2013 Illustrators' Day Wrap-Up by Christina Ebert-Klaven

“Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.” While this quote comes from an economist, it’s also an important mindset for artists, as we learned at Illustrators’ Day 2013! In an event packed with presentations by industry pros and topped off with a fabulous cocktail party hosted by Binders Art Supply, attendees benefited from a jump start to their creativity and were reminded that it’s critical in today’s world to be entrepreneurs in addition to being illustrators. Many fresh ideas came from Chad Beckerman, Art Director at Abrams Books for Young Readers, and illustrator extraordinaire Will Terry. Chad and Will provided eye-opening and innovative ideas such as promoting your work on the photo sharing app Instagram or using the crowd-funding platform Kickstarter.com to finance a self-published book concept.
      Adding to the inspiring presentations, illustrator Mark Braught discussed the mentorship project he supervised. Each illustrator selected one item from each of three lists – places, time periods and animals – and created an environment that communicated how the illustrator perceived him or herself. Mark’s students were invited to the front to show their finished pieces and field questions.
      Last but not least, Dianne Hess (Executive Editor at Scholastic Press) joined everyone for a review of attendees’ self-promotional items and portfolios. Everyone benefitted from the constructive criticism provided by our experts.
     Illustrators’ Day left us all anticipating the next great event! Many thanks to our Southern Breeze Illustrator Coordinator Elizabeth Dulemba and Assistant Coordinator Kathleen Bradshaw for making these events happen.

Photos of the event: