Meet Our 3x3 Student Show Judges

Our 3x3 International Student Show is a bit different, we ask a leading art director to join our jury. Joining Johan Holm, founder and art director of Me and My Magazines, are illustrators André da Loba, Gina Triplett, Michael Byers and Genevieve Gauckler.

André prefers to be known not as an illustrator but rather as an inventor. His studio is much more like a laboratory. Cardboard, wood, paints, found objects are all waiting to be explored and united in arresting ways. Whether for an animation, children’s book or editorial. Asked about his process, “The personal and professional get mixed up. Not a good thing … but there are so many things I want to try that stopping is not an option.”www.andredaloba.com

Gina always knew she wanted to illustrate. Her early experiences in a high school for the arts exposed to options and influences that created the path. Children’s books also became an obsession at an early age. That, and her dad was a painter, “My mom likes to tell the story of my makeshift diaper changing table that she had made out of one of my father’s paintings that she didn't particularly like. It contained the color of yellow ochre that she hated with a passion. Strangely, yellow ochre turns up in almost all of my artwork. Go figure.” Gina divides her time between commissions and gallery work where she collaborates with her husband Matt Curtius. www.ginaandmatt.com

Michael is a witty guy who believes that life doesn’t have to be so complicated and taken so seriously. He says, “I try to find the humorous side of the piece. I realize that I’ve done a few pieces that are a little more serious but I try to make even heavy topics a little lighter. There’s enough negativity in the world these days.” And he’s always been a drawer, “I remember drawing a lot when I was a kid. The first type of project I can ever remember making was little catalogs of WWF wrestlers that I really liked. I was very much into wrestling at the time.” Today he makes a drawing a day whether its for an assignment or just for fun, “I draw one thing everyday. That is to say that I make sure I am drawing something whether it’s a piece i’ll take to final or just a little doodle on a scrap piece of paper.” www.michaelbyers.com

Genevieve is a French artist, illustrator and art director who is best known for her ever-evolving procession of lovable characters and technicolor digital mashes. When asked about her formative influences, she sites an early childhood fascination with the colorful packaging of her favorite breakfast cereals and the title sequence of her favorite TV series, Flipper. She spends as much time as available traveling around the world, giving lectures, exhibiting work and obsessively taking photos for her ever expanding collages. “My favorite places are Japan and India but I also love spending time in the French countryside with my dog, Kawa, and of course my laptop.” www.genevievegauckler.com

Clockwise from top left, André da Loba, Gina Triplett, Michael Byers, Genevieve Gauckler

3x3 International Illustration Awards No.14 open for entries
Three shows: Professional, Picture Book and Student, open to all illustrators in all countries
Call for Entries poster

Deadline: Midnight, Friday, March 24

Sign-up to receive our Call for Entries and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter