Illustration Awards update

This years awards lists are starting to come out, here are a few
ACAD grads I know of - I am sure there are more
(If you have any more to mention please email me!).

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Karen Klassen
http://www.karenklassen.com
Communication Arts 2009
American illustration 28 (selected)
nominated for National Magazine Award

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Josh Holinaty
(graduated in 2007 from the drawing dept at ACAD)
http://www.holinaty.com/
American Illustration 28 (selected), 2 images

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Genevieve Simms
http://www.genevievesimms.com
American Illustration 28 (selected)

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Jillian Tamaki
http://www.jilliantamaki.com/
Pretty much every award for graphic novels!
2009 Doug Wright Award
American illustration 28 (selected), 3 images
SPD Medal Finalist (Society of Publication Design)
nominated for an Eisner Award
nominated for National Magazine Award

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Sam Weber
http://www.sampaints.com
Sam is featured in the current (May/June) issue of
Communication Arts.
Spectrum 16
American illustration 28 (selected), 2 images
3x3 Pro Show Merit
SPD Medal Finalist (Society of Publication Design)
nominated for National Magazine Award

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Rick Sealock
http://www.ricksealock.com
American illustration 28 (selected)
3x3 ProShow Merit

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Byron Eggenschwiler
http://www.byronegg.com
American illustration 28 (chosen)
nominated for National Magazine Award

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Aaron Leighton
http://www.aaronleighton.com/
American Illustration 28 (chosen), 2 images

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Chelsea Cardinal
http://www.chelseacardinal.com
American Illustration 28 (chosen)

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Doug Fraser
http://www.fraserart.com
American Illustration 28 (chosen), 2 images

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Eddie Guy
http://eddieguyillustration.com
American Illustration 28 (chosen)

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Thom Sevalrud
http://wwwi2iart.com
American Illustration 28 (chosen), 2 images

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Renata Liwska
http://www.renataliwska.com
Applied Arts Illustration Annual 2009 (on newstands now)
Communication Arts 2009
3x3 Pro Show Merit

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Mike Kerr
http://www.wronghand.com
Applied Arts Illustration Annual 2009 (on newstands now)
3x3 Pro Show, Bronze medal - Self Promotion
Merit - Editorial Spots and Self Promotion

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Cecilia Carlstedt

Occupation: Illustrator
Website:http://www.ceciliacarlstedt.com/

For a 3rd year illustration course presentation ACAD design student Vishu Mahajan interviewed illustrator Cecilia Carlstedt.


1. Could you tell me about where you're from and what school/program you attended before you started freelancing?
I began my formal studies in Art and Design at Södra Latins Gymnasium. After A-levels I studied Art History for a year at the Stockholm University. In 1998 I was accepted into the Graphic Design Foundation course at London College of Printing. This led to a BA in the same subject specializing within experimental image-making. The course also offered a 5 months exchange program at The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

2. What sort of jobs did you initially start with and at what point did you decide to focus on fashion illustration?
Before I was studying Graphic Design in London and taking the odd freelance illustration commission, and then I just gradually got more and more illustration commissions and no graphic design jobs, so it was a natural progression I guess.

3. How long have you been a professional illustrator?
since 2003


4. Could you tell me a little about your process and how you work?
It varies a little but when making for example a fashion illustration I generally start by sketching out the pose and then scanning it in and cleaning it in photoshop. I like to keep the tone of the paper to have the feeling of an original. Then I color in some parts and maybe bring in a pattern that I have created in illustrator or scan in an ink-blob that could be used as texture. It's in photoshop I put all the elements together.

5. What media do you prefer to work with?
It's a mix of traditional mediums like pencil and ink in combination with modern techniques including illustrator, photoshop and photography.

6. Do you have some pieces that you're particularly fond of and why?
I like to experiment with different medias to get unexpected effects and I was really enjoying the process in the personal work titled 'old to new' on the project page on my website. Its old work that I decided to remake by photographing them...


7. Who is your favourite client and why?
There are a few but I did a job for La Perla ones for their Look Book magazine which was a lot of fun. I had free hands to interpret and create four images which should relate to the feeling of the brand. These types of open briefs are always enjoyable, but I think why this one was extra fun was that I was inspired by the clothing and was allowed to be more abstract since it was more about the mood.

8. What inspires you? Who are your influences?
When I see something that trickers the nerve to create, that could be anything really, an unusual color combination, an interesting face etc , but of course I buy a lot of books and magazines, visits galleries , go shopping for oddities, and search the internet as common places for inspiration.

Artists that influence inspires me: Many, many...for example, artists that I like include Elisabeth Peyton, Marlene Dumas and Gerhard Richter.

Thank you Cecilia for responding to Vishu's interview request! And thanks Vishu for providing it for the After Art College Blog.

Hans Thiessen

Year Graduated: 2009
Occupation: Designer
Website:http://komboh.com/


Hans Thiessen's Partial List of Post-Graduation Plans


1.0 - Keep on keeping on

Although the entity known as "art college" is behind me, the design process will continue with me as an integral part of how I operate in the rest of life. I look forward to researching and thoroughly investigating things I may not have otherwise thought of looking into, defining problems that others have overlooked, creatively solving said problems, and yes, even meticulously detailing typography for as many years as God provides.


2.0 - KOMBOH-ing it up

While at ACAD, I teamed up with a like-minded design student, the one and only Michael Mateyko, to form KOMBOH Creative. We decided that instead of graduating to a barren job market and twiddling our thumbs on our own, we would join together to tackle contract work and promote ourselves to the world at large, while we hunt down the right creative teams to work for. The process has been joyfully fruitful and versed us in the powerful dynamic of collaboration.

To see more of our work, check out - KOMBOH.com


3.0 - Designing type in my "large amounts of spare time"

Drawing words/letters has been an interest of mine for a long time. My first type related experience happened when I was four or five. I remember staring intently at a Cheerios box and imagining what the yellow negative shapes between the big black letters could be. Going through ACAD has informed my typographic interest substantially, but I will always enjoy type with the child-like mystery of years past.

Now that I have some time to spare, I plan on finishing my first typeface; Strict. It started out of the idea that instead of getting frustrated over being encouraged to default to Univers (whatever floats your boat - even though Adrian Frutiger did have the Midas touch) I would design a font that exhibited a similar inflexible adherence to a rigid mindset. It has been an ongoing side project of mine for the past year (last time I checked it was at 418 glyphs), but hopefully I will be able to wrap it up fairly soon.


4.0 - Getting more Vitamin D

The same in design is true in life: a form is not only defined by itself, but also by the space surrounding it. Without the rest of life there is no design. I fully intend on enjoying more time spent with my wife and dog, outside, away from the glare of a computer monitor. I hope that this balance will not only richly inform my creative process, but help shrink my unsightly eye bags that have exponentially grown over the last four years.

2009 Design + Advertising Graduate Links

Here are some fresh design graduates and links to their websites.

Thalia Antonio Soto
http://www.thaliasbook.com/

Natrix Ma
http://www.natrixma.com

Jenny Tieu
http://www.tieu.ca/

Chelsea Klukas
http://chelscore.com/design.html

Caitlin Derer
http://caitlinderer.com/

Teresa Leung
http://www.teresaleung.com

Flying Lotus Powa Spin from Teresa Leung on Vimeo.