#icon9

[theillustrationconference]

#myICON: Featuring Artist & Educator Héctor Casanova

ABOUT HÉCTOR: Héctor Casanova is an Assistant Professor in the Illustration Dept. at the Kansas City Art Institute, and an Instructor at The Illustration Academy, teaching courses on Comics & Sequential Art, Illustration and Muralism.

He has been working as a fine and graphic artist for over 20 years, doing work for collectors, magazines and corporations nationally and abroad. He was staff Editorial Artist at The Kansas City Star from 1999 - 2014. His comics work includes the graphic novels Screamland with writer Harold Sipe (Image Comics, 2008, 2010) and The Lurkers with writer Steve Niles (IDW, 2006), as well as his own weekly comic strip Guffman & Godot (2000 - 2003). He was co-founder and curator of the Green Door Gallery, an alternative art space dedicated to showcasing the work of established and emerging artists from Kansas City and beyond. He has received awards from American Illustration, Print, and Society of News Designers, and was the recipient of The Pitch’s 2008 Mastermind Award for his artistic contributions to Kansas City.

Where did you first learn about ICON? 

I first heard about ICON from my colleagues when I started teaching Illustration at the Kansas City Art Institute. ICON8 was my first time attending.

Tell us about the best part of your ICON experience.

Being able to soak up so much information and inspiration is a fantastic experience as an attendee. I was a presenter at ICON9, and that was also a thrill and an honor.

How has your experience with ICON impacted your creative career?

The networking opportunities have led to new friendships and professional relationships, which in turn have led to new projects and being invited to participate in other art and comics-related conferences.

Any advice for ICON first-timers?

The Education Symposium presentations are great, but they can lead to information overload. I highly recommend taking a workshop to allow your brain to reset and process all that information, while you learn some new skills, meet some new people, and let the right side of your brain take over for a little while.

[myapstewart]

@Mariya_Illustrates: I am really bad about keeping a neat sketchbook. Most things are done on loose sheets that are all over the apartment. But for #littlemossbigtree I wanted to get a flow for the page turns and have a bird's eye view of the entire project. So I grabbed one of the huge sketchbooks that were leftover from #icon9, and based on the initial storyboard sketches created rough black and white drawings over the span of two pages. Each drawing is not large, about the size of a small postcard, but in the same proportion as the final. This way, since I can see all of the drawings at one time, I can make sure that they all work well together before investing too much time into rendering. I also would not run the risk of losing them ^_^

Artist: Mariya Prytula Website: http://www.mvprytula.com/ Tumblr: @mariyaillustrates

[nprillustration]

Creative Pep Talk

Over the summer, I met the creative genius Andy J. Miller at ICON9. He’s the brains behind the Creative Pep Talk podcast. He and I chatted about what art directors really want, but maybe aren’t getting, and he was so nice to include our conversation in a podcast along with the wonderful Martin Gee of Time and amazing Len Small of Nautilus.

In the episode, Andy identifies the artist’s hierarchy of needs and how clients are people, too.

Check it out!

-LA

[isabellakung]

lol I'm the Aau newspaper. #newspaper #almostfamous #icon9 #featured #conference #sketchbook #sketch #portraits #aau #drawingfromlife #sketches (at Academy of Art 540 Powell st.)

[nprillustration]

Things We Learned At ICON9

Look at our awesome haul from ICON9! Photo by Meredith Rizzo/NPR

1. IDEAS FIRST  You don’t have to “be able to draw” to be an editorial illustrator. The power of a concept is more important and many artists have made fulfilling illustration careers without going to art school.

Illustrated GIF by Rebecca Mock via:  http://rebeccamock.tumblr.com/post/81226029540/wow-almost-50000-notes-thanks-tumblr-and 

2. GIFs They were cool in the 90′s and they’re still cool. Smartly used, they add depth and texture to a concept and in the case of subtle GIFs like Rebecca Mock's, they can enhance the narrative of a piece. It also means you spend more time with the illustration trying to make sense of what you’re looking at.

Marquee painted by Norma Jeanne Maloney on "Honky-tonk Row" in Nashville, Tenn. Photo by Faythe Levine and Sam Macon/Princeton Architectural Press.

3. YOU DO YOU Process is individual. Norma Jeanne Maloney began hand-painting signs in the 70′s during what some were calling the death of hand-painted signs. Now, she is flooded with commissions. If she had left the traditional way completely, she would not have stood out.

LA Johnson (right) discusses with illustrators the ways to work with NPR. Photo by Meredith Rizzo/NPR.

4. Talk To Each Other Just because illustration is often a “solo” career, does not mean you need to isolate yourself. Everyone is in the same boat, needing to be a part of a community. Reach out to your peers (that’s how they become friends)!

[whitneyaw-blog]

Earlier this month, I was blown away by ICON 2016 in Austin TX. I am so humbled and energized by the talent in this industry~ I had a fan-freaking-tastic road trip from Savannah (post graduation) to Austin, and let me tell you - the lectures the workshops, the people -the BBQ- all blew me away. To everyone I met at #ICON9, keep in touch, and I'll see you in 2018 at #ICON10!!! #SCADgrad #SCADalumni #iconconference #AustinTX #illustrator #stickers #pileofbeauty

[domlafou]

The inaugural post...

... is go!

So I am finally sorting myself out in regards to posting my illustrations, sketches, and musings to this medium. The ICON9 event in Austin, TX is largely to blame for this. 

It was truly eye-opening: many talented professional illustrators gave insights into their creative processes and how they came to be so established in the field of illustration. Breathtaking stories combined with honed artistic styles made me want to share my work with them... but all my creative output is so varied. Some of it is analog. Some of it is not even illustration, but visual/ UX/ UI designs. Oi vey. I may not even have a very defined style, or so I believe... 

I may just be starting out in this field, but I won’t give up, now that the fire to share my work with the world has been ignited.

Please stay tuned for the following anticipated content: weekly and/or daily sketches. Works in progress. Finished illustrations. 

It might be a bumpy ride, but it’s bound to be an interesting one.

[laurafisk]

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Super fun to see my turtles watercolor in the little @thelionsnest gallery video! The show is up until the end of the month I believe, check it out! #eastaustin #austinart #icon9