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Friday, September 30, 2011

Breakthrough Contest Winners Announced

I thought there may be interest in this:


The Breakthrough Contest Has Broken Cover!

For the past year, Richard Solomon and staff worked on creating the first ever Breakthrough Contest. The idea took shape while brainstorming last winter. All artists appreciate how hard it is to break through and succeed as a professional illustrator in today’s market; this is why we named the contest “Breakthrough”. We wanted to reach young artists and as such the rules stated that the entrant must be under 35 years old with less than 5 years professional experience from anywhere in the world.


The goal was to create a contest that would produce long term benefits for the winner since every young artist’s greatest concern is to have a successful career. Unlike other competitions which simply offer a cash prize or a scholarship, we have gone a step further. The winner would be brought to New York City, have their portfolio shown to top art/creative directors, be given the constructive criticism and advice by the industry’s top pros to succeed as a professional illustrator, and receive a cash prize.


In March of 2011, we opened the contest to submissions. Soon thereafter, we began to receive a diverse collection of portfolios from artists all over the world. We were soon flooded with an amazing number of very talented young contestants. At the end of 3 months, we closed the contest to submissions and began judging. Our panel consisted of 20 art/creative directors and top illustrators who scored the submissions online based on skill, professionalism, and potential commercial viability.


We can now proudly announce the winner: Michal Dziekan, a 26 year old illustrator from Warsaw, Poland; a true diamond in the rough. Since 2009 Michal has been working as a freelance illustrator on book covers, editorial/advertising illustration, t-shirt/character designs, and animation. You can see more of his work on his website michaldziekan.com. We look forward to bringing Michal to NYC in late October, introduce him to many art/design directors, and award him his prize.


Runners-Up

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Monday, September 26, 2011

New works!! CIO, Pacifists and Mormon missionaries

Portrait of Roland Lescure for aiCIO magazine. Mr Lescure is the Chief investment Officer for the US$152 billion Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, he talks about howdiversification as a good way to invest is merely an illusion. I love working with AD SooJin Buzelli, she seems to always pick my favorite idea!

(final art)
(sketch)
(layout)

A piece for the Progressive Magazine Calendar 2012 Cover and March image. The image is to remember the brave pacifists who set sail, intending to cross the restricted US military testing zone, protesting against nuclear weapon on March 24, 1958.
Big thanks to AD Nick Jehlen for the creative freedom and walking me through the duotone process!
(final art) (sketch)
(cover) (interior)

A full page and spot illustration for the Marriot alumni magazine. Former Associate Dean W. Steve Albrecht shares his experience as president of the Tokyo mission during the 2011 earthquake. Big thanks to AD Jon Woidka!



Thanks for reading!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

End of Summer Illos - Jason Raish



My buddy Illustrator Marco Pardo in Barcelona asked me to take part in a project put together by Spanish illustrator Elenio Pico (who is a professor at Escola Massana in Barcelona). He got a group of artists together and printed their art on sails for small boats that float in fountains around Barcelona.



This one is my boat



cover of the travel section for the washington post about time shares and all the crap that rains down on you when you take part in them. Such as dealing with points, paperwork, incentives, and pitches



why oh why did i pitch an idea with so many intricate objects?



spot for Times Higher education in the UK about some education organization and how secretive they are about their testing methods. They are like ninjas. The deadline was super tight so i only had one shot at the ninja and had to leave everything the way it fell. or else i would have done it until i got it the way i wanted. Maybe i will revisit ninjas later on but for now they go back onto the pile of personal projects i have going on.



spot illustration for Emmy Magazine, which is the magazine that gets mailed to all the members of the Academy of Television Arts and Science (aka TV's Emmy Awards). Its about some guy who was on a game show and lost but came away with a borrowed shirt from the guy who played Carlton on the Fresh Prince of Bel Aire.



spot for Jazz Times magazine about Jazz musicians and the ear damage they receive.