ICON9: July 6-9, Austin, Texas

Over four full days the ICON Illustration Conference brings you an exciting program of speakers and events reflecting the independent spirit of the Lone Star State.

The venue for ICON9 is the beautiful Austin Hilton Hotel in the heart of the city’s thriving entertainment district. The city’s bustling arts vibe, world famous music scene and Tex-Mex-infused culture makes Austin a natural destination for ICON9.

ICON brings together top illustrators, designers, educators, representatives and art buyers to explore The Future of Illustration. This year’s jam-packed four day program brings you:

Main Stage Speakers
Our ICON9 presenters include over 50 illustrators, artists and creative professionals to inform, entertain and enlighten you.

Scheduled speakers include: Selina Alko, Lilli Carré, Gemma Correll, Eleanor Davis, Henrik Drescher, Camille Rose Garcia, Anita Kunz, Roman Muradov, Moonbot Studios Virtual Tour, Melinda Beck, Kayla E (Nat Brut)., Jessica Hische, Shelly Jackson, Geoff Peveto, Svein Størksen (Magikon Forlag), Paul Windle, Alexandra Zsigmond New York Times, Sean Qualls, Julia Rothman, Martha Rich, DJ Stout (Pentagram), Michael Thompson, Jonathan Tobin On Orphan Works, Sam Weber, Calvin Wong, Kyle Webster, Ping Zhu and more to be announced.

An Education Symposium 
This two-day Main Stage event features a presentation of papers by a global selection of noted educators culminating in a round-table discussion on traditional and online learning.

Multiple Workshops 
Over 24 workshops engage attendees through lectures, studio tours and hands-on activities which run both Wednesday and Thursday. Workshop presenters include Lille Carre, Jessica Hische, Kyle Webster, Paul Windle and Julia Rothman. Registration for workshops begins in early March.

A Roadshow 
This pop-up event and marketplace showcases the work and wares of over 60 exhibiting illustrators and artisans.

ICON Director Mark Heflin spoke about tickets for the conference, “We’ve opened up our final block of tickets at the regular conference price. We do however, have a few discount opportunities for groups of six, and a couple “Two-For-One” discount tickets still available for added savings.” Order your tickets now.

Check out the complete four-day schedule.

Never been to ICON don’t miss these two videos. And photos from prior conferences.


ICON9 The Illustration Conference
July 6-9, 2016
Austin, Texas
Austin Hilton Hotel
www.theillustrationconference.org  


Poster art by Eleanor Davis

3x3 International Illustration Awards Late Deadline: April 1

No foolin’ our show is open until midnight, April, 1, 2016. A late fee does apply.

Late Fees
Professional & Picture Book Show
Fees for a single entry, $45. Total fee for a of three to five images with a similar theme is $70.

Student Show
Fees for a single entry, $25. Total fee for a series of three to five images with a similar theme is $45.

Best of Show and Gold medal winners receive our distinctive 3×3×3-inch cube, Silver winners receive a framed award; Bronze winners and Distinctive Merit winners receive paper certificates. Merit winners may request either a pdf or printed certificate. Honorable mention, a pdf.

Show Chair, James Yang

Professional Show Judges
Ken DeLago, Creative Director, Golf Digest
Grace Lee, Art Director, Priest+Grace
Lucho Correa, Art Director/Graphic Designer, Colombia
Kiko Farkas, Art Director, Brazil
Irene Gallo, Art Director, Tor Books
Jing Wei, Illustrator
Veronica Grech, Illustrator, Spain
Brian Rea, Illustrator

Picture Book Show Judges
Paul Buckley, Art Director, Penguin
Hendrik Helligel, Editor, Gestalten Verlag, Germany
Isabelle De Cat, Art Director, Penguin, United Kingdom
Ben Newman, Illustrator, United Kingdom
Maria Carluccio, Illustrator

Student Show Judges
Catherine Gilmore-Barnes, Art Director, New York Times Book Review
Aya Kakeda, Illustrator
Ian Whadcock, Illustrator/Educator, Manchester School of Art, United Kingdom
Jonathan Jay Lee, Illustrator/Educator, HK SCAD, Hong Kong
Peter Diamond, Illustrator, Austria

The 3x3 International Illustration Awards Show is open to all illustrators in all countries. For full details download our Call for Entries pdf, to enter go to our homepage.

Final Deadline: April 1, 2016, no entries will be accepted after the deadline.

Meet Our Judges: 3x3 Student Show

Welcome to the thirteenth annual 3x3 International Illustration Awards, over the next several weeks we will be introducing you to our international jury of art directors, designers, publishers and illustrators.

Our student show judges are special, not only are they full-time illustrators they are also involved with educating the next generation of artists. In selecting judges for this show we look first at the quality of their illustration and secondly on how they are influencing their students. Most are part-time instructors, some are lecturers and many are both.

Ian Whadcock is a graduate of Brighton Polytechnic and has been a freelance Illustrator for 25 years winning AOI gold, silver and bronze awards along the way. He primarily works for a wide range of editorial and design clients in the UK and US markets. Now relocated to the North West of England he returned part time to Manchester School of Art in January 2014 where he is currently a full-time Senior Lecturer on the BA (Honors) Illustration with Animation course.
www.ianwhadcock.com

Jonathan Jay Lee is based in Hong Kong. A Taiwanese-American born Jonathan Jay Lee graduated with departmental honors in illustration from Parsons School of Design in New York, spent a semester abroad at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London and received an MFA from the School of Creative Media at City University in Hong Kong. His clients have included Marvel Comics, Heavy Metal Magazine, San Miguel, Lamborghini, Lee Kum Kee, Ho Lee Fook, Superga and HSBC. He also exhibits his work in China, Japan and New York. He teaches part-time as a professor of illustration at Savannah College of Art and Design, Hong Kong.
www.jonathanjaylee.com

Peter Diamond is a Canadian-born illustrator who now lives and works in Vienna, Austria. He graduated with a degree in fine arts at NSCAD University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He worked in the Halifax independent music scene making album covers, posters and T-shirts for local artists and labels including Jesse Dangerously, Scribbler, Just Friends Records and Diminished Fifth Records.

Moving to Austria in 2009 he works for a wide range of clients in the United Kingdom, Europe and New York. Peter teaches drawing at Illuskills and works with Illustria—the Society of Austrian illustrators—as an international contact person. His work has been exhibited in Berlin, London, New York, Vienna, Adelaide and Halifax,

www.peterdiamond.ca

Our other judges for the 3x3 International Student Show are Aya Kakeda and Catherine Gilmore-Barnes who we profiled earlier.

The 3x3 International Illustration Awards Show is open to all illustrators in all countries. There is a separate jury for each of our three shows: Professional, Student and Picture Book. For full details download our Call for Entries pdf, to enter go to our homepage.

Deadline: March 25, 2016

Meet Our Judges: Maria Carluccio, Illustrator

Welcome to the thirteenth annual 3x3 International Illustration Awards, over the next several weeks we will be introducing you to our international jury of art directors, designers, publishers and illustrators.

Maria Carluccio works as an illustrator and designer of children’s books and products. Raised in New Jersey with her four siblings she always saw herself as an artist. From the first doodles on a soft leather tabletop—which got her into trouble—to the experience of working at Hallmark, she has always loved to play with color, shape and line. Her father, an attorney and her mother, an artist, always encouraged her creative efforts.

Graduating from Carnegie Mellon she spent the next three years living the bohemian life in Italy and traveling around Europe. Returning to America she set to work as a working illustrator, first at Hallmark in Kansas City and then on her own.

She works on a variety of projects in print and licensed products and is both artist and author of several children's books. Her most recent project is a alphabet book for Chronicle, D is for Dress Up. In addition she co-founded Wall Stories which introduces children to art and storytelling through a series of fabric wall stickers and murals. Her licensed images have appeared on products for Pottery Barn, Target, Land of Nod and Crate & Barrel. She currently lives and works in a tiny hamlet on the Hudson River outside New York City.

As Maria says, “I always thought that it was cool to be able to draw what you could see but it was magical to draw what you could feel or imagine. I still think that.”

Maria will be judging our picture book show.

www.mariacarluccio.com

The 3x3 International Illustration Awards Show is open to all illustrators in all countries. There is a separate jury for each of our three shows: Professional, Student and Picture Book. For full details download our Call for Entries pdf, to enter go to our homepage.

Deadline: March 25, 2016

Meet Our Judges: Irene Gallo, Creative Director

Welcome to the thirteenth annual 3x3 International Illustration Awards, over the next several weeks we will be introducing you to our international jury of art directors, designers, publishers and illustrators.

Irene Gallo is the Associate Publisher of Tor.com and Creative Director of Tor Books. As a kid she never dreamed of being an art director, who does, but her interest has always been art. Entering Cooper Union—the only college she applied to—because it was considered an excellent art school, located in downtown Manhattan and free. But a chance course in typography set her on her path towards design. And it has helped her working with illustrators, “I have a much more intimate reaction to art knowing some of issues these guys struggle with. I think things are even more magical when I have a little insight into how they are made and knowing how difficult it is to make something seem effortless.”

Upon graduation she was lucky enough to get an entry level job as the assistant to the art director at Tor Books, but soon after, the art director quit. Luckily her boss, Tom Doherty, thought she could handle the job and so became the start of her dream job.

Irene’s job at Tor is to make sure all the book jackets get created which starts with a conversation with the editors to get a sense of the book. Once she has a handle on the tone of the book she’ll pick a few artists and then speak again with the editors to ensure she is headed in the right direction. Working in science fiction and fantasy means dealing with lots of different illustrators but it also means running interference between artists, editors, sales and marketing. It becomes a real management job but it's a fulfilling one since she is always working with creative people and ideas.

In addition to her day-job, she is involved with Spectrum where she’s been a judge and member of the advisory board as well as Art Out Loud and MicroVisions through the Society of Illustrators.

She sees her responsibility and challenge “to create an evocative image that will appeal to the kind of reader that will enjoy a particular book.” Asked about the predominance of dragons on book covers, she responds, “Dragons sell. I have no problem with dragons. Besides, in the hands of a good artist, they look cool.”

Irene will be judging our professional show.

www.tor.com

What will Irene be looking for?

“It’s the same as I’m looking for in any illustrator I hire—something interesting to say and the technique to convey that idea.”

The 3x3 International Illustration Awards Show is open to all illustrators in all countries. There is a separate jury for each of our three shows: Professional, Student and Picture Book. For full details download our Call for Entries pdf, to enter go to our homepage.

Deadline: March 25, 2016

Send your heart to Jack Unruh

We just got news from Texas, and not the kind of news we like to hear about our illustrator friends.

Jack Unruh has esophageal cancer, it has spread to his liver and there is no known cure.

We’re forwarding on the family’s request: ”We want to create a love chain, like a prayer chain, where everyone sends him a heart, using any medium you choose, that is about 5 inches in diameter. On your heart, write a message or design, or just your name so we can share with Jack.You can send to them at 8138 Santa Clara, Dallas, Texas 75218 or if you’re in Dallas, bring them to the hospital.”

Meet Our Judges: Brian Rea, Illustrator

Welcome to the thirteenth annual 3x3 International Illustration Awards, over the next several weeks we will be introducing you to our international jury of art directors, designers, publishers and illustrators.

Brian Rea is not only a distinguished illustrator but has also been on the commissioning-side as art director of The New York Times Op-Ed section.

Born into a big Irish/Italian family in Massachusetts, his New England roots grounded him in the art of storytelling. His mother was a bookkeeper, his father worked for Polaroid, neither were artists but they were always supportive of his drawings. His grandfather, a mason, had perhaps the most impact on Brian. His sketchbooks were filled with old advertisements and comics he had copied; a private person, Brian only saw these drawings on rare occasions. Later he would share his own drawings with his grandfather who genuinely appreciated seeing the work.

Growing up Brian absorbed anything that had to do with drawing or painting whether it was the Bob Ross TV shows, Atari cartridges, Pink Floyd albums, comics, books or magazines. He was obsessed with Garfield for a while and got beat up a lot for stealing his brother’s Mad magazines and comic books. For a while he wanted to be a truck driver—to see the world—his fallback plan was drawing Def Leppard logos on jean jackets. In high school, Brian was interested in drawing crazy realistic images of water, reflections, self-portraits and such. His art teacher, Eric Hoover, encouraged students to pursue art and illustration which lead Brian to Baltimore.

Brian attended the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) under the tutelage of James Yang, Whitney Sherman, Lew Fifield and Ken Krafchek. One of his painting instructors, Ken Tisa, organized a meeting in New York to show Brian’s portfolio to a friend of his, the illustrator and artist Ruth Marten, after a day-long meeting he was convinced illustration was want he wanted to do. The move to New York lead to part-time design jobs at publishing houses and several stints at The New York Times working on a number of sections and eventually he was named full-time art director for the Op-Ed page, a job he held for the five years before leaving for the West Coast.

After an eleven-year stay in New York, Brian now resides 45-minutes from the beach outside of Los Angeles and is involved in a variety of projects. He has produced drawings and paintings for books, murals, posters, music videos and magazines including The New York Times Magazine, T Magazine, Nylon, Men's Journal and Time Magazine among others. His design clients include Kate Spade, Random House, Honda, Herman Miller, Billabong and MTV. Brian’s work has also been exhibited in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Mexico City, Tokyo and Barcelona as part of the group show Murals at the Fundació Joan Miró. He collaborated with Malcolm Gladwell and designer, Paul Sahre on Collected a three-book box set showcasing over 200 original drawings. In addition to his illustration career he currently teaches at Art Center in Pasadena.

Brian says moving to California has made a difference, "Working on the West Coast has changed my work and also my approach to it—better balance between living and working and that feeds back into my work. I tend to be more focused while in the studio; maybe more so than I was in NYC. I’m about 45-minutes from the ocean, too, so if I need to recharge my battery, I can sneak out to the water."

Brian is judging our professional show.

www.brianrea.com

The 3x3 International Illustration Awards Show is open to all illustrators in all countries. There is a separate jury for each of our three shows: Professional, Student and Picture Book. For full details download our Call for Entries pdf, to enter go to our homepage.

Deadline: March 25, 2016

Meet Our Judges: Lucho Correa, Chief Creative Officer

Welcome to the thirteenth annual 3x3 International Illustration Awards, over the next several weeks we will be introducing you to our international jury of art directors, designers, publishers and illustrators.

Lucho Corrrea is an award-winning art director, creative director and graphic designer based in Bogotá, Colombia. He received a degree in graphic design from the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Bogotá. After stints as an art director at Delvico Bates in Barcelona, Lucho returned to Colombia to join the advertising agency, SokoloffSamperPolarMora (SSPM) as partner and creative director, a year later the firm merged with the New York-based advertising agency, Lowe & Partners global network. In 2002, he left the agency and founded Lip, a graphic design and communications studio where he serves as chief creative officer. The firm is involved in packaging, branding, identity, signage and book design.

His work has received the prestigious Cannes Gold Lion, a One Show silver pencil, five gold International Federation of Photographic Art awards in Argentina, five gold NOVA awards in Colombia, a dozen awards of excellence from Communication Arts, a Red Dot design award and recently his was the only non-Spanish studio to win a Laus award in Barcelona. He was included in the 2004 edition of Re-Think, Re-Process Re-Design by Mark Wasserman, and has had exhibits of his work in Madrid, Paris and London. He is also the current president of the design organization, Club de Creación Colombiano and has served as juror in numerous competitions in South America, London and Cannes. He and his architect wife own a bistro, El Comedor and he’d tell you if he wasn’t a designer, he’d be a chef.

www.luchocorrea.com

What will Lucho be looking for?

“As an Art Director, I'll be looking for outstanding images that deliver the communication idea behind it.”

The 3x3 International Illustration Awards Show is open to all illustrators in all countries. There is a separate jury for each of our three shows: Professional, Student and Picture Book. For full details download our Call for Entries pdf, to enter go to our homepage.

Deadline: March 25, 2016

Meet Our Judges: Veronica Grech, Illustrator

Welcome to the thirteenth annual 3x3 International Illustration Awards, over the next several weeks we will be introducing you to our international jury of art directors, designers, publishers and illustrators.

Verónica Grech is a Spanish graphic designer cum illustrator whose young career has already received notable recognition. Based in Asturias, a coastal town in the north of Spain, Verónica attended San Carlos University in Valencia prior to beginning a career as a graphic designer.

Her work has the designer’s sensibility coupled with references to mid-century poster art and children’s books. It is no wonder her influences include artists Will Barnet, Edward McKnight Kauffer and Charley Harper. Her color palette is influenced by photographers Richard Rutledge and John Rawlings and her sense of style through her love of architecture, fashion design and photography.

While pursuing graphic design assignments she worked on her master’s degree in illustration and encouraged by her husband, she moved towards full-time illustration. In addition to her work she is currently a professor of illustration and art at Oviedo University. Working in one of two studios—one for digital illustrations, the other for personal projects—she works on commissioned assignments from all over the world. Recent assignments include work with The Washington Post, Ebony, The Boston Globe and The New York Observer.

Most recently she was named best new talent at the Association of Illustrators World Illustration Awards. Her work has also received recognition from American Illustration, Communication Arts, 3x3 International Awards Show and the Society of Illustrators.

Verónica will be judging our professional show.

www.veronicagrech.com

The 3x3 International Illustration Awards Show is open to all illustrators in all countries. There is a separate jury for each of our three shows: Professional, Student and Picture Book. For full details download our Call for Entries pdf, to enter go to our homepage.

Deadline: March 25, 2016

Meet Our Judges: Kiko Farkas, Art Director

Welcome to the thirteenth annual 3x3 International Illustration Awards, over the next several weeks we will be introducing you to our international jury of art directors, designers, publishers and illustrators.

Kiko Farkas is a Brazilian architect, graphic designer and illustrator whose oeuvre includes cultural posters, book covers, children's books, identity, signage and annual reports. Kiko works with four assistants in his Máguina Estúdio in Sao Paulo where he has lived and worked his whole life.

Kiko is the grandson of Desidério Farkas, the founder of Fotoptica and son of Thomas Farkas, a respected photographer of Hungarian descent like László Moholy-Nagy, to whom he refers so often in his photographs. His home was filled with prints by Vasarely and originals by Edward Weston, a dark room and an extensive library of art and design books, advertising annuals as well as a record collection that included American jazz and popular Brazilian music. Music means a great deal to Kiko, he even played acoustic guitar in a band in college.

There were no graphic design courses at the Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FAU) at the University of Sao Paulo, everyone studied architecture. But from the looks of it it was much more like the Bauhaus with typographic studios, photography labs, wood and metal engraving workshops with a mix of visual programming, landscape and product design, and photography courses. Halfway through his education at FAU Kiko moved to New York to attend the Art Student’s League enrolling with an instructor who had studied under Georg Grosz. He says the first cartoon strip that inspired him was Hergé’s Adventures of Tintin and the first designer was Milton Glaser. Other influences were Saul Steinberg and later the Polish poster designers Roman Cieslewicz and Henryk Tomaszewski along with Paul Rand, A.M. Cassandre and Shigeo Fukuda. You can see these influences in his work.

“It’s one thing for a designer to be able to design a terrific poster, or maybe even two or three. If they are reproduced enough in biennials and annuals and all the other international competitions, the posters will, through repetition become iconic. I can think of many designers who have accomplished this, myself included. However, it’s quite something else for an individual designer to be able to assemble a massive body of posters, and only posters, all of equal quality, in one book.” So says Paula Scher.

His interest in art started early attending a museum’s art program at age six and later helping his father with a documentary movie when he was sixteen. The artistic ambience in the family home helped nourish he and his brothers, the brothers are both professional photographers and Kiko has the distinction of being the first Brazilian graphic designer to have a monograph along with many industry accolades. As Kiko says, “I believe strongly that personal work—aproach, way of thinking—is the best way to create a good relationship with clients and the the market.”

Kiko is one of our judges for the professional show.

www.kikofarkas.com.br

What will Kiko be looking for?

“I will be looking for an illustration that has personality and can comment/find hidden meanings in the subject.”

The 3x3 International Illustration Awards Show is open to all illustrators in all countries. There is a separate jury for each of our three shows: Professional, Student and Picture Book. For full details download our Call for Entries pdf, to enter go to our homepage.

Deadline: March 25, 2016

Meet Our Judges: Ben Newman, Illustrator

Welcome to the thirteenth annual 3x3 International Illustration Awards, over the next several weeks we will be introducing you to our international jury of art directors, designers, publishers and illustrators.

Ben is a well established illustrator, known for his playful characters and use of bold shapes, bright colors and playful characters which has been described as ‘Bauhaus fuzzy felt.’ But life wasn't always so easy.
He studied illustration at University of the West of England in Bristol and was pretty slow out of the gate when university finished. Instead of heading straight into the market once he graduated he was still trying to figure things out and spent a long time painting and finding his voice.

Over the first couple of years he completed a few editorial pieces for the now defunct music magazine, Plan B, but mainly took part in exhibitions and concentrated on personal work. After returning from a three-month trip in Asia he realized he wanted to be an illustrator, bought his first computer and taught himself to integrate his hand drawn work into Photoshop, joined MySpace and started producing posters for gigs and the rest grew from that.

Personal projects are important to Ben. “I need the personal projects. They keep me going. They are rewarding in a way that commercial work isn’t. I don’t like sitting around doing nothing so I just make sure I keep a rhythm and routine so that personal projects just slip in naturally to my everyday.”

Ben has produced work for a large range of clients, including the Tate Modern, New York Times, BBC Radio 4, Google and Volkswagon. His practice extends outside of commercial work into worldwide exhibitions, paintings and three-dimensional collaborations. Nowadays, he spends the majority of his time collaborating on the Professor Astro Cat children’s book series with his longtime friend and scientist, Dr. Dominic Walliman, which are published by Flying Eye Books. Concurrent to working as a freelance illustrator, Newman lectures on illustration at various universities and conferences in the UK and Europe. He occasionally works as an art director for Nobrow and Flying Eye Books.

A recent film takes us inside his studio revealing how he approaches both his commercial and personal projects.

Ben will be judging our 3x3 Picture Book Show.

www.bennewman.co.uk

The 3x3 International Illustration Awards Show is open to all illustrators in all countries. There is a separate jury for each of our three shows: Professional, Student and Picture Book. For full details download our Call for Entries pdf, to enter go to our homepage.

Deadline: March 25, 2016

Meet Our Judges: Paul Buckley, Executive Creative Director, Penguin

Welcome to the thirteenth annual 3x3 International Illustration Awards, over the next several weeks we will be introducing you to our international jury of art directors, designers, publishers and illustrators.

Paul Buckley is a veteran art director of one of the largest book publishers in the world, Penguin Group. Paul and his group oversee the covers and jackets for 18 imprints which translates into the packaging of well over 1,000 titles and authors a year.

Paul got into design thanks to his father Gerald Buckley, who was an advertising agency art director in Philadelphia. An art director who drove a two-seater Austin Healey, even though he had five kids. Paul’s dad was a painter, illustrator, teacher, cartoonist—drawing cartoons for The Stars and Stripes—and designer. While other kids were getting children’s books, Paul was getting illustration annuals. The house was surrounded by his father’s art and filled with sounds of his mother’s piano and guitar playing. Is it any wonder that Paul and his brother, Jerry, as well as his wife Ingsu Liu, are all book cover designers.

In his high school senior year he was convinced he wanted to be either an illustrator or herpetologist. He opted for illustration and received a scholarship to the School of Visual Arts in New York. He supported himself through college working in design firms and at the same time pursuing freelance illustration assignments. By the time he graduated he had five years on-the-job experience at design studios and was getting his illustrations published in magazines like Newsweek and Penthouse. After graduation, Paul took a three-month road trip ending back in New York and needing a job. A former employer recommended him for a job at NAL/Plume/Dutton, a publishing firm that was looking for a junior designer; two years later the company merged with Penguin where Paul has been ever since.

Under the title of Vice President, Executive Creative Director he oversees covers and jackets for eighteen diverse publishing imprints within Penguin Books. In the beginning he tried illustrating every book he was working on but soon realized, “I enjoyed design more and it gave me greater flexibility to constantly reinvent myself.”

Paul has received numerous awards and recognition for his book cover designs and was named one of the first ADC Young Guns by the Art Directors Club of New York along with Stefan Sagmeister, James Victore, Emily Oberman, John Gall and others.

Paul will be judging our Picture Book Show.

What will Paul be looking for?

“What I’ll be looking for: In a word, distinction—executed beautifully.”

The 3x3 International Illustration Awards Show is open to all illustrators in all countries. There is a separate jury for each of our three shows: Professional, Student and Picture Book. For full details download our Call for Entries pdf, to enter go to our homepage.

Deadline: March 25, 2016

Meet Our Judges: Aya Kakeda, Illustrator

Welcome to the thirteenth annual 3x3 International Illustration Awards, over the next several weeks we will be introducing you to our international jury of art directors, designers, publishers and illustrators.

Aya Kakeda is an artist, illustrator and sculptor working in multi-media whether it’s brush pen, gouache, silkscreen, embroidery or clay. Aya was born and raised in Tokyo and divides her time between her Brooklyn studios—an illustration studio with five studiomates, a home studio where she does her personal work, and a ceramic studio—and Tokyo. She earned a BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design and an MFA in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts, and is currently teaching at Fashion Institute of Technology in their MFA illustration program. She also performs workshops and lectures at universities and museums.

Her illustration often depicts her imaginary ToTai Island and the creatures that live there. She has been awarded medals for her work from the Society of Illustrators, Society of Illustrators Los Angeles and from 3x3 Magazine. Her clients include Disney*Hyperion Books, Kid Robot, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Nike, Delta, Runners World, Nickelodeon, Noggin TV, PlanSponsor Magazine, Men's Journal, Roger la Borde, Macy’s, HongKong Mega Mall and Time Out Magazine.

In addition to her commercial illustration work, Aya exhibits her work at galleries nationally and internationally as a fine artist. As a performance artist she appears as part of the Moustache Sisters, having performed at the Brooklyn Museum, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The High Museum in Atlanta and a display installation at Macy’s, New York.

www.ayakakeda.com

The 3x3 International Illustration Awards Show is open to all illustrators in all countries. There is a separate jury for each of our three shows: Professional, Student and Picture Book. For full details download our Call for Entries pdf, to enter go to our homepage.

Deadline: March 25, 2016

Meet Our Judges: Catherine Gilmore-Barnes,AD, New York Times

Welcome to the thirteenth annual 3x3 International Illustration Awards, over the next several weeks we will be introducing you to our international jury of art directors, designers, publishers and illustrators.

We’d like to introduce Catherine Gilmore-Barnes who will be judging our international student show. Catherine began her career at New York’s School of Visual Arts where she was awarded the prestigious Bea Feitler Scholarship. Catherine has designed and art directed at a number of publications including The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone and Spy Magazine.

Currently at The New York Times she art directs the Science feature section in addition to a variety of special projects in print and online. Her work has been recognized and awarded by numerous organizations and publications including American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA), Society of Publications Designers, Society of Newspaper Designers, Type Director’s Club and Art Director’s Club. Her graphics are fundamentally focused on strong typographic solutions and an overriding sense of classic design.

What will Catherine be looking for?

“In judging illustration I look for originality, skill and creative problem solving. But my favorite illustrations are often the ones to which I connect on an emotional level.”

The 3x3 International Illustration Awards Show is open to all illustrators in all countries. There is a separate jury for each of our three shows: Professional, Student and Picture Book. For full details download our Call for Entries pdf, to enter go to our homepage.

Deadline: March 25, 2016

Meet Our Judges: Jing Wei, Illustrator

Welcome to the thirteenth annual 3x3 International Illustration Awards, over the next several weeks we will be introducing you to our international jury of art directors, designers, publishers and illustrators.

Jing Wei is a Chinese-born, California-raised person who makes illustrations for a living. She was born in Shenyang, China, and moved to California with her family when she was seven. She’s still very much influenced by Chinese cinema—Wong Kar-Wai, Edward Yang and enjoys the printmaking process as it forces her to make decisions and edit her work.

Jing received her BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her first big break came a week before graduation when her first piece got published: a cover for Plansponsor magazine, art directed by SooJin Buzelli. Moving to New York in the summer of 2008, she taught Mandarin to babies part-time which she says gave her a great way to exercise a different part of her brain and to loosen up.

Some of her recent clients include Adobe, Bloomberg, The New Yorker, NPR, Herman Miller, Target and The Wythe Hotel. Print Magazine named her on of their 2012 New Visual Artists.

Jing is currently based in Brooklyn, and works out of a sunny studio in the Pencil Factory building. She is also the brand illustrator for Etsy and a visiting professor at Pratt Institute.

Jing will be judging our professional categories.

www.jingweistudio.com

The 3x3 International Illustration Awards Show is open to all illustrators in all countries. There is a separate jury for each of our three shows: Professional, Student and Picture Book. For full details download our Call for Entries pdf, to enter go to our homepage.

Deadline: March 25, 2016

Meet Our Judges: Grace Lee, AD, Priest+Grace

Welcome to the thirteenth annual 3x3 International Illustration Awards, over the next several weeks we will be introducing you to our international jury of art directors, designers, publishers and illustrators.

First up, Grace Lee the co-founder of Priest+Grace, a design company in New York. Along with partner Robert Priest, the group’s clients have included O, The Oprah Magazine, Newsweek, Adobe, WebMD, Reuters, Bloomberg Markets and Peter G. Peterson Foundation. They were the former creative directors and founding partners of Howler for which they concepted and designed all the visual elements of the brand, including the logo, magazine, website and the well-received business cards (red and yellow caution cards). Robert and Grace have also launched a publication about soccer called Eight by Eight (8by8mag.com) that’s pushing the limits of what a magazine could be.

Grace has received awards for design from the Society of Publication Designers, American Illustration, Print Magazine and American Society of Magazine Editors. Grace served as a judge for the SPD, ASME, American Illustration, Society of Illustration and CRMA.

Grace will be judging our professional categories.

www.priestandgrace.com

What will Grace be looking for?

“I’ll be looking for an emotional connection with the illustration in addition to the ‘How did they do that?’ quality.”

The 3x3 International Illustration Awards Show is open to all illustrators in all countries. There is a separate jury for each of our three shows: Professional, Student and Picture Book. For full details download our Call for Entries pdf, to enter go to our homepage.

Deadline: March 25, 2016