Illustration is magical, but it's not magic. It's art that communicates a message and has a purpose. It takes skill, talent, business savvy and resilience to make a living as a illustrator. It's ubiquitous; there are countless categories of illustration: editorial, technical, book, fashion, gaming, motion graphics, product and more. Illustrations bring concepts to life in a unique and powerful way.

Listen in as three diversely talented illustrators share their insights and experiences with a creative director (who has commissioned and licensed work from illustrators worldwide) and a publisher (who oversees the Directory of Illustration, the leading illustration talent resource). Our goal is to promote the use of illustration and explore the best ways to work with these amazing creatives.

Panelists

Scott Anderson has created illustrations for such clients as The Wall Street Journal, The Village Voice, LA Weekly, Penguin Books, and many others. His work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators New York, the Society of Illustrators Los Angeles, and the 3x3 Illustration Annual, and he has received multiple ADDY awards from the American Advertising Federation. A Santa Barbara resident, he also serves as a Professor of Art at Westmont College, where he teaches courses in illustration, figure drawing, and painting. Portfolio | Instagram

Matthew Holmes has been freelancing as a commercial artist for over 30 years. He has called Sacramento home for the entire span of his career and in that time has had the pleasure of working with a number of nationally recognized clients. Some of these include Ben & Jerry’s, Budweiser, Smirnoff, Boeing, Kraft, Miller, and Whitewave to name just a few. As this list probably indicates his speciality through much of professional life has been food and product illustration. He is also a proud member of San Francisco Society of Illustrators. Portfolio

Sudi McCollum is a design-y illustrator and/or a designer who also illustrates. She began her career as an art director for an advertising agency in Silicon Valley before starting her illustration, art print publishing and product/surface design businesses. Sudi's work is very graphic and influenced by woodblock prints from various centuries and cultures—including Japanese woodblock prints, Medieval woodblock prints and the Arts and Crafts Movement. Her work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators of NY, Graphis (Gold Award), Print Magazine, Graphic Design USA, The Western Art Directors Club, AIGA, Adweek Magazine, and the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles. Portfolio

Mark Oliver is CEO and Creative Director of Mark Oliver, Inc. (MOI), a full-service communications design firm specializing in CPG product innovation, branding, and packaging design. Clients of the firm have included Fortune 100 firms such as ConAgra, Diageo, General Mills, and PepsiCo. His firm has focused on the natural foods industry, working with Kashi, Hain Celestial, Back To Nature, and others. Along with more than 500 awards, his work is included in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress and has been featured in Communication Arts, Graphis, and others. Mark Oliver is a AIGA Santa Barbara Fellow.

Elizabeth Owen is the President of the Directory of Illustration and the AtEdge Series. At Serbin Communications, she leads the company’s marketing, design, production, web development and social media teams. For over 20 years, Elizabeth has been helping professional illustrators and photographers connect with creatives in advertising, design, corporate and editorial/publishing markets. This experience has given her unique insight into how artist-art director relationships are formed and nurtured.

The Directory of Illustration is widely recognized as the world’s leading illustration talent resource, distributed free of charge to thousands of creatives who regularly hire freelance illustrators. A wide variety of creative directors, art directors, designers and art producers regularly refer to the printed Directory and searchable website to find top talent for their projects and campaigns.

Date/Time:
Wednesday, November 29
6:00pm-8:00pm

Location:
The Sandbox
414 Olive St., Santa Barbara

Cost:
AIGA Members & Students: $10 online, $15 at the door.
Non Members $20 online, $25 at the door.