Hi everyone and Happy New Year! Now that we’re back and have just about finished the second week of the semester, we wanted to share this exciting news with you. Senior Jackson Adriano (‘22) will be featured in the upcoming March/April issue of Communication Arts! Congratulations Jackson!!
All images by Jackson Adriano
This spring, four of our full time faculty received word that they had work selected to appear in the American Illustration 40th anniversary book. From over 7,000 entries from 1,342 artists, art directors, publishers, agencies and schools, the jury selected 425 images by a majority vote or better to appear in the book and represent the best illustrations from 2020. The American Illustration 40 winning collection, with 285 of the industry's best illustrators, will be presented in print, online and, with a little luck, in person this November in New York City, where American Illustration-American Photography is based. Congratulations to the following faculty!
Maura Cluthe, Associate Professor/Associate Chair
John Ferry, Professor
Il Sung Na, Assistant Professor (Il Sung Na had 2 pieces selected!)
David Terrill, Associate Professor
Maura Cluthe • Pattern Play 01
John Ferry • Detroit 3
Il Sung Na • spread from My Tree
Il Sung Na • spread from My Tree
David Terrill • Beasts of the Field
This spring, unbeknownst to our students, we entered a handful of faculty-selected pieces of student work into American Illustration 40 and the 3x3 Illustration Annual. Students from all over the country enter both competitions; thousands of pieces are entered but only a few hundred end up being featured. We are proud to announce that the following students received Honorable Mention and will have their work featured online. Congratulations all!!
Althea Flores, ‘22 — Honorable Mention, American Illustration 40
Kali Brock, ‘21 — Honorable Mention, 3x3 Magazine
Jessi Macko, ‘21 — Honorable Mention, 3x3 Magazine
Avery Istwan, ‘22 — Honorable Mention, 3x3 Magazine
Althea Flores, ‘22 / @altheaflores_art / altheaflores.com
Kali Brock, ‘21 / @kalibrockart
Jessi Macko, ‘21 / @jessimackoart
Avery Istwan, ‘22 / @averyillustration
KCAI Illustration is proud to present our Spring 2021 (virtual) End of Semester Show, Stronger Together, which will feature the work of some of our senior, junior and sophomore illustrators. Although the exhibition page won’t go live until tomorrow, we thought we’d post a little preview of some of the work that will be featured. Be sure to check back with us TOMORROW Friday, May 14 to see the entire exhibition at: kcai.edu/eos_exhibition. Thank you for visiting!
Dani Mays, ‘23
Althea Flores, ‘22
Natalie Kolega, ‘21
Didi Bryant, ‘22
Ella Denson-Redding, ‘21
Skylar Bridgeman, ‘23
Hayden Gough, ‘21
Miranda Chaffin, ‘22
Briana Mahan, ‘21
Isaac Duran, ‘22
Tehya Riley Woolworth, ‘21
We are excited to announce the selected covers for the 2021 Covers + Pages Anthology! Covers + Pages is a junior level sequential narrative class. Every year we print an anthology of the strongest sequential work from the class and every year we invite two comic book illustrators, writers or editors to jury the covers. BIG THANKS to our wonderful jurors Jason Aaron and Josh Cotter for generously giving their time and insight. We greatly appreciate it!! Although we typically get together with our jurors in person, we met remotely with them again this year and made all of the student images available to them on Google Drive prior to our meeting so that they could view them and think about the final covers remotely.
After much discussion, Jason and Josh picked four final covers and four honorable mentions this year. We are proud to showcase them here. Congratulations all!!
FINAL COVERS
Miranda Chaffin
Jenna Norris
Bailey Corbin
Althea Flores
HONORABLE MENTION
Clockwise, from top left: Hannah O’Brien, Didi Bryant, Avery Istwan and Tina Myers
Thanks again to Jason and Josh for jurying our covers this year! We’ll be printing the anthology this summer so stay tuned!
Although it has certainly been awhile since we’ve posted, we have some wonderful news that we wanted to share regarding the 2021 Society of Illustrators Student Competition winners.
Every year since 1981 the Society of Illustrators has held the Student Scholarship Competition. Over three hundred works are chosen from more than 8,700 entries submitted by professors of college-level students nationwide. In a competition which can kick start a career, students bring their most sophisticated, well-crafted and original work to be tested. A jury of professional peers, including illustrators and art directors, selects the most outstanding works created throughout the year. Pieces are accepted based on the quality of technique, concept and skill of medium used.
From the Society’s endowment, generous contributions from private and corporate donors, and proceeds from an annual auction of member-donated artworks, scholarship awards are granted to about 25 students whose work is deemed the best of the best.
We are proud of all of our students who entered work into the competition and thrilled to offer our congratulations to Maia Fischer Walter (‘21), Jessi Macko (‘21) and Tehya Riley Woolworth (‘21). Jessi is also the recipient of the $1000 Carol and Murray Tinkelman Scholarship Award. Congratulations all!!
Maia Fischer Walter | Long Dog Doll, mixed media. Instructor: Brent Watkinson
Jessi Macko | Life Painted Me Beautiful, pastel on paper. Instructor: Brent Watkinson
Tehya Riley Woolworth | The Walk, digital. Instructor: Maura Cluthe
KCAI Illustration is proud to present our virtual End of Semester Show, ILLUSTRATION NOW 2020, which will feature the work of our senior and junior illustrators. Typically exhibited in tandem with our annual fall Harvest event, this work highlights the variety of voices, visual approaches and storytelling within the department. Although the ILLUSTRATION NOW 2020 page won’t go live until this Friday, December 18, we thought we’d post a little preview of some of the senior and junior work that will be featured. Enjoy and be sure to check back with us THIS Friday, December 18 at kcai.edu/EOS_Exhibition! If you’d like to view additional work, please visit our 2020 Harvest page.
Parker Story, ‘21 | Eye Heart KC, Asphalt art mural
Avery Istwan, ‘22 | Locked out of Heaven, Watercolor
Kalie Brock, ‘21 | Filthy, Rotten, No Good Mouth, Charcoal with digital collage
Miranda Chaffin, ‘22 | Rats by the Thousands, Mixed media
Gabby Laventure, ‘21 | The Little Mermaid (Freaky), Digital
Brendan Behrens, ‘22 | Isolation, Pen and ink with digital edit
Payton Alexandra, ‘21 | If I Could Keep You, Graphite, watercolor, flowers
Morgan VanRoss, ‘22 | The Matron, Fabric, foam, fake foliage, paint
Jessi Macko, ‘21 | October 2020, Figure Drawing 01, Pastel, acrylic and graphite
We are excited to announce the selected covers for the 2020 Covers + Pages Anthology! Covers + Pages is a junior level sequential narrative class. Every year we print an anthology of the strongest sequential work from the class and every year we invite two comic book illustrators, writers or editors to jury the covers. BIG THANKS to our wonderful jurors Buster Moody and Baldemar Rivas for generously giving their time and insight. We greatly appreciate it! Although we typically get together with our jurors in person, because of COVID-19 and the quarantine we made all of the student images available to our them so that they could view them and vote on the final covers remotely. Once they’d had a chance to look at everything, we met with them remotely and discussed the work.
After much discussion, Buster and Baldemar picked SIX final covers and EIGHT runners-up this year. We are proud to showcase them here. Congratulations all!!
FINAL COVERS
Skylar Courtney
Ella Denson-Redding
Natalie Kolega
Seth Peters
Maia Fischer-Walter
Riley Woolworth
RUNNERS-UP
Clockwise, from top left: Kristina Duckson, Hayden Gough, JT Schroff and Bryn Dougherty
Clockwise, from top left: Tyler Pickert, Paige McIntosh, Parker Story and Van Asbeck
Thanks again to Buster and Baldemar for jurying our covers this year! We’ll be printing the anthology soon so stay tuned!
Like many colleges across the country, we have been doing remote teaching for almost 4 weeks now. Adjusting to this process has been challenging at times and it’s meant rescheduling and reshuffling some things that we had planned for this second half of the semester, including our Mystery Project and our Visiting Artist day and project.
We have traditionally jump started the second half of the semester with an all-department project we call The Mystery Project. Although we typically challenge students with this project the Monday morning after we’re back from Spring Break, they don’t know what the project is going to be (thus the “mystery” aspect of the project). In the past, we introduce the project to the students at 8:00am and they have 3-4 hours to complete it. Then, once they're done, the pieces are hung up in the studio flex space for everyone to see. With nearly 100 students in the department, it’s really fun to see the variety of solutions for the same prompt. We’ve had some wonderful projects in the past, which are generated by the full-time faculty and/or in collaboration with individuals from the community. This spring it was Assistant Professor Il Sung Na’s turn to come up with the premise of the Mystery Project.
Covid-19 and the coronavirus pandemic have drastically changed the way we do things every day. It has permeated our conversations and our way of life. Considering the way it has impacted education and the fact that we are not in class together this second term of the semester, Il Sung was interested in seeing what kind of imagery the students would create in response to Covid-19. Here’s the brief that was given to our students:
On February 11, 2020 the World Health Organization announced an official name for the disease that is causing the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak, first identified in Wuhan China and has now been detected in almost every location internationally, including the United States.
In COVID-19, ‘CO’ stands for ‘corona’, ‘VI’ for ‘virus’, and ‘D’ for disease. COVID-19 is a new disease that has not previously been seen in humans. So what is COVID-19, how does it spread, what are symptoms, how do we prevent it, what treatments do we have, and what do you do if you are sick?
Depict how Covid-19 impacts our daily lives / Create a visual story about Covid-19.
Students were also encouraged to research and read articles about Covid-19. Unlike our past Mystery Project timeframe of 3-4 hours, students were given a little over a week to create their final pieces.
There was some amazing work created for this project (!) and although it’s not all pictured here, we have created a special page that contains work that the faculty selected to be featured here (see link above). Additionally, the five pieces shown below are the Top 5 pieces selected by the faculty for their creativity, risk-taking, idea development and commitment. Congratulations to these students and to all of our students who participated in this project for your dedication to your work.
Asha Reeder (‘20)
Lainey Winge (‘20)
Robin Lewallen (‘20)
Seth Peters (‘21)
Jessi Macko (‘21)
Remote teaching has us all working in new and different ways this semester. For Associate Professor David Terrill, he has taken this as an opportunity to create some wonderful demos for his seniors in his Cultural Safari class. I asked David recently if I could post his watercolor demo here and he graciously agreed. Check it out! Thanks David!
To tune in to all of David’s demos + sketchbooks shares, be sure to check out his You Tube channel. You can also follow him on Instagram as @sublime.apparatus.
Every year since 1981 the Society has held the Student Scholarship Competition. Over three hundred works are chosen from more than 8,700 entries submitted by professors of college-level students nationwide. In a competition which can kick start a career, students bring their most sophisticated, well-crafted and original work to be tested. A jury of professional peers, including illustrators and art directors, selects the most outstanding works created throughout the year. Pieces are accepted based on the quality of technique, concept and skill of medium used.
From the Society’s endowment, generous contributions from private and corporate donors, and proceeds from an annual auction of member-donated artworks, scholarship awards are granted to about 25 students whose work is deemed the best of the best.
We are proud of all of our students who entered work into the competition and thrilled to offer our congratulations to Rae Letenyei (‘20), Robin Lewallen (‘20), Skylar Courtney (‘21), Riley Woolworth (‘21) and Avery Istwan (‘22). Congratulations all!!
Rae Letenyei (‘20)
Robin Lewallen (‘20)
Skylar Courtney (‘21)
Riley Woolworth (‘21)
Avery Istwan (‘21)
We’re well into the first full-fledged week of remote teaching at KCAI and what I find myself treasuring most is my screen time with my students every Monday and Wednesday. These days have been strange, that’s for sure but it’s been reassuring to have that time with them this week.
Since I was prepping for my classes last week, I didn’t have a chance to post any links so here’s the second installment of creative podcasts & links. Enjoy!
- Brent Watkinson's Everyday Artist's Podcast - Brent's very personable (and sometimes personal) interviews with comics artists and illustrators, from George Pratt and Bill Sienkiewicz to Mark English and Gary Kelley.
- 99% Invisible - A podcast about all aspects of the world seen as a Design problem, from a designer's perspective.
- NerdSync - Hector Casanova’s favorite YouTube Channel on Comics theory, history and criticism.
- Daniel Miyares YouTube Channel - Children’s book illustrator Daniel Miyares shares tip + tricks for drawing and painting.
Illustration by Greg Kletsel @gregkletsel
Hi everyone! It’s been a while! For a number of reasons, we’ve been a little out of touch and for that we apologize. In light of the current global situation that we find ourselves in, we thought this was a good time to reach out. Although it might feel weird to be on Spring Break with everything that’s happening, we hope that you’re all able to enjoy the break as best you can! After Spring Break, we’re implementing the following schedule as of today:
March 23-29: KCAI Remote Study Week
Study week; no classes. Studios and academic buildings remain closed.
Students are encouraged to stay home.
Faculty will use this week to transition and prepare for remote instruction; students will use this time to catch up on reading and coursework.
March 30 Until Further Notice
Online instruction begins until further notice.
Pending further developments, normal campus operations will resume April 6.
Each of you will be receiving instructions from your respective professors regarding your classes in the coming weeks. If you find yourself in need or some creative challenges, want to simply try something different in your sketchbook or would like to explore some illustration/creative-focused podcasts/videos, here are a few places to check out (links are in the titles):
Illustrator Carson Ellis @carsonellis : Carson has a variety of prompts & projects going on right now, including a new one TODAY! Check out her instagram for more info.
Illustration Friday : Illustration Friday has been around forever and they have a new prompt, you guessed it, every Friday.
Society of Illustrators Podcast : Listen to SOI’s podcast series New Visions. This series explores an ongoing conversation on a host of issues facing the contemporary illustrator including topics of diversity and inclusion, multiculturalism, and illustration’s role in a larger cultural context.
Society of Illustrators You Tube Channel : SOI’s Youtube Channel has a large archive of past lectures, including panels from MoCCA Arts Festivals.
Creative Pep Talk by Andy J. Miller : Andy interviews illustrators and other creatives on a variety of subjects. The current episode is How to Know Where to Focus Your Creative Energy. Check it out!
Design Matters by Debbie Millman : Design Matters is the first podcast about design and an inquiry into the broader world of creative culture through wide-ranging conversations with designers, illustrators, writers, curators, musicians and other luminaries of contemporary thought.
Beci Orpin : If you’re not familiar with Beci’s work, check out her fun website. She is the author of several creative books including Make + Do: 25 Amazing Projects to Beautify Your Life.
If you have a site that you like for creative challenges or a creative podcast that inspires you, feel free to reach out and I will compile an additional list. Stay safe everyone, wash those mitts and remember that we are here for you. Be well!
Sanitize Those Mitts! by Beci Orpin @beciorpin
The 2019 KCAI Illustration Show is opening TOMORROW, Friday, April 26 from 5-8pm and we couldn’t be more excited!! Showcasing sophomore, junior and senior illustration work, this exhibition contains a wide variety of work in terms of subject matter, storytelling and mediums used. Per our tradition, we’ve pulled a handful of images to give you a sneak peek of some of the fantastic work in the show. If you’re in Kansas City, come on by, we would love to see you! Light refreshments will be served and the exhibition will continue throughout the weekend (Saturday, April 27, 10am-5pm and Sunday, April 28, from 12-5pm).
Claire Kinnell, ‘20
Jeff Schoenhofen, ‘19
Natalie Kolega, ‘21
Gaby Pabon, ‘19
Anna McElheny, ‘20
Hayden Gough, ‘21
Hannah Gibbs, ‘19
Marco Defillo, ‘20
Shannon McLeroy, ‘20
Mackenzie Parrish, ‘19
Jessica Steeb, ‘21
Willow Hardman, ‘19
Hannah Woodward, ‘19
CJ Nelson, ‘21
The Society of Illustrators is proud to announce the winners for this year’s MoCCA (Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art) Arts Festival Awards of Excellence! These awards recognize the most outstanding work on view at the festival, and is open to all artists tabling at the 2019 MoCCA Arts Festival. Judges included Patrick Crotty, Rebekka Dunlap, Maria Hoey, Nathan Huang, and Ben Passmore. The program was Chaired by Maëlle Doliveux and Co-Chaired by Ben Passmore.
The MoCCA Arts Festival is a 2-day multimedia event, Manhattan’s largest independent comics, cartoon and animation festival, drawing over 7,000 attendees each year.
Categories include Short Form and Long Form books, Single Image cartoons and comics, and Special Format works. One gold medal and two silver medals are awarded per category. Artists winning this award will be acknowledged with a special medal and financial award, The M. Prize, given in memory of Timothy Patrick Moynihan. This award has been made possible through the generosity of friends and family of Timothy Patrick Moynihan. In addition, winners will also receive a tablet from MoCCA sponsor Wacom, as well as a gift certificate from artist supply store and sponsor Blick Art Materials.
We are proud of KCAI Illustration alum Kelsey Wroten (‘15) for receiving a Silver award in the Long Form category for her graphic novella, Crimes. Congratulations Kelsey (!!) and congrats to all of the MoCCA Award recipients!
Panel from Crimes, by Kelsey Wroten
Short Form
GOLD: "Okay Okay" by Rose Wong
SILVER: "Ballad of the Bird Hole" by Sabrina Futch
SILVER: "Haunted Francis" by John F. Malta
Long Form
GOLD: "Do Geese See God - Chapters 2 & 3" by Nicholas Offerman
SILVER: "Crimes" by Kelsey Wroten
SILVER: "Executive Information Packet Journal" by Benjy Brooke
Single Image
GOLD: "Indentity I" by Anuj Shrestha
SILVER: "2014 in LA" by Alfonso de Anda
SILVER: "The Little Death" by Yadi Liu
Special Format
GOLD: "Subway Friends" by Diana Schoenbrun
SILVER: "Soap Bubble" by Qiaoyi Shi
SILVER: "All dogs are my amigos" by Alfonso de Anda
Every year since 1981 the Society has held the Student Scholarship Competition. Over three hundred works are chosen from more than 8,700 entries submitted by professors of college-level students nationwide. In a competition which can kick start a career, students bring their most sophisticated, well-crafted and original work to be tested. A jury of professional peers, including illustrators and art directors, selects the most outstanding works created throughout the year. Pieces are accepted based on the quality of technique, concept and skill of medium used.
From the Society’s endowment, generous contributions from private and corporate donors, and proceeds from an annual auction of member-donated artworks, scholarship awards are granted to about 25 students whose work is deemed the best of the best.
We are proud of all of our students who entered work into the competition and thrilled to offer our congratulations to Austin Chapman (‘19), Shannon McLeroy (‘20) and Skylar Courtney (‘21)!! Way to go!!
Austin Chapman, Ghoul Hunter
Shannon McLeroy, Express Yourself
Skylar Courtney, Texas Dropcap
This February, writer Jai Nitz and illustrator Kerry Callen stopped by the department and worked with faculty to jury the 2019 Cover + Pages covers. Covers + Pages is a junior level sequential narrative class. Every year we print an anthology of the strongest sequential work from the class. Overall, Jai and Kerry were very impressed by the level of the work, the execution of the covers, the storytelling within them as well as the range of storytelling. You all make us proud! After deliberating for over an hour, the following covers were chosen:
FINAL COVERS
Marco Defillo
Haley Gookin
Anh Le
Dawn Lewallen
HONORABLE MENTION
Kabraun Green
Claire Kinnell
Lauren Koluch
Shannon McLeroy
Ruth Towner
Marco Defillo
Haley Gookin
Anh Le
Dawn Lewallen
Kabraun Green
Claire Kinnell
Lauren Koluch
Shannon McLeroy
Ruth Towner
BIG thanks to Kerry and Jai for taking time out of their schedules to jury our covers this year!! We really appreciate it! Stay tuned for the final, printed anthology which will be available for purchase at the KCAI Illustration End of Semester Show in April.
Hey everyone! We’re on our last week of the fall semester, how time flies! Here’s another student feature, senior Gaby Pabon.
1. Tell us about yourself! What’s your name, where are you from?
My name is Gaby Pabon and I'm from South Florida. I come from a Puerto Rican and Colombian household which makes for an interesting and colorful upbringing, I guess. It certainly contributed to my love of dancing, along with salsa and cumbia music.
2. What brought you to KCAI? Why Illustration?
I put out an application to any and every art college in the US and took the offer of the one who offered the biggest scholarship. I actually almost applied to animation since I love both though illustration won in the end simply because I didn't have enough in my portfolio at the time to submit for animation and I was a transfer student.
3. What do you like about Kansas City?
The change of environment. It's an adventure wherever I walk because it's so different from where I'm from. I for sure went through some culture shock when I first got here and actually cried in my dorm room the first week because everyone was so nice.
4. What is your favorite snack?
Does a soda count as a snack or no? Because if it is counted as one, I would say malta, which is like rootbeer but to me is better. Other than that probably any deli sliced foods. I'm addicted to cheese.
5. What medium do you prefer?
I enjoy all sorts to be honest. I find that I drift toward the more tactile stuff though. Right now it seems to be papercraft but I do love experimenting with mediums.
6. What’s your favorite project thus far and why?
There were so many but one of the top would have to be the skateboard project just because it was so different from anything I've done before. Most of the projects assigned here were nothing I've experienced before. I just like trying new things.
7. If you were not doing art, what do you think you would be studying or doing instead?
Medicine, probably. It seems to be the field most of my family members fall into. That or teaching but my mother (a teacher) forbade me from even thinking about that as a career. It was always 50/50 between becoming a doctor or illustrator growing up for me since I've had an interest in how the human body actually works for a number of years now. I have looked up medical videos and research papers for fun before. Not proud, but it's true.
8. What do you like to do outside of class? What hobbies do you have?
Hang out with friends, watch movies, play video games, read comics or books, and dance. Most times I find that just doing things with friends that they enjoy and just seeing the happiness on their faces that they can share their likes with me is rewarding in itself.
9. Who and/or what is an inspiration for you in art making?
Eric Carl for one and comics like Calvin and Hobbes or Foxtrot, however, It seems to be a lot of vintage 50s illustration if I'm to be honest with myself. It's not that it's intentional, it kind of just happened that way.
10. Do you have a go-to tool for sketching and idea generation?
Literally scribbling swirls on a page with a pen and I try to sort of connect shapes that I see from the squiggles into an image that I see in it; like a Rorschach test. The last time it ended up looking like a wiene dog. Or at least, that's what I do for a warm-up. I find that "inspiration comes to those who work", So I sketch like a maniac.
11. What type of art do you want to make?
I'm open to anything because a job is a job and you can always learn something new from the experience but if I had to choose one, I'd say art for agencies or a company. The dream would be freelancing comics though I find it is a difficult reality to obtain for personal health reasons. I have type 1 Diabetes which means I'm insulin dependent and that means without insurance, I cannot afford the substance that keeps me alive since my body doesn't naturally produce it. Comic artists don't exactly get benefits so agency work may be better. Maybe when I have a supporting job I can get into comics on the side. Who knows?
Howdy everyone, it’s been a busy semester for us here in Illustration, we have some students to feature for the month of November! First up will be senior Eien Carpenter —-
1. Tell us about yourself! What’s your name, where are you from?
Hi! My name is Eien. I was born in Omsk, Russia. I moved to the US, specifically St. Louis in 2005!
2. What brought you to KCAI? Why Illustration?
A speaker came by my high school to teach us about KCAI, and I was completely enthralled. Initially I wanted to do concept art for games, and found that illustration would suit me best. But then I discovered how vast the world of illustration really is!
3. What do you like about Kansas City?
I enjoy the art community, and all the eclectic food places and coffee shops!
4. What is your favorite snack?
I find myself snacking on expired Starbucks pastries more than I like to admit, but- well, here we are.
5. What medium do you prefer?
I have a few, depending on what kind of look I want to achieve. I really enjoy ink, specifically used with brushes and nib pens. I like the flow and the control - or lack of control - you have over a brush. I love gouache paint for colorful illustrations. I find that gouache fits perfectly between acrylic and watercolor, has a nice matte surface, and is fairly easy to maneuver. I have been working on my digital art for a few years, and I feel like I’m finally getting a hang of it!
6. What’s your favorite project thus far and why?
I am really enjoying my senior thesis, since I get to focus on exactly what I want to accomplish - which is to make a short comic book. Aside from that, I really enjoyed the trading card project from Junior year.
7. If you were not doing art, what do you think you would be studying or doing instead?
Although I have too many interests to count, I think the runner-up to art would be anthropology and archaeology. I have a fascination with Ancient Egypt (clearly), and it’s most of what my work is based on.
8. What do you like to do outside of class? What hobbies do you have?
I mostly work. But I also like to watch shows on Netflix, journaling, and playing ukulele. Sometimes I play tennis with my best friend, but I’m no good.
9. Who and/or what is an inspiration for you in art making?
I have always been inspired by 1980’s manga, especially Mineo Maya’s work. I love the flowy, shiny hair and the big glittery eyes. I also enjoy the work of Robert McGinnis, especially his James Bond posters. Pin-up art is really nice, too. I think I just like beautiful things, stylistically. Subject-wise, I focus on ancient Egyptian mythology. There’s always more nonsense to find out about those crazy gods.
10. Do you have a go-to tool for sketching and idea generation?
I have my sketchbook and my pencil. I tend to sketch really small for some reason. To loosen up, I use a Pentel pocket brush pen. Idea generation mostly comes from narratives in my head. Musicals help, too.
11. What type of art do you want to make?
I really want to write and illustrate my own graphic novel. I also want to make a deck of tarot cards. Publishing and licensing art sounds fun too!
Thank you! Here are some examples of Eien’s work!
Hello All!
This is the first of (hopefully!) a couple different articles about how to run a booth at a comic convention or other event that’s set up trade-show style. I’ll be covering a lot but with Harvest coming up and several people wanting to do other shows, I wanted to talk a little bit about tabling. There are several different parts to running a table, from how you set up your display to what merchandise you are selling. Today I’m going to go over two of the major parts of running a table at a convention; display and merchandise.
DISPLAY
Artist- Bri Crozier
Display is one of the most important parts of selling at a convention. It’s the first thing your customers are going to see! It needs to be pretty eye catching, as there are lots of other things fighting for people’s attention. First, always bring a tablecloth! Some shows provide them but it’s always a good idea to bring at least one, in case they don’t. If you don’t use it for your table , you could use it to hide your assorted boxes and supplies.
Next, you want to think about height! If you’re participating in a convention that is held in a large convention hall, people are typically walking through the hall looking up. In shows with lower ceilings (like Harvest), people are looking more at eye level. Either way, you want to have items upright and visible! If your work is flat on the table, no one can see it! And if no one can see it, no one will buy it. You want to have a variety of work upright and visible so that it catches as many people’s eyes as possible. One way to do this is simply to purchase wire picture stands at Michaels or Hobby Lobby and place your prints on them.
You should also think about what is behind you. You can gain more height and visibility with a banner of some sort, many artists use a photo backdrop stand that they attach prints too, but another way to do this is to use PVC piping and create your own. PVC doesn’t always look as nice, but it can be fairly cheap. What ever you decide on, make sure it’s easy to put up and take apart. If you are tableing by yourself, you want to make sure everything is as easy to move as possible. Another thing to think about it that most shows have regulations on how tall banners can be, so always check the conventions display rules.
Artist - Bri Crozier
You can also purchase a pop up banner which can be good for smaller venues or sharing tables as it doesn’t take up much space. Most tables have very little room behind them, so having a display that doesn’t take up too much space is incredibly important.
Artist - Arlan Engin
Another option is to use grid wire shelving. Lots of artists use these in lieu of a banner and it works perfectly for them. You can attach prints to it and also use the insides as a storage space. One thing to consider with this however is that sometimes using grid wire can block visibility of your neighbor, which is not cool. If you choose to use grid wire, make sure to never put your work on the sides facing your neighbors, as this is not only incredibly rude, but many shows have rules against it. Instead, it’s typically polite to let your neighbor attach items to the grid wire facing them, as this gives them more height in return for you blocking them a little.
Artist - Arlan Engin
Now that we have an idea of how display our work, it’s time to consider how you are going to display your merchandise. It’s always best to have examples of your merch out on your table. Many times, even if you have signs up with what you are offering, people overlook these. Try to have 1-2 examples of each of your items out. For items like buttons, you can either have them in a little basket/box that people can pick through, or you can have them on a display. There are pros and cons to either option, as if people can dig through the box, they are often more likely to buy the item once they are holding it, but if you have them on a display, things are less likely to be stolen. For flat items like prints, it’s best to just have them in a little portfolio book that people can flip through.
Artist - Arlan Engin
MERCHANDISE
I like to seperate types of merch into 3 categories: Small Fry, Medium Catch, and Big Fish.
Small Fry are little items under $10, these are things like, buttons, stickers, bookmarks, mini prints, and little zines. These are items you have for people who don’t have as much money to spend, like kids and teens, or people who prefer smaller items.
Artist - Bri Crozier
Medium Catch are items from $10-$25, and these can be things like 8.5x11 prints, 11x17 prints, necklaces, keychains, and books and comics. These are your regular money makers that everyone might want.
Artist - Bri Crozier
Big Fish are larger or fancier items $25+, and these can be things like t-shirts, wall posters/scrolls, figurines, originals, and collectors items. These are the things you don’t sell as often, but are always good to have because these are definitely items people are interested in and will want to purchase.
Artist - Bri Crozier
You want to have a good mix of the three, with most of your items (3-5) falling into the Medium Catch category, 1-3 Small Fry, and 1-3 Big Fish. A good tip is to make sure you don’t have to much cross over between the three in terms of design, as if someone is about to by a print, but ends up buying the same design on a button instead, that kind of sucks. Obviously, if you are selling originals, this isn’t possible, but originals hold their own appeal, and most of the time people who want them will be willing to pay extra for the original piece.
Artist - Arlan Engin
A quick note about taxes.
When selling items, no matter what people say, you ALWAYS have to pay sales tax. Even if you sell only one thing, you are technically required to pay sales tax. Most of the time shows will provide you with the sale tax of the area, which you can use to calculate it out. Often times people will find the percentage based on their overall sales, but some people will make spreadsheets and do it based on the individual sales. Both methods work. When you do credit card sales, you typically want to charge tax so that you aren’t hit with both the card reading fee as well as the tax.
Artist - Arlan Engin
In all, tabling is mostly about know what is going to catch people’s attention. You want merchandise that you and others love, and you want a display that shows it off. It’s always heartbreaking to be at a show and know that your display just isn’t working. Before you go to the show, try setting up your display on a table or space of the same size to make sure you can fit everything you need/want on the table.
That's all I have for today! I hope this was helpful to you guys, and feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or topics you want me to cover in the future! Have a fantastic day!
Bri
Illustrations by Arlan Engin and Bri Crozier
