1. ICON gathers prominent illustrators and creatives from illustration-related fields to conduct presentations, sessions, and workshops where they share their experiences and insights. Our speakers are carefully selected for their unique contribution to the industry and their ability to convey content relevant to the varied constituencies attending the conference.

    ICON5 speakers are: Marshall Arisman, Steven Bliss, Enrico Casarosa, Allan Comport, Andrew Coningsby,
    Tad Crawford, Ronnie del Carmen, Tristan Eaton, Chrystal Falcioni, Mark Gallagher, Von Glitschka, Rudy Gutierrez, Steven Heller, Jordin Isip,Barry Jackson, James Jean, Jerelle Kraus, David Lanham, Jonathan LeVine, Luba Lukova, Ross MacDonald, Gedeon Maheux, Leonard S. Marcus, Tara McPherson, Stephan Martiniere, Tim Mendola, Mitch Nash, Gary Panter, Daniel Pelavin, Louisa Saint Pierre, Ina Saltz, Keri Smith, Mark T. Smith, Greg Spalenka, James Sturm,
    and Robert Zimmerman.

  2. Marshall Arisman

    Making Fire: Inspirational Teaching
    Illustrator, Painter, Educator
    www.marshallarisman.com
    Marshall Arisman’s paintings and drawings have been widely exhibited both internationally and nationally, and his work may be seen in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, and the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution, as well as in many private and corporate collections. Chairman of the M.F.A. degree program at the School of Visual Arts in New York, Arisman was the first American invited to exhibit in mainland China, and he is the subject of Tony Silver’s full-length documentary Facing the Audience, The Arts of Marshall Arisman.
                 Arisman has written and illustrated a new children’s book The Cat Who Invented Bebop (Publishing date Spring 2008). His previous children’s book The Wolf Who Loved Music was published in 2004. He is the co-author of three books with Steven Heller including The Education of An Illustrator, Inside the Business of Illustration, and Teaching Illustration (Allworth Press). They are currently working on a fourth book entitled "The Future of Illustration".

    Stephen Bliss

    Across the Pond : The British Perspective
    Illustrator, Senior Artist
    www.stephenbliss.com
    Stephen Bliss is currently the Senior Artist at Rockstar Games, New York, responsible for designing and illustrating front of box covers, magazine covers, poster/billboard artwork, etc. for Grand Theft Auto 3; Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, San Andreas, Vice City Stories; The Warriors; and Grand Theft Auto 4.
                 In 1986, he started work as an in-house designer for fashion pioneer Hysteric Glamour, Tokyo, and in 1998 set up the t-shirt label Steroid with his brother Robert Bliss. Three years later he returned to London to work as a freelance illustrator, establishing a studio just off the Kings Road, previously the home of the punk rock scene.
                 Massive Attack commissioned him to create the iconic No Protection album cover, and his many clients include GQ, Arena, Time, ID, Sunday Times, Time Out, The Face, Vogue, and Creative Review, Burton Snowboards, Aardman Animation, Jim Henson's Creature Shop, BMG Records, Nintendo, Pepsi and Sony.

    Enrico Casarosa

    Tall Tales & Simple Stories : Great Storytelling
    Illustrator, Animator
    www.enricocasarosa.com, www.sketchcrawl.com
    Enrico Casarosa was born and raised in Genoa, Italy in the early 70s. After a couple of years at the University of Engineering, where he spent most of his time doodling during classes, Enrico finally found his calling and moved to Milan to attend illustration courses at the European Institute of Design. In 1994, after one year of studies and one lost year in the then mandatory Italian army, he moved to the US to pursue studies in animation and illustration. He studied in New York City at SVA and at the Fashion Institute of Technology. He, somewhat proudly, never finished a degree at any of the colleges he attended.
                 Casarosa started his career in animation in New York working for several TV Animation studios and projects in different capacities ranging from background design to storyboarding. He landed a position at Blue Sky Studios in 1999, storyboarding for their computer animated features, one of them being Ice Age. Enrico moved to San Francisco in 2001 and has been working at Pixar Animation Studios. In his free time he has drawn comics, made art books and started an international drawing Marathon event: SketchCrawl.

    Allan Comport

    The View from Here : The Industry from a Rep´s Viewpoint
    Educator, Illustrator's Consultant
    www.allancomport.typepad.com
    Allan Comport has been working as an artist's representative and educator for the past 25 years. In that period he has worked with many notable illustrators and photographers to a wide variety of ad agencies, design firms, magazines, newspapers, publishers and corporations internationally. He has served on the faculty of the Ringling School of Art and Design and is currently serving on the Illustration faculty of the Maryland Institute College of Art. He has been a frequent speaker on the business of illustration and marketing of artists. Allan works with Shannon Associates, one of the country's premiere artists agencies with offices throughout the US and the world. He has been a member of the Illustrators Club of Washington, Maryland and Virginia; SPAR, and the Graphic Artists Guild. He has been a past president of the Tampa Bay Creative Club, and member of the Tampa Bay Advertising Federation. He holds a B.A. in education and an M.A. in counseling. He lives in Annapolis, Maryland with his illustrator/wife Sally Wern Comport and their two children.

    Andrew Coningsby

    Across the Pond : The British Perspective
    Agency Director, Gallery Owner
    www.debutart.com, www.coningsbygallery.com
    Andrew Coningsby founded the illustration agency Début Art in 1985 and in 1994 established the contemporary illustration specialist gallery The Coningsby Gallery in London. Both concerns continue to develop apace. In 2006 Andrew was delighted to accept an invitation to join the Association of Illustrators Council and the Pro-Action: Illustration Campaign and Liaison Group. He is also a board member of the Association of Illustrators in the UK. Andrew is a passionate and well informed advocate of illustrators’ commercial and artistic interests.

    Tad Crawford

    Ask the Lawyer  ||  Industry Update: Rights and Copyrights
    Author, Publisher, Lawyer
    www.allworth.com
    Tad Crawford, president and publisher of Allworth Press in New York City, graduated from Columbia Law School, clerked on New York State’s highest court, and served as General Counsel for the Graphic Artists Guild when he actively practiced as an attorney. He has authored or edited more than a dozen books on business and legal issues for creative professionals, including Business and Legal Forms for Illustrators, Legal Guide for the Visual Artist, and The Graphic Design Business Book. His articles on diverse topics have appeared in numerous magazines, including Art in America, Glamour, Harper's Bazaar, The Nation, and Self. In addition he has appeared on television programs such as Fox on Money; The O’Reilly Report; Good Day, Wake Up; and It’s Only Money. He served as chairman of the board for the Foundation for the Community of Artists, legislative counsel for the Copyright Justice Coalition - which had many arts groups as members, and currently is the Contributing Editor for Legal Affairs for Communication Arts magazine.

    Ronnie del Carmen

    Tall Tales & Simple Stories : Great Storytelling
    Story Artist Supervisor
    www.ronniedelcarmen.com
    Ronnie del Carmen is currently working for Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, California. Prior to that he's worked at Dreamworks and Warner Bros. in the capacity of story artist, story supervisor, character designer, illustrator, and all around pest. There's documentation that shows he's been dabbling in comics over the years for DC and Dark Horse among others. He self-publishes his own comic book, Paper Biscuit, and is maintained by his wife and kids and is not allowed too much peanut butter.

    Tristan Eaton

    Endless Possibilities
    Illustrator, Designer of Toys, Motion, & Graphics
    www.thunderdogstudios.com
    Born in Los Angeles and now based in New York, Tristan Eaton combines urban decay with metropolitan glamour, and has parlayed his diverse experiences into an internationally recognized worldview. Eaton hand-picked elements from graffiti, skateboarding, comic books, and hip-hop as the building blocks for his illustration career. Hired in 2001 by Kidrobot to help steer their image, Eaton designed the Kidrobot logo, character, and signature Dunny & Munny toys. Under his influence, Kidrobot was transformed into the cultural barometer of the movement. In 2004, Eaton now runs his own company named Thunderdog Studios, a multimedia enterprise that encompasses toys, design, and consulting.

    Chrystal Falcioni

    The View from Here : The Industry from a Rep´s Viewpoint
    Artist's Representative
    www.magnetreps.com
    Chrystal Falcioni established Magnet Reps in 1999 as an illustration agency representing and managing a diverse international group of stylistically unique illustrators. Prior to launching the agency, Falcioni worked as an award-winning art director in magazine publishing, in-house corporate art departments and the fashion industry. While judging the American Illustration 18 competition, she was inspired by the brilliance and innovation she saw in the entries. She made a life-changing career move soon after, starting the agency and leaving art direction behind. While it goes without saying that Magnet Reps illustrators are talented, Chrystal also describes them as passionate, dedicated and inspired professionals who work hard for their success and deserve their accomplishments. The illustrators on her roster inspire her, each other, their clients and many others with their vision and artistry. Look out for Red Nose Studio’s Epson ads; Stephan Britt’s ad campaign for Bounce, which includes print, web and TV; Bella Pilar’s work with Bloomingdale’s and Tiffany & Co.; Catalina Estrada’s engraved Zune and other work for Microsoft; and Graham Roumieu’s newest book Bigfoot - I Not Dead (Plume).

    Mark Gallagher

    Revisioning/Rebranding Illustrators
    Brand Expressionist™
    www.blackcoffee.com
    Mark Gallagher is a co-founder of the Boston based brand expression consultancy, Blackcoffee®. Since 1994, his agency has helped companies manage consumer expectations by expressing the simplexity of their brands’ unique focus and relevance. From Acura to Zildjian, Gallagher has worked with world class brands - developing award winning brand expression systems that allow his clients to consistently balance their short-term need for sales growth, with their long-term objective of building and maintaining a strong brand.
                 Gallagher’s ability to draw connections where none appear to exist has made him a thought leader and frequent lecturer at companies, universities, and industry organizations. He has co-authored two books and judged numerous design competitions. When he’s not obsessing over brands, Mark Gallagher instructs high performance driving and competes in BMW Club Racing.

    Von Glitschka

    The Art and Science of Icon Illustration  |  Texture Exploring Workshop
    Illustrative Designer, Educator
    www.glitschka.com
    Von has worked in the communication arts industry for 20 years. He now refers to himself as an “Illustrative Designer.” In 2002, he started Glitschka Studios, a multi-disciplinary creative firm. His work reflects the symbiotic relationship between design and illustration, thus his modus operandi is that of a hired gun for both in-house art departments and medium to large creative agencies working on projects for such clients as Microsoft, Adobe, Pepsi, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Major League Baseball, Hasbro, Bandai Toys, Merck, Allstate Insurance, Disney, Lifetime Television and HGTV.
                 His exuberant graphics have garnered numerous design and illustration awards and have appeared in such publications as Communication Arts, Society of Illustrators, Graphis, American Illustration, and Logo Lounge. He has authored a book on textures called Crumble.Crackle.Burn and is currently working on his second design book. Glitschka also teaches advanced digital illustration at Chemeketa College and operates the website IllustrationClass.com where visitors can download free tutorials documenting his illustrative design creative process on a variety of diverse project types. Glitschka is often asked to speak and judge at design events nationwide but can usually be found doodling from his home studio in Salem, Oregon.

    Rudy Gutierrez

    Making Fire : Inspirational Teaching
    Illustrator, Educator
    www.rudygutierrez.net
    Rudy Gutierrez was born in the Bronx, New York and grew up in Teaneck, NJ. He began his career while still a student at Pratt Institute. His work for various publications have appeared nationally and abroad and clients have included Sony, Harper Collins, Rolling Stone, Verve Records, Arista Records, Ms. Magazine, The New York Times, Scholastic, Viking/Penguin, Playboy, People Magazine and the Dallas Morning News. Amongst his honors, are the Dean Cornwell Hall of Fame Recognition Award, Distinguished Educator in the Arts Award, and a Gold Medal from the NY Society of Illustrators. His work has been featured by Communication Arts, Step by Step, Society of Illustrators, Society of Publication Designers, and Art Direction. Rudy's art was commissioned for the much-anticipated Santana Shaman CD cover which was seen worldwide. He presently teaches at Pratt Institute where he is the Illustration Coordinator and has lectured at various institutions including workshops on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.

    Steven Heller

    A Few Words from Steven Heller
    Author, Educator, Podcaster
    www.hellerbooks.com
    Steven Heller, former art director of the New York Times Book Review, is the co-chair of the MFA Designer as Author and co-founder of MFA in Design Criticism programs at the School of Visual Arts. He is the editor of AIGA Voice (online journal of design) and contributing editor to Print, EYE, and Baseline. The author of over 100 books, his most recent are New Vintage Type with Gail Anderson and Becoming a Digital Designer with David Womack.

    Jordin Isip

    Gallery 101
    Illustrator, Educator
    www.jordinisip.com
    Jordin Isip was born and raised in Queens, NY. Since receiving his BFA from Rhode Island School of Design he has lived and worked in Brooklyn, NY. His mixed-media images have appeared in numerous publications including Adbusters, The Atlantic Monthly, Juxtapoz, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Time as well as on book covers, posters, t-shirts, records and cds. Jordin has exhibited in galleries throughout the United States. Internationally his work has shown at the Galleria Comunale D’Arte Moderna E Contemporanea (Rome) and the Musee d’Histoire Contemporaine (Paris).
                 Jordin's work has received awards from, and publication in, annuals including American Illustration, The Art Directors Club, Communication Arts, Print, The Society of Illustrators, and The Society of Publication Designers. He has taught at Tyler School of Art, School of Visual Arts, and Rhode Island School of Design. Jordin is currently teaching at Parsons School of Design and Pratt Institute.

    Barry Jackson

    Moving Imagination: Concept Design in the Film and Gaming Industries
    Production Designer, Illustrator
    www.barryejackson.com
    Barry Jackson is a thirty-year veteran of the entertainment industry. He has worked as a professional artist for musicians such as Neil Young, The Grateful Dead, ZZ top, and The Band. His designs and artwork have contributed to the look of over 13 feature films including Shrek, The Nightmare before Christmas, Ron Howard’s The Grinch, and the upcoming Horton Hears a Who, from Twentieth Century Fox. Currently, he is production designing an all-digital, animated, science fiction film, for the Weinstein company, titled Escape from Planet Earth, due out in late 2009.
                 He has won nine awards of excellence from CA magazine and has juried numerous illustration shows in Los Angeles. He has also been an instructor at the Art Center College of Design, Cal State Northridge, and the Otis School of Art, and a guest speaker at numerous colleges and illustrator conventions. Danny Diamondback, which he both wrote and illustrated, is his first foray into the world of children’s books.

    James Jean

    Digital Coloring Workshop
    Illustrator, Painter
    www.jamesjean.com
    James Jean is a Los Angeles-based artist and illustrator who has won many rewards for cover work he has done for DC Comics. Born in Taiwan in 1979 and raised in New Jersey, he attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City and graduated in 2001.
                 Since then he has won four consecutive Eisner Awards, 2 Harvey Awards, a gold medal from the Society of Illustrators of NY, and 2 gold medals and a silver from the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles. Besides his work in comics his other clients include Time Magazine, Rolling Stone, ESPN, Spin, Playboy, and others.

    Jerelle Kraus

    Social Response
    Art Director, Author
     
    In a record-setting thirteen years art directing New York Times Op-Ed, Jerelle Kraus fiercely defended oodles of top artist-illustrators against editors. Her fall 2008 book on Op-Ed art’s inside story includes many rejected, unpublished gems. A former art director at Time, Ramparts magazine and founding art director of City magazine, she’s won awards for her own Op-Ed drawings and has written for The New Yorker, Print, and The New York Times Magazine. She’s currently co-designing the new magazine Civilization. With an MA in art and fluency in four languages, she had a Fulbright scholarship in Munich and a DiplÙme from l’École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Her awards include medals from the Art Director’s Club, Society of Publication Designers, and World Cartoon Gallery for her six-panel, wordless cartoon.

    David Lanham

    The Art and Science of Icon Illustration
    Designer
    www.iconfactory.com, www.dlanham.com
    Born and raised while computers were still young, David Lanham has had a fascination with a mix of both traditional and digital arts since childhood. Growing up he had the luck of learning from some amazing teachers and went on to study drawing and graphic design at the University of Central Florida, graduating in 2004. Since then he's been developing his techniques for icon creation at the Iconfactory, illustrating icons for all sorts of applications. His current focus involves large scale vector based icons and seeing how far he can push them in Adobe Illustrator.

    Jonathan LeVine

    Gallery 101
    Gallery Owner
    www.jonathanlevinegallery.com
    Formerly operating as Tin Man Alley Gallery in Philadelphia and New Hope, PA, the Jonathan LeVine Gallery moved to New York in January 2005 and opened with the group exhibition, Pop Pluralism on February 5th. During its four years in Pennsylvania, Tin Man Alley was the area's epicenter for underground, outsider and cutting edge art. Proprietor and curator Jonathan LeVine now brings his formidable art background, fresh approach and discerning eye for both established and breaking artists to Chelsea.
                 Believing that underground art is a culture that defies simple characterization, LeVine exhibits a variety of celebrated, controversial, and unknown artists. Exhibitions rotate approximately every six weeks. An inventory of gallery favorites is on hand at all times, and limited edition prints, published by LeVine's Tin Man Alley Press, can be purchased in person and online.

    Luba Lukova

    Social Response
    Illustrator, Designer
    www.lukova.net
    Luba Lukova is a renowned artist and designer working in New York. Her distinctive art utilizes metaphors, juxtaposition of symbols and economy of line and text to succinctly capture humanity's elemental themes. Visually engaging and powerful, Lukova’s work is exhibited around the world. Her solo exhibitions have been held at UNESCO, Paris, France; DDD Gallery, Osaka, Japan; and La MaMa, New York. She is the recipient of the World’s Most Memorable Poster award at the International Poster Salon in Paris; Golden Pencil at the One Club, New York; Best of Show award at HOW magazine’s international design competition. Lukova’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Library of Congress; and Bibliothèque nationale de France. Upcoming publications of her work include: a poster portfolio called Social Justice 2008 and Speaking with Images, a book about her art.

    Ross MacDonald

    White Belt Contract Self-Defense
    Illustrator, Designer, Prop Maker
    www.ross-macdonald.com
    Ross MacDonald is a contributing editor of the Virginia Quarterly Review, and is on the masthead of Vanity Fair magazine as a contributing artist. His illustrations have also appeared in many magazines and newspapers including The New Yorker, Newsweek, Time, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, The London Sunday Telegraph, Atlantic Monthly and Harpers, and he has written and illustrated humor pieces for many of the same publications, as well as several children’s books.
                 As prop maker and consultant on historical design, paper, printing and writing instruments, he worked on the movies Seabiscuit, Van Helsing, Duplex, The Legend of Zorro, The Alamo, Infamous, Mr. Brooks, King of California, National Treasure Book of Secrets and others, providing many of the documents, maps, books and letters. He Lives in Connecticut with his wife, 2 kids, 2 dogs, 3 cats and a large collection of 19th century type and printing equipment.

    Gedeon Maheux

    The Art and Science of Icon Illustration
    Designer
    www.iconfactory.com, gedblog.com
    A child of the 80's, die-hard geek and one of the five principal founders of the Iconfactory, Gedeon Maheux has worked in illustration and icon design for over a decade. He graduated with a BA in Graphic Design in 1994 and an MFA in Electronic Media Design in 1996 from the Rochester Institute of Technology, in Rochester NY. Maheux has worked in the design industry creating everything from educational CD-ROMs for children and user interface design, to developing some of the most widely recognized icon systems in the world. His work is seen daily by millions of people using Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, AOL and others.

    Leonard S. Marcus

    What do Children´s Book Editors Want?
    Writer, Historian, Critic
    www.leonardmarcus.com
    Leonard S. Marcus is one of the world’s leading authorities on children’s books and children’s publishing. His highly acclaimed books include Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened by the Moon; Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom; The Wand in the Word: Conversations with Writers of Fantasy; Pass It Down: Five Picture-Book Families Make Their Mark; and, for young children, Oscar: The Big Adventure of a Little Sock Monkey, co-authored and illustrated by his wife, Amy Schwartz. His most recent book is Golden Legacy: How Golden Books Won Children’s Hearts, Changed Publishing Forever, and Became an American Icon Along the Way. Leonard has been Parenting magazine’s book critic since the monthly’s founding in 1987, and is a frequent contributor to the New York Times Book Review and other publications. In 2007, the Bank Street College of Education awarded him an honorary doctorate of humane letters.
                 His upcoming book Minders of Make-Believe: Idealists, Entrepreneurs, and the Shaping of American Children’s Literature (Houghton Mifflin), which is the first comprehensive history of American children’s book publishing from colonial times to the present, will be published in the Spring of 2008.

    Stephan Martiniere

    Moving Imagination: Concept Design in the Film and Gaming Industries
    Creative Director, Concept Designer, Illustrator
    www.martiniere.com
    Stephan Martiniere is an internationally renowned science fiction and fantasy artist. He is the recipient of numerous artistic awards including the silver and gold Spectrum Award, three Master and eight Excellence Expose Awards, the Thea award, the BSFA Award and the Seattle Show Award and two Chesley Awards. In 2006 Stephan received the Grand Master Expose Award for artistic achievement. Stephan has worked in animation, video games, theme parks and book covers. He is also an accomplished concept artist who has worked on movies such as I Robot, Star Wars episodes 2 & 3, Virus, Red Planet, Sphere, and The Time Machine. As a visual design director for Cyan, Stephan was also responsible for creating and overseeing the look of the game URU, Ages Beyond Myst and Myst 5. Stephan Martiniere is currently the creative visual director for Midway Games in Chicago and is an advisory board member of the CG society.

    Tara McPherson

    Gallery 101
    Illustrator, Educator
    www.taramcpherson.com
    Tara McPherson is a painter, poster artist and freelance illustrator based in NYC. She received a BFA w/honors in Illustration and a minor in Fine Art from Art Center College of Design. Tara's array of art includes painted comics and covers for DC Vertigo, advertising and editorial illustrations for companies such as Pepsi and Spin Magazine, and numerous gig posters for rock bands such as Beck, Modest Mouse, Mastodon, and Death Cab For Cutie. She exhibits her paintings and prints in fine art galleries all over the world.
                 Currently, she is painting for a gallery exhibition at Jonathan LeVine Gallery, working on a graphic novel for DC Vertigo Comics, designing toys for Kidrobot, and teaching a Concept Illustration class at Parsons.
                 Some of her clients include DC Comics, Warner Brothers, Dark Horse Comics, Kidrobot, Strangeco, Spin, Pepsi, Fanta, Goldenvoice, Harper Collins, Bloomsbury, Revolver, Knitting Factory, Playstation 2, House of Blues, Punk Planet, Dogfish Head Brewery, Nike and Wieden+Kennedy among others.

    Tim Mendola

    The View from Here : The Industry from a Rep´s Viewpoint
    Artist's Representative
    www.mendolaart.com
    President of Mendola Artists and Gerald & Cullen Rapp, Tim Mendola grew up in "the business". His father, Joseph Mendola, founded Mendola Artists in 1960. Tim occasionally served as a child model for local illustrators - when his better-looking siblings were not available. Early in elementary school, it became apparent that Tim did not have a future as an artist, so he entered the business world. His first job was scouring the ponds and woods of the local golf course and reselling the found balls back to the members. Tim later left the northeast and went to Washington University in St. Louis, where he was a history major.
                 After graduation, Tim met his wife Kristin, who together with their 3 daughters, continue to tolerate his sophomoric sensibilities. His first real job was working for Procter and Gamble selling Crest toothpaste and Pampers. He then went to Chicago, where he got an MBA at Northwestern. He next worked as a marketing manager at the Sara Lee Bakery. Finally in 1989, the prodigal son returned home to join the family business. In 2004, Mendola and Rapp merged and he now oversees both groups of illustrators.

    Mitch Nash

    Dirty Girls and Cat Butts
    Creative Director
    www.blueq.com
    Mitch Nash is the art director and co-owner of gift manufacturer Blue Q, based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Blue Q develops and oversees the manufacturing and distribution of everything it makes. Since 1988 the company has been putting a quirky conceptual spin on an everything from soap (Dirty Girl, Miso Pretty, Wash Away Your Sins) to life-changing breath sprays (Instant Irish Accent, Instantly Understand Modern Art), to all natural candies (Get Real), chewing gum, giant printed totes, politically pointed car fresheners, and recently released miniature books and tin banks, which address various types of human desire. The company has never employed a full time packaging designer, instead its strategy is to act more like a book publisher, using illustrators, writers and designers from all over the world, and feeding their ideas through the Blue Q sausage making equipment, where the distinct Blue Q story telling attitude is piled on. Nash is known for mothering every tiny element on every product, obsessing how the words and pictures combine to do their job to sell the stuff.

    Kevin O'Callaghan

    Closing Keynote
    3D Designer, Illustrator, Educator
     
    Native New Yorker, Kevin O’Callaghan - a maverick hybrid of Illustrator/Product Designer/Educator and Artist -- is involved in bringing the biggest illustrated 3D extravaganzas to life. His recent projects have included exhibits at Grand Central Station and The Whitney Museum of Art in New York City. As well, he is a regular guest on CNN, and designer of MTVs prestigious Movie Award. He is currently the Chair of the 3D design program at The School of Visual Arts in NYC. His student’s exhibit YUGO NEXT - 29 automobiles transformed into works of art - has toured around the globe and was called “one of the greatest examples of public art” by the National Endowment of The Arts. Kevin’s work has been honored many times, including the prestigious ADC Gold Cube Award. His “ART IS…Healing” poster, a tribute to the heroes of 9/11 has been included in The Library of Congress.

    Gary Panter

    Let´s Get Personal
    Painter, Cartoonist, Puppet-maker, Lightshow Artist, Musician, Educator
    www.garypanter.com
    Gary Panter earned a degree in painting from East Texas State University in 1974. His cartoon drawings, emerging out of the punk rock movement of the late seventies, were recently featured in a three-city museum show, Masters of Comic Art, honoring 15 comic artists of the 20th century. He is known for his comic character Jimbo, and also for innovative illustration work, having done album covers for Frank Zappa, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and a Time Magazine cover. In 2005 he designed a line of clothing for the Japanese company A Bathing Ape. He was head designer of Pee Wee's Playhouse, for which he won 3 Emmy Awards. In 2000, Gary was awarded a Chrysler Design Award. Since 2001 he has been collaborating with Joshua White (of the Joshua Light Show) on experimental lightshows. He is represented by Clementine Gallery in New York. A career-spanning monograph will be published in March 2008.

    Daniel Pelavin

    Self Promotion in a Saturated Market
    Illustrator, Typographer, Designer
    www.pelavin.com
    Daniel Pelavin’s work is best recognized for its precisely drafted shapes, unique color palette and original typography. His mastery at combining stylistic elements from different historical periods while maintaining an unwavering focus on clarity has produced a body of work that is timeless and enduring. He has received accolades for illustration and typographic design and a singular ability to seamlessly combine the two. From his earliest work, which was produced using templates, french curves and drafting tools, to a present day virtuosity in digital media, Pelavin has used a restrained and simplified vocabulary of geometric forms. An early interest in serigraphy cemented a love of rich, flat colors, while a reverence for themes of transportation and industry has filled his compositions with trains, planes, automobiles and dynamic cityscapes. The result is a body of work that is pictorial and iconic at the same time.

    Louisa Saint Pierre

    Across the Pond : The British Perspective
    Illustrator, Agency Director, Entrepreneur
    www.ba-reps.com
    Louisa Saint Pierre is an Illustrator, Director of Illustration and Interactive at creative representative agencies BA Reps, Boutique and Spread ArtCulture Magazine. Her illustration is inspired by Byzantine religious art, Folk Art, Pop Art, Blake, Beardsley, and Klimt and personal accolades include a "Henry", the Greetings Card Industry's Oscar, Gold for Best Design in Museum Shops, Images: The Best of British Illustration, Archive 200 Best Illustrators, American Illustration and The Society of Illustrators.
                 During her tenure as Chair of The Society of Artists’ Agents, pro actively campaigning for the rights and profile of artists, she developed The SAA Awards, cultivating sponsors, large cash prizes, and an exhibition at The London Transport Museum. The winning art appeared ubiquitously on the Underground.
                 She exhibits and lectures worldwide, has judged numerous competitions, and been involved with prominent industry events: Art After Dark at The Guggenheim, Cross Pollination at The Royal College, Love or Money: the Value of Authorial Illustration; The Future of Illustration for GAG; and Urban Vinyl at Soho House for The Creative Social.

    Ina Saltz

    Endless Possibilities
    Art Director, Designer, Writer, Photographer, Educator
    www.bodytypebook.com
    Ina Saltz is an art director, designer, writer, photographer and professor of art at The City College of New York, whose areas of expertise are typography and magazine design. She's a regular columnist for STEP Inside Design magazine and writes for other design magazines, including Graphis. For over twenty years she was an editorial design director at such magazines as Time (International Editions), Worth, and Golf, among others.
                 Ina lectures at Stanford University's Publishing Course, and she has also lectured for Stanford virtually via webcast. Her first book documents typographic tattoos; Body Type: Intimate Messages Etched in Flesh, was published in 2006 by Harry N. Abrams Books.

    Keri Smith

    Come Together : Networking Pioneers
    Author, Illustrator
    www.kerismith.com
    Keri Smith is an author/illustrator turned guerilla artist. Her books include Wreck This Journal, an activity book for creative destruction; The Guerilla Art Kit, everything you need to put your message out into the world; Living Out Loud, activities to fuel a creative life; Tear Up This Book, Story in a Box: Cinderella, and Princess and the Pea. As a freelance illustrator, she has worked for a variety of clients world wide. Most recently Random House, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Ford Motor Co., The Boston Globe, Galison/Mudpuppy Press, and Hallmark. In the last few years, she has given lectures and workshops on the topic of "living creatively" for the How Design Conference, the Ontario Graphic Artist’s Association, UC Davis, and schools across North America. She has been featured in How, Step by Step, Print, Bust, and many more. Having left her home of Toronto, Keri currently lives in Troy, NY.

    Mark T. Smith

    Revisioning/Rebranding Illustrators
    Painter
    www.marktsmith.com
    Born in Wilmington, Delaware Mark T. Smith moved to New York City in 1986 to study at Pratt Institute. After matriculating from Pratt he made New York City his home until June 2004 when he relocated to Miami. In addition to his numerous corporate clients, Smith’s work is in the permanent collection of several museums in North America, and the homes of many discerning collectors and celebrities. His artwork is represented internationally. In 2007, Smith has seven solo exhibitions in the United States including Art Basel Miami, CasaDecor Miami and shows in New Orleans, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Washington DC to name a few. Smith has taught at Parsons School of Design for over 10 years. When he’s is not painting, he likes to indulge his interests in travel, 1960’s American muscle cars, and sailing.

    Greg Spalenka

    Moving Imagination: Concept Design in the Film and Gaming Industries
    Illustrator, Concept Designer
    www.spalenka.com
    Greg Spalenka has been creating award winning art for major publications in the magazine, newspaper and book  publishing world for 25 years. In 2004 his focus shifted to film and he began working as a concept artist. Film projects include: The Ant Bully for Warner Brothers/DNA/Playtone, The Golden Compass for New Line Cinema and the highly anticipated Escape from Planet Earth for RainMaker Entertainment. He has also worked on the game Warcraft. He teaches, lectures, and is involved in a myriad of personal book and music projects. His most recent goal is to create an online CG animation studio.

    James Sturm

    Graphic Novels: A Closer Look
    Director, Editor, Cartoonist
    www.cartoonstudies.org, www.teachingcomics.org
    James Sturm is the co-founder of The Center for Cartoon Studies, The National Association of Comics Arts Educators, and the Seattle weekly newspaper The Stranger.
                 His graphic novels include The Golem's Mighty Swing, James Sturm's America, Unstable Molecules, and Satchel Paige, Striking Out Jim Crow. He is the series editor for a line of graphic novels from Hyperion Books for Children based on the lives of notable Americans. His comics and illustrations have appeared in The New York Times, The Onion, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and on the cover of The New Yorker. James is a 2008 MacDowell Colony Fellow.

    Robert Zimmerman

    Come Together : Networking Pioneers
    Illustration Advocate, Code Junkie
    www.drawger.com, www.illoz.com
    Robert Zimmerman doodled for dollars, working as a full-time illustrator until 2001, when his right wrist was badly broken by a nasty patch of ice. Doctors screwed the wrist back together with metal plates and hardware, but it never really worked the same after that. Doodling for dollars became out of the question, so he turned to his other love to make a living, writing code. Lots of code got written, but an honest love of the illustration world was never left behind. The idea arose in 2005 that maybe some of the code laying around could do something for illustrators. Out of that idea, Drawger.com was launched in 2006 with the initial goal of helping illustrators keep in touch with one-another. The unexpected popularity of Drawger inspired the creation of illoz.com, which aims to help a limited number of illustrators with online portfolios and other web-based services.