners!
(All of the entries will be posted soon.)

The Royal Pencil Society is born!

The inaugural meeting of the SCAD-Atlanta Illustration club was held today, and we are up and running!
Thanks to everyone who came out on a dreary Friday morning to get the ball rolling on this new venture into illustration stupendousness.
A few things were decided today:
1. The name: about 20 possible names were suggested by various students and faculty, and 5 seemed to be contenders for the top spot.
They were: The High Society of Lowbrow Art, The League of Extraordinary Illustrators, The Royal Pencil Society, Pencil Posse, and The Illustration Asylum. A vote was taken and the winner is "The Royal Pencil Society", which was submitted by Renee Rivas. So what, you might ask. Here's what...
2. The name and associated logo will be the new blog's name, will appear on t-shirts, will be on any banners or signage that represent the club, etc. So, the first official "challenge" for everyone is to create a logo for "The Royal Pencil Society".
We will discuss design considerations at the next meeting which is this Friday, the 16th at 10am.
3. We "annointed" two graduate students who will serve as our first student leaders: Sandee Chamberlain and Renee Rivas. They will be coordinating workshops, field trips, challenges and generally serving as the organizational leadership for the RPS. They will be asking for help from others from time to time, so please pitch in and do what you can to make this work for everyone.

So, that's pretty much it for now. Remember that every current SCAD student is welcome to join us, so if you know folks in other departments who have an interest in Illustration, spread the word!

Student Spotlight: Ethan Mongin

Time to shine the Illustration Spotlight on MFA candidate Ethan Mongin, our resident master of black and white ( but can also rock the colors when inspired to do so). So, without further ado, Heeeeeeere's Ethan...



Where are you from?
I’m from the South. I claim two hometowns, Savannah, GA and Lyman, SC.



Where have you been to school?
I graduated with a B.F.A. from Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC.



What attracted you to Illustration?
Comic books and illustrated versions of literary classics (especially those illustrated by N.C. Wyeth and Trina Schart Hyman) attracted my attention at an early age. As a child with no attention span and no patience for his environment, illustration proved to be an invaluable focusing tool.



Who are your biggest influences?
My influences are constantly mutating. When I was younger, illuminated manuscripts, 1920’s comic strips, and “Where’s Waldo” were rattling around in my subconscious. As a graduate student, I’ve found inspiration in the monochromatic work from the Golden Age of Illustration, Doug TenNapel’s graphic novels, and the mad skills of comic artist Sergio Toppi.



If you weren’t studying illustration at SCAD, what would you likely be doing?
If I weren’t at SCAD, I’d probably have found a random hovel to call my home, and spent my entire waking moment scrawling contour drawings on the walls…



What do you like to do in your spare time?
My spare time is spent stalking strangers and drawing them in my sketchbooks…



What is something that most people don’t know about you?
Most people don’t realize I’m a natural-born southerner.



What would your dream job/client be and why?
Working with Chronicle Books or Top Shelf comics would be fantastic! Chronicle produces some of the most amazing published artwork I’ve ever seen, and Top Shelf is awesome because they publish off-the-wall sequential work.



What’s your typical process for creating your artwork (technique, media, etc)?
I usually begin by stressing myself out. Once I’ve encouraged the required amount of stomach ulcers and chewed finger nubs, I brainstorm a spider graph. After the spider graph I write out random literary terms and try to apply them to the concept of the artwork at hand. Then I thumbnail like an OCD fiend. Thumbnails are followed by really messy pencils, seriously anal-retentive inking, and sometimes digital coloring and texturizing.



Sum up your personal philosophy in 25 words or less.
I’ve purposed to enjoy every aspect of life. And to make art. Lots of it. That looks really cool.

GENERATE 2009

The 2009 edition of Generate is underway! Check out the official Blog posts from our Illustration 24-Hour Troopers, as well as the work from all the other departments who are participating.

Strathmore Generate Challenge

Illustration students will have a few options for Generate Challenges, and one is from our good friends at Strathmore Papers.
Their challenge is called "How do You See Green?"...
"Create a piece of art that expresses the theme of “green” and “environment” using dry media techniques on Strathmore paper. (pencil, pastel, charcoal, etc.)"

Please visit their website for specific details. The finished work will be judged at 10am on Saturday morning. No digital manipulation or enhancements allowed.

VOICE Today Generate Challenge!

Want to be a character designer? Want to see your characters made into dolls and appear in books? All for a great cause?
Then join the VOICE Today Character Design Challenge at this year's Generate!

VOICE Today is a non-profit group which works toward the prevention of child sexual abuse and recovery for victims. They will be producing children’s books, dolls, etc., so they need character designs for those products.
The winner will receive:
- The student(s) will participate in the manufacturing process, interfacing with the China factory and Krazy Houze. They will have sign off on the final project specs (control sample) before moving into production.
- Their name(s) will be on the label as the designers, as well their name(s) will appear in / on all products listing them as the character design of Grant and Gracie.
- 12 of each doll will be made and given to the student(s).

The work to be accomplished for each of the two(2) main characters:
4 pose turn-around (front, side, ¾ front, ¾ back)
4 head turns (front, side, ¾ front, ¾ back)
Expression sheets – 8-10 expressions
5 poses
1 supporting character (of your choice)
- 4 pose turn-around (front, side, ¾ front, ¾ back)
All inked and colored! Work may be submitted as a pdf.

For more information about VOICE Today, go here.

Name That Club

SCAD-Atlanta Illustration is forming an awesome Illustration club, and we need an awesome name that will become an awesome logo that will be tattooed on every member's forehead. Or arm. Or not.

Anyway, think of an amazing (short) name, and the winner will get free stuff!!

Send your suggestion to Prof. Lovell.
The entries will be collected and voted upon in a few days. And an official announcement about the club will be coming up in a couple of weeks, so watch for that.

Thanks!

Podcast to check out.

I've been listening to a couple podcasts lately, and found Big Illustration Party Time, which is all about every aspect of craft. These guys go on rants we've all gone on, discuss problems we all have, and really give some good insight to the business, both being freelancers just like ourselves. It's serious, it's funny, it's informative, and everyone should check it out, just search 'Big Illustration Party Time' in that apple store, find an episode that sparks your interest, and enjoy!

Brandon Sadler at StudioPlex

Greetings to all,

I would like to invite you to view recent SCAD alum Brandon Sadler's newest exhibition, "Octopus Tempura", including the unveiling of his Irwin Street mural, an 100' x 10' painting on the back of the Studio Plex property.

Sadler will present “Octopus Tempura”, a collection of his new works in the Pavilion at Studioplex during the Art Walk. “The work for “Octopus Tempura” was created over the past two months, said Sadler. “When working on a concise series I typically focus on a symbol or image to bring my concepts together. The octopus became a strong force of inspiration for me recently and I’ve incorporated it heavily in this body of work.”

For more information about Sadler and to view his work, visit www.RisingRedLotus.com

Steve Sweny at SCAD

Professional freelance illustrator of close to 30 years and good friend of mine, Steve Sweny, will be visiting SCAD during my Materials & Techniques I class this Monday Sept 21st from 12-1:30 in room 379. He will be showing his portfolio and some originals and I have also talked him into doing a demo! He is excited to do a quick portrait painting in ink of two celebrities. Come by and see who! Unless he gets the Swine Flu he will be here this time!

Who: Steve Sweny - Freelance Illustrator
What: Show & Tell and Demo!
When: Monday, Sept 12st from 12-1:30pm
Where: SCAD, Building B, Room 379 in Jay Montgomery's Class.
Why: Learn from his craft and experience, and who can pass up a demo?

Welcome Prof. Goñi!

Recent MFA recipient Goñi Montes will be joining the faculty at SCAD-Atlanta this fall, and we are very excited to have him onboard! While in the MFA program, Goñi set the standard in a very high-achieving group of students, and even before graduating was being recognized by some very large names in publishing. His imagination, design sense, amazing drawing ability and uncanny color sensitivity make for a powerful force in illustration.


Goñi will be teaching a section of ILLU200: Drawing and Design for Illustrators this fall.

Welcome, Goñi! You are going to help make it a great year at SCAD-Atlanta Illustration this year, and we're all very excited to have you here!