Drawing Comment—TONIGHT!

Memphis College of Art hosts Drawing Comment: Illustration & Social Commentary
Feb. 19 through March 27, 2010 in the Main Gallery, Rust Hall in Overton Park.

Steve Brodner, Anita Kunz and Luba Lukova, the three illustrators included in the exhibition, will participate in a panel discussion moderated by MCA's Joel Priddy Thursday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in Callicott Auditorium.

Opening reception for the exhibition is Friday, Feb. 25 from 5-7 pm.

Steve Brodner
Anita Kunz
Luba Lukova

Please come! Ask questions!

Gerhard

This is for serious inknerds only, but Holy Moly, it's an inknerd's bonanza!

Gerhard worked for years drawing backgrounds for Dave Sim's Cerebus. I think I can say without fear of contradiction that they are the most amazing backgrounds in Comics History. Absolutely jaw-dropping stuff.

Now, he opens up with a in-depth interview over on the Comics Journal. Lots of specific discussion of drafting and inking techniques, plus an eye-witnesses account of Cerebus' plunge from brilliance to infamy.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

The Daily News

Here's a brief write up from the Memphis Daily News:

MCA Students Win Broadside Competition

The work of two seniors from the Memphis College of Art has been selected as the winning entry in the National Portfolio Day Association juried competition.

The entry, an informational broadside, will be produced in Memphis and distributed in late summer to over 60,000 high schools and junior colleges throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The entry was created by MCA students Marie Provence, a senior illustration major from Lawrenceville, Ga., and

Samantha Taggart, a senior graphic design major from Moss Point, Miss.

MCA submitted two entries, placing first and second.

In addition to the winning selection by Provence and Taggart, second place went to students

Gina Davis, a senior graphic design major from Memphis, and Justin Wheeler, BFA 2010 in illustration, from Shreveport, La.

Associate Professor David Charles Chioffi directed the project in conjunction with Associate Professor Joel Priddy.

This will mark the fourth time MCA has produced the national broadside in six years of competition. Additionally, MCA is the only college to host three National Portfolio Days annually.

– Aisling Maki

Memphis Flyer article

In the wake of the Publisher's Weekly piece, the Memphis Flyer now has a nice, full-page article on our Comics program. We're two articles-worth of famous!

The website skips the attribution, so let me mention here that the image illustrating the piece is from Kayla Cline's Slag Valley, which is being created for the Comics 4 class.

The Memphis Flyer

Emily Carroll

Emily Carroll posted a new comic, and it's gorgeous and great.

Adventure Time!

Adventure Time fans should check out all this neat stuff Executive Producer Fred Seibert posted on his flickr...it has a lot of concept art and super neat set ups for the initial viewing of the show. Lots of neat display ideas...and well, it's Adventure Time!

Cartooning Facial Expressions

Okay, you have to get past the fact that it's a comic about anthropomorphic cats acting all dramatic and flirty. Tracy J. Butler has some solid comics chops, and this is a great set of notes on cartooning facial expressions. In particular, it is a brilliant and necessary skewering of the lazy shortcuts we so easily fall into.

This is of particular relevance to the Comics 2 kids, but good for all of us.

Lackadaisy Expressions

Picture Book Report

Well, I'm coming to the party late, what with the project having just wrapped up, but this is a fun blog to check out. Fifteen illustrators chose books they love, and made lovely pictures about them. Folks like Daniel Krall, Lucy Knisely, Meg Hunt, and Sam Bosma.

The above image is from Brave New World, illustrated by the superb Emily Carroll.

Picture Book Report

Mike Mignola on BLDGBLOG

Mike Mignola talks reference and research. Worth your time.

Publisher's Weekly

MCA's Comics (née Sequential Narrative) concentration was mentioned in a Publisher's Weekly article about the state of comics programs on the college level.

The gist:

While there are only a few of these programs at present, their rapid growth matches the growth and development of the comics category and industry overall as the medium comes to be to be recognized as a legitimate creative discipline.

For further perusal:
Comics on Campus: New Programs Grow, Attract Diverse Students

Irene Gallo

Caroline Huss pointed out this link to an interview with Irene Gallo. I've posted about Ms. Gallo before, and, and as an art director deeply interested in fostering great illustration, she is worth paying attention to. Evidence to support this claim may be found at the following links:

Irene Gallo's blog
Illustration Master Class
Tor.com

Illustration Show in The Sleeze and Slime

You've already seen it, I'm sure, but there's a nice show of work from the Illustration concentration hanging up in what is officially called "The Brode Gallery." I think it's a particularly strong showing, this year, although I may be feeling that way because, for the first time, so much of it is work I haven't already critiqued. It's a sign of how much the program has grown, and I'm delighted that it seems to be getting better as it gets bigger!

Good job, Illustrators! And good job, Illustration instructors!

Illustration Exhibit Deadline THIS WEEKEND

Entries for the Brode Gallery Illustration/Design exhibit are due this weekend, so please get some entries into the box outside of DA3. We need stuff! Things you've done outside of class are A-OK as well!

SI Lectures

Well, this is exciting. For about a year now, The Society of Illustrators has been cruelly teasing me with emails announcing amazing lectures they were hosting in New York. Each one sounded so good, that I was halfway to the airport when I remembered I had class in the morning. Lectures from luminaries like Milton Glazer, Jules Feiffer, Anita Kunz, and Sam Weber.

Thank goodness we live in the future, and distance is no barrier. All the lectures are now available to view via your handy information appliance.