How to Lie About Books

I am guilty of way too many of these.

Kevin Dart and Yuki 7

I fell for Kevin Dart's work when I saw his super cute "Robot and Christmas Tree" image at Comic Con last year. And I fell even deeper after seeing his awesome faux movie posters.

He's now jumped into the deep-end of retro goodness by creating an entire mid 60s fantasy world of sexy espionage with Yuki 7. The book is on pre-order now, for order info and a great series of what it's like to put together such a project, check out, Mr. Kevin Dart.

"A Kiss From Tokyo" Theatrical trailer from Stephane coedel on Vimeo.

Jack

Because he's handsome.

Because it can be done, doesn't mean it should be done.

This made the rounds yesterday but since people keep sending me links to it (and I do appreciate links - so keep them coming...except, you know, on something else now):

Yes. Ug. The iPhone New Yorker cover. Of all the amazing digital art in the world this is a revelation!?

“The best feature of it is that it doesn’t feel like something that was done digitally; quite the opposite,” said Françoise Mouly, the art editor for The New Yorker.

Again, I say: !?!?

Animation on Tor.com "Hello" and "Who's Hungry?"

This week's Tor.com animation picks:

Hello: Apologies for the commercial up front but, this was too great to pass up. The same ol’ story: Boom Box falls for cute CD Player. Gramophone offers sage advice. Shy and sweet. (6:30 minutes)

Who’s Hungry?: I’d say it’s a demented Hansel and Gretel story, but Hansel and Gretel is pretty demented to start with. At any rate, this is not for kids...or the squeamish. Via Cartoon Brew, who also have an audience reaction video up. (5 minutes.)

For the full list of animation picks, check out the Saturday Morning Cartoon Index.

Gary Kelley download demo

Massive Black/Conceptart.org is continuing their excellent series of download demos. This time, Gary Kelley oil painting. Not many people are as knowledgeable and eloquent about art as Gary is. This will be a treat to watch.

Order info here.



RELATED:
Gary Kelley, Jim Bennet, and Greg Manchess demo at the Society of Illustrators.

Academy of Art University Spring Show

Last Thursday I attended San Fransisco's Academy of Art University annual Spring show. After last year, I had pretty high expectations, which, I'm happy to report, were met. Both this year and last, the base level of quality was very high. Those that stand-out from this group are in an excellent position to have a career drawing and painting.

The Academy flies in talent scouts and art directors from every visually creative field you can think of (animation, architecture, product design, illustration, web design, and on...) to view the exhibit, review portfolios, and speak with each graduating student in their field. 

Nothing lets you get around having to have a great portfolio but being engaging, speaking well about your work, and asking good questions is an excellent way to make an art director feel comfortable taking a chance on a younger artist. It shows that they understand the problem solving in illustration, are eager to learn from each experience, and are willing work together to make a project successful for all parties.

Mad geniuses are a wonderful thing and I'm glad they are out there creating work for the world to enjoy, but illustration is a commercial art and giving these students the opportunity to present themselves as such is a good learning experience for both them and those asked to do the looking.

Congrats and good luck to all the students. The bad news is, there is a ton of work to do ahead of you...but that's kinda the good news too. 

Thanks, once again, to Chuck Pyle for having me out. 

IMAGES:
Tyler Jacobson and Samuel Farinato
Photos from the exhibit.
Linda Olafsdottir and Albert Ramos

Francis Vallejo and Adam Hughes interviews

I'm getting yelled at for relying on Twitter for too much of this so...

Sidebar Nation always runs a great series of podcasts. Recently:

Francis Vallejo: A new (as in last week) Ringling illustration grad. Francis is more articulate on illustration than most pros. A great view from a young person just entering into his career -- well worth a listen.

And, a two part interview with comic books artist, and one of the best damn drawers around, Adam Hughes. Great info mixed with a lot of laughs. Part one and two.

Animation on Tor.com

This week on Tor.com Saturday Morning Cartoons...

la Femme Papillon: An admirer attempts to liberate the marionette of his desires. Beautifully designed, it sets a claustrophobic but lush world.

le Cadeau du Temps: When is it time to share and when is it time to quit?

Nic Klein

The new blog on the block: Just a Minor Threat by the awesome Nic Klein. Check out his process for this Viking 3 cover.

Micahel Sloan and Adam McCauley

A little silly and a little sublime.

Michael Sloan and Professor Nimbus

Adam McCauley's Star Drek

One of the joys of working on Tor.com is being able to publish works that never would have found a home at Tor Books.

I've loved Michael Sloan's "Professor Nimbus" comics since having judged the Society of Illustrators sequential exhibit in 2006. I have a clear memory of reading the wordless Heresy of Professor Nimbus and voting for it to get a well-deserved silver medal.

And...I can't remember when first ran in to Adam's work? I think it was in book store looking at The Time Warp Trio, but I know I've enjoyed his one-sheet pun-y comix for ages.

We are happy to present both on Tor.com.

Terrible Yellow Eyes

Cory Godbey has started Terrible Yellow Eyes, a Where the Wild Thinsg Are tribute site. Each Friday he will post an image inspired by the best book ever written and drawn. Along with his own work he will displaying contributions from invited guests. They've got colossal shoes to fill but so far it seems to have just the right amount of heart. I'm looking forward to following along each week.

Seen here: Cory Godbey and Pascal Champiom

Tor.com Meet-up: Thursday (as in: tomorrow)

Tor.com is having a meet-up tomorrow. You don't need to be a regular Tor.com reader to go, you just need to be nerdy. We had lots of fun last time. Cool people like Sam Weber and Kurt Huggins & Zelda Devon showed up. We have Proof.

DBA
Details here.
1st Ave and 2nd Street.
There's a garden, they say an awesome liquor selection, and people are threatening to bring board games. Fun for all.

Vincent Villafranca Video

I'm a big fan of Vincent Villafranca's bronze sculptures. And now there's a cool video of him making them:

(Via Dave Seeley)

2009 Society of Illustrators Student Exhibit

Last Friday was the 2009 Society of Illustrators Student exhibition gala. You know its going to be a good show when you turn the corner of 63rd street and Lex and there's a mob of people waiting to get in.

The exhibit was, as the many pro artists/agents/art directors I ran across kept saying, one of the best yet. The work is outstanding, the presentation was great, exhibitors were prepared with business cards and postcard samples. A true rival to the pro annual. As is often stated, it's harder to get into the student exhibit than any pro illustration competition -- 6,000 pieces are entered and only 100-140 are selected. Everyone in the show, deserves a lot of respect. I was surprised by how many students I already knew from various other venues -- Illustration Master Class, ConceptArt.org workshops, etc. These kids are so clearly thinking of their careers beyond school.

You can view all of the work on display at the Society of Illustrators' site.
Big thanks to the chairman of the show, Scott Bakal.

PHOTOS: TOP: Lots of people
BOTTOM LEFT: Matt Buck and his H.P. Lovecraft portrait.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Kristina Carroll and Andrew Silver next to Silver's painting.

PAINTINGS:
McLean Kendree
Billy Norbby
Tim Durning, Jeff Liu

Earlier post on this exhibit here.

Animation on Tor.com: "The Sandman" and "Sebastien"

This week, a nightmare and a daydream:

The Sandman: A truly scary bedtime story. Great expressionist backgrounds and lighting. I’d say it’s Tim Burton-esque but it was made before Nightmare Before Christmas. (9 minutes)

Sébastien: Flights of fancy are contagious. From the amazing french animation school Gobelins. (1.50 minutes)

MicroVisions 4 raises $4,596.51

Even in tough times, we have done just as well (even a smidge better) as last year. Individual paintings went from $100.00 -$1,700.00. Many thanks to everyone that bid. 

I was at the Society's student scholarship exhibit Friday night -- without a doubt, those kids are very appreciative for the recognition these awards give them.

Rick Berry talks about his latest for Tor.com.

Rick Berry on illustrating Terry Bisson's "TVA Baby" for Tor.com.

Maurizio Manzieri speaks to Stephan Martiniere

Artist Maurizio Manzieri has posted an in-depth interview with Stephan Martiniere. Enjoy:

Part One

Part Two

Animation: ClickClack and Baman Piderman

Two short and super cute movies on this week's Saturday Morning Cartoons:

ClickClack: Robots and Rube Goldberg-inspired word play. Delightful. Until it’s sad. But mostly it’s delightful. (5.30 minutes)

Baman Piderman: 20 seconds long—has had me saying “Piderman” for months.

MicroVisions 4, auction is live

Any, we're off! The fourth annual MicroVisions auction is up and running.

Check it out on eBay:
MicroVisions 4
And bid, bid, bid!

These are 5x7 paintings created by the field's leading illustrators and comic book artists. All proceeds go to the Society of Illustrators student scholarship fund. They are kept small so that the artist have fun doing them and to make them affordable by casual collectors.

A huge thanks to teh participating artists:

Welsey Allsbrook, Volkan Baga, Chris Buzelli, Justin Gerard, Greg Manchess, Paolo Rivera, Luis Royo, Greg Ruth, Francis Vallejo, Michael Whelan

As it happens, the Society's scholarship exhibit is having it's opening night gala Friday, May 8th. Every year I am blown away by the incredible talent this show pulls together. I'm very excited to be meeting this year's students -- it's never very long before you start seeing some of their names out in the professional world.