IlluXCon 2009! Now with pictures!

[Noah Bradley]

http://illuxcon.com/

Anyone else going? :) They're now letting people sign up for portfolio reviews, so get on that if you're interested. Should be a heck of a show. So many amazing illustrators.

[J Wilson]

I'll be there. I put as my first portfolio review choice Jeremy Cranford, which they have listed as Blizzard, although I believe he works for Upper Deck on the WoW ccg. I was tempted to make Jon Schindehette my first choice. I had a review with him at ComicCon NY, and have since followed his blog, and he's always got really insightful things to say (as well as being friendly and approachable). In the end though, I know how to get in touch with Jon, and so I thought I would be better served making a new connection and getting another point of view.

[Noah Bradley]

I've never gotten a professional portfolio review, so Jon Schindehette is my first pick.

If enough CA.org folk are going we should have a little hang-out night one of the evenings there.

[DavePalumbo]

It's such an intimate show, pretty much every night was a hangout last year. It's not like comic con with 150,000 people running in all directions. I believe with the attendance limit they have in place at this show there'll be around 300-400 people for the entire weekend (exhibitors and attendees) so it's pretty easy to find and talk to pretty much everyone. Last year most people stayed at the same hotel too.

It'll definitely be a good time :)

[Viridis]

I'm going. :D

Any info on what's happening on Thursday and Sunday? They only have events for Fri-Sat. Are those two days just meant for check-in/out or what?

[J Wilson]

If I remember correctly there are actually portfolio reviews scheduled on those days too, so I'm guessing there might be something going on more than check in/out. As far as events go, I have no idea. I haven't seen a full schedule of events yet, but I'd like to, so if anyone has seen one, can you post a link?

My friend Cynthia Sheppard has requested a table and has offered me a spot at it, so I'll be hanging out there at least part of the time. I'm of course happy to meet anyone from CA, so if I don't find you first, come find me there!

[Noah Bradley]

They put up a pdf of the schedule on the website. (http://illuxcon.com/events.html)

I'll be sure to swing by the table to meet you, J. Wilson. I've met miserably few artists so far (never done any conventions, workshops, etc.), so I'm aiming to fix that. :)

[J Wilson]

Aha thanks! I had missed that link hiding at the top of the page.

Looking forward to meeting you Noah :)

[nonie]

I'll be there :)

[DSillustration]

Me too.

[Qitsune]

Unfortunately, I can't afford to go abroad for events like that too often, so I picked learning over contacts. That means I won't be there but I'll be at IMC in June :)

[DSillustration]

Unfortunately, I can't afford to go abroad for events like that too often, so I picked learning over contacts. That means I won't be there but I'll be at IMC in June :)

Really wise decision.
IMC is amazing.

[Viridis]

I assume the IMC is the Illustration Master Class? It did look really amazing but at the moment I just don't have the $2k it requires in fees. D: I'm hoping to get a decent job so I can save some cash and maybe attend in 2011.

[drd]

Man, wish I had the freedom and money to go to these things. I need to meet you guys!

Pennsylvania is just too far away...

[t y l e r]

Dan, would you say that folks who work digitally would find be able to fit in well at the IMC, or is it better suited to traditional mediums?

T

[DavePalumbo]

There were a couple folks working pure digital at IMC this past year and a couple working hybrid

[J Wilson]

I am, unfortunately, most likely not going to be able to make Illuxcon this year after all. There's been a minor emergency that I need to be here for :( I hope all have fun, and I'll see ya at next years Illuxcon!

[DSillustration]

Dan, would you say that folks who work digitally would find be able to fit in well at the IMC, or is it better suited to traditional mediums?

T

Most of the teachers work traditionally, and as such the class attracts a lot of people who want to learn those mediums, but a digital artist would by no means be out of place.
I would guess that out of 70 attendees last year, at least 10 were totally digital, and 10 more did hybrids.

Many of the lectures/demos are specifically geared to digital artists.
For instance, Jon Foster gave a demo last year outlining his process in Photoshop.

If you ask previous students, I think they would tell you that what they learned the most about was not technique; but composition, draftsmanship, story telling and business practices... things that are applicable to all mediums.

[Noah Bradley]

What a first day. Amazing art, informative talks, killer demos, helpful & nice artists. And tommorow will probably be even better (demos from both Dan Dos Santos & Donato!).

I'm beat. Time for sleep. :)

[Noah Bradley]

Picture time!

The venue in Altoona:

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Looking down on the show floor. So much art!

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Jeff Easley making some sick art during one of the demos"

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Dan Dos Santos doing an alla prima portrait painting. I had to leave before the end, so I didn't get to see it finished.

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Volkan Baga explaining how awesome he is:

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Jeff Easley's finished demo:

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Vokan Baga's finished demo:

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[Noah Bradley]

Donato Giancola's portrait demo in oils.


Beginning the drawing phase. He drew with a watercolor pencil since they won't smear once you start laying down the oils.

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After laying in a few dark areas, he proceed to mix and apply midtone values, emphasizing using color shifts rather than value shifts to turn the form.

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Observing the model to accurately see the colors.

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Painting some eyes.

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10 minutes left to paint and Donato realizes he need to put a body on the figure. Paint starts flying. :)

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Putting the finishing touches on his super-speedy space suit.

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Added a blue glow to the eyes and time ran out.

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[Daniel Andrews]

I would definitely love to attend next year. Ive only been painting for 14 months, and learned through digital means, but I've been starting to practice using Oils now also. It has been so valuable buying Dan's, Don's and Shawn's Painting Demo's from the site here. Ive been hearing allot about how intimate Illuxcon is and the idea of being able to chat about specific challenges your going through, or just geeking out about Art would just fuel the Fire even more so.

Thanks for posting the pics.

[Viridis]

The convention was great! I got to meet so many people, although now I'm thinking of all the questions I didn't ask and wishing I had.

I don't have many pictures myself, but there's a few nice blog posts I've found with more details

Chris Burdett's blog:
http://christopherburdett.blogspot.com/

Jon Schindehette put up some really good stuff too:
http://artorder.blogspot.com/

[J Wilson]

Was a great time, and I'm so happy I was able to make it after all. I got to meet up with and hang out with a few people I don't see nearly often enough, meet a few people that I only know from here and other places online, and make a ton of new friends and acquaintances. I'm going to join the chorus of people saying "NEXT year I'll be better prepared."

This is one of the best cons to go to to get professional candid reviews of your work. I know I heard a lot of really helpful stuff that I hope will take my work to a new level.

Noah, it was great hanging out with you for a bit Sat night. Good job with the photos. Hope to see you at the next one! I'd give more shout outs, but I know I'll end up leaving people out if I do.