From The Slush Pile: Summer Finds

You know I’m busy at work when instead of going through art samples with my morning coffee, they pile up on my desk.  Today, I finally took lunch to sort through a few.  Check out some exciting new finds that came in lately!

Casey Uhelski / For pet lovers (like me!), this SCAD grad has mastered the expressions of adorable dogs, cats and bunnies.

Victoria Jamieson / Victoria’s anthropomorphic characters have landed her a two-book gig with Dial (part of the Penguin family) in 2012/2013.  In the meantime, I think her revisiting of Ramona Quimby is spot-on.

David C. Gardiner / This image might suggest that David and I are cut from the same cloth, stylistically, but his Flying Dog Studio also produces everything from fairly realistic older characters to animations.

Caitlin B. Alexander / This Austin-based illustrator’s folksy-yet-modern style looks mostly editorial, for now… but wouldn’t it make a charming children’s book?

Veronica Chen / I was intrigued by her intricate black-and-white patternwork, but her color piece Chameleon City just begs for a story to be told.

Jillian Nickell / This quirky, vintage-inspired vignette was fascinating enough to lead me to her website, where there’s a great series of pieces based on The Borrowers, and more. I can picture her style being perfect in the right book for older readers!

Best of Student Work 2011 – Part 2: The Pratt Show

Mozart at the Beach from Christee Curran on Vimeo.

Oh, the Pratt Show . . . it’s hard to believe that it’s been a full year since all the momentous graduation-related events were happening to me!  It was great to be on the other side of things last week… browsing new artists, sipping champagne and catching up with old classmates, without the stress of having my own work in the show.

This year’s class certainly didn’t disappoint in talent!  I was so proud to see many familiar faces represented at the show, from Sarah Mimo‘s swoonworthy clocks, to new textile prints from Alexa MacFarlane and new comics from our former Putnam intern, Kris Mukai.  I’m also jumping for joy to showcase Christee Curran‘s video storyboard project (above). How adorable is that kid at the beach?!

In addition to old friends, there were also a few new faces at the show.  Here were my favorite kids’/book related discoveries:

1. Alexandria Marie Compo / I loved her quirky animal characters, and combination of digital and hand-crafted work. In fact, we were all so taken with her 3-D figures that they almost “walked” away with us!  Very well suited for the pages of a trade hardcover picture book.

2. Michelle Lynch / Michelle’s range of work is crazy – I’ve honestly never seen a graduating student grasp the concept of licensing so well!  Her style may be “simple”, but she captures a bright, cute and fun spirit with ease, and then translates it to a wide variety of products, books and character designs.

3. Erin Maala / Erin’s intricate paper-cutting skills had all of us Penguin employees drooling over her book jackets like Wuthering Heights and The Bell Jar. Another classic book series in the making, perhaps?

4. Zoe Norvell / With smart, sophisticated humor, Zoe designs books that are seriously attention-grabbing.  I especially appreciated the wit and depth of information in her collections The Future Of The Book and OKCupid.  Oh, and – how could I forget? – she redesigned Harry Potter, and we liked it. A lot.

lil zines and silkscreens from jane mai on Vimeo.

5. Jane Mai / Her work might look like it could be for kids, but trust me . . . it’s grown-ups only.  But her irreverent, freaking-hilarious style translates perfectly to comics, zines and more – so make sure to head on over to her site for the full experience!

Best Of Student Work 2011 – Part 1: SVA MFA Thesis Show

May means graduation time, and New York City is filled with student exhibitions and senior work on display for the world to hire.  So for the next few weeks, I’ll be snooping several art schools’ openings for new and inspiring illustrators, and bringing the best of the best right here to the blog.

I started with the School of Visual Arts’ MFA Thesis exhibition last night!  I’d highly recommend trekking to Chelsea for both design and illustration. Details below:

Visual Arts Gallery / 601 W 26th Street, 15th floor

April 29-May 14, 2011 / Mon-Sat, 10 am – 6 pm

All the student work was of exceptional quality (they ARE MFAs, after all), but here were my Top 5:

1. Hye Su / Looking at Hye Su’s body of work is like stepping into a completely different universe.  Her mastery of a range of mediums (from embroidery, to zines/books, to 3-dimensional objects) remain entirely consistent – everything is shown through her very unique lens.  I couldn’t get enough of her wild and wonderful characters!

2.  Lisa Anchin / Of anyone else at the show, it was Lisa who was made for children’s books.  I was impressed how prolific and professional her work was – at least 4 or 5 book dummies ready to go, and full of adorable characters and dynamic compositions to boot.  Lucky for me, guess which Penguin imprint she’ll be interning at this summer?  That’s right… we’re very excited to have her!

3.  Philip Cheaney / How excited was I to see someone who created a fully-formed eBook app?!  I was really impressed with (read: jealous of) its smooth, polished look on the iPad.  His bold, graphic lines and color sensibility are perfect for medieval subjects like Tristan & Iseult.  Check out his animations here.

4.  Pimlada Phyapradit / Pimlada’s another artist with a very different way of approaching characters.  Her broken-down toys are sweet and childlike, but with a touch of melancholy.  I’m most impressed, though, with the muted pastel tones throughout her book – it really adds to the wood textures and her drawing style overall.

5.  Jungyeon Roh / Jungyeon’s silkscreen prints are seriously, seriously stunning.  The illustrations for her book, Hot (featured in the show), somehow strike a balance between whimsical color and powerful content, with a bonus of beautiful hand-drawn type.  I wouldn’t be surprised if she continues to garner major awards and editorial publications in the future!

From The Slush Pile: Great Animal Illustrators

Today was a more wackadoo day in illustrator submissions than usual, so I thought I’d give myself a pick-me-up by highlighting three great illustrators who draw some super-cute animals.  Enjoy!

1. Charrow / My first favorite recent find is Charrow, whose quirky illustrations exude a playful spirit and sense of humor.  Her light watercolor and drawing technique feels breezy, like she just jotted down some animals, and they happen to be hilariously adorable. She’s also a frequent contributor to They Draw and Cook. Her Etsy shop is down at the moment, but when I checked it out a few weeks ago, it was easily my favorite part of her portfolio… be sure to check back for it soon!

2. Stephanie Graegin / Probably my all-time favorite illustrator submission ever is a little “mini portfolio” booklet from Stephanie Graegin.  Her Renata Liwska-style woodland creatures, accented by limited color and unlimited sweetness, had both design and editorial drooling. Crossing my fingers that I see a book with her name on it soon!

3. Lizzy Hallman / If illustrator David Catrow’s art proves anything, it’s that there’s a place in this business for a little ugly-cute.  And if my love of french bulldogs proves anything, it’s that I will always get behind ugly-cute!  Hallman’s characters may have wonky eyeballs, but they make their expressions unique and humorous. And her color treatment? 100% sweet!

SCBWI 2011: Stand-Out Illustrators!

This past weekend was the annual SCBWI Winter Conference, a 3-day event, packed with speakers, panels and workshops, that brings authors and illustrators to Midtown from across the country.  I’ve always wanted to go, and finally had the chance to attend the Illustrators’ Intensive by begging offering to help out a bit.

Friday was all about children’s books and new media (more on that later), but one of the most fun perks was getting to see the showcase of illustrators that was set up for judging and industry viewing.  As I tried to have fun and not to get overwhelmed by the VIP cocktails and networking, I managed to grab a few cards of my favorites.

I was pleased, but not surprised, that Leeza Hernandez (above) won the Grand Prize at the showcase. She’s super talented, and has a friendly, approachable personality to boot. But I’ve been following her work for some time, so while she deserves much congratulations, she doesn’t count on my list of “new discoveries” . . .

1. Andrea Offermann /  It was so lovely to meet German illustrator Andrea Offermann, whose rich, detailed porfolio is breathtaking.  Her work is perfect for older, middle-grade readers – book covers, black and white interiors, graphic novels.  I won’t be surprised to see her art all over the shelves!

2. You Byun / Aww, how sweet are those characters’ faces?  And look at the lush range of texture!  And warmth of light!  When it comes to creating worlds, You Byun has it down.  And I’m seriously gushing over every single one.

3. Greg Pizzoli / Okay, this guy’s silkscreen prints are just too freaking cool. I’ve got major jealousy looking at his 32-page promotional zine, C’mon, Go!, and the hand-bound editions of his books are fine art, but could so easily be commercially reproduced.  His website is most effective too, with a fun, in-depth look at his process.

4. R.S. Posnak / We designers made a beeline for R.S.’s Oliver Jeffers-esque line work and letterpress business cards (we’re too predictable).  Turns out, she’s also a designer, and has an online portfolio with a healthy mix of sleek commerical projects (for adults) and vintage curios.  Hello, animal dioramas!

5. Brian Gerrity / On the other end of the spectrum, Brian Gerrity’s work is made for kids.  Fun, bubbly characters, with a smooth digital look, are perfect for little ones.  And what a whimsical sense of pattern… you can look back at the picture again and again, and still find something new.

New Artist Showcase: Chris Mulvey

Chris Mulvey

Website: http://mulveyart.com
Email: Mulveyillustration@gmail.com

What makes you passionate about pursuing a career as an artist?

I think the main factor that motivates me is the same thing that drives most artists to do what they do. I’ve been doing this for such a long time, that I can’t picture myself thriving in any other field. You set yourself up for success in almost any skill that that you begin to practice at an early age. Ask any Olympic gold winner. They’ll probably tell you they’ve been training since the age of 4.

What kind of stories are you working on lately?

Right now I’m working on two stories simultaneously. They are both graphic novels. One of them takes place in a parallel universe, on a distant planet. It touches on many of the problems we have here on earth – war, economic disputes, pollution, etc. This comic won’t be done for many years, and I began conceptualizing it eight years ago.

The one I plan on finishing sooner is about drugs and substance abuse. Each character in the series is a drug, and they all interact inside the body of a 15 year old boy. I do not work any biased views into the plot, and make sure that each drug’s persona proves to be educational to the fullest extent of it’s nature.

None of my stories have ever involved humans. They’re boring and predictable.

Where do you get your inspiration, in or outside of art? Favorite artists?

Ren and Stimpy, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Anything that involves the Muppets, Looney Tunes, Calvin and Hobbes, The Crow, The “Bone” series, the Ninja Turtles, Dennis Hopper, Edward Munch, Salvador Dali, Magritte, Goya, and Hunter S. Thompson.

No matter who you are, your creations will always reflect what you were exposed to when you were younger. I feel like my generation was particularly lucky.

You’re an art teacher as well… does that inspire you creatively? What advice would you give to kids looking to pursue illustration as a career?

The kids I teach are mostly between 6 and 8 years old. every once in a while we’ll get a passionate teenager who requires more specific guidance. I can still easily relate to the little ones though, especially the stubborn ones that pretend I’m not there when I try to help them. The main thing we try to teach is hand eye coordination. We make them use a grid system so that they can map out the image in their brain and draw everything freehand. I feel like the earlier this type of skill is instilled in your mind, the more unstoppable you will be as a creative thinker. I want them to eventually feel like they can draw whatever they want. Once you have that kind of confidence, you can build off of your own ideas and produce images that have never existed before. Reference will be a tool, not a necessity.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Nobody knows, nobody cares, and nobody will ever care, unless you absolutely MAKE them.

New Artist Showcase: Christee Curran

Christee Curran

You’re about to enter your senior year at Pratt in the spring. Do you know what direction of illustration you’d like to go in for your final projects?

I’m definitely doing another children’s book, although I don’t know what yet! I’ll have to ruminate over winter break.  For my other senior project, I actually have no idea. I may just work on a series of promotional pieces to expand my portfolio, but I would like for the body of work to have a common thread. I know that in the Fall of 2011 I will be doing a lot of the characters that I’ve created in 3D, but not just yet for Spring! I’m really trying to find a way of working right now.

What kind of stories do you like to illustrate? Any favorite subjects?

I love to draw kids, especially in the classroom setting. I also love to play with drawing kids and animals together–except I put the animals on “human-level.” I think it makes a great story whenever humans and animals are nonchalantly interacting. I probably love to illustrate that subject so much because when I was a kid I wanted nothing more than to have some sort of animal who could converse with me in fluent English. That was everyone’s fantasy, right?

Who are some of your artistic heros?

Gosh there are a lot. Walt Disney and Pixar, for starters, not just for the art but for the amazing story and character developments.

Tim Burton’s animation, as well. As far as illustrators go: Norman Rockwell, Maurice Sendak, Chris van Allsburg, David Weisner, Mary Blair.  Two new favorites of mine are Suzy Lee and Peter Brown. As far as writer-illustrators, I will not ever respect any other poets as highly as I will ever respect Shel Silverstein or Dr. Seuss.

As a Peer Counselor, what career advice would you give to aspiring illustration students?

Well, I highly recommend that you take a class called “Self Promotion.”  Not only will it give you some really valuable information about getting jobs and internships, but it will force you to make a great resume, portfolio, and website. And you do NEED a website. I shouldn’t talk, because I don’t have one yet, but I will by the end of the semester!

While we’re on the subject of portfolios, make sure that every single assignment that you get in your classes is completed to a level of sophisticated finish. If that means that you don’t sleep for the night, that means you don’t sleep for the night. Trust me: when you are putting together your portfolio, and you have those great pieces, the bags under your eyes instantly become superfluous.

In addition, make sure that every single assignment that you do caters to your career agenda. Put it through your creative filter. Think of the assignment as a point of departure.

Do what you do. EVERYONE has a different “style.” Don’t get stressed. Look for patterns in the way you work or design a page. Sometimes just exaggerating these preexisting patterns can help you find your own visual language.  Stay more concerned with making each piece your best piece yet. You WILL be judged by the weakest piece in your portfolio.

Do NOT underestimate the importance of type. Take Type 3 or Graphic Design 1. Take it with a great teacher. You’ll go crazy during, but will be really happy you did afterwards. Seriously.

Make sure you know what’s going on at Career Services. The counselors are there to help you. Make connections with them and the teachers you love. Keep your eyes open for events posted on the bulletin boards around campus and friend “Peer to Peer” on facebook, because we totally keep you up to date on events you should be attending (like resume workshops, internship fairs, lectures from successful alumni, etc.).

Last one, I promise: This sounds weird, but always be friendly with people.  The kids in your major, the kids in other majors, the kids at other art schools. Strangers! Because guess what: A little kindness goes a long way and so does karma. Networking doesn’t start or stop at any specific time. NEVER cut off a potential connection. The person you flipped off on the way to your interview could be your interviewer.

What career advice would you give to yourself in the next year?

Dear Christee,

Hi, it’s yours truly! Don’t worry about sleeping, just worry about getting plenty of coffee and exercise. Keep pushing yourself and get an internship for this Spring. Focus on perfecting your portfolio and updating your website. Your getting really close to finding your personal voice; let it talk and listen to what it has to say, because then it will get stronger on its own. There are other things to keep in mind, but none that I can think of at the moment, except to keep worshipping Pat Cummings, and to believe in yourself.

Best,

-Christee

PS: Remember what E.L. Doctorow said (about writing, but it applies to careers in general):

“It’s like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

New Artist Showcase: Daniel K. Harlow

Daniel K. Harlow

Website: www.danielkharlow.com

Daniel has a fancy diploma from Pratt Institute that says that he draws good.

He’s working on another degree that says that he’ll teach kids to draw good too.

Daniel has had his work featured or used by:

– Doritos

– American Heart Association

– United Nations Film Festival

– Pride Along the Mohawk

– Speak Out! Upstate New York Political Art Showcase

– Word-It design blog (sadly defunct)

Daniel has done work for bands such as the Melvins, Krallice, and the Lanky Mofos.

Daniel lives, works and watches Frasier reruns outside of Albany, New York.

He loves his dog, punk rock, pizza and beer- in that order.

What kind of events/shows/bands have you illustrated for? How do you come up with concepts for the posters?

I’ve done posters for metal bands in the Brooklyn area like Krallice and Goes Cube, and a few indie rock bands in the local area like the Lanky Mofos and Bleeding Hands. I also did a poster for the Melvins (one of my favorite bands ever) that wound up not getting used, but their drummer sent me a really nice letter apologizing and saying he thought the poster was hilarious.

As for concepts, it really just depends on what I think of when I think of the band. If it’s a metal band, obviously it’s gonna be lots of black and skulls and stuff like that. For a band like the Melvins, their sense of humor is so bizarre that I had to really bust my ass in order to think of something that I felt the band would approve of. And for local bands, it doesn’t matter because they’re my friends and they don’t really care what it is so long as it can look good when it’s photocopied.

How did you decide to get into illustration? Did you always know that you wanted to be an artist?

I initially went to Pratt for graphic design, but at some point in my sophomore year I realized that I felt more comfortable doing illustration rather than graphic design. I still love graphic design, but it took me a while to be comfortable with combining the two.

I think I’ve always known I would do something with art. I’ve been scribbling and doodling ever since I was in elementary school, and the only other career path I thought of vaguely persueing was being a writer or an english teacher.

Are there any other industries or artistic endeavors that you’d like to conquer in addition to illustration?

At some point, I’d like to do the gallery thing. Other than that, I’d eventually like to settle down and teach at either the elementary or college level.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Oooh…that’s a good question. It would have to be the advice I got from Dave Cahill, my Illustration professor at Munson. He told me something along the lines of these three things: you should only do it if you love it because nobody gets rich from doing this stuff, trust your instincts when dealing with skeevy art directors, and that getting into the comic book industry is even harder than the music industry.

How does music inspire you artistically?  Do you have a favorite playlist you like to work to?

Music has always been a gigantic part of my life and has always inspired me. I have an overactive imagination anyways, and music just helps the pictures in my head get more focused. My dad played in jazz and R&B bands in the 70’s and my mom’s first concerts were Woodstock and Led Zeppelin, so my music environment growing up was pretty varied. My work playlist just depends on how the day goes; having a 17,702 song iTunes library to keep things interesting also helps.

New Artist Showcase: Dan Masso

Dan Masso

website: http://www.danmasso.com

twitter: http://twitter.com/danmasso

How did you get into illustrating trading cards? What makes that kind of illustration unique?

Well the story of me and trading cards goes back to Senior Project class with Rudy Gutierrez. I was having trouble figuring out what else I could do with my career other than comics when one day Rudy brought in a few former students of his to talk to us in class. One of those former students was Doug Cowan. Doug spoke about his work doing trading cards at Topps and showed us the huge amount of cards he’d done. I really liked his work and saw it as an inspiration to follow that same path. I managed to get the attention of the licensing art director at Topps with a postcard and he put me on a Star Wars set right away. That was my first real professional job as a freelancer.

Trading cards are interesting because size is something that really has to be taken into consideration. The majority of trading card art I’ve done so far is on sketch cards which are basically trading card sized pieces of bristol paper that you draw directly onto. Each artist usually does around 100 of them to be randomly inserted into sets as incentive for collectors to get an original piece of art. Drawing in a small surface like that is very different and leaves a lot of room for experimentation. Other than those there are the printed trading cards which I usually do at a size of about 11×14. These obviously get shrunk down so it’s important to not get so detailed so you don’t lose it all in reduction.

What other freelance projects have you been working on?

Other than the Star Wars cards and Legend of the Five Rings trading card game I’ve been working on numerous comic projects, none of which have actually been released into the general public yet but hopefully sometime soon. I also just finished a project with Diversion, Inc. for a Facebook game called FameTown. I did an illustration for the game that shows up on the loading screen.

What kind of stories do you like to illustrate? Where do you get your ideas for comics?

I’ve found that I really like to draw fantastical things in a modern setting. While doing fantasy art for Legend of the Five Rings I realize that I start to miss adding those modern elements that help me bring myself into that world. I also like to draw woman and sometimes wish that I could have been born in a different time and been a contemporary to the classic pinup artists.

I think the majority of my ideas for comics from movies TV and other comics. I would be a liar if I didn’t admit that some of my biggest influences are Lost, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Marvel Comics.

What are some of your favorite comic books/artists?

All the work I’ve been doing recently has really helped realize which are my favorite comic books because they’re the only ones I actually take the time to read anymore. Those are Ultimate Spider-man (modern reinterpretation of a very 60’s hero), Runaways (teen superhero team who’s war cry is “Try not to die!”) and 20th Century Boys (the only manga I read).

I have a huge amount of artists that I look up to and they’re always moving around in my scale of awesomeness. My favorite artists right now I’d say are Dan Dos Santos, Jon Foster, Joshua Middleton and Nathan Fox.

I love Dan Dos Santos because he can create such crisp saturated images that still look real. His images glow so much you wouldn’t believe they’re all done in oil!

Jon Foster has an amazing fluidity in his work. Something that I’m trying really hard to incorporate into my work.

Joshua Middleton is one of those rare examples of a comic book artist that does all the work himself. That is, he draws, inks and colors the art. He’s the guy that really made me want to take on all the art chores in my comic work.

I envy Nathan Fox because he made his name in editorial illustration and then decided that he was going to go into comic and BAM! there he is. He’s one of the artists that influenced me to start inking my lines with a brush.

You’ve been freelancing for a year and half now. If you could go back in time to when you graduated art school, what would you tell yourself?

If I were to go back and talk to myself after graduation, I’d say to myself “You’re not as good as you think you are. Sit down and start pumping out new portfolio pieces right away and don’t stop. You’ve got a long way to go.” I still have a long way to go. The one lesson that I’ve learned in the past year and half is that everything takes a lot more time than you first think. It’s a very competitive market and it might take a long time before people will start to notice you.

New Artist Showcase: Heather Sisson

Heather Sisson

Blog: http://heatherinasuitcase.blogspot.com/

Website: http://heathersisson.carbonmade.com/

What interested you in doing artwork for TheyDrawAndCook? Do you cook as well as you draw?

Well when I first discovered theydrawandcook I thought the idea of an illustrated cookbook was very cute and unique. It was a great way to get my work looked at and see other illustrators that really inspired me. (The recipes were also very cute and I did try some!)

Im not the greatest cook but I am a very good baker. My last two years of Pratt I used baking as a stress relief from art. I didn’t realize how much I really enjoyed it until recently. I suppose art and baking have always been a large part of my life. When I was growing up my mom taught me how to bake and every night she would read a Golden book to my sister and I. What I would really like is to figure out a way to combine them. I am currently looking into Johnson & Wales cooking school to take a baking class for next January. (Earlier if I can!) I would love to build sets out of baked goods for my children’s books. I’m still working out the kinks but eventually I will find a way to make things work.

What do you use to work with? What tools/materials can you not live without?

Now this is a question I have been trying to figure out for a while now. In the past year I have tried watercolor, collage, acrylic, gouache, ink, etc. Watercolor is my favorite but recently I have been very successful with collage. Two years ago my professor (Rudy Gutierrez) assigned a project that frustrated me to no end. Somehow I ended up with a beautiful mixed media collage of a wolf. I have never been a fan of collage so I stopped only to recently make a few new ones. Katelan Foisey and David Hollenbach have been great inspirations for me in the last few weeks. They do amazing collages that are unlike anything I have ever seen. I don’t feel like I have found what makes me, me yet but I am on my way.

No matter what paper or medium I work with I always feel the need to incorporate watercolor somehow. (It’s not a Heather painting unless there’s transparency!)

What’s your ideal studio environment?

At first I thought it would be at my desk with a pair of headphones and an ipod but now I would say I prefer to be near other people. There is nothing better then working at a table with a group of your friends. Listening to everyone’s stories and corny jokes somehow makes me much more productive.

What kind of volunteer work do you do? How does it inspire you creatively?

During my sophomore year at Prattmwp I was a mentor. I have always stressed about loans, dorms, and everything that comes with college. By sharing my own experiences with others it helped me overcome my own fears and worries. At the moment I am trying to get involved with a volunteer program that helps children during tough times. (It’s called Cross Roads) I will basically read children’s books to kids while their parents try to find jobs or get more work hours.

The one thing I have always loved about children literature is that sometimes the stories have adult themes with a simple concept and conclusion. Children look at the world so simply and straight to the point. You’d be surprised by how a kid can make more sense than an adult. That inspires me, the simple responses of a child towards difficult problems.

What kind of freelance jobs are you looking to pursue in the future?

I would really love to have my books published or even illustrate for someone else’s story. I might do a editorial here or there but I feel like the subject will always be child oriented.