Richard Pose Teaming with Kazu Kibuishi for Graphic Novel

Kazu Kibuishi announced he's working with CSUF Illustration alumni, Richard Pose, on a graphic novel project in development. Kibuishi is the founder and editor of the Flight anthology. His second volume of the children's graphic novel Amulet (The Stonekeeper's Curse) will come out in September. Richard Pose published several short graphic novel stories in past volumes of Flight as well as one for the upcoming volume 6 (scheduled for a July release).

Bob Peak Exhibit Opens at Gallery Nucleus June 6

Gallery Nucleus hosts a well-deserved retrospective exhibit of the art of Bob Peak, the "father of the modern Hollywood poster." His most famous posters include Apocalypse Now, My Fair Lady, Star Trek (the motion picture), and many more. In the 80s, the US Postal Service commissioned him for the Los Angeles Olympics stamps illustrations. Like some of his predecessors, such as Coby Whitmore and Robert McGinnis, his art graced magazines (tens of covers for TV Guide and Time) and books, but Peak made his mark by crystallizing the concepts of movies and creating elaborate montage-compositions combining striking portrayals of actor-character, exciting scenic vignettes, and sophisticated lighting effects. The exhibit opens Saturday June 6 at 7pm and runs until June 25th (map).

MFA Grad Sirois Paints Hercules Comic Book by Radical Comics

Doug Sirois wrapped up one busy semester setting up his terrific MFA show and completing tens of pages of comics for Hercules: The Knives of Kush, a mini-series comic book published by Radical Comics. Sirois received the penciled pages as scans and inked and colored them digitally. The art direction encouraged great detail, so the final pages provide impressive visual information. The online comics media outlet, Comic Book Resources, wrote an article on the Hercules series and gives a preview of some fine pages. More information about the creative process and more amazing illustrations appear on Doug Sirois's website. Great work, Doug (we'll miss you at Cal State Fullerton!).

Art Majors Graduate with Honors, Awards, and Industry Experience

Several art majors made their mark at this year's graduation. During the Honors Convocation, Jennifer Fujikawa (BFA in Animation) received accolades for her industry experience and academic accomplishments as a President's Scholar (profile article on the campus website). Two students completed the Honors Program: Kelly Costello (BFA in Illustration) and Kristin Mouri (BFA in Graphic Design). Four of our students graduated Summa Cum Laude (with a cumulative GPA equal to or above 3.9): Corinne Ashimine (BFA in Animation), Ki Jeon Nam (BFA in Animation), Zelda Wang (BFA in Illustration; Zelda Wang's DeviantArt site) and Dara Cornell (BFA in Graphic Design). Cornell, who took first place in the Hollywood Reporter Key Art Awards Student Trailer Competition last year, also delivered the student speech at the College of the Art graduation (wearing ruby red Converse sneakers!).

PCP (Heisuke Kitazawa) Describes Process on Video at GR2

Heisuke Kitazawa (PCP) recently came back to Los Angeles for a solo show at Giant Robot. During his trip, he paid us a visit at Cal State Fullerton where he received his MFA in Illustration. PCP presented his art to Prof. Cliff Cramp's students. After years of only working digitally, PCP explained how he's recently gotten back into some traditional "hand-dirtying" techniques. If you did not get to see him, you can get an idea of PCP's process, tools, and techniques thanks to videos posted on the GR2.net website (also available on Youtube: video 1 and video 2).

Illustration BFA Annie Ruygt's Song on the Radio

Andrea Ruygt, who is completing a BFA in Illustration at CSUF, stunned many classmates and professors last week! Not only can she wield an ink pen for poetic children's book illustrations, she has a beautiful voice. Her song "Climb Up" finished first on the weekly contest on Amaze.fm last Friday, and so it played on radio KRLA 870 Monday at the end of the 4 o'clock hour. Rock on, Annie!

CSUF Outwins Other Schools at Key Art Awards

CSUF was the only school this year to take two top awards in the 2009 Hollywood Reporter Key Art Awards Student Competition. In the print category, Graphic Design student, Jimmy Hsieh, won 1st place, and two more nominations wen to Anita Sougu and Jordan Lee. In the trailer category, Entertainment Arts/Animation student, Chi-Hao "Howard" Cheng, took 3rd place, and his classmate Julie Douglas received a nomination. Cal State Fullerton continues to dominate this competition. This year again, it had more nominations than any other school. Professor Cheryl Savala-Lalicker, who teaches the Entertainment Graphics class (ART 483E) where students learn the skills to designing top-notch movie posters, has had more students win in the poster category than any other in the nation. Last year, her students took the three poster awards. This year, a change in the rules, which permitted no more than one student per school per category, kept Savala-Lalicker's students from possibly winning more awards. Students learn the art of trailer design in Professor Christian Hill's Motion Graphics Design class (ART 483I). Last year, his student Dara Cornell won the top prize in the trailer category. The announcement event and display of entries took place last Thursday May 14, at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles.

Cramp & Sirois Featured in Painter XI Release

Professor Cliff Cramp and graduate student Doug Sirois are featured in the new release of Corel's updated Painter software, Painter 11. Corel Painter is one of industry's leading software programs. Their work can be found in the galley section when the program is launched.

Alum Brian Growe Wins Pins Design Contest at Disney

Brian Growe is drawing the classic characters for Disney. He shares on his blog that he won a fun pin's design contest, and his design was all the rage in the Disney store! On his blog, you can see the evolution from sketch to final product of his design of a scared Pluto and cautious Mickey. In his spare time, Growe contributes regularly to the graphic novel anthology, Hard Eight.

CSUF Alumna Sandra Lopez Updates Website

Recent graduate in Illustration and Animation, Sandra Lopez, has a new website! After the release of her first novel, Esperanza, a Latina Story, Lopez is writing the next installment. You can sign up to stay in touch and receive updates about her upcoming book.

Drew Struzan Exhibit at Gallery Nucleus

A well-deserved solo show of the legendary movie poster artist, Drew Stuzan, will run from February 13 to March 2 at Gallery Nucleus, in Alhambra, Calif. People around the planet have a greater familiarity with the art of Struzan than with most top names from the contemporary gallery and museum scene. Struzan created the posters of Back to the Future, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and many more blockbusters. He will appear at the exhibit opening February 13, 2009, from 7pm to 11pm.

Gallery Nucleus Hosts "Coraline" Artists Panel

Production artists behind the upcoming movie, Coraline, based on the Neil Gaiman story, will talk about their art and experiences during a 2-hour panel at Gallery Nucleus, in Alhambra, Calif., Saturday February 7th, from 2 to 4pm. The artists presently listed to appear include Andy Schuhler, Chris Appelhans, Dan Krall, Jon Klassen, Shane Prigmore, and Shannon Tindle. Consult the official announcement for more info.

Riverside Press-Enterprise Features Illustration Grad Katy Betz

Somehow with the frenzy of end of semester activities, we forgot to point out this newspaper article on graduate student Katy Betz in the Press-Enterprise from Riverside, CA. The article, "Artist's paintings explore meaning, beauty of life," covers Betz's artistic journey, education, and influences. Betz is presently completing an Illustration MFA, and she taught as Graduate Assistant for the first time at CSUF last Fall.

Prof. Cramp's Art Chosen For Macworld 2009

Professor Cliff Cramp has been chosen as one of twenty-six artists, internationally, to be displayed in the digital art gallery at the Macworld Conference and Expo of Digital Art. The Macworld Conference and Expo will be held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA – January 5-9, 2009.

“Macworld is known as the pre-eminent event for discovering imaginative uses of Mac OS technology. Our new Digital Art Gallery offers a venue for the most imaginative digital artists in the world to share their genius,” said Paul Kent, general manager, Macworld Conference & Expo. “Bringing this attraction to Macworld furthers our mission of inspiring our attendees to put the amazing creative tools available for the Mac OS to work.”

Seven illustration students awarded scholarships

The Art Alliance at CSUF hosted the scholarship awards banquet in which seven scholarships went to illustration students. Among the seven students were three undergraduates and four graduate students. Congratulations go to…

Undergraduates:
Michael Mostumoto - Myrt Purkiss Scholarship

Mikaela Espina - John and Flora Olsen Scholarship

Emily Asaro - College of the Arts Alumni Association Leadership Award

Graduates:
Katy Betz – Leo Freedman Award

Pat Cantor – Leo Freedman Award

Wendy Grieb – Art Alliance Graduate Tribute Grant

Matiporn Thamtarana - Alberta Lambert Scholarship

Prof. Cliff Cramp represents CSU Fullerton at Channel Islands

The Art Department at CSU Channel Islands is hosting an art show of artists who teach at universites in Southern California. Each CSUCI art department faculty was asked to sponsor one artist for the show. Professor Cliff Cramp was chosen by CSUCI adjunct Kathleen Quaife to represent Cal State Fullerton. The show runs through January 15th.

Children's Book Illustration Exhibits at Chemers and CSUF

The Chemers Gallery in Tustin is having its 17th annual children's book illustration exhibit. This year's art comes from illustrators Elisa Kleven, Beth Krommes, Holly Meade, Zachary Pullen and Melissa Sweet. Book signing and presentations from these artists will take place Saturday, December 6th, 2008, from 1pm to 5pm. The exhibit will stay on the walls until December 20th. Next, hop north to CSUF (less than a 10 min. drive) to see the shows of Barbara Kolberg and Patricia Caplette, who are both graduating this semester with their Illustration MFAs. While Caplette's elegant art is slightly more for grown-ups, Kolberg has produced a fun series of children's book illustrations. These exhibits open at 6pm on Saturday, December 6th as well, and will run one week.

Florence Through the Eyes of Illustration Undergrad Mark Hernandez

For many years, Mark Hernandez, who has almost finished his BFA in Illustration, mulled over going on a study abroad program. As of this December, he has spent the last four months in Florence, Italy, where he is furthering his understanding of drawing, painting, art history, Italian, and so much more. He managed to get some of his editorial cartoons published in a local newspaper, The Florence Newspaper, as well as an article about his experiences as an American in one of Italy's most beautiful, yet cramped cities.

Illustration Grads Katy Betz and Pat Cantor Honored at 2008 Illustrator's Day

Katy Betz (top left on photo) and Pat Cantor (top right), two graduate students in the Illustration MFA program at Cal State Fullerton, have won prizes at the 2008 SCBWI-Los Angeles Illustrator's Day held November 8th. The attendees chose to award Katy Betz's portfolio, while the judges, a group of illustration professionals participating at the conference, honored Pat Cantor's portfolio. Both graduate students have a passion for children's book illustration. The attendees also included Cara Nilsen, an alumna of the Cal State Fullerton Illustration MFA program, as well as Erica Vu and Emily Asaro, who are both pursuing a BFA in Illustration at Cal State Fullerton

The Those Guys Charity Auction for Art in Schools (11/14)

Several art alums who are now working for Dreamworks, Nickelodeon, LucasFilms, MTV, Cartoon Network, Titmouse, and other cool studios are organizing an art auction to raise funds for art programs in schools. You can acquire beautiful art and serve a great cause all at once! It's this Saturday at 7pm at the Rialto Theater in South Pasadena. Meet'em, do a good thing, and watch the movie "Goonies" after the auction! Here's more info (or click on the image).

CSUF Undergrad Haniuk Wins Best Animation at CSU Media Arts 2008

Jason Haniuk, BFA in Illustration and Entertainment Arts/Animation, won the "Best Animation" in the 2008 CSU Media Arts Festival held last weekend on the CSU-Channel Islands campus. His project, "Nutty the Neurotic Ninja Squirrel," a Flash animation, was the culmination of more than one year of development. Haniuk thanked all those who helped him, including "my boss at PartnerPeople too for allowing me days and time off to finish it." Two other Cal State Fullerton students swept the next two spots: Robbie Robertson won 2nd place for "Fallen Angel-1" and Chris Allison (who recently got hired at Nickelodeon) won 3rd place for "Wings of Death." Haniuk's reaction to Cal State Fullerton taking the top three spots in the animation competition? "I think it's pretty sweet!" he says. The CSU Media Arts Festival invites students from all 23 CSU campuses to participate, and seeks to bring together professionals from the entertainment industry and CSU students and faculty.

Earthworm Jim and CatScratch Creator, Doug TenNapel, Visits CSUF 11/14

This Friday, Doug TenNapel, creator of the legendary video game "Earthworm Jim," Nick Toons animated show "CatScratch," and the graphic novel "Creature Tech" will share his secrets about creating solid stories and making successful pitches! The presentation is FREE and on Friday November, 14th at 4pm in VA-113 (see CSUF campus map). TenNapel has years of experience in Hollywood where he has pitched many story concepts to all the studios. He is also a prolific comic artist with many of his graphic novels optioned by studios. He will have some of his books on hand and will sign them.

Prof. Cramp Launches Advanced Digital Painting Course Blog

The public can now track assignments and finished illustration of students on the new CSUF Advanced Digital Painting blog. This course, created and taught by Prof. Cliff Cramp, is the third illustration course in the illustration sequence. It reinforces a painterly approach to illustration using digital tools, primarily Corel Painter. Prof. Cramp's digital art, which he has produced for many years now, appears on his website.

Mac McCool Joins Panel at SCBWI So Cal Illustrator's Day

This Saturday, CSUF's Mac McCool will participate in a panel during Illustrator's Day, an event organized by the Southern California chapters of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Other participants and presenters include art directors, Joann Hill (Clarion Books) and Steve Myhre, licensing artist, Lorena Siminovich, and illustrators, Erin Eitter Kono, Mary Peterson, Wilson Swain, Brenda Sexton, and many more, such as (Joan Charles and Jane Smith doing double duty as organizers!).

Three from CSUF added to Painter Factory

Professor Cliff Cramp, MFA in Illustration graduate student Doug Sirois, and alumni Liz Stephanoff were added to The Painter Factory online gallery because of their inclusion in the Adapt 2008 Conference. Of the twenty-five international illustrators showcased, three are from CSUF.

MFA in Illustration Student Katy Betz Accepted in Beinart Surreal Art Collective

Katy Betz, a graduate student in the MFA in Illustration program, just got accepted in the Beinart International Surreal Art Collective. The Beinart International Surreal Art Collective promotes public awareness of established and emerging artists working in the contemporary surreal and fantastic art genre through its online gallery. Artists must submit samples of their work to be considered for inclusion. You can visit Katy Betz's section and her website to appreciate the poetry, whimsy, and surrealism of her art.

Illustration Alum, PCP, Designs Kenzo Perfume Boxes

Heisuke Kitazawa (a.k.a. PCP), who completed his Illustration M.F.A. at Cal State Fullerton, reports from Japan that he's designed six different perfume boxes for Kenzo Perfumes, which are now available in the U.S.A. and in Europe. Advanced Photoshop Magazine also interviewed PCP in issue #48.

Krannert Art Museum's Comics Exhibit Includes Prof. Hill's Gallery Comics

The Krannert Art Museum on the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign campus is hosting "Out of Sequence," a show of comic art innovators and outsiders. The show, curated by Damian Duffy and John Jennings, includes more than 100 pages of comics and gallery comics, and runs until January 4, 2009. Some of the more famous names to appear include: Scott McCloud, Hope Larson, and Allison Bechdel (click to see many of the artworks in the show). Pioneer of gallery comics, CSUF Professor C. Hill, has a new installation ("All Mixed Up") in this show, as well as "Stars, Crosses, and Stripes," which received another strong review.

Anime News Network Interviews Illustration Student, Hans Tseng

Last month, Anime News Network ran a long interview of Hans Tseng, creator of the manga, Directions of Destiny. Tseng has self-published the very successful Directions of Destiny as a junior at Cal State Fullerton, and he is now a senior in the BFA in Illustration program. He shows remarkable graphic maturity for his age and great business acumen (his first volume has sold several hundreds of copies to date). He is presently involved in the Herakles Graphic Novel project. Tseng keeps a blog, Slime Mansion, and showcases his art on deviantART.

Done with another 12-Hour Comics! (Or the 1st One?)

This year, the Pencil Mileage Club organized a far more reasonable comics challenge than Scott McCloud's infamous 24-Hour Comics (where participants must draw 24 pages in 24 hours!). Instead, yesterday the dozen or so comics maniacs at Cal State Fullerton had to complete three good-looking comics pages based on a nursery rhyme (yikes!). It ran from 10am to midnight (well, actually, Eloisa was still at work on hers waaaay past midnight! But hey, it looked great!). It was fun, the pizza and the subs didn't last long, and those nursery rhymes have a proclivity to turn wicked in the hands of art students and profs!