3x3 International Illustration Annual On Its Way

We just received proofs on the next 3x3 Illustration Annual, thanks to Prolific Printers in Winnipeg for getting them to us before we leave on our holiday.

We are a bit behind schedule due to our trip to Vienna and London but we’ve been assured that the Annual will be ready for distribution right after the new year.

Cover illustration by Mark Smith

Hot Off the Press

Thanks to the folks at Allen Press outside Kansas City for finishing our 3x3 Illustration Directory in record time. We just got our sample copy today and they’ll go in the mail right after the holidays which means we’re actually ahead of schedule this year with everyone getting their copies in January.

We’re getting rave reviews inside the plant about the book, maybe another gold medal in the category for them next year.

Cover illustration by Bill Mayer

Year in Review

I would like to thank all the people who have supported our efforts this year. Our eleventh year was quite eventful including our first trip overseas in five years. We felt the love from those who invited us to speak at universities in the United Kingdom; we have now spoken to eight universities there and with each visit we continue to be amazed by the students, educators and curriculum.

Special thanks goes to Andrew Foster at Cambridge for making all the arrangements to speak with his class, a wonderful day spent critiquing a class project in Cambridge, the solutions were well thought out and presented with one in particular that was very touching. And thanks to Paul Burgess at Brighton for letting us speak to a hall filled with both illustrators and designers followed by a wonderful lunch with Gary Powell and walk along the historic boardwalk which was like a cross between Coney Island and the Jersey Shore and then there was our trip to Manchester, a two-hour train ride from London to visit Ian Whadcock's class and speak to another hall full of students. Lovely new building for artists and designers. This was all preceded by our talk at the Joseph Binder Symposium in Vienna. Thank you to all those who helped make it happen including Franziska Walther who broached the idea to me and DesignAustria. We were made to feel like rock stars at the event and were afforded a few days to take in the sites of the lovely city as well. Many thanks to the organization’s generosity.

We moved forward with our plans for 2015 and the introduction of a new set of products, more on that after the first of the year. And we continued our efforts to promote illustration with our three shows and directory as well as our monthly portfolio reviews and workshops. This year we conducted our first online self-promotion workshop and our first in-person international one in London with illustrators coming from Germany, Sweden and Belgium as well as the UK. We also started doing Skype portfolio reviews this year allowing those not close to New York to have their work reviewed. I personally enjoy seeing the work and speaking directly with illustrators and found little difference between in-person and online conversations. We look forward to continuing our efforts to help illustrators improve their promotion skills and helping them see themselves from an art director's point of view.

Our juried international annual brought many new faces this year along with the many who continue to support the annual year after year. Followed by those who take advantage of our low-cost curated promotional vehicle, the directory. And while our trip abroad delayed production of the annual and directory both are in the final stages of completion.

Our sister publication, Creative Quarterly, held its first 100 Best Show with a resulting annual. We continue to receive accolades for our efforts here and our approach to design publications.

In addition we launched another project, ih8war.com which was a direct result of our talk in Vienna. We created a new web site and graphics within two weeks of our return, many thanks to my partner Sarah Munt for making that happen. And thanks to the over twenty-five illustrators who have submitted so far in our low-key roll out; we’ll be pushing this project more in the new year.

And finally thanks to all who have written to us either by email, Twitter or postcards, your encouraging words are much appreciated. Peace be with you All.

Holiday Sale - Save 30% to 50%

To help celebrate the holidays we’re introducing our Holiday Sale Collection where you can save 30% to 50% off selected magazines, annuals and books. And with every order you’ll receive a free hand-signed copy of Nuts & Bolts, A Blueprint for a Successful Illustration Career.

Magazines
Magazines include our very first issue—Issue One—which will be on-sale for a limited time. Here’s your chance to have the very first magazine 3x3 published. The issue features Gary Taxali, Vivienne Flesher and Polly Becker.

Also available are Issue 13 featuring Nick Dewar, Sara Fanelli and Nigel Buchanan. Our Icon profile was Brian Grimwood.

Issue 15 with Paul Blow, Tatsuro Kiuchi and Cristian Turdera. Our Icon, Ed Sorel.

Issue 16 with Q.Cassetti, Monika Aichele and Mari Mitsumi. Our Icon, Ralph Steadman.

Issue 17 with Shout, A. Richard Allen and Stephanie Wunderlich. Our Icon, Kinuko Y. Craft.

In all issues you find a whole host of international illustrators exhibited in our Showcase and Gallery section—up to sixteen artists in each issue. In addition there's CareerTalk and interviews with art directors.

Annuals
Our annuals include Annual 6 and limited copies of Annual 8.

In addition we have the Annual 9 ProShow which also includes articles on Aaron Meshon, Luc Melanson and Phil Wrigglesworth and Icon Robert Risko in Issue 19. And the Annual 9 Picture Book Show with features on Valeria Petrone, Anna & Elena Balbuzzo and Bill Mayer and Icon Jerry Pinkney in Issue 21.

Holiday delivery is available for orders placed no later than December 17.

So take advantage of our Sale and add to or begin your collection of the only magazine on contemporary illustration recently named as one of the 100 most influential art and design journals of all time.

3x3 Directory App, Aad Goudappel Cover, Harry Campbell OpArt Win International Design Awards

HOW International Design Awards once again honors the work done for 3x3 Magazine. This time it includes the 3x3 Illustration Directory app designed by Sarah Munt for the 2014 Directory. Available on iTunes the app features all the work exhibited in the Directory will direct links to the illustrator's site and email.

In addition, the Issue 22 cover art by Aad Goudappel and the OpArt piece done by Harry Campbell, also featured in Issue 22, are winners. Both Aad's and Harry's piece have received multiple awards over the course of the year; always a good sign.

Also receiving honors is our sister publication, Creative Quarterly, for a series of covers for the magazine.

Limited copies are still available for Issue 22 online.

3x3 Illustration Annual 11 Ready for Pre-Order

We’re ready to start accepting orders for the 2014 edition of the 3x3 International Illustration Annual.

Each year 3x3 Magazine assembles top juries for each of its three shows: professional, student and children's books. Our international panel of judges vote independently and as a result the 3x3 show is one of the most unbiased juried competitions for illustration.

And we’re the only truly international competition. Nearly 4,900 submissions were entered this year, 514 winners from 37 countries and the United States are exhibited in this handsome annual. Available in both print and digital editions.

ISBN13: 978-0-982634639

6.5 x 9.25-inches (16.51 x 23.495-cm), 420 pages

Pre-Order today.

Cover illustration by Mark Smith, United Kingdom

Mark Ulriksen's First Book Now Available

Attention dog lovers, and those who love illustration Mark Ulriksen's book Dogs Rule, Nonchalantly is now available.

Mark reaches back to his youth to talk about his first dog and chronicles the idiosyncrasies of each of his ten dogs that have enriched his life. Mark parallels major life events from dating, married life, and raising a family, with such humorous moments as house-breaking a puppy, obedience classes, the sad melancholy of nursing an aging canine friend, Ted, and his eventual ascension to “dog heaven.”

Charles Hively and Sarah Munt to Speak at Vienna Symposium

The organization designaustria has invited Charles and Sarah to be co-keynote speakers at the Joseph Binder Symposium on October 24, 2014 in Vienna.

designaustria is Austria’s premier contact point for design. Founded in 1927, designaustria is Europe’s third oldest design organization. Currently more than 1,300 members from various backgrounds are committing themselves to Austria as a design nation. The organization has accumulated comprehensive knowledge in the field and its international network is far reaching.

Members are either responsible for design, interested in design, teaching or studying design or design management: as CEOs, business executives, product and marketing managers, sales directors, brand managers, and creative directors, as teachers and students, as design lovers and promoters, as designers and design users we all play an important role in design.

designaustria first launched the Joseph Binder Award – an international competition with a focus on graphic design and illustration – in 1996. It is named after one of the most outstanding graphic designers and illustrators active in Austria between the two World Wars, who subsequently also revolutionized visual communication in the United States. The 2014 award winners will be displayed at the Symposium.

On October 26 Sarah and Charles travel to London and will be speaking at several colleges, universities and art schools in the United Kingdom. Charles will be holding a portfolio review on the 31st and a self-promotion workshop on the 1st of November. Seating is limited, so sign-up early.

3x3 2014 Illustration Directory Wins Gold

We were just alerted that our 3x3 Illustration Directory was awarded a Gold Medal from the 2014 Gold Ink Awards—a printing industry awards competition. Our Directory’s printer, Allen Press entered our Directory into the competition.

As our contact at Allen Press, John Aamot relayed, “While these are printer awards, I know that the judges take the content into consideration and can be influenced by the overall content and design.  The directory is certainly an eye-catching piece and I am certain the decision was influenced by this.”

Winning pieces are featured in Printing Impressions magazine and GoldInk.com. Top award winning companies and their entries are also showcased during a multimedia presentation at the Gold Ink Awards & Hall of Fame Gala held during GRAPH EXPO 2014 in Chicago, IL.

James Jean Tiger III Print Available for Only 24-hours

“Tiger III” is a signed and numbered time-limited edition of giclée prints. It is available now and may be ordered for the next 24 hours only. The sale ends at 7:59am tomorrow, Wednesday the 20th. The edition will be limited by the number of prints sold during these 24 hours and never re-printed.

Price: $125

Image size: 24″ tall × 18″ wide

Paper size: 27 ¼″ tall × 20″ wide

Printed on archival 310 g/m² 100% cotton-rag paper with archival pigment-based ink

Torn edges

Embossed printer’s chop

Signed and numbered by James Jean

Released August 19th, 2014

This print will ship flat. Since the edition size and production of the print will be finalized after the sale is complete, please allow a little extra time for shipping. We estimate that orders will ship within 4 - 6 weeks of the sale, if not sooner.  Order here.

Announcing the Nuts & Bolts Conference 2014

We’re preparing for our next 3x3 Nuts & Bolts Conference in October. While we usually hold the event in July this year we’ve opted for a much cooler month. And this year it’s a two-day event with the first day open to all illustrators at all levels while the second day is more apropos for those just getting out of school or those who have been out just a few years.

Day One is all about self-promotion from the point of view of an art director. The interactive workshop will help illustrators at all levels develop more effective promotions aimed at art directors.

This full-day workshop is a continuation of workshops we’ve held over the past several years and for the first time the workshop will also be available as a live, real-time webcast. So whether you can attend in person or online we’re offering you an affordable way to participate. We always receive excellent reviews on this workshop. Seating is limited so be sure to sign-up early for this.

Day Two brings back a number of our most well-received speakers including illustrators Paul Hoppe, Aaron Meshon, Laura Tallardy, Martin Wittfooth and Marcos Chin, in addition we have legal advice from Sheheryar Sadar and hear from our newest speakers, New York Times art director Alexandra Zsigmond and artist representative Louisa St Pierre, Bernstien & Andruilli. 

We’ll cover the areas of self-publishing, children’s books, licensing, galleries, artist reps, developing apps all from the perspective of working illustrators. And you’ll be able to ask questions of all our speakers before, during and after the event at our cocktail reception. See what past attendees have said about this intensive full-day lecture series.

Full details here.

Early Bird registration ends September 12, click here.

Nuts & Bolts Conference
October 17-18, 2014
Dumbo, Brooklyn, New York

Illustration by Tibor Kárpáti

Portraits of Creativity: Maira Kalman

If you haven't seen this new short documentary film by Gael Towey you should. Gael is the former creative director at Martha Stewart Living where she worked for the past twenty-some years. She has moved on to telling stories in an interesting and inspiring way in video. As Gael says, “Today I am endeavoring to translate those 20+ years of experience as a creative director and editor into moving video profiles, which capture the artist’s voice as he or she tells their story.”

Portraits in Creativity are short films Towey directs and produces that highlight artists and their creative process. Her most recent portrait is a wonderful profile of an author/illustrator living in New York, Maira Kalman. Philip Lehman is director of photography.

Other creatives in the series include Gabriela Kiss, jewelry designer, Alabama Chanin, fashion designer and Sheila Berger, painter and sculptor.

3x3 Named One of 100 Classic Design Journals

We just received a copy of Steven Heller and Jason Godfrey’s new book, 100 Classic Graphic Design Journals. This is quite the honor when you realize how many great design journals you’re in the company with.

100 Classic Graphic Design Journals surveys a unique collection of the most influential magazines devoted to graphic design, advertising and typography. These journals together span over 100 years of the history of print design and chart the rise of graphic design from a necessary sideline to the printing industry to an autonomous creative profession.

Each magazine is generously illustrated with a large selection of spreads and covers. A descriptive text based, where possible, on interviews with editors, designers, and publishers is also included for each magazine alongside comprehensively researched bibliographic material. The magazines featured cover a range of industries and eras, from advertising (Publimondial, La Pubblicità Italiana), posters (Das Plakat, Affiche), and typography (Typografische Monatsblätter, Typographica), to Art Nouveau (Bradley, His Book), Modernist design (Neue Grafik, ULM) and Post-Modern and contemporary graphics (Emigre, It's Nice That). Some of these journals only lasted one year while others still exist. These 100 journals offer an invaluable resource to historians and students of graphic design, and a rich seam of visual research and inspiration for graphic designers.

We got two spots on the front cover, Number 9 by Ward Schumaker and Number 6 by Olaf Hajek and inside we have two pages and a wonderful blurb by Heller, “3x3's covers follow in the Graphis tradition of using a strong central illustration with no cover lines and accompanied only by a logo.”

Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Laurence King Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-1780673363
Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9.5 x 1 inches

3X3 International Student Show Winners Announced

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2014 3x3 International Student Show. After careful deliberation our panel of judges have selected this year’s winners.

Taking Best of Show is Linus Curci Moore College of Art & Design and Gold goes to AJ Bae, Janice Ahn, Yoon Sun Lee and Zach Eastburg, Art Center College of Design.

Silver goes to Eitan Eloa, Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design; Lisk Feng, Maryland Institute College of Art; Jori Van Der Linde, Emily Carr University of Art & Design and Cyndi Waldron, Utah Valley University.

Bronze goes to Marilyn Foehrenbach, Moore College of Art & Design; Seo Gyoung Kim, Maryland Institute College of Art; Sophie Page, Rhode Island School of Design; Leonard Peng, Maryland Institute College of Art and Robbie Porter, United Kingdom.

Distinguished Merits go to German Herrera, LUCA School of Arts; Annie Won, School of Visual Arts; Hudson Christie, OCAD University; Janet Croog, Paier College of Art; Minah Kim, School of Visual Arts: Riikka Laakso, Germany; Melody Newcomb, School of Visual Arts; Yufei Zhao, School of Visual Arts; Ksenia Kozhevnikova, Capilano University and Han-Yuan Yu, Fashion Institute of Technology.


A complete list of winners is available online. And for the first time we have a new category of winners: Honorable Mentions must receive at least two judges’ votes to be accepted. Our medal and merit winners will be published in our print and digital editions of the 3x3 Illustration Annual No. 11 due out this Winter. Winners and Honorable Mentions will be exhibited online as well.

Congratulations to all our winners. And thank you to our judges who took time out of their busy days to judge the work.

Two Options for our July Self-Promotion Workshop: In Person or Online

We have had a number of people from outside New York ask us to put our workshop online and thanks to a collaboration with Adobe Connect we’re able to offer this option for the first time.

If you’re in New York or are planning a trip to New York you can attend our workshop in person on July 26. But now if you’re outside the city or the United States you can attend our workshop, live and online. Same informative content. Same interactive program. All without leaving your studio.

Another benefit is that the session is being videotaped so you can review the workshop at any time.

We’re really excited about being able to offer our workshops online so whether you’re able to attend in our studio or in yours we’re able the share the benefits of our self-promotion workshop.

To save your seat register before July 18, seating is limited.

3x3 International Picture Book Show Announces Winners

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2014 3x3 International Picture Book Show. After careful deliberation our panel of judges have selected this year’s winners.

Taking Best of Show is Jeremy Holmes, USA and Gold goes to Marion Arbona, Canada and Yue Wang and Lindsey Yankey, USA.

Silver goes to Mattias Levy Adolfsson, Sweden; Phillip Janta, Germany; André Letria, Portugal with two awards and John Parra, USA.

Bronze goes to Marion Arbona with two awards, Canada; Sonja Danowski, Germany; Gwen Keraval, France; Scott Murphy, USA and Sebastiaan Van Doninck, Belgium.

Distinguished Merits go to Chichi Huang, Taiwan; Marta Monteiro, Portugal; Natalie Pudalov, Israel and John Parra, Katie Kath, Isabel Roxas and Kristen Rebelo, who has two awards, USA.


A complete list of winners is available online. And for the first time we have a new category of winners: Honorable Mentions must receive at least two judges’ votes to be accepted. Our medal and merit winners will be published in our print and digital editions of the 3x3 Illustration Annual No. 11 due out this Winter. Winners and Honorable Mentions will be exhibited online as well.

Congratulations to all our winners. And thank you to our judges who took time out of their busy days to judge the work. We will be announcing winners in Student Show winners shortly.

Cover illustration by Jeremy Holmes, Best of Show winner

3x3 International ProShow Announces Winners

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2014 3x3 International Professional Show. After careful deliberation our panel of judges have selected this year’s winners.

Taking Best of Show is Mark Smith, United Kingdom and Gold goes to Guy Billout, USA, Valeria Petrone, Italy and Brad Yeo, Canada.

Silver goes to Anna + Elena Balbusso, Italy; Nigel Buchanan, Australia; Matt Duffin, USA; Olaf Hajek, Germany and Bill Mayer, USA.

Bronze goes to Anna + Elena Balbusso, Italy; Emiliano Ponzi, Italy; Mark Smith, United Kingdom; Ken Tackett, USA; Jamie Wignall, United Kingdom; Michael Zavacky, Canada and Seo Gyoung Kim, USA.

Distinguished Merits go to Anna + Elena Balbusso, Italy; Danielle Ghigini, Italy; Brad Holland, Bill Mayer and Curt Merlo, USA and Miguel Montaner, Spain.

A complete list of winners is available online. And for the first time we have a new category of winners: Honorable Mentions must receive at least two judges’ votes to be accepted. Our medal and merit winners will be published in our print and digital editions of the 3x3 Illustration Annual No. 11 due out this Winter. Winners and Honorable Mentions will be exhibited online as well.

Congratulations to all our winners. And thank you to our judges who took time out of their busy days to judge the work. We will be announcing winners in both our Picture Book and Student Show winners shortly.

 Illustration by Mark Smith, Best of Show winner

3x3 Summer Self-Promotion Workshop July 26

We’re once again offering a one-day self-promotion workshop. This new and improved workshop is broken into two sessions. Session One is devoted to the strategy of self-promotion, what and how we promote. Session Two is devoted to the tactics, where and when to promote.  We’ll also review your current materials and for those who take both sessions, we’ll give you a project for a new promotion piece and critique the results. A full explanation of what is covered in each session can be found on our registration page.

Our workshop is different than others as it comes from an art directors point-of-view. Using interactive exercises, we walk you through each step to a clearer understanding of what you should be communicating. The seating is limited so you receive more individual attention. And it’s affordable, $125 for each session or $210 if you take both.

So if you’re not getting the response you want when sending out postcards or email blasts this workshop can help. Research shows 80% of art buyers and art directors continue to respond to these traditional methods when hiring new illustrators.

Sign-up early as seating is limited. Registration closes on July 19.

Here are a few remarks from previous workshops:

“I thought the workshop was very informative, in regarding about the focus on ‘Self.’ I enjoyed learning about ourselves and each others. The discussion about different colors were very informative and fun. The printed email list was of great help, it was clear and direct, put us in the shoes of art directors.”

“I feel as though the workshop was something that was pivotal in my becoming an established illustrator or graphic designer. I don't intend to go back to school and doubt I would have learned this information from any other way.”

“The workshop had a lot of information and showed me new ways to think about marketing.”

“Charles is easygoing, well spoken, and clearly an expert in his field. He makes the information accessible and the workshop participatory.”

“The workshop helped to bring into a focus a lot of things that had been vague about how I think about my work, and how to select who to market myself to. It also was very helpful in showing ways of doing that.”

“The workshop provided me with some new ways of looking at myself as an artist, forcing me to ‘define’ my work in simple terms.This was tough, but I think continuing to refine my definition will end up being incredibly valuable. I am looking forward to approaching clients with this new perspective in mind.”

“The afternoon workshops was my favorite part of the workshop. There was more specific examples and guidelines that was relevant for me and I appreciated how specific he got with what to send to where and how.”

“The workshop was supremely informative. I only wish I had all of this information years ago. The workshop would be a value at twice the price.”

For more details or to purchase tickets through our Eventbrite page, click the button below.

3x3 Summer Workshop - Self-Promotion
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Brooklyn, NY

Session One: 9-12pm
Session Two: 1-4pm

Dinner with Franziska Walther

We’re always happy when a visiting illustrator accepts our invitation for lunch or dinner. This time it’s Hamburg-based illustrator/designer Franziska Walther.

We had last seen Franziska when she flew over for a three-day visit and a portfolio review. She has been a past winner in our picture book shows so it was nice to put a face with the work.

Architect-trained Franziska decided early on that she preferred the design portion of a project rather than the nuts-and-bolts of building a building. Asked why she choose that route we found out that both her parents are architects in Germany, that an the fact that she grew up in Weimar close to the Bauhaus it was only natural that design and art would be in her future.

Due to the divided Germany she, unlike other young people in her country, didn’t learn English in school. As she puts it, “I was in the middle I didn’t learn Russian or English, only French,” to solve that issue she migrated to New Zealand for a three-month stay to learn English followed by a train trip from Malaysia to Shanghai where she landed a job at an architectural design firm. It was there that she decided to change careers and after a year’s stay she took the Trans-Mongolian Railway to connect with the Trans-Siberian Railroad back to Europe and life as a graphic designer and illustrator.

Splitting her time between a lovely home on the outskirts of Hamburg and the equally peaceful Weimar she chooses to spend her time in quiet places broken up by hectic trips abroad. She is a new board member of the German illustration organization, Ilustratoren Organisation E.V. and will represent that group at the European Illustrators Forum later this year. Future plans include trips to Oslo, Vienna and next year back to Bologna and yes, a trip back to New York. Once back in Hamburg she’ll retreat to her studio alongside her two cats, Jpeg and Tiff, energized by her experience in the big-city.

Save the Date: 2014 Nuts & Bolts Conference

We’re happy to announce that we’ve penned in the dates for this year’s Nuts & Bolts Conference.

Day One will be a workshop open to all illustrators at all levels and Day Two is our series of lectures from leading illustrators and art directors directed towards young illustrators who are about to graduate, have just graduated or have been in the field for a couple years.

Be sure you’re on our mailing list to receive future announcements, just go to tiny.cc/NutsBolts to be added.

And be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Nuts & Bolts Conference 
October 17 & 18, 2014

Meet the Judges: Andy Potts

The 3x3 Student Show is out for judging so it’s time to catch up with our illustrator judges.

Andy Potts is a London based illustrator and animator originally from Kingswinford in the UK. He graduated with a BA Honors degree in illustration from Portsmouth University and his career has encompassed image-making, graphic design, animation and art direction including seven years as Lead Designer at Abbey Road Studios.

Since going freelance he has been commissioned by a wide variety of clients in advertising, publishing and design and his eye-catching images have appeared in many international newspapers and magazines. 

What Andy will be looking for:

I’ll be looking for original and innovative work that fulfills a creative brief really well in ways I wouldn’t have considered. Ideally I want to be knocked for six by an illustration and wish I’d done it myself.

Meet the Judges: Doug Panton

The 3x3 Student Show is out for judging, time to catch up with our illustrator judges.

Doug Panton is an illustrator and educator based in Toronto. Chair of the First Program area for the past five years he also teaches in the illustration faculty at OCAD University.

Over the years he has worked with clients from all around the world, and his illustrations have received recognition from publications such as 3x3, Creative Quarterly, American Illustration, Society of Illustrators, Los Angeles and Applied Arts.

Some of Doug’s clients include: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Walrus Magazine, Reader’s Digest and Oxford University Press.

What Doug will be looking for:

The work of potential illustrators requires a degree of passion, sensitivity and, above all, a hungry mind: being open to new experiences, nonconformist, and curious.

These personality characteristics are stronger determinants of a long-lasting creative superstar. As an educator, I’m always looking for a successful idea that can make a difference in the final analysis. It can win acclaim or, better still, create a final product that is relatable, balanced and beautiful to those who behold it.

Bob Gill: Workshop with a Legend

Art Directors Club Hall of Fame Laureate and designer/illustrator extraordinaire Bob Gill is looking for six intrepid souls to spend the week of June 9–13, 2014 from 9am–5pm in his New York studio for a very intensive workshop, where we will explore his process of changing ordinary design and advertising problems into exciting, original solutions.

The workshop is free. The coffee and bagels are $850. A deposit of $425 will secure a place.

Need more info? Give Bob a call at 212-460-0950.

Meet the Judges: Mark Smith

The 3x3 Professional Show is out for judging, time to catchup with our illustrator judges.

Working out of Exeter in the southwest of England, Mark’s illustrations have been featured in newspapers, magazines, books and in advertising campaigns around the world.

His work has also won international recognition from the likes of the New York Society of Illustrators, Los Angeles Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, 3x3 Magazine, the V&A illustration awards, Communication Arts, the Society of Publication Designers and more.

What Mark will be looking for

I’ll be looking for a smart concept that delivers more than just a reflection of the text, and it will do this concisely, and with clarity and punch. And of course it will have to be rendered immaculately to stand out from what is sure to be extremely stiff competition.

Judges are not permitted to vote on their own entries. Results of the judging process will be announced in early June.

Meet the Judges: Klaas Verplancke

The 3x3 Professional Show is out for judging, time to catchup with our illustrator judges.

Klaas Verplancke has been a full-time illustrator since 1990. At first glance, his drawings and paintings differ a great deal in appearance and execution. But they always display the qualities that characterize him as an illustrator and designer: a sense of humor that can vary from mild to sardonic, a poetic imagination, a preference for illustrating abstract concepts and universal emotions—and a sideways, surrealistic view of reality. He has been honored with a whole series of national and international awards, nominations and selections, culminating in winning the Bologna Ragazzi Award, a bronze medal in the 3x3 Picture Book Show and a selection for the Original Art Show by the Society of Illustrators. www.klaas.be

What Klaas will be looking for

Emotions created by the visual rhetoric of an image are undoubtedly prior to everything else in the process of selection. We embrace our taste, our preferences, our ambitions, our heroes who achieve to starring level that we strive for every day. But illustration is also the art of translating ideas, meanings, opinions and thoughts into a unique visual identity. And seeing is, besides feeling, also a process of recognizing and understanding. Therefore, professional judging needs a mental approach as well, by consciously stepping outside your spontaneous self and questioning your own choices and methods.

The eye opening answers will undoubtedly lead to haunting images of what we see with closed eyes: dazzling shots that make us wonder what happened before and what will happen subsequently, newborn icons that will become history and can stand alone outside the context for which they were originally made, ingenious balance acts on the fine line between clarity and mystery, between simplicity and complexity, between vulnerability and camouflaging mannerism, between academic tradition and groundbreaking innovation.

One thing is for sure: there is no right or wrong in art, only right respect for every piece of art, the most human creation ever.

Judges are not permitted to vote on their own entries. Results of the judging process will be announced in early June.

Serge Bloch Exhibit, New York, June 5-July 4

Opening reception, Thursday, June 5th from 6 to 9pm.
Michele Mariaud Gallery
153 Lafayette Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10013

Jonathan Bartlett Documentary - Art Wall Project

Just came across a wonderful documentary directed by Nada Ray. The documentary narrated by David Lauren follows SVA alumnus Jonathan Bartlett as he designed the massive mural that was hand-painted by Colossal Media and covered the entire facade of Ralph Lauren’s Denim & Supply flagship store in New York City. Additional commentary by Marshall Arisman and Tim O’Brien.

You can also see our feature article on Jonathan in Issue 20, print and digital editions are available.

3x3 Spring Self-Promotion Workshop May 17

We’re once again offering a one-day self-promotion workshop. This new and improved workshop is broken into two sessions. Session One is devoted to the strategy of self-promotion, what and how we promote. Session Two is devoted to the tactics, where and when to promote.  We’ll also review your current materials and for those who take both sessions, we’ll give you a project for a new promotion piece and critique the results. A full explanation of what is covered in each session can be found on our registration page.

Our workshop is different than others as it comes from an art directors point-of-view. Using interactive exercises, we walk you through each step to a clearer understanding of what you should be communicating. The seating is limited so you receive more individual attention. And it’s affordable, $85 for each session or $150 if you take both.

So if you’re not getting the response you want when sending out postcards or email blasts this workshop can help. Research shows 80% of art buyers and art directors continue to respond to these traditional methods when hiring new illustrators.

Sign-up early as seating is limited. Registration closes on May 10.

Here are a few remarks from previous workshops:

“I thought the workshop was very informative, in regarding about the focus on ‘Self.’ I enjoyed learning about ourselves and each others. The discussion about different colors were very informative and fun. The printed email list was of great help, it was clear and direct, put us in the shoes of art directors.”

“I feel as though the workshop was something that was pivotal in my becoming an established illustrator or graphic designer. I don't intend to go back to school and doubt I would have learned this information from any other way.”

“The workshop had a lot of information and showed me new ways to think about marketing.”

“Charles is easygoing, well spoken, and clearly an expert in his field. He makes the information accessible and the workshop participatory.”

“The workshop helped to bring into a focus a lot of things that had been vague about how I think about my work, and how to select who to market myself to. It also was very helpful in showing ways of doing that.”

“The workshop provided me with some new ways of looking at myself as an artist, forcing me to ‘define’ my work in simple terms.This was tough, but I think continuing to refine my definition will end up being incredibly valuable. I am looking forward to approaching clients with this new perspective in mind.”

“The afternoon workshops was my favorite part of the workshop. There was more specific examples and guidelines that was relevant for me and I appreciated how specific he got with what to send to where and how.”

“The workshop was supremely informative. I only wish I had all of this information years ago. The workshop would be a value at twice the price.”

For more details or to purchase tickets through our Eventbrite page, click the button below.

3x3 Spring Workshop - Self-Promotion
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Brooklyn, NY

Session One: 9-12pm
Session Two: 1-4pm

Art and French Cooking with Edel Rodriguez

This sounds like a fun adventure that Edel is offering.

“A couple of years ago I was in France to attend a cooking class with my wife for a week at Le Calabash Petit Conservatorie de la Cuisine, a culinary school in the Loire Valley about three hours Southwest of Paris. While my wife cooked, I spent much of the time drawing and painting at the school and in the countryside. The chefs, Sidney and Alison Bond, noticed what I was up to and struck up the idea of teaching a class together sometime—an art and cooking class.

“We’ve worked out all the details and are offering this class for the first time this summer, June 22-28. The experience at Le Calabash was memorable for us and I hope to have some friends come along this year.

“The classes are limited to 10 people, from beginners to professionals. Each course will adapt to everyone’s skill level, with a sense of discovery for everyone. There will be trips to chateaus and local markets along the way. The setting, classes, food, and new friends will make it a trip to remember.”

6 Day Le Calabash Cookery Experience

Residential €1975.00
 ($2719)
Non-Participating, accompanying, but not taking classes €1695.00
 ($2333)
Single Supplement €375.00 ($516)

The classes are limited to 10 people and will adapt to everyone’s skill level

For booking, please contact Sidney and Alison Bond, bonds@wanadoo.fr

www.lecalabash.fr

UK Comic Comp Winner Announced

I was invited by Instaprint in the UK to be on a panel to select the final winner of their comic design competition. There were three finalists and our job was to select the ultimate winner.

While all had their share of strengths and weaknesses I felt that one stood above the others. Using the competitions criteria I weighted each on a scale from one to five: Illustration (3.5), Character Design (3.5), Script Quality (4.0), Personality (4.0), Shareability (5.0), Humor (4.0) and Kelly Angel's comic, Ambition was the winner.

Ambition’s quality comes through with the script quality, the personality—you can feel the person and empathize with them, has great share ability—its a universal story and the wry humor sets it apart. It is also one that I could see running in all major global newspapers as an ongoing column where the others were one-shot approaches.

Kelly Angel studied design at Darwen Vale High School in Lancashire and is now a designer who continues to enjoy making comics and illustrations. She is currently working at a sign language company in Blackburn, Lancashire. Her job includes designing and making learning software for children.

Kelly’s premise: “It’s pretty scary trying to figure out what you want to do with your life once you leave school, and again when you leave college and then once more after university…eating snacks while you play video games all day surrounded by animals seems like a good idea. That’s what I’m aiming towards, but no one is willing to pay me to do it at the moment!”

www.comic.instantprint.co.uk

Hardcover Annual No. 10 Arrives

Our first samples of the 3x3 International Illustration Annual No. 10 arrived this morning and they are, if we may be so modest, absolutely gorgeous.

As many of you know this is our first hardcover annual—another thing that has been ten years in the making— and we only ordered enough to fulfill our original orders. As you can imagine a hardcover costs more than a soft-cover but if there’s any way possible this year we’d like them all to be hardcovers. But since the newsstand sales outlets ask for softcover editions we have to split an order between hardcover and softcover editions which makes each a bit more expensive. So we’ll see. We’ve learned a great deal about the production of hardcovers with No. 10 and will apply that going forward.

Special thanks to Prolific Printers in Winnipeg for an outstanding job!

If you’ve ordered a hardcover annual they will be going in the mail late this week or early next week. Allow seven to ten working days for delivery domestically and two weeks for international deliveries.

And let us hear your feedback. And check out the other item that’s taken us ten years to develop: our medal.

Of course, the softcover edition is ready to mail, same great content!

Cover illustration by René Milot, Canada

Ten Years in the Making: Introducing the 3x3 Medal

Ta-da! We are introducing our medal design, a first for 3x3. The 3×3×3-inch cube is designed using five faces of the cube each with a single symbol.

The first side has our logo

The second side has a leaf, symbolizing the continuing growth of illustration

The third side has a palette, representing the blurring of lines between fine art and illustration

The fourth side has the infinity sign demonstrating the long-lasting impact of illustration

The fifth side has the globe indicating the global influences on today’s illustration

We have yet to decide on the color or colors, that’s the next step. But we did want to share this final design with you. Ready for 2014 winners.

Check out our website for an animated look at our new medal. Once it loads you can slow down the animation using your cursor to see each individual side.

Design by Charles Hively + Sarah Munt, HivelyDesigns
3-D Model development: Dot San, UK

The Importance of Shows: Mayer,Viana, Melanson

We’ve asked several illustrators to comment on why they enter shows and in particular why they enter our 3x3 Shows. We’ll be sharing their comments over the next several weeks as we lead up to our show deadline. Here are a couple of short and sweet responses.

“For me, entering shows is a great way to add prestige to your work. It’s an inexpensive way to get your work in front of top art directors and designers. It’s also a great pleasure to write an art director you’ve worked with and tell them, ‘Hey SooJin, That piece we did together won a gold medal!’ Now how great is that?”
 www.thebillmayer.com

“In today’s digital age, characterized by its immense overflow of content, it has become increasingly difficult to draw attention to your work, good as it may be, while it swirls in a flurry of ever growing distractions. Curation has become key and illustration shows remain some of the top curators in this field. They lift your work up from the stream and display it amongst of some of the best illustrators around.”
www.goncaloviana.com

“The annuals have always been an important part of my promotional efforts. For me it’s just another good way of getting my work out there and it’s a pretty inexpensive one too. I must say I still love books and I really enjoy looking at great art in print. It’s very inspiring and stimulating. 3x3 is certainly one of the best shows to see what is happening in the illustration world right now.”
www.lucmelanson.com

The 3x3 International Illustration Annual No 11 deadline is fast approaching, all entries must be uploaded or postmarked no later than Monday, March 31.

Meet the Judges: Jamie Trendall

Jamie Trendall is a magazine art director based in London. He has over 15 years experience working for companies such as the BBC, the Times Newspaper, Haymarket publishing, as well as smaller design studios. Commissioning illustrators has played a key of part in his work and he has been privileged enough to have been a judge for the Association of Illustrators and Transport for London’s Art on the Underground. Jamie has the distinction of being our first art director to judge the 3x3 Student Show.

What Jamie will be looking for:

I love it when an illustrator surprises me, so I’m hoping to be both excited and surprised by some wonderful ideas, as well as fantastic execution. For me the winning artwork will need to not only instantly engage me, but also make me want to come back for more.

The Importance of Shows: Omer Hoffmann

We’ve asked several illustrators to comment on why they enter shows and in particular why they enter our 3x3 Shows. We’ll be sharing their comments over the next several weeks as we lead up to our show deadline.

“It seems that when it comes to exposure, and the world beyond the studio, the digital age has changed a lot of things for illustrators. As if on a daily basis my Facebook feed is being bombarded by artistic imagery and it’s impossible to stop the flood without un-friending some people. Sometimes it can give me a headache—not unlike eating too much in a short time.”

“I always wish that Facebook or Twitter employed some sort of an filter or editor who would watch my feeds—a professional that would do a decent editing job and make some sense out of this flood of imagery coming at me and my overflowed creative mind. This is one of the reasons I like shows. They have a curator; they have an agenda; they have a title that I can relate to and I think other people can make sense of it as well. Digital consumption of images is a great thing, it gives me ideas, it just doesn’t come at the expense of annuals, shows and such that have a story behind them.”

“As an artist, I love being recognized, ‘likes’ or ‘favorites’ still make my day—the immediacy of it all. Usually it tells me that people like me, though that’s not much of a professional input. Shows are very good at doing a much more precise job, targeting audiences that consist of people within the industry. Even better, judges that make up panels get to see my work. These individuals are usually potential high-profile clients and this is a great opportunity for me to show them my art. I might not get immediate feedback, but I can be assured that people that really mean business are reviewing my art and that’s a huge plus.”

“Shows are a fundamental part of my vocation as an illustrator. In the digital age, their role is more refined—it is a milestone that goes beyond everyday work. I have to look at my work—how do I want to summarize myself and my art best. It’s also what makes them one the few professional practices aside from actual work. It is a platform that gets lots of professional artists under one roof as they meet other, equally professional clients.”

www.ohoffmann.com

The Importance of Shows: Gracia Lam

We’ve asked several illustrators to comment on why they enter shows and in particular why they enter our 3x3 Shows. We’ll be sharing their comments over the next several weeks as we lead up to our show deadline.

“Shows, along with its printed annuals and curated exhibitions have always been vital to my continued progress as an illustrator. In fact, it led to the beginning of my career when a few pieces of my student work were selected into notable Illustration shows.”

“I think it is important to recognize the significance of these shows and why they are influential for any practitioner as they were for me. For one, the panel of judges are always some of the year’s most recognized and relevant professionals in the industry. From renowned illustrators and designers, to art directors in the editorial field, book publishing houses and advertising agencies. The list is boundless. The stage is filled with distinguished individuals that formulate high levels of aesthetics that are broadcasted into our world.”

“I am endlessly excited knowing that inevitably, they will assess my work and either cheer or sneer at it. I am never discouraged even when my work doesn’t win, because each year, I am greatful be able to work with many past and current judges on new projects, sometimes only because they recall my illustrations through the assessment processes.”

“Undoubtedly, and especially for students and young illustrators, this is one of the best ways to have an equal chance to showcase your work in front of trained experts whom are also potential or future clients.”

www.gracialam.com

Meet the Judges: Élisabeth Cohat

After studying graphic design and semiology at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris, Elisabeth began her career in the childrens' division at Editions Gallimard - the same year the Folio Junior and “Voiles” departments were created.

She was in charge of developing numerous collections such as Mes premieres Decouvertes (My First Discoveries) and Decouverte Gallimard (Discovery Gallimard), and took part in the creation of innovative concepts across several departments.

Élisabeth was promoted to graphic designer of Guides Gallimard upon its creation in 1990, and assumed her current title of art director for Gallimard Jeunesse in 1999.

What Élisabeth will be looking for:

Does the artwork answer the objective?
Is it understandable without any text?
How well is the originality expressed?
Is the point of view of the subject matter suitable?
Is the technical approach fitting?
Does it touch me?
These are the questions that I'll ask myself for a winning entry.

Meet the Judges: Sylvie Frank

Sylvie Frank is an associate editor at Paula Wiseman Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division. She edits picture books, middle-grade and YA fiction and occasionally nonfiction.

Recent books she has edited include Storm by Donna Jo Napoli, Breathe by Scott Magoon, and Whistle in the Dark by Susan Hill Long. One of her favorite pastimes is browsing agents’ and illustrators’ websites for new talent.

Statement about what Sylvie will be looking for:

The winner of the picture book category will demonstrate masterful technique; depiction of character, including expression and action; composition; and use of color and space. The work will demonstrate a keen understanding of storytelling through illustration and the relationship between the reader and the illustration.

The Importance of Shows: Ella Cohen

We’ve asked several illustrators to comment on why they enter shows and in particular why they enter our 3x3 Shows. We’ll be sharing their comments over the next several weeks as we lead up to our show deadline.

“Discovering 3x3 was a huge thing for me. As a young illustrator who just finished art school I was constantly seeking both inspiration and new ways to challenge myself. I knew that the only way to get better at what I do (and to make a living out of it) was to aim as high as possible.”

“Knowing that  3x3 exists really encouraged me to work harder. When I started getting my first commissions I was extremely motivated to make the most out of every assignment I got. I still am. However, today—almost 4 years later—I understand that meeting the clients needs doesn’t always lead to the results I was hoping for. Whether it’s a tight deadline or artistic disagreements, working as an illustrator means that sometimes things won’t go the way you planned. My way of dealing with those situations was to take the knowledge that I gained from my commercial work and to implement it in my own self initiated projects. Knowing that a platform such as 3x3 exists kept me motivated to complete those projects with the freedom to explore my style and subjects of interest without a commercial brief.”

“I discovered that entering my work to different competitions is also a great way to promote myself. Since I don’t do a lot of self promotion during the rest of the year I find this a really effective way to gain more recognition. Today, less than 4 years after I finished my studies in Israel, I feel very privileged to have many international clients.”

“In my opinion 3x3 is an incredibly significant platform that celebrates the best of illustration from all over the world, and gives illustrators the chance to challenge themselves in many ways. Over the years it introduced me to fantastic, smart, and funny art works that helped me develop my own style and visual concepts, and I’m very thankful for that.”

www.ellakookoo.com

The Importance of Shows: Emiliano Ponzi

We’ve asked several illustrators to comment on why they enter shows and in particular why they enter our 3x3 Shows. We’ll be sharing their comments over the next several weeks as we lead up to our show deadline.

“In the last few years there has been a massive presence of illustrations on the web, social networks, blogs and so on. Exposure over new media is great because it is a form of democracy—it is like being in the Ancient Greek Polis—where all citizens have an active role in the political/cultural life of the city. Everyone can express his own opinion on many different subjects.”

“We think 234 ‘likes’ under an illustration on Facebook! Wow, this must mean it’s badass! Not necessarily true. Or at least it shouldn’t be automatic to come up with that conclusion. As the button says ‘I like’ it, this personal opinion is affected by many factors: if I know the person in reality, if the style is trendy or not, how the person sells his image on the web, how much time the person invests over the web and mostly what people know about illustration or any other subject before giving any appreciation. This may be taken for granted but it isn’t at all.”

“Coming to the profession world it’s important to move from ‘I like it/ I don’t like it’ to ‘It works/It doesn’t work’. And this is possible if we just keep in mind the difference between being appreciated and judged by peers or people with deep knowledge in the specific field. In this sense illustration shows and annuals are crucial because we can better understand how and why our work has a meaning and a value in the commercial marketplace.”

“I started sending images to 3x3 shows about ten years ago and I’ve seen merit and medals arriving since then. I believe that submitting work to annuals is an act of courage especially after achieving awards (because you know that most probably it will not happen the next year) but it is fundamental to keep growing as pros and being part of a larger community.”

“This is how it works. Don’t get me wrong, having followers, ‘likes’, clicks, is amazing but it’s very important to know how different media works in order to use both to the best of their potential. They need to be integrated to build an effective professional image. Social communication is horizontal—usually it doesn’t mark quality but raises popularity. Building your reputation is vertical and is achieved through shows, annuals and important jobs.”

“Two paths to enlarge our audience. It is important to share and make our images visible on one side of the square and on the other side make potential clients aware of what work we’ve done. The end result:  people that can give us a call tomorrow saying ‘Hi, how are you? I’d like to assign you an illustrated campaign for…’”

www.emilianoponzi.com

Meet the Judges: Tim J Luddy

Tim J Luddy has worked as a designer, art director and creative director in New York and San Francisco, for publications including BusinessWeek, eCompany Now! (also known as Business 2.0) PC World and Mother Jones.

He recently left Mother Jones and now divides his time between being art director at Brink magazine and his yoga studio. Mother Jones received the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice during his tenure there.

He has lectured on art direction and publication design at UC Berkeley, the California College of Art, San Francisco State University and the University of San Francisco.

Work that he designed or commissioned has appeared in the Society of Publication Designers Annuals, American Illustration, Society of Illustrators, Print and Communication Arts. He also teaches yoga in San Francisco.

What Tim J Luddy will be looking for:

As an editorial art director, I’m interested in illustration that finds energetic combinations of form and content to communicate with power, precision, and wit.

Check out this link for a further insight to Tim's work with illustration.

Finally! 3x3 Illustration Annual No. 10 Hot off the press

We just got our first sample copies of Annual 10 from the printer and it looks great. The softcover is ready for shipment but the hardcover takes a bit more time to go through the bindery.

For those who ordered the softcover these will go out in the mail this week directly from the printer in Winnipeg. The hardcover editions will also ship from the printer once they are finished.

Thanks go to Laura Tolar and Sarah Munt for all their help in getting the Annual finished. And hats off to the printers at Prolific and especially our contacts Chris Young and Gosia Skarzynski for all their help in shepherding our job through the plant!

To order your copy click here. Available in print and digital editions.

Cover illustration by René Milot

Meet the Judges: Jim Hoover

Jim Hoover is an Associate Art Director at Viking Children’s Books in New York. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design in illustration, Jim has been in publishing now for over twelve years.

He has designed and art directed well over a hundred titles including John Lennon: All I Want Is The Truth, Stuck In The Middle, Mission Control: This Is Apollo, Marching For Freedom, Titanic Sinks!, and the children’s book adaptation of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth.

What Jim will be looking for:

“I find with picture books especially, there is just a mojo, a magic that you look for, and the more open you are, the more of a chance you'll find it.”

The Importance of Shows: André Carrilho

We’ve asked several illustrators to comment on why they enter shows and in particular why they enter our 3x3 Shows. We’ll be sharing their comments over the next several weeks as we lead up to our show deadline.

“There are only a couple of shows I like to participate every year. I’m a little weary of competitions, ever since I was part of the jury of some of them and realized that sometimes the works that wins are not the ones you like the most.”

“Now I like to say that winning an award or being selected is due to chance, with the intervention of human error. But there are advantages to participating in the few ones that I think are driven by a true love of the art form.” 

“First, because I get to see the work of so many other artists that would be difficult to find on my own.” 

“And second because it manages to keep you on your guard, making you reflect on what you do and how you are becoming too accustomed to a specific way of doing things, or makes you think of ways of evolving while still being yourself.” 

“It’s true that you can find other’s work online if you spend some time researching, but it’s good to have people that do some of the sifting, an editor’s job.” 

“Shows like the 3x3 Pro Show are for me an opportunity to question myself, look at what I do through others eyes, and probably be a little better.” 

www.andrecarrilho.com

Meet the Judges: Paul Gonzales

Paul Gonzales is a deputy design director for the features department at the Los Angeles Times. As such, he leads a team of designers in producing the newspaper¹s lively and creative Sunday Calendar, Arts & Books and Travel sections.

In his 20-plus-year career at the Times, he has won many awards for design, art direction and photo illustration from such prestigious organizations as Communication Arts, Print, The Society for News Design and Society of Publication Designers. His collaboration with illustrators has also resulted in a number of award-winning pieces.

What Paul will be looking for:

“Each illustration submission to a competition has been worked on with a great deal of artistry and pride otherwise it would not have been submitted.  Keeping this in mind, I try to give each and every entry the consideration it rightly deserves.”

“Three main criteria I look for when judging an illustration competition are concept, composition and execution.  Entries that stand out the most usually surprise me with a smart concept that communicates an idea in a fresh way.  If the composition enhances that concept, a simple line drawing or a beautifully realized full color oil painting can be equally impressive.”

“These three elements when brought together seamlessly will usually get my vote!”

The Importance of Shows: Andrea D’Aquino

We’ve asked several illustrators to comment on why they enter shows and in particular why they enter our 3x3 Shows. We’ll be sharing their comments over the next several weeks as we lead up to our show deadline.

“I’ve always been inspired by the very best award show annuals, ever since I was a student. They keep the bar of excellence high for all of us. Every piece in them may or may not be my own personal taste, but they also  serve the purpose of taking the pulse of the culture at any given year, very interestingly, if you look back at them.”

“That said, I do think there are too many award shows out there that are extraneous and have questionable motives. I happen to participate in 3x3 for a few years now, because I feel it's one of the top three shows that has that combination of integrity and tasty selections.”

“3x3 is also particularly open to international artists, which I find very fresh and modern.”

To see more of Andrea's work check out 3x3 Issue 21 in the Spotlight section.

www.andreadaquino.com

Meet the Judges: Marieke Griffioen

Marieke Griffioen is design director at the Amsterdam office of Edenspiekermann, a design agency with offices also in Berlin and San Francisco.

She engages illustrators for corporate identities, campaigns, annual reports, brochures and magazines. Some of her clients are the Utrecht City Theater, MN (pension management), Eindhoven Technical University, Robeco Sam (sustainable asset management) and Twijnstra Gudde (consultants).

What Marieke will be looking for:

“I’ll be looking for a smart concept that delivers more than just a reflection of the text, and it will do this concisely, and with clarity and punch. And of course it will have to be rendered immaculately to stand out from what is sure to be extremely stiff competition.”

www.edenspiekermann.com

The Importance of Shows: Mark Smith

We’ve asked several illustrators to comment on why they enter shows and in particular why they enter our 3x3 Shows. We’ll be sharing their comments over the next several weeks as we lead up to our show deadline.

“To counter the suggestion that shows are becoming irrelevant in a digital age of freely available information I would argue the exact opposite. It is the abundant availability of digital information that makes these shows an invaluable tool for already overworked art directors.”

“They provide a go-to guide for peer reviewed artwork/artists and not only guarantee a certain level of quality, but also (given that the majority of shows include illustrators on the judging panels) they leave the assessment of that quality in the hands of illustrators themselves.”

“I can understand how the intrinsically exclusive aspect of competitions might be distasteful to some, but I believe they also serve as focal points for the illustration industry as a whole. They can be an easy way in for people that have a relatively new interest in the field, whether these people are looking to commission work or studying to become a future practitioner, people who would otherwise be confronted with a sea of un-vetted information.”

“Paradoxically this un-vetted abundance can act as a barrier in itself, discouraging amongst others, the very people we would make our future living from. I firmly believe that anyone willing to provide a platform for illustration should be wholeheartedly encouraged and 3x3 does this in spades. It informs, promotes, guides and educates in equal measures, and I for one am both indebted to, and extremely glad of its existence.”

www.marksmithillustration.com

The Importance of Shows: Aad Goudappel

We’ve asked several illustrators to comment on why they enter shows and in particular why they enter our 3x3 Shows. We’ll be sharing their comments over the next several weeks as we lead up to our show deadline.

“Lately there is some discussion amongst illustrators whether illustration competitions are still relevant in the digital age. Not surprising as there are more channels to get you’re work in front of people nowadays then ever before. But perhaps that makes the competitions even more relevant. Amidst all the information coming our way I think it’s good to have a few curated/juried platform to which you could turn to find really good work. To me those stages are American Illustration, Communication Arts, the Society of Illustrators and 3x3.”

“What I especially like about the 3x3 ProShow is the mixture of ‘arrived’ names and ‘undiscovered’ talents. For me personally entering the 3x3 ProShow a couple of years ago was an important point in my carreer. Not only did it give me more confidence about what I was doing it also got my work noticed by art-directors.”

“I’m not saying this works for everybody and that there are no other efficient ways to get your work out there. But since I hardly do any self-promotion other then entering these competition I can assure they are still relevant when comes to further a career.”

To see more of Aad’s work check out 3x3 Issue 22 available in print and digital formats.

www.aadgoudappel.com

3x3 International Illustration Call for Entries

We are now accepting entries in the 2014 3x3 International Illustrator’s show. This year’s deadline for all shows is March 31, 2014.

What’s new?

We are adding an honorable mention category this year, while winners will need a majority of votes to get into the show, honorable mentions will need receive one-half the judge’s votes. Winners will be featured in our print edition and online, honorable mentions will be featured online.

We will be creating an app of the annual and it will be offered free to a select list of art directors worldwide. Art directors will also receive a discount when ordering our print edition.

We have added categories in our student show including illustration, animation and books. This allows our judges to judge these categories separately.

We’ve added an art director to our judging panel for the student show.

We’ll waive registration fees at our annual Nuts & Bolts Conference for our Student Best of Show and Gold medal winners.

Our Best of Show and Gold medal winning entries will receive a free page in our 2015 3x3 Illustration Directory plus they’ll not pay any publication fees for their best of show and gold medal winning entries.

Our Judges

For the professional show: Marieke Griffioen, Design Director, Edenspiekermann, Amsterdam; Paul Gonzales, Deputy Design Director, Los Angeles Times; Tim J. Luddy, former Design Director, Mother Jones currently art director at Brink magazine and illustrators Klaas Verplancke, Belgium and Mark Smith, United Kingdom.

For our picture book show: Élisabeth Cohat, Art Director, Gallimard jeunesse, France; Sylvie Frank, Associate Editor at Paula Wiseman Books; Jim Hoover, Associate Art Director at Viking Children’s Books and award-winning illustrators Anna + Elena Balbusso, Italy and Robert Neubecker, United States.

For our student show: Jamie Trendall, former Art Director for The Times currently with Ink Global publications, United Kingdom and illustrator/educators Doug Panton, Canada; Robert Meganck, United States; Andy Potts, United Kingdom and Durwin Talon, Canada.

Ready to enter? Just click your link: 3x3 ProShow, 3x3 Picture Book Show, 3x3 Student Show. Have questions, check out our FAQ.

Illustration by Carlos Araujo

Gary Taxali Solo Show Opens at Jonathan LeVine

Opening reception this Saturday, February 22, 6-8pm, at Jonathan LeVine Gallery, 529 West 20th Street, New York.

www.jonathanlevinegallery.com

One Down, One to Go

We’re happy to report that the 2014 3x3 Illustration Directory is in the mail. Thanks to Mother Nature we had a bit of difficulty with the weather but everything turned out great.

Thanks to our printers at Allen Press outside of Kansas City who endured dramatically below-freezing temperatures and sheets of ice and several feet of snow. In total we only missed two days of press time.

And the 3x3 Illustration Annual has finally made it’s way to our printer in Canada. We had several printing issues which delayed releasing the job until the end of last week. Everything is now on schedule for a March delivery.

Our digital edition of the 3x3 Illustration Annual will be going out tomorrow and our iTunes app for the 3x3 Directory should have approval this week from Apple after making a software adjustment.

Next up our 3x3 medal design and of course the 2014 Call for Entries!