Technical Illustrators.org Forum

I'll be attending the ICON Illustration Conference in LA, July 15-17 (website here, our post on it here)

Anyone else going? Hoping to split a room!

I'd like to go but I am sticking closer to home. The HOW design conference and Creative Freelancer Conference is in Denver this year, so starting Saturday i'll be conferencing for 5 days, oh boy, that might be too much.

Hi-

I've been on the fence about going.... Seems rather pricey. But it would be good to go and connect! I did attend ICON4 here in SF and it was fun. Did I get any work contacts out of it? No. But it was good to chat to other illustrators about the biz...

-Kent

It'll be my first conference. Talking to other illustrators, technical or otherwise, is my mission. I've been cooped up too long, and I think I'll benefit personally and professionally by bumping shoulders with some colleagues.

Keep me posted if you decide to attend, Kent!

I just got back from the HOW Design Conference and Creative Freelancer Conference, i'm all conferenced out now. Good stuff though, extremely inspiring and it was nice to be around like minded people.

Hi James-

I've thought long and hard. But in the end, I can't justify the cost. Seems quite a bit more pricey than before. ICON 4 was fun, but I never got any clients out of it. I would rather pump the ~$800 it's going to cost me into better on-line marketing.

It would be great to meet you and other illustrators, though. If there is another event in the future, I might do it. Especially if it doesn't cost so much.

Have fun!

Best- Kent

Looking over the conference speakers it seems most have that style that looks like a demented 6 year old drawing on a wall. These people are going to give financial advice?

Kent, I was wondering if you would do an interview here. Are you related to the famous Leech who did all the great motorcycle art for years in the 70s and 80s? I loved that stuff and a major influence on me. Jim

@Kent You make a very good argument, $800 would be very well spent on marketing. BTW, did you get my email about doing an interview?

@Jim If they've found a way to convince people to pay them for that, I'm interested to hear it!

I'll definitely be doing a post after the conference to let you all know how it went.

@ Jim- Why, yes I am! Dad and I were in partnership from the late 80's to '93. Yamaha was a big client of his in the 70's; he had a contract to do 1 bike illo per month, for a year. Sometimes the studio had a cloud of airbrush dust from spraying large backgrounds!

We worked on many jobs together- Mercedes, Nat. Geo, Mazda to name a few. I took over the biz after his passing. Tough for ~3 years. But after a great professor at the Academy of Art showed me the wonders of Photoshop, I've never looked back!

@James- No, I didn't get your email; seems I've got an over-active spam filter server-side.... Sure, I've wanted to do a bit of history on my Dad at some point. Have a few old pics of him on the drawing board... There were some 'secrets' he had that sped up production time and made the images 'pop'. I've given a few chats to students at CCAC over in Oakland. I would love to share those, too.

Probably best after the summer. I have work for now (thank goodness) and I run a camp at a large art event in the Nevada desert in August. Organizing now, a time-sucker, for sure!

Cheers- Kent