Wowwee! ICON 6 was a blast. ICON (the Illustration Conference) is held every two years or so, this time in Pasadena. It was joyous, energetic mix of inspiration and education. I met lots of nice folks and am inspired to push my illustration self harder. The emcees, the amazing Brian Rea and Paul Rogers were charming, so relaxed and funny. See their ICON translator above. Yes, there were references to the horrific economy and the world going to hell, but a positive thread held everything together. All in all, the tone was hopeful for the future of illustration and for illustrators to thrive in a world with new possibilities.
See some of the illustration superstars pictured (with red eyes) on the perky Fernanda Cohen’s Drawger blog post. Including the mysterious Jason Holley who created hilarious videos that were shown between sections of the program. Hopefully they'll be posted somewhere soon —they are surely to be YouTube blockbusters (amongst illustrators, A.D.s and designers anyway). I'm so glad I went and am very thankful to all the volunteers and staff that produced the conference. It was a jolt of positive energy for many isolated illustrators, or should I say designer/illustrators and illustrator/educators and students. (Maybe 2% were solely illustrators.)
For myself, highlights were talks by fashion “lifestyle” illustrators Bil Donovan and John Jay Cabuay. It was a treat to hear the amazing, illustrator and NY Times blogger Christoph Niemann share his inspirations (including maps) and his design driven process. Almost every attendee I spoke to said Wayne White’s talk was their favorite (or their new imaginary boyfriend @designjunket). I can’t describe it only to say this man is a genius. Authentic, charming and well, you just had to be there (sorry). Or, buy the book, Maybe Now I'll Get the Respect I So Richly Deserve a monograph of his 30-year career, edited by multi-talented Todd Oldham (also a fascinating ICON presenter). Yes, I think Mr. White deserves lots of respect (and many laughs too). See UK illustrator and ICON presenter Rod Hunt’s photos of ICON 6, including Wayne White shown with some of his word paintings.
Ahh, there was so much more to ICON 6, but I'll never eat dinner if I keep going on and on. Hmmm, I wonder where ICON 7 will be.
(Addendum: First of Jason Holley’s ICON funny (yet a bit sad) videos posted on vimeo. The voices and timing are “fabulous”. Also, for more ICON 6 links and conversation ICON info search Twitter for #ICON6)
