SI-Blog-LA: The Illustrators' Blog.

25th Worldwide Sketch Crawl takes place on Saturday, November 21.
Sketch Crawl is a worldwide marathon of drawing. You’ll be sketching on this day with artists all over the world! Usually we draw until when everybody is hungry, and show our sketches over lunch, and post our drawings in the Sketch Crawl forum. General information on Sketch crawl is at http://sketchcrawl.com. Please see below for information on Los Angeles Sketch crawl – it’s free to participate except for possible parking fees + snacks/lunch.

Since many people are going to CTN Animation Expo, let’s meet where the Expo is happening and sketchcrawl there! For those of us who are not attending the Expo, we can walk over to nearby Burbank Airport to sketch some planes, airport lobby, etc. Should be a good day for people-sketching!

25th World Wide SketchCrawl (5th Anniversary SketchCrawl!) – Los Angeles

Date: Saturday, November 21, 2009

Time: 10 AM

Meet at the lobby of:
The Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel & Convention Center
2500 Hollywood Way
Burbank, CA 91505
(This is where CTN Animation Expo is taking place)

After we sketch there for a bit, those of us who are interested can walk (or take the shuttle from the Convention Center) to:

Burbank Bob Hope Airport
2627 N. Hollywood Way
Burbank, CA 91505

See you soon and happy sketching!

CTN Animation Expo is happening this week, from Friday November 20-22, 2009. It promises to be a great event to attend for those of you who are interested in working in the animation industry. For more information and to register, please visit: www.ctnanimationexpo.com or call, (800) 604-2238.  **Be sure and mention the special Society of Illustrators LA discount code for an additional 10% off any 1-day or 3-day pass. SILAX09

Some highlights include:

•    The most influential cartoonist of this century, Ronald Searle Endorses CTN-X. “I am happy for my name to be used in association with the CTN-Xpo.  I am very pleased to be honored like this & quite surprised that people still think of me!” ~ Ronald Searle http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/matt-jones/

•    Over 300 years of top talent talk casually about their careers and share industry secrets. Peter de Sève, Harald Siepermann, Kent Melton, Mike Mignola,  Lou Romano along with live demonstrations from top industry talent maquette artists Kent Melton and Ruben Procopio and many more all weekend long.

•    Over 50 presenters who have contributed to some of the highest grossing films in the history of animation, 60 exhibitors, studio portfolio reviews, after hours networking, screenings and an opportunity of a lifetime to meet and greet in an intimate privileged setting with this group. http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/schedule/the_crew/

•    Special Screenings of “The Secret of the Kells� followed by round table discussions with the Producer and Director moderated by LA Film Critic Charles Solomon. “Banjo the Woodpile Cat� 30 years later with Don Bluth and Gary Goldman moderated by Cartoon Brew Founder and Animation Historian Jerry Beck.

•    Recession Buster Raffle.  $1000 cash plus prizes. One winner a day.

•    Pixar is in the house with Art Director Daisuke “Diceâ€�  Tsutsumi, Animator and founder of Spline Doctors Andrew Gordon, Character Designers Derek Monster, Scott Morse, Bill Presing and more…..click here!

CTN-X takes place at the Burbank Marriott Convention Center with ample discounted parking, conveniently located near the Burbank Airport and Amtrak Station. Early bird pricing and discounted rates are available to students, active military and professional industry organizations. Have over 100 conversations in one weekend at this very different event. Prices start at $25 for exhibit floor only. 

Get ready for the 5th Annual Pasadena Learning & Product Expo: Art! taking place on October 16-18 at the Pasadena Conference Center. Learning and Product Expo is a good place to pick up art supplies and art books at a huge discount. An admission of $5 (which includes a $5 coupon to Blick’s) if registering before 10/9, and $10 after, is well worth it!

More information is at :
http://www.learningproductexpo.com/pas/current_exhibitors.cfm

Here’s a perfect illustration to remember the summertime fun: SILA member Hiroko Sanders created packaging illustrations for Kimberly Clark. Her work is featured in Communication Arts Exhibit here. Congratulations!

24th Worldwide Sketch Crawl takes place on Saturday, September 19.
Sketch Crawl is a worldwide marathon of drawing. You’ll be sketching on this day with artists all over the world! Usually we draw until when everybody is hungry, and show our sketches over lunch, and post our drawings in the Sketch Crawl forum. General information on Sketch crawl is at http://sketchcrawl.com. Please see below for information on Los Angeles Sketch crawl – it’s free to participate except for possible parking fees + snacks/lunch.

Los Angeles Sketch Crawl

Date: Saturday, September 19, 2009

Meeting Time: 11am

Meeting Location:
Grand Central Market
317 Broadway
Los Angeles CA 90013
Meet at the entrance facing Hill Street (the market has two entrances, one on Broadway and one on Hill)
http://www.grandcentralsquare.com/

We can also go inside the lobby area of Bradbury Building, which is around the corner from the Market, on 3rd Street and Broadway:

Bradbury Building
304 S Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90013

See you soon and happy sketching!

Name
:

Preston Craig

Website
:

http://arthbys.com/Preston_Craig.htm

Describe your illustration style.

Realistic and Fantasy.

How did you get started in the illustration field?

Probably got the bug in high school. After earning a B.A. in Advertising/Illustration, one of my first jobs was being a t-shirt designer for a company in Louisiana.

When I was younger I wanted to be…

…an archaeologist.

What’s your favorite medium? Least favorite?

Favorite medium: acrylics. Least Favorite: oils.

What is your favorite part of your job?

The idea creation and finessing of the design after gathering good reference material.

Describe your typical work day.

Don’t have one. Every day is atypical.

What was your favorite project?

Being an illustrator for NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminisitration) at LSU and creating computer illustrations for a firm in Norway.

What advice do you wish you had at the beginning of your illustration career?

Don’t go to a 4 year college. Go to an accredited art school that specializes in the direction you want to go.

How do you balance work and play?

That’s a hard one. I can tell when I’m getting overloaded and need to blow off some steam.Which means stepping away from the drawing table and/or computer, a good reason to socialize with friends.

What are some of your inspirations?

Maxfield Parrish, Salvadore Dali, Thomas Burnett Swann

Outside of assignments, do you have creative side projects or hobbies?

Gardening, furniture refinishing, acting, voice overs.

If you weren’t an illustrator, what would you be?

archaeologist, actor

—

Current SILA members are invited to submit a member spotlight interview.

Click here for more information: http://si-la.org/spotlight.html

The early bird discount for the second annual Creative Freelancer Conference is extended – and if you sign up with a friend, your friend can attend for half price! If you’re ready to register, you can do so here and save.

Many of us illustrators are freelancers/sole proprietors of our business – and the second annual Creative Freelancers Conference in San Diego offers informative content and a chance to mingle with other creatives. It will be held in San Diego, CA, from August 26-28.

More information:

Second Annual Creative Freelancers Conference

Omni Hotel
San Diego, CA

August 26 – 28, 2009

http://www.creativefreelancerconference.com

Another resource for illustrators who are freelancers/independent contractors is Freelancers Union. This organization started in New York, where they were able to provide health insurance tailored to the freelance lifestyle, win over $25 million in tax relief for freelancers, and get coverage in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and NPR. They are currently looking for more members in California so a similar group effort can be achieved. Membership is free – for sign-up information, visit here.

About the comics dinner:  Held on the last Thursday of the month, it’s for anyone who’s worked in comic books or graphic novels: artists, retailers, publishers, printers, teachers, writers, librarians, editors, everyone. (No fans or wannabes, though. This is just for the industry.) There’s no formal agenda: we eat, drink, trade news and gossip, show off new work, and so on. People have built friendships and business deals after meeting at the dinners. If you’ve got announcements or questions for your colleagues, bring them. Someone’s bound to be interested.

The next dinner for the comic-book and graphic-novel community is:

Thursday, July 30, 7 pm
Junior’s Restaurant & Deli, 2379 Westwood Boulevard in Westwood, near the intersection of the 10 and 405 freeways
Topic: San Diego Con recap and wrap-up — the con’s biggest news and biggest events, and what they’ll mean for the comics business.

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Here are the dates and places for the rest of 2009’s dinners.  They always take place on the last Thursday of the month at 7 pm.  Spread the word!

August 27
Little Toni’s, 4745 Lankershim Boulevard (at Vineland and Camarillo) in North Hollywood, near the 101, 170, and 134 freeways
Foreign comics publishers — which comics they’re buying from the U.S. and which comics they’re selling in the U.S.

September 24
Cheesecake Factory
Comics for kids — which publishers are producing them, which comics the publishers are producing, and how to make a living working with them

October 29
Junior’s
New publishers — which companies and publishing imprints have come along in the past 12 months, and which ones seem likeliest to stick around

November and December
No comics dinners in these months, due to the holidays

Please RSVP to David Seidman at davidseidman@earthlink.net or 310-652-4369 to RSVP. If you show up without RSVPing, we won’t toss you out, but we’ll need an idea of how many people we’ll get.

Spread the word about the dinner to your colleagues. Better yet, bring them with you!

“Building a comics community one plate of linguine at a time�

SILA booth at Comic-Con 2009

SILA President, Scott Gandell and Members Yevgeniya Mikhailik and Ching Ching Cheng were a part of our 5 day Comic-con presence.  Members Barry Jackson, Patricia Doktor, Lon Levin, Sandra Chang-Adair, Dick Kritchevsky, and Shiho Nakaza all showcased at various times.

Special thanks to Jo Ann Miller at Serbin’s Directory of Illustration and Tom Peak at Bob Peak Estate for their contribution!

Latest Comic-Con update: we have special mini-posters of “Excaliber” and “Apocalypse Now” movie illustrations by Bob Peak  for sale at Comic-Con from now until July 26 at booth 2616. Visit us before it sells out!

This agreement is currently under review by the family. Please check back at a later date for information.

Summer is here and that means it’s time to break free and have fun. Go play around and make some mischief. Of course, you don’t need my permission to do it. But don’t forget that if the playing gets too rough, you may need a quick fix, an escape plan or an evil twin to blame.

That’s where MULTIDENTITY can help you. You can just say your evil twin did it—- which we know is your alter ego—-but I won’t tell anyone. You can even post up a WANTED poster for the capture of this slick and devious fellow. First take your photo, then disguise it with the many features that the iPhone App, MULTIDENTITY offers. Right now, there is a PRETTY SET and a SCARY SET to pick and choose from. You can also mix and match the sets for a whole, new, scary alter ego. So you could create a skull with a full set of wavy blond hair with your photo peering through this camouflage.

I had the pleasure of creating these features for each set. I worked with the iPhone App developer and found out what he wanted. He gave me a lot of artistic freedom because he trusted my judgment and my wacky sensibilities. We went through a few, different stages because the first ideas and illustrations didn’t work. In the end, we solved the problems with trial and error and created something that we could NOT stop playing with.

Check out the MULTIDENTITY and get ready for lots of fun with your multiple alter egos, evil twins and fake ID’s. You can see a couple of mine above. You will also be able to share yours by sending them to the blog contact. Check it out here.

Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles (SILA) is excited to announce that we will be at San Diego Comic-Con from July 22-26.
Look for us at Booth 2616!

We have exclusive goodies like SILA T-shirts, Illustration West 45 books with cover artwork by James Jean, and rare out-of-print Illustration West 35 books – save on shipping and handling fees when you buy them at the Con!

This is your chance to meet SILA illustrators who will be at the booth during various times throughout the convention. SILA President Scott Gandell and Jo Ann Miller from Serbin’s Directory of Illustration will be there, along with Lon Levin, Sandra Chang-Adair, Barry Jackson, Patricia Doktor, Dick Kritchevsky, Ching Ching Cheng, Yevgeniya Mikhailik, and Shiho Nakaza – stop by and say hello!

Many of us illustrators are freelancers/sole proprietors of our business – and the second annual Creative Freelancers Conference in San Diego offers informative content and a chance to mingle with other creatives. It will be held in San Diego, CA, from August 26-28.

Tomorrow (July 15) is the early bird deadline for the second annual Creative Freelancer Conference. If you’re ready to register, you can do so here and save $50.

More information:

Second Annual Creative Freelancers Conference

Omni Hotel
San Diego, CA

August 26 – 28, 2009

http://www.creativefreelancerconference.com

Thanks to everyone who attended the Art in the Park and special thanks goes out to Keith Batcheller, who lead the way with plein air painting! Some of the sketches from the day are here:

Keith Batcheller:

Vivian Nguyen:

Sara Cumings:

SILA is planning more social events as well as educational programs that will help you with business of illustration, so stay tuned!

SILA member Britt Spencer is doing a book signing to celebrate the publication of his children’s book, Zarafa, written by Judith St. George and published through Philomel. Drop by and say hello!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009
6:00pm – 7:30pm

Every Picture Tells A Story Gallery
1311-C Montana Ave.
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310) 451-2700

23rd Worldwide Sketch Crawl takes place this Saturday, July 11.
Sketch Crawl is a worldwide marathon of drawing. You’ll be sketching on this day with artists all over the world! Usually we draw until when everybody is hungry, and show our sketches over lunch, and post our drawings in the Sketch Crawl forum. General information on Sketch crawl is at http://sketchcrawl.com. Please see below for information on Los Angeles Sketch crawl – it’s free to participate except for possible parking fees + snacks/lunch.

Los Angeles Sketch Crawl

Date: Saturday, July 11, 2009

Meeting Time: 10:30am

Meeting Location: Echo Park – Angelus Temple
1100 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90026
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelus_Temple
From there, we can walk to the lake or see and sketch buildings and people around the area.

Echo Park:
http://www.historicechopark.org/

Name
:

Sarah Atlee

Website
:

www.sarahatlee.com
flickr.com/photos/sarahatlee

Describe your illustration style.

Interpretive portraiture with a smattering of pop surrealism.

How did you get started in the illustration field?

I went through college on the fine arts track, and didn’t get to know illustration until I was a graduate student at the Rochester Institute of Technology. I learned that what I am is a visual communicator; I wish to communicate ideas through imagery and other visual information. That was about five years ago.

When I was younger I wanted to be…

…a famous artist. Now I’m happy being any artist.

What’s your favorite medium? Least favorite?

I love drawing, it’s instant gratification. Nothing gives me greater control and freedom. I love that every drawing is a direct record of a person’s physicality, whether they freely express that or try to cover it up. My least favorite process I’ve ever used is lithography. It’s the opposite of immediate. Lithographers have a great love for their medium, and I admire them for that.

What is your favorite part of your job?

Being in the midst of a good creative flow. After a painting session, I feel full, like I’ve eaten a wonderful meal.

Describe your typical work day.

I recently quit my day job. It was one of the best (and scariest) things I’ve ever done, but incredibly liberating. I highly recommend it! Now I wake up at a reasonable hour in the morning, and spend some time inboxing, getting an idea of my tasks for the day. I like to get chores like dishes and laundry out of the way early (because they’re unavoidable). Being my own boss is tough. I have to make myself start drawing or painting, but once I’m in it, I remember that it’s my favorite thing to do.

What was your favorite project?

Last week, in a fit of frustration, I painted a portrait based on a photo of a friend. It took about an hour, and is my favorite thing I’ve done lately. Some things just come out right the first time.

What advice do you wish you had at the beginning of your illustration career?

It’s okay to keep a swipe file or a morgue; in fact, it’s very helpful. It’s okay to want to make a living off art. Plenty of people do just that, though it seems to be a secret. (Shh!) It’s not a good idea to limit my dreams because they might seem unrealistic. I will only achieve those big goals if I reach for them.

How do you balance work and play?

Nothing motivates me like a deadline. Most of my work is for gallery shows, which are planned months in advance. I’m good at planning long-term projects and breaking big workloads into smaller bites. I figure out how much work I need to do each month, then each week and each day. I know how many hours I can work before I burn out and need a break. (I keep multiple pieces going so I can switch gears when I get tired.) I also know how long I can go without painting before I go into withdrawal.

What are some of your inspirations?

At some point, while I was a student, I figured out that in order to become a good artist I had to hold myself to a very high standard. I have to make work that’s not just as good as the people in my class, or my school, or my town, but as good as successful professionals in the field. If I’m not reaching for excellence, and demanding quality work of myself, then I will be subconsciously settling for mediocrity. Right now, some artists that I’m looking at are James Jean, Gary Taxali, Debby Kaspari, Jeff Soto, Camilla Engman, Norman Rockwell, and August Sander. Those are some of my usual suspects, but ideas are likely to strike from the least expected angles. I find exciting art on Flickr all the time. Chance favors the prepared mind, so I try and keep mine open.

Outside of assignments, do you have creative side projects or hobbies?

I always have a file of images and sketches that intrigue me, although I don’t yet know what their purpose will be.

If you weren’t an illustrator, what would you be?

Very, very sad.

—

Current SILA members are invited to submit a member spotlight interview.

Click here for more information: http://si-la.org/spotlight.html

June 27, 2009 – Art in the Park Mixer
Pencil to painting, sketchbook to canvas! Join the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles for a Saturday Art in the Park, Plein Air painting with Keith Batcheller. The morning will start with a plein air demo presentation. Open to sketching, painting, pastels, or a medium of your choice. Bring your art supplies, a hat and a sunscreen to enjoy painting outdoors to kick off the summer!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Griffith Park-near the carousel
4730 Crystal Springs Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90027

Lunch provided.

Free for SILA Members,  $5.00 for non-members

Please call the office at 800-799-6368 or email us at info@si-la.org to save your spot by noon on Friday, June 26, 1009.

————

Directions to get to the Griffith Park – carousel area:

Google Maps link to the carousel:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&gl=us&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=117266303198437413763.00046c97e1d553126c4bb&ll=34.132717,-118.282966&spn=0.001401,0.003221&t=h&z=19

Griffith Park lies just west of the 5 Freeway, roughly between Los Feliz Boulevard on the south and the 134 Freeway (SR 134) on the north. Freeway off-ramps leading to the park from the 5 are Los Feliz Boulevard, Griffith Park (direct entry) and Zoo Drive. Approaching the park on 134 eastbound, take either the Forest Lawn Drive or Victory Boulevard offramps. From 134 westbound, take Zoo Drive or Forest Lawn Drive. After leaving freeways, follow the signs into the park.

Directions to the Griffith Park Carousel: Get on Crystal Springs Drive, which runs past the Griffith Park Miniature Train, Griffith Park Pony Rides, and the Griffith Park Ranger Station. The Merry-go-round is off of Crystal Springs Drive on a small side street in the park; follow the well-marked signs.

This workshop by California Lawyers for the Arts takes place on June 3, 2009 from 7pm – 8:30pm, and they are hosting more workshops this summer.
You can find out more about the organization here.

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How to Survive a Challenging Economy: Best Practices for Contemporary Visual Artists
With Jessica L. Darraby, Esq.

DESCRIPTION: This workshop is designed to help artists identify ways to manage ups and downs in the art market.  Artists will be provided options for best practices including organizing a portfolio in a professional way consistent with archiving and cataloguing; how and when to identify copyright issues and determine if they are relevant to your work;  how to protect yourself and minimize risk in the studio and at the galleries;  how your digital files can work for you;  maintaining images, prints, and other studio records, maximizing your career options, presenting your work—and yourselves– to galleries, the ins and outs of consignment, insurance issues, and managing expectations in the era of art as business.

SPEAKER:   Jessica Darraby, a former art dealer, owner and director of a contemporary art gallery,  is a principal in The Art Law Firm, a practice dedicated to art and architecture law, with offices in Los Angeles and affiliate counsel in New York and Europe, representing an international clientele in the arts.  Practice areas include:  conservation, architecture, entertainment and publishing, copyright, trademark, licensing, rights and clearances, public art, restitution and repatriation, fraud, counterfeits, international trade, indigenous cultural rights, corporate matters, estates and trusts.   Ms. Darraby is the author of the comprehensive legal treatise Art, Artifact,   Architecture & MUSEUM Law, VOlumes 1 & 2 (14th ed. 2009) published by Thomson Reuters West.  She has been interviewed by the New York Times, the LA Times, The World, the BBC, MSNBC, newsweek.com, National Public Radio, the Smithsonsian  PROTOTYPES ONLINE, Art & Auction, Heritage Magazine, ABA Journal, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Heritage Magazine, and Bloomberg Wealth Management Magazine, among others.

WHERE:  Ken Edwards Center, 1527 4th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401
ADMISSION:  General Admission: $20, Members of CLA and Co-sponsors: $10, Senior Citizens and Students: $5
REGISTRATION: Call CLA at (310) 998-5590, or email us (please include your contact info and specify the workshop date(s)) at: clasocaled@aol.com

Here’s an interesting twist on plein air painting that I’m looking forward to participating: painting the urban landscape. A group of artists are gathering this Sunday, May 17 and once a month until September to interpret different public spaces and various man-made landscapes in Los Angeles. It is free to participate, just bring your own supplies in addition to cookies to share with the group! More information and meeting location is at The Public School website here.