Category Archives: Illustration Industry

Pictoplasma takes place next weekend!

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Pictoplasma is coming to New York City for the very first time and it’s happening next weekend, Thursday, September 4th through Saturday, September 6th.  Excitingly enough, two Parsons Illustration Alums will be featured speakers–Aaron Stewart and Motomichi Nakamura.  Here’s the official description:

Characters are taking over…

Our visual culture is being taken hostage by a new wave of characters, abstract and reduced to minimal distinguishing graphic features. In the process of a truly explosive movement, they invade digital media, animation, advertising, art, fashion and street art. They playfully quote and remix such diverse phenomena as pop culture, tribal and folklore, brand logos and comics without restricting themselves to any single one of these genres. In such a way, characters speak to observers at an emotional level as well as crossing cultural boundaries.

Starting in 1999 with the world’s first extensive inventory, collection and archive of contemporary character design, the Berlin based Pictoplasma project is defining the shape and velocity of this trend. Besides giving the characters a timeless and worthy manifestation through their acclaimed publications, Pictoplasma has been bringing together a growing international community of designers, artists, critics, producers and fans at their annual conferences in Berlin.

Go here to see the day-by-day program, including Motomichi and Aaron’s talk, which happens on Friday night from 9-11:30 p.m.  Register here!

Pictoplasma NYC
Festival of Contemporary Character Design and Art
September 4th-September 6th
Skirball Center for the Performing Arts
New York University
566 LaGuardia Place at Washington Square South
New York, NY

Brian Wood written up in the Village Voice

Illustration Alumni, Illustration Industry, Interviews, Publications, , , , , , ,

Illustration Alum Brian Wood (’97) was recently interviewed for an article in the Village Voice.  He talked about why San Francisco just isn’t as good as New York (to him), how his artwork has developed, and the critical and social reaction to his art.  Here’s an excerpt:

Comic-book fame is a funny thing: Even as Hollywood pushes the medium further into the mainstream, a sense of geek solidarity remains. Writers and artists feel compelled to stay in touch with their fans; the fans, in turn, continue to treat creators like best friends. “I’m hesitant to compare him to an emo band, but I feel like Brian has that sort of connection to the audience,” says James Lucas Jones, an editor at Oni Press who worked with Wood on Local. “People feel emotionally invested in him.”

Wood’s own fame was cemented in the late ’90s, after the publication of the William Gibson–esque Channel Zero. He now calls it something of “an art student’s rant”—a ” ‘zine where everybody talks about what pisses them off.” But Zero led to a writing stint at Marvel’s Generation X and paved the way for the series Couriers, Couscous Express, and Pounded, about a rock band in New York. Eventually, Wood transitioned from occasionally drawing into writing full-time, mostly because he “had so many ideas, and not enough time to put them to paper.”

Make sure you read the rest of the article here.  Brian also has a list of other articles about his work here on his official website.  You can pick up a copy of his latest book, The New York Four here.

Congrats on your continuing success, Brian!

Ingo Fast–Illustrator and World Traveler

Illustration Alumni, Illustration Industry, Publications, Randomly Intriguing, , , , ,

Friend of the Illustration Department and Parsons Alum–Illustrator Ingo Fast–spent almost a year traveling around the world, illustrating the whole time.  When he got home, he relaxed a little while.  And then set out once again, this time for thirteen months!  Recently, How Magazine featured an article about his journeys and work; you can read the whole article here (just use the small arrows at the bottom to advance pages).  You can also see images from his travel here and here.

Fascinating stuff!

Student Street Art in La Romana!

Class Projects, Illustration Faculty, Illustration Industry, , , , , ,

Adjunct Faculty Dan Weise recently taught a Street Art workshop in the Dominican Republic at Parsons’ affiliate Altos de Chavon.  He kept a blog detailing his experiences with the students as they explored graffiti, animation, and murals.  It’s chock full of amazing photos of the art created during the workshop, as well as links to student blogs.

Good work to Dan and all the amazing artists/students involved!

Tara McPherson Coloring Book!

Illustration Faculty, Illustration Industry, News, Publications, ,

Dark Horse Deluxe joins with Tara McPherson to design the Somewhere Under the Rainbow Coloring Kit! This fantastic “kit” comes in an easy-carry heavy-gauge clear vinyl bag with zipper enclosure, and includes: 96-page coloring book featuring 48 pieces of outstanding black and white art by Tara McPherson. This book has concealed spiral binding and stiff covers and includes unique box of 24 crayons in modern colors. But that’s not all! Four color-them-yourself postcards, and a deluxe sticker sheet are included in the spiral bound book.

This is available at cool stores everywhere on August 27, 2008, but you can pre-order your kit here.

Ru Kuwahata (’05) works with They Might be Giants

Illustration Alumni, Illustration Industry, , , , ,

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Straight from the Illustration Inbox…

This is Ru Kuwahata (graduated in 2005) and I just finished co-directing a music video for the band They Might Be Giants, and it will be released on Playhouse Disney channel within the next few weeks.  The production was done in house with a company that I started with my husband in 2007.

Check out a behind-the-scenes blog post about the creation of the video here–it has tons of fascinating pictures of how this unique artwork was put together.


Congrats to Ru and Tiny Inventions (and TMBG) on the great work!

“Beasts! in Movies” Competition

Call for Entries, Competitions, Illustration Industry, , , , ,

Jitter-Magazine has announced an international illustration competition Beasts! in Movies.  Here are the details they passed along to us:

Jitter is the only German magazine focusing on illustration, comic art, and animation. Each issue covers a key issue like “drawing”, “music”, “laughter”, “fashion”–the forthcoming issue (October) covers “beasts”. In our categories interview, artist portrait, art show, image+narration, we present illustrators and designers, talk with art directors, publishers, university lecturers, gallery owners; we review comics, dvd, books on illustration, design, animation and fine art and related theory.

The main purpose of jitter is not only to show great artwork and artists but to have a close look at their context. We look on contemporary and historic illustration in regard to philosophy, psychology of perception, semiotics, media theory and art history. We believe that picture making is deeply rooted in mankind and not a thing of modernity or luxury.

Beasts! in Movies Competition
Entry of this competition is free.
Deadline is September 30th, 2008.

Beasts! What would man be without the creature? Whether admiration or contempt, emotion or horror, the ambivalent relationship between man and creature has been the source of countless stories of all cultures.
Seeing himself as creation’s crowning glory, man keeps his distance to nature only to use it as screen for all kinds of desires and fears. Over and over again this has been the reason for movies; whether they aim for
a romantic view of a primordial lost world, used at the same time as a metaphor for the innocent of childhood or they aim for the darkest nightmares of an unnameable evil hidden in any unknown terrain — even in our own basement. The fascination of the creature is a never ending source.

All professional illustrators and students of art programs are eligible to enter. Work must be dated after August 2007 and should have beasts who appeared in movies as a theme. These beasts can be real, fantastic, harmless or menacing. The manner of the beast’s demeanor, its appearance alone, in pairs or in masses, as well as the staging of the encounter between human and beast are interesting starting points.

Work must have the size relations 1:2,35 (cinemascope) and be submitted in digital format. Work will be
evaluated through a professional jury. All selected work will be showcased in Berlin in an exhibition at a cinema of the Yorck cinema-group. Faber-Castell and Adobe have kindly made available prizes amounting to Euro 3300.

We are especially happy to have a distinguished panel of judges including Armin Abmeier, Publisher (Die Tollen Hefte), GER; Andrew Coningsby, Representative (DebutArt Ltd & The Coningsby Gallery), London GB; Dr. Rolf Giesen, Deutsche Kinemathek Berlin, expert for phantastic film, GER; Steven Guarnaccia, Parsons New School for Design, New York USA; Andrea Offermann, Illustrator, GER; Prof. Albrecht Rissler, Illustrator, GER; Sabine Witkowski,Curator and Cultural Manager, H. Torsten Wolber, Illustrator, GER.

Download an entry form here!  Good luck.

Last Days: “Crocodile Tears” at Giant Robot NY

Events, Exhibitions, Illustration Alumni, Illustration Faculty, Illustration Industry, , , , , , , ,

Crocodile Tears: Small Works of Art by Over 50 Artists
GRNY, July 19 – August 13, 2008
Reception: Saturday, July 19, 6:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Giant Robot is proud to present Crocodile Tears: Small Works of Art by Over 50 Artists at the GRNY Gallery.

Following up on 2007’s hugely popular Look Behind You and Snack Isle group shows, Crocodile Tears will feature a large assortment small works that measure 5″ x 7″ or smaller. Each of the over 50 artists (editor’s note: featuring Parsons Illustration alums and faculty!) will be contributing two to five pieces in his or her own eclectic style. Mediums will range from painting to stitching to drawing to sculpture.

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