This weekend was the Arts Forum here at SCAD-Atlanta--something I look forward to all year! Because of Snowmeggedon, one of the presenters, Jon Foster was unable to make it, but one of my absolute favorite artists, Helen Dardik made it in from Canada just in time for our "beach-like" weather. Helen has worked on a variety of projects from animation to editorial to surface illustration (like some of the recent products she has done for Blue Q). Her style has a hand-done, clean, and quirky look influenced by Scandinavian design. Her work is instantly recognizable as her own not only through her style but by her signature jewel-like palate which makes her work so much fun to look at and moon over.
On Friday she gave an incredible demo on creating patterns in Adobe Illustrator. This is something I had done a couple times before, without much ease or great results, so I was a little incredulous going into the demo. But with Helen's method, it was so simple and fun! This is definitely a skill I will use again soon for pattern making, which I have really enjoyed thus far. She also gave great tips for designing. Then we had a chance to try our hand at creating some patterns ourselves (see above pattern inspired by a recent project I have taken on-- more on that in another post though).
Also, Bill Mayer, Decatur native and recent Society of Illustrator gold medal winner, braved the snow and joined the Forum last minute. He showed us some of his work, including some pieces from his children's book The Monster Who Did My Math Homework, one of my favorites, and his very loose stamp sketches, one of which won him recent honors. These sort of projects are particularly inspiring-- illustration doesn't have to be highly rendered pieces, but can be simple, beautifully designed "doodles" from your sketchbook. He also shared a special and very personal project he was working on, which was a real treat for us.
I was kind of bummed that the Forum got cut short (I had signed up for a portfolio review on Saturday, but because of weather conditions the school as well as local transit had shut down). All in all though it was a really fun weekend! Both Helen and Bill were so generous with divulging their "insider secrets," and were really awesome to talk to. We were extremely lucky to have them visit us at SCAD-Atlanta!
For more about this year's Art Forum (with photos), visit the SCAD-ATL Illustration Department blog.
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