Thursday, November 22, 2007

11/22/07 - Advice For Freelance Artists


This post was on the Drawn blog a couple of days ago and I think is worth reading by anyone who wants to or is making part of the livelihood from freelance illustration or contract comic work. There is good advice here for those just starting out about internships and developing a portfolio (traditional and on-line).

Dave Roman the author of the post linked above is an artist himself and has worked for Nickelodeon Magazine for nine years so he has some credibility on this topic.

This just reiterates what you should already know: people (clients, editors, art directors) like to work with pleasant, professional people that they know can deliver the requested work with a minimum of hand holding. Target your portfolio to your own strengths and interests. Strive to be able to take revisions with good humor - this is a winning ability and will get you more work later down the road.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Monday, November 19, 2007

11/19/07 - Podcast Gurney Interview and Guide to Interning

These were two items that I thought might be of interest:
First a recent audio interview with Dinotopias's James Gurnery.
Second an enlightening post from James Apples' blog Visual Editors about getting your foot in the door at your local newspaper.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

11/17/07 - Illustration Resources

Illustration
Pronunciation: \ˌi-ləs-ˈtrā-shən also i-ˌləs-\
Function: noun
Date:14th century
1 a: the action of illustrating : the condition of being illustrated barchaic : the action of making illustrious or honored or distinguished2: something that serves to illustrate: as a: an example or instance that helps make something clear b: a picture or diagram that helps make something clear or attractive

This post will hopefully be updated by lots of you on a regular basis. If you see something here that you don't agree with or feel is missing leave a comment.

Websites:
Illustration Art - David Apatoff really likes great pictures. Inspriation from some of the best.
Gurney Journey - James Gurney of Dinotopia fame frequently updates this excellent blog. Shares lots of his working methods and techniques.
Visual Editors - a group effort "the classroom of visual journalism". Great for technical illustrations or informative illustration (ala USA Today diagram).
Today's Inspiration - Leif Peng's labor of love and the source for 1940's and 1950's illustration information.

Books:
Illustrator's Bible - Rob Howard shares his tips for a wide variety of traditional media
Rendering in Pen and Ink - the classic by Arthur Guptill.
Digital Character Design and Painting - techniques for using Photoshop CS in digital illustration by Don Seegmiller, the middle of three similar books, the first deals with Painter, the latest with Photoshop CS3

Magazines:
Illustration Magazine - lots of the old masters covered
Illo - contemporary illustrators
ImagineFX - British import (pricey), DVD insert, trial software, artist profiles, tutorials
2DArtist - online PDF (inexpensive), lots of tutorials

Schools:

Traditional Colleges and Universities
Savannah School of Design (SCAD) - with campuses in Savannah, Georgia and Atlanta Georgia:Undergrad and Masters Degrees
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) - Undergrad only for Illustration
American Academy of Art - the school in Chicago that Alex Ross (and his mother) attended
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) - has a Medical Illustration degree (see Gurney Journey blog for his review)
University of Georgia - has a Scientific Illustration undergrad program and a Medical Illustration Masters Program through their Medical College.

Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD) - this program is gaining in recognition. Chris Payne heads up the Illustration Department.
Summer Intensives, Online and Hybrid Courses
The Illustration Academy - summer intensives with working illustrators

The Art Department (TAD) - online/hybrid courses from the Illustration Academy and Massive Black/ConceptArt.org
Visual Literacy Program - online video tutorials from the Illustration Academy, ConceptArt.org and TAD instructors- has two options: adults and high school students

Friday, November 16, 2007

11/16/07 - Heading to Mid-Ohio-Con?

Are you planning to head to Mid-Ohio-Con next weekend? Be sure to arrive early enough to take in the pre-convention party Friday night.

"Unmasked," the 2nd annual free pre-convention party sponsored by Ferret Press and the PANEL collective, will take place from 8 p.m. - midnight on Friday, Nov. 23. The venue for this event will once again be Barley's Brewing Co., directly across from the convention center. The party serves as a place where comic book fans can mingle with comic book pros, chat, have a drink, and talk about comics, art, music, and more.

If you are thinking about attending the event, please either post word here, leave a comment following this post or drop an e-mail to Jonathan who is helping coordinate the Lexington KY Comic Creators Group pilgrimage north.


Wednesday, November 14, 2007

11/14/07 - Recommended Graphic Novel Made Into Animated Movie

Persepolis, a Graphic Novel, by Marjane Satrapi is on the posted list of CCG recommended reading. Sony Pictures released an animated movie adaptation of this book in Europe earlier this year. Satrapi, who has lived in France for a number of years, was heavily involved in the production of this film so it should remain true to it's source. It has won some awards and is scheduled for release here in the US around Christmas.

I am a big fan of the printed version of this work - I feel it really highlights the power of comics to break down cultural and political borders. I learned a lot from reading this - namely that people, even in countries that have governments unfriendly to the US government, have a lot more in common with me and my life than popular belief would suggest.

11/14/07 - Spanish Editorial Cartoonists Fined

Some of you may be following this controversial case about an embarrassing depiction of Spain's Crown Prince and his wife. This cartoon on a news magazine cover seems to be tapping into a ground swell of great dissatisfaction with the royals by the citizenry of Spain. The two men who drew and wrote the caption for the cartoon are being charged with slander and defaming the crown.

Is this a case of freedom of the press or just some uncouth folks trying to sell their paper? - you decide.

Here is a link to the story of the cartoonists legal judgment from BBC News.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

11/11/07 - Our New Group Forum

We are pleased to throw open the doors and invite you to visit the new Lexington KY Comic Creators Group Forum! Check it out by following this link.

This is a companion discussion area where messages can be exchanged, projects can be built and members can hang out. This new forum is an added online arena where we can share information and resources.

Currently the forum is divided into Group News, Comic Projects and Discussion. It can expand in any way that you like so feedback is ALWAYS welcome. Please drop by, make yourself comfortable and post away!

You will need a login ID and password, but we're already on the case for you…

Option 1 - If you've been to a recent monthly meeting you should have received an e-mail containing your login and password this afternoon. If you received that e-mail, you are pre-registered and ready to roll. Once logged in, you can change that password and customize the account as you wish.

Option 2 - If you didn't get and e-mail would like us to handle all the mechanics of registration, just e-mail Chuck Moore and he’ll handle everything.

Option 3 - If you would prefer to register on your own, simply click here and follow the steps. It only takes a couple minutes.

We look forward to seeing you in the forum!

Sunday, November 04, 2007

11/04/07 - Excellent Autodidactic Posts and Open Source Education


I mentioned Gannon Beck previously in a post concerning his superior online illustration tutorial. Well he has blown me away again with his posts on Learn to be an Illustrator and serial posts on "Open Source Education". This latter subject is going to send a chill down the back of many a college administrator - and I think deservedly so. When did higher education become such a money making proposition?!! Little business colleges boldly charge such exorbitant tuition as to rival the student debt that one would have at an Ivy League School (worse because there probably isn't much in the way of scholarships, work programs, grants, endowments, etc...).

I just have to applaud Gannon's "can do" approach to dealing with the sacred cow of higher ed. This "self-reliant" auto didactic track is a quality that many in our fighting forces have and probably why our military succeeds in so many demanding situations. I find this a refreshing and viable approach to the whole college education challenge - what do you all think?

Saturday, November 03, 2007

11/03/07 - UK Law School Hosts Panel Disucssion on KY Kernel Editorial Cartoon

Who says editorial cartoons are no longer influential or relevant?

Not anyone who has been following the events before, during and after the publication of a Kentucky Kernel (University of Kentucky's student run, independent newspaper) editorial cartoon you know that there was quite a lot of fallout to the depiction of UK's Greek System as somehow analogous to a slave auction. Previous to that cartoon running the newspaper had reported on the Jena-6 case, "Taboo Subjects in Race Relations", segregation in the UK Greek system, and covered a meeting of the UK Greeks to discuss the segregation that persists between black and white fraternities/sororities. I strongly encourage any interested to go to www.kykernel.com site and look through the articles and stories preceding the October 5th edition of the newspaper. This really helps to put some of this in perspective. Here is a link to some of the online comments the Kernel received.

I am greatly pleased to see someone has the courage to host an open discussion about the issues that have been raised these past few weeks! Here is the information sent out by the UK Law School about their program: "When Is Race a Laughing Matter?" (A title I take objection to, by the way. Editorial cartoons are serious works and their primary purpose is not to amuse to but to illuminate.)
Colleagues,

The Law School's Diversity Committee, under the leadership of Professor
Melynda Price, has put together a program that arises out of and expands
upon the issues raised by the Kernel cartoon. It is titled "When is Race a
Laughing Matter? A Community Discussion of the Kernel Cartoon Controversy."
Melynda has put together a very interesting group of panelists with varying
thoughts on the topic.

On behalf of the College of Law, I invite you to attend In addition, would
you be willing to arrange for the posting/distribution of the attached
flier.

We have plenty of room for students and faculty as the program is being held
in the Courtroom of the Law Building. It begins at 6:00 p.m. on Monday,
November 5th.


Here is a PDF flier for the event. Here is a link to the campus guide map showing the location of the College of Law Building, where I suppose the "courtroom" is located.

I find great parallels between this and the furor that arose from the Danish Cartoons that many Muslims found offensive last year (see previous post). Lexington Herald Leader Editorial Cartoonist and Pulitzer Prize winner, Joel Pett, is scheduled to be present on the discussion panel that includes Brad Fletcher, the UK Law student who wrote and drew the cartoon.